Not a cyclist but I agree with your post, we need to better support small businesses, even if it costs a tad more.

That is the issue with Amazon, it’s easy to get things from and cheaper, which also increases our want to buy more crap we don’t need, and fuelling a business capable of potentially doing serious harm to the competitive landscape.

My partner recently purchased some specialist cake toppers, from a one woman shop, they where super expensive but they looked really high quality, and she was so happy we was happy with the product, and I think that should be part of the purchase experience, that we can get a sense of satisfaction that we have helped a small business stay open.

I think Jeremy Clarkson said it best (surprisingly), and it was something alone the lines of the following. Stop haggling, a dollar is a lot of money to these people, it’s nothing to you, just pay them the price asked.