Wow, this thread has certainly gotten long and I have really enjoyed reading everybody's point of view. Virginia, I am sorry to hear that you must close your dream store...it sounds like you are just being very realistic about the fact that you must make a living as well has provide a service. I love shopping at the my favorite LQS. The people there have become my friends and I can always find something that I <need>. I do have to watch my spending right now as I said before, we have 2 college daughters, and sometimes we feel like we are living paycheck to paycheck. While I personally prefer to do my purchasing at the LQS and will continue no matter the price, I do understand completely that there are other people who truly cannot afford to do that. Unfortunately, I think it is just part of the time we are living in. We live in a small community and we try to support our local stores as much as possible.