Paying more to support a store, artist or hobby we love
When Ellis Jones meets up with old college friends each year in Colorado, he puts his money where his heart is.
He and his pals, who went through comic-nerd and Dungeons & Dragons stages, make a point of heading to the local comic book store, where prices are substantially higher than they are online.
“It’s a recognition not just of that business itself, but of what it means and what it adds to the community, the subcultures that exist because of that business,” said Jones, 47, now a college professor in Massachusetts. “We each spend up to 100 bucks once a year there to do our part — to cast our vote for that comic book store.”
Jones isn’t alone. When I put out a call for people who are willing to pay a higher price to support a small business, farmer or artist they care about, my Facebook friends and co-workers showered me with examples. They are paying more for books, fresh produce, model train supplies, knitting yarn, fly fishing equipment, bicycles, crafts, items from the local hardware store, guitar equipment and music.
Research focusing specifically on these purchases is sparse — there isn’t even an accepted name for them, although a friend reported he was asked if he was making a “sympathy purchase” when he bought music at an independent music store.
But there are broad indications that these purchases are popular, especially in the millennial demographic. About half of millennials, ages 16 to 34, are willing to pay more to support a small business, compared with 38 per cent of Gen Xers and 42 per cent of baby boomers, according to an AT&T and Added Value survey. A 2015 Nielsen survey found that 66 per cent of consumers worldwide were willing to pay more for socially or environmentally responsible goods, up from 50 per cent in 2013.
“The latest thing in ethical consumerism is that people are beginning to see their roles as shoppers as similar to their roles as citizens,” said Jones, an assistant professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and the author of The Better World Shopping Guide.
“People are getting this sense, over time, that their values really matter in the marketplace — as much as they matter in the voting booth. People are willing to pay more if they think a company is going to represent those values — pay their workers fairly, treat the environment well — the things that these consumers are hoping for and not getting immediately out of the political system.”
Paying what I’ll call the “passion price” — more for an item sold by a small business because you care about the item, the seller or both — fits into that larger picture, Jones said.
“I often advise people, as they try to shop with their values, to try not to brutalize themselves in the process,” said Jones. “You can’t always afford the (most ethical) purchase. What you should be thinking about is the overall impact.”