I don't know...I'm not sure you can divorce a conversation about buying local from also talking about the typically higher cost of doing so.
I own a store in Calgary and a couple of times a week somebody will call, email or walk in and start with, 'I'd like to support local, but...'
After the "but" is always how they've found it cheaper elsewhere, but would like to support me if I can get my prices down. I used to tell them the guy in China selling a similar item doesn't pay his staff a liveable wage, a yearly bonus, sick days, nor medical and dental benefits. He also doesn't pay Calgary rental rates, or as much as I do (no make-up air unit, emergency shower, PPE, quality equipment, etc.) on probably every expense.
Now I don't bother going through any of that because it's a waste of breath. If you start with, 'I'd like to shop local' then you have to instantaneously accept you'll be paying more. My answer is along the lines of, are you looking to shop local or are you looking for the best price. It typically can't be both.
So what are the benefits of shopping local? Once upon a time it meant higher quality. I don't think that's true anymore, though. There are talented people and quality factories and stores almost everywhere in the world now. The main benefit is your money stays in our area. If you buy something from surferguy, he's likely to use his profit to expand his business, buying raw materials from a local wood shop, who bought their inventory from a local sawmill, who employed people in some weird little BC town, where a guy there paid his federal Canadian taxes, which get put back into the Canadian economy. And on it goes.
Buying local is pretty powerful and benefits us all, but there isn't an immediate benefit for the purchaser and that makes it a little unsatisfying to do. You're really throwing a few cents to a whole bunch of Canadians, but nickels and dimes make dollars so it adds up.
I think it's reasonable to be put off by the higher cost of buying a local. I think it is incumbent on people that can afford it to spend the extra money on local as much as possible, though. It's a responsibility.
If you can't afford to, then there are other great, high-quality options all over the world and you don't need to feel bad shopping where you need.
Just don't set out to buy local and then try to grind down a local business to meet the lower prices of off-shore competition. To do so is entirely missing the point of buying local.
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