(aka the sarcastic rant no one asked for, but everyone needs to read)
Ah yes, the familiar battle cry of the well-meaning:
✨ “Shop small!”
✨ “Shop local!”
✨ “Cash is king!”
How noble. How heartfelt. How utterly… selective.
Because what they really seem to mean is:
👉 “Shop at that cute little candle shop down the high street — but only if I can pay in pound coins, avoid card machines, and take a photo for Instagram.”
Meanwhile, there I am — running a legitimate WordPress & WooCommerce store from home, staying up past midnight updating stock, writing product descriptions, and processing orders through my wholesalers so they can get things packaged and posted — and somehow, I don’t count as “local” or “small.”
Because, you know, I had the audacity to use a website. 😱
💸 But Wait — “Cash Is King!” Right?
Oh yes, let’s romanticise cash for a moment. Who doesn’t love the charm of:
- Paying bank deposit fees just for the privilege of giving the bank money
- Using up petrol or paying for a bus just to get to said bank, assuming your local branch still exists (spoiler: it doesn’t)
- Standing in a queue for 30 minutes behind someone depositing a jar of coppers
- Risking your personal safety while carrying cash alone
- Getting absolutely no protection if someone refuses to pay or gives you fake notes
- Spending hours manually tracking payments and reconciling VAT like it’s 1995
Wow, what a dream. Truly, the royal family of payment methods.
💻 Meanwhile in the 21st Century…
I use card payments and online checkouts because:
✅ They work
✅ They’re secure
✅ They allow automation (bless you, WooCommerce)
✅ They come with built-in records, receipts, and refund options
✅ They let me run a business from anywhere, not just a tiny shop between Greggs and a vape store
And yes, I pay fees. You know what else costs money? Literally everything. Packaging. Postage. Electricity. My time. Card fees aren’t the villain — they’re the cost of being functional in the digital world.
🏬 And Before You Ask — No, I Don’t Have a Shopfront
Some of us simply can’t afford a high street store — and it’s not for lack of ambition. The cost of commercial rent, business rates, utilities, insurance, licensing, signage, fitting out a space, staff, and oh yes — parking (or complete lack of it!) — makes it nearly impossible for small traders to survive.
Shops aren’t closing because of online businesses like mine — they’re closing because it’s financially unsustainable to run a brick-and-mortar store in the UK right now unless you’re a chain with deep pockets or somehow immune to overheads.
🛍️ And Let’s Not Pretend Local = Better Selection
You know that pack of incense sticks you picked up from a “local” gift shop for £4.99? Guess what — you can buy it directly from us, for less hassle and with far more variety.
We stock tons of holistic, spiritual, and lifestyle products, many of which you’ll never find on your local high street because the shops simply don’t have the shelf space, funding, or supplier links.
And while you’re browsing? Why not treat yourself to our own-brand teas, ethically sourced chocolates, and speciality-grade coffees — better than the sad instant stuff you find in the supermarket “value” aisle.
Yes, we have actual quality. Yes, it tastes like effort. And no, Nescafé isn’t even in the same league.
🙄 If You Actually Want to “Support Small”…
Here’s a radical idea:
💡 Realise that small doesn’t always mean bricks and mortar.
💡 Local doesn’t stop at your postcode.
💡 Not everyone wants — or can afford — to run a shop you walk into.
Want to support us? Here’s how:
🔹 Buy directly from our independent website
🔹 Use the card checkout and don’t whinge about it
🔹 Leave reviews, share our links, tell your mates
🔹 Don’t ask if you can “pop round and pay in cash” — we’re not selling knock-off DVDs out the boot of a car
🔹 Stop acting like your loose change is doing us a personal favour
TL;DR?
We are still real. We are still local. We are still small.
We just exist in browser tabs instead of shopfront windows.
And unlike some shops, we’re offering products you can’t even get locally — including better drinks, better incense, better ethics, and a more personal experience.
So if you want to shop small…
👇 Put your money where your mouse (or finger) is. 👇
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