Why Buying from Small Businesses Isn’t the Same as Amazon

Amanda Lennon
May 7
3 min read

... and why it matters

Every so often a message arrives at Chaos Cottage that feels less like a conversation and more like a corporate negotiation.

Recently, one such message landed regarding a vintage snooker table that was already reduced by 25%. A carefully sourced item requiring specialist delivery. It came as a “best and final offer”, complete with a deadline that would "expire at 18:00hrs".

It wasn’t just the number (which was rude enough). It was the tone.

Abrupt. Transactional. Lacking any sense that there is a person on the other end.

And that, more than anything, is what feels increasingly out of place when buying from a small business.

When buying becomes winning

There’s a growing trend in online marketplaces where buying is treated as a competition. I'm not sure if all of the TV programmes and social media about bargain hunting are to blame for the lack of etiquette. Contestants are often encouraged to make very low and unreasonable offers to fit their budgets so that they can "win" and the small retailers participating feel that the media exposure they receive is enough to make the loss worthwhile. What it does though, is breed a style of behaviour that, quite frankly, I find insulting.

Start low.

Push hard.

Create urgency.

Win the deal.

But buying vintage furniture, or anything from an independent business, isn’t a zero-sum game. It isn’t about winners and losers. It’s about finding the right piece, at a fair price, for both sides.

We are not Amazon

Small businesses are not built like large-scale retailers.

At Chaos Cottage:

each item is unique
stock is carefully sourced, not mass-produced
margins are real and considered
delivery often requires specialist handling

There is no endless supply. No warehouse. No algorithm quietly absorbing losses.

There is just one piece - and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Why manners matter when buying online

Offers are always welcome. But how they are made matters.

A polite enquiry opens a conversation. A rigid demand closes one.

When buying from small businesses, you are speaking directly to the person behind the work, not a system.

And tone has a way of shaping the outcome.

The Hidden Cost of Hard Negotiation

Aggressive negotiation doesn’t just affect the price, it affects the entire transaction.

From experience, when a buyer pushes beyond what they are comfortable paying, dissatisfaction often follows. Not because the item is wrong, but because the decision didn't feel right for them and they have failed to create a positive relationship with the item and the seller.

That’s why many small businesses will quietly step away from certain offers.

Not to be difficult, but to avoid a poor experience for everyone involved.

We have lots of repeat buyers including corporates for whom we source everything from books (Bletchley Park) to fine china (Hollywood) to 80s furniture (Coronation Street). We nurture these relationships because we don't adhere to the priniciple of "it's only business, it's not personal". It is personal for us. We do not conduct our business interactions in a different way to our personal ones.