Colin, I deal with the exact same problem with my local shop. I'm sure some have read my past posts on here about it. When I decided I wanted to wear a kilt for my wedding, I initially drove down the 2 local shops to inquire about rentals. They were nice and all but I really wanted to wear my family tartan, which you can't rent. So I inquired about purchasing one at the shop I liked (the other one was very substandard IMO). They offer both 5 yard and 8 yard kilts, which in my case meant 6 yard or 9 yard. They were priced at $625 and $945 respectively. I was shocked and went away to scour the web. After a few weeks, discovering x-marks and all the other vendors out there I knew their prices were very high, but I was very concerned about ordering this kind of stuff online. It's for my wedding. I needed it to fit, I needed it to get here on time, and to be correct. I had some discussions with the owner there about it. He was able to move on his price a bit, and ate the sales tax. That still left it about $250 more than I could have gotten it online, which normally would not have been good enough, but because of the circumstances, that, to me, bought peace of mind, so I ordered it from them, and have since received it - early, fitting perfectly, and exactly what I asked for.

I spoke to him in length about their online competition. Much of his arguments were that he felt the quality of the online vendors were not the same. I pointed out that that can't be true because the products are coming from the same place. In the end I think the conclusion we came to was that the difference between him buying from his wholesalers and me buying online is this - a business appears to pay a higher duty than individuals do. The normal duty on any clothing imported to Canada is 18%, for them it is 22%. On top of that, they have to pay fairly expensive customs brokerage fees for each shipment - around $80-100 normally. Plus, he has a store to maintain, so his markup has to be higher .. although many of the online shops have physical shops as well.

But, when I asked him if he thought the online stores were cutting in to his business, his response was - "Are you kidding me? I can't make them fast enough". He sells hundreds of kilts a year, and tons of accessories, and makes a very handy living at it. Biggest thing for him though is he is the supplier for several pipe bands.

I think the comments above are correct - The local stores are doing just fine, because we represent a pretty small percentage of the normal population of those seeking highland merchandise. We take the time, research all the options and are willing to go to more lengths to get things for cheaper. Many people do not take that time, or think online shopping - especially overseas - is not worth the hassle. Frankly, depending on the price difference, I tend to agree. That said, I ordered my Sporran online - partially because it was a bit cheaper, and partly because I liked what I found online better. I would certainly never dream of buying another kilt from them at their prices though.