i'm not a robot or venture capitalist, so i'm not sure why i need to exclude empathy from my decision-making process.

but, from a purely selfish standpoint: i get way better customer service, i can do trades, i can barter, i get to meet and talk with people, i can see the product before i buy it (no surprise knock-offs, etc.), my money mostly stays local, i find interesting work opportunities and sometimes referrals