I am a frugal person, aka a New Englander. I figure, why spend money if I don’t have to? 

Does that mean I steal things? Of course not. But it means that my wife and I give a job for every dollar we earn.* We use a budgeting program to look at the value of our income and then decide that if we spend money on X, we don’t have it to spend on Y. Part of that evaluation takes into account the idea that buying local might have a higher immediate cost, but provides more value. 

With this in mind, my immediate thought when I saw the recent changes to my Amazon Prime account to include advertising with Prime Video was, “Grr, why are they chiseling me by showing ads? Isn’t that why I pay $139 annually for the service?” 

I’ve had Prime for ages. Free shipping? Easy access to goods? A warehouse supply of toilet paper during COVID delivered with a smile? Sign me up.

Why not drop Amazon Prime? 

• Do I really need the immediate gratification of next-day shipping? It doesn’t always feel like next-day arrival.
• Is it really cheaper to purchase something on Amazon? I did a little checking out of prices of items I’ve purchased in the past six months and Amazon wasn’t always the cheapest, but I don’t know if I overpaid.
• Is the purchase cost the real and only cost? The reality is the community building and social benefits of shopping locally and supporting brick and mortar – even if they are medium or big box – is the better play.
• If they don’t have the free, no questions asked returns like the good ole days, is that important?

So, I plan to document what I buy at Amazon for the next nine months. My Prime membership renews in December, and I’m going into this evaluation as a trust but verify. Trust that I don’t need the membership and then document my usage and the costs, and verify my value before renewing. I am going to do the reverse of the norm and look online and gather info/research and then look in person locally or regionally for an item. I am going to see, if I didn’t have Prime, what the shipping would be – cost and timewise. And I am going to evaluate, “Is this an impulse buy because I know I can return it if it doesn’t work out?"

We’ll see what things look like in November and then my wife and I will decide. At the same time, I’ll see if I have enough cash back on my Amazon Prime Credit Card to cover the cost of the membership. 

In the meantime, I realized I rarely watch Amazon Prime shows/movies, so why do I care if they have ads? Odds are that I won’t be watching the programming or ads either way. 

*Remember you EARN money, you don’t MAKE it (unless you work at a US Mint).

Have a great weekend,

Christopher G. Parker, AICP

Deputy City Manager: Development and Strategic Initiatives

Strafford Regional Planning Commission in Dover

James Burdin and Reid Bickley from the Office of Business Development recently took part in a panel at the Strafford Regional Planning Commission's (SRPC) February meeting at Flight Coffee in Dover. The panel, which included Margaret Joyce of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce and Ben Cole, owner of Flight Coffee, focused on strategies for community and economic development.

A key theme was the importance of relationship-building between businesses, organizations, and the community. The Office of Business Development aims to support existing businesses, welcome new ones, and integrate them into the fabric of Dover. Cultivating relationships between businesses and partners has been a huge part of making Dover the thriving and vibrant community that it is today. 

Other topics included facilitating information sharing, challenges facing businesses and communities in New Hampshire, and being flexible and creative to help businesses in various ways. The group discussed ways that other communities could apply these strategies, including ways they could be leveraged by volunteers in towns without dedicated staff.

Formed in 1971, SRPC is the planning commission for Strafford County communities including Dover. Its mission is responding to residents’ needs through cooperation, plan implementation, and providing assistance. This promotes sustainable development and quality of life across the region. 

Question of the Week

The Office of Business Development is asking a “question of the week” to get your feedback on topics related to our local business community!

This week, we want to know:

What type of dining experiences do you prefer?

Let us know here: https://polco.us/m4hpa3

Here are the results from last week's poll, which asked "What is the primary mode of transportation that you use to travel to local businesses?"

Dover Download podcast: Your guide

to what's happening this week

In the latest episode of Dover Download, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with City Manager J. Michael Joyal about the municipal budgeting process.

The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and by clicking here.

Business Event Happenings 

Looking for something in Dover? The Office of Business Development continues to update the community calendar to cover all the amazing Dover business events.

Click here or on the calendar below to find more community events!