Joined a family business that recently got sold to private equity. They have been around for 70 years and are the type that has grown with and built relationships with other local businesses. I came in 2 years ago with my own prior vendors that mostly are from overseas. Well this morning I just got a visit from one of our previous vendors and he told me a long story of how he has been working with us for over 40 years and has been friends with the family this whole time and he was wondering why he hasn’t recieved any orders recently. Well the thing is the price difference is enormous between using these local businesses and using my overseas contacts. I’m talking about a 3K for an order vs 25K. It’s not my money but regardless I still feel super guilty overspending when I know there is a FAR cheaper solution. But I also understand the “help your local economy” thing however I don’t feel like I have a strong responsibility to these guys prior relationships (I hardly know them).

Would you stick with your companies prior vendors if you knew there were vastly cheaper alternatives?