Would We Actually Make the “Ethical” Choice Ourselves?

tobuyRnot2buy on 26/05/2026 - 11:52

People criticise companies for outsourcing jobs or hiring cheaper overseas workers. But if most of us owned a business, would we really choose the more expensive local option if it meant earning less or charging more?

Same with tradies — people complain about cheap foreign labour, but when renovating or building, do most still pick the cheaper quote if the quality looks the same?

It’s similar to saying we support local businesses, then buying cheaper products online instead.

Do people really stick to “support local” when it costs more, or does price usually win?

Did you ever talk the talk but when it comes to doing it, choose the cheaper option you talked against? Be honest.

Poll Options

  • 38
    Yes I always choose local
  • 202
    Some times
  • 88
    No I look for cheaper even if it is not local
General Discussion

Comments

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  • mskeggs on 26/05/2026 - 12:04

    I think it varies. I am unlikely to support Harvey Norman over AliExpress for a HDMI cable at 10x the price, but I'll support my local fruit and veg over a big company, and would never consider a chain of tradies over a local recommendation.

    • 54
    • ihbh on 26/05/2026 - 17:02

      but I'll support my local fruit and veg over a big company

      That's a hard one for me. My local is Harris Farm. Huge range, lots of tray specials and weekly/mid-week specials and "savemes". But my local demographic is affluent so they stock a huge range of items and so much gets thrown because they only mark down by 50%.

      I probably buy from them the most because I can take advantage of so many of the specials, and they are my local, but I loathe their wastage.

      • 3
    • Danger on 29/05/2026 - 19:06

      Ditto, Avoiding HardelyNormal, ColesWorth for fresh produce and Fallon Solutions for trade work

      • 1
    • Franc-T on 28/05/2026 - 13:47

      Local does not nessecarily mean ethical. Im happy to buy from overseas if I know the workers are paid a living wage etc.

      That said its not always possible to do this (The US and China for example)

      • 0
      • bluemyself on 26/05/2026 - 12:31

        Wait, what? Can you elaborate?

        • 8
        • Jake D on 26/05/2026 - 13:09

          People are racist

          • 7
          • bluemyself on 26/05/2026 - 13:13

            @Jake D: Are many people racist though? And racist towards the people they buy their produce from? Also, I'm gonna do some stereotyping myself here, but I don't see many racists eating fresh produce.

            • 4
            • jv on 26/05/2026 - 13:28

              @bluemyself:

              Are many people racist though?

              Yes

              • 2
              • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:31

                @jv: Those athletes competing in all those running events are racers. Would they have raceristic tendencies?

                • -1
          • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:18

            @Jake D: Which people?

            • -2
            • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:20

              @tenpercent: The racist ones.

              • 3
              • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:20

                @Muppet Detector: Which ones are racist?

                • -4
                • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:21

                  @tenpercent: The racist ones.

                  • 3
                  • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:22

                    @Muppet Detector: That's tautology.

                    • -3
                    • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:23

                      @tenpercent: You can stop any time that you want if you don't like it.

                      • -1
                      • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:24

                        @Muppet Detector: That's weird.

                        • -1
                        • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:28

                          @tenpercent: Yes, yes it is. So why do you continually use it? Do you enjoy it? Otherwise why did you even bring it up? That's really weird.

                          Tautology

                          "A tautology is a statement that unnecessarily repeats the same idea using different words, essentially "saying the same thing twice". "

                          • 0
                          • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:31

                            @Muppet Detector: Oh you're having a moment.
                            Sorry, I should have been specific: you used tautology to respond to a question I asked someone else.

                            Jake D: People are racist
                            Me: Which people?
                            You: The racist ones. <— tautology
                            Me: Which ones are racist? <— repetition (of the question)
                            You: The racist ones. <— tautology

                            • -3
                            • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:33

                              @tenpercent: My words did not change. Yours did. Refer to the definition.

                              • 1
                              • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:37

                                @Muppet Detector: Your response reworded the original statement from Jake D (and failed to answer the question).

                                • -2
                                • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 13:39

                                  @tenpercent: I don't think that you understand what tautology means. I even googled the definition for you.

                                  • 0
                                  • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 13:44

                                    @Muppet Detector:

                                    The response "the racist people" to the question "Which people (are racist)?" is a tautology—specifically, a form of circular reasoning.

                                    This is because the answer restates the question without providing new information. It defines "racist people" as "the people who are racist," which is logically true but explanatorily empty. Such a statement is tautological because it is true by definition, but it fails to identify who is being referred to or what actions or beliefs qualify someone as racist.

                                    In logic and rhetoric, this is often called a tautological fallacy when used in argumentation—giving the appearance of explanation while actually offering none. As noted in the search results, tautologies like "the Bible is true because it says so" or "P is true because P is true" follow the same flawed structure.

                                    • -2
                            • jv on 26/05/2026 - 13:35

                              @tenpercent:

                              tautology

                              A tautology is a statement or formula that is always true

                              • 0
            • jv on 26/05/2026 - 13:34

              @tenpercent:

              Which people?

              Perhaps…

              • 0
            • blehgg on 28/05/2026 - 09:11

              @tenpercent: The many ones

              • 0
        • mskeggs on 26/05/2026 - 12:40

          I think the concern is Con the Fruiterer might spit in the plastic bag to open it. A contemporary concern.

          • 4
          • bluemyself on 26/05/2026 - 12:41

            @jv: I guess so. Please explain.

            • 7
            • RTX9090Ti on 27/05/2026 - 20:54

              @bluemyself: Pauline Hanson?

              • 0
              • blldzd on 26/05/2026 - 12:52

                @jv: Oh mate you really need to go outside

                • 19
              • bluemyself on 26/05/2026 - 12:55

                @jv: Your original comment said "For many people". So how do you define "lots" or "many"?

                • 4
              • donga100 on 26/05/2026 - 16:37

                @jv: Those people are a very tiny portion of the population, they just shout the loudest.

                • 4
                • jv on 26/05/2026 - 16:46

                  @donga100:

                  Those people are a very tiny portion of the population

                  There are still many, many of them…

                  • -8
              • shaibankek2 on 27/05/2026 - 09:55

                @jv: Touch grass mate

                • 2
                • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 28/05/2026 - 12:41

                  @shaibankek2: This is far beyond the normal troll or bait comments JV makes. Very surprising.

                  Sounds like they are drinking the One Neuron Kool aid.

                  • 1
      • welcomeUniverseWorld on 26/05/2026 - 14:49

        As an anonymous person here, I can say that, for a large part of my life before I got married, I avoided buying products made in one particular country. My wife used to joke about it and tease me regularly. Over time, I gradually stopped thinking about it as much.

        I do not believe I am actively against buying products from that country anymore. Also, the country is not located in the Middle East.

        I realised that I had been harbouring a negative attitude internally, and I do not want that mindset to be passed on to my son. As a result, I stopped paying attention to the country of origin labels on products.

        • 0
        • jv on 26/05/2026 - 14:55

          I stopped paying attention to the country of origin labels on products.

          That affects Australian jobs, our GDP and food security…

          • 7
          • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 16:50

            @jv: Probably good for jobs etc in country of origin though.

            • -1
      • Geoff01 on 27/05/2026 - 09:11

        There would literally be no white Australians running f&v shops, mostly Asians as they are prepared to put the work in. Aussies are predominantly lazy and want everything for nothing now.

        • -2
        • jv on 27/05/2026 - 09:16

          Asians as they are prepared to put the work in. Aussies are predominantly lazy…

          Sounds a bit racist to me…

          So these 'Asians' you are referring to are not citizens of Australia ?

          • 0
          • Geoff01 on 27/05/2026 - 09:32

            @jv: Asians signify a group of people from a certain area, Don't be one of those clowns that think everything is racist,it shows very low intelligence. I don't care whether they are citizens or PR. There cultural up bringing and work ethics puts most so called white Aussies to shame. Like I said, we are a lazy breed that think everything should be a hand out. Do a bit of travel and see the difference.

            • 0
              • Geoff01 on 27/05/2026 - 11:47

                @tenpercent: And yet another clown. There are many sections to the Australian population, Asian. Indian. British,european etc etc. Stiplufying a certain area that have better work ethics isn't racist.

                • -1
                • juki on 29/05/2026 - 08:06

                  @Geoff01: it does if you base their work ethics on their ethnicity, well it might not be racist for some reason but it certainly is "silly"
                  with the example of grocer there may be many of other factors that made the job less attractive to locals than the workload or more attractive to the migrants (ie legislation, visa requirements).

                  • 0
                  • Geoff01 on 29/05/2026 - 08:27

                    @juki: Not silly at all, certain races have a better work ethic than others, that's not racist or "silly" just a fact. Unfortunately we live in a more woke society that likes to finger point than accept reality. The second someone suggests a race or colour they are suddenly racist. Racism is treating someone unfairly or causing them harm based on their ethnicity. This is not.

                    • 0
                    • juki on 29/05/2026 - 20:40

                      @Geoff01: no its not linked to your ethnicity, your work ethic is more from your environment and the society you live in and your upbringing. in some societies if you dont work you can get benefits in others you dont, so .. you have more of a focus on working.

                      just like when i arrived in aus there werent so many young people interested in going to uni or academia, and i believe its because you can get a good job and pay being a tradie

                      also we are all part of the human race, there arent races of humans, just ethnic groups (unless its different in english because of americans and their segregation until 1960's)

                      (over the years i have worked in several different countries on different continents with different migrants and locals, all of them have lazy/hardworking people, what varies might be the social norms and obligations making things look different or coercing those people)

                      • 0
                      • Geoff01 on 29/05/2026 - 22:55

                        @juki: I think most non wokes know what I mean quite clearly without trying to make something out of nothing. Put what ever spin you want on it.Race,culture, ethnicity it's all the same. It's
                        whats wrong with our society today.

                        • 0
                        • juki on 30/05/2026 - 20:14

                          @Geoff01: well it doesnt hurt to use the correct words when expressing yourself. I'm not spinning anything but despite being on a forum it doesnt look like you are open to discussion or only as much as a crying baby that wants attention :/

                          • 0
          • Muppet Detector on 28/05/2026 - 20:47

            @jv:

            Sounds a bit racist to me…

            Which ones?

            • 0
  • boomramada on 26/05/2026 - 11:55

    This is ozb, I support value for money.

    • 42
    • tobuyRnot2buy on 26/05/2026 - 11:55

      😂

      • 1
    • El cheepo on 26/05/2026 - 22:06

      Absolutely, and anyone that says they wouldn’t take the cheaper option for the same quality or thing is lying to themselves.

      It’s one thing to say you support local, but another to fork out the cash to do it when cheaper options exist.
      Only rich folk have the money to die on that hill lol

      Thats not to say we don’t occasionally support local things, its saying overall most of us would take the cheapest option

      • 1
      • Ayanami on 27/05/2026 - 08:58

        Your first sentence was so absolute but then your final one I agree is about right. I'm not paying another $500 for an Australian made TV of comparable quality to a Chinese TV (if such an Aussie one even exists), but I'll pay $2.49 for a tin of Australian tomatoes over $0.99 for imported Italian.

        • 2
        • movieman on 27/05/2026 - 10:23

          Agree with the sentiment, but which Australian tomatoes would you get?

          I haven't found a better one than Mutti, so whilst it's great to support Australian, tinned tomatoes from Mutti are worth it.

          It's not just about cost. It's about the quality associated with the product.

          • 1
          • AnophthalmiaCervidae on 27/05/2026 - 19:33

            @movieman: Unless you are drinking it straight from the can there is very little difference in flavour or your finished dish in cooking with the cheapest compared to most expensive canned tomatoes
            https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/may/27/australian-supe…

            • 0
            • tenpercent on 27/05/2026 - 20:23

              @AnophthalmiaCervidae:

              there is very little difference in flavour

              Hard disagree with that. We usually go with Mutti or Community Co but we tried a cheaper one recently… massive difference in the flavour profile. Didn't use the full jar but ended up Chucked the rest of the jar out because we didn't want to ruin another meal.

              • 2
      • SlickMick on 27/05/2026 - 08:18

        We used to have a "Buy Australian" campaign. Surely some felt patriotic to buy Australian-made.

        I still feel that an Australian-made product is likely to be better quality than something coming from some countries.

        • 1
        • miicah on 27/05/2026 - 19:54

          I do it because it's less wasteful to ship a tub of peanut butter from NSW to QLD than from Argentina or wherever.

          • 4
          • SlickMick on 28/05/2026 - 09:03

            @miicah: I marvel at how inefficient we must be if we can't process our own peanuts and get a product to market cheaper than shipping from overseas.

            • 0
          • Silentin on 29/05/2026 - 19:10

            @miicah: The cost and greenhouse gas emissions from shipping is very small compared the product itself. Air freight is another matter.

            • 0
        • Traveller in motion on 28/05/2026 - 15:13

          Using the green and gold Australia made logo is just a money making exercise.

          Just pay them and do a 1% value add here and you can use the logo pfft

          • -1
      • scooba on 27/05/2026 - 15:26

        they wouldn’t take the cheaper option for the same quality or thing

        Now there's an oxymoron if I've ever seen one lol.

        • 0
    • skittlebrau on 28/05/2026 - 23:19

      I agree, although I’d make it clear that ‘value for money’ doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest.

      • 1
  • Make it so on 26/05/2026 - 12:18

    It's a judgement call. If the quality is there, I'll pay the premium, and am more likely to do so if it supports a local business. Especially for things that involved unique skills (artistry or traditional craft).

    But if I'm in one of those knick-knack shops and see stuff being sold which I'm confident they got from Aliexpress, then no.

    I'll pay $10 more for a reliable ISP that employs customer support staff in Australia, but I won't pay $30 more if I think I'm being taken for a ride.

    • 16
    • Checkmate3023 on 26/05/2026 - 17:11

      I'm in one of those knick-knack shops and see stuff being sold which I'm confident they got from Aliexpress, then no

      Essentially any pop up flee market in Victoria is 90% shit people brought in bulk on Aliexpress/Temu/Shein

      • 6
      • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 17:18

        Some op shops I've been to are starting to fill up with that shit now. It's not even second hand. It's brand new junk inside those crunchy plastic wrappers the Aliexpress/Temu stuff comes in.

        • 3
      • Geoff01 on 27/05/2026 - 09:14

        I'm pretty sure most multi item, tourist type shops with homewares, outdoor gimmicks etc are all sourced from China. And why not it's cheaper and probably just as good.

        • 0
        • Checkmate3023 on 27/05/2026 - 10:31

          I'm pretty sure most multi item, tourist type shops with homewares, outdoor gimmicks etc are all sourced from China. And why not it's cheaper and probably just as good.

          sourced from China as in they have a factory that manufactures their products designed and engineered to be quality generally speaking outside of China is different to buying shit from Aliexpress/Temu etc

          • 1
          • HeavenlyHammocks on 28/05/2026 - 22:59

            @Checkmate3023: Even that is difficult for a small market like Australia.

            China will take your design, produce 100x as many as you requested (for half the cost or less), sell it in US and eventually AU too.

            • 0
            • Checkmate3023 on 28/05/2026 - 23:14

              @HeavenlyHammocks: Retail is difficult for the sheer fact the barrier to entry is low

              Anyone can open a shop and sell shit for a margin

              The question is can you sell shit better the Amazon, K-Mart etc

              99% of the time the answer is 'No'

              The 1% is usually when you have a skill you are selling that niches you're product ie foods from a skilled chef of cultural background

              Or handmade toys or clothing etc

              Australia is probably the hardest nation in the OECD to run a business most businesses without some form of government support fail

              In Australia and it will only get worse with the government we have now.

              The reason so many people invested jn property is simply because starting a business was just to freaken hard

              • 0
  • Jolakot on 26/05/2026 - 12:36

    It's worth paying more if you care about the outcome.

    I know a guy who outsourced his personal assistant to the Philippines, a few months later his entire client list and data was sold to a bunch of call centres and scammers.

    He worked this out because a client he knew personally never paid a large invoice. The client insisted they did, sent him payment confirmation details and the invoice, it wasn't his bank details… had his signature and full personal details on it and everything, scary stuff.

    The money was long gone by then, the personal assistant played dumb until wiping themselves and the business off the face of the earth, went to police but what are they going to do with no one to arrest.

    You see all these large companies having data leak after data leak from outsourced call centres, surely the reputational damage costs more than you'd ever save.

    I work as a software engineer, I've spent a lot of time fixing crappy outsourced projects, you'd be surprised at how many times we have to just completely toss a project that's been in development for months and start from scratch because it's just garbage. You talk with their 'senior engineer' for handover and it's a 22 year old with less than a year's experience in the tech stack.

    It's like working with a genie, if something isn't explicitly mentioned as a requirement and fully fleshed out, then you won't get what you want. If you personally can't verify the quality and safety of the work, then it's a stupid risk to take as a business.

    • 13
    • Make it so on 26/05/2026 - 17:53

      I agree - outsourcing of technology usually ends up in disaster, and you get what you pay for. But so many people believe they will get rich by outsourcing work that would cost 5 times as much to do locally - except the outsourced results are often garbage if it requires specialist expertise.

      • 1
      • tubeidea on 26/05/2026 - 20:39

        I used to know a guy who hired a bunch of Indians because he thought he could get away with paying them less, turns out he was mistaken. WFH wasn't an option for that kind of job, though, all the Indians were immigrants to Australia.

        • 1
        • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 22:05

          I know of a school that hired a couple of fresh off the boat "mutual recognition qualified" teachers in the past 18 months. Reports from teachers and pupils are that they are far worse than fresh faced uni students doing their first prac.

          • 1
          • Make it so on 27/05/2026 - 09:05

            @tenpercent: It's not a criticism, but for various reasons our education system / learning methodology works entirely differently from that of other countries, which affects those through it and the teachers. You can't take a teacher from another country and expect them to relate and fit in.

            • 0
  • monky on 26/05/2026 - 14:18

    Hey OP not for nothing but you're implying that it's natural to choose exploitation when you're a business owner; whereas I see it as a systematic feature of Capitalism in general, not just the choice of the individual.

    Without establishing an ethical framework and lens to view the question through, you basically guarantee the answer will be an entirely unproductive, "Some times"…

    Maybe something to think about before cramming your political opinions into a purity test poll on OzBargain…

    • 7
    • tobuyRnot2buy on 26/05/2026 - 15:00

      May be shouldn’t have put the poll. I had a thought and wanted other’s opinion about the same. No political agenda.

      • 0
      • monky on 26/05/2026 - 16:08

        You're right, my sincere apologies: it was wrong of me to assume you're a part of the same group of neolibs that vaguepost culture-war nonsense on here.

        • 3
  • DingoBilly on 26/05/2026 - 14:37

    Of course people don't. People are cheap and full of shit. They love harping on how businesses are awful and just after profit and how bad Australia is.

    Then they go on Temu to buy their shitty $1 items and complain about the quality. Even with more expensive things - I'm looking at houses and people will renovate with the cheapest budget shit they possibly can.

    Price drives everything at end of day and people often only think short term about $$$, not long term.

    • 6
  • BuddhaBoy on 27/05/2026 - 11:48

    This is OzBargain bud! People here will:
    - use AliExpress instead of local retailers
    - stack cashback + coupons + discounted gift cards
    - churn providers every 6 months for signup deals
    - drive across suburbs to save on petrol.

    As a consumer we optimise for value literally every day.
    So it’s funny watching people act shocked when businesses optimise costs too.
    Reality is most people support 'local' right up until the quote is 40% higher.

    • 5
    • trapper on 27/05/2026 - 12:38

      Yeah none of this is unethical at all.

      Optimising for value is the entire foundation of our economic system.

      • 3
  • ForkSnorter on 26/05/2026 - 13:42

    I live in that ambiguous green leafy area between a major city and the countryside. On the verge of being regional, but still get free shipping from Amazon, yay.

    Anyway, it's much more relaxing to drive inland to the quiet country towns on the weekend than into the busy suburbs.

    So we end up buying a lot of locally grown food, locally cooked food, locally made goods, locally sold 2nd hand goods, and locally grown plants/trees for the garden.

    Don't think it costs us any extra, in fact might end up being cheaper than the alternative overall.

    This is a win-win situation, as there is something special about getting locally produced goods, including the buying process where you chat to the people who made it or distributed it.

    • 4
  • Jackson on 26/05/2026 - 23:19

    I have always had at least a passing interest in where things come from. I buy Aussie food over anything from overseas where possible, as long as it's not cost prohibitive. I am not that rich that I can spend unlimited money so our country can maintain a unfeasible production of non-essential goods, e.g. Holdens

    As I have gotten older though, I have realised that the countries I was often told to support were actually worse than the ones I was told to avoid by many people

    Recently I have been taking the boycott of Israeli products more seriously, and while it's surprising how many companies are complicit in supporting the genocidal regime of Israel, and I have had to give up way more items than I thought I would, even quote a few staple brands, it's actually been pretty easy. There's almost always an alternative, I often save money by changing, sometimes when I can't it means I am eating healthier, and there's even an app that scans products, lets me know if something is on the list and why, and has links to why so I can see for myself what the issues is from other sources. I can easily see myself keeping this up until Palestine is liberated or hell freezes over

    • 4
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