Retail space and knowlegeable sales staff cost money. It's called "overhead" and needs to be factored into a price. To get a lower price, distributors buy in bulk and reduce overhead as much as possible. Summit operates like a shipping warehouse to keep their prices low.

If you know the part you want, can wait, and are just looking for the absolute lowest price, you're probably not going to go to the neighborhood shop with retail space and knowlegeable sales staff. People like myself don't mind paying a premium for the reasons I stated before. As an example, it's why people come from all over to Performance Autosport. They aren't necessarily going there for a bolt-on or a muffler. They go there for Mark's knowledge and premium vehicles, Don's installs, and Kevin's dyno.

There are plenty of local community colleges offering beginner business courses if you are interested in learning about how to run a successful local company.