Apparently, nothing is sacred anymore...

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: jcwit
...and no one else even comes close to their pricing on a day to day basis.


this is THE biggest myth and everyone believes it. my wife is a master at saving money at the grocery store, watching sales and couponing, and she will NOT shop at WM. many grocery stores can beat their pricing on many items. the section of WM groceries suffers also because they will only stock the #1 and #2 of an item; if it doesn't sell well, off the shelf it goes. so now, WM is taking away our freedom of choice by dictating what will even be available to us to purchase!
I've heard people express this; someone will say I can't find it, and when you ask them where they went, they say WM didn't have it.
WM has the advantage of being so ubiquitous that people just assume the pricing is always the best, so they just figure 'eh, get it at wal mart'. the sheep are SO accustomed to it that even when something they know is more expensive than somewhere else, they will still buy it at WM because they are already there.


Can your wife do your complete household budget on less than $1200 a month, every month? This is everything except pleasure monies?


If it wasn't for Wal-Mart I couldn't.

Well I guess you can spend some time looking for the best deals using the internet. I think for consumables walmart is not a bad store but I think for "durable" goods its not a great deal.
If you're going to get junk you might as well get half decent used items if there's such a store available nearby. My Mom volunteers at a clothes re-use store and I'm not too proud to wear the odd nice shirt she brings home, or baby clothes for my kid. Wash it twice and its good to go. We have saved 100's or 1000's of dollars on kids clothes just using hand me downs.

 

[jcwit]

I have to admit that Goodwill has very good buys when it comes to calusal clothing.

 

[kb01]

Originally Posted By: mpvue

this is THE biggest myth and everyone believes it. my wife is a master at saving money at the grocery store, watching sales and couponing, and she will NOT shop at WM.


That really depends on where you live. We don't have any competition in grocery stores where I live. In town, you have the ghetto Kroger or the extremely ghetto Kroger. As sad as it is, the only place with even reasonable produce or meat is Walmart. It appears that Kroger simply sends their seconds to the city stores, while charging significantly more.

I'm not a big fan of Walmart, mostly because it's so unpleasant and it requires a car to get there. But their prices and selection are pretty decent around here.

 

[Blaze]

Originally Posted By: jcwit
I have to admit that Goodwill has very good buys when it comes to calusal clothing.
You can get some good buys at the right time. Found a pair of close to new Sorrels (winter boots) size 13 for $15. My wife found a like new goose down Edie Bauer coat for $5.00. We buy 90% of our clothes there.

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: calvin1

Does anyone else remember the big Made in America push Walmart made back in the 90's? The even had big posters hanging from the rafters of smiling, shiny factory workers. I remember one specifically was Zebco but they had many more. Talk about a 180!


I remember it well. It coincided with the arrival of Walmart here in the Chicago area, so it was either very late in the 80s or early 90s. One of the Chicago papers did an article about it in the business section. To paraphrase the Walmart guy they interviewed: "Just because we prefer to buy American, doesn't mean the manufacturer is going to get the business no matter what. They still need to provide a product which meets our price point".

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: jcwit


Further more if Wal-Mart really wanted slave labor conditions they would be getting their merchandise made in Africa and not china.

Regarding the comment about bad service and low prices, there are times where value comes into play also. But what do I know as I only spent over half of my working career as a procurement officer or as they were called then Purchasing Agent.

if you were a purchasing agent then you should know that nothing is made in Africa. WM doesn't 'want' slave labor; they just want the lowest cost, and NO ONE can compete w/ China because they have everything set up already. no matter what it is you want, they have the factories ready to go, the infrastructure in place, the will and the means to get it done.
no one does business in Africa because they have none of those things, plus most countries are in a constant state of civil unrest.
ironically, China is investing heavily in Africa, but they aren't afraid to crush rebellions as necessary.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: jcwit
...and no one else even comes close to their pricing on a day to day basis.


this is THE biggest myth and everyone believes it. my wife is a master at saving money at the grocery store, watching sales and couponing, and she will NOT shop at WM. many grocery stores can beat their pricing on many items. the section of WM groceries suffers also because they will only stock the #1 and #2 of an item; if it doesn't sell well, off the shelf it goes. so now, WM is taking away our freedom of choice by dictating what will even be available to us to purchase!
I've heard people express this; someone will say I can't find it, and when you ask them where they went, they say WM didn't have it.
WM has the advantage of being so ubiquitous that people just assume the pricing is always the best, so they just figure 'eh, get it at wal mart'. the sheep are SO accustomed to it that even when something they know is more expensive than somewhere else, they will still buy it at WM because they are already there.


Can your wife do your complete household budget on less than $1200 a month, every month? This is everything except pleasure monies?


If it wasn't for Wal-Mart I couldn't.



Pricing depends on the area down to the neighborhood, according to one of my friend who works for Safeway's pricing department.

Your household budget also depends on the area and lifestyle as well. Here you can't even pay rent with $1200 a month, but with creative shopping a household of 2 we manage only $300 / month on groceries, and no Walmart.

mpvue is right that Walmart is not cheap on all items because they do not run sales or loss leader much, when Safeway always have pasta for $1 / lb and sauce for $2 / jar, Target has milk for $2.69 a gallon, and cereals are frequently $2 / 12 oz box, yet Walmart are always more expensive on these items instead of having loss leaders on them. For those once in a while items, I can usually find cheaper price on amazon, craigslist (used), ebay, etc.

After O'Reilly bought Kragen, Walmart is the cheapest in oil and their battery price is indeed unbeatable.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: AcuraTech
Originally Posted By: jcwit
With all the hatred towards Wal-Mart they still stay on top being the largest retailer here in the U.S.A. and no one else even comes close to their pricing on a day to day basis.


The defining concept of Wal-Mart and globalism as a whole is predicated on a number of factors. Namely cheap petroleum, slave labor working conditions, and disregard for environmental regulations where the products are made. If you think that a business model can be sustained long term on the above factors, it can't.

People seem to enjoy $5 waffle makers and nearly causing riots trying to procure them. (See: Black Friday 2011) But reality has mandates of it's own, namely that the "Everyday Low Prices" will ultimately end up being shown as a farce.

"The sorrow of poor services remains long after the joy of low price has been forgotten"


Please note my previous post, here it is,



How very well I know this, all to well. But being a 100% disabled vet and at the age of 68 just where do you suggest I attempt to save the monies I receive monthly?

I'm open to suggestions. If not for Wal-Mart my living conditions would be far worse than they are now.

If you have a solution to this conundrum let us know, time is getting shorter by the day.



Further more if Wal-Mart really wanted slave labor conditions they would be getting their merchandise made in Africa and not china.

Regarding the comment about bad service and low prices, there are times where value comes into play also. But what do I know as I only spent over half of my working career as a procurement officer or as they were called then Purchasing Agent.


I think it is a fallacy that Walmart is improving your living conditions with lower prices. You don't have Meijers in northern Indiana? They run sales every week and are very competitive if not cheaper than Walmart. And not just groceries Meijer sells everything Wlmart sells or more and I haven't noticed Walamrt being cheaper overall on anything. Then there's Target and Aldis grocery if you have one near you. Aldis is really cheap but I don't shop there.

 

[jcwit]

All depends on how one shops and if they take advantage of the sales and closeout items.

Pair of Brahma leather insulated boots, on closeout at Walmart $7.50 and yes they are leather.

Doscount grocery where I shop,
Large box of Kellog's Rice Crispys $1.29
1 lb. roll of Bob Evans breakfast sausage $ .99
Mrs. Smith's x-tra large pies Apple Crumb & Cherry $1.99
All beef name brand Hot Dogs $ .99
Milk 2 for $5.00
Eggs $ .50 a doz.
Cheese normally less than $2.00 a lb, sometimes as low as $1.00

Non of the above are sale items and non is outdated.

This is just a sampling, our monthly grocery bill runs less than $150.00 a month.


Regarding factories in china versus Africa, it wasn't that long ago that china had no factories either, and many of our companies built the factories there as they could in Africa.

 

[jcwit]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Originally Posted By: jcwit
[quote=AcuraTech


I think it is a fallacy that Walmart is improving your living conditions with lower prices. You don't have Meijers in northern Indiana? They run sales every week and are very competitive if not cheaper than Walmart. And not just groceries Meijer sells everything Wlmart sells or more and I haven't noticed Walamrt being cheaper overall on anything. Then there's Target and Aldis grocery if you have one near you. Aldis is really cheap but I don't shop there.


IMO and I've sure tried Aldis food is'nt fit to eat.

Meijer's pricing is a joke here in No. IN

Target will NEVER get any of my monies, they refuse to support the Boy/Girl Scouts and will not even allow the Salavation Army bell ringers at their doors during Christmas season.

Believe me I know all about shopping for price after being a Purchasing Agent for the Largest "at the time" RV manufacturer and starting and owning my own successful business for 20 years till retirement at age 58.

 

[91344George]

Wow it seems that my reply to jcwit was deleted from this thread....I guess China must be paying off BITOG to censor less than flattering posts about them? Fascinating!

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
Wow it seems that my reply to jcwit was deleted from this thread....I guess China must be paying off BITOG to censor less than flattering posts about them? Fascinating!

Like this one that IS above in this thread?

Wow it seems you owe some folks an apology... And stop with the mindset that you posted above.

Or it will be fascinating that you can post here anymore.

We don't take kindly to FALSE accusations.

Bill

 

[91344George]

Bill,

I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I was just using sarcastic humor it was not meant to be taken in a malicious way.
I'm a member of many forums and have probably posting something similar before like this on other forums and never had a problem .

George.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: wtd
I seriously doubt it is Walmart's fault that these thermoses are now made in China. The Stanley and Thermos brand thermoses that I bought new back in the 90's came from Walmart. These thermos companies are just doing what pretty much every other company in this country has done and went to where their product can be made for a cheaper price. It is all about the profit these days, not about quality.


And if your profit is now 1%, and you either have to deliver tomorrow, or leave the shelves, undercutting your own product in other outlets...you go to China.

www.kosmosbusiness.com/UserFiles/File/Books/CaseStudy2.pdf

Interesting part on U.S. made bicycles.