Check your local Wal-Mart !

[ARMY_Guy]

Can't do it. I hate WalMart. China-Mart is a better name for that dump - Plus, yes BITOG, most of the stuff we buy can be found at Pro-America outfits for nearly the same price anyway. I spent $8.99 on an oil wrench that was stamped Made in America vs. the $2.99 made in China wrench the other day specificaly to make a point. Nothing special, but every bit helps. Charge me $3 more for a jug of oil somewhere else anyday. -A

 

[greenaccord02]

Got a 5qt. bottle of torquepower for $11 and a single for $2.50

 

[hal]

i despise walmart. i only go there if i can't find something elsewhere. what walmart is doing to the country and probably the world is terrible and they should not be supported if at all possible. there have been a couple times where i have caved on oil bargains at walmart, but 99% of the time i don't mind spending $1-2 more for oil at a parts store.

 

[firemachine69]

That's nice. One less person in front of me in the line-up.

 

[MBCLK]

 Originally Posted By: hal

i despise walmart. i only go there if i can't find something elsewhere. what walmart is doing to the country and probably the world is terrible and they should not be supported if at all possible. there have been a couple times where i have caved on oil bargains at walmart, but 99% of the time i don't mind spending $1-2 more for oil at a parts store.

i agree with u on this. the business concept of walmarts and costcos started a long time ago when these "super discount" stores opened. when these walmarts and costcos opened a long time ago...they really took over the market by offering products at very huge discounts. what did this do? well, the mom and pop stores closed. they eliminated the competition. so now that the walmarts and costcos control the market they can now boost their prices because you have no other choice but to shop at walmarts or costcos. a long time ago..walmarts and costcos didnt have groceries. now u can grocery shop at walmarts and costcos. i do admit that i do shop at walmart. but i only go there for motor oil. i do shop at costco as well. but i only go there when i need something in bulk. it's cheap now but in the long run it will cost more. when prices start to creep up..you only have yourself to blame. just my thoughts...

 

[greenaccord02]

 Originally Posted By: firemachine69

That's nice. One less person in front of me in the line-up.

+1

 

[Scuderia]

All I know is that when I go to Wal-Mart I see a lot of people with jobs, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. Funny how I don't see the same proportion of workers in other stores. Why don't you try making your argument of how Wal-Mart is bad to the single mom, with 3 kids struggling to make the rent, greeting you at the door next time. Let's see how that goes. Tell her to quit because mom and pop need her money more. Oh the Walmart in my town is right next to a Lowes, that's next to a Subway, that's next to some small clothing stores, that are next to a Staples, that is across from a Gamestop, that's a few blocks away from a Target, that's next to a Food4Less, etc. and all of these stores always seem to have good clientele. It's a feaking PITA to get into the parking lot without running over some stupid teenager talking on the phone holding a bunch of bags.

 

[MBCLK]

 Originally Posted By: Scuderia

All I know is that when I go to Wal-Mart I see a lot of people with jobs, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. Funny how I don't see the same proportion of workers in other stores. Why don't you try making your argument of how Wal-Mart is bad to the single mom, with 3 kids struggling to make the rent, greeting you at the door next time. Let's see how that goes. Tell her to quit because mom and pop need her money more. Oh the Walmart in my town is right next to a Lowes, that's next to a Subway, that's next to some small clothing stores, that are next to a Staples, that is across from a Gamestop, that's a few blocks away from a Target, that's next to a Food4Less, etc. and all of these stores always seem to have good clientele. It's a feaking PITA to get into the parking lot without running over some stupid teenager talking on the phone holding a bunch of bags.

well, the mom with the 3 kids is the "mom" i was talking about and the senior citizen is the "pop". they closed their "mom and pop stores" so now they work at walmart.

 

[daman]

 Originally Posted By: firemachine69

That's nice. One less person in front of me in the line-up.

LMAO!!!!!!

 

[bretfraz]

 Originally Posted By: MBCLK

 Originally Posted By: Scuderia

All I know is that when I go to Wal-Mart I see a lot of people with jobs, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. Funny how I don't see the same proportion of workers in other stores. Why don't you try making your argument of how Wal-Mart is bad to the single mom, with 3 kids struggling to make the rent, greeting you at the door next time. Let's see how that goes. Tell her to quit because mom and pop need her money more. Oh the Walmart in my town is right next to a Lowes, that's next to a Subway, that's next to some small clothing stores, that are next to a Staples, that is across from a Gamestop, that's a few blocks away from a Target, that's next to a Food4Less, etc. and all of these stores always seem to have good clientele. It's a feaking PITA to get into the parking lot without running over some stupid teenager talking on the phone holding a bunch of bags.

well, the mom with the 3 kids is the "mom" i was talking about and the senior citizen is the "pop". they closed their "mom and pop stores" so now they work at walmart.

The difference is your neighborhood "mom & pop" store could only employ a handful of people, and maybe only one or two single moms with 3 kids. The modern Walmart employs 200+ people, so a lot single moms and senior citizens can have jobs. And its not like the old family store was paying great wages and benefits, or providing career growth opportunities.

 

[MBCLK]

 Originally Posted By: bretfraz

 Originally Posted By: MBCLK

 Originally Posted By: Scuderia

All I know is that when I go to Wal-Mart I see a lot of people with jobs, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. Funny how I don't see the same proportion of workers in other stores. Why don't you try making your argument of how Wal-Mart is bad to the single mom, with 3 kids struggling to make the rent, greeting you at the door next time. Let's see how that goes. Tell her to quit because mom and pop need her money more. Oh the Walmart in my town is right next to a Lowes, that's next to a Subway, that's next to some small clothing stores, that are next to a Staples, that is across from a Gamestop, that's a few blocks away from a Target, that's next to a Food4Less, etc. and all of these stores always seem to have good clientele. It's a feaking PITA to get into the parking lot without running over some stupid teenager talking on the phone holding a bunch of bags.

well, the mom with the 3 kids is the "mom" i was talking about and the senior citizen is the "pop". they closed their "mom and pop stores" so now they work at walmart.

The difference is your neighborhood "mom & pop" store could only employ a handful of people, and maybe only one or two single moms with 3 kids. The modern Walmart employs 200+ people, so a lot single moms and senior citizens can have jobs. And its not like the old family store was paying great wages and benefits, or providing career growth opportunities.

ur thinking only one level deep...think of the effect on a more wider scale..think of how products are moved...how distributors and suppliers are affected..how the wholesale market is affected....how it affects manufacturer's prices...walmart and costcos can control all of this when there are no other businesses in the economy etc...also how this affects foreign trade...labor unions....it will also affect wages since there are no other competitors to offer the same salary level...walmart says, "let's just pay that senior citizen $5/hour. we can do that cuz he has no choice but to work here" etc etc etc

 

[Nickdfresh]

 Originally Posted By: greenaccord02

Got a 5qt. bottle of torquepower for $11 and a single for $2.50

These "bargains" are very sporadic at best. QS synthetic is back up to $20.50 here and I can get Torquepower for the great "clearance price" of $4.50 a qt. (but only in 10W-40)... As for the thread in general: Running around to Wal-Marts to check bargain bins is a bit silly, as your just using up gas and wasting time hoping to get lucky and save a few bucks...I'd rather fill out a rebate form than do that... And yes, there legitimate questions re. Wal-Mart, and yes I still buy (small) stuff there. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

 

[bretfraz]

 Originally Posted By: MBCLK

 Originally Posted By: bretfraz

 Originally Posted By: MBCLK

 Originally Posted By: Scuderia

All I know is that when I go to Wal-Mart I see a lot of people with jobs, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. Funny how I don't see the same proportion of workers in other stores. Why don't you try making your argument of how Wal-Mart is bad to the single mom, with 3 kids struggling to make the rent, greeting you at the door next time. Let's see how that goes. Tell her to quit because mom and pop need her money more. Oh the Walmart in my town is right next to a Lowes, that's next to a Subway, that's next to some small clothing stores, that are next to a Staples, that is across from a Gamestop, that's a few blocks away from a Target, that's next to a Food4Less, etc. and all of these stores always seem to have good clientele. It's a feaking PITA to get into the parking lot without running over some stupid teenager talking on the phone holding a bunch of bags.

well, the mom with the 3 kids is the "mom" i was talking about and the senior citizen is the "pop". they closed their "mom and pop stores" so now they work at walmart.

The difference is your neighborhood "mom & pop" store could only employ a handful of people, and maybe only one or two single moms with 3 kids. The modern Walmart employs 200+ people, so a lot single moms and senior citizens can have jobs. And its not like the old family store was paying great wages and benefits, or providing career growth opportunities.

ur thinking only one level deep...think of the effect on a more wider scale..think of how products are moved...how distributors and suppliers are affected..how the wholesale market is affected....how it affects manufacturer's prices...walmart and costcos can control all of this when there are no other businesses in the economy etc...also how this affects foreign trade...labor unions....it will also affect wages since there are no other competitors to offer the same salary level...walmart says, "let's just pay that senior citizen $5/hour. we can do that cuz he has no choice but to work here" etc etc etc

This is the wrong thread to discuss this, but let me say before I depart this discussion, I have a great understanding of how mass retail affects markets. As someone who worked in the electronics biz and sold to Walmart, Costco, Price Club (remember them?), Fedco (you're from So Cal, remember THEM?), regional, national and international distributors, along with local and regional retailers, I feel I have a pretty decent grasp of how big retailers affect business. As of today, I see no proof of your assertion that mass retail is driving UP prices. Your points so far are 100% hypothetical. Provide some tangible proof and we can discuss. I recommend starting a new thread in the Off Topic forum, not here.

 

[Spector]

Local WM has MaXLife 5 quart jug for $14.00. Not as good as pep boys but then no rebate to wait 6 months for.

 

[ViragoBry]

M1 dropped to $22 here, finally. Waiting patiently for PP to drop to $18.

 

[firemachine69]

Seriously though folks, I actively encourage shopping at Wal-Mart. Fact: We are not all Bill Gates, or have his checking account. We want to save. Wal-Mart will always be number one at this, because they aim for a gross margin of twelve percent. I support small retailers in a niche market (say, firearms). Wal-Mart can NOT do the gun thing up here in Canada. The only thing they sell is two or three cans of cleaners and gun blue, and a poor selection of ammo (albeit cheap). I buy my coffee, once again, from a LOCAL retailer, because Wal-Mart bluntly states how it's not cost-effective (within their margin ratio) to sell all the varieties I get from my local "Old Rock" coffee shop. So unlike other retailers who beat themselves into a submissive failure (K-Mart/Zellers), they KNOW they can't do it, and actively support that very local retailer! It's called "getting with the times." Mom and pop should have clued in by now that bulk sales are no longer profitable in a small retail environment. You guys love bashing the dinosaur that GM has become, yet cry wolf when mom and pop charge five dollars for toilet paper, while Wal-Mart sells it for three? Seriously, that's some pretty pathetic hypocrisy.

 

[wannafbody]

Volume dictates price-period. Low volume must be made up with a higher margin. WM and Costco can only survive on high volume and fast turnover. Smaller retailers even when buying direct can't compare to WM's buying power so there markup must be higher. It seems you might not have a grasp of simple marketing and accounting and convenience basics.

 

[TWINRAY]

Maybe you haven't but I've been screwed over by local merchants for many years before other places (like Wal Mart and the internet) became available to buy stuff. Yes, if I'd had a local Mom and Pop store that took care of me, I'd probably support them - but I don't. A prime example - we had a small drug store in our town and there was talk (for years) about CVS coming in. A friend of mine bought some sort of a surgical bandage/cast that didn't work out as advertised and the local merchant refused to take it back. Other times at 9am they never had the store opened up. CVS finally came into town and the Drug store eventially closed. Whose fault was it? It was their own fault for not servicing the customer when they were the only game in town.

 

[firemachine69]

 Originally Posted By: wannafbody

Volume dictates price-period. Low volume must be made up with a higher margin. WM and Costco can only survive on high volume and fast turnover. Smaller retailers even when buying direct can't compare to WM's buying power so there markup must be higher. It seems you might not have a grasp of simple marketing and accounting and convenience basics.

I just explained it above, I even gave you the magical number for Wal-Mart (which you'll rarely get to hear, ever). I even went on to explain how Wal-Mart actively avoids certain markets because they cannot sell the volume required.

 

[dishdude]

I won't shop at Wal-mart because the stores are messy, the lines are backed up 40-50 feet deep and the savings isn't worth is. I find items for less at Target or AAP. I walk in a Wal-mart and I feel like I am in a flea market, then work my way to the checkout that feels like a welfare line.