Tire shop tires vs.Wal-mart tires.

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A local tire shop in the area has a commercial on a local AM radio talk show.They claim that the tires they sell are of better quality than the tires you can get from WalMart or Sam's.They claim the Walmarts and other like stores sell tires that are not up to snuff compared to this local tire shop.I'm assuming this means a tire that is identical in size,brand,tread pattern or whatever is different if you buy from a Costco.
 
If he was referring to the house tires like the Goodyear Viva. They carry tires that tire stores sell too and I would think those are exactly the same.
 
Check the part numbers on the walmart tires and compare them to a tire shop. They will be different! You can check the part/item # on the web sites. My local tire shop showed me this using his catalog. He pointed out the walmart only tires.
 
Many times Walmart, Sam's even Costco get brand name tires with a name/model unique to them. This allows a discount to be had without dinging a retailer.

On name brand models, the mfg risks it's reputation if they put out a lower quality product with the same nationally known model name just for Walmart. It could happen but IMO doubtful.

The government ratings are listed on the tires so that cannot be fudged.

Could they be "cheaper" versions? Again, I guess anything is possible, but Walmart is so huge many times they get their own number. I recall even some big name oil company had a different number for Walmart sold oil...even though it was the same bottle and oil.
 
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
Many times Walmart, Sam's even Costco get brand name tires with a name/model unique to them. This allows a discount to be had without dinging a retailer.

On name brand models, the mfg risks it's reputation if they put out a lower quality product with the same nationally known model name just for Walmart. It could happen but IMO doubtful.

The government ratings are listed on the tires so that cannot be fudged.

Could they be "cheaper" versions? Again, I guess anything is possible, but Walmart is so huge many times they get their own number. I recall even some big name oil company had a different number for Walmart sold oil...even though it was the same bottle and oil.


Exactly right, well said.

Unless a mfr is selling a fairly complex item to Walmart in very high volumes, it doesn't make sense to develop a "cheaper" or "cut rate" version of the same product you sell to everyone else. The amount of money spent developing, producing, and distributing the cheapened version may not offset the increase in sales volume.

Many mfr's will produce a private label product for Walmart to protect the profit margins of their smaller dealers while giving Walmart their own unique product to sell. This works for everyone and is less expensive to implement.
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Here are the specs for Goodyear Tripletreds Tirerack & Walmart . They look the same to me.


Is there are Virgin Tire Analysis on Tripletreads? That would put the issue to rest.
 
Some are some aren't. Why is this difficult.

Tires like the Viva you can only get at WalMart.

Tires like the Michelin X radial LT are the same as Michelin LTX's, but with a brand unique to Sams and Costco.

And tires like the TripleTreads will be the same everywhere.

So everyones right, at least some of the time!
 
Remember, Wal-Mart doesn't have to rely souly on "cut-rate" products to make a profit. They have the economy of scale to their advantage. If you're a manufacturer, you can afford to make say $1 profit on an item if you're going to sell Wal-Mart a million of them verses selling, say, only a hundred or so to another, smaller retailer.

Personally, I've found them to be decently competative in tire price with Tire Rack. But since I use a shop that charges a very small fee for monting/balancing, tire rack always gets my business.
 
As with many marketing claims, this one has many holes.

First off, as mentioned before, if you verify part numbers at various retailers, you literally get the exact same part number whether you buy at Walmart or some other retailer. Whether that's a Goodyear Assurance or a Michelin Symmetry, etc.

Secondly, and also as noted above, larger retailers like Walmart, Sam's Club, Sears, etc have contracts with major tire manufacturers for retailer-specific models. The Goodyear Viva is sold only at Walmart (though its based on the Goodyear Regatta). The Goodyear Assurance Touring is sold only at Sam's Club, though it's based upon the Goodyear Assurance. The Michelin WeatherWise II is sold only at Sears, though it's based on the Michelin Harmony. If the claim is correct, and that's usually that mass market retailers get "seconds" or "blems", then where do the "firsts" go? If Michelin is only sending the "blem" WWIIs to Sears, then where are the "firsts" going? In the garbage? LOL

Lastly, sometimes these mass market versions actually OUTperform other general market tires. Case in point: the Michelin X Radial, like the WeatherWise II, is based on the Michelin Harmony. Back in 2005, Consumer Reports actually liked the X Radial the best of all the Michelin tires they tested; it performed better in many of the objective measurements. So once again, if these tires are of second quality somehow, it doesn't always show in measured testing.
 
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
"The tire shop can get you Michelin Pilots, while Wal-Mart cannot!"

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9720392

Although the price looks to be higher than Tire Rack


Dang, I should have said Pilot Sports! Although you may be able to still order those if Onmo is correct. I know high-end tires are available from Costco, but they were a little cheaper at my usual tire shop when I priced them out.

I'm surprised that Wal-Mart has so many high-end tires available down there. The Canadian website has nothing but Kingstars, and I've never seen any high-end tires in the stores here, but maybe you can order them here too.
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