Walmart/Amazon selling lesser quality tires under same listing?

Can you buy 2ND's or blems in tires anymore ? , I know years ago you could . They were clearly stamped as such too.

Yes, they are still available. For example:
 
The rumor in the IC world was that MILSPEC and civilian chips came off the same line. The only difference was the MILSPEC chips were tested to meet the spec and then labeled accordingly if they passed.
Intel publicly acknowledged doing a similar thing with their CPUs (many, many years ago). This is the simplified version but basically when they produced a CPU, they tested it extensively to determine what Ghz to sell it as. Some ended up as 3.6 Ghz, others 3.2 Ghz, others 2.8 Ghz, and so on. Apparently this is just a side-effect of chip production. 🤷‍♂️
 
Intel publicly acknowledged doing a similar thing with their CPUs (many, many years ago). This is the simplified version but basically when they produced a CPU, they tested it extensively to determine what Ghz to sell it as. Some ended up as 3.6 Ghz, others 3.2 Ghz, others 2.8 Ghz, and so on. Apparently this is just a side-effect of chip production. 🤷‍♂️
I'm not so sure why those processors were so wide in frequency rating. But the manufacturing of the wafer is both really precise (small lithography) and not all that precise. 20% tolerances is not unheard of on components that are fabricated in the silicon (depends on what is being made). I'm guessing, small shifts in doping levels would cause transistors to switch slower and/or drive lines slower, causing the issues.

Perfect case of having multiple output bins after testing. Multiple good bins, same wafer, same sort of assembly, but different p/n's being sold as a result.
 
Many of Walmart's items are of lower quality than the "same" thing bought elsewhere, but not automotive/tires because of the safety issues with inferior tires and auto parts, and everybody wants to sue Walmart.

Walmart does have exclusive tires such as Goodyear's Viva line and the General Exclaim, in addition to private label Douglas tires (made by Goodyear), but other than that, their name-brand tires are the same as the name-brand sold anywhere else. Also, Douglas tires are among the better cheap tires out there and mostly US-made.

Agree. My understanding is that the low price tires are often prior-gen technology. Nothing wrong with it, just not the latest stuff.

Other store brand stuff can be equivalent quality generic, or much poorer.... rare to find something much better, though in some cases one might like the generic more...
 
I know I'd get the, he's trying to sell his stuff over walmart quotes lol...I simply asked the guy what brand trailer tire he recommended. There is only a few brands most use that put a lot of miles on trailer, or if he would recommend put LT tires on. I was wondering what he recommended as he travels hundreds of miles weekly for racing. His store's are in a different state than where I live, so he knew I wasn't buying from him. He said brand x and 8ply was overall best value. I mentioned I had saw something like that on Walmart and I'd prolly get them there for the warranty issue, didn't even mention cost. And that's when he mentioned be careful brand x builds some tires of lesser quality for walmart/amazon to help their prices. As for proof, all I got is that he's been at the tire plant/facility of brand x to get his own spec vehicle tires made for his 'retail zone'. And no real reason to lie, he had nothing to gain.

Didn't know if anybody that worked at a tire manufacturer was a member here and could confirm.

PS some more possible proof could be a few threads down. I think someone went thru like 5 tires from walmart, 3 went bad, and then got 2 from dealer with no issues.

PSS remember I'm talking about trailer tires not vehicle tires. They don't have mileage warranty's, usually around 1yr warranty. They are just built cheaper from the beginning than a vehicle tire. Trailer tires usually rot/crack from not getting used, or blow apart in use. You'll very rarely run them down to wear/replace marks. I just wanted something that wasn't in the blow apart group.
Trailer tires are ten times more abused and neglected than automotive tires-and quite frankly are not a good example. I have run (several brands of) "China Bombs" thousands of miles that others claim should blow up at the first stretch of highway.
 
I am a retired tire engineer - 42 years. Read what I wrote above.

Short version: For some scenarios, there are otherwise identical tires that are sold through different outlets that have different quality levels. But for other scenarios, I don't know this happens, but it is possible.
Thanks Capri.
Trailer tires are ten times more abused and neglected than automotive tires-and quite frankly are not a good example. I have run (several brands of) "China Bombs" thousands of miles that others claim should blow up at the first stretch of highway.
I've done the same with making some china bombs last, but I was staying mostly local with friends only a phone call away if 2 did pop(always carried 1 spare). I had intentions of doing some long hauls on weekends on expressways where those china bombs strike. Most don't follow the speed ratings of the china bomb... 60mph is their usual rating, so they'll mess up bands then get hot spots and blow apart. Atleast that's what I've ran into.
 
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I put a pair of Hi-Run WD1133 tires from Tractor Supply Company on the front of my Kubota diesel tractor the end of last summer, and they are running great. Made in China. These are 4-ply tires and I run them at 22 PSI. They look identical to the original tires, tread pattern is identical and they were less than $29 each on sale at TSC with a stacking coupon. Even their regular online price is half what they sell for in the store. There are some good Chinese utility type tires. They still have the nubs on them. It was free shipping if you ordered online and pick up in the store.
 
If the same number they are the same tire.

They do sometimes offer "special" tires. For instance the Cooper AT (USA) is the previous generation AT3 that's a Walmart exclusive that's actually been slightly improved in some cases (P275/65R18 114 is now a 275/65R18 116 for instance). In my opinion it's a superior tire to the Cooper ATT (Chinese) you get elsewhere for a similar price.
 
Perhaps I can help sort some of this out.

Imagine there is a tire manufacturer, and he has several manufacturing facilities. Some of those plants have the latest and greatest processing equipment, but some are at the other end of the spectrum. The tire manufacturer I used to work for tracked certain manufacturing and quality parameters and it was clear that some plants do a better job than others.

Since molds could be used anywhere, there would be a difference between tires produced at different plants.

Further, even within a given plant it is possible to sort tires. Most tire manufacturers have visual inspectors. It is possible to have differing standards of appearance - and to segregate them based on that.

There are other ways to sort tires - Uniformity (think run out and you'll be close), bulges/indentations, balance, etc.

So it is possible to have the same identical tire with identical DOT numbers to be sorted in such a way that a group of tires is slightly better quality than another group - and it is possible to arrange to ship those to different customers.

Does this happen? Yes. Most tire manufacturers who ship to vehicle manufacturers (so called OE tires), will have to follow the quality standards stipulated by the vehicle manufacturer - BUT - some of the tires that get rejected for OE can be sold in the replacement market where the quality standards are dictated by the tire manufacturer.

Does this sort of thing happen between a chain like Discount Tire and another chain like Walmart? I don't know, but it's possible.

Similar thing happened with windscreen wipers. The wipers that had small defects, usually with lacquer, but were otherwise serviceable didn't go to car manufacturers but got sold in stores.
 
Let's not forget that the Mobil One at Walmart is different than sold elsewhere.................:) :) :)
We should probably clarify that there’s no difference between the Mobil 1 sold at Walmart vs. Mobil 1 sold anywhere else, lest someone who doesn’t know you’re joking see this and think you’re serious.
 
I Read all this attentively.
I think the "unsupported" toaster oven and "last year's" model tire (identical or improved) addresses the issue which began this thread.
Nobody cares if a toaster lasts 5 years or 8.
As stated above, Walmart (or any other outlet) wants the legal protection of all the good "last year's tires" performance data.

Now when Costco made Nonni cheapen their Panatinis.....well, that was too much.
 
Everyone that competes with Walmart says this about "their" products, be it tires, engine oil, TVs, computers, etc. It's bovine excrement...
Well...no. For SOME products, it absolutely is true. Mostly electronics...sometimes having the model number with "WM" in it is their dedicated model. For computers, it depends what you want...directly from a repair guy, he has no hesitation to start with a WM laptop: the hardware is usually the same (hardware is cheap enough now it's not worth two different specs), but the SOFTWARE is often different. Since he usually is installing new software, he does not care.
 
Thats true I bought 4 tires from walmart maybe 8 years ago and about years later i needed new break lines on my car and my mechenic pointed out to me that 1 tire was 11 yrs old and another was 7 yrs old He showed me how to read the date code on a tire. I went back to complain and they would not do anything 4 me I still shop there but not for tires
 
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