WalMart prices batteries very differently at different locations

walterjay

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I went online to purchase a replacement battery for my 2016 Tucson. The Ever Start Max 124R is priced at $98.76 at one store and $129.84 at the other store which is closest to me. These stores are about 17 minutes apart. Obviously I purchased from the lowest price store. It looks like they are charging people more in the areas that are more affluent. So if you are going to purchase something on line and pick it up it pays to shop different stores. I also had this happen with oil several years ago.
 
The online pricing and availability is worse than in-store, at least where I live. They lost a sale because of this-- I didn't know.
 
I went online to purchase a replacement battery for my 2016 Tucson. The Ever Start Max 124R is priced at $98.76 at one store and $129.84 at the other store which is closest to me. These stores are about 17 minutes apart. Obviously I purchased from the lowest price store. It looks like they are charging people more in the areas that are more affluent. So if you are going to purchase something on line and pick it up it pays to shop different stores. I also had this happen with oil several years ago.
It goes both ways. Sometimes I see stores in the city charging more than the stores in the suburbs. Probably more theft in the city or they have to pay more for workers...
 
It goes both ways. Sometimes I see stores in the city charging more than the stores in the suburbs. Probably more theft in the city or they have to pay more for workers...
Exactly: the stores which have a higher rate of theft have items priced differently, to counter the losses incurred by petty theft.
 
Exactly: the stores which have a higher rate of theft have items priced differently, to counter the losses incurred by petty theft.
The stores charge what the market will bear. If loss from theft is too much they step up security or shut down and reopen elsewhere. But they will always milk as much as they can out of every sale.
 
It looks like they are charging people more in the areas that are more affluent.
Or.....charging more in areas that have less competition. 25+ years ago, we bought a lot of Similac. (That's ready-to-feed baby formula, for those of you who don't know) The nearest WalMart to us was a store in a town of about 3,000 people. An hour away, there is a city of 55,000 where we occasionally shopped. The management of WalMart in the town of 3,000 people was charging $1.50 more per can than the WalMart in the town of 55,000. The town of 55,000 people obviously had more competition. Hey, I know, free market rules. But the Similac that went to each WalMart came off the same truck.
Sorry, I'm really beginning to like Amazon over WalMart.
 
The batteries at the local Walmart are locked into the battery rack. Most everything else is behind locked polycarbonate.
Wow you must really be in the ghetto. Never seen that around here. Batteries are usually one of those things that are so heavy and bulky it's unlikely someone is going to slip one in their pocket and walk out with it. They have always been accessible on the racks.
 
Numerous retailers have pricing based on location. Also common to see nicer areas get the high quality produce, middle class getting acceptable quality, & lesser areas getting the rest
 
Numerous retailers have pricing based on location. Also common to see nicer areas get the high quality produce, middle class getting acceptable quality, & lesser areas getting the rest
That's a nice theory, but there's usually some wholesale market where all the produce comes in first. The lesser areas probably have lower quality produce because it's all picked over by the time you get there.
 
The Everstart Maxx Group 78 batteries are only $88, at one of my local stores, I wonder if they're not moving them well at that store and you'll get a super old battery or something, I should check it out, I'm half tempted to get one just because I have an Everstart Value Group 75 battery in my Trailblazer that's over 3 years old now and I'm not sure how much longer it's gonna last and how long before walmart makes then ~$130 across the board.
 
I just haven’t had much luck finding the correct battery for a vehicle at Walmart. Definitely good prices on batteries, but in my opinion a parts store will have what you need, and you’ll get a warranty. Probably get a warranty at Walmart too, but I can’t imagine it’d be fun trying to return it.
 
I just haven’t had much luck finding the correct battery for a vehicle at Walmart. Definitely good prices on batteries, but in my opinion a parts store will have what you need, and you’ll get a warranty. Probably get a warranty at Walmart too, but I can’t imagine it’d be fun trying to return it.
Anyone had luck getting parts stores to match Walmart battery prices, I know Advance's policy is "substantially similar" which in my Interpretation means, if they have a Die Hard Gold battery EFB in a group 78 size, rated for 800CCA/1000CA with a 3 year replacement warranty, and Walmart has an Everstart Maxx battery with the same warranty and ratings, and probably came from the same factory, then by their price matching policy they should match it, correct? I
 
That's a nice theory, but there's usually some wholesale market where all the produce comes in first. The lesser areas probably have lower quality produce because it's all picked over by the time you get there.
It's actually been in practice for decades. It's easily accomplished by companies with their own warehouse system as they can dictate which stores get exactly what product. I just so happen to have worked directly with this. I don't live in the ghetto sweet cheeks. 😎
 
Probably get a warranty at Walmart too, but I can’t imagine it’d be fun trying to return it.
That's not my experience at WalMart. I had to return a battery that had a warranty on it. Went to the retail counter, produced the sales receipt, they didn't even put it on a tester, pro-rated the new battery and I walked out with a new one. Guess I have an honest face.
 
walmart batteries have multiple SKUs for each size. Guessing it is for the different production contracts. The cheap battery might have been a leftover from the Before Times production contract.
 
I noticed a slight price difference on same battery and two locations 20 miles apart. Batteries are not something I tend to price shop for whatever reason. More like get chore done.
 
Probably get a warranty at Walmart too, but I can’t imagine it’d be fun trying to return it.
Zero issues at all. If you go to a location with an auto center, they'll make you take it back there and they'll test it, no different than an auto parts store would do. Want to avoid that ? Go to a WM location that doesn't have an auto center.
 
The Ever Start Max 124R is priced at $98.76 at one store and $129.84
Seeing the same thing between different stores around here too, at least according to Brickseek (with a 24F, Everstart Maxx). Can't make any guesses as to why based on the locations either.
 
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