Walmart's low prices hurt every one.

[jkhawaii]

Only wal mart has those low price 5 quart jugs of oil while every other retailer has higher price per quart Gallon jugs. All the oil Company's (and other companys)should tell Wal Mart to buy products for the same price as every one else. With Wal Marts "lower than every one" prices every one else is all of a sudden considered expensive giving Wal Mart even more power to tell company's how much they can charge.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

It's because Walmart has bargaining power from the sheer amount they buy. If you were a business, would you rather sell a lot more at a lower price or sell a lot less at a higher price?

 

[jkhawaii]

If all oil were pulled from Wal Mart people would still buy oil, just not at Wal Mart.

 

[The_Jeff]

You can't get every brand of oil at WM. I suspect the "my way or the highway" (WRT pricing) brands are not on their shelves.

 

[Azeem]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
Only wal mart has those low price 5 quart jugs of oil while every other retailer has higher price per quart Gallon jugs. All the oil Company's (and other companys)should tell Wal Mart to buy products for the same price as every one else. With Wal Marts "lower than every one" prices every one else is all of a sudden considered expensive giving Wal Mart even more power to tell company's how much they can charge.


I agree with you but most of the other retailers wish they could do just like Walmart if they have had the power Walmart has.Can't they sell their oil a bit cheaper?,it's almost double walmart on some oils like last time I was at O'reilly's, Maxlife was 29.95/jug.

 

[jkhawaii]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You can't get every brand of oil at WM. I suspect the "my way or the highway" (WRT pricing) brands are not on their shelves.

Even than the value of the non store bought brands is devalued as people say, I can just buy brand X at Wal mart for less.

 

[Chris142]

Don't the big auto parts store chains have buying power too? I'm guessing thay all get similar pricing but some places charge more.

 

[bullwinkle]

Interesting-I'm usually getting oil cheaper other places (like Advance Auto's current NextGen MaxLife sale)-my theory on Walmart is if you don't like them, no one is making you go!

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
Only wal mart has those low price 5 quart jugs of oil while every other retailer has higher price per quart Gallon jugs. All the oil Company's (and other companys)should tell Wal Mart to buy products for the same price as every one else. With Wal Marts "lower than every one" prices every one else is all of a sudden considered expensive giving Wal Mart even more power to tell company's how much they can charge.

You're quite a capitalist, aren't you? Why not just shut down all the Wal-Marts and Costcos on the island so the working class can't afford to live there anymore?

 

[Sayjac]

Every other retailer doesn't just have gallon jugs, in fact most if not all have gone away from gallon jugs to 5.1/5+ qt. jugs.

But bottom line, don't like Wally, don't shop there. Lot's of other oil retailers.

 

[The_Jeff]

related article

 

[Dave Hess]

Yep. This has been talked about many times on BITOG.
I have owned Walmart stock in the past and go there monthly.

Front Line (PBS) did a segment on how Walmart demands certain pricing from all their vendors.

 

[Torrid]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
If all oil were pulled from Wal Mart people would still buy oil, just not at Wal Mart.


Capitalism. They are offering a product for a better price. Their price is only better when AZ and others don't have a sale. They charge $6.97 for a quart of Mobil 1 0w-40. A Mobil 1 sale at Autozone works out to about $5.50. AZ jugs are 5.1qt and sell regularly with sales for $28 with a filter included. I buy the AZ sales when I want to build up my filters and WM when I need oil in a pinch and AZ doesn't have a sale.

Sounds competitive to me.

 

[jcwit]

To jkhawaii, do you work at an auto parts store? Just wondering.

 

[TxHeat]

They're not telling companies how much they can charge, they're telling companies how much they'll pay. There's a difference, a big one.

Wherever a Walmart store exists, the downward pressure they put on prices benefits every consumer in every store they shop in, even if they never step foot in a Walmart. It's called competition and it works to the benefit of everyone.

I've shopped in stores that had no competition, at all, and if you want to see the "My way or the highway" syndrome that's where you look.

 

[Bill in Utah]

So me buying my oil at a lower price at Walmart hurts me?

Okay.....

 

[demarpaint]

As long as I benefit in the end that's all I care about.

 

[mechanicx]

Walmart may not have the lowest retail prices, but they have that perception and have the highest volume and profits. They are pretty aggressive. In the end Walmart benefits more than anyone. So I do get it when people say Walmart is profiting at others' expense.

Target use to be a good place to get oil and filters, but I guess they don't want to sell it anymore. I think Kmart use to be good too.

You can get 5.1 quart jugs at other stores, some at the same price as Walmart.

 

[tinmanSC]

Does this really belong in the PCMO section?

 

[RiceCake]

The moral here seems to be "Capitalism is great, so long as nobody else benefits more then myself."