walmart's terrible prices...

[eljefino]

 Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl

 Originally Posted By: eljefino

They are real expensive on beer for some reason.

The local Supercenter seems to be on par with the grocery stores on beer, which is about as cheap as it gets. However, WM does have one very generic beer called Country Club malt liquor. It's $3.40 or so for a six pack. I have almost bought it, but haven't because I can't imagine it being any good (and I will drink King Cobra).

Probably has to do with the gov't and alcohol distributor situation in different places. Some places have minimum prices etc. The cheap swill here is "steel reserve" and it's nasty... not available at walmart either.

 

[fordboy]

 Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl

 Originally Posted By: eljefino

They are real expensive on beer for some reason.

The local Supercenter seems to be on par with the grocery stores on beer, which is about as cheap as it gets. However, WM does have one very generic beer called Country Club malt liquor. It's $3.40 or so for a six pack. I have almost bought it, but haven't because I can't imagine it being any good (and I will drink King Cobra). I'm kind of with JHZR2 on this. One of my main gripes with WM is the other customers. People seem to be at their worst when they are in that store. Only concerned with themselves, content to make a mess or let their kids make a mess, and generally rude. I can't stand to go there anytime other than weekdays.

I can't wait until they come out with Great Value beer. (you know, Walmart brand. What a joke. ) What about Great value cigarretts?

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: fordboy

 Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl

 Originally Posted By: eljefino

They are real expensive on beer for some reason.

The local Supercenter seems to be on par with the grocery stores on beer, which is about as cheap as it gets. However, WM does have one very generic beer called Country Club malt liquor. It's $3.40 or so for a six pack. I have almost bought it, but haven't because I can't imagine it being any good (and I will drink King Cobra). I'm kind of with JHZR2 on this. One of my main gripes with WM is the other customers. People seem to be at their worst when they are in that store. Only concerned with themselves, content to make a mess or let their kids make a mess, and generally rude. I can't stand to go there anytime other than weekdays.

I can't wait until they come out with Great Value beer. (you know, Walmart brand. What a joke. ) What about Great value cigarretts?

Probably before your time, but back in the late '70s or early '80s, and before Wally World sold groceries, there was a big push for generic food. I can remember potato chips being sold in a white bag with the black stenciled letters just saying "Potato Chips". A lot of food was available that way. Anyway, there actually was generic beer. It came in a white can with the words "Beer" on the label. I do remember that it was made by Falstaff (said so in small lettering on the side) and that it gave a NASTY headache, even if you didn't get drunk with it. Why did I drink it? Well.....because my dad was frugile and for me it was free. Get the picture?

 

[doitmyself]

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[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: doitmyself

[image][/image]

Oh, oh. I feel a migraine coming on.....

 

[Gary Allan]

 Quote:

Probably before your time, but back in the late '70s or early '80s, and before Wally World sold groceries, there was a big push for generic food.

Yes. There was also an experiment with bulk foods where you would (even) get syrups and such (flour/beans/etc.)..sorta like an extension of the pickle barrel. Some were well run ..and some were run like a continental breakfast area at a motel/hotel with 14 tour buses going through it that morning.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I often wonder how much the other retailers would hose the general public if there wasn't Wal-Mart competing in the space. Or, maybe they wouldn't. They would just keep their prices where they are now. Just like the U.S. Automakers would have moved to the 3 year warranty from the 1 year warranty without the Japanese offering it first.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, GM, competition is healthy. It's got its limits though. Did the electronics invasion at the ending of the Fair Trade Laws really bring us high quality goods ..or did they just bring us junk that we didn't know any better about since there was no such thing as affordable high fidelity in the 70's from the domestics? Now I'll take high quality junk over unattainable quality any day, but the time has already arrived where the affordability, in decline, is the benchmark for viability in the market. When that grip takes hold, then the value of the product declines as it drives out the competition on price alone. At some point after that you can't buy quality at any price ..or if it exists, you can't afford it (back to the electronic invasion Part II). Good just moves out of your reach.

 

[moribundman]

First Dharma beer, then Dharma wine, that tastes fine!

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

"Well, GM, competition is healthy. It's got its limits though." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yeah, well don't hold your breath for perfect competition. We're still dealing with human beings.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Mori, Sawyer seemed perfectly happy drinking the Dharma beer and wine and wearing a jump suit at all times.

 

[eljefino]

 Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

Did the electronics invasion at the ending of the Fair Trade Laws really bring us high quality goods ..or did they just bring us junk that we didn't know any better about since there was no such thing as affordable high fidelity in the 70's from the domestics?

Most of my folks' cool stuff (Minolta SLR cameras, Sansui HiFis) came home with uncles as they returned from Vietnam. I presume there was a loophole at the time that offered a significant advantage.

 

[Benzadmiral]

 Originally Posted By: IndyIan

I find alot things at big box stores are overpriced. But like others have said, shop around. I've found honeywell oil filters for $3.50 at my local auto parts store. FRAM's are $6-7 here... One thing I am tempted to buy at walmart is breakfast cereal as it is overpriced at all our grocery stores. The shreddies I bought there I suspect were made in China though, they have the "imported by" tag which means khrap quality most of time. I'll have to check at my regular grocery store and see if they are different or the same.

If you have a Save-a-Lot store near you, check their cereal prices. A big box of bran flakes, as good in taste and the same size as the $2.50 W-M stuff, goes for $1.49. Plus most of the packages in S-a-L say, "Product of the USA." (Now whether that means the same as "Made in the USA" I don't know, but the boxes don't say "Distributed by [Company in USA]," they say "Product of.") I treat the place as my regular convenience store -- run in, grab cookies or milk or pickles, and I'm out again without draining my wallet. Oh, and I remember the white-package, black-letter generics back in the '70s. I don't recall if I ever tried many of those. I think at least part of why they didn't catch on was that they *looked* cheap in quality. The chips inside could have been the equivalent of the best Frito-Lay had, but the packaging looked very down-market, as in rejects. I'm sure ad execs will tell you that the colors used in the packaging of nearly everything affects consumers' decision to buy. With a black-on-white bag of "Corn Chips" sitting next to the orange-and-red classic pack of Fritos, which do you think gets the buyers' attention?

 

[Gary Allan]

The basic concept that "competition improves the breed" doesn't always work. One toaster may be inferior to another. But because the inferior toaster was more affordable, it survived. It had nothing to do with its ability to toast toast best. One was performance driven. The other resource driven.

 

[D189379]

I've found walmart to be one of the cheapest places to buy almost anything. Other than sales at other stores, it's usually hard to beat their prices. I don't understand what this thread is all about. Is it a joke?

 

[PandaBear]

 Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

The basic concept that "competition improves the breed" doesn't always work. One toaster may be inferior to another. But because the inferior toaster was more affordable, it survived. It had nothing to do with its ability to toast toast best. One was performance driven. The other resource driven.

Better isn't always better. When something is designed to perform a task and good enough, for a cheaper price, it is the better deal for the consumer. Now of course someone wants a better quality solution for an extra cost, that's good for them. But for most of the people, a $10 toaster oven that uses the same heating coil, last the same amount of time, have the same toasting result as the $30 ones that has a stainless steel cover is the better choice for most people. Of course, smart cost cutting won't reveal to even the professionals, but poor cost cutting reveals to even the amateurs.

 

[Gary Allan]

 Quote:

Better isn't always better. When something is designed to perform a task and good enough, for a cheaper price, it is the better deal for the consumer. Now of course someone wants a better quality solution for an extra cost, that's good for them.

No. I'd say that it's the only deal for the poorer consumer. It usually ends up being more expensive where performance over longevity is the metric of value.

 

[PandaBear]

 Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

No. I'd say that it's the only deal for the poorer consumer. It usually ends up being more expensive where performance over longevity is the metric of value.

Maybe used toaster in ultra high quality is the best choice then?

 

[dkryan]

 Quote:

I don't understand what this thread is all about. Is it a joke?

Apparently.