Why Do Enthusiasts Hate Walmart Products?

[PandaBear]

I had to do a double take at Walmart over the weekend. I saw some adult bicycles that grabbed my attention so I stopped to take a look. These bikes were of some amazing looking quality compared to what I have seen there lately. Upon closer look, I found out why. These were actually real Schwinn bikes. I got excited for about all of one second when my nephew (a real bike rider for sport/hobby) said right away. "Sorry Uncle Sam, they are now made in Asia, not China but Taiwan. We LOSE again. I guess we are making history daily and will end up one of the first countries on the planet who will end up producing NOTHING at all. Not a thing at all. Not even medicines , etc...

Usually Mexican and Vietnamese products replace Chinese, Taiwan is a huge step up. I think you will be unlikely to get a US made anything unless it is 1) very heavy to ship and 2) can be automated in manufacturing without ANY labor involved.

 

[dlundblad]

Does your page have the profile photo with the gauge cluster or the 300k mile Volvo badge?

Many car enthusiasts don’t seem to know a thing about oil. I once read on a high performance car page that a 0w40 shouldn’t be ran in the summer.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I had to do a double take at Walmart over the weekend. I saw some adult bicycles that grabbed my attention so I stopped to take a look. These bikes were of some amazing looking quality compared to what I have seen there lately. Upon closer look, I found out why. These were actually real Schwinn bikes. I got excited for about all of one second when my nephew (a real bike rider for sport/hobby) said right away. "Sorry Uncle Sam, they are now made in Asia, not China but Taiwan. We LOSE again. I guess we are making history daily and will end up one of the first countries on the planet who will end up producing NOTHING at all. Not a thing at all. Not even medicines , etc...

You missed your window a few years back. There were 500 made in USA sold. I think they were $1000.

You can order a made in USA bike from several places, but get out your checkbook, several thousand bucks. Rivendell Cycles would be my choice.

Made in Taiwan is much, much, much better than bade by the CCP, you should have bought one.

125th anniversary Schwinn Collegiate to be US-made by Detroit Bikes, sold by Walmart

Schwinn brings bike building back to the states to celebrate 125th anniversary with limited edition Schwinn Collegiate city bike, US-made by Detroit Bikes.

bikerumor.com

 

[4WD]

Walmart hate is an obsession like Tesla hate but there is some truth to the accusations of lower quality.

Walmart has such enormous buying power that it can require products built, made, sewn etc to their specifications and their specs are not making a product better. Not just their brand name stuff but major brand names. In another lifetime I owned a photography store. People would come in and ask why the Minolta camera I had was more money than the same camera at Wamart. Had to explain that it was missing features that the one I was selling had. Not always the case but often. The camera reps would admit it. It was documented for many different products and it's likely worse today. If you think the Hanes tee shirt that's $6 is the same as the Hanes tee shirt at Kohl's for $13 you're sadly mistaken. Cloth weight, stitch count, etc are different. Is the $6 shirt good enough? For lots of people sure. Are Supertech oil and filters equal in every way to other brands costing more? Maybe but probably not. Are they good enough? Probably. Is every brand name product in WalMart lower quality than at other retailers? Maybe, maybe not. But it could be. Of course you stand a good chance of getting counterfeit products from Amazon.

No chance I will get a counterfeit from Amazon …

 

[4WD]

I am not sure what this post is about. If we are concerned about Walmart as a corporation squeezing out legacy businesses, or about the store being a place where an echelon of society shows up filthy, smelly and with children running around wild and unsupervised, then simply go elsewhere. If this is about Supertech oil and filter products, the record (the Bitog record) pretty clearly shows that they are uniformly excellent choices, often a great value. Same story for Kirkland) products. Some assert that there is a difference between, say Castrol from Walmart and Castrol from Autozone. There is not. For most of my cars, I am a value shopper, and get my stuff from Amazon or Walmart. Amazon usually wins.

There are certainly some filthy people walking around in our stores - they are vital blue collar workers - I don’t get near enough to smell - and if you see me in lawn & garden - well, I’m probably guilty that day too

 

[javacontour]

All retailers have their own brand of stuff and all play games. I had to buy trash bags at the grocery store and was unhappy because it was a few bucks more than Walmart but when I got home I realized the same bags in the same size box has 25 in it - not the 20 Walmart had. About the same price per bag. The same size box was the Walmart game.

Try to buy the same brand and size TV. Will look identical at every retailer but all have different SKU. What’s different? Who knows.

At least at Walmart there is no loyalty card and buy 1 buy 10 - same price, unlike most places now.

Not just a WalMart thing. I think back 25 years ago when I was in the market for a Video Camera.

Shopping Best Buy vs Circuit City. The "same" Sony camera had the same specs but one digit different in the model number.

My guess is it was so they could avoid price matching.

If there as specific Best Buy vs Circuit City vs other retailer model numbers, the store can claim the other camera is not the same.


Could also be for returns. Someone gets one from WalMart, but tries to return it at Target, to be told Target doesn't sell that model>

Just a few guesses on my part.

 

[Brons2]

I joined your group although I don't spend much time on FB anymore, prefer Insta where I can just see interesting pictures and ignore people's opinions.

 

[Starman2112]

One word - snobbery.

 

[Oldwolf]

For consumerism to be profitable to producers a lot of advertising money is spent convincing us that their products are superior and worth the extra cost.

 

[hrv]

Purchase all of my oil..air cabin and engine filters there along with other car related stuff and never has an issue...

 

[Eddie]

If the oil meets the manufactures specifications then who are the self appointed experts that think they know better?

 

[TomYoung]

There are certainly some filthy people walking around in our stores - they are vital blue collar workers - I don’t get near enough to smell - and if you see me in lawn & garden - well, I’m probably guilty that day too

I am definitely not talking about hard-working people coming in from the jobsite.

 

[andrewg]

I didn't say more. I am not one to judge others, like some others seem to want to do.

Making sound judgements about your surroundings....especially people....is a good way to stay alive.

 

[72C10]

I will take a stab at it and guess it's because marketing works. Wal-Mart is also a ruthless company so some of its reputation is deserved. I have no problem buying oil there. In fact, I recently picked up 2 jugs of Pennzoil for the rebate at WM because it has the best price locally.