wal mart

Another thing that really bugs me is that everyone thinks that Wal-Mart is so cheap on EVERYTHING! They are cheap on evrything as far as non edible, the super walmarts now with the food, there food is not cheaper. In fact, they are more expensive with there food, I find that there eggs are 5 cents more and ceral is about 50 cents mroe than our Woodmans food store in town, if you want to go cheap, ALDI!! the german food chain! But buying food from wal-mart is bad as far as not keeping the carbon cycle local, goto your farmers market! and support them!
 
um, ok, so i've only read the first few pages, so idk if this was mentioned, but here goes

i dont think that the way walmart treats employees is bad, if it was bad, people wouldnt work there/only young kids/poorer people would work there

there have been a few people that have said something like "why is underpricing mom and pop stores bad?" and "selling products under manufacturer costs is only temporary". ok, ive only took econ 130 adn a business class in high school, but here goes: walmart sells things for really cheap, underpricing other local stores, all local competition goes out of business, so now walmart has a "monopoly" on the local area. selling items lower than manufacturer's cost is how this happens because walmart is such a huge company, losing money temporarily isnt that bad for them. underpricing is why some states/county's have laws that have a gas price minimum because if walmart/costco/whatever big company under cuts the competion and then has a local monopoly, they can then rise the prices.

personally, i go to walmart once in a while to look around, and if they have something that isnt on sale anywhere but i need it asap, lets say a bucket, then i would buy it from there, but if a local store has it for around the same price, might be couple bucks more, i would buy it from the local store, my dollar vote counts too!!

i do disagree when people blame walmart for welfare and what not becasue how can a business force someone to be poor? people are on welfare because they dont make enough money, but if they work at walmart and dont make enough walmart, why not put in their 2 weeks and start looking for a better job?
 
This is a little astray but after reading many posts from Slipknottin over the years am I the only one who pictures Alex P. Keaton when I read his business oriented posts? :)
 
How many of the people saying they hate Walmart shop online? Most items can be purchased much cheaper online than locally (especially aquarium items like filters, media, plants, fish, fish food--light weight, easily shipped items!), so are the online vendors in the same boat as Walmart?

As for the quality complaint--Walmart does not sell everything. Walmart sells middle of the road items. If you want the quality item, you're going to go someplace else. Cutco Knives, of Olean NY is a good example. They sell a variety of knives, scissors, etc. Great stuff, lifetime warranty, high price. If I just need a cheap knife, Walmart is quick and convenient. If I want a knife that will last forever and be a quality product, I'll go pay Cutco prices and get a great product. If the local businesses are selling the same quality as Walmart at twice the cost, they are not competitive. If they are selling a better item for a comparable price increase, and still go out of business, it's based on market demand--the demand for higher quality goods isn't there when a cheaper product becomes available. Sorry, but that is not Walmarts fault. That's the fault of consumers.
 
I have only shopped online a handful of times for things that were not available locally or could not be ordered by a local business (okay now how archaic do I sound :)) I agree- I think it is the consumer's responsibility to pick and choose where they shop and it might be petty but that doesn't make me like Wal mart any more. For me it boils down to I don't like the way they conduct themselves, I am not going to spend my money there. Nothing will ever change that for me. As for the rest of what you said- I think the perception that Wal mart (and other box stores for that matter) are consistently, significantly cheaper is a misconception. I loved going to wal mart when I first moved here- it was novel and cheap and it takes little to entertain me- I used to buy everything but clothes there. I haven't shopped there in about four years- and the only thing notably more expensive in my budget is oil changes. I spend about $50 more annually on food- what I spend on odds and ends around the apartment has not changed at all- and I understand for a lot of families $50 annually and savings like $15 or so monthly on oil changes really are a big deal. And I don't begrudge those people for shopping wherever they can save, but I do think that long run we are shooting ourselves in the foot if we allow our small businesses to slip away- because they overall are NOT much more expensive than Wal mart and they will break their backs to give you whatever you need. going back to the earlier story with the kitchen store- they were not an inefficient business. they stocked a range of items price wise, they had a knowledgable staff, they ran slaes and specials, held classes, sent mailers, all kinds of stuff- what got then in the end was that they were less visible. People don't know how inexpoensive small businesses are because they don't have the budget to tell them. So whether it's logical ofd me or not to resent Wal mart, I do, becasue I don't shop there and they still have an impact on my choices.
 
tomm10 said:
This is a little astray but after reading many posts from Slipknottin over the years am I the only one who pictures Alex P. Keaton when I read his business oriented posts? :)
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All those who shop at ONLY small NON chain stores, DON'T buy online, Raise your hand, and speak. All others, shut up.....
J/K
Or was I?
I can't say that I hate wal-mart, because, if I didn't shop there, where would I?
Where do you shop if you don't shop at wal-mart(or ANY other "big-box" store)?
If it is a store that I recognize, I would consider it a chain, and thus, an unfair advantage. Why is everybody baggin on wal-mart? Don't see anybody going off on Sears, Pamida, KMart......All buy stuff from over-seas, and all are cheap, with the only intention of all of them - Undercut the competion. Face it, competition among store is why a friggin pair of jeans is AFFORDABLE! If there was only mom & pop stores, and they bought only american made, as greedy as we are, that pair of jeans(the cheap ones, now) would be 4-7 times as much. Most of it would be for labor to make the jeans. I mean, after all, were americans, and that makes us worth 20 times the pay as everybody else in the World! Maybe all the people against wal mart are right. Buy only American. Better yet, buy only UNION made american. Stupid Union. It was good 20 years ago when it was needed. It just makes us greedy now!

Rant over!
The reason for the rant is that I just got word today, that a local crane mfg. plant has gone on strike, because they want better pay/cheaper benifits. The min. wage at the plant right now is $18.50(so says one channel) WTF does a line worker need that much for? And they want more?
 
so then you don't think a strong, diversified local economy is important? In many smaller towns what has happened is that wal mart has become the economy- what happens ten fifteen years from now if that no longer becomes profitable for Wal mart and they pull out? I avoid all box stores when I can but I am fortunate enough to live in a town that allows me to do so- but if you look you will see that wal mart competes differently even than other box stores. there are good and bad big businesses just like there are good and bad small businesses. And of course, what constitutes each of these is going to be different to every person, but I do (all respect in the world to Orion Girl) resent the implication that my opinion is just part of "the new hip way to show you care."
 
No, I don't think that not liking Walmart is a bandwagon issue--when it's done for the right reasons, and not used to justify snottiness. My aunt lives in Vail CO, and she just dislikes Walmart and thinks everyone should boycott them, always buy American, etc. Well, good for her--she can afford it! But to assume that everyone can is absurd. Making the choice to support a business means putting your money where your mouth is, and to presume that everyone can afford the higher dollar alternatives annoys the heck out of me. I don't think Walmart is evil, nor do I think they are ruining small towns. I know that locally, there are very, very few small towns that Walmart is at all interested in moving into. They go for the mid-sized towns--anything under 20,000 people, no Walmart. 35,000 and up, you bet, probably more than one. Out here, that means not very many Walmarts--I think there are 5-6 in the entire state. Neighbor to the south--well, I'd guess there are 50 or so. Of course, compare populations--Wyoming has about 500,000 in the whole state, Colorado has more than that in just one county!
 
I see what you are saying. I'm sorry- I misunderstood. Although- about going into small towns- that's not entirely correct. That may be the way they do things now but it was certainly not when they started. In Arkansas and Missouri (The epicenter ;) ) they went into towns much smaller than 35K, towns where the county seat would be about 10K or even less but there were enough satellite towns close by to draw business. This destroyed the local economies. Even if some of the residents are benefiting from being able to spend a little more, local merchants, farmers, etc lost outlets for their goods. And sure this might not have been ther exact case in every town wal mart came to- but they certainly have an impact. Wal mart goes into bigger markets now because they can afford it- and they SATURATE those markets. For instance where I live, the population in my town is about 150K. We have four supercenters in town, another three (just that I can think of) in a twenty minute radius. That's insane.
 
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