I went into Walmart today....first time in many many years.....

[Mind_your_head]

I was looking for a tail-light bulb on my car. Auto-parts store was out of stock....they said their other location (which I subsequently found out had closed down)....long story short, I ended up at walmart. walmart didn't have the bulb either - out of stock - geez, guess there must be some kind of "run" on this particular bulb, eh? :shrug: Anyways....

I took the opportunity to look around and check out the prices, b/c EVERYONE says that walmart is soooooooooo cheap. Honestly, walmart is NOT any cheaper than other retail outlets! SOME items are cheaper, but that's true of many other stores as well....they have their 'loss leaders'.

What did I see.....cheese was $4.50/pound vs. $4.00/lb. on sale at a UNION store ~ just today.

Toilet paper was WAY higher at Wallyword - and tp is very difficult, if not impossible to calculate with the info given on the package, to calculate how much paper you actually get

Construction paper was $0.40 cheaper than the union store.

Eggs at walmart were $0.85 cents higher/dozen.

------------

I may not be doing a good job at "stating my case", but I walked away knowing that ~ all-in-all ~ Walmart is NOT any cheaper than other stores. The only thing that walmart claims to deliver is "cheap"...and even that claim is not true!.

[murielm99]

1. There was a post on Kos some time back

about the prices there. Apparently they keep their prices low on something like one hundred common items. The rest of it is hype. Other stores often beat their prices:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/13/14408/3985

[JI7]

6. so they do that to get people into the store

and i guess most people end up buying more than they originally came for.

[BlooInBloo]

11. Nice find.

[DJ13]

2. Wal-Mart has increased their prices by quite a bit over the last year

They used to be cheaper on everything by at least 20%, but as you saw their prices are no longer cheap enough to make stepping into a Wal-Mart worth the hassles of dealing with all the people.

[L0oniX]

71. Yes I also noticed that since I started buying groceries there last year prices have gone way up.

Most of the food I buy can also be found in other grocery stores so it's not like I am buying Chinese goods but wow the prices have really gone up on some things. Beef Jerky went up over a $1.00 to $3.49, Haagen-Dazs when up about a $1.00 to $3.29, Ice tea went up $0.50 and many other regular items that I buy there went up. I'm thinking of going back to my old grocery store and checking it out again.

[tavalon]

110. I still have the ability to choose to shop elsewhere and I do

The only time in the last decade I've stepped into a Walmart was for a weird protest thing that Buy Nothing did. It was kind of creepy. We all walked around like a giant zombie centipede, with white makeup on our faces and we were each pushing a cart and going sssslllloooowwwwwllllyyy down each aisle until they chased us out. I never did that protest again, because, as I said, it was creepy. But neither have I shopped there. I was tempted back when I became a travel nurse because it was the only thing open 24 hours in the Seattle area, but it just wasn't worth it.

[Lucinda]

3. I've noticed the same thing here in TN. On food items, anyway.

Some items may be cheaper, but it seems to average out. In our case, you'd have to drive quite a distance to find some of the non-food items any cheaper.

[K Gardner]

74. I held my nose and went yesterday because my child's eye doctor is in the building now. I couldn't

get out of there fast enough. Jammed with rude people running over you with shopping carts, can't stand the smell in there, and what prices I did notice were no less than what I find at Kroger or Target. Certainly not enough less, by a couple of pennies MAYBE, to warrant going there.

I'm just down the road from you and the stores are probably fairly comparable. Blech ! :hi:

Hope you're staying warm up in the mountains !

[Lucinda]

79. We've been very happy with Kroger prices. They run great specials

and the quality of the food is better than Wally World in my opinion. I would NEVER buy packaged meats at Wal-mart. Scary.

G'burg has been gorgeous, the roads were only icy for a day or so, so far so good this winter.
It's absolutely beautiful today.

[RebelOne]

117. Kroger always has the 10 for $10 items. That's where you can really save. n/t

[Selatius]

4. If people assume Wal-Mart is cheapest, naturally Wal-Mart can take advantage of that.

A market is only as good as the information people within it carry. If everybody assumes vendor B sells lower quality goods than vendor A, then vendor B will fall victim to that perception even if the exact opposite is true.

Wal-Mart can talk a good game, but when it comes to playing, it isn't the most dominant player in all cases.

[kurt_cagle]

5. Walmart Buys From China

Walmart's power comes from an ability to buy in bulk, and the fact that it has traditionally purchased extensively from China. Global shipping is down some 24% in the last year and China's ability to export has been seriously crimped (as well as rapidly declining buying power by American consumers reducing demand). This reduces Walmart's purchasing power dramatically, and with it, the ability to maintain a competitive edge by undercutting competitors. In addition, keep in mind that inflation in certain classes (most foods, for instance) have remained high even in the presence of deflation elsewhere tends to impact Walmart disproportionately in those areas.

Unfortunately, I still think they'll likely whether the storm better than their competitors, even though there will likely be a slew of marginally profitable Walmart stores closing in the next year. Walmart is easily one of the most vampiric retail company on the planet.

[Mind_your_head]

8. vampiric?

[RC]

48. Vampiric:

vam·pire ( v²m“pºr”) n. 1. A reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people. 2. A person, such as an extortionist, who preys upon others.

[tavalon]

111. That is a magnificent descriptor for their retail philosphy!

[Contrary1]

7. Some months back, I went to Walmart to get an Rx filled...

After educating the tech that I could indeed get a 30 day supply on a 3 month prescription, they told me it would take at least 90 minutes to get it filled.

Rather than drive home and make a return trip, I did a bit of price comparison. A gallon of milk at that time was 80 cents higher than the grocery I usually went to. Name brand cereal was higher too.

I finally got my prescription...a full 2 hours later. And they have not got another cent of my money since. (That particular med saved me less than a buck than I could have gotten it at my local drug store.)

[1]

9. that is exactly why people shop at walmart. because walmart is MORE expensive...

right...

that's it. normal people (sheeple? is that what we call them?) do not clip coupons. do not notice prices from store to store. do not shop for bargains. normal people do not shop like that. unheard of in america. apparently they just watch the advertisements on the tv and blindly drive to the walmart to shop.

heh. anyone that believes that is a delusional idiot.

now i only buy food at walmart, the same food you get from any grocery store in these parts. the exact same american produced products. and on the whole it is significantly cheaper at walmart than any other food market here.

(oh, and y'all can skip all of the "companies set up entire new production lines just to produce inferior products just for walmart" stories. that is such bullshit to anyone the knows how businesses actually work. so don't bother.)


i'm sorry your tail light situation did not work out for you. and if i were you i would never set foot in a walmart again. it makes your du progressive aura turn a bit brown.

and that's never good...

[vadawg]

13. lol i was formulating my answer before readig the whole post

I buy all my non fresh items at walmart, just convenient and they price match anywhere else locally, all in all i save mayby $10 a week in groceries rather than going to other stores, but thats $10 in my pocket rather than some elses.

[Mind_your_head]

14. I'm suggesting that people don't know how to do their math....

Some people don't realize that 4/$5.00 ($1.25 each) is cheaper than 3/$5.00 ($1.66/each).

Walmart, et al, takes great advantage of that.

[vadawg]

16. The fact that they will give you the cheapest price you can find

means that as long as you ask and look around you cant beat wallyworld for price.

[Mind_your_head]

20. My OP states that I CAN and DO find better prices (at UNION stores no less)

than walmart.

I don't "get" the walmart attraction. Must be some sort of cult.....cause the 'truth' of what you claim (wallyworld can't be beat for price) "just ain't there".

[vadawg]

22. And my post states that i can and do find better prices at wallyworld

than anywhere else just due to the fact that they price match, i dont think that this fact can be disputed unless you are using some other form of mathmatics that i dont know of.

[Mind_your_head]

24. Heh, heh, heh....they "price match", do they.......

:evilgrin:

[Contrary1]

25. So "price match" means cheaper? n/t

[vadawg]

30. It does when 5 items you buy are cheaper than the other store

and they price match the other five items, then you have spent less than you would at the other store. So yes the price match means that you are spending less on your weekly shop than if you went to the other store.

[Mind_your_head]

33. You're being "backwards silly"

It's not a race to the 'cheapest'.

[vadawg]

34. Tell you what then you can pay the highest prices you can find and enjoy

[Mind_your_head]

41. PROVE to me that Walmart prices are cheaper.....my OP say's that

all-in-all they are NOT cheaper.

What evidence can you put forward to say/provide evidence that wallmart's prices are cheaper?

[vadawg]

43. Prove to me that they are higher, you say they are, i say they are not

you are not going to shop there again, i will drop $400 odd tomorrow at wallyworld and be happy i saved money. Evidence, jeez once again they have a price match that means if just one item i buy out of 100 is cheaper at wallmart by 2 cents, then with price match i will have saved 2 cents, i dont know simpler it could be.

[Contrary1]

39. But the prices they match are not cheaper...

They are the same. So, unless I buy a few items at Walmart that are cheaper, I gain nothing.

To be honest, I don't want to argue with you. I would rather buy at the the family owned meat market, or the grocery chain that has been here 50 years, even if it costs me a few cents more...which it doesn't, given the time, distance, and quality.

[conscious evolution]

56. new production lines

I know a food production company that did just that.They built a new packaging line that could use a type of package that only mallfart sells.
I would love to give details but their is the matter of a confidentiality/non disclosure agreement I had to sign.Sorry.

[madmom]

57. IN COMING!!!!!!!

[tonycinla]

69. Yes

You hit the nail on the head.I am a very careful shopper,putting politics aside,WALMART IS CHEAPER..................

[Maru Kitteh]

85. Yup. Sorry. Walmart is cheaper. I'm a full time student and we support my mother, we HAVE to

watch our money. Also, out here in rural Nebraska I can assure you that

a) We have no union markets
b) There aren't that many choices

There are 4 other grocery stores in my little town. Only one of them is locally owned. All of them are much higher priced than WalMart. They survive only because 3 of them are near captive populations with little transportation. One of them sits between two retirement centers and an adult special needs housing facility, two of them are right next to very poor neighborhoods with large, broken-down trailer parks. All of these stores feature limited selections, produce that spoils within 24 hours and prices that range about 15% to 30% higher than WalMart. The fourth store sits in a location convenient to the upper middle class and wealthy of the town. It features a lovely produce section but is otherwise quite limited and ordinary with one key difference. If you are not upper middle class or wealthy there is no way you could afford to shop there on a regular basis. It exists so that the well-heeled do not have to concern themselves with the unwashed masses.

And then there is WalMart. It has a great produce section, low prices and it's the only place in town I can buy decent tofu and other vegetarian treats. It's not a hard choice.

[emilyg]

96. I'm a retired person who

shops Wal-Mart because I do save.

[Ikonoklast]

80. WalMart does have food processors set up production

just for them, and use of those lines are exclusive to WalMart, by contractual agreement.

I've been to many a food production facility that has dedicated WalMart lines.

They specify size, weight, grade of raw materials, packaging, and will help food processors engineer those product lines to their specs.

WalMart will help lower-cost operators with the financing of those lines. It's one way that they gain cost control over smaller processors and actually end up pretty much dictating their profit margins, squeezing them and in return they beat down wages to stay profitable.

Processing for WalMart is like riding the tiger. You can't get off without getting eaten alive.



You need to get out more.

[JNelson6563]

118. You are incorrect

I worked in the marketing division of Sam's Club in the past. You are completely wrong about the company and I've been in the belly of the beast, how 'bout you?

Julie

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Now that the economy is really taking a dump ...

... we really should keep track of prices across the country.

It would be easy for DU to do.

[Mind_your_head]

108. THAT is a wonderful idea!

Instead of asking, "what's the price of gasoline in your area?"

We could ask, "what's the price of a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, a pound of cheese, a pound of butter, a gallon of milk, a pound of ground beef, how much does a chicken cost per pound, etc.

[taught_me_patience]

12. Walmart is one of the most successful companies in the world

people wouldn't shop there if their prices were not good.

[Mind_your_head]

15. Pfffft....it's ALL 'perception, not reality'

and walmart has done GREAT DAMAGE to legitimate business trying to make a profit that INCLUDES QUALITY.

[Trajan]

28. People do the strangest things ....

They might even shop there because it's the only option (after all the Mom and Pops are wiped out by their monstrous neighbor) ....

I might add that the percentage of voters who would vote for someone like George W. Bush shows there is a steady level of social ignorance that can explain why many would act against their own interest .... It isnt just about prices ...

[izquierdista]

45. Correction

people wouldn't shop there if their prices were not ADVERTISED as good.

[DoctorMyEyes]

52. Bullshit

People shop there for a wide variety of reasons. Some believe the hype. Some are fooled because when Walmart enters a new market they DO offer lower prices than at their existing stores and the other local stores. That draws people in and drives competitors out of business. Once that Walmart has sufficiently decimated it's local competition it ceases to offer all those loss leaders and adjusts it's hours from "open 24 hours" to normal retail hours. At this point the local shoppers have already accepted as fact that the prices are lower and don't notice that they've crept up or they're forced to shop at Walmart because it's now the "only game in town".

Some still believe that "made in America" crap that Walmart used to push but abandoned decades ago.

And to the poster who doesn't believe that Walmart sells crappier versions of national brands, especially made for Walmart ought to google Walmart and Levis. That's only one craptacular walmart product out of many.

[.... callchet ....]

73. Did any one ever hear of anti trust ?

Do you ever notice how unbelievably absent it is from any connection to the word WalMArt? Sacred now ?

[tsuki]

81. All the box stores sell "name brand" products that have been

cheapened for the "box" market. The packaging is the same, the name is the same, the model number is the same, but if you look at the SKU there is often a pair of numbers somewhere that are opposite, an "02" becomes a "20."

[Thothmes]

103. WalMart in our area has been operating

open 24 hours a day for the last eleven years.

[conspirator]

54. Mcdonald's too. And Monsanto. The thing is: most people are dumb zombies nt

[sweetpotato]

55. VHS was superior to Beta

Actually, no. BetaMax was superior to VHS. But somehow, the public bought into VHS and not BetaMax.

The market doesn't always "reward" the superior product.

[whopis01]

114. That depends on how you measure superiority actually...

While Betamax did provide slightly higher resolution that VHS, the original versions were only capable of recording 1 hour. Even when they built players that worked a slower tape speeds (which reduced their picture quality) they could not get anywhere near the length of a VHS tape.

So, while they were superior in image quality, the market demanded a product that could record an evening of television or an entire football game, or something similar.

So, while it is possible to cherry-pick attributes and argue that Betamax was a superior format, to generalize that to statements about the market in general is quite a leap.

[Lorien]

68. Sure they would; it's called "advertising", and lemmings fall for it every time.

nt

[Maru Kitteh]

87. In small rural markets trust me, WalMart is WAY cheaper. I wish that it were not, but it is.

[taught_me_patience]

94. You don't think other retailers are advertising just as much?

Target advertises just as much as Wal-mart.

[The Brethren]

17. When Wal-Mart started out, it was a lot cheaper,

at least in my neck of the woods, then most other stores on a lot of their items. However, now that they've become the #1 retailer in the US, they seemed less concerned with competing with other stores. And that is usually one of the main reasons other stores end up closing -- because they forgot to compete (become over confident). Or in certain cases when they have a mega store like Wally World move in nearby, they find they simply can't esp. with a number of USA products.

If Wal-Mart gets it's way and entirely monopolizes our country retail wise, then they will charge whatever they because. Except, Wal-Mart's over confidence is already showing. They're getting sloppy with their prices, and I'm even finding cheaper prices over at Sears for the same products then Wally World. And I'd much rather give my business to Sears than them. Unfort. Sam's Club is tied into Wal-Mart as well, so if we used that wholesale club, we're actually giving back to Wal-Mart.

[taught_me_patience]

93. Wal-mart is not getting sloppy with their prices

they know exactly what they are doing at all times. That's what makes them so profitable.

[The Brethren]

99. I think they know exactly what they're doing as well.

I said they are sloppy with their prices referring to their competitiveness. They're prices are going up (becoming less competitive then) before on certain items. I think they have become too confident, thus they don't care if they have the best prices on everything "in town" because they know they already have so many customers who keep coming back. And they may stay on top for a long time to come.

However, if they keep getting overly confident - as they have in my area with prices, for ex., as folks become more desperate, "supply and demand" will rule out. And if that means more customers go to other stores, then they will if there ends up being very little difference in the prices between stores, or another store clearly has better prices then Wal-Mart.

And since I don't like Wal-Mart, that is the owners of it, and I really don't want to see them ever completely monopolize retail, I hope they become extremely over confident during the next year. :-)

[grace0418]

18. Isn't their little game to keep prices lower until they drive out all the competition in

the area, then they jack the prices up once people have nowhere else to shop? I could swear I've read that.

[1]

26. yeah, you read that. it is a popular "urban myth" here...

the truth is, if walmart did that (shutdown other businesses, then raise prices) a small shop could then open up and undercut walmart prices. and then, people being people, they would shop where they could get the best value. i.e. not walmart.

the problem is the general misconception here on du that "americans" are fucking stupid. they don't understand how to shop. i call bullshit on that.

did you ever stand in line behind that person with their 20,000 coupons that made you wait in the checkout line? counting their pennies for the total owed?

you don't think americans know how to shop? you need to get out more...

[arcadian]

53. You are completely off base with this.

Americans don't know how to shop. And by shop, I mean shop frugally, if they did you would see smaller, more efficient cars on the roads instead of SUVs. In the case of WAL-MART, people don't shop there because it saves them money, they shop there because they have been feed a line of bullshit that Wal-Mart is an all American store with a mom & pop lineage. It's a place where you can get whatever you want whenever you want. It feeds in America's sense of entitlement. It's a complete crock of shit. The way they put the American flag on everything and then buy most of their goods from China and people fall for the flase patriotic sentiment every, fucking, time. And if you don't think that Americans are sheep controlled by the idiot box then I think per haps you have joined their ranks.

[pipi_k]

59. One problem with the smaller shop opening up and

undercutting Walmart's prices is that it's got to have the same advertising/drawing power of Walmart.

Walmart has the money to advertise on TV and take out huge multi-paged spreads in the Sunday papers.

What chance does a little Mom n' Pop store have against that?

Plus there's the problem of convenience. The little stores generally can't offer central location, or a huge inventory, or convenient parking.

When I was a child there were no such thing as Malls or superstores. We did our shopping Downtown. Hop on the bus, get off Downtown, walk around with bags and boxes, hop back on the bus and go home.

People don't want to do that anymore, and many Downtown areas are either dying, or just barely hanging on. People just don't want to deal with the hassle.

And that's one reason why Walmart could basically do what it wants.

Because it can...

[noamnety]

88. You're incorrect.

Small shops obviously can't compete with Walmart by using their tactics against them (undercutting prices until they drive Walmart out of business), because small shops don't have the massive resources Walmart has.

Walmart can (and does) weather a loss at a particular store until they drive out competition because they have enough capital on hand to finance stores while they are initially operating at a loss.

While I appreciate you white-knighting for Walmart repeatedly, I'm not finding any substance in your posts beyond "no they don't." The government, however, has found that this is exactly how Walmart operates.

"The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection filed a complaint with an administrative law judge accusing the retailer of violating the state's antitrust law. The complaint says Wal-Mart sold butter, milk, laundry detergent, and other staple goods below cost in stores in Beloit, Oshkosh, Racine, Tomah, and West Bend. The company intended to force other stores out of business, gain a monopoly in local markets, and ultimately recoup its losses through higher prices.

State officials filed the complaint after Wal-Mart failed to take corrective action following several warning letters sent as early as 1993. The administrative law judge will review the charges and recommend further action to the department's secretary. The complaint carries a total of 352 violations, each of which could incur a fine of $500. "

http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_archive.php?browseby=slug&slugid=28


"In 2003, a federal judge ordered Sam’s Club to stop selling gas for below cost in Oklahoma. The court determined that Sam’s club had lost $250,000 to $300,000 on gas sales at three stores in Oklahoma City, OK., over an eight month period. Oklahoma’s Unfair Sales Act requires marketers to markup gas sales at least 6% over “laid-in costs”. The court case proved that Sam’s gross margin was less than 6%.

The company’s pricing caused a competitor to lose a large volume of its business. The Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers said the court’s decision showed “that selling gasoline at a loss in order to lure customers” was unfair and unethical. "

http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/san_juan_pr_wal_mart_busted_for_below_cost_pricing_of_milk/

More: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n5_v38/ai_17565139

[Muttocracy]

92. Thanks for that post. nt

[Mind_your_head]

106. Yes, thank you for this post!

[grace0418]

100. Are you a Walton? Otherwise I can't figure out why you would be such an

apologist for Walmart. I understand that some folks have to shop there because it's the only store available to them, but pretending that Walmart doesn't engage in shady business practices? I think YOU need to get out more.

[blues90]

86. You are right , that was their plan from the beginning

We had harware and food stores and even pet shops that had low prices but once the related pet and hardware box stores sprouted up and killed the independants then the box store prices did reach the same price of the independant stores.

Guitar center did the same thing and have the buying power to purchase large amounts of any product where the independant has to carry one line of product because the supplier demands a minimum purchase or so many units. In order to compete the independant has to sell the same product at the same price and all they have to offer over GC is service to keep customers and many of these if not all of the independant shops are now gone.

But this was the box stores plan all along and I never went to wally world but have been in GC and home depot and they have now crap as always and the price is not cheaper.

The only way to end this is to pass by these box stores and buy where ever else you can go or it will never end.

[1]

19. reality is this. if i go to walmart with my food shopping list, and you go somewhere else...

i spend much less than you do.

"perception over reality" on that...

[Mind_your_head]

21. I'll take you up on that challenge.

[1]

29. * throws off gloves * * takes out shopping list *...

name the time and the place...

:rofl:

[Mind_your_head]

35. You name it......I'll be there.....with receipts!

note: there was no "edit".....I just checked my spelling b/c 'receipts' didn't look right to me at the time.

[1]

40. wednesday night... springfield, missouri... i-44 and the kansas expressway....

we can share a shopping list (i call no "on-sales") and you can have all the time you want to visit the price cutters, aldo's, dollar stores and murfin's markets that you want.

we can then share receipts. recibo al recibo.

i'll be the guy in the black jeep. parked next to the shopping cart return over by the mcdonalds. next to the bus stop...


:rofl:

[LostinVA]

84. I'll take up the challenge, too

[ima_sinnic]

31. so show us your receipts already. all I see is a lot of unsubstantiated blather.

I saved every receipt I got in 2008, and I never set foot in that effing hell hole, so let's see who saved what.

[1]

44. you saved every receipt you got in 2008? HA! no shit, really???

ok. then lets start with this one...

[janx]

51. My god this is funny!!!

:rofl:

[Maru Kitteh]

89. My daughter loves pocky!

:-)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

32. I have to agree with you.

Sure you can find certain items "on sale" cheaper than walmart but overall my weekly bill is $25 dollars cheaper for the exact same items at Kroger or Target. Not saying it's a good thing, just a fact of life.

David

[Lucian]

42. The Walmart in my town sells groceries for less than the grocery store that's been around.

And no, it's not perception. It's fact.

[pipi_k]

61. Not necessarily

There are stores in my area that offer deals like "Buy one, get two free" AND they accept coupons.

Can you go to Walmart and get three whole roasting chickens for the price of one?

Or 15 lbs of potatoes for the price of 5 lbs?


I hope you and the other person really do go through with the shopping duel...it would be interesting to see the results.

[Trajan]

23. I have felt that way all along ....

Every time I visited WalMart, I found prices that were marginally lower, some prices that were marginally higher, and many prices that were approximately the same ...

I shop at an employee owned, local, discount, chain grocery (WINCO) ... Not the greatest quality, but most all I buy there is less than other stores, including WalMart ...

It is NOT cheaper at WalMart ... And it costs more than just our wallets in the long run ....

[elizfeelinggreat]

97. "it costs more than just our wallets in the long run"

yes.

I don't shop at WM because I don't have to worry about who is the absolute lowest price in town. I can economize and be frugal at other stores and I do; it feels right to me because of what you expressed, "it costs more than just our wallets in the long run".

Ever since the Buy Blue campaign started and my eyes were opened to their union and small business busting ways I have avoided them and I think if people had better choices they would probably rather support other stores.

I want to add that the few times I've ventured in a WM out of curiosity my experience has been similar to the OP's - I was expecting miracle prices and they didn't materialize.

[silverojo]

27. You sure can't live where I do

EVERYTHING is cheaper at Wal-Mart, without exception. We don't have any major supermarket chains, so these independent supermarkets have no choice but to charge an arm and a leg for everything. Plus, they obviously can't carry all the merchandise that we need.

Pisses me off, too, because I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. Every time I get back from there, I feel as if I've been beaten with a plank.

[elizfeelinggreat]

70. I think you hit on it

it seems to depend on where you live.

I've read that some WMs only a few miles away from each other have different prices because the area supports it. So I imagine many people just have a brand loyalty to all things WM.

Not everyone can take the time to be a super-shopper; I know I could never stick with clipping coupons or carting multiple store ads to a WM to have them match the prices. Kudos to those that have the energy for that and my sympathy to those who have to do it.

[4lbs]

36. I can often get some things cheaper at my local stores than at Wal-Mart.

Here in San Diego, we get the Friday mail flyers from 3 drugstores, CVS Pharmacy, Longs Drugs, and Rite Aid. Add in Tuesday mail flyers from grocery stores.

With certain free shopper cards that you sign up for, you can often get quite a few things cheaper at these stores than at Wal-Mart.

For example, recently they had Colgate toothpaste, 2 tubes of 6 Oz for $5 with the card, when normally they are $3 each at Wal-Mart and other places.

Or hooded sweatshirts 2 for $10 with the shopper card, when they are normally $7.99 each without the card.

Kleenex facial tissues or large cans of Progresso soups, 2 for the price of one with the shopper card.

Same thing with a lot of grocery items with shopper cards at Albertsons and VONS supermarkets.

Some of you may be adverse to signing up for these 'shopper cards', since you have to give personal info (name, address, phone, etc.), but used in combination with each other, you can really rack up savings over Wal-Mart for most items.

[1]

47. you raise an interesting point. if you have the time, i am sure you can shop at 20 stores...

and cherry pick the best prices at each.



i wish i had that luxury. i work, and i don't have all day to drive hither and yon to save 20¢ on a tube of toothpaste at that store five miles away.

i was talking about how normal people shop. you get in, you get out, and you do the best you can in the time you have.


maybe the op is unemployed and spends his days wandering about every store in town looking for the best bargain. that's cool. i wish i could do that.

but on the whole for food, here in real life? buying 100% american products?

you shop at walmart and you save big time...

[4lbs]

90. I guess I'm lucky because all the stores I shop at are within 2 miles of my house.

n/t

[4lbs]

37. dupe post.

dupe

[NuttyFluffers]

38. it is. and factor in transportation costs, it's often more expensive.

it's like when i see people drive considerable extra distance out of the way to save $0.10+ a gallon on gas. waste a measure to save half. people sometimes don't have the sense arithmetic gives them.

[Kitty Herder]

46. I've found that Wal-Mart is more expensive for food.

But the local grocery stores are so much more expensive for non-food items that we all drive 35 miles to Walmart to buy them.

[johnlucas]

49. You guys overreact to everything

I understand what President Obama means by ideologues. So caught up in your mental estimations that you miss the forest for the trees.

People who are cost conscious shop where it's cheapest. And most shop where it's a nice mix of convenience & cheap.
Wal-Mart, the evil corporation. Nearly all of them are evil for goodness sake. I never understood what the big deal was with all the Wal-Mart hate. If Wal-Mart wasn't Wal-Mart then Target would be or Publix or Kroger. Any corporation who gains that much power will probably end up the same.

When I shop I feel out the price & go to where I can get a better deal.
Maybe that means I buy a few things at Wal-Mart. Maybe that means I buy a few things at Kroger's. Maybe that means I buy a few things at IGA. Maybe that means I buy a few things at Dollar General. Maybe that means I go to my local Flash Foods. Maybe that means I go to a local Mom & Pop owned thrift shop. Maybe that means I go to a farmer's market.

Split the difference & find the best deal. Maybe I see a good deal on $3 frozen pizza at Wal-Mart but feel I could get it cheaper somewhere else by instinct. I go to Kroger's & with my Kroger plus card (they don't have any of my personal info. I just asked for the card & they gave it to me) I knock the price down to $2.50. I buy the frozen pizza at Kroger's.

Maybe I want to get a gallon of milk from IGA but it costs $3.79 a gal. I say to myself "Hmm, wonder what the other stores got." I see Wal-Mart's milk at $3.37 a gal., say I can do better & go to Kroger's. Kroger's milk is $3.49 a gal. so I head to Dollar General. On the way to Dollar General I see milk at $2.99 a gal. at Flash Foods. Knowing convenience stores are always pricier than supermarkets the low price intrigues me. I go to Dollar General & see the $3.15 a gal. A good deal but Flash Foods had the best one. I go to Flash Foods & buy the gallon of milk from them. It was some special limited time deal so I continue to shop at Flash Foods for milk until they go back to their normal prices.

For some people who don't have the time to do all that, they pick a store or two that generally has reasonable prices & buy exclusively from them. Maybe this store is on their work route & there's something they like in that store while liking the short lines so they can get in & out quickly.

Don't overthink this. I & most people go to whereever we can find the best deals. Food Lion might have something good. Hell, maybe a pharmacy has some nice groceries! An Eckerd's or Rite-Aid or CVS or a locally run one. Depends on where I'm going & what I'm looking for.

I found cheaper alkaline batteries at Advance Auto Parts than Wal-Mart so lately I've been buying my alkaline batteries from Advance Auto Parts. People ain't as brand loyal to a store as you think.
Just chill out all you posters getting wound up about this mess. It ain't that serious.
John Lucas

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

50. A lot people do not have the time to do that kind of

shopping around at all these different store, like you describe. I know I don't.

[Lorien]

67. Watch "Wal-mart-the high cost of low prices" (on DVD-Netflix has it) then

get back to us with your condescending crap. This directly relates to the global economic meltdown, and yes, Wal-Mart is unique among retailers.

[stuntcat]

58. I can't stand how they make toilet paper so hard to figure out

There's just NO way I can figure out what a good deal on that is :mad:

To find the real deals you have to just shop carefully I guess.

I have to take what I can get at the Target, Giant and Petco within walking distance so I've figured out who sells what the cheapest.

[pipi_k]

62. Ah, the great TP dilemma

I gave up on that too.

A thousand sheets? yeah, but they're so thin, they're all nearly transparent.

Going for thickness and softness? Great...except there's barely enough to wipe the asses of a family of constipated elves for three days.


I'm seriously considering air-drying and corncobs as alternatives.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

101. You know about the potty attachments?

So you can wash your tokus?

www.simplebidet.com

[blue_onyx]

60. I've noticed their prices aren't lowest all the time too

I was looking for an ink cartridge and I checked at Walmart.com to see their price. They were actually a few dollars more than the Office Depot across the street. I've only been to Walmart a few times but I've noticed a lot of the prices there are no better than what I could find at Meijer. For example, I noticed that a three pack of Kleenex were the same price at both stores. Walmart prices can be low but it depends on what you are buying.

[madmom]

63. I find that the mom& pop shops are way more expensive, at least

around here. Nor do they have a good variety, one of the running "jokes" my SO and I used to have is "I wonder what ------wants us to have for dinner tonight", because they would stock only 1 or 2 things and over charge. Maybe that's why people like the big box stores over the little ones. I know I would rather buy what I want rather than what they want me to buy. This goes for most things, not just food.

[Lorien]

64. If you want cheap, go for Aldis, Big Lots, Ross dress for less, even Costco

I buy kitchen items at Ross, and you can sometimes find things like tail lights at Big Lots. I just started shopping there not long ago. Found jumbo rolls of seventh generation paper towels for a buck each. They also had Christmas items marked down 75%. I found huge rolls of gift wrap that could be used for any occasion for about $2 each-or less. Food, tools, hair color, furniture, you name it-it's even cheaper than our local Goodwill!

[tjwash]

65. Food For Less is an awesomely inexpensive grocery as well

And you can get many of the same bulks at Smart and Final, that you can get at costco, without a membership.

[wilsonbooks]

113. Aldi's is great and much cheaper than Walmart for food items.

Walmart's meat is the worst you can buy. Dollar tree for household cleaning supplies.

[mbee]

66. I don't normally shop there for groceries, but was in a store

over the holidays and was surprised the one in my neighborhood doesn't sell the veggie products I use.

[.... callchet ....]

72. Every breath they take is calculated.

They know which stores have the most amount of comparative shoppers. What local stores are out of business. If you see a price on a product, it is not just by luck that it got there. It is actuarially calculated. They know what they are doing every second of the day.. I think that they make like 23,000 dollars profit an hour. They know everything that they are doing. They have the money to buy the best information in the world. They are not hanging on by luck.

[Bethesda Home]

75. I almost never shop at Wal-Mart but...

I had just returned from Krogers when I read this so I took my receipt to Wal-Mart and compared prices. I took the time to write down the weights on meats in order to compare.

It was typical 'Southern Poverty' food, (my family were share-croppers and we ate whatever we could afford or grow), like turnip greens, stew beef, home canned food from the garden, etc.

The comparison:

If I had driven .2 miles further to Wal-Mart in the first place I would have saved 17.6 %.

Kroger total: $64.70
Wal-Mart total: $53.31

Stew beef was the only item (out of 23) that was cheaper at Kroger. Your results may vary.

This doesn't say I will shop at Wal-Mart (I probably won't, I stopped shopping there when they stopped their policy of "Buy American" some years ago) but the quality appeared about the same, the service was also. Both stores were clean and bright.

Has anyone else done this? The only other place I could have compared was a Publix that is about 2 miles further than Kroger.

[Mind_your_head]

109. I call a b*llshit post eom.

[Neecy]

76. and the quality isn't so hot, either

My lawn mower finally gave out a couple of years ago, so I set out to comparison shop for a new one. I didn't want to spend a fortune so I went into my local Walmart for the first time to see what they had. Their mowers were made in China, almost all of the components were cheap plastic, and they were so flimsy they looked like they would have lasted a couple of seasons and then kaput.

I went to Sears and got a Craftsman mower for about the same price as the nasty crap that Walmart was selling.

[Bryn]

77. I noticed Wally raised prices on pet food

Good for you, Wally... keep on raising prices so that I will be willing to drive across the town to shop elsewhere. No good reason for me to go to Wally anymore. Food is expensive there now and canned food has gotten smaller for same prices. I was shocked at prices of eggs and bread as well as cheese. Bye Bye dear Wally :hi:

[appleannie1]

78. We never buy groceries at Wally World. Most can be found cheaper in other stores.

And if non perishable, we buy extra when on sale. The only thing good I can say about Wally World is they have a larger supply of diabetic food and some are less expensive than at other stores. But since I do most of my cooking from scratch to accommodate my husband's diet, I don't even buy them at Wally World.

[Blue Dog Dominion]

82. Walmart is about convienance

It has just about everything under one roof.

[michreject]

83. Their ammo is cheaper than anywhere else

Brick and mortar or web.

[cascadiance]

91. I don't know if its my imagination, but I think I've seen more ads from them recently too...

I don't watch a lot of commercial TV, but on the places I do watch from time to time (Sci Fi Channel, sports broadcasts, etc.), I'm suddenly starting to see a lot of Wal-Mart ads I don't recall seeing before.

Wonder if part of the higher prices reflect their higher ad costs, which are reflecting a drop in customers in their stores.

[spinbaby]

95. This has been my experience

I've been a regular Walmart shopper since I started driving my in-laws there. Walmart is indeed cheaper on SOME items.

What they do well and what we tend to buy there is what we call the "junk food group." Ice cream, crackers, chips, packaged cookies, etc. are almost invariably cheaper at Walmart.

Healthy food, on the other hand, tends to be more expensive at Walmart. Produce seems to be whatever they got a good deal on--the selection is poor and often it's on the verge of spoiling. Grains such as brown rice and steel-cut oats are limited, expensive, and frequently rancid. Meat is over-processed and low quality. Even "fresh" beef is injected and packed with carbon monoxide to keep it looking fresh.

One thing I've noticed more than once is that Walmart sometimes gets things specially packaged in a smaller package. The brand of bacon we buy comes in a full-pound package at the grocery store and is always nice. At Walmart, it comes in a 12-oz package and has a lot of odd bits and pieces in the package. Yes, the package costs a little less, but you're getting a LOT less.

[CitizenPatriot]

98. I don't know about their prices

I've watched several documentaries re Walmart and I am lucky enough to be able to put my money where my values are on this one. Not everyone has the time/means in this economy to do that. Their behavior in the election was reprehensible-- telling employees if they didn't vote Republican they'd lose their jobs.

And what tops it off for me is I have knowledge of their vast fortune the way they throw money around - enough to make Wall Street look merely well off. If those CEOs make you sick, look up the Wallyworld family. Millions on their daughters recent wedding, for example. Money which could have kept our zoos open for years...fed the hungry...housed Katrina victims....

Remember when having money was also thought of as a social responsibility? They couple their anti-union crap with their frivolity and greed. It's uncivilized.

I try never to give them my money if I can help it.

[aikoaiko]

102. A few items would be cheaper, but when I buy the usual 50 items Wally is cheaper

Which store is this and which items specifically? I'll go check for myself if we have it.

[mwooldri]

104. You've just finished work... it's 3am. You get the call from your wife saying...

... "Bring home a gallon of milk, will you please? We're out and your son will need it for breakfast in the morning."

You've got $3.50 on you... what do you do?

Milk at Harris Teeter costs more than $3.50...
Milk at Walmart costs less than $3.50...
Milk at a 24/7 gas station costs $3.49 + tax.

Where do you go?

[Mind_your_head]

112. The gas station.....b/c I'm a "guy"

and I don't 'give a care about a few penny's worth'....it's 3:00 am for heaven's sake!!!!

:rofl:

[Wednesdays]

121. I'd tell my wife WTF is she doing waiting until 3AM to tell me this?

I mean, plan ahead a little. Or do without milk for one morning. :eyes:

[southernyankeebelle]

105. BUT

At Wal Mart in our rural town you can compt the item if its cheaper at another store. They usually have their flyers so you can pay the same price as your union store. As in any store you have to shop around for good prices. The one thing about super Wal Mart you can buy all your stuff in one store instead of having to go to several. Saves on gas.

[terisan]

107. One Stop Shopping is part of the Success. nt

[Wednesdays]

115. Agreed...I always shop at Aldi, and get sticker shock at Wal-Mart now

Everything...and I mean everything...is anywhere from 5 to 50% more expensive at Wally World.

[flpab]

116. walmart buys cheaper products

Ace hardware may have the same looking fan that walmart has but the walmart fan has a cheaper motor installed so will break before the Ace hardware fan. Walmart makes these deals with all their electronic dealers because they buy such huge amounts the maker in china will put in cheaper components.

[Orsino]

119. Monopoly is their goal.

The economy that they helped to create means a class of people unable to afford to shop anywhere else. At that point, of course they're going to squeeze all they can out of us. It's what they've intended all along.

They're not much cheaper than other stores, sure--because ones that charged more have been driven out of business, and most other stores have been forced to emulate Wal-Mart. This is not a good state of affairs.

[old mark]

120. We shop at Walmart regularly and have for years.

We save a lot of money, and have found little or no difference in quality and prefer many of their store brand items to big name brands. They also have very good fruit and vegies, but we don't buy meat there (or at any other supermarket, either, but direct from a local farmer.)

IMO, a LOT of the anti-Walmart stuff is absolute bullshit.

mark

[Wednesdays]

122. I stand by my statment, though.

And if need be I'll post scans of my receipts to prove it, too.

[deaniac21]

123. I love seeing the scientific medhod put to use.

[Maru Kitteh]

124. snarf. n/t

[samsingh]

125. i don't shop at Walmart