Local Wal-Marts: Love ‘em or Hate ‘em?
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To the ghost of Sam Walton, Idaho Falls seems to be the ideal city. In our little town of Idaho Falls we now have two enormous Wal-Marts located within just a few miles of each other, and a third just down the road in Rexburg, and a fourth down the road in Balackfoot. Wal-Mart has been hated by many– being accused of pushing out small businesses, offering low wages with little or no benefits, and stong-arming suppliers so aggressively they need to cut quality to keep afloat. For some reason we don’t hear much about the “evil” Wal-Mart on PBS or the news anymore and I’m not sure what happened. Where is Paul Harvey and “The Rest of the Story?” Did all of the local small business go out of business? Are they still they still as evil as ever? Or has their lower prices made products more affordable for consumers and made life a little better?
I’ll have to admit, I don’t shop at Wal-Mart very often. With their giant parking lots and enormous hallways it takes just too long to go pick up a gallon of milk and some bread. I still prefer the local cheap supermarket to navigating the Wal-Mart mini-city, but being open 24hrs has lured by the rare 1:00am “got to have this now” item– and luckily at those times you can actually find a decent parking spot once in a while. But every time I go I’m reminded why I avoid the place – I wasn’t made for a marathon walk just to get a simple item.
But just because I don’t go often, doesn’t mean others haven’t found great benefit from the super-store. So my questions is this: Do you think Wal-Mart is good or evil? Have they destroyed any local businesses, or was that all just media fear scaring us a few years ago? Do YOU benefit from shopping at Wal-Mart or do you avoid them for what they represent? We now have 4 in the area – with possibly more to come in the future… with the chance of more Wal-Marts invading our area, what are your thoughts?
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Comments
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2 
0 I don’t think there’s a week that goes by that I am not in WalMart at least once, sometimes more often. I get very unhappy with them, but because of their prices and the one-stop shopping I still go there. I have found many of the exact same items at other places like Fred Meyers, but for a lot more money, sometimes a few dollars even. And of course Wal-Mart’s groceries are much cheaper. WinCo prices might be lower on some items.
Size-wise, I think that Fred Meyer, WinCo, and WalMart are probably pretty comparable. It seems to me that you get your exercise at all three places. Fred Meyers parking lot is more dangerous than WalMarts (IMO).
I did hear a rumor that a new Super WalMart is being planned for somewhere on 5th East (kind of up toward the golf course).
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1 0 Locally - I can’t stand the east side Walmart. It’s impossible to find edible produce there most of the time and the lines are too long. They also have some very SLOOOOW checkers and there are no self-checkout lines. The west side I don’t mind. I’d still rather go to Fred Meyer or Albertsons for general grocery shopping since it’s a much better shopping experience even if it costs a few dollars more. There’s also Winco which is actually cheaper than Walmart on many items.
As for Walmart as a corporation, yes they are evil for intentionally shoving out all the smaller competition they can and treating their employees like garbage. But so are a lot of other corporations today. We can’t have free capitalism AND a totally fair marketplace. The two concepts are mutually exclusive. There isn’t going to be any help from government regulation since our government is owned and operated by big business - and they don’t even try to hide it anymore. We’re basically screwed as a nation.
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3 2 The effects of “predatory pricing” eliminating local businesses is slow and insidious, and perhaps some business owners who might blame Wal Mart so far would speak up. Also, the changes a Wally’s brings are somewhat gradual. It’s like someone going through your house and every couple of months taking something very sentimental or expensive away. You get over each thing until your house is bare.
The spread of parking lots filled with mini developments like where Star$’s is, or another Sysco serving chain restaurant (ho hum) has begun, for better or worse. JB’s? not the desired look, bought, sold, destroyed paved over and replaced with chain eateries. The old face of the area is already hard to remember. It is obviously not Wal Mart’s “plan” but it is the effect.
The bigger problem is that all of the incoming money from people coming to Idaho Falls is going to an increasing concentration of out of town businesses right by the freeway.
Then of course there is the fact that the dollars go on from there into billionaire’s pockets (elsewnere) and out of the country for cheaper labor to build cheaper junk to throw away That’s bad for the whole country
It’s not like boycotting them or protesting them will do anything. They will build where they please (anyone see the one right by the Mayan ruins?), and people will contine to consume their cheap wares.
If anything good has come,Wal mart has created some serious competition for local grocers, and particularly Albertson’s has had to up their game.
Good luck, local biz’s and buckle up because the ride is only beginning.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html?page=0%2C8
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0 0 I heard a rumor that a Super Walmart has been proposed for Rigby.
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2 1 I don’t think anybody or any corporation is evil for finding a way to the top. Capitalism.
I shop at Wal-Mart for just about everything since Savings Center closed down. Fred Meyer (the only other close grocery option) is too expensive, so we tend to steer clear. I hate going, the walk to the back of the store for the one thing that I want to pick up always sucks, but at the prices they offer the walk is worth it.
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2 1 I avoid them if I can. Its not just the predatory pricing, its the entire culture. I strongly disagree that they are such a capitalistic success story. They exploit local government, securing favorable deals and will pull up stakes when it comes time to pay the piper. Moreover, by directing their employees to government for health care they’re increasing the tax burden. All of this leads to higher taxes for you and me. So think about that next time you think you’re getting such a great deal saving $.20 on your toilet paper. The long term consequences will be expensive and they won’t be around to pay their share. I’d much rather pay a few extra bucks to the small business owner, that I sit next to in church, who are neighbors who keeps one eye after my kids when I’m away, and who contribute the same amount to the tax base. Its better than all the money going to China which they practically require from their product manufacturers. Nothing is free and they are the kings of system exploitation, not capitalism. And for such a huge corporate presence in our country they are not good citizens.
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2 2 “pull up stakes”. . . interesting. I am not familiar with WalMart actually pulling out of areas . . . can you share some info on when and where this has happened? This isn’t sarcasm: I am truly interested in gathering the facts on this issue, and if Walmart engages in “pull the plub” operations, I would like to know the specifics.
I agree with Marcus on this point, as I have several friends (including women!) who work for WalMart who are treated well, enjoy great benefits and many opportunities to advance through the company. Moreover, they led the charge with their $4 prescriptions which I know has aided many senior citizens who often would need to choose between paying for medicine or for the electric bill.
Just my 2 cents.
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3 0 This is a touchy subject for many. I know a lot of people either love em or hate and I kind of enjoy the conveinence myself. IdahoNative & CafeDelSol’s posts pretty much summed it up for me, but I’ll reiterate a bit. I frequent Wal-Mart at least once a week and more often than not 2 or 3 times. While I can’t stand the quality (or lack thereof) of produce, it’s not enough to make me stop shopping there. I usually pick up my produce from Fred Meyers. Since I visit Hollywood video 3-4 times a week, having Fred Meyers right next door makes it convienent.
Even though I live closer to the east side Wal-Mart, I can’t stand shopping there. It seems like that store is dirtier than the west side store, they don’t have self checkouts (which I can’t understand) and the lines there are much longer because of less cashiers than the west side store. But for the money I save, I’m happy to make the small sacrifices of inconveinence from time to time. The parking is never an issue for me as I tend to park out on the north 40 anyways to keep my vehicle from getting dinged and I enjoy walking anyways so I’m able to get in a little excercise while I’m at it.
I’ve also known a few employees that have worked for WalMart for 10-20 years and they love it. I’ve known two people who have worked their way up from bag boys. One of them made store manager and the other guy became district manager, so advancement opportunities are there for those willing to work hard. (as in any business) As for the exploitation factor and the fact that they’ve been caught using child labor from third world countries, well that’s bound to happen (not that it’s right) but it happens within a lot of major corporations, you just don’t hear about it as much. And I do feel sorry for all the “mom & pop” stores they’ve put out of business around the country, but there’s really not much I can do about that. Some may say “well just don’t shop there, don’t give them your business”. If I don’t give them my business, somebody else will, so me not shopping there isn’t going to hurt them one iota. They’re out to save money just as you and I are out to save money.
I’ve comparisson shopped at all the major grocery stores in this town and the money I save is quite substantial.
So while I don’t “love” them and I don’t “hate” them, I do like them enough to do the majority of my shopping with them.
Good post Joe!
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1 0 I really don’t like what they stand for, and I miss a lot of the little shops that used to be here before they arrived, but like a lot of you, I’m there at least once a week anyway. I’ve known people who have worked there (and still work there) who have had great experiences, and I’ve known people who have hated it, I guess just like any other job.
My main complaint is the lack of cashiers, as has been stated above. I don’t mind the self checkout as long as I don’t have videos or alcohol, or anything else that slows the process making it just as bad as waiting for a cashier.
As a small retail business owner, Walmart’s items are on my mind every day as I order (as well as Hot Topic’s) because it does me no good to try to compete with either of them. It’s difficult, but not impossible.
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3 0 Sure easterner. Click my name and it will take you to an informative, if a little dated (2004), Frontline program on problems with the Wal Mart business model and why its bad for America. As with most Frontline programs its worth the watch. In fact I think its one of the last investigative programs on tv. Even if you don’t, the website still has some links to fill in the blanks.
I’m working from memory but as I recall a community in California cut a deal with WalMart where they threatened the community into giving them favorable tax deferrals for a few years or they’d just go down the road to the next town. Its why they are often in odd places. When the negotiated defferrals were due to expire, and after they had succeeded in doing in the local businesses, WalMart abandoned the building, and taxpayer funded improvements, moved down the road, and the city was left with no business tax base whatsoever. I think the city had to file banko. Check it and see.
Since this and other programs about their business model aired, WalMart has engaged in some heavy duty rehabilitation of its image, but not necessarily their practices. There is a lot of beauty in IF and SE Idaho. I don’t think another warehouse supplements that. I hope the planning department in Bonneville County gets a little more active or its all gonna look like the Rigby/ Rexburg corridor.
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1 0 Thanks for the info and the link, Sisyphus.
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2 2 Because I live out side the city limits, on the north east side of Idaho Falls, the closest grocery stores to me are Winco and Walmart, respectively. Still, I hate to shop, any kind of shopping, so do it as little as possible.
When shopping, I want to buy what I need at the cheapest prices available, and I want good quality. Which means I normally don’t buy fresh produce; too damn pricey; and when I do, I don’t buy it at either named stores (but drive way out of my way). All considered, I typically shop once, sometimes twice a month - at Winco. But they don’t carry the age appropriate dog food brand I buy for each of my dogs; that’s available at Walmart. So once every two months I go there to buy my dog food. I can only get the food for my cat at my vet’s office. (damn animals eat better than I do)
I’ve read, heard and seen some evidence that Walmart has closed down small town mom and pop businesses, paid low wages to employees, treated their employees unfairly, not given their employees benefits - specifically health care (requiring them to go on state medicaid), and other like complaints. A small amount of those claims were valid, and Walmart has put a tremendous amount of work into correcting their wrongs, improving their treatment of and offerings to employees, and offerings to the communities in which they serve and reside.
Still, I don’t shop their very often, just because I really, really hate to shop. At Christmas time you’ll find me hibernating in my familyroom, in front of the t.v., waiting for the end of January and gift exchanges in the stores to end.
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3 4 I have to agree that large chains like Wal-mart are putting the small mom and pop shops out of business, but to me, its to be expected. Our who life, the only thing that was constant, was change-why should this be any different. No body made a big deal about the introduction of computers and the typewriter companies going under, or DVD’s making VHS obsolete, or gas powered engines over powering the old wind up version. Things change-technology changes. I think that sometimes people get to set in their ways and are afraid to try new things.
For me, I love Wal-mart, the fact that I can get everything I need in one store makes it worth it. Yeah I may have to stand in line for a while, but at least i dont load up my car with all my non grocery goods, drive across town, shop again, wait in line again, and load my car AGAIN-only this time with my groceries.
And sorry- i dont really feel inclined to feel sorry for the employees of walmart either. Nobody is holding a gun to their head-making them work there. It’s there choice, and if people are so miserable there-then find a new job.
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2 2 Easterner, an interesting note regarding them pulling up stakes is that all of those businesses that leech off of a walmart die, too. Sometimes it just bankrupts a town. Anyone who shops there shouldn’t say anything bad about it because they would be paying for it. Vote with your dollars, words mean nothing.Shop now, pay later.
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4 2 Walmart caused a revolution in America’s shopping. Americans now buy a lot of cheap stuff, including clothing, shoes, electronics- you name it. Our garages and closets are all full to the brim with cheap stuff, and Walmart is where most of it came from.
In the recent past, Americans bought far fewer goods, but of much better quality. An item cost more, but lasted far longer. The huge lure of all those unnecessary goods is fading because the middle class, the biggest economic group, has been slowly gutted for the past 20 years. Rich folks don’t shop at Walmart.
Walmart has lots of evolving strategies. Their used to build a store a month for years. When an area was full of stores, they closed down the least profitable, and build a central super-store. Then they saturated an area again with bigger, but fewer stores. Once any store slowed down, it was abandoned.
We have already seen this- the first Wal-Mart on 17th was closed down and replaced by a super-store. The second, by the freeway, is part of their latest plan.Think of convenience stores on steroids.
For Wal-Mart, abandoning low-profit stores is part of the plan.
We haven’t seen it here yet, but on a trip to central New York a few years ago, I saw at least 30 abandonded Wal-Marts in the small towns I passed through. As soon as a local economy dipped, Wal-Mart moved out, but only after the small local competition had been eliminated first.
Many of those abandoned stores were connected to, or close by, abandoned shopping centers and malls. The bleakness of these places was astonishing and depressing…. I could smell the failure.
2008 has really put a hitch in their plans. Everything Wal-Mart does is based on their central supply depots and their truck fleet for delivery, and their practice of squeezing their suppliers’ profits very hard.
With high fuel prices and high costs of basic materials used by their suppliers, Wal-Mart’s huge size advantages are evaporating, and their size is now a huge disadvantage.
Their practices with their suppliers is not backfiring, too. While Wal-Mart chewed their suppliers’ profits to the bone, they offered the lure of buying huge quantites at the same time. Many of their best suppliers, especially Rubber Maid, couldn’t make goods in the quantity needed at the quality level they were known for, and went bankrupt trying. Even the Asian manufacturers are now leery of Walmart.
All the big box companies are in trouble for the same reasons. All are the least prepared to downsize and specialize. They are like big ships- the business plan is very hard to turn around, and very slow to turn. Thier overhead is eating them alive.
This is the main reason Walmart adopted it’s cheap prescription drug policy; this is one sales point that provides a steady draw, because the buyers depend on the drugs. Right now, they need steady customers’ impulse buying like a fish needs water to survive.
Out here, the change probably won’t be as drastic because there are still a lot of rural folks, and the small towns are further apart. It will probably still pay a shopper to make one big trip to town, but those trips will occur less often.
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1 2 Hi Boomer,
While I don’t agree with everything you wrote, I do think you make some good points, and you do so without resorting to the knee-jerk “WalMart is the Evil Empire” rhetoric. Thanks for more great info on this issue.
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2 0 Maybe Walmart should start renting storage units to store all the things people buy that they really don’t need. That could be a whole new thread. Who rents storage units and why?
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2 1 Hannibal Lecter did. . .
seriously, I have thought about it, but then realized that if I had too much stuff to fit in my house, I should probably just get rid of the stuff. . .
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1 0 Easterner, that’s exactly what I figured. If I have enough stuff to put it in a storage unit and never use it, why not get rid of it. That’s why I wonder why there are so many of them, and who is using them for what (besides the obvious CSI possibilities lol).
I think it could be an interesting thread…
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1 2 seriously, if I cleaned up all the “stuff” in my house and put it into a storage unit, I would then only fill up my house again. . . with more “stuff”. 
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1 1 #16 Boomer! What a great post. Excellent info and so well written. Thanks!
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4 1 Everyone who rents a storage unit says the same thing- I’ll clear it out in 90 days. The average unit is rented for 5 years.
During that time, the average unit is visited 1-5 times. Most unit rentals are cleared out at that 5 year point, either by the renter or the storage company. Almost all the stuff stored goes straight to the dump, or to a Goodwill type of operation.
When the company clears a unit, it is always due to non-payment. This typically happens after 90 days. The company sells anything of value and takes the rest to the dump. typically, over 3/4 of the stuff is dumped.
I’ve rented units twice, the first in 1988. I had exactly that 90 day time plan in mind when I closed my shop, but I was in it for 6 years before clearing it out. During that time, I moved things in and out of the unit, sometimes very often, and sometimes not at all. At least 2 years went by where I moved nothing out or in, and I finally cleared it when a friend needed it and helped me out.
The second time, I was in a unit for 60 days. I learned my lesson the from the first time. (and the cost had gone up from $20 a month to $100 a month)
A friend who now lives in Arizona has a unit in Rigby she has rented now for 3 years, going on 4. I helped her move out, and urged her to dump over half the stuff that went in it to no avail. She came back twice during the first 18 months and got some stuff, so obviously, she doesn’t need the rest.
I also helped my sis move out and put her things into a unit. She moved from one place to another in town. She never visited her unit at all for 5 years, and threw out almost everything. The stuff she kept went to my brother’s outbuilding- a lot of stuff- where she visited only twice, mostly to shuffle it around so he could use the building. It has been there for 2 years, and she is presently clearing it out. Her cost was $90 monthly.
Her storage cost $5400 in total. A lot of the things that were stored were her daughter’s belongings. Her daughter was about 8 when she moved. When she finally cleared the unit, she no longer thought all those toys, old kid shoes, etc. were as precious as when she moved them in.
There was a box of unused shoes- a pair that she probably bought for her daughter on sale and were never worn for some reason. They went to a thrift store; I saw the sales sticker on the box, and figured that a $30 pair of pretty good kid’s shoes ended up costing her about $50 more, sitting in storage.
My sis learned her lesson too. These days, she disposes of more than I do regularly in one way or another.
… and most of the junk that we dumped was from Walmart. The rest was from Sears, Penny’s, and Shopko. I made her keep a cheap-o plastic belt as a reminder of the cost, and she sure took it to heart! It’s now strapped around a plastic container she uses to take things to the Thrift Store.
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2 0 Great comments boomer. Less is more. I find that more valuable the older I get. We can’t take it with us. And don’t get me wrong, I’m frugal as hell. But I get much more satisfaction in buying cheap stuff from my neighbors in garage sales than I do buying Chinese at Walmart, even if they orignated from WalMart. Either dump your sotred stuff into the stream of commerce or if you lack the time, let the Youth Ranch do it for you, and take the tax write off.
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2 1 I have to disagree with the comment that “rich folks dont shop at WalMart”. That’s a ridiculous statement and is only a matter of opinion made by the poster. I know and have known many a rich folk all over the country that have and do shop at WalMart for their everyday household products, toiletries, garden center supplies, etc etc. They may not purchase electronics at WalMart, but neither do I and I’m not rich. Aside from that statement, I mostly agree with comment 16.
I shop there for everyday household supplies and groceries, mostly to save money. Love em or hate em, they are the least expensive place to buy most anything.
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2 2 Two great ones from boomer. My thumbs aren’t working but here’s a thumb for 16 and 23, as well. One does not have to look far to see that the “rhetoric” referred to somewhere here is just fact to those who have checked into it at all. Of course a fair weigh in must include Wal -Mart’s sustainability efforts, and further efforts to buy local produce. (This is putting a nice spin on fuel cost savings efforts for them.) It’s all on their site. There is also the cash that they disperse to various charities. And who knows, maybe the Walton’s themselves are pretty nice people on the whole. Wal-Mart’s strategies are a plan for success and they follow that plan. Anyone in business knows that you make a plan and you plan for if this or that happens in your internal or the external environment, the company does this or that. It’s mostly determined by set numbers or behaviors. Nothing “Evil” about a good business plan any more than a good chess player. It’s all a game, anyway.
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1 2 I love Wal-Marts and I love this country tha has them. Look at the cheap prices it has and you can get good deals. Mouthwash, food, and assorted medicines all at a comfortable price. The community needs to have a Wal-Mart so that our fellow friends can save money. In this sluggish economy one needs to have one and the company seems to be prospering. I just love these stores because I can say like Geico “I saved a bunch of money by shopping at Wal-Mart”. That is some good food I can put in my stomach and realize how fantastic it is.
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2 0 Right on, Carnage…
Business is business. Walmart is just providing what people want. If they are predatory, well, that’s the business is.
To all the folks who are thinking they’re getting great deals:
The profit margins on groceries, cleaning products, and other common household items is so thin that all competition in this area is exactly the same. You can go to any other store and find similar prices, and if you shop with coupons and use fliers, you’ll save more money by far by hitting just the specials.
The real profits are made in selling personal health care stuff, including shampoo, soap & deodorant, pet food, utensiles, tools, shoes and clothing. Especially clothing, and most especially children’s clothing.
The non-essential stuff has a typical markup of 100% over wholesale costs. Food is 5%. Perfume and jewelry and cosmetics has a 200% markup. The stuff that goes on sale every week has a big markup.
A lot of folks blame Walmart and NAFTA for ruining American production, but it’s a lot more complicated than it appears. Most of the American textile industry failed to modernize for far too long, just as the American steel industry did. The owners had plenty of opportunity to do so, but preferred to squeeze the labor costs rather than re-equip an 100 year old mill.
Textiles were once the primary goods manufactured in the North. But after the Civil War, millions of southerners were left with the choice of complete poverty or working in the then-new mills that were built all over the South by northern mill owners seeking a cheaper way to produce goods.
The northern owners moved there to be closer to the raw materials (cotton), cheaper labor, and cheaper land. This is exactly what’s happening in Idaho right now- the industrialists looked for the places where it was cheap to build, and where the taxes and regulations were low.
It worked for a long time, because textile mills could always find people who would work for anything offered. The Oriental manufacturers, especially Japan, were required to re-build brand new mills due to the destruction of World War II, and it took them a lot of time to become competitve. If the US manufacturers had looked overseas to see what was happening, they would have seen they were going to lose their edge, but they didn’t.
Unlike Japan, where a top manager is disgraced and loses all his wealth of a business fails, the US rewards biz failures by giving out the golden parachutes. In the rest of the world, the businesses that constantly re-tool and innovate get the advantages, but here, rennovation is taxed, so there isn’t any incentive to buy new tooling regularly.
The old business models, especially in the areas of biz/govt., need a drastic overhaul in the US. Right now, a US company has all incentives needed to send production overseas with no penalties at all. None.
If the tax structure was changed so that manufacturers here in the US paid more taxes for the goods they import than for the goods produced here, we would see more jobs. The carrot has to be smaller and the stick has to be bigger.
Given the realities, I think what’s needed is a scalar approach. Companies who sell only import goods would get the highest tarrifs, companies who produce essential parts here and send assembly overseas the next highest, companies that need foreign goods (such as machine tools- the tools that make the tools) the next, and so forth.
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1 2 Hi Boomer,
Once again, you make great points but I must disagree with you on one aspect: if you are talking about the typical housewife/working class shopper (me, for instance), I have checked out all types of coupons, rebates, specials. . . and Walmart still is cheaper on the household necessities I shop for. Example: Gain laundry detergent is 6 -7dollars for the size I purchase each week at every store in the area. . .except Walmart, where it is regularly 4.88. Even if I had a $.50 coupon and even if I hit a “double coupon” day, I save more money at Walmart, without having to clip coupons or run all over town. Same with shampoo and with eggs, butter, milk; you name it, Walmart always beats the prices by at least $1 or more. So, yes, if I get sucked into buying clothing or cds (althought the prices on cd’s, 13.88 most typically, is still cheaper than any other retailer) the bill will get higher; but if I stick with necessities, Walmart is always cheaper, even after considering promotions other stores ocassionally offer. Their profit is accomplished by their ability to buy in such great volume, not in adding a retail mark up to each product.
Are they “predatory”? I don’t know; is “Microsoft”? They offer browsers and operating systems at low cost and the software is available everywhere. . . does this make Microsoft predatory or simply a well-run, exceptionally profitable company? Certainly Bill Gates put a lot of smaller “mom and pop” computer software companies out of business. . .how many of us are using a Windows operating system or WIndows software right now?
What about McDonalds? Getting away from the arguable nutrition aspect, do people consider McDonald’s “predatory” because they offer low prices on the same hamburger you can buy elsewhere for more money? Or is McDonald’s an American success story because Ray Kroc first had the idea of a chain of hamburger places, all run according to a strict regimen, and following a single-minded purpose: to make as much money as possible? Don’t forget, McDonald’s put a lot of Mom and Pop burger places out of business, too.
thanks for the great info and discussion on this issue!
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1 1 Ditto Easterner!! Has anyone else noticed how much smaller packaging has gotten lately? I mention it because I read a story about it in the paper today. But the wife and I have been noticing it over the past couple of months. The body soap we used to purchase that came in packs of three is now in packs of two at the same price. Boxes of cereal have shrunk, lunch meat, and a host of other products have dropped in qty by 2-5 oz, but prices have remained the same. Personally, I would rather they raise the price a little bit and tell you, instead of reducing the size of said product and try to hide it.
I also agree with the coupon issue. Our family stopped cutting coupons years ago (although we still use a few on occasion at WalMart), because WalMart is still cheaper even without using coupons than the majority of other grocery stores.
Great comments by all.
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0 0 In response to no. 30, YES. Same prices, less product. This includes more industrial items, which just don’t come with all of the parts that you need for full functionality/hookup any more. It does smack of trickery but let’s face it good, complete, fair quantity products are a thing of the past. Cheap is in. Americans have sacrificed quality for price for decades in the food industry. They pay a smaller percentage of wages for the processed crap that they ingest than anybody else. Now what’s available is vitamin fortified, poisoned cardboard. The same thing is happening in manufacturing and production. Cheaper, now means deceptive packaging and crappy products. Shop cheap, get cheap. Don’t forget, you get what you pay for. One must find the humor in praising Wal-Mart’s prices and expecting that they can possibly keep quality up at said prices.
Take a Schwinn Bike - good, American made brand - plenty around fron 40 years ago. Now tell me if anyone who’s bought a cheaply made new schwinn from Wal- Mart
is going to have it in 1, 2, 5 years?
Buyer beware, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
If you are buying it, quit complaining.
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1 0 Hi, Easterner…
I’ve got no arguement with your thoughts… I quit Walmart, so I have to rebuttals that would be valid. The only time I bought some Walmart groceries was enough to make me decided I would rather pay more and get less stale stuff. And that was a few years ago, too, so the situation may well have improved.
I apologize to anyone who thought I rambled off into a treatise on history- I tend to do that.
I agree with Spelunker, and I also think that entire Super Size phenomenon of the 20th Century is going the way of the mammoth. Many items, like cereal, were packaged into deceptively big boxes, which caused the necessity of Super Sizing kitchen cabinets to hold the extra cardboard.
Americans have grown fat from the Family Size packaging. Far too many of us need to buy Super Size cleaning products, because we own too much cheap clothing that fills Super Sized houses, which need Super Sized cleaning. We need Super Sized cars to move our Super Sized habits around.
Sure- we are buying less and paying more. Soon enough, we’ll all become accustomed to looking for the goods in the box, and quit paying for the extra cardboard and imported air, but we’ll be drug into the new realities kicking and screaming because all of us have been Super Sized habitually.
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0 2 Hi Boomer,
I like the “supersize” angle of your post: I have always been intrigued by the glut of McMansions around these parts (who lives in them? who can afford them? why such a giant house?) and never tied it in to our culture of bigger, better, more. . .
interesting, as always. . . .
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1 0 In response to 33, the answer to your question is simple. In some other states and areas, property values are much greater for less house and property. This is due in part to density of population : supply and demand. However, this density has also ruined the way of life for some. The effect is people selling their expensive crowded house and buying much more for their money here. The Mc Mansions you mentioned. This would also be a good purchase for someone abandoning an unaffordable mortgage with dropping value and getting into a nicer house with a fixed mortgage.
This is completely off topic, unless you consider the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Wal-Mart takes a special breed of person who is more concerned about “savings” and “convenience” than anything else. To some, a town is nigh unlivable without one.
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1 2 You CAN buy most grocery items at other stores for less than you can at Walmart if you know how to shop. But y’all just keep thinking that Walmart always has the lowest price. Some people believe everything they’re told.
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3 0 I’ve been shopping for almost 50 years and guess I don’t know how to shop. I have always thought that WalMart and Winco had the lowest prices for groceries. If you have some tips on how we can get groceries cheaper at other places, please share them with us. There are occasions when certain items go on special, and that one certain item might be a few cents cheaper, but does it make it worthwhile to drive to a certain store to buy one or two items? There has been a lot of research done showing that when a person goes into a store to buy one item, they usually end up buying several thereby eliminating all their savings. So shopper beware of “ads” and “specials”.
I shop at Winco when I have a lot to buy. Did you all know that they give you a grocery bag credit if you use your own bags? Granted, it’s not much, but it is something.
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1 5 Believe it or not, some of us have actually compared prices by shopping at other stores. And I’m sure most of us “know how to shop”. It doesn’t take a degree in economics tell you that overall WalMart is the cheaper alternative.
So “Ya’ll” can keep shopping at yer favorite grocery sto, as for mein my familys, we’s jus gonna keep on shoppin at lil ole WalMart.
Thank you and do come again.
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1 2 You are correct Idaho Native, that no one store has lowest prices on everything. I’ve just been reading this thread lately and seen so many people insist that only Walmart has the lower prices and that just isn’t true. And the difference is a lot more than “a few cents.” Winco does have good prices on most things, but not on their meats for instance. I can shop for sale items at other stores and plan ahead. Yes, some regular prices might be higher at other stores but the sale prices are lower. As long as a person doesn’t need to run to a store right at that moment it’s not too hard to plan shopping trips for when you are in a certain part of town for another reason. If a person buys other non-sale items they hadn’t planned on buying I guess they don’t have much willpower to begin with. Statements like “It doesn’t take a degree in economics tell you that overall WalMart is the cheaper alternative” are opinions, not facts. And I disagree with that opinion. I’ve shopped at Walmart and their prices are no lower than anyone else’s. You can comparison shop all you want but Walmart rarely has sale items and other stores do. From my experience the only thing that’s lower at Walmart is their quality. But that’s just my opinion.
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1 3 Saying that Walmarts “quality is lower” is also an opinion. Walmart carry’s the exact same items that all the other grocery stores do. ie: Coke, Pepsi, General Mills, Kraft, etc etc. So for you to say their “quality is lower” makes no sense. You’re also supposedly quoting Idaho Native on something he/she never said (no one store has the lowest prices on everything) When in fact he/she said ” I have always thought that WalMart and Winco had the lowest prices for groceries.” What’s up with that?
Like others on this post, I’ve also compared prices with other grocery stores and have come to the conclusion that “over-all”, WalMart is less expensive. (even without putting items on sale) I don’t often like to buy produce there because I find the quality to be lower compared to say Fred Meyers, but if you catch them when their shipment comes in that week, you can still find decent produce. Why shop at 3 or 4 stores when you can do it all at one and get it over with. If you don’t like shopping at WalMart thats certainly your choice, but your claims (or opinions) don’t hold water. IMO
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1 1 Everyone has their own opinions and nobody is right or wrong but I agree with Newsflash that the perception of Walmart having the lowest overall prices is not true. That’s my opinion only of course. So go ahead and give me thumbs down too if it makes you feel any better.
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0 1 First of all, this is just an observation, not an attack on the author. In post # 39 in the first paragraph it states:
“So for you to say their “quality is lower” makes no sense”.
Paragraph 2 states: “I don’t often like to buy produce there because I find the quality to be lower.”
With a little research you will discover that WalMart in fact DOES get their own, cheaper made versions of some products. Check out their “Levi’s”, for example.
The larger picture is that their practices drive down quality across the board. So the quality of what is offered in other stores is being effected by Wal mart’s multi industry dominating practices, as well.
Just sayin’.
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2 0 Barglewarmer: great screenname and thanks for joining in the discussion. You make a valid argument. I completely agree with you when it comes to items “other than groceries” at WalMart. ie: Clothes, electronics, kitchen wares, etc. As a matter of fact my preferred brand of blue jean is Levis and WalMart does carry a cheaper brand of Levi which I won’t purchase because they are “cheap”. That was a great example. I don’t purchase my clothes, electronics or most other household items there because they are “cheap”, so I apologize, you & news flash made a good point regarding much of WalMarts products.
I was speaking more in regards to actual groceries. And, as noted earlier, while I often don’t like the produce at WalMart, there are times where you can find decent produce, I do prefer the produce from FM. But from my experience, I’ve found that “groceries” are often cheaper than most other grocery stores such as Albertsons, Smiths & Fred Meyers. I also agree with your last paragraph regarding WalMarts business practices and the fact that they’ve run so many smaller “mom & pop” establishments out of business. (and not just grocery stores)
Great comments and thanks for your input!
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1 0 In response to post #39 it said that:
Walmart carry’s the exact same items that all the other grocery stores do. ie: Coke, Pepsi, General Mills, Kraft, etc etc.
I realize that in the context of that comment the poster was talking about the quality of products but I would like to compare prices. Last week I bought 5 12-packs of Coke for $13 and 5 12-packs of Pepsi for $13 at Smith’s. At Walmart both of these brands are $4.28 per 12- pack. So what cost me $26 at Smith’s would have been $42.80 at Walmart. That’s more than the few cents previous commenters suggested could be saved. I buy 32 oz. Gatorade for 69 cents but at Walmart it’s 98 cents. There are plenty more examples.
I’m sorry if my tone seemed harsh before but I’m just saying that if you do your homework and plan a little bit you can save money without making unnecessary trips to the store. And if you buy everything at Walmart you’re probably not getting the best deals you can. But that’s just my opinion.
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1 0 Were your Smith’s items on sale? Isn’t the Walmart price an “every day low price”?
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0 0 I love Wal-Mart so much that I want to hug the whole store. When I came to America from my homeland of Germany, I was looking for something cheap und simple. Once I found this I cried with happiness and was happy to pay the price of two dollars. It was sehr toll und super. That is to say that I shop for everything there like food and car parts for my little baby who puts cars together. I also collect a wide variety of oil which I keep in my room.
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0 0 anyone else think we are being visited by certain “blasts from the past” here?
just curious. . . . I guess making fun of people from other countries is okay in their realm. . . .
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1 0 A baby auto mechanic and a room full of different varieties of oil. Interesting comment there Farfennugen.
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Back in 1986, visiting Kentucky (was thinking of moving back “home” until something blew up with my family) they had one dirty little store in Hardinsburg…and I thought they were a nasty little knockoff of K-Mart, which at the time was a nice box store in Idaho Falls. Little did I know.
Since then, I’ve been unhappy with their agressive business tactics, the actual recruitment of their employees to apply for Medicaid because the health coverage being offered was too expensive for the wages being paid, and the shoddy products being sold.
But, they aren’t a whole lot different than other box stores anymore. My husband prefers them for their business hours, and the one-stop-shopping, and the cheaper prices than my preferred grocers (Albertson’s and Freddy’s).
But even he will go to Albertson’s if all he wants is a gallon of milk, because it’s not such a huge long warehouse to traverse to pick up the one item.
I’m hit and miss as to whether I can stand them or not. I wish I was more miss because it just feels bad, personally, to support the billionaires who aren’t taking the opportunity to be more supportive of the “little people” who toil for them daily.