Headline: American Families Now Save $2,500 a Year, Thanks to Wal-Mart

[W2R]

I live in the MidWest, no hurricanes here..........

I'm hightailing it up to Missouri as soon as I can ER!!! Looks like 2010. No hurricanes is just fine with me!

Meanwhile, every time I evacuate for a hurricane, the contents of my lovely NEW refrigerator will be in an ice chest by my side, or else in the trash. I will never come home to that again, if I can help it.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well... I went there last night to look at car batteries.... my mom's died and I need to pick her up a new one..

Well, for $69 you can get one with 550 CCA.... at Advanced you can get a 700 CCA for a whopping $60... at Auto Zone it is 720 CCA for $70...

It does not seem like I am saving any money at Wally..

 

[REWahoo]

Don't think I'm saving anywhere near $2,500 at WW but I like the one-stop shopping convenience. My shopping cart contents today:

- Bananas
- Coffee
- Foam fishing floats (for toilet tank 'upgrade')
- 1" wood drill bit
- Two markdown golf shirts ($6 each - how can you pass on a deal like that?)
- 4-pole trailer wiring kit
- Prescription refill
- Plastic wastebasket

Not too many other places you can go to find all that in one spot. Yeah, they sell cheap Chinese crap, but so does almost everyone else....

 

[bssc]

Well... I went there last night to look at car batteries.... my mom's died and I need to pick her up a new one..

Well, for $69 you can get one with 550 CCA.... at Advanced you can get a 700 CCA for a whopping $60... at Auto Zone it is 720 CCA for $70...

It does not seem like I am saving any money at Wally..

You are saving money since WM drove the prices down at all the other places to compete and stay in business. And they drove down prices at their suppliers. At least this is the theory.

 

[justin]

Well... I went there last night to look at car batteries.... my mom's died and I need to pick her up a new one..

Well, for $69 you can get one with 550 CCA.... at Advanced you can get a 700 CCA for a whopping $60... at Auto Zone it is 720 CCA for $70...

It does not seem like I am saving any money at Wally..

Wow - last two times I priced batteries (this past weekend and 1 year ago), walmart was $5-10 cheaper for similar CCA batteries. They also had free installation like Autozone (don't know about Advanced). However, the deal breaker for me was the wait at walmart was between 2 hours and a day for a battery install. Autozone gets you in and out, including free diagnostic in 15-20 minutes. Obviously a dead battery is something pretty important to the continuing operation of a vehicle, so I ponied up the extra $10 and went with the non-walmart choice. But it is great to know that I can shop for groceries, car batteries and tires all in the same store!

 

[twaddle]

If you buy Levis at Walmart, you are not getting the same Levis you get at a different store. You are getting thinner cloth, and poorer stitching. Walmart leans on companies to cut costs and in many cases puts out special lower-quality mark.

There was an article in the NY Times the other day on lead paint in Chinese toys. A manufacturer said, "We only use lead paint when our client demands a certain price point. We can use any paint they'd like, but lead paint is cheaper."

 

[Texas Proud]

Wow - last two times I priced batteries (this past weekend and 1 year ago), walmart was $5-10 cheaper for similar CCA batteries. They also had free installation like Autozone (don't know about Advanced). However, the deal breaker for me was the wait at walmart was between 2 hours and a day for a battery install. Autozone gets you in and out, including free diagnostic in 15-20 minutes. Obviously a dead battery is something pretty important to the continuing operation of a vehicle, so I ponied up the extra $10 and went with the non-walmart choice. But it is great to know that I can shop for groceries, car batteries and tires all in the same store!

Yea... I was surprised also.... but I get to put it in since my mom had her car towed home when it died...

And BSSC, I would bet that the price of the others are down because of Walmart, but how do you explain them to be CHEAPER??

I can buy a 630 CCA at O'Reilly at $43.... a lot less then the Walmart.

 

[Citizen~of~the~World]

Wal-Mart Is Good at Cutting Prices...

and they are volume buyer, and they really saved money for all of us average Americans. Wal-Mart buyers can go into any factory or vendor demanding that they cut their prices. Meet Walmart's prices or be dropped. In China, many factories were squeezed by Walmart, and yes, the price dropped and Walmarts profit goes up, and all of us Americans can buy cheap. But little did we know most of the products we get are substandard and could even be harmful too. When Walmart buyers squeeze the vendor, they have to find ways to cut cost and deliver the goods. So they use cheaper industrial grade materials for consumer products. Example: Industrial salt to consumer salt, toxic paint to safe paint for toys and all sorts. In the end, Walmart or Mattel will blame Chinese manufacturers for the poor quality but themselves. If they have quality and fair pricing in their sourcing system to begin with, I am sure the quality will be under control. By all means, this is not Walmart bashing but whenever I travel to far east and meet factory owners, I heard them lament about Walmart buyers placing pressure on them to cut cost. In the end, its us consumers that suffer when we buy substandard products. Cheers!

 

[Bikerdude]

By all means, this is not Walmart bashing but whenever I travel to far east and meet factory owners, I heard them lament about Walmart buyers placing pressure on them to cut cost. In the end, its us consumers that suffer when we buy substandard products. Cheers!

Yeah, all those honorable Chinese businessmen that respect product and intellectual license and rights. And how about their great human rights and environmental progress. They certainly show us how evil that old Wal-Mart is.

 

[Citizen~of~the~World]

Yeah, all those honorable Chinese businessmen that respect product and intellectual license and rights. And how about their great human rights and environmental progress. They certainly show us how evil that old Wal-Mart is.

In terms of honorable chinese businessman and China itself as a country, that is another debatable subject that could go for pages. As long as the country is moving forward, it has it problems. Most chinese businessman in China only worships money, and could sell you their mother-in-law and wouldn't blink a bit. So when you mix Walmart and those businessmen who will do anything to meet the price, the losers are consumers like us. In every society, there are honorable and unscrupulous businessmen. We can start with the CEO of Enron for US and the FDA Chief of China who allow untested drugs to flood the market. Its unfortunate that we Americans continue to buy and enjoy the fruits of cheap labor from China and feed these chinese businessmen and Walmart. We wake up in the morning by the alarm clock made in China, drive a Japanese car, yak into a chinese made Nokia phone and come back to prepare dinner in a Korean oven and watch TV made in China. Now we wonder why we some of us couldnt find a job around here. In China, you and I hv no rights, not to mention human rights. When you are taken in, you can get an attorney to plead for lesser sentence. That's the way the society works. Wanna go biking in China one of these days? You are welcome to join me. Cheers!

 

[Average Joe]

It's not just about saving money:

By shopping at WalMart, I conserve the planet’s valuable resources. I forgo the higher quality (and therefore more resource intensive) products available elsewhere. So my trash bags are thinner because they’re made using less petrochemicals than other trash bags? They’re good enough for what I’m going to do with them. So my feather duster doesn’t have an expensively finished hardwood handle? I feel good that no rainforest giants were felled to make it. So that table I bought was made with 100% recycled plastic instead of mahogany? That’s OK, I don’t mind recycled plastic and even though it’s cheap and low quality, it serves my purposes and uses fewer resources to do so.

By shopping at WalMart, I combat global warming. Instead of driving around to different specialized outlets, I find everything under one roof that thereby save fuel and reduce my carbon footprint.

By shopping at WalMart, I help Mom and Pop store owners – the ones that own Walmart stock. And as a member of a Mom and Pop team myself, I save money and TIME by shopping at WalMart along with all the other Moms and Pops I see shopping there whenever I go.

Some things I’d definitely shop for elsewhere. Shoes, for example; I prefer shoes of higher quality than I believe are available there (maybe I’m mistaken and should look closer at Walmart shoes). But not everything I use needs to be made to the highest standards – that would be wasteful in my opinion. Just good enough is in many cases best.

 

[Bikerdude]

By shopping at WalMart, I help Mom and Pop store owners – the ones that own Walmart stock. And as a member of a Mom and Pop team myself, I save money and TIME by shopping at WalMart along with all the other Moms and Pops I see shopping there whenever I go.

.

Yeah I see lots of Mom & Pops shopping at WM. Mostly retired looking for bargains. The other big group is minorities looking to stretch a dollar. They really like Wal-Mart.

 

[citril]

I heard an interview with the author of "the WalMart Effect." I haven't read the book yet but intend to. It validated much of what I had heard in other places.

Amazon.com: The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy: Books: Charles Fishman

It's ironic when a book describing the negative impact on local retailers is linked to from Amazon.com

 

[Bikerdude]

It's ironic when a book describing the negative impact on local retailers is linked to from Amazon.com

Welcome to "free enterprise"

 

[youbet]

It's ironic when a book describing the negative impact on local retailers is linked to from Amazon.com

Good catch citril! Yeah, it is ironic.

Our Walmart situation here in Chicago-land seems to be working a little differently than it is in small town America. The city of Chicago itself, to the best of my knowledge, has no Walmarts. Here in the suburbs, there are Walmarts and Sam's Clubs, but they have tough competition and are considered just another big box discount store available to check for best prices/quality/service. They clearly don't dominate.

There is a Walmart about two miles from me. It occupies a building formerly occupied by a KMart. I think they're doing a better job in all regards than the KMart folks did. And I'm glad they're there competing with the other big box discount stores for both customers and employees. It keeps everyone honest and on their toes.

 

[chinaco]

Good catch citril! Yeah, it is ironic.

Our Walmart situation here in Chicago-land seems to be working a little differently than it is in small town America. The city of Chicago itself, to the best of my knowledge, has no Walmarts. Here in the suburbs, there are Walmarts and Sam's Clubs, but they have tough competition and are considered just another big box discount store available to check for best prices/quality/service. They clearly don't dominate.

There is a Walmart about two miles from me. It occupies a building formerly occupied by a KMart. I think they're doing a better job in all regards than the KMart folks did. And I'm glad they're there competing with the other big box discount stores for both customers and employees. It keeps everyone honest and on their toes.

Yes... but one thing is for sure. Walmart has put pricing pressure on competitors and manufacturers... a good thing for consumers in my book.

Of course, Walmart is only interested in making money. It is a business and they are working their strategy. In a way, they are the retail goods version of Vanguard.

 

[bosco]

Yes... but one thing is for sure. Walmart has put pricing pressure on competitors and manufacturers... a good thing for consumers in my book.

I think the kind of pressure they have put is not a good thing, at least long-term.

Just be sure you check the brand mark closely. You might not be getting exactly what you think you are.

Last time I checked, Amazon didn't reduce their prices by selling me an abridged version of a book without clearly telling me so.

 

[playaman]

Guys, pay attention to precisely what the article says:

"The conclusion of this update is that the continued reduction in prices due to the presence of Wal-Mart and the growth in consumer expenditures over the 2004 to 2006 period translates directly into savings for consumers amounting to $287 billion in 2006. This corresponds to savings of $957 per person or $2,500 per household..."

This is a classic economic impact argument -- i.e., that the presence of Wal-Mart forces prices down throughout the economy. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. I detest Wal-Mart and buy little there, but the argument may well be valid ...

 

[Michael]

All I know is that the CPI goes up every single year, despite Wal Mart. Consumers save nothing if prices overall are rising.