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Funny, I don't spend my money at any of those places.
actually, at least for the Walmart stores I have been to, there is a difference. I can't find anyone working on the floor in Walmart so if you need help with something you are screwed. I went in one to get my grandson a booster seat and I couldn't reach the box, I could not find one employee not working at a cash register or in customer service...I finally went to customer service asked for help and they told me to go back and wait and someone would be there. I left the store 45 minutes later and bought the booster seat for the same price on Amazon and got it 2 days later.
And I'm sorry, but some of the customers are disgusting - and I don't just mean their physical appearance I am referring to the way they will put their cart in the middle of an aisle and look at you stupid when you need to get past them, or their brat kids run through the store little wild animals. I just don't need to deal with that kind of crap. Winco is regional but if you have one near you, check it out, they have a great produce selection some good prices on meat and the store is employee owned- and most of the prices match Walmart or come really close. Also check out local ethnic stores, I get great deals shopping at Asian and Mexican grocery stores
Funny, I don't spend my money at any of those places.
You've got a lot of posts in here ( Maybe that is hint for a comment) We have tons of mom and pop shops here too. So, yeah, people also support E-Commerce.
We are not out of options to buy and have new companies/mom and pop/ e commerce move here all the time. The latest one is Burlington Coat factory and Whole Foods. Mom and Pop shops are announced in the Business Insider.
I like Marshalls, Home Goods, T J Maxx, Dillards, and a million more.
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I have an older lady living next door who is a "Walmart basher". Constantly telling me to avoid Walmart because a grocery supermarket ( employee owned....3 miles away..) has lower prices.
Maybe for her
I have taken my complete grocery list there and the prices are about 15% higher.
(plus they don't have the selection our Walmart does)
Maybe your shopping list is higher at Walmart..........mine is not.
I'm not going to break my shopping list up in 6 parts and go to 6 different stores, either.
People do what they must to survive. Inexpensive food is the #1 priority in most families. There is nothing cheap about $7.00 per pound hamburger at Walmart.
Meat markets and Aldi's stores are two places that sell 85/15 ground beef for two dollars less. It is where I buy mine. Walmart does not compete in the area of paper products. Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Sam's Club and Costco sell toilet paper and paper towels cheaper.
I've never been to Aldi's, thought my sister in law does the long drive to there IF there is more to do than get a few groceries. If not its not worth the drive to save a little on food.
I've been getting most everything at Walmart, including vegies. I could try three stores to save a few pennies, but the savings isn't much. But I buy my milk from Braums, and like the lowfat variety. Not only do they have their own herd, but its milk without excessive anti biotics and no growth hormones. And they formulate the low fat milk with more milk solids so its got a wonderful full on taste. And I buy my meat from the local butcher shop, which I can walk to and check out the stuff on sale. The meat at Walmart was certainly all right and locally produced, but I like the taste and care taken with the butcher shop meat.
The extra lean ground beef from walmart cost as much as the butcher shop but they were closed.
The quality and selection of vegies vary from area to area. Walmart here has a good selection. The other grocery store in town does too, but it costs more. Walmart out in socal where I used to live had only the basics but there are a number of grocery chains who could compete in price. What and how diverse depends on the area.
One other point about walmart is that they carry a large variety of products, often from smaller companies, through their web site which doesn't sell enough for shelf space. Between that and amazon, a lot of diverse products not commonly found can be easily gotten.
I stop by our super walmart at least once a week and also the walmart market as well. I don't rely on just one place to shop, I find certain things better in certain stores. Just like I go to home depot as well as lowes. Most of my shopping is done within five miles of my home. I have no problem going from one to the next. I do like their self checkouts as well, easy in and out. I don't waste my time judging people I see when shopping. I have better things to do then think I am better then someone else. I don't go to the store to chat with people or to look for new friends. I go to get what I need and not to dwell on who or what I saw while shopping.
Yeah, I watch Shark Tank all the time and again, its about greed. I notice a lot of small companies want to be truly "American made" but the sharks don't necessarily want to invest because that's not where the money is. They believe in outsourcing, for the max profits. I just saw a blurb in the news yesterday how China has made a replica of a Land Rover that will cost about $50,000 less than an actual one. So yes they can make things much cheaper but I disagree with it as I feel it hurts the small business owner here in America who truly wants to be "American"
When I say increase the taxes on imported items I want the taxes to be the equivalent to what an "American made" product would cost so the choice would either be American or import, not "well this one is cheaper so im going to buy it". I think faced with this most people would buy American and in turn would keep these small businesses going and allow them to keep growing.
You are correct in your example that this isn't the way things are done now but I think it is very unfortunate.
One problem with entirely american made is some of it needs to be manufacutred. So if you have a product which needs some specialty parts, you need to find someone to make them. But that bird has largely flown here, and it requires a lot of cash investment to start a manufacturing buisness. So that means that even when you do find a US source, it likely cost more.
Then, if you stick to American made, your product is automatically going to cost more than someone who goes to a Chinese factory. People will buy new things, but if they can get it for less they will, or maybe they have to. Its the small parts of things which need a manufacturing part which often have to be outsourced to make their price reasonable which make a hundered percent american difficult.
The reality is most people will see a product much like the rest, except it costs more and buy the cheaper ones. The sharks use that as a tool to evaluate the chances for a product/company since it doesn't matter how good it is or how proudly american the owners are if sales are only selective.
I think while most people like the idea of made in America, and will buy if they can or if there's something different enough, but for many *price* is the thing because it has to be.
The made in america stories on ABC have included companies which do light manufacturing, but its simple stuff. None of them have needed to open a large factory with expensive machines.
The quality and selection of vegies vary from area to area. Walmart here has a good selection.
I'm not arguing about it varying, or that your store has a good selection of produce, but wow that is not what I have found in stores both in Northern California and Northern Nevada; it almost always goes like this for me:
Do you have kale, kohlrabi, asparagus, artichokes, turnips, bak choy, parsnips, heirloom tomatoes, and the answer has always been NO, and these are super Walmart's, and I don't think any of those are considered esoteric vegetables,all of the chain grocers carry them- why not Walmart?
actually, at least for the Walmart stores I have been to, there is a difference. I can't find anyone working on the floor in Walmart so if you need help with something you are screwed. I went in one to get my grandson a booster seat and I couldn't reach the box, I could not find one employee not working at a cash register or in customer service...I finally went to customer service asked for help and they told me to go back and wait and someone would be there. I left the store 45 minutes later and bought the booster seat for the same price on Amazon and got it 2 days later.
And I'm sorry, but some of the customers are disgusting - and I don't just mean their physical appearance I am referring to the way they will put their cart in the middle of an aisle and look at you stupid when you need to get past them, or their brat kids run through the store little wild animals. I just don't need to deal with that kind of crap. Winco is regional but if you have one near you, check it out, they have a great produce selection some good prices on meat and the store is employee owned- and most of the prices match Walmart or come really close. Also check out local ethnic stores, I get great deals shopping at Asian and Mexican grocery stores
I don't have a car so getting to more distant stores is a lot of trouble, but suspect I'd do the same if it wasn't. I buy a LOT of things on Amazon. Some of them I'd have gone to a brick and mortor store, but wanted to check out details and amazon had a lot of customer comments. And I don't end up making the trip and then not finding what I want. I find the best deals and have never failed to find the thing I want for a good price on amazon. It may become the largest competitor to stores as time goes on.
Walmart's online twin is also something I use often. They carry a lot more products than in the normal size stores, and you do at least have some reviews. If the price is better on walmart online, check out the amazon review which tend to be more plentiful and buy from Walmart.
I don't know which store you go to, but the one I'm used to has ordinary types shopping there.
I'm not arguing about it varying, or that your store has a good selection of produce, but wow that is not what I have found in stores both in Northern California and Northern Nevada; it almost always goes like this for me:
Do you have kale, kohlrabi, asparagus, artichokes, turnips, bak choy, parsnips, heirloom tomatoes, and the answer has always been NO, and these are super Walmart's, and I don't think any of those are considered esoteric vegetables,all of the chain grocers carry them- why not Walmart?
First off, they buy largely from local sources. Not all of those things are available fresh at all times. They ship in veggies from elsewhere, but you can't count on all of it being available at all times.
The main difference between the chain store here in town and Walmart is its veggie section is larger and a lot more expensive. Because this is a smaller town, there may well be things they don't have, but neither does the chain. But next bigger town there are actually TWO large super walmarts.
I've found that push come to shove, I've never really needed something I had to take a longer trip to get to. The smaller one has recently expanded its supply, and its not as neatly set out but you don't need to take a road trip.
Most of the Walmarts in the area of California I lived in sold ice cream and maybe milk, but no general foods but there were a lot more food stores.
I used to check out Ralphs out there, which had a lovely fresh food area and products which other stores didn't. We seldom bought anything though since the price was at least double. We just got the stuff no other store had and left.
Last edited by nightbird47; 04-22-2015 at 12:35 PM..
I am an old lady living on Social Security and I manage NOT to shop at Walmart. It's not hard.
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