Super Walmart (Massapequa, Wantagh, Westbury: fit in, shopper, move to)

[leaana]

What i've noticed is, it's not wal-mart most people are actually upset about as they do not have to shop there.

It changes the landscape of their neighborhood as they perceive it attracts the "lower denizons" and squeezes out some of the competition. it's probably more the former. So, you can't hogtie people and prevent them from shopping there.

i am not saying wal-mart is great. of course it isn't! i don't like going into that frenzy of a shopping warehouse just to fight for a parking lot to run in and get a couple items. it's harrowing. the best thing is they are open 24 hours. lol i'd much rather go to a smaller, quieter store but that doesn't necessarily translate to the best prices or convenience. walmart is really best for those with families, not for people like me.

i can understand that there is a meager selection which i don't like either but where is the competition? if there was better i would shop there even if it was a little more perhaps. i like outlet malls for clothing myself, but that's just me. i rarely buy shoes at walmart except for sandals.

walmart is like a cafeteria with low prices. it's not attractive either. it's not a fuzzy or sophisticated shopping experience by any means but it gets the job done and for busy families, that's the most important thing to them it seems.

i personally don't like the selection except for some of the lower-priced electronics. i actually like k-mart stuff a little better but that's also made in china, which in of itself does not bother me.

i don't like the selection simply because i just happen to like some other brands. i shop online mostly.

the worst thing about walmart is it's just so dang unnattractive. lol

[longislandmike]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

I get mine at the 99 cent store! Beat ya by a penny mike!!!!

DOOOOH !

But that's the beauty about America...PRE-OBAMA !

[longislandmike]

Originally Posted by leaana

What i've noticed is, it's not wal-mart most people are actually upset about as they do not have to shop there.

It changes the landscape of their neighborhood as they perceive it attracts the "lower denizons" and squeezes out some of the competition. it's probably more the former. So, you can't hogtie people and prevent them from shopping there.

i am not saying wal-mart is great. of course it isn't! i don't like going into that frenzy of a shopping warehouse just to fight for a parking lot to run in and get a couple items. it's harrowing. the best thing is they are open 24 hours. lol i'd much rather go to a smaller, quieter store but that doesn't necessarily translate to the best prices or convenience. walmart is really best for those with families, not for people like me.

i can understand that there is a meager selection which i don't like either but where is the competition? if there was better i would shop there even if it was a little more perhaps. i like outlet malls for clothing myself, but that's just me. i rarely buy shoes at walmart except for sandals.

walmart is like a cafeteria with low prices. it's not attractive either. it's not a fuzzy or sophisticated shopping experience by any means but it gets the job done and for busy families, that's the most important thing to them it seems.

i personally don't like the selection except for some of the lower-priced electronics. i actually like k-mart stuff a little better but that's also made in china, which in of itself does not bother me.

i don't like the selection simply because i just happen to like some other brands. i shop online mostly.

the worst thing about walmart is it's just so dang unnattractive. lol

I don't care at BJ's, SO "why" should I "put on airs" at Wal Mart ?

Just so I'm screwing HALLMARK STORES, is ALL I care about !

There are plenty of name brands to choose from !

[leaana]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

So now I'm not honest? I don't believe I said where it was manufactured, just where it was sold.

I am not broadly slamming stores, just the Big W because it's focus is on driving price down no matter at what cost, and for us price is secondary to quality. I'm also critical of people who are willing to buy junk just so they can have something. In the old days poor folks would just do without.

Example of Walmart price: We got a bunch of Walmart gift cards when our first son was born. We bought a bunch of baby clothes from big W that literally fell apart after one washing. The price wasn't worth the lack of quality no matter how cheap.
My wife then started buying baby clothes off season from Gymboree at a good discount. The trick was guessing how big the kid would be when they would finally wear the clothes. Still the price was greater than W's by a good amount but all of the clothes made it through kid #1, kid #2 and the some will go to our grandkids. The rest was sold at yard sales still looking good.

Example of how to get quality for less: We bought our dining room set at an Ethan Allen scratch and dent store. I got good quality furniture for a good price, still higher than Walmarts, that has lasted us years. We had to wait about 18 months for a matching china cabinet to show up at the scratch and dent, but it did.

um, then don't shop there. easy solution.

i don't understand your thing about clothes, i've had clothes from there that were fine. the kid's clothes are just as good quality as the department stores from what i've seen. i've had department store clothes fall apart too. maybe the selection isn't as wide or as extremely hip. again, that's my observation.

In the old days poor folks would just do without.

so you think they should just go without. interesting.

i guess all the pancake houses and greasy diners should go out of business too because they attract a lot of truck drivers and poor people. i guess they shouldn't eat out since they can't afford to eat at france a la mode. okay, i'm being sarcastic.

i will give you this, i dont' have dreams of shopping at walmart.

[leaana]

I don't care at BJ's, SO "why" should I "put on airs" at Wal Mart ?

Just so I'm screwing HALLMARK STORES, is ALL I care about !

There are plenty of name brands to choose from !

good example, why would i want to buy pay 5 dollars for a card when i can get it for under a buck or a buck somewhere else. just to say i bought a hallmark card.

[longislandmike]

Originally Posted by leaana

good example, why would i want to buy pay 5 dollars for a card when i can get it for under a buck or a buck somewhere else. just to say i bought a hallmark card.

People are starting to "get it"....and HALLMARK will pay for it BIG TIME !

And you know what, they had a good run, but thanks to our magical capitalist system, it's ALL OVER !

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by leaana

good example, why would i want to buy pay 5 dollars for a card when i can get it for under a buck or a buck somewhere else. just to say i bought a hallmark card.

I have a friend who actually looks on the back of the card you give her to see if it is Hallmark! So I bought a cheaper card and I printed out a Hallmark logo on a white label and pasted it over the cheap card logo on the back just for a laugh. Sure enough, I saw her sneak a quick peek at the back of the card and I could tell I fooled her. So I told her to take a closer look at the back of the card because I had given her a "counterfeit" Hallmark.

[leaana]

okay, i know walmart doesn't have the best quality but it's not the worst ever. that's what i find ridiculous.

i think thier prices for some things are quite high such as some clothing. that's because i've had shopping experiences in seoul, korea where i can get really nice stylish clothes for about half the price. they do have some overall good all-american brands at walmart like blue jeans, socks, underwear and jewelry that is affordable. i like to buy my sunglasses at wal-mart, some toiletries etc. they are pretty good and usually a lot less. you have to be choosy and compare, not assume all of it will be bad or good.

that's what i roll my eyes about at walmart, not so much as the quality since it is a lower-end store.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Originally Posted by leaana

so you think they should just go without. interesting.

Why not? If something isn't a "need", and you don't have the money then you go without. If something is a "want" and you're short the cash then you put money in the bank and save until you can afford it. Really simple and how we do things in our house.

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Transpl

Welcome to the evolution of an industrialized world. If you are in a business that deals in commodities you cannot compete if you do not have a cost model on the same playing field as your competion. This goes for retailers or dairy farmers.

Wal-Mart excels at controlling cots, vendors give their first born to have their products sold at Wal-Mart, a mom and pop gets no such discounting. Wal-Mart can also afford to operate with razor thin margins, a family business would fold, not enough revenue.

Corporate farms can harvest more milk per cow at a lower cost than a family farm, better equipment and lower costs. Not a level playing field. The corporation can sell the milk at margins unsustainable for a family farm.

Many CEO's and business owners face hard choices. If your competitor has factories and a labor pool off-shore and can make a paper clip similar to the one you market for half the price, and sell it for what it costs you to make. Do you farm your labor and warehousing to China or Mexico or do you fold the business? Who will buy your brand paper clips when the ones made by your competition are much cheaper?

Paper clips or cattle, it's the same principle with commodities. Price is the key driver for sales, if you cannot offer a competitive price your business will eventually fail.

I don't like it, but also don't think it's reversible. How long do you boycott the Model T dealer for putting your local buggy whip maker out of business?

You've got an excellent point, we're so far entrenched in this corporate outsourcing/offshoring business model at this point - is there really any way to undo it? Probably not. Globalization is the future, I hate it too.

Like I said earlier in this thread, though...what jobs are going to be left once America is just one gigantic Wal-Mart? That is a scary prospect to me. I do no agree with the prevailing "wisdom" that states lower cost for the consumer translates to an improved economy on the whole. An improved bottom line perhaps, but I think there is a lot lost between the stastics and the reality of the situation. The middle class is eroding, the American worker is becoming obsolete. Look at all those rotting carcasses of cities along the Erie Canal - theres a lot of blame to go around on both sides there, but despite what someone said earlier in this thread, "crappy manufacturing jobs" were what the bulk of people in this country bought homes and started families on prior to the last 20 years or so. We build nothing in this country anymore....yes, the world is changing.....but what is it changing into and is that really good for any of us?

Personally, I am a terrible consumer. I hate shopping, I never buy anything. I drive a 19 year old car and I work on it myself. I usually only wear clothes that I get for Christmas or birthdays. New pair of sneakers twice a year, cheap ones....13" TV, basic cable. My computer is 7 years old, I think it cost $300 from Dell - so that gives me enough money where I don't care about saving a dollar on a box of cereal or buying frozen dinners in bulk. I shop at stores in Wantagh or Levittown almost exclusively, small businesses. They have everything I need....malls, box stores and Wal-Mart gross me out. I wouldn't shop at them even if there weren't underlying reasons.