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Last week on Monday I paid $2.49 for a gallon of gas...not knowing that two miles away the same gas was $2.29 a gallon. On thursday returned to the station with the $2.29 gas that was reduced to $2.19 a gallon. Question is ...should I have returned to the station that was $2.49?. Change the name a little by making the $2.19 as being Walmart compared to some higher priced stores. You should be getting my point. I bet that some of these posters who complain about Walmart shop there and save a few dollars but will not admit too it. $50-$100 saved a month is nothing to sneeze at with todays economy. Steve
You really do not get the point, which is really sad because it is fairly simple to comprehend. When you flock to Walmart you are supporting a corporation that is undermining our economy. Walmart is utilizing cheap labor in China which is depriving our country of jobs. Our economy is in the sorry state affairs that is in due to a struggling middle class as corporations such as Walmart raking in the money. The bigger and badder that Walmart and corporations like them get, the more they have lobbying power within the government. This power allows them to influence deregulation. Deregulation of the FDA and such agencies affects the quality of products coming into the USA. This is why we are getting stuff like toxic toys, food, toothpaste, per food, etc. We are in debt to China, don't you think that that is a shame?
Walmart completely knocks out the competition because of it's enormous size, which in turn causes mom and pop businesses to close.
So while you are saving a few cents, the chain reaction is the deterioration of the USA economy.
I do get the point. I find an item that at one time was made in the USA by an American company ...who now has the product manufactured in central America under the same American name with poorer quality. This same item is available at K-Mart and Walmart, but Walmart has a lower price. The difference is buying power. They can afford to sell cheaper and make up their profits on volume sales. The same can be said for grocery items. A small grocery store may buy 10-20 cases of a product at one wholesale price while a large operation will buy the same item by a truck load at a lower whlse price and sell the item at a cheaper shelf price and make up their profit here again on volume. I was in the retail/inventory business for 23 yrs and am familiar with the whlse/retail process. Could go into more detail of the goings on but cannot divulge the secrets of former clients and business associates and their operations. All large retail corporations have buyers who purchase in large quantities at the lowest whlse price possible. There is the small joke of a elderly Jewish lady who was buying a produce item that was marked 2 for .25c, she asked the man at the cash register how much he charged her for the one item and he said ".13c and her reply was "I want the .12c one". So you see, people do want a lower price on anything they buy. Steve
Boohoo. I think I'll head over to Wally World and buy some of them poisonous toys.
As I remember it was sears that started the whole foreign made thing with the japanese. Then it was the local stores that started the china thng long before wal-mart even existed. Wal-mart just decided not to up the price by 400%.They found that a good profit could still be made.
My first experience with JC Penny was in 1948. Bought all my clothes there as they were all American made. Later on when the old man died and his nephews took over, they started to sell a lot of imported junk (as I called it) and I stopped shopping at the stores. Have visited only a couple of times and never bought anything after looking at the labels. I can only blame the LABOR mkt. American high labor costs have brought the price of many goods up to the point of lower sales. Retail stores will only sell items that move off the shelves so they stock accordingly regardless where the stuff was made. Quality control is also an important factor. Some foreign goods are better in quality then American goods. The auto industry is a shining example today. The big three are over priced due to their labor/pension/retirement benifits/health care plans. They are their own undoing. The buying public can only be squeezed so much. Steve
My first experience with JC Penny was in 1948. Bought all my clothes there as they were all American made. Later on when the old man died and his nephews took over, they started to sell a lot of imported junk (as I called it) and I stopped shopping at the stores. Have visited only a couple of times and never bought anything after looking at the labels. I can only blame the LABOR mkt. American high labor costs have brought the price of many goods up to the point of lower sales. Retail stores will only sell items that move off the shelves so they stock accordingly regardless where the stuff was made. Quality control is also an important factor. Some foreign goods are better in quality then American goods. The auto industry is a shining example today. The big three are over priced due to their labor/pension/retirement benifits/health care plans. They are their own undoing. The buying public can only be squeezed so much. Steve
But Steve, what items are actually manufactured in the states any more?
Unfortunately not enough items are made in the USA. Question is WHY?. The buying public are always going for the lowest possible price when seeking an item. Case in point...your interested in a NEW AUTO. Do you patronize the first dealer you come too?...NO WAY...you talk to other DLRS and try to negotiate a lower price and more money for your trade in. That is why they have sales people and not just a cash register at the salesroom. People dicker and dicker trying for the lowest price. Keep the price high and sales will taper off. Why are the American MFG Import autos selling so well?. Cost of LABOR and materials determine the bottom line price. Higher the MFG costs require a higher selling price. There is such a thing as priceing yourself out of business. Ask if possible the MGMT of a particular item why they went to a foreign country for their inventory and they will answer it was due to labor costs whether it be physical labor or suppy of the raw goods which is still tied to labor.
Going back to my early post...detroit has outpriced themselves by bowing down to union demands for just too many benifts. Read a figure of $1500 per auto to pay health and retirement benifits etc. Why should a person receive money from a former employer when they are no longer working there?. A person puts in eight hrs of work and gets paid for eight hrs...should be the norm. A former employer shoud not have to pay for your living expenses after you leave. Detroit gave in to the unions and we are seeing the end result. This can happen with any large corporation...change the name and the principals will have the same results. Start your own business...expand...then have the employees dictate how to operate your business and want a share of your profits that they are not entitled too. It is easy for a individual to expect much without having experienced the investment/time/knowledge needed in the daily operation of any business. Headaches and responsibility are the norm. Steve
As I remember it was sears that started the whole foreign made thing with the japanese. Then it was the local stores that started the china thng long before wal-mart even existed. Wal-mart just decided not to up the price by 400%.They found that a good profit could still be made.
The Japanese make fine products...China's stuff stinks.
You really do not get the point, which is really sad because it is fairly simple to comprehend. When you flock to Walmart you are supporting a corporation that is undermining our economy. Walmart is utilizing cheap labor in China which is depriving our country of jobs. Our economy is in the sorry state affairs that is in due to a struggling middle class as corporations such as Walmart raking in the money. The bigger and badder that Walmart and corporations like them get, the more they have lobbying power within the government. This power allows them to influence deregulation. Deregulation of the FDA and such agencies affects the quality of products coming into the USA. This is why we are getting stuff like toxic toys, food, toothpaste, per food, etc. We are in debt to China, don't you think that that is a shame?
Walmart completely knocks out the competition because of it's enormous size, which in turn causes mom and pop businesses to close.
So while you are saving a few cents, the chain reaction is the deterioration of the USA economy.
Though your correct what you play down are the savings they are not a few cents far from that.
You save A LOT of cash ESP if you have a family.
I buy American brands when possible but be it Walmart or Sears even home depot its close to impossible to find. Thus I buy things I need in area Walmart which is open 24 hours .
You can buy some American brands at Walmart .I just picked up 30 campbells condensed chicken broth cans lol I like broth for 50 cents each same thing was 1.70 a can in local supermarket.
If they had sold the ground turkey and potatoes I add to the broth at Walmart would have gotten that also lol . So its not like its chinese stuff but I know what you mean.
I do get the point. I find an item that at one time was made in the USA by an American company ...who now has the product manufactured in central America under the same American name with poorer quality. This same item is available at K-Mart and Walmart, but Walmart has a lower price. The difference is buying power. They can afford to sell cheaper and make up their profits on volume sales. The same can be said for grocery items. A small grocery store may buy 10-20 cases of a product at one wholesale price while a large operation will buy the same item by a truck load at a lower whlse price and sell the item at a cheaper shelf price and make up their profit here again on volume. I was in the retail/inventory business for 23 yrs and am familiar with the whlse/retail process. Could go into more detail of the goings on but cannot divulge the secrets of former clients and business associates and their operations. All large retail corporations have buyers who purchase in large quantities at the lowest whlse price possible. There is the small joke of a elderly Jewish lady who was buying a produce item that was marked 2 for .25c, she asked the man at the cash register how much he charged her for the one item and he said ".13c and her reply was "I want the .12c one". So you see, people do want a lower price on anything they buy. Steve
I am not rich, but I purchase organic or eco-friendly products and do without what is not absolutely necessary to compensate for buying the American made or "fair trade" products that might be a bit more costly. Part of the problem is that people will buy crap that they don't need because some commercial tells them that they do. This is a nation of consumers to the point of ridiculous. The people that allow themselves to be sucked in are the people that will wait in line for two days to get the newest piece of garbage plastic cell phone. As long as we are dealing with this mentality, there is no hope. They do not have the common sense to realize that they are destroying the economy. China is eating us up alive with the help of these idiotic buying parctices.
The Japanese make fine products...China's stuff stinks.
Its close to impossible to find American made .
Last yr I looked high and low for good American made flat screen and closest I found was partially assembled in USA .
Who knows what partially means maybe 1% .
Some things like pots,pans,etc yes I buy American but electronics among other things like simple window shades I could not and I looked
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