RadioHowie
I Miss Beemerdons!
Like I said earlier....show up around 2-3am.....
It's like "The Ministry of Silly Walks" at Oh-Dark-Thirty....
I bow down before the Great Satan
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It's like "The Ministry of Silly Walks" at Oh-Dark-Thirty....
200cs
Well-known member
I am going to have to agree with the rest here on Walmart. I shop there and I like it. Bottom line, the prices are cheaper. What is not to like about that? My wife and teenage daughter do not like it, but pretty girls seem to draw a lot of attention there...who knew! My wife shops for groceries at her favorite grocery stores and I buy mostly car stuff at Walmart and they are considerably cheaper than the local parts stores. I use their 2-cycle oil and Powerservice Diesel Fuel Conditioner in my Dodge and buy the stuff by the gallons. I also buy hydraulic oil for my tractor as well as Rotella for all my vehicles. Cant beat the price. I generally park at the car care area and walk in the back door and am gone quicker than you can run into a 7-11.
I also like the fact that I can get boating supplies for my Stingray and not have to go to Bass Pro. I like the Bass Pro out by me and it is a nice location on the water and all of that but it takes forever to get thru the store and the prices are high.
I also like the fact that I can get boating supplies for my Stingray and not have to go to Bass Pro. I like the Bass Pro out by me and it is a nice location on the water and all of that but it takes forever to get thru the store and the prices are high.
I am amused at the people that say they don't care if they support their local full-service merchants as long as they get the lowest possible price at Walmart. Aren't you the same folks that say you like to support your local motorcycle shops to help keep them in business for the eventual day you will need their services? Well it's the same thing.
The reason that Walmart can retail their stuff below what the little guys can buy it wholesale, is because of one big thing: Volume. And they are ruthless in their wholesale buying practices. Walmart dictates to manufacturers the price they will pay them for what they want, and for those manufacturers that won't "play ball", they will find another one who will and crush them, just like the Mom and Pop stores.
If you haven't seen the PBS Frontline documentary on Walmart, you may want to check it out. You can even watch it online from the above link, if you've got the time. I understand the documentary makers probably had a viewpoint they wanted to advance, but they didn't make this stuff up.
The reason that Walmart can retail their stuff below what the little guys can buy it wholesale, is because of one big thing: Volume. And they are ruthless in their wholesale buying practices. Walmart dictates to manufacturers the price they will pay them for what they want, and for those manufacturers that won't "play ball", they will find another one who will and crush them, just like the Mom and Pop stores.
If you haven't seen the PBS Frontline documentary on Walmart, you may want to check it out. You can even watch it online from the above link, if you've got the time. I understand the documentary makers probably had a viewpoint they wanted to advance, but they didn't make this stuff up.
mdisher
formerly Renegade, get used to it.
A lot of us say that... I can't think of a single dealership here in Cincy/Tri-State area that I want to support at any cost, and I honestly don't care if they all went *poof*.
I used to support a local Non-Dealer guy, and yes bought stuff from him sometimes at 1.5-2x the cost. But he did good work and always fit me in, etc, etc.
None of the dealers around here are price conscience or customer service oriented. So they don't get my business unless it's the ONLY option. I will freely admit that I have used them as fitting rooms, and given them the opportunity to earn my business but that's almost always not turned out positive.
Because Wal-Mart is ruthless, a lot of the stuff they sell is crap, and has been cheapened to the nth degree.
You do get what you pay for.
It's just that for a lot of things, cheap will do.
- Clothes your kids will outgrow in 3-6 months.
- Office supplies
- Some home furnishings, etc.
Their groceries are no better priced than anywhere else. Every store has lost leaders and things they sell more cheaply than anyone else. This is my wife's thing. Between 5 or more different stores we feed our family of 7 for less than $400 a month, every month, and if you know me, I'm not afraid to eat and we eat well.
She knows what's cheaper, better where, and she rarely buys groceries at Wal-mart.
On some name brands, they do just fine. Anyone that's been in business knows it's tough to compete, period at any level. You can compete with Wal-Mart, it can be done and it is done everyday (Tire stores outside Wal-Mart are a great example).
And if you do business with them, you have to be smart enough to say, no... These numbers don't work for my company and I can't survive doing that. (examples: Huffy, Valasic and other brands who entered bad deals with Wal-Mart and it cost them).
TCMike
Well-known member
I work nights, and service Walmarts as a vendor occasionally. At my usual one there is a deaf girl, a couple of senior citizens, a few college age kids, and about 8 Bosnians. Mostly nice people, but the managers we have to deal with are a whole other story. I'll just say, there are a bunch of anal, brain-washed coperate gimps, which would sell their kids if it would boost the numbers in there ranks. Not to mention the fact that they treat the vendors as if we were the enemy, and are rarely cordial toward us if it inconveniences them in any way. This coupled with a few other issues sends me shopping elsewhere. Low prices are not everything!!!
This my personal opinion, and generalization of the stores I've dealt with in our area. I know there are a lot of fans of Wally, but I am not one of them.
charismaticmegafauna
Well-known member
Told to me by a gal who worked at WalMart -- about seniors who hung-around the store (and, apparently, her department?) for hours-on-end:
"I wish they'd just get their shit and get out...!"
"I wish they'd just get their shit and get out...!"
Spook
Well-known member
Spook
Well-known member
RadioHowie
I Miss Beemerdons!
mdisher
formerly Renegade, get used to it.
Here's a great article on Wal-Mart, albeit somewhat dated.
https://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/wal...html?page=0%2C0
I'm neither anti or pro Wal-Mart. It's business, and while Wal-Mart may abuse their power/leverage/size, they are far from alone.
https://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/wal...html?page=0%2C0
I'm neither anti or pro Wal-Mart. It's business, and while Wal-Mart may abuse their power/leverage/size, they are far from alone.
RadioHowie
I Miss Beemerdons!
mdisher
formerly Renegade, get used to it.
coyotedude
Active member
I'm a business owner. A small business owner. The castigation of the Walmarts of the world I find mildly hypocritical. Growth to a point of gaining efficiencies to beat up your competition is kinda admirable. Isn't that what most businesses aspire to become?
I think so, however most just won't admit it publicly. Who wouldn't like to be in that position, for awhile? It is our system, and it determines where and to whom resources are channeled. Is it fair? Sometimes. Fairness, for all the lip service it receives, is somewhere down around 4 or 5 on the priority list of most companies I've observed. Same is true about life.
I agree, there are practices Walmart uses that can be construed as unfair, and the degree to which each of us determines
the so-called unfairness is based on your vantage point in the market; consumer, competitor, supplier, shareholder, taxpayer.
But you have to give them credit, whether you like them or not. Walmart is probably one of, if not thee, most efficient
and successful capitalistic organizations out there. After stumbling along for awhile, they're beginning to replicate this same
success overseas.
My intent in joining in here was not to preach. But I have to admit, although Wallyworld may be run by assholes, they seem to know what they're doin'.
I think so, however most just won't admit it publicly. Who wouldn't like to be in that position, for awhile? It is our system, and it determines where and to whom resources are channeled. Is it fair? Sometimes. Fairness, for all the lip service it receives, is somewhere down around 4 or 5 on the priority list of most companies I've observed. Same is true about life.
I agree, there are practices Walmart uses that can be construed as unfair, and the degree to which each of us determines
the so-called unfairness is based on your vantage point in the market; consumer, competitor, supplier, shareholder, taxpayer.
But you have to give them credit, whether you like them or not. Walmart is probably one of, if not thee, most efficient
and successful capitalistic organizations out there. After stumbling along for awhile, they're beginning to replicate this same
success overseas.
My intent in joining in here was not to preach. But I have to admit, although Wallyworld may be run by assholes, they seem to know what they're doin'.
7xray
Well-known member
zip
Well-known member
As a commercial enterprise, one can't help but admire Walmart. They have discipline, extraordinary planning and execute with predatorial efficiency. They've taken unprecedented advantage of the Darwinism of markets.
As a social phenomena, though, I hate them. They've essentially killed nearly all of the small town America that I remember as a child. They've been responsible for sending massive amounts of our treasury overseas to purchase goods not made in this country. And for those who say that they offer good products at great prices, I respond with "at what unseen cost."
It's a Faustian pact, this discount consumerism. Nearly all sides of it.
(Says a guy who rides a Japanese bike.)
As a social phenomena, though, I hate them. They've essentially killed nearly all of the small town America that I remember as a child. They've been responsible for sending massive amounts of our treasury overseas to purchase goods not made in this country. And for those who say that they offer good products at great prices, I respond with "at what unseen cost."
It's a Faustian pact, this discount consumerism. Nearly all sides of it.
(Says a guy who rides a Japanese bike.)
zip
Well-known member
Edit: My semi-rude, potentially political comments redacted, with apologies.
Last edited by a moderator:
Spook
Well-known member
Wow it is so cute or should I say juvenile how you change what some one posted.
Must be.
USPS Bike-Nut
Active member
"Finally caved and picked up some Super Tech oil filters."
I just wanna' know how well the filter works...
I just wanna' know how well the filter works...
And just how would any of us know that first hand? In reality, you could have an oil filter that was horrible, did absolutely no filtering, and you would never know from using it.
They are said to be pretty good filters, but exactly how good is beyond any of us determining.
