Do you shop at Walmart?

[Foxfyre]

Don't blame Walmart for carrying products 'made in China.' Look to your elected representatives at the local, state, and federal levels who are creating the situation that makes that the most profitable way to go.

 

[SteadyMercury]

American manufacturers can be most competitive (and hopefully profitable) by leveraging their productivity and skills/knowledge to build higher profit margin widgets.

In other words, if you're in the US and want to compete with China it is better to be building jet engines than plastic spatulas.

 

[Katzndogz]

The businesses that Wal Mart puts out of business generally need to go out of business to begin with. These mom and pops in small towns have taken advantage of a captive customer base for years. They over charge, offer no customer service and sell shoddy merchandise all because someone doesn't want to drive to the next city over.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Generally speaking I'll shop where the product I wish to buy is cheapest.

The argument that they are driving competing Mom & Pop stores out of business doesn't make sense to me, seems more like they are offering a more efficient alternative that is an improvement is price and selection. If Mom & Pop can't compete it isn't my job to subsidize them by shopping there anyway, it is there job to figure out how to compete or find a different way to earn a living.

Where could we shop to find products that aren't made overseas and available at a lower cost?

"Overseas"? No where. inane question.

 

[Foxfyre]

American manufacturers can be most competitive (and hopefully profitable) by leveraging their productivity and skills/knowledge to build higher profit margin widgets.

In other words, if you're in the US and want to compete with China it is better to be building jet engines than plastic spatulas.

And yet there should be no reason that Americans can't compete making those spatulas either, if we could just get the rules and regs off the backs of the people who would otherwise jump at the chance to make them.

 

[Pogo]

Generally, Walmarts and for that matter most big box stores built as anchor stores in shopping plazas, help attract news businesses.
In some instances, yes, in run down areas or those areas where the neighborhood is in decline, it is not the fault of the anchor store what happens around it.
Could be that the type businesses located and subsequently moved out, were doomed in the first place. Could be the lease terms make it impossible for a business to make a profit.
What the Walmart scapegoat people like to forget is there are many other brick and mortar stores such as Best Buy, Target, K-Mart, Office Max, Office Depot that are in the same boat as Walmart.
Your anger is misplaced.

Thanks but my "anger" is nonexistent. You'll notice it was two other posters who invoked "stick in his ass", "maggots" and "fucking retard". So the anger comes entirely from two people denigrating what is for them an abstract description. It's interesting to ponder why that might be but they would have to explain that.

As for the "anchor" theory -- sounds nice but I haven't seen it. The Best Buys and Office Maxes, they're specialty stores and it stands to reason they'd be attracted to some large pre-existing anchor of some kind. But let's be honest, their clientele is not in the least congruent with that of Mal-Wart, so I don't see an affinity that would make that happen. Perhaps that's the PR line Mal-Wart says. If so, it resembles the rest of their wares: cheap.

You have a problem with cheap? If I can buy a DVD at Walmart for $5 that I would pay $12 for at Amazon, I consider myself fortunate. And if I can buy a replacement TV for our kitchennook at Walmart for 30% or more less than I can buy the same product at Best Buy, I also consider myself fortunate. The advantage the specialty big box stores have over Walmart is that they specialize and therefore can offer a larger selection and, on occasion, even deeper discounts on some products.

Back during WWII, my great aunt, widowed fairly young with four girls to raise, owned and operated a general store in a tiny little town in New Mexico. She offered everything from sewing fabric to tractor tire repair kits to hardware to groceries. Because she was big enough to withstand the risk, she was able to offer credit that others couldn't. But because she could not carry large selections of anything due to space limitations, speciality stores existed alongside of her impressive business. She was the Walmart of her day and amassed quite a nest egg in the process. When the war ended, the neaby base closed, and the guys were returning home from overseas to start up their own businesses, and she closed the store, bought a farm in West Texas and lived quite comfortably for the rest of her life.

'Walmart is not a specialty store which is why it offers no serious competition to the successful specialty stores. Walmart is a big general store with the same appeal that such stores have offered for two hundred years in this country.

And American commerce is thriving just fine alongside Walmart as it has thrived competing with general stores over the decades.

"Cheap" in the context I used it means "flimsy, haphazardly thrown together". It specifically referred to the Mal-Wart PR story.

 

[wavingrl]

Generally speaking I'll shop where the product I wish to buy is cheapest.

The argument that they are driving competing Mom & Pop stores out of business doesn't make sense to me, seems more like they are offering a more efficient alternative that is an improvement is price and selection. If Mom & Pop can't compete it isn't my job to subsidize them by shopping there anyway, it is there job to figure out how to compete or find a different way to earn a living.

Where could we shop to find products that aren't made overseas and available at a lower cost?

"Overseas"? No where. inane question.

inane.

What else can be said.
'Cheap', disposable. Rather accurate descriptors of the culture at present.

I shop at Walmart but I don't enjoy the experience. I bought a package of socks--didn't bother to take out my glasses and read the fyi. Clearly not cotton--they were cheap and I don't care if I throw them away. After one washing they don't look good. fwiw.

 

[Pogo]

Thanks but my "anger" is nonexistent. You'll notice it was two other posters who invoked "stick in his ass", "maggots" and "fucking retard". So the anger comes entirely from two people denigrating what is for them an abstract description. It's interesting to ponder why that might be but they would have to explain that.

As for the "anchor" theory -- sounds nice but I haven't seen it. The Best Buys and Office Maxes, they're specialty stores and it stands to reason they'd be attracted to some large pre-existing anchor of some kind. But let's be honest, their clientele is not in the least congruent with that of Mal-Wart, so I don't see an affinity that would make that happen. Perhaps that's the PR line Mal-Wart says. If so, it resembles the rest of their wares: cheap.

You have a problem with cheap? If I can buy a DVD at Walmart for $5 that I would pay $12 for at Amazon, I consider myself fortunate. And if I can buy a replacement TV for our kitchennook at Walmart for 30% or more less than I can buy the same product at Best Buy, I also consider myself fortunate. The advantage the specialty big box stores have over Walmart is that they specialize and therefore can offer a larger selection and, on occasion, even deeper discounts on some products.

Back during WWII, my great aunt, widowed fairly young with four girls to raise, owned and operated a general store in a tiny little town in New Mexico. She offered everything from sewing fabric to tractor tire repair kits to hardware to groceries. Because she was big enough to withstand the risk, she was able to offer credit that others couldn't. But because she could not carry large selections of anything due to space limitations, speciality stores existed alongside of her impressive business. She was the Walmart of her day and amassed quite a nest egg in the process. When the war ended, the neaby base closed, and the guys were returning home from overseas to start up their own businesses, and she closed the store, bought a farm in West Texas and lived quite comfortably for the rest of her life.

'Walmart is not a specialty store which is why it offers no serious competition to the successful specialty stores. Walmart is a big general store with the same appeal that such stores have offered for two hundred years in this country.

And American commerce is thriving just fine alongside Walmart as it has thrived competing with general stores over the decades.

"Cheap" in the context I used it means "flimsy, haphazardly thrown together". It specifically referred to the Mal-Wart PR story.

For this specific post, I received the following:

Hi, you have received -1527 reputation points from Warrior102.
Reputation was given for this post.

Comment:
Fuck off

Regards,
Warrior102

Note: This is an automated message.

He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.

Many a small town has had its commercial base saved by the presence of a Walmart that keeps folks home instead of them driving to the nearby city to shop. And in the city, Walmarts are almost always anchor stores in the shopping centers they occupy.

I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

 

[thereisnospoon]

Where could we shop to find products that aren't made overseas and available at a lower cost?

"Overseas"? No where. inane question.

inane.

What else can be said.
'Cheap', disposable. Rather accurate descriptors of the culture at present.

I shop at Walmart but I don't enjoy the experience. I bought a package of socks--didn't bother to take out my glasses and read the fyi. Clearly not cotton--they were cheap and I don't care if I throw them away. After one washing they don't look good. fwiw.

I have no idea what you're talking about.
I have had the same pair of tennis shoes which I bought at Walmart for 4 years.
And a pair of hikers which I beat the crap out of at work. These are at least three years old.
I buy my jeans at Costco. Other stuff as well.
I don't understand where you are going with this.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

The argument that they are driving competing Mom & Pop stores out of business doesn't make sense to me,

1) it's like saying they are driving the horse and buggy people out of business. Do we want government to say "no" to Walmart and "yes" to a Mom and Pop that then becomes the biggest Mom and Pop" and then drives the smaller Mom and Pops out in that area???

2) Walmart is a boom to the 1,000's who immediately apply for work there as well as the surrounding town that gets to absorb all the extra money around because of WalMarts low prices.

 

[Foxfyre]

You have a problem with cheap? If I can buy a DVD at Walmart for $5 that I would pay $12 for at Amazon, I consider myself fortunate. And if I can buy a replacement TV for our kitchennook at Walmart for 30% or more less than I can buy the same product at Best Buy, I also consider myself fortunate. The advantage the specialty big box stores have over Walmart is that they specialize and therefore can offer a larger selection and, on occasion, even deeper discounts on some products.

Back during WWII, my great aunt, widowed fairly young with four girls to raise, owned and operated a general store in a tiny little town in New Mexico. She offered everything from sewing fabric to tractor tire repair kits to hardware to groceries. Because she was big enough to withstand the risk, she was able to offer credit that others couldn't. But because she could not carry large selections of anything due to space limitations, speciality stores existed alongside of her impressive business. She was the Walmart of her day and amassed quite a nest egg in the process. When the war ended, the neaby base closed, and the guys were returning home from overseas to start up their own businesses, and she closed the store, bought a farm in West Texas and lived quite comfortably for the rest of her life.

'Walmart is not a specialty store which is why it offers no serious competition to the successful specialty stores. Walmart is a big general store with the same appeal that such stores have offered for two hundred years in this country.

And American commerce is thriving just fine alongside Walmart as it has thrived competing with general stores over the decades.

"Cheap" in the context I used it means "flimsy, haphazardly thrown together". It specifically referred to the Mal-Wart PR story.

For this specific post, I received the following:

Hi, you have received -1527 reputation points from Warrior102.
Reputation was given for this post.

Comment:
Fuck off

Regards,
Warrior102

Note: This is an automated message.

He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.

Many a small town has had its commercial base saved by the presence of a Walmart that keeps folks home instead of them driving to the nearby city to shop. And in the city, Walmarts are almost always anchor stores in the shopping centers they occupy.

I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

 

[Pogo]

"Cheap" in the context I used it means "flimsy, haphazardly thrown together". It specifically referred to the Mal-Wart PR story.

For this specific post, I received the following:



He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.

Many a small town has had its commercial base saved by the presence of a Walmart that keeps folks home instead of them driving to the nearby city to shop. And in the city, Walmarts are almost always anchor stores in the shopping centers they occupy.

I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

From the references to driving or not driving to "the city", I take it you're talking about Suburbia there. I'm not. And none of the Mal-Warts I'm familiar with, mostly in small towns, one in a city, fit the mold you've described. Not one. But I did at least grow up in Suburbia so I'm familiar with it (even if it's not a place I'd ever care to return to), and the phenomena of going to the city to get your stuff is simply something that AFAIK went away fifty years ago.

So I'm not thinking at all about Mal-Wart versus the city; I'm thinking about Mal-Wart versus its own community. And nothing I've seen of those dynamics is positive. I can't think of a single way things in general got better post-MalWart than they were pre-MalWart.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

"Cheap" in the context I used it means "flimsy, haphazardly thrown together". It specifically referred to the Mal-Wart PR story.

For this specific post, I received the following:



He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.

Many a small town has had its commercial base saved by the presence of a Walmart that keeps folks home instead of them driving to the nearby city to shop. And in the city, Walmarts are almost always anchor stores in the shopping centers they occupy.

I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

 

[Pogo]

For this specific post, I received the following:



He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.




I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

Ah, he strikes again, as only Special Ed can do. Where do you see anything about "banning" Wal-Mart?
Maybe they sell reading lessons there. I'm sure it's cheap too.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

Ah, he strikes again, as only Special Ed can do. Where do you see anything about "banning" Wal-Mart?
Maybe they sell reading lessons there. I'm sure it's cheap too.

oh so the liberals want to subsidize Walmart??? or just enjoy being critical of it out of pure economic illiteracy???

 

[Pogo]

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

Ah, he strikes again, as only Special Ed can do. Where do you see anything about "banning" Wal-Mart?
Maybe they sell reading lessons there. I'm sure it's cheap too.

oh so the liberals want to subsidize Walmart??? or just enjoy being critical of it out of pure economic illiteracy???

.... that's a retraction?

Try this: go back to the thread title. Stop and ruminate on what it means. It's really not that deep.

 

[jillian]

For this specific post, I received the following:



He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.




I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

who's talking about 'banning' walmart?

damn, you're stupid.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

All great points!! If the Liberals can ban Walmart, take over health care with Barrycare, and invest in Solyndra,A123, AboundSolar,Fiskar, and Range Fuels all for different reasons all they are really saying is that they are braindead socialists who lack the IQ to understand capitalism.

who's talking about 'banning' walmart?

damn, you're stupid.

Julian has the liberal record from rdeam: 125 violent personal attack posts without a hint of substance. I'm sure your mother is proud of you!!

 

[Foxfyre]

For this specific post, I received the following:



He does this every time his 48-hour limit from the last Neg expires. Even though there's no exchange taking place between us.
So I think we can put the question of who owns "anger" to rest by now.




I have yet to see the former, ever. As for the latter, again I'll speak to the one I know by experience, on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans, where the Mal-Wart is the only thing in its own space, so that doesn't apply either. There's nothing there getting "anchored" at all. And once again, any "barnacle" stores would need the same kind of clientele anyway -- that would mean I dunno, Dollar General and Burger King?

Sorry but every Mal-Wart location I know of directly contradicts this PR pipe dream. Can you provide any actual examples of this abstraction?

Which is why I said 'almost' rather than 'always' for the anchor store analogy for the city. Many small town Walmarts stand alone too. But how many small town cafes, gas stations, and specialty shops benefit from a Walmart being there and keeping folks home to shop rather than the folks driving to the city? When they drive to the city, they'll likely stop for a bite to eat, and gas up the car with cheaper gasoline before they return home. But if they can get what they need at Walmart, they will stay home, eat at the local diner, and buy gasoline at a few cents higher price because it is more economical to do that than it is to drive into the city.

From the references to driving or not driving to "the city", I take it you're talking about Suburbia there. I'm not. And none of the Mal-Warts I'm familiar with, mostly in small towns, one in a city, fit the mold you've described. Not one. But I did at least grow up in Suburbia so I'm familiar with it (even if it's not a place I'd ever care to return to), and the phenomena of going to the city to get your stuff is simply something that AFAIK went away fifty years ago.

So I'm not thinking at all about Mal-Wart versus the city; I'm thinking about Mal-Wart versus its own community. And nothing I've seen of those dynamics is positive. I can't think of a single way things in general got better post-MalWart than they were pre-MalWart.

Well I don't know where you live or what you have observed. But in our former work, I drove the entire state of New Mexico, a lot of West Texas, and a good chunk of Arizona and my experience seems to be pretty typical throughout that entire large area. I have lived in small towns and I have lived long enough to watch small towns grow into big towns and I have watched small towns essentially vanish off the map.

You can always find exceptions of course, but for the most part, Walmarts have been a positive influence in both small town and big cities. Which is why they continue to thrive and why the company keeps building more of them.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Another argument I don't get is that they drive down wages.

Do people really believe the cashier at the Mom & Pop store is making much more than min wage or have some benefits package with healthcare and a 401k? Sure lots of Walmart employees make shit, but so are the workers at the competing local business. Different toilet, but still shit.