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Walmart and big box stores

Do you shop big box stores?

  • 1. Yes, cheaper, more variety, all in one place

    Votes: 3 6.4%

  • 2. No, don't care for the crowds and poor quality

    Votes: 8 17.0%

  • 3. Both, depending on what I am looking for

    Votes: 19 40.4%

  • 4. Seldom, but on a few occasions

    Votes: 12 25.5%

  • 5. Other, like online shopping

    Votes: 5 10.6%
  • Total voters
    47
SNOWFLAKE said:
I like the shopping experience. Going from small shop to small shop. Make a day of it. Not getting jostled in big box stores.
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gives me memories of growing up before the Big Box phenomenon. all we had was Sears and Kmart. Sears was a classy place for many of us, mostly one stop shopping but no built in food store. if you wanna study huge business blunders, Sears would be on that list.

YouTube has old time video of Main Street, yeah i do miss those times.

and i would go back if i could.
 
Mycroft said:
Wait...what is "Trump's latest feud with Walmart"?
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A guess: One of the Walton heirs is funding the riots and the no kings demonstrations this weekend. Trump also suggested that Walmart could eat the costs of tariffs. Might be something else....you never know.
 
Eriech said:
A guess: One of the Walton heirs is funding the riots and the no kings demonstrations this weekend. Trump also suggested that Walmart could eat the costs of tariffs. Might be something else....you never know.
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Oh. Yeah, I heard about those two things. Didn't think it was that much of a big deal.
 
Revelation said:
you might like Costco, seems they have a better selection of quality.

some things are tough to find even in the Big Box brick and mortar, amazon is getting to be my go to when i can't pick it up locally. the down side is the waiting for free shipping et al.
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well to be fair I do have Sams card so I am feeding the great Walton machine - you're right

I order more and more on-line .. but I'm in a different ship than most blue collar American's in how I shop and can shop. My brother shops 90% of his shopping at Wal-mart because that's about all they have to go to
 
stealthycat said:
well to be fair I do have Sams card so I am feeding the great Walton machine - you're right
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my Dad used to talk about the 'good ole days'...........now i do too.

i don't mind Walmart too much, but i rather prefer America in the past and miss my younger years. so far, no one has figured out how to make a Delorean time machine to work. groan.



stealthycat said:
I order more and more on-line .. but I'm in a different ship than most blue collar American's in how I shop and can shop. My brother shops 90% of his shopping at Wal-mart because that's about all they have to go to
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our local town has none of this and it is a pain to get to these kinds of places. we go during the week and avoid the weekend panics, so fill up the car is how it is done.

even though Wally has tons of stuff, not everything is in stock; i am hugely thankful for amazon for hard to find stuff. my stove needed parts from years ago and Amazon had them and a good price.

so it is a mixed bag for us.
 
Mycroft said:
Wait...what is "Trump's latest feud with Walmart"?
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Hi Mycroft,

The same as every other citizen with more than 2 braincells who comes to the realization that his policies make prices go up. Oh wait, and than they announced that prices go up!. Trump promised lower prices, so if he makes goods more expensive they have to say that things are gonna get cheaper. If they do not say that and are not willing to carry the costs that Trump imposed on them, then they become a target for him. He's like a honey badger, just more stupid.


Joey
 
JoeyJoystick said:
Hi Mycroft,

The same as every other citizen with more than 2 braincells who comes to the realization that his policies make prices go up. Oh wait, and than they announced that prices go up!. Trump promised lower prices, so if he makes goods more expensive they have to say that things are gonna get cheaper. If they do not say that and are not willing to carry the costs that Trump imposed on them, then they become a target for him. He's like a honey badger, just more stupid.


Joey
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So...you don't know what the "latest feud' is.

Bye.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
Like most of you, if you have reached my ripe old age, remember shopping locally, and even bargain shops were small or medium size.

Then Walmart came along, Target, Costco, and others.

Now small businesses stand empty while everyone bangs shopping carts on bumpers, stand in long lines, and end up with inferior products by going to the big box stores?

Of course we know about Trump's latest feud with Walmart, but that aside, do YOU spend your hard earned money at the big box stores, or are you ok with spending an extra dime, getting better quality and keeping smaller shops alive?
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Before they closed Ft. McPherson and Ft. Gillem, the family and I did most of our shopping at the PX and commissary. Now, most of my shopping is on-line usually with Sams or Amazon and sometimes on Ebay depending on what I want. I do hit Home Depot and we now get our groceries at Krogers. I haven’t been to Walmart in years, I got tired of standing in line to checkout. They’d have 30 registers but open only a couple.
 
Remember when Peter Strzok told us he does not have a bias? Lol! Reminds me of certain thread maker who started out making a pretty good thread topic until he mentioned orange man bad in his very first post.
 
Nothing wrong with Walmart for those of us who don't have all the fancy choices. We shop for convenience and to save on gas. So instead of hopping to the grocer, the baker and the candlestick maker, we plan our route carefully, run errands, shop where it is convenient.
BTW, not all Walmarts are run the same and most customers aren't using an electric cart because they are overweight and disgusting. Do you people hear yourselves?
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
Like most of you, if you have reached my ripe old age, remember shopping locally, and even bargain shops were small or medium size.

Then Walmart came along, Target, Costco, and others.

Now small businesses stand empty while everyone bangs shopping carts on bumpers, stand in long lines, and end up with inferior products by going to the big box stores?

Of course we know about Trump's latest feud with Walmart, but that aside, do YOU spend your hard earned money at the big box stores, or are you ok with spending an extra dime, getting better quality and keeping smaller shops alive?
Click to expand...

I shop online, mostly. Costco & Target sometimes (mostly online with Target), Walmart not very often, and online when I do.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
Like most of you, if you have reached my ripe old age, remember shopping locally, and even bargain shops were small or medium size.

Then Walmart came along, Target, Costco, and others.

Now small businesses stand empty while everyone bangs shopping carts on bumpers, stand in long lines, and end up with inferior products by going to the big box stores?

Of course we know about Trump's latest feud with Walmart, but that aside, do YOU spend your hard earned money at the big box stores, or are you ok with spending an extra dime, getting better quality and keeping smaller shops alive?
Click to expand...

Hi Snowflake,

Let me start by saying that I hate shopping for things I not like. So it is a delight to be able to shop groceries on-line and get them delivered to my doorstep.

However, If you want quality or you need advise, the big stores are not really an option. You want tools? You go to a family run store who will likely have a machinist and/or a carpenter working for him. These are people that know what they're talking about. The same applies to hobby stores. And clothes stores. Especially shoe stores. There are some serious limitations to online shopping. If I want to buy a perfume for my wife I can buy that only on-line if I know what I want to buy. If I want to buy something new for her I need to go to a store if I at least want to know what I give her. My screen only produces images, no scents yet... Shoes you want to try, I can not imagine buying that online. And I understand people that have the same sentiment for fresh food or bread, though for me this is a matter of trust. I had bakeries deliver my bread to my home. I would order online from them If only they allowed me to.

But the one thing I really love when it comes to shopping is going to second hand book stores. And I mean those big places in the large cities with 5 stories of old used books. I get lost there and can stay there for hours on end. Love it!

So that's how I feel and think. Now the reality of course. Because I live in Thailand... I did most everything in my house. What am I saying. I build a house here. But when I was doing some carpentry, I could not find any quality tools here in Thailand. I started to search on-line. And yes, if you search hard, you can find reliable manufacturers and suppliers for hand tools that deliver to Thailand. It comes at a price though...

That is what I love about shopping on internet. You can find a supplier for virtually every niche product you can possibly think about. And let me give you a stupid example here. Last night I was wondering if HP still made those incredible calculators they used to make when I was young. The answer is of course 'No'. However, as it turns out, I am not the only one who liked them. There is a company in Switzerland that makes copies of them that are better than the original. And they are today the only calculators in the world that offer RPN. And I am fully aware that most people would think this is absolutely ridiculous, but I know the next time I not have to buy a 10USD Casio calculator anymore but I can buy this HP clone. For a whopping 300USD... And that, my friend, is the beauty of online shopping.

So, I would go to a store if it is an option. If I still lived in Canada or Holland, I would say the option of going to a store is slowly being taken away from us. However, here in Thailand it is probably more realistic to say that those specialty stores never existed. So it is the online shopping that opens up a whole new world to a lot of people. Or is the only available go-to place for people like me.

It's like Mick Jagger once said; You can't always get what you want. And Joey says; But you can at least try! Lol.


Joey
 
Occasionally I shop at them when I'm nearby. But I like to live in urban areas where they aren't practical.

Big box stores are great for efficient supply chains, economies of scale, and affordable products. But they are very bad when it comes to urban design and walkability. I think they're fine in exurban areas but they are a blight on cities.
 
I do practically all my shopping on line, even groceries...I seldom go into a store...
 
This is not a matter of either or. I shop wherever I can find the best product at the best price. I will pay more for items that I think are worth it. I used to do more local shopping but there are very few local shops left where I live. I don’t have any great moral or ethical principles guiding my shopping. I enjoy shopping anywhere I have an interest in the products being sold and also where it is most convenient to get my regular food and supply items. I have no high moral principles of shopping that I adhere to.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
Like most of you, if you have reached my ripe old age, remember shopping locally, and even bargain shops were small or medium size.

Then Walmart came along, Target, Costco, and others.

Now small businesses stand empty while everyone bangs shopping carts on bumpers, stand in long lines, and end up with inferior products by going to the big box stores?

Of course we know about Trump's latest feud with Walmart, but that aside, do YOU spend your hard earned money at the big box stores, or are you ok with spending an extra dime, getting better quality and keeping smaller shops alive?
Click to expand...


The trend is reversing.

Walmart reports decreasing sales. The Hudson's bay store in Vancouver has closed its doors for good. The trend is now going to specialty shops. Even Safeway is reporting trade moving to small specialty stores. The death of cross border shopping on the West Coast is due in part to interest in quality over mass quantity. My friend at the local clothing store says business is growing steadily....all local.

However, it is still near impossible to buy liver pate'.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
Like most of you, if you have reached my ripe old age, remember shopping locally, and even bargain shops were small or medium size.


Then Walmart came along, Target, Costco, and others.
Click to expand...

I don't remember a world without Wal-Mart. I do remember the smaller grocery stores in the town I grew up in. There were also independent pharmacies and niche stores that sold things like comic books and baseball cards, but I don't really have any memory of small family owned stores that sold clothing, electronics, or other consumer stuff.

SNOWFLAKE said:
Now small businesses stand empty while everyone bangs shopping carts on bumpers, stand in long lines, and end up with inferior products by going to the big box stores?
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Why are big box store products inferior? Maybe the store brands are, but they would buy the same items from vendors as any other retailer.

SNOWFLAKE said:
Of course we know about Trump's latest feud with Walmart, but that aside, do YOU spend your hard earned money at the big box stores, or are you ok with spending an extra dime, getting better quality and keeping smaller shops alive?
Click to expand...

I go through periods where I try to avoid Wal-Mart. I shop almost entirely at HEB for groceries, but with kids who like to tell you they need something specific for school the next day like a certain color t-shirt or a piece of posterboard at 8pm, Wally World is your best bet to find what you're looking for.
 
No.

I support small businesses instead of global corporations as much as I can.
 
I don't like Walmart's labor practices. I will not spend a dime there.
 
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