Wal-Mart Rant thread...

[rocksanddirt]

the chain idea....

the town I live in is a college town so we have historically had an over abundance of bookstores.

a few years ago a "Borders" was going to open.....cue all manner of hue and outcry from the local bookstore owners....after the chain store opened, a couple of the locals closed, most are still doing fine. The difference was the stores run like businesses (good inventory, competitive pricing, knowledgeable staff) survied (and in come cases have grown). the ones run like a personal library....are gone now.

[Mark]

Okay, kids, time for the long pants.

Pants, shirts... I don't care for the clothes that Wal-Mart sells. On the other hand, they have first-rate musical instruments.

[lgb&dtuba]

Well, I don't shop at Wal*Mart very often. Maybe twice a year. But is has nothing at all to do with politics. It has more to do with price and quality. The big myth is that Wal*Mart's prices are cheaper than elsewhere across the board. They might seem that way unless you pay attention to the brands. You can always find <something> cheaper at Wal*Mart, but often it's more of a loss leader or brand-x crap.

OTOH, we shop at Sam's Club every week. There are certain items we use that we can get there cheaper all the time. There are certain things we buy there that we just cannot get at all in the big chain groceries. For example, my wife likes to shop at the Harris Teeter. It's fine until we want a larger cut of meat. Like a whole sirloin tip or a fresh ham. Harris Teeter never has those. Just smaller cuts of meat. So far we haven't had a bad piece of meat from Sam's.

If I'm looking for hand tools I'll go to Sears and buy Craftsman. Experience says that if I don't I'll end up with a piece of crap that will break in my hands and likely hurt me and what I'm working on. And I'll then end up at Sears anyway buying the tool all over again.

The bottom line for me is that I'll shop wherever I can find the products and quality I want. And avoid places that don't.

[Donn]

At 6' 7-1/2" tall, I'm finding all the clothing there I ever need as long as I restrict my clothing to socks and underwear. On rare occaision, I can even find a size 14 shoe that doesn't hurt my feet.

We should have a foot size poll - this might be one little community where my size 13s won't be that all that big. I know around these parts, if you need any unusual size shoe, you might head for the Redwing store. I bought some size 13B boots there, not long ago, but it isn't really a Redwing store any more, and there aren't as many Redwing shoes there as there were 20 years ago - mostly just boots, and the rest is the same Chinese stuff you could buy any number of places, in the same limited selection of sizes. Well, that's right, customers change, and you have to change with them!

[Chadtuba]

We should have a foot size poll…

Oh, goody!

13E

Ditto that for me too

[J. Laux]

Damn small feet people. I need 15 to 16EE depending on the company
Haven't been able to shop for clothes at Wal-Mart since high school

[MaryAnn]

7.

Heh.

MA

[bearphonium]

9 1/2 EE

And for reasons which are entirely political so won't discuss, I don't shop at Mal*Wart.

Ally"whose feet demonstrate why cops are called 'flatfoot'"House

[rocksanddirt]

9 1/2 or 10 B.

My redwing experience is that the work boots are the most comfortable and longest lasting (I wear them every day).

[Todd S. Malicoate]

WHO *REALLY* NEEDS *ANY* OF THE CRAP INSIDE ONE OF THOSE?

Sounds like someone is more "off the grid" than previously reported.

Congratulations!

[Tuba Guy]

If it ain't found in your back yard, a farmers market, a grocery store, a thrift store, a yard sale, eBay, or craigslist, you don't need it.

WAL*MART-schmall-mart.

Soooo...tubas?

[Nick Pierce]

If it ain't found in your back yard, a farmers market, a grocery store, a thrift store, a yard sale, eBay, or craigslist, you don't need it.

WAL*MART-schmall-mart.

Soooo...tubas?

Thrift store, yard sale, ebay, blokes back yard.

[Doug@GT]

If it ain't found in your back yard, a farmers market, a grocery store, a thrift store, a yard sale, eBay, or craigslist, you don't need it.

WAL*MART-schmall-mart.

I only buy things at Wal-Mart that are found in my back yard, a farmers market, a grocery store, a thrift store, a yard sale, eBay, or craigslist.

But only when it's cheaper.

Doug " "

[LoyalTubist]

I remember when they tried to have Wal-Mart in Indonesia when I lived there. What a joke! Indonesia has what they call poverty sharing, which means, why give one person a job when two people can do it together more efficiently!

Here in the Philippines, if they had Wal-Mart, it couldn't possibly look anything like what they have in the States. All the workers would be under 25, including the greeters. You could probably buy what would cost $1.00 in Texas for about 23 pesos (50 cents in U.S. money), which would include the 12% VAT.

What they really need here is something like Dollar Tree or the 99 Cents Only Store. I'd call it the P49.95 Store.

[LoyalTubist]

We should have a foot size poll…

Oh, goody!

13E

Ditto that for me too

10-1/2 EEE/C (combination last)