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debbimc

venting on walmart

debbimc
15 years ago

I live in one of those thousands of town that Walmart was able to close down every business--we are 10,000 population & you can't buy anything but at Wal-nightmare. I hate it--we are 120 miles from the city to have any selection. They have no selection in anything --you buy what they put on the shelf!! I can't believe the way this huge corporate greed machine has managed to change the small towns of America. I say if your community has the ability to keep them out --you need to say NO to walmart. They treat their employees like robots. Years ago we had main street businesses--you could buy fabric or buttons,and many other things...oh I will stop babbling--it is a very depressing topic--I want to move away from Walmart land.

Comments (33)

  • bill_h
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    life changes, time marches on.

  • cynic
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry to burst your bubble, but Walmart didn't close down any business. Not one. You and your friends and neighbors did because you went there instead of the local businesses. Don't blame Walmart for what your community did to the small businesses. Walmart was once a small business. It's not corporate greed that kills the small businesses and makes Walmart rich, it's the individuals and community greed that accomplishes it. BTW, how much did your elected officials that you and your neighbors put in office, give in the way of TIF financing, property incentives and the like? I'd be surprised if there wasn't something. Communities beg for businesses to come. Don't blame the businesses for taking advantage of it.

    Keep them out? That's laughable. If you want them out, QUIT BUYING FROM THEM! How long do you think they'd stay if nobody bought anything there???

    I still loved seeing the pictures and film from a strong union town where the union workers drove to Walmart to picket and they'd carpool with their spouses, because the spouses went in and shopped Walmart while the spouse picketed! Says it all, doesn't it?

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  • seattlemike
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We live near a small town that is well-known for going through great lengths to keep the big stores from coming in. WalMart tried, then quickly gave up. Ironically, WalMart did build in our town, 30 miles away. Lo and behold, guess who drives 30 miles to shop in our WalMart! Tons of them.

  • joyfulguy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WalMart, and the Dollar Stores, including the people who shop there, have been torpedoing the U.S. economy.

    Can anyone spell, "Made in Mexico/Japan/China/India"?

    As the quality/productive jobs have moved offshore, and continue to do so ... where will local people find the money to buy their stuff?

    Not their problem ... so long as those local people have money.

    Or can suck it out of the value of their home ... which, with pensions becoming as scarce as hens' teeth, was needed to help provide retirement income for them.

    With fewer people having a pension to depend on ... and with little residual value left in their home (if they're fortunate enough to have one) when they reach what they thought to be retirement age ... they'll have few choices:

    1. continue working

    2. seek welfare (fat chance ... the gov't. being too broke to offer widespread welfare).

    3. move in with kids, or

    4. commit suicide.

    If you know of a different potential scenario, I'd like to hear it.

    ole joyful

    P.S. I can't resent people in the Third World having work (though I'd prefer that it not be under semi-slave-like conditions), as I helped some refugees try to get back on their feet, over 50 years ago. If you'd ever seen the primitive conditions under which such people live, you'd know the reason.

    o j

  • grainlady_ks
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm getting tired of Wal-Mart bashing - which is just bashing free enterprise, commerce and marketing. If you don't like the store, don't shop there.

    If you don't like what they carry, get the capitol to open a store that will fill the shopping void. I'd have to guess your Wal-mart "have no selection in anything" because there's not enough purchasing public to support a larger selection. Why do you think catalog shopping was big business years and years ago?

    I'm going to bet your downtown would have died even without Wal-Mart moving into your town, if you stop to evaluate the REAL reasons business close. "Mom & Pop" retired and couldn't find a buyer for their "Mom & Pop" Store. When women quit wearing dresses - it's no wonder the Speciality Dress Shop on the corner went out of business.

    Try to avoid the buggy whip "Marketing Myopia" mentality. "It wasn't the car that killed the buggy whip maker, it was the buggy whip maker's thinking that did it."

    -Grainlady

  • ilene_in_neok
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Debbie, I hear ya.

    We still have some grocery stores, drug stores and a K-mart. I go to those places, and I buy a lot of stuff online. I have quit shopping at WMT. But I am just one person and my absence will not impact them in the least. Nor will yours, my dear, if you take the advice given and stay away. But I hear your vent and I understand exactly what you mean.

    I do believe WMT undercuts the smaller businesses, who can't compete because they can't stay open 24 hours a day, can't buy in the same volume and therefore can't make money if they sell for the same price as WMT. When they run their loss-leaders, WMT will agree to sell for the same price for the item if the buyer shows them the competitor's ad. It may be free enterprise and marketing but it ain't pretty.

    Of course everyone comparison shops and they will go where they can get the best price. I don't think you can fairly call that greed. It would be like saying that the person who lives frugally is greedy and we all know that's not so.

    We lost our Hancock's fabric store. People do still buy fabric and sewing notions. They left here because they found it "no longer economically feasible" to have a store here. You can't tell me that WMT doesn't send scouts out into the community to report back what the prices are in the smaller stores. We have one shoe store now. Their shoes are better quality, and of course they cost more than Walmart shoes. I've been in there a few times and usually the clerks outnumber the customers there. We used to have a Payless shoe store but it went away. People do still wear shoes. We're down to one hardware store and I hate to think about losing it. I can walk in and say to the clerk, "I need a gizmo for my flibbertygibbit" and she'll go right to it. I've bought it and left the store in the same time it takes to get from the parking lot to the door at WMT.

    Sam Walton had a lot of good ideas. But he's dead now and probably spinning in his grave. I don't like how they treat their employees, but if people need a job and that's all there is, they deal with it.

  • Adella Bedella
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The Mom and Pop stores can compete with Wal-Mart, but they have to be willing to do so in areas where Wal-Mart is lacking. For instance, Wal-Mart merchandise often lacks quality. The Mom and Pop stores need to carry better quality merchandise. It depends on the individual store, but Wal-Mart doesn't provide much in the way of service. Mom and Pop stores could compete on that level. Another way the Mom and Pop stores could compete is to change their hours. Wal-Mart doesn't close down at 6 pm. Those people who work and have money and are willing to spend more of that money need to be able to access the store. They can't if it's closed when they get off of work.

  • veggrljo
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There was a time in my life that thrift stores and Wal-mart were all that I shopped because that was all I thought I could afford. Then I found Aldi and later save a lot. Then even later farmers markets, co-ops,gardening, grocery loss leaders, coupons and sales.
    We almost never enter a Wal-Mart anymore. Sometimes it takes even more effort but we shop locally as much as possible.
    My brother in law worked as a greeter there when he relocated to GA. He will be the first to tell you they are not necessarily the lowest prices and many of the low priced items are lower in quality as well.
    I do remember when they opened in my hometown over 20 years ago. They had big signs with American Flags saying "Made in America". I did not seen those the last time I was in the store a couple years ago.

  • Ina Plassa_travis
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have to side with the folks that hold the shoppers equally responsible - for some reason, the few bucks I 'would' save by shopping there always seemed to get eaten up with impulse items...and I came to the conclusion that the whole store was impulse buys, and there was very little there that one needed - at all, ever.

    we all of us got raised with our parents buying us 'things' for treats, and we've so come to associate those two acts - the getting of 'treats' and parental approval - when you pair that with all the 'time savers' - a modern house seems to need one spray to clean the countertop, one to clean the appliances, one for the windows, one for the sink, one for the floor, and another one for the dishes...but the truth is that we spend more time lugging the cleaning products around than most of us do cleaning.

    this country was already coasting when I was a kid - and it looks more and more like we aint learned nothing yet... so why do we think we deserve better?

  • dadoes
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Population a little over 10,000. Wal-Mart has been here for 25 years. One large grocer has shut down, but one remains and even built a new store several years ago. There's an independent sewing/vacuum shop. A hardware store that has been here for ages. Palais Royal and a couple other clothing stores, and a couple 2nd-hand/resale shops, and a bridal shop. Walgreens and another independent pharmacy. Two computer stores, one incorporates a Radio Shack. Three home improvement/lumber outfits and two plumbing storefronts, and a storefront that specializes in paint. Three bakeries/donut shops. Three butchers/meat markets. A multitude of drive-ins/convenience stores. Two furniture stores, and another specialty shop that's open seasonally. A Western Auto (everything from bicycles & lawn mowers to SxS refrigerators and flat-screen TVs). Several rent-to-own outfits. A shoe store. Two sporting goods stores. One independent jewelry store that has been in town f-o-r-e-v-e-r. At least four auto-parts outfits. Two printing shops. On and on and on.

  • duluthinbloomz4
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I get a little weary of Wal-mart bashing myself, but know enough about Wal-mart to understand why people do bash. Withholding your dollars from them is about the best you can do.

    I'm an equal opportunity spender. The store that has what I need or want gets my business - and sometimes it's WM. A case in point: happened to be in Kohl's kitchenwares dept. and knew I needed a good, flexible silicone spatula. Kohl's selection of just one was priced at $8.95 and made in China. Thanks, but no thanks. Found exactly what I was looking for at WM - $0.99 and made in the same Chinese factory, no doubt.

    I'm in an area of approx. 100,000 and we're not super saturated with shopping. Definitely more than adequate to keep anyone vehemently opposed to Wal-mart from ever stepping foot in the place.

  • chris8796
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Corporate greed didn't change small town America, the people living there did. Walmart is very good at what the do and are fierce competition. For the most part, retailers don't add alot of value to the transaction, just another middle man taking their cut. Once a retailer figures out how to add more value or reduce their cut, they will be more successful.

  • scarlett2001
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In addition to everything else that has been said here, WallyWorld has become the cultural center. My parents' town in PA has about 3000 people, plus one giant 24/7 Super WallyWorld. There is a facility nearby for the mentally retarded, they are brought to wander the aisles of WallyWorld for their outtings. Lovers wanting a place for an illicit tryst- well, it's open 24/7. Need entertainment - go to WallyWorld. Kids/spouse need to get out of the house - you guessed it. I'm waiting for the churches and bars to get wise and set up their sections inside Wally's giant embrace.

  • ma-bookreader
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I will side with cynic since she was the first to say what many other posters also said in this thread - Wal-Mart did not close the local Mom & Pop shops. If the towns people wanted those stores to stay in town, then they would have spent their money there. Businesses stay around if they make money.

    And businesses can compete with Wal-Mart because WM does not have the corner on every market area. WM does not offer selection, great customer service, or top quality merchandise.

  • debbimc
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cynic, LOL...You didn't burst my bubble--that happened years ago. As I said I was just venting...I agree & don't agree--I do understand the stategizing done by Walmart when attempting to monopoloze a market area. I have family in Bentonville & 2 work in corporate office. It is amazing. Human behavior can be predicted!

  • newgardenelf
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I HATE Walmart and I will gladly pay more money for the things I want at other stores. From my house I can be at a dozen Walmarts within 15-60 minutes. I have been in Walmart and their prices are indeed lower but so is their quality and customer service.

    Beyond that I find their business practices terrible.

    Recently a town nearby successfully kept them out after a long fight, they moved on to several nearby towns trying to open and finally gave up when those towns also voted against it them opening. But others are right, I'm sure there are lots of folks from those towns driving to Walmart to shop. They wouldn't be there if it wasn't profitable.......

  • carmen_grower_2007
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Walmart, being non union has a competitive edge over those nutcases that had to be unionized. Unionize Walmart and take away those great prices!!!!

    It is so simple to see what the problem is. Unions used to serve a purpose - they now only serve the organizers. Too bad the govt. gave in to the unions. Our schools and all other services suffer and we pay.

    Why do you suppose the car manufacturers in the southern states that don't give in to unions are doing just fine?

  • trianglejohn
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I used to live in a small town that had a thriving downtown full of little shops. Walmart wanted to move in and was only allowed to do so on the far side of town away from the major highway. In order to put food on the table I had to commute to the big city an hour and a half away. I left in the dark of morning and came home in the dark of night. For convenience I opened a checking account in the city near my job. NONE of the downtown merchants would take my check but Walmart would. NONE of the dowtown merchants stayed open after 5, but Walmart would. Downtown was a ghost town on Sundays but Walmart was open for business. Sometimes you shop there because they are the only place open not because of the quality or lack thereof.

  • duluthinbloomz4
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sometimes I wonder how we pick and choose what "foreign" goods are worthy of purchase from any vendor. From a big name store that isn't Wal-mart or any of the other big boxes, the last fleece "jogging suit" I got was made in Viet Nam; have some office appropriate shirts in my closet from Nicaragua, India, Pakistan, Colombia, and the Philippines; L'eggs trouser socks from Thailand. Are those countries okay? Was it better to have purchased these foreign assembled products, say, from Macy's? :-)

    I mean, really, maybe over time (without becoming isolationist or protectionist) perhaps some of the things we used to manufacture but now import will be brought back to the USA. What sense does it make to recycle papers and have Waste Management ship the bundles overseas to be made into a cardboard box that's shipped back here. Surely we can compete in the cardboard box department!!!

  • triciae
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My town has kept them out although they didn't go down without a fight that I thought for a while we'd lose. Thank goodness, we won. We have a vibrant downtown plus a cluster of shops near the highway...all Mom/Pop (no franchises). The only fast food in town is one McDonald's, again next to the highway. Well, I take that back. We have two Starbucks & two Dunkin' Donuts. But, we also have half a dozen Mom/Pop bakeries that thrive.

    Cost is only one consideration when we shop. Quality, customer service, ease of shopping, & that sense of being part of a community that you can't put a price on weigh heavily in our decisions. There is nothing sold in Walmart that I can't get locally from a Mom/Pop store.

    We also don't shop Sears anymore since K-mart purchased them. Quality & service are abysmal. We've recently purchased a new washer/dryer & dishwasher...all from our local appliance shop about 3/4 mile from the house. Great selection & great customer service. Plus, they invited us to join them last Sunday for the St. Paddy's Parade...in their parking lot for free burgers, dogs, & libations. They are located on the parade route & it's a big deal here. Sears has never invited me for anything except to spend money in the store!

    We are a tourist town. Tourists don't want to shop at Walmart. Neither do we. It's really nice to walk in the hardware store & be greeted by name. It's nice to slide into a booth for breakfast & be greeted by name. It's nice to spend a couple hours with the appliance store owners & other customers who are our neighbors watching the parade. The only way we can maintain the small town feel of our community is by supporting each other. We are a town of 4,000. The nearest Walmart is 10-12 miles away.

    /tricia (The parade was a huge success this year for our merchants...750 marchers & viewer head count was over 50,000 people!)

  • sherwoodva
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, Triciae - I want to live where you do!
    We are in a very old (1938) neighborhood that is close (five miles) to a major city. The closest Wally is about 20 miles out. We never go. We are trying hard to focus on patronizing the local (non chain) restaurants, hardware store, etc. A few decades ago, a wealthy man left a trust that keeps the rent low for our local shopping strip, but specifies that it must have a grocery store (not a chain, a small store), a hardware store, restaurants, and a drug store. So they have reduced rents, average prices, and enough neighbors who make it a point to shop there. If we need a gizmo for a repair at home, we look in the local hardware store first before we go to the Orange Box.

    I agree with the others that it is a matter of principle. You have to have enough people who can afford to make the choice to patronize the local non-chain businesses.

    We love going to our local pizza place where they make it from scratch and know DH is allergic to cheese. the pizza is so good, I don't mind not having cheese. But they don't call us by name - I think Tricia's town is best!

  • stir_fryi SE Mich
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I live in a large midwestern town (population 100,000) that just got a Walmart with groceries about three years ago.

    I shop there for all my pantry items. With two elementary aged children that take two snacks a day to school -- we go through a ton of cereal, granola bars, chips, etc... I don't buy meat or produce there because the meat is usually no cheaper and the produce isn't great.

    I also have a Meijer and Kroger to pick from. Why should I pay $3.50 for granola bars at Kroger when I can buy them at Walmart for $2.25? My DH works hard for his money and don't consider grocery shopping a charity event.

    As for customer service -- who needs it for grocery shopping??

    As for how they treat employees, I cannot comment because I don't personally know anyone that works there and will not believe the hype and propaganda on this issue.

    Lastly, why does Walmart soley get blamed for Chinese goods??? Check out the toy section at Target or Toys R Us. Better yet, try to find one Made in America item at Toys R Us -- impossible.

    Near our vacation home in Florida Walmart is a god-send for the locals. Many of the Mexican immigrants are farm workers that cannot afford to shop at Publix and Sweet Bay.

  • joyfulguy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The Chinese gov't. (main banker to the U.S. gov't.) loans part of the money that they make on the goods that they make and ship over here ... to the U.S. gov't., to use to buy all of that stuff that they're not taxing enough to buy for cash ...

    ... and charge them interest, of course.

    They're using some to search for resources in Africa.

    And building railways, pipelines, etc. to bring the stuff to tidewater ... to ship to China.

    They're doing the same in Canada - buying some Canadian oil cos. (which the U.S. did quite a bit of in earlier times ... and still do). There's talk of them building a pipeline from Edmonton to Prince Rupert, on the Pacific Coast ... to ship oil to China.

    In the light of the consideration that Canada is the major supplier of U.S.-imported oil ...

    ... and as the easily-obtained oil fields are running low, and collecting more from pumped-down fields is a lot more expensive ...

    ... and as oil developed from the tar sands is expensive ...

    ... some U.S. leaders are getting into something of a tizzy about this proposal, as they sort of figure that they should have a lock on Canadian oil.

    They should?

    Who says?

    So ... it matters where you shop, folks.

    Have a lovely spring weekend, everyone.

    ole joyful

  • hrajotte
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I feel this way about all the "Big Box" stores. Granted, they are convenient as hell for many types of purchases, but finding good service and knowledgeable employees is difficult, to say the least. Case in point: While shopping for a snowblower, I looked in one of those big stores, then stopped at a small local power equipment shop. SAME snowblower, SAME price, and they delivered it for no extra cost!

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Frankly, because I live in a small town - the county has 8,000 people- Super Wal Mart is amazing to me and about 6 minutes from my house. There are 2 other grocery stores and an Aldi's, but nothing beats the one stop shopping at Wally World.
    Otherwise I have to drive 45 minutes one way to the next size city.
    Prices don't matter as I always shop prices among the stores
    and watch the ad fliers carefully. And this applies to everything, not just food. Wal Mart will match the regular prices of other stores too although I haven't used that feature.

  • carmen_grower_2007
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bottom line here is that if money doesn't matter, you shop where you want --- if money does matter and you have a WalMart and a Sams Club, you shop those because you then have money for other things after groceries and other necessities.

    The cool thing about Walmart is that you are getting very quality goods and foods, unlike many generic products at regular grocery stores. My local grocery stores don't even sell 'choice' beef!!!

  • stargazzer
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "You and your friends and neighbors did because you went there instead of the local businesses."

    cynic, I agree with you 100%.

  • donnawb
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't like Walmart and don't shop there. For years they were cheaper on groceries and I would shop there. I now shop in Publix because I usually get better prices and they always have BOGO on different things each week. What I don't get there I will get at BJ's. I don't like their customer service (Walmart) or the long lines plus most of the customers are rude.

  • debbimc
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Our Wal mart has absolutley no selections on anything. you typically get the choice of one brand maybe two. We get what they purchase by the billions. Example, laundry supplies.. they love Tide right now. the entire aile is Tide -a small shelf on bottom had Gain. No cheer, no All, yes they did have a little Purex. I drove 100 miles last week & saw brands I haven't seen in ages. Target has 50's the selection compared to our rural Walmart--I do think there market area/location influences. IN my area --Walmart is IT for over 100 miles in 3 directions over 75 miles in one direction. So basically people just buy whatever they put out--cause thats all there is!

  • Meghane
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with dd50. I am afraid to drive into the parking lot and even more afraid to walk across it. Something about Walmart makes people insanely stupid. Remember the worker who got trampled at Christmas? I just moved my husband's Rx to a local pharmacy so I never have to go there again (I hadn't shopped there for years). Whew.

    I totally 100% adamantly disagree that Walmart sells quality products. 13 years ago when I needed a seam ripper at 11pm while sewing something I needed the next day, I had no choice but to go to Walmart. The piece of crap broke on the second use, and I have not been back since except to pick up DH's prescriptions for him.

    I live in a small town in NC (population 26,000) and while we have a Walmart that I will never go to, we also have many local businesses where I get great prices AND service. There are many smaller towns around here. I have NEVER seen a town that has ONLY a Walmart and nothing else. NEVER. As said before, Walmart doesn't kill the mom and pop stores, people who shop at Walmart do.

  • linlily
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We live in an area decimated by the Steel Mill closings in the 80's. And we've never recovered. But I will say that even before big steel went away, our downtown areas were disappearing.

    It's not how Walmart treats its customers that bothers me, rather it's how it was done. Changes are made, little by little and either they hope the customer doesn't notice, or if they do, will not care, if they need those "lower prices." I, and many others in our area, were happy when we found out a Super Walmart was coming. The closest SW was in the next county and many in our area drove there to buy groceries and other needs. There were three chain grocery stores in the area and two of the large drug chains. Our downtown shopping area was already closed and gone, making us drive to purchase just about anything besides groceries and prescriptions.

    Well, they built the Super Walmart, and stocked it with everything imaginable. I just couldn't believe the great prices along with the selections of everything from groceries to paint to socks! They hired extra help, you didn't have to wait long in line to check out, and there were employess galore to help you find what you were looking for. We had a really nice fabric section and a good sized arts and crafts section. Both are important to me because the closest fabric and craft stors are over a half hour drive away.

    Little by little, the selection has been narrowed down and eliminated. Areas that once were full of different brands and different sizes are filled in with one or two brands, usually at very large "economy" sizes. The juice I like is gone, a canned soup that I liked is no longer sold there, laundry detergent is sold in large sizes and the brands that they can get at "their lowest prices" are stocked on the shelves. Name brand cheese in the deli has been replaced by mostly generic brands. They no longer care how long you have to wait to get checked out anymore. Once you have your groceries in the buggy, it's unlikely that you are going to leave them without finishing your shopping experience, even IF you have to wait. You may grumble and complain about the wait, but what can you do but wait? Where there were many checkout isles open, they've dropped that number considerably. In the past year, one by one, all the Super Walmarts in the area have closed their fabric departments. And after a sequential remodel, area store by area store, the crafts section is a shadow of it's former self. Again I have to drive quite a way to the nearest craft store when I run out of something.

    I don't like being "told" what brand of what item I can buy or what size of that item I can purchase. There is still one local grocery chain, which has enlarged its store, and a new Aldi has opened in the past couple of years. I try to use the local K-mart, Aldi, and the grocery chain whenever I can. I feel we have been manipulated by the Walmart Corporation and I don't like that. I'll buy from other places in the area whenever I can. This has been my experince in our locality.

  • ilene_in_neok
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lots of things go on in that parking lot that nobody hears about. It's easy to lurk around out there. Security is a joke. I don't even think they're on and if they are I don't think anyone's watching or that the images can be saved for crime-solving. We had our pick-up broken into, years ago, while we were in the store. They just pulled into the slot next to us, popped the lock on the driver's side, and they were in. We came out of the store and discovered our door hanging open and the contents of the pick-up gone. I've never been accosted on the lot, but if someone's going to approach me, they'd better do it while I'm on the way in, because after I've been in the store for awhile I'm so mad I might actually fight back and give my attacker a good a$$ kicking.

    I met someone via the seed exchange forum that told me that Walmart executives had been told that there was going to be less stock this year because of the economic downturn. Something about credit being harder to get. The guy I talked to translated this into a food shortage and he was hoarding seeds. Well, it takes all kinds.

    More and more, I am buying things online. I have opened a checking account just for this purpose so that I don't have to expose my credit card number or my "real" bank account to the world. Some places will ship for free if you buy a certain amount. If I could get some people to go in with me, I'd do more buying of certain things in bulk because that's where the real savings are. Not so at WMT, where sometimes the bigger packages are actually a little more expensive per unit than the small ones. I just hate going to shop and having to be on the alert all the time because I feel like I'm going to be cheated if I don't.

  • Adella Bedella
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There is a ton of stuff that goes on in the WM parking lot that never gets reported. I've watched police beats for when I've seen the police arrest someone there. They never make the paper.

    Fortunately, I live some place where are easy alternatives to Wal-Mart. I haven't completely cut Wal-Mart out yet, but I have severely cut down the trips. I just have too many other better stores with better quality products to visit. I mainly shop Wal-Mart for those price match trips where I have a sale and a coupon. Some of Wal-Mart's merchandise has gotten to be such a poor quailty, I find I can't make myself buy it even if I really want or need it. There goes the impulse shopping.