shopping at walmart

[rwh11385]

The question all of you should be asking is "who gives a fuck"

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/809/

[rwh11385]

I understand predatory pricing. That is illegal and, as I have always said, if they are doing something illegal then I don't agree with that. Apparently they are getting caught and having to pay the penalties because of it. Outside of these cases of predatory pricing, what is your problem with Wal-Mart?





You are never going to get me to agree to that. I believe whole heartedly in a free market. No way should we be forcing companies to split up, etc.

I don't understand how if you believe in a free [fair] market, how you can be okay with how Walmart skews the market with its force, a force it produced with illegal business practices and deceptive underhanded tactics.

[Kruzen]

I don't know whats more hialrious, shopping at walmart or arguing about shopping at walmart and their business model on an e30 forum. The question all of you should be asking is "who gives a fuck"

[DarkWing6]

I understand predatory pricing. That is illegal and, as I have always said, if they are doing something illegal then I don't agree with that. Apparently they are getting caught and having to pay the penalties because of it. Outside of these cases of predatory pricing, what is your problem with Wal-Mart?

You split them up, just like they did when they created the "Baby Bells".


The Antitrust Division of the DOJ could do that. But the administration of the past 8 years has virtually gutted that section.


They could force them to peel off Sam's Club for starters, and could also look at their market share in certain areas and force them to sell/close stores.

You are never going to get me to agree to that. I believe whole heartedly in a free market. No way should we be forcing companies to split up, etc.

[rwh11385]

How do you add 2 or 3 businesses to the mix? Just start them? Wouldn't Wal-Mart knock them out before they get big enough like everyone else? That is not a solution. Your solution is about as good as saying Communism works.

Define unfair competition. I don't think I understand what Wal-Mart is doing that is unfair. They are not breaking laws (I don't know if I can buy into predatory pricing when they are the cheapest place on the block).

Sounds like driving out competition. How would you suppose them to do it? Drop below cost so that no one else can compete? Then bring prices back up to equilibrium when there is no one left to give them a try? Oh wait... already done. It's called predatory pricing.

Walmart dominates supplier sales so that they have control over them and practically vertically integrates with them. They get exclusive products that cannot be sold to anyone else, and lower prices than others can get, then uses both to drive out competition. They want to expand sales which means taking even more from others.

They are only the cheapest on the block when they have to be to kill competitors. Otherwise, they adjust prices back up.

http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_archive.php?browseby=slug&slugid=28

he complaint says Wal-Mart sold butter, milk, laundry detergent, and other staple goods below cost in stores in Beloit, Oshkosh, Racine, Tomah, and West Bend. The company intended to force other stores out of business, gain a monopoly in local markets, and ultimately recoup its losses through higher prices.

The items in question include about a dozen staple products like milk and vegetable oil. A common Wal-Mart strategy is to price such staples, known as "corner products," very low. Corner products are items for which consumers know the going price. By setting prices on these items very low, Wal-Mart creates an overall impression of having very low prices, when in fact much of its merchandise may not be such a good deal.
German law prohibits below cost pricing, because of its impact on small businesses. In this case, authorities feared a price war among the country's three largest food retailers would decimate independent shops, ultimately leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices. "The material benefit [of below cost pricing] to consumers is marginal and temporary, but the restriction of competition by placing unfair obstacles before medium-sized retailers is clear and lasting," said the Cartel Office.

In Oklahoma, Crest Foods, a three-store supermarket chain, filed a predatory pricing suit against Wal-Mart. The suit contends that Wal-Mart sold goods below cost at its store in Edmond in order to force Crest Foods out of business. Wal-Mart employees---including on one occasion former chief executive David Glass himself---regularly visited the Crest store to monitor prices. According to the suit, Wal-Mart then targeted price cuts to undermine Crest Foods, often dipping well below its own costs to beat out its rival. Such tactics are illegal under two state laws, the Unfair Sales Act and the Antitrust Reform Act. The suit is expected to go to trial in about one year.

http://www.momandpopnyc.com/campaigns/walmart/articles/Predatory%20Pricing/CrestSues,%20Oklahoman,%2010.27.00.pdf

Crest's executives said that according to their June 9 price
survey, French's mustard sold for 88 cents at the Wal-Mart
Supercenters in Moore and Norman and 97 cents at two Oklahoma City
Wal-Mart Supercenters. Crest was selling the product for 88 cents.
But the Edmond Wal-Mart Supercenter was selling the mustard for 50
cents.

In all, Crest checked prices on 35 items that day and found that
Crest beat or met prices at four "other" Wal-Mart Supercenters in
22 out of 35 items. Conversely, though, the Edmond Supercenter beat
Crest on 25 items and beat the other Wal-Mart Supercenters on 28
items.
Rupert said that Wal-Mart's pricing has dropped Crest's sales by
about 20 percent.

In case you forget the definition: predatory pricing is dropping prices to drive out competition then jacking them back up. Think that Walmart in Edmond would continue to sell mustard for 50 cents if Crest were to go bankrupt and charge 88 cents at its other locations??

[eric (^__^)]

competition for walmart will come, just like it did for Woolworth's, Kmart, Target, Fred Meyer's, beST, Future Shop, Piggly Wiggly, etc...

[Dave]

How do you add 2 or 3 businesses to the mix? Just start them? Wouldn't Wal-Mart knock them out before they get big enough like everyone else? That is not a solution. Your solution is about as good as saying Communism works.

Define unfair competition. I don't think I understand what Wal-Mart is doing that is unfair. They are not breaking laws (I don't know if I can buy into predatory pricing when they are the cheapest place on the block).

You split them up, just like they did when they created the "Baby Bells".

The Antitrust Division of the DOJ could do that. But the administration of the past 8 years has virtually gutted that section.

They could force them to peel off Sam's Club for starters, and could also look at their market share in certain areas and force them to sell/close stores.

[DarkWing6]

I didn't save any money, I just needed ammo at a convenient hour... 11pmish. buddy was able to get off work a day early = 1 day longer for the hunting weekend. Walmart isn't about saving money. It's a megalomart designed mainly for competitive prices, with large convenience. Mainly, ONE STOP SHOPPING. You can't go to most places for a set of tires, a garden hose, milk and eggs, a plunger, a TV, Guns & Ammo, beer, cigarettes, steak, AND prescriptions.

They don't have to be the cheapest at anything, as long as it has everything, and has it all competitively priced. Who wants to spend all day at several stores, driving around shopping with gas at $4 a gallon?

Either way. Was the benefit you received at getting ammo at 11pm worth your 2 hours to get it? That was the point I was getting at. To make something available for 24 hours at the same price as other places it is only available for 8 costs something. In this case you did not get good service, but you did get your ammo in the middle of the night instead of at 10am.

[Mulholland]

Service is something you sacrific when you want something for less. They aren't just getting them for cheaper. You get what you pay for. Was your 2 hours with the money you saved on ammo?

I didn't save any money, I just needed ammo at a convenient hour... 11pmish. buddy was able to get off work a day early = 1 day longer for the hunting weekend. Walmart isn't about saving money. It's a megalomart designed mainly for competitive prices, with large convenience. Mainly, ONE STOP SHOPPING. You can't go to most places for a set of tires, a garden hose, milk and eggs, a plunger, a TV, Guns & Ammo, beer, cigarettes, steak, AND prescriptions.

They don't have to be the cheapest at anything, as long as it has everything, and has it all competitively priced. Who wants to spend all day at several stores, driving around shopping with gas at $4 a gallon?

[DarkWing6]

I've mentioned my solution several times: get 2-3 more Walmarts in the mix. Walmart struggles to compete in UK and Germany because there are already 'always low price' competitors there. Suppliers are split between these 3-5 large discount retailers and smaller grocers, etc.

If Walmart unfairly tries to prevent this from happening, fine and punish them like many companies have been done before for doing what Walmart has been doing.

Walmart uses muscle to keep anyone like itself from succeeding? Proof there is a problem.

How do you add 2 or 3 businesses to the mix? Just start them? Wouldn't Wal-Mart knock them out before they get big enough like everyone else? That is not a solution. Your solution is about as good as saying Communism works.

Define unfair competition. I don't think I understand what Wal-Mart is doing that is unfair. They are not breaking laws (I don't know if I can buy into predatory pricing when they are the cheapest place on the block).

[DarkWing6]

Walmart is the only place I have ever gone to get ammunition, LOTS and LOTS of ammunition, and had to wait in excess of an hour and a half at 11 at night, becuase while they are open 24 hours, they only have someone working sporting goods/outdoors for 10 hours a day, and on top of this they have no fucking GENIUS managers on duty capable of operating a FUCKING KEY apparently. So, finally they got around to finding a "manager" and finding "the key" and getting back there, at which point I'd spent over 2 hours in a Walmart, and it was approaching 1:30am, and being as we had just bought a bunch of ammunition.. well needless to say, apparently the range on those high powered digital zoom parking lot cams is not nearly as great as the optical zoom on my buddies scope. Have fun shopping at Wa___rt bitches.

Service is something you sacrific when you want something for less. They aren't just getting them for cheaper. You get what you pay for. Was your 2 hours with the money you saved on ammo?

[rwh11385]

I understand your point. I just don't see your solution. You keep saying there is a problem and have no solution.

I've mentioned my solution several times: get 2-3 more Walmarts in the mix. Walmart struggles to compete in UK and Germany because there are already 'always low price' competitors there. Suppliers are split between these 3-5 large discount retailers and smaller grocers, etc.

If Walmart unfairly tries to prevent this from happening, fine and punish them like many companies have been done before for doing what Walmart has been doing.

Walmart uses muscle to keep anyone like itself from succeeding? Proof there is a problem.

[Mulholland]

Walmart is the only place I have ever gone to get ammunition, LOTS and LOTS of ammunition, and had to wait in excess of an hour and a half at 11 at night, becuase while they are open 24 hours, they only have someone working sporting goods/outdoors for 10 hours a day, and on top of this they have no fucking GENIUS managers on duty capable of operating a FUCKING KEY apparently. So, finally they got around to finding a "manager" and finding "the key" and getting back there, at which point I'd spent over 2 hours in a Walmart, and it was approaching 1:30am, and being as we had just bought a bunch of ammunition.. well needless to say, apparently the range on those high powered digital zoom parking lot cams is not nearly as great as the optical zoom on my buddies scope. Have fun shopping at Wa___rt bitches.

[DarkWing6]

I understand your point. I just don't see your solution. You keep saying there is a problem and have no solution.

[rwh11385]

You really think Wal-Mart is planning to raise their prices? Nobody will buy their crap for more than they are charging now. That is their strategy. Cheap stuff for cheap prices.

I agree, competition is good. How do you plan on just creating competition for Wal-Mart? I'm sure you agree in a free market. This will run its course. How many times do I have to say, it is not sustainable. Wal-Mart will not be a juggernaut forever just like our economy wont be in a recession forever. Quit freaking out and let it run its course. Vote with your dollar.

There are other companies that make the same demands that Wal-Mart does. Take Costco for example, they demand certain prices and certain products from their vendors. Try to find half of the products that are at Costco other places. Dryers would not give them the price and quantities they wanted on ice cream. Costco responded by saying fine, then we will put you out with our own brand. Bryers ice cream was created and has put a good sized dent in Dryers profits. That is competition. How is negotiating exclusive pricing or product with your supplier not competition?

Walmart uses higher prices in places they are not trying to drive out smaller local competition. For items not loss leaders, the prices at Walmart are not usually that amazing. Once they eliminate a threat, why would they keep prices low?

No other company has the size and power of Walmart. They have the size of the next 6 retailers COMBINED. So what if #2 threatens to stop selling a supplier's product? Who cares. Even the next 3 of 6 after Walmart... naw?

Negotiating exclusive pricing or product with suppliers in order to drive out other competition is not competitive.