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BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart?
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Mooh Date: 05 Sep 06 - 09:36 AM Hate shopping to begin with. Had the misfortune to enter an IKEA store in an university town on the Friday evening before Labour Day weekend. What a zoo, but I'd do anything for my kids. Shopping for me has to do with tackle shops in sleepy little out of the way places, music shops when there's not a crowd, a grocery store (take a look at me, it gets a lot of my business!), a genuine hardware store, news-stand, and once or twice a year maybe a clothing store like Mark's Workwearhouse or whatever. I don't like Mall-Wart because most shopping sucks, especially what doesn't interest me. I also don't like Mall-Wart's general attitude towards its workers. It probably doesn't like my attitude either, and I'm comfortable with that. Peace, Mooh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Old Guy Date: 05 Sep 06 - 12:46 AM It is a funny thing but you can buy the same identical things, US made and foreign made, that others sell, for less at Walmart. So how does that make Walmart a perveyor of cheap goods that fall apart in a few days? If there is an item you need at Target and Best Buy has it for less, you buy it at Best Buy. So does that make Best Buy evil? Walmart does the same thing that MacDonalds, Jiffy lube, Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot. Etc does. I shop around and buy from the one that has the lowest price which is not always Walmart. If that is stupid, whom does an intelligent person buy from? Got a TV? Where was it made? Did you buy it from the highest priced retailer? Did you buy it online to beat even Walmart's price? |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 04 Sep 06 - 11:46 PM Bobad Interesting letter. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Don Firth Date: 04 Sep 06 - 09:00 PM How many times have I shopped at Wal-Mart? Once. That's when my wife and I were visiting in a small town in Nebraska, and we didn't have any bloody choice. It was the only store in town. All the old family stores had been driven out of business by the Giant Box on the edge of town. By the way, the item I purchased was a bit cheaper than what I would have had to pay in most stores. But then, it fell apart in three days. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: bobad Date: 04 Sep 06 - 08:29 PM Sign the Wal-Mart Bible letter |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 16 Apr 05 - 09:36 PM I am not of the opinion that community is not made of merchants (near or far) but of the people who live nearby who contribute to the living environment. *********OOPS**************** That SHOULD read that I am not of the opinion that community is made of merchants (near or far) but of the people who live nearby who contribute to the living environment. ML |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 16 Apr 05 - 09:25 PM "I also realize that isolated communities are often the closest but I thought you were saying that you really didn't have local merchants nearby." I am not of the opinion that community is not made of merchants (near or far) but of the people who live nearby who contribute to the living environment. To me, that means the farmer who would help out when we ran out of hay....my husband who pushed a car out of a ditch on a cold winter night for a woman who was stranded...the lady up the road who helped us drive some escaped hogs one night....the exchange of notes of encouragement to and from our mail carrier...need I go on? I realize that merchants are part of many communities but seeing how we don't have any merchants in the neighborhood, I'd be awfully hard pressed to say there is a lack of community simply because there are no stores, churches or post offices on our mountain top. ML |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 16 Apr 05 - 09:08 PM Walmart was here when we moved here. Before that we shopped in the town in which we lived. My conscience feels just fine while shopping at Walmart, thank you. ML |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: dianavan Date: 16 Apr 05 - 12:05 PM LilyFestre - I already said your conscience should guide you. I also realize that isolated communities are often the closest but I thought you were saying that you really didn't have local merchants nearby. I urged you to use your consumer power to shop wherever you choose. Although our choices might be different, that hardly standing on a soapbox. I'd still like to know where you shopped before there was WalMart. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 16 Apr 05 - 07:48 AM Dianavan, You are just way out there honey. Isolated areas do not equal lack of community, if anything, the sense of community is much greater. Get off the soapbox and realize that people, no matter where they are in the world, are going to do what THEY feel is best. I do what I feel is best for my family just as everyone else does. ML |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: GUEST Date: 16 Apr 05 - 03:42 AM I shop where I work
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: tarheel Date: 15 Apr 05 - 10:49 PM yes,i shop at, "WALLY WORLD"!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: dianavan Date: 15 Apr 05 - 10:40 PM Thats right, Lily, I live in a big city with lots of options but WalMart is still trying to muscle in. I haven't always lived in the city and I know that sometimes the closest and most convenient store is a big box. However, if you have the option, you should exercise your consumer power to support the merchant of your choice. Even when I lived on the island, we had community. Although I didn't have a car and it was a passenger only ferry, I bought locally whenever I could. On the other side, I had choices. I chose not to buy at the big boxes. If you live in an isolated place without community, I guess the loss of community outlets would not mean as much to you as it would to me. If WalMart is your only option, what can you do? What did you do before WalMart? |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Once Famous Date: 15 Apr 05 - 05:17 PM Hey, she saves money on stale coffee. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: DougR Date: 15 Apr 05 - 04:44 PM Dianavan:doesn't your coffe taste stale at some point? DougR |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: PoppaGator Date: 15 Apr 05 - 03:30 PM Bev and Jerry, I'm glad to hear how interested you were in my skivvy-buying habits (kidding). Actually, I don't think I've ever bought a single item of outerwear at WalMart (unless socks count because the tops of them are visible). I probably spend more on lawn/yard/gardening supplies than on anything else I get at WalMart ~ at least during the growing season (which is about 9-10 months long here in the deepest South). |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Once Famous Date: 15 Apr 05 - 12:07 PM dianavan, I would rather have the latte, the cool car, buy new clothes, eat in nice restaurants, buy a new CD, etc. and save money at Wal-Mart. Life is America is great! Interesting, too. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Auggie Date: 15 Apr 05 - 11:49 AM Thank you Michelle, for covering half of what I was going to post. I too, would be led to believe Dianavan does not have a working knowledge of what life is like in an area similar to mine (sell my car?-there is no public transportation out here in the boonies sweetheart, nor for that matter is there anyone who sells Lattes). In fact, I often wonder if she lives on the same planet, but regardless Diana, your response misses my (perhaps poorly made) point entirely. How are we to know who is truly a "good corporate citizen"? Yes, we often are informed of the bad ones, but who is to say the others aren't worse, only hiding behind a PR veneer of civic respectability. The mom and pop examples I referred to look to the casual observer like they are straight out of Mayberry, however if they were examined with the same level of scrutiny Wal Mart is, they would come off looking considerably worse. In short, it ain't that simple to tell the good guys from the bad guys, and neither size nor friendliness is a valid indicator of ethical behavior. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 15 Apr 05 - 10:39 AM Dianavan, You must live in a heavily populated area. Some of us live out in the sticks and the places to shop are very limited. Good for you that you have the option to shop where you please and the funds to do so. Please don't assume that everyone has the same options. Where I live, there are two places to shop for groceries within a 13 mile radius. Walmart and a Mom & Pop shop. While the sales at the Mom & Pop shop are sometimes decent, the remaining merchandise is outrageous. If I drive an additional 15 miles from there, I have the choice of 2 more chain grocery markets. If I were to drive 30 miles from my home in an opposite direction, I can find additional stores...but that is time consuming and costly to do for just sale merchandise. I'm not complaining but rather stating how it is here and could very well be in other places. Some of your suggestions are great but others are not a one size fits all kind of deal. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: dianavan Date: 15 Apr 05 - 01:59 AM Augie - You said, "Is K-Mart, IKEA, Safeway, Costco, or whatever a better corporate citizen, or are they equally ruthless but with their sins merely less well known? In my town there are some "mom and pop" operations who would take you for every last dime if you were to give them half a chance." I don't shop in any of those stores, including unfriendly, rip-off Mom and Pops. It doesn't take that much effort to give your money to people you respect. Its easier, in fact, to support the friendly neighborhood families than to throw your money at a faceless corporation. There are alot of other ways to save money than shopping at Wal-Mart. Ways to save money: 1. Skip the Latte 2. Sell your car 3. Sew 4. Cook and bake 5. Repair it instead of throwing it away 6. Re-use it 7. Resist impulse buying The list goes on and on. Like I said before, its your conscience. If you value community, put your money where your mouth is. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Ron Davies Date: 14 Apr 05 - 10:51 PM Auggie-- Regarding facts on comparison of Walmart with Costco on treatment of employees--see my 13 April 2005 11:07 PM posting on "Walmart: Union-Busting SOP" thread. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: number 6 Date: 14 Apr 05 - 10:16 PM I dunno MG, I don't think Islam will be going out of business soon. Got to hand it them, they are one great marketing organization; after all they are the fastest growing religion on this earth. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Peace Date: 14 Apr 05 - 09:21 PM LOL |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Once Famous Date: 14 Apr 05 - 09:19 PM I wouldn't mind if Islam went out of business. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Peace Date: 14 Apr 05 - 08:39 PM M Ted, Islam ain't doin' so bad, either. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: M.Ted Date: 14 Apr 05 - 12:50 PM It's nice to read a post from Martin that has a point (other than the one on his head), though, in all fairness, it should be pointed out that it is not Walmart, but Christianity that is the greatest marketing organization that the world has ever known. Auggie makes an important point as well. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: GUEST,Auggie Date: 14 Apr 05 - 10:55 AM I'm not a big fan of Wal Mart's hard-ball business ethos. I would strongly disagree with the view that good business practice is based on the premise of maximizing profits at any cost, and I've owned and run a reasonably successful business for 27 years. Now granted, mine is much (much) smaller than Wal Mart (hey, whose isn't?), but it's certainly easy enough to survive financially when each exchange of money is viewed as a win-win (I win, You Win)opportunity rather than an "I win, You Lose" proposition. You also sleep a hell of a lot better at night. While I would agree that it's laudable to avoid patronizing ANY business you regard as a predator, regardless of whether it's preying on it's suppliers, it's customers or it's employees, I'm afraid I view it as rather unfair to single out Wal Mart for this distinction. If I avoid Wal Mart because it has been painted in the media as a ruthless beast, how do I know the alternative stores are any better? Is K-Mart, IKEA, Safeway, Costco, or whatever a better corporate citizen, or are they equally ruthless but with their sins merely less well known? In my town there are some "mom and pop" operations who would take you for every last dime if you were to give them half a chance. Wal Mart makes an easy target becuase of it's size, but making certain we're spending our dollars only with responsible corporations, big or small, requires a lot more time and expertise than most of us possess. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 14 Apr 05 - 06:42 AM I don't think Walmart entirely forgets about the community. The local Walmart here is a big contributor towards many organizations (schools, cancer society, autism walks, etc). They have large copies of checks that they have donated to various organizations hanging on the wall. Also, near the Customer Service desk, they have photos of their employees involved in civil organizations. I suppose it's recognition, support, promotion and encouragment to do the same all wrapped up in one. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Peace Date: 14 Apr 05 - 02:00 AM What question? |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Big Mick Date: 14 Apr 05 - 12:55 AM Yeah, all that is grand. But I ask you paragons of virtue the same question, and you keep ducking it. Mick |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Bev and Jerry Date: 13 Apr 05 - 11:50 PM Yes, Martin, business is about making money and profits but the recipe should also include a dash of ethics and a bit of concern for the good of society as a whole. Walmart forgot that part. Bev and Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Once Famous Date: 13 Apr 05 - 09:59 PM Suppliers to Wal-Mart get levereged for a best price and they may grumble about it but business is business. What they do love is the competitve and demographic information that Wal-Mart provides for them that helps them in penetrating new markets and enables them to develop new products. Really gang. Wal-Mart is the greatest marketing organization the world has ever known. Business is about making money and profits. The biggest whiners here evidently don't work in business, or really understand much about the world of business. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Bev and Jerry Date: 13 Apr 05 - 07:59 PM PoppaGator: Thanks for sharing with us where you buy your underwear. We were wondering (just kidding). The reason Walmart gets singled out so much is their procurement policy. They are the biggest corporation in this galaxy and they carry nearly everything. If you manufacture something that sells at retail you must deal with them. They buy a million of your widgets at some price and sell them at a profit. When it's time to re-order, they tell you that you now must sell it to them for 20% less than last time. You say that is impossible and they tell you go come back when you've figured out how to do it. So, if you were making your widgets in the U.S., you change to off shore manufacturing to reduce your cost. If you were already manufacturing off shore, you search for an even cheaper sweat shop. Because their so big, they drive the entire industry to cheaper and cheaper manufacturing. Bev and Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: PoppaGator Date: 13 Apr 05 - 07:21 PM Wal-Mart used to advertise heavily that they sold "Made in USA" goods whenever possible ~ and they did. You don't hear that any more; perhaps since the founder died? Avoiding Wal-Mart will not give you any more or less chance of buying stuff made overseas, in whole or in part, by cheap labor. That's what's on the market everywhere. I used to go to the local Wal-Mart quite often, but less so now. It is still my main source for underwear, socks, stationery, peat moss, cypress mulch, and bedding plants. Since we finally got a Target store in our area, the missus patronizes Wal-Mart much less often than before. We usually make a run to Sam's (Wal-Mart affiliate) about once a month for a few things we buy in bulk. The new Wal-Mart "superstores" (which now include groceries) are clean and bright and spacious; the older stores are a bit more cramped and sometimes dingy. To my mind, the worst thing about the giant chainstores is the impact upon small local businesses ("Mom and Pop" stores). I think it's stupid to single out WM, though ~ even for those of us who disagree with how the corporation distributes its politcal contributions. As has been mentioned, the impact of Home Depot and Lowe's upon local hardware merchants is probably worse; your neighborhood hardware guy has usually been the source of some real expertise that will be missed when he's gone. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Nemesis Date: 13 Apr 05 - 06:28 PM I think Walmart and here in UK Tesco - are a con ... Tesco have just made £2 billion profit while their fruitpickers in South Africa are living in cardboard boxes and in the fields at the same time as pesticides are being sprayed... We're just conned into an ever cheaper "cost of living" which means OUR employers don't need to pay us what would be a living wage if we had to pay others to have a living wage for what they produce.. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: number 6 Date: 13 Apr 05 - 06:19 PM Walmart's aisles are too narrow, place is crowded, congested, checkout lines are too long. Not worth going to to save 22 cents on a box of Tide. I once was going to buy some Michelin tires at Walmart. They were considerably cheaper than anywhere else. I was told by the Walmart tire guys that Michelin would not cover the warranty, only Walmart would. Hmmmm, I guess these were Michelin tires that were not up to Michelin standards, made to Walmart specifications. Well that swayed my decision not to buy these cheaper Michelins, or Walmarts or whatever they were. Went to a mom and pop shop, paid a reasonable price, but higher than what Walmart was offering. Got me some Michelins, with Michelin standards and a Michelin warranty to boot. So, what gives with the rest of Walmart products. Cheaper but made to WalMart's lower standards. I dunno, makes me wonder. sIx |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Once Famous Date: 13 Apr 05 - 05:46 PM Good one Lilyfestre. dianavan is either pretty rich or pretty dumb. Actually I think she just likes to whine about anything American. Plenty here have her pegged. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 13 Apr 05 - 07:29 AM Dianavan, Others have stated their reasons without criticism, yet you feel the urge to have something to say to me about this. How many other folks do you think you should talk to? How about you come over to my house and YOU do the budgeting and YOU pay the bills and see what YOU have leftover, k? Some of us DO live on a budget and would prefer to spend our hard earned cash on something besides groceries. For me, that would be tuition, diabetic medication, insurance, heat....you know...all the FUN stuff. If we all shopped according to our principles, you would be more like me in doing the best you can to raise your food (meat, veggies and fruit) organically. So yes, I do shop Walmart for the things I need that are not on sale at the other nearby stores. I don't feel bad about it one bit. Nice try though. Cheers. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Dave the Gnome Date: 13 Apr 05 - 05:20 AM Damn! First disappointment - It was only refund the difference. Second disappointment - Doesn't apply to web based offers. third disappointment - Bought a multi-function remote control to get rid of the TV/Cable/Video/DVD - Doesn't work with the new TV:-( Ah well - Things come in 3's. Thats it now. Nothing lost. I'll take the remote back today and get a shirt (just spilt bacon grease on mine. Oh no! Is this the start of another 3?) Cheers DtG |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Sorcha Date: 13 Apr 05 - 01:14 AM IF I can't find it in this small burg where I live I will go to Wal Mart first. It's 30 miles away, but I often hit the smaller stores in that town too. Esp the health food store. Only a very few things are enough cheaper at Wal Mart to bother with for me. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: dianavan Date: 13 Apr 05 - 12:43 AM Michelle - I wasn't sure if you were saying that WalMart was closer or that the "local" stores were closer. Thanks for the clarification. If you don't want to talk about where you shop, why did you post to this thread? If you want to support WalMart, go ahead. Its your conscience. Enough has been said that it should be abundantly clear that they are not good, corporate citizens. Its a matter of putting your money where your mouth is. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 12 Apr 05 - 06:42 AM You know what, that's just crazy that I would even justify why I shop where I do. We all have our reasons for what we do, usually it's we do what we do because it is best for US. Enough said. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: LilyFestre Date: 12 Apr 05 - 06:40 AM Dianavan, Because Walmart is THE CLOSEST store to my home and because they do have lower prices, it sure is worth it to me. I drive a bit farther (sometimes up to 40 miles) to shop the sales at OTHER stores....so Walmart is even saving me on gas money. I think you read my post backwards. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Dave the Gnome Date: 12 Apr 05 - 05:46 AM Out of interest our TV packed in sometime between switching it off on Sunday and turning it on on Monday. We bought it from Asda in June 2002 with a free 3 year warranty. Took it bak yesterday - No quibbles qualms or anything. Ended up getting a new one while we were there - Panasonic flat screen jobby - very nice too. Only 1 year warranty this time though and I did need to pay the £70 difference in price. Now, got it back and found it was a little too deep and I will have to adjust our fitted shelf or change the TV for a slimmer one (Which Asda will do withing 28 days should the need arise.) Scouring the net for dimensions I found it was about the slimmest standard TV, at 51cm, anyway but I then found that Currys have the same TV on offer, with a free stand for £40 less. Asda are currently advertising if you see the same product for less anywhere they will refund twice the difference. I'm going to test it out. At best I will get £80 and at worse I will return it and save £40 anyway:-) I'll keep you posted. Cheers DtG |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Peace Date: 12 Apr 05 - 04:48 AM LOLOLOL Tears in my eyes. I didn't know what to expect, but that t'weren't it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Alba Date: 12 Apr 05 - 04:46 AM Well Brucie it is actually 29 according to these nice Folks: FYI *bg* Jude |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: Peace Date: 12 Apr 05 - 04:30 AM "How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart?" My guess is 27. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: open mike Date: 12 Apr 05 - 01:31 AM oh , and i get pet food at Mall Wart, but that's about all. Sometimes cassette tapes cuz costco stopped carrying them a couple of years ago. |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: open mike Date: 12 Apr 05 - 01:20 AM ok just checked.. sweat shirt-Turkey Bra-U.S.A. Underpants-Honduras pants-Hong Kong didn't realize i had clothes made in so many diff. places |
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Subject: RE: BS: How many Mudcatters shop at Wal Mart? From: dianavan Date: 12 Apr 05 - 12:32 AM Because WalMart pays Marty to install Spyware? ;>) Seriously, Lilyfestre - Think about the price of gasoline and tell me if the 22 mile trip is worth saving a few pennies. |
