I'm not comparing anything. Folks who drive M/B's and then claim to "buy American" are a bit hypocritical.........that's all.

And, I ask again..........where's the flood of shampoo, toilet paper, motor oil, cat litter, office supplies, hardware and chemicals that are of inferior quality? It's exactly the same products that you purchase in any other store?

Sure, if you go to Wal-Mart to buy their furniture and their bicycles, then you get what you pay for. Does anybody on this forum do that?

Well, let's begin with their lack of ethics in dealing with suppliers,not to mention their fascistic employee policy,all of which is quite adequately documented and simply designed to give them a fat balance sheet,quality and employee rights be damned.

Now,as a landlord to landlord...have you any illegal accessory apts?or additions to the footprint of the house not filed with the building dept?In working on your houses did you do the work yourself or hire licensed contractors who follow the current State and County guidelines?
Are your houses inspected by the Town once a year as they are in Huntington?

Things like this are kinda a slippery slope,mind,I'm not judging as most folks including yours truly will take shortcuts to save a buck but there you are.

Let's see.........lack of "ethics" when dealing with suppliers? I'm no expert on Wal-Mart, but, from what I see, they drive a hard bargain with all suppliers. Lower your prices or you're out. The supplier has a choice.........he can walk anytime he wants. See the article on Snapper above. Many have done the same thing. They can only screw a supplier if the supplier allows it.

Their employee policies, as far as I'm aware, include significant use of part time help to minimize their burden. Is this fascistic? Again, the help has a choice. Don't want to work for Wal-Mart..........Target is right down the street. If the company was that egregious.........they'd have no employees.

Yep, it is a slippery slope.........kind of like the pot calling the kettle black........Wal-Mart is just huge and successful, and, relatively speaking, you and I are not.

Note that I don't wish to continue to defend Wal-Mart........I really don't like to shop in their stores. But I'll be damned if I'll pay 20% more to shop in Walgreens or PeP-Boys. You really think that these outfits are much better? They may not be as aggressive, but they employ the exact same retards as Walmart.

I got to Wal-Mart once every six months and buy $100. worth of goods. I wouldn't want to return to the store more frequently.

Long story short. If I'm looking for a certain product, or name brand , I just go to the nearest, most convenient retailer I know has it. I don't care if it's at Walmart, Stop&Shop, Pepboys, Auto-Zoo, Carquest, Napa, Whatever. If I need auto parts I call Carquest or Napa first. If they don't have what i need in stock, I call Auto-Zoo, or one of the others. If they don't have it in stock I get it, or order it from either them, or the dealer. End of day comes, and no matter what I want, or who I buy it from, I either have, or have ordered the item. Just happens to be that Walmart pretty much kicks everyone else's butt for most home goods, entertainments goods, and even food items a lot of time. They also ALWAYS beat the other's prices. It's too bad they don't have a real auto parts retail section. Instead of just the small generic section they have.

Point is, I like most other Americans, could really give a $#IT less who sells it to me.


Nick

An employee discount is a different story altogether.

...........LMAO............;)

And they have chosen to buy them. The home based industry is all but dead. We just don't want to admit it.

No. You are right. Sam would have run the company into the ground just to prove the point that his company can sell US made goods that nobody wants to buy. :rolleyes:

We have 2 Wal*Marts in Madison, WI. The East side one is nice. For whatever reason, the west side one seems to be trashy. Why? Who knows.

One would not expect less of you.............

Think about it this way. It's centered around the big "C". Convenience. I go to my Super Wal*Mart and I can get most of my shopping done there. So, now I go to 1 or 2 stores instead of 5 or 6. I park there and get my stuff and go home. Or I could park my car, get some stuff, move it to the next place, etc, etc. Why would I want to do that? Home Depot sells more than a small hardware store. Why would I want to have them order the stuff or go to several different stores as opposed to going to HD and being able to build my house out of there? Yes, you may say that HD may not carry certain specialties but how often do you need those special products vs how many times do you need the day-to-day stuff?

Another reason is that the small stores try to go toe-to-toe with Wal*Mart. Stupid idea. You have to go in directions that Wal*Mart cannot go.

Ah, but who is the ultimate dictator? The consumer. The consumer told Wal*Mart to sell cheaper stuff and so they did. The consumer demanded and got. Now the consumer is mad.

No, the American auto industry did it to itself.

Depends on what you are using it for. I bought a cheapie bike for the wife who wanted to try out bikes. Well, that thing is still sitting in the shed after having been ridden a few times. Am I going to buy a $500 bike just to have her use it once or twice and toss it?

So if you do the act to save a buck, it's ok. Wal*Mart does it and it is a sin.OK

Yeah,but leastways I don't force my employees to work overtime for the standard salary and cheat them on the "health plan".

Learn,Goddammit,learn......Wal-Mart is an evil,profit-driven entity which only flourishes under the current pro-business maladministration.

But then I'm a wierdo who heats his house with wood and coal,lights it with Aladdin Mantle lamps,drives an electric car to King Kullen and Home Despot and pilots other antiques when not piloting my '98 diesel.I also shoot my own game,generally with guns I've made myself.
So I'm an oddball.Hell,I enjoy it and the few years left to me will be thoroughly enjoyed.......