Random thought

[Tipys]

Ok why is it that people try so hard to save money they shop at walmart and places like that.

But when it comes to cars and bikes yes they may buy the bike from the dealer. But take it to the little guy for service cause its cheaper and would rather keep the little guy in business.

But when you shop at Walmart your putting the little guys in that industray out of business.

So are you really wanting to keep the little guy in business or just in getting the cheaper better deal?



I for one hate shopping at walmart.

[Devaclis]

Your random thoughts have MUCH better spelling and sentence structure than your well thought out thoughts.

[Shea]

^^^^ lol, it's funny 'cause it's true.

[Tipys]

It seems to be a trend that my spelling in general has been getting better.

[Sean]

It seems to be a trend that my spelling in general has been getting better. :up:

[willb003]

wal mart sucks

[XJ600s]

From my own observances, I find it is more about convenience for most people. They like making the one-stop shop at Wal-Mart instead of going to a clothing store to pick out new underwear, an office supply store to pick-up a desk, the grocery store to pick up...well, groceries, and to the pet store to pick up pets.

I would prefer to shop at more local places, but instead I shop at Safeway. But thats because Safeway carries the stuff I need to buy, whereas the smaller stores (Ideal Market) carry the organic, enviromental-friendly stuff but don't carry simple stuff like paper towels, laundry detergent, M&M's, and other things.

But given the choice, I prefer to support local when I can and have never in my life stepped foot in a Wal-Mart.

As far as bikes, do people really have an option to buy from a non-dealer for new? And what do you consider a dealer? A certified bike shop that sells bikes but is not a branch? I think dealerships are usually a rip-off (except when I ripped off the dealer when I bought my Xterra new), but its hard to find a brand new bike from a private seller.

[mtnairlover]

Why do I shop Walmart?

Cuz I do try to save everywhere that I can. That's also why I change the oil in my motorcycle and try to perform other types of maintenance as much as I can on my own.

Being a single Mom (not dissing the single Dad's out there) of 3 kids (now 2 with one moved out) has been pretty darn rough on my finances since the divorce. My ex has never kept up with child support in the past 5 years and hasn't paid for the past year...so all of it...every last bit of it, is up to me. And unfortunately (for the corporation haters), Walmart serves my needs well beyond any of the other stores out there.

If I could go to King Soopers, or Safeway, or a corner store and get the exact same items, for the exact same price as I do at Walmart, then I would not necessarily make that store my mainstay. I've been doing this shopping thing for so long now that I know what a can of Campbell's Potato Soup used to cost me 2 weeks ago..$1.44. This past week, the price went down almost $.30. I wasn't complaining, cuz that soup is one of my youngest' faves.

I notice the prices jumping all the time. Not too long ago, a gallon of milk was almost $3.00 at Walmart. Now, it's $1.58.

So yeah...that's why I shop there. I may change my ways when my kids are no longer with me, but that won't be for a while yet.

[The Black Knight]

Way I look at it, is it takes both kinds to make the world go round. We need both the "Little Man" and "Corporate America" to make things work. I personally believe that big and little stores can coexist just fine because of their supply and demand.

Wal-Mart's, KMart's, Target's, Safeway's, King Sooper's the list goes on. Are part of serving the greater number of the populace. Like mentioned above, they are a one-stop shop. And honestly, I like that. I like being able to go one place and get just about everything I need. Because there is nothing more annoying than hell, then having to drive to 9 different places just to get what you need. It's stupid and a waste of gas.

Now as for the "little guys", they mainly serve a "niche" market or consumer base. They shouldn't worry about competeing with mega-stores because they can't, but what they should offer(and almost all do) are more niche type products. You'll never run out of a "niche" market for just about anything. There will always be a little guy that either has a shop set up and stocks what you need or he can order it.

The point is, you need both to make the world tick. While it's nice and great to help out the "little guys" of the business world. We always need the mega-stores in order to supply our mass needs. I mean look at it this way(first thing that came to me) if you want to buy wranglers, t-shirts, socks and underwear, you shop at Wal-mart. Now if I'm looking for a nice 3 piece tailored suit, you go to Men's Warehouse or Joseph Bank or another smaller suit business(and yes Mens Warehouse are smaller in that they serve a niche market) that can meet your needs.

The other end of the spectrum is job market. Yeah it's nice for the little guys to employ people, but they can only have so many jobs they create. Average Joe's Roofing business may start out with 3 or 4 guys and grow to a whole 20 or 30 and while that's great and admirable. Wal-marts can move in and emloy several thousand(depending on how many are in once city). Both sides of the coin(little and big) employ and create jobs. Not everyone can work or be in business for themselves and Wal-marts need people to run their stores.

I guess for me, that's about the easiest way of putting it. It's capitalism, pure and simple(and I love it) And as long as you can keep greed out of process, it will run like a wonderfully well oiled machine. Greed can attack both big and small business, which at times can be the achilles heel for Capitalism.

[zetaetatheta]

Capitalism is a wonderful thing. I do price shop but I find convenience worth money, this is why I shop at True Value vs Home Depot. Closer, free popcorn and the employees know where stuff is. I do not have anything against superstores go to them when convenient. Looking at 08 Honda CBR1000RR, OTD Cycles Denver $10,199, Colorado Springs $12,000+ OTD. Guess where I will buy from?
I also do online shopping usually due to price. Current example extended battery for phone, $40 AT&T, $30 batteries plus, $7.95 Amazon shipping included.
I love me some American Capitalism.

[The Black Knight]

Capitalism is a wonderful thing. I do price shop but I find convenience worth money, this is why I shop at True Value vs Home Depot. Closer, free popcorn and the employees know where stuff is. I do not have anything against superstores go to them when convenient. Looking at 08 Honda CBR1000RR, OTD Cycles Denver $10,199, Colorado Springs $12,000+ OTD. Guess where I will buy from?
I also do online shopping usually due to price. Current example extended battery for phone, $40 AT&T, $30 batteries plus, $7.95 Amazon shipping included.
I love me some American Capitalism.
I'm a huge fan of buying stuff on-line. Because at the end of the day, I'm all about making my dollar go farther than anything else. Even if it means having to wait a few days because of shipping. If I find something on-line that is considerably less than what I would pay for in town, I'll buy on-line all the time.

In end I think that on-line shopping is good because hurts both the Big and Little businesses and when I say hurts them, not because it's a good thing or wonderful. But hurts them in the way, that they need to review their prices and try and compete with the on-line distributors. I'll be honest, if they local businesses could get their prices at least close(meaning $50 or less on big ticket items) I'd buy stuff locally. But if businesses(Big and Small) can't compete, oh yeah I'll jam them both and buy on-line everytime.

Because that is the freedom of this country, buying where you want, how you want and when you want, for whatever you're willing to pay for it.

[TurboGizzmo]

I shop at Walgreen's! The joys of being a single guy i guess....I would pay someone to shop for me if it was reasonable...I find it annoying....in the day time walmart is crawling with screaming kids and at night its full of bums, shoplifters and restocking boxes all over.....


Other than that I buy what i need online......

[mtnairlover]

Yeah, but I bet you don't get food for Annika at Walgreens now do you? Sorry if I misspelled her name.

[TurboGizzmo]

Yeah, but I bet you don't get food for Annika at Walgreens now do you? Sorry if I misspelled her name.

Nope my bitch gets her food from yuppy Poudre Feed and Supply, damn expensive woman! Guess i am supporting the "little guys" (well mostly cute girls) ;)

Oh and you spelled it right ;)

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs104.snc1/4580_86273348118_776338118_1737131_4514429_n.jpg

[The Black Knight]

Nope my bitch gets her food from yuppy Poudre Feed and Supply, damn expensive woman! Guess i am supporting the "little guys" (well mostly cute girls) ;)

Oh and you spelled it right ;)

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs104.snc1/4580_86273348118_776338118_1737131_4514429_n.jpg
Did you remove your passenger seat??? Course with a horse you'd have to :)

cool dog :up:

[TurboGizzmo]

Did you remove your passenger seat??? Course with a horse you'd have to :)

cool dog :up:

Yup girls tend to get spoiled in my life and shes my only current girl :) (Wish i had a quicker way to get it out but really its only 4 bolts)

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs104.snc1/4580_86072188118_776338118_1734092_4181736_n.jpg

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs104.snc1/4580_86071623118_776338118_1734076_5769078_n.jpg


/thread jack

[Tipys]

I shop at Walgreen's! The joys of being a single guy i guess....I would pay someone to shop for me if it was reasonable...I find it annoying....in the day time walmart is crawling with screaming kids and at night its full of bums, shoplifters and restocking boxes all over.....


Other than that I buy what i need online......



Ya thats list the reason why I hate Walmart. I had an ex that always shopped there for food and it annoyd the shit out of me being we were 2 blocks from a safeway and Walmart was about 5 miles away. Odd thing is there prices weren't much diffirent then King Souper or Safeway.

[The Black Knight]

That's great man, I beat she loves looking over the windshield going down the road. Ears just a flappin in the breeze!!

I'd throw my australian shepherd in the back of my truck but I know as soon as I stopped, she'd bail out after something. So I have to keep her in the cab with me. But I'll have to say, it's one of the more fun things in life to drive your dog around. I don't know what it is, they look like they just get a kick out it.

[TurboGizzmo]

Ya thats list the reason why I hate Walmart. I had an ex that always shopped there for food and it annoyd the shit out of me being we were 2 blocks from a safeway and Walmart was about 5 miles away. Odd thing is there prices weren't much diffirent then King Souper or Safeway.

Honestly I didnt care where we (me and ex) shopped as long as we were in and out.... i am not one for crowds when it comes to shopping.....my dad (who was/is a little off) requires shoppings list to be in the order of the store so that the list goes from one side of the store to other making it time effective........haha or not.....:scramble:

While I LOVE getting deals on things I much rather pay $1, $5, $20 dollars more not to deal with people, lines, parking etc.

I am weird i guess....another thing that annoys me is movies and people talking, texting, etc...if i was rich (er) I would rent the whole place out for a movie i really wanted to see....or open a niche strict style theater that actually enforced all that silence your cell phones and shutup stuff they play at the beginning of the movie.

[honey]

I don't necessarily see it as someone wanting to get the cheaper deal; yes people want to help keep smaller businesses alive but the majority of people will make sure they have what they need to survive before considering keeping any particular business alive.

[TheStig]

One of our account managers was visiting a Dole plant down by the springs (they make fruit cups etc.). They had two production lines, so he asked why are there two production lines? They said Walmart gets lower grade product than the cans that go to king soopers etc. Thats how they keep their pricing down. What is really scary about it, the cans are identical but the walmart one has lower grade product in it.

I can't think of the last time I shopped at Walmart but go to Target all the time haha. Although I think the food quality at Target sucks. I prefer grocery shopping at King Soopers/Safeway.