Amazon v/s Walmart

[MasseyWV]

My wife and I order a lot of movies and other things from Amazon because their prices are usually good and they offer free (super slow) shipping, but lately I've begun to notice that Walmart is often cheaper on many things including shipping costs. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it's almost as if Amazon has started keeping their prices slightly higher to compensate for offering free shipping. That, or Walmart has simply started trying harder to compete with Amazon.

Either way, it's always good to save a little extra money wherever possible.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Amazon is going to build a new distribution center in New Jersey and will be completed July 2013. As a result of this new building I have to pay 7% sales tax on any Amazon product delivered to my home. I guess I will really have to take a look at prices and compare.:thumbdown:

 

[murphy1244]

Nothing like a little Competition Massey.

 

[Western]

Quite often I find products cheaper from places other than Amazon now, but many times the lower shipping keeps Amazon in the running for my $$. I rarely impulse buy and love how the internet has become the great "market", I can price shop and read reviews on products .

 

[kf4uda]

Amazon is going to build a new distribution center in New Jersey and will be completed July 2013. As a result of this new building I have to pay 7% sales tax on any Amazon product delivered to my home. I guess I will really have to take a look at prices and compare.:thumbdown:

They are doing the same thing here in TN. :thumbdown:

 

[KYDan]

We like Amazon, they are easy to order from deal with and offer some buyer protection. We have had one of their largest distribution centers here for some time, therefore, we have always paid the state sales tax. We use Walmart too as they have good prices. It is a love/hate relationship with them as they keep moving merchandise around to keep you in the store longer and there is always the Walmartin factor. They have (Walmart) destroyed the locally owned general merchandise market, but niche stores are popping up with some lasting and some not. Retail is a tough market.

 

[Bird]

Amazon had a distribution center in our area and fought the state over the sales tax. They threatened to close the distribution center and put a bunch of people out of the work if the state attorney general wouldn't relent. He wouldn't and I guess they did. And now . . . they're building a bigger new distribution center in the area.:laughing: So we'll pay the sales tax. But I, too, buy both from Amazon and from Walmart; like to give my business to others if their prices aren't too high.

 

[MasseyWV]

We use Walmart too as they have good prices. It is a love/hate relationship with them as they keep moving merchandise around to keep you in the store longer and there is always the Walmartin factor.

Personally, I avoid going to Walmart stores at all costs and typically order online if I purchase something from them. My wife doesn't seem to mind going, but I think the stores are a cross between a zoo and a circus. :laughing:

They have (Walmart) destroyed the locally owned general merchandise market, but niche stores are popping up with some lasting and some not. Retail is a tough market.

The same thing happened here when Walmart first began opening stores. Back in the 80's the local "main street" economy was booming, but now it's a ghost town.

 

[DKCDKC]

I buy different kinds of things from Amazon. I bought a on-demand water heater for my daughter, some unusual tools and devices... Stuff Walmart doesn't carry. In a rural area, I would have to drive some distance to buy these kinds of things from small retailers. But for routine hardware, household items and some clothing, I stick to the local retailers. I go to Walmart maybe twice a year to get something I need quickly that isn't available from locals. Certainly Walmart is cheaper on some things, but not that much cheaper. A tool box I recently bought from a local hardware store was only a buck more than the same thing at Walmart... And I was in an out of the store faster than I could ever be at Walmart. You make up in convenience and support what you lose in time and a few dollars.

 

[murphy1244]

That's why we call them Wall Martians. I tell you one thing I am done with yesterdays tractor

 

[Bird]

they keep moving merchandise around to keep you in the store longer

And when you have as many Walmarts in the area as we do, things are in different places in different stores.:laughing: And different stores stock different merchandise, too. Not all the Walmarts have the same things.

 

[MasseyWV]

Not all the Walmarts have the same things.

That's something I've always hated about Walmart, and if you buy something there today, there's no guarantee they'll continue selling that same item for much longer. :confused2:

 

[cmore]

I also use ebay and have good luck, so far. I don't buy from any one who doesn't have great feed back and has several of them.

 

[jinman]

Many of the Walmart items have free shipping if you choose the "Ship to Store" option. If you regularly shop at a Walmart, that option can save you a bundle. Amazon just doesn't have anything like that.

Recently, I did a search for my favorite Levis Signature Carpenter Jeans. It turns out that Walmart still has them in many stores and online. They just don't happen to stock them in our smaller store. I was thrilled to find those jeans for around $19 per pair with free shipping to my house. They arrived in just a few days, perfectly packaged in a thick plastic bag and double bagged in clear wrap bags for each pair. I was thrilled. I wear almost nothing else but these jeans. I like my Levis Carpenter Jeans like Bird likes his Dickies Coveralls.

I believe Walmart really has their eye on taking some of Amazon's market. However, I think Walmart has a long way to go before they have the broad inventory of Amazon. Also, the Amazon Partners program is something I don't expect at Walmart. When you look at Amazon's Kindle effect of book and video rentals and sales with their 2-day express shipping under Amazon Prime, I think it will be a long time before Walmart threatens them. Walmart has to maintain a huge chain of retail stores while Amazon has none that I'm aware of.

 

[MasseyWV]

I also use ebay and have good luck, so far. I don't buy from any one who doesn't have great feed back and has several of them.

After a bad experience with eBay/PayPal I swore I'd never use eBay again, that was until I found something I simply couldn't resist. However, I chose the "checkout as guest" option and used my credit card so I'd be covered if there were any problems. I also ensured that the seller had good feedback, etc...

 

[dave1949]

I read an article last summer about working at those large distribution centers. I don't remember if Amazon was explicitly named, but that is who I pictured while reading it.

The author of the article went to work at one of these places to get an inside perspective. The employees were all through temp agencies, low pay, no benefits, very rigid about sick days, lunch and bathroom breaks, etc. And according to the author, you could work like a dog and hardly ever meet the quota for items picked per shift.

Anybody ever work at an Amazon distribution center, or know somebody who did? We don't have any around here.

 

[cmore]

And when you have as many Walmarts in the area as we do, things are in different places in different stores.:laughing: And different stores stock different merchandise, too. Not all the Walmarts have the same things.

They also have different prices to.

 

[CurlyDave]

I read an article last summer about working at those large distribution centers. I don't remember if Amazon was explicitly named, but that is who I pictured while reading it...

I read the same article.

Like it or not, that is the new reality about low-skilled jobs these days. No one held a gun to the head of any of the workers and forced them to work there.

I think every high school in the country ought to have all students read that article at least once per year.

* * * * * * *

We have Amazon Prime. I think it is $75 per year for free 2-day shipping, which makes getting most things reasonably fast.

I like Amazon because I can find things easily which are hard-to-find locally in a small town, and the prices are good. I have never had a problem with returns, which are mostly items broken in transit.

 

[Bird]

I like my Levis Carpenter Jeans like Bird likes his Dickies Coveralls.

And the last time I saw any Dickies Coveralls in a Walmart was several years ago in Decatur, TX, but you can order them online from Walmart.

Many of the Walmart items have free shipping if you choose the "Ship to Store" option. If you regularly shop at a Walmart, that option can save you a bundle.

And it doesn't have to be the store you usually use and you don't have to be the one to pick up the item; plenty of options. For example, last year we bought a sewing machine for my wife's sister. I ordered it online for her to pick it up in a Walmart in West Virginia.

That's something I've always hated about Walmart, and if you buy something there today, there's no guarantee they'll continue selling that same item for much longer.

I guess that's true to some extent everywhere, but Walmart is bad about that and Sam's Club even more so.

They also have different prices to.

Yep, that's true, although I've seen it less in the last few months than we used to.

We normally shop at 4 different Walmarts because each of them has something the others don't.

 

[dave1949]

I read the same article.

Like it or not, that is the new reality about low-skilled jobs these days. No one held a gun to the head of any of the workers and forced them to work there.

I think every high school in the country ought to have all students read that article at least once per year.

<snip>

I think you are right, if that wouldn't motivate someone, nothing would.

I just wondered how accurate the article is. It sounded plausible, but one never knows. Given the automation possible, my thought was that as long as they can fill the slots with people cheaply, they are saving money. If that stops working, they will buy real robots.