Amazon v/s Walmart

[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.