Jay Leno Told A Joke About Wal-Mart A Couple Of Nights Ago.
It was something along the lines of the U.S.A. soon becoming a little less safe because the Chinese were going to have missiles on cruising submarines, capable of hitting any location in our country. He indicated the only totally safe people were those living near a Wal-Mart store.
Funny, but not so funny.
What really bothers me about WM is the label item “Distributed By Wal-Mat Stores, Inc. Bentonville, AR 72716.”
OK, right, the stuff is distributed from there, but where’s it from ?
I want my food coming from the U.S., at least. I will not knowingly buy food from Asian sources or from Mexico - farm raised sea-food, for example. I feel that they should be required to specify country of origin, state, city, etcetera. Then, I can decide if I want it or not.
There is indeed some food that is almost impossible to get if you want it grown in this country, bananas for example.
I have seen mexican fruits and whatnot as well. I try to buy all my fruits and veggies that I do not grow in my garden from the farmstand. In rural indiana its not hard to buy locally grown produce…
@WheresRick, Good Point.
I Eat A Banana Every Day (Good For Keeping Blood Pressure Nice And Low).
It’s mainly dairy, seafood, and meat that creeps me out (and some canned stuff). I just don’t think it’s fair to simply announce "Distributed By . . . " on everything. I always feel like I’m shopping at China-Mart.
“OK, right, the stuff is distributed from there, but where’s it from ?”
For several years, Federal regulations have required that the country of origin is printed on food labeling if the food product comes from anywhere other than the US. I will acknowledge that I sometimes have to look long and hard in order to find this information (in the smallest font that exists) on labels, but it is there.
If Wal-Mart is not doing this, they are in violation of these regulations.
" I will acknowledge that I sometimes have to look long and hard in order to find this information (in the smallest font that exists) on labels, but it is there. "
^
If these are food products that originated in a foreign country, then Wal-Mart is in violation of federal regulations. If the products are indeed from the US, then the country of origin does not have to be stated, but–IMHO–it is very short-sighted for a company if they fail to proudly display, “Product of The USA”, on its labels.
You might want to send an e-mail to the FTC and/or the FDA for clarification regarding this issue.
I See Information On Food Labeling, But . . .
. . . it seems to only cover muscle cut and ground meats: beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, and chicken; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts; and ginseng.
Can you link to a more inclusive list of food items ?
Part of the problem with items grown in Mexico and beyond is that they sometimes use human feces for fertilizer or contaminated water for irrigation. That, and we don’t have a good method for identifying quickly the source of the items. At the federal level we spend all our money on other issues instead of food safety. Sequester or not, its just not a priority to either party and the money spent on one trip to Africa could make quite a dent in the problem.
@Mikeinnh
You missed the whole point. Whether prices are fixed by manifacturers or not is totally immaterial. He could not stay open at times larger stores like Dicks and others who sold more variety of other sporting goods. That is a big reason why smaller stores can’t compete. It’s not prices alone, and it’s not selection; it’s convenience and Sunday shopping has really hurt the small businsees retail for that reason. Small businesses who are not open Sundays and after normal business hours because they can’t afford to be, can loose their sales to the convenience of Dicks and others who are.
Your so called golf pro at Dick’s will also be selling kayaks and dumbells on Sundays. That’s how the store pays his salary, that’s why specialty and small business stores struggle.
I work at a consumer products company that sells to Wal Mart and virtually all of the hardware and auto stores- Home Depot, Lowes, Auto Zone, Advance Auto- you name it. The product we sell Wal Mart is exclusive to Wal Mart though in a number of cases the only difference is packaging. In a few there is a small performance difference- Wal Mart is slightly under the quality we sell to the others.
“Part of the problem with items grown in Mexico and beyond is that they sometimes use human feces for fertilizer or contaminated water for irrigation.”
I know someone that imports fresh fruits from Central America. He can’t and won’t bring in anything that isn’t fit to eat. He makes sure that his suppliers provide foods that will not make us sick. He own’t be in business long if he sells substandard foods.
“At the federal level we spend all our money on other issues instead of food safety.”
The FDA did not have to cut hours as part of the sequester. The government thinks food safety is so important that food inspectors will not be furloughed.
Whether prices are fixed by manifacturers or not is totally immaterial. He could not stay open at times larger stores like Dicks and others who sold more variety of other sporting goods.
I didn’t miss the point. I understand the other reasons he has trouble competing. I was just pointing out that a local golf shop has a better change of competing then say a small non-golf sports store. We have a couple of good local golf stores…that compete very well with Dicks. One isn’t too far away from the Maine border - “Golf and Ski Warehouse”. They have no problem competing with Dicks or Sports Authority (Golf Day).
Several years ago the national chains came to town and competed with myself and other independents and I/we lost a significant part of the brake business which was relatively high profit. We raised the flat rate on all labor to make up the difference and customers complained but like us they had no alternative. The chains could get cars in their shops with price leaders and in the end the total price was quite excessive and they absolutely avoided real problems which I/we were left to deal with. My fleet business was significant and I weathered the storm well but several smaller independents went bust. I seem to view Wallyworld in the same light as the chain stores in that they have a good song and dance with a pretty sign on a highly traveled and well lighted major street but they can’t offer much beyond shelves stocked with the fast selling merchandise and clerks to ring it up. I can purchase a high quality computer from a store staffed with knowledgeable professionals who will listen to my ridiculous questions and give me sound advice on what to buy and a reasonable price if I choose to purchase it. I took my 3 year old monitor to them when it failed and they replaced it with a higher priced model for free for some reason. I didn’t ask. I didn’t sign anything. And I’m glad I didn’t buy a Wallyworld computer.
I doubt that the oil is different from Wal-Mart but MANY things are. I think they are just buying more oil and in larger 5 quart containers so the price is less. Wal-Mart is famous for forcing their suppliers to sign contracts to sell at a low cost. If they are lucky, the suppliers will make up for it in the mass volume sold at Wal-Mart. For a great story on this, look up “Snapper mower Wal-Mart” and you will find a fastcompany article. I would post the link but anytime I do this, my posts are blacklisted.
On the other hand, Wal-Mart has versions of just about everything made just for them. This includes electronics such as computers and TVs, lawn equipment, tires, and many other items. The problem is Wal-Mart dictates that the price be cheap. You get what you pay for… I personally work on computers and have a love-hate view of the crap from Wal-Mart. I would never own one myself but they are great for the repair business. It seems like they drop dead about 1 month after the warranty is up. Yeah, you bought the cheapest computer in town, BUT… The sad thing is that other stores are selling something so much better for like $15-25 more but it isn’t the cheapest one in town. Many computers, especially HP and Compaq (same company) have W or WM in the model number to signify Wal-Mart.
While this doesn’t relate to motor oil, the black Friday deals are also no good, whether or not they come from Wal-Mart or elsewhere. The computers and other electronics bought then are not the same exact version as the ones selling for 5 times the price during any other time of the year. I see new computers sold using dreadfully slow 8 year old technology and people bring them in and ask if I can make them faster for cheap. I tell them the cheapest way to make them faster is to buy a new computer and not another Black Friday or Wal-Mart special! I have actually saved a few people when they are able to take them back during the 14 day return policy.
I like going to my local parts store and usually just wait until they have their oil on sale. They usually sell 5 quarts with a filter for a certain price. This is usually the same as Wal-Mart so I prefer that. I just buy several changes at a time so I don’t have to count on a sale.
I live less than half a mile from a WalMart super store, but I do very little shopping there. However, the times that I have shopped at the WalMart in my neighborhood, the personnel has been helpful and the checkout person pleasant. The sales person in the electronics section at WalMart was more helpful to me than the sales person at Best Buys. I purchased a sound bar for my television at Best Buys, but the cable wasn’t correct and I couldn’t make it work the way I thought it should with my television. I went back to Best Buys and asked questions, but the sales person couldn’t answer the questions, so I returned the sound bar and got my money back. I happened to be at WalMart in the electronics section. The person there understood my question and told me that a home theater system might be a better bought. I did purchase an inexpensive home theater system and, for the price of less than $100, does a good job of enhancing the sound from the television. I’ve found that the price of motor oil very competitive with WalMart at a Rural King farm store.
I would prefer to shop locally owned merchants. However, these locally owned stores in my area are disappearing. There is no locally owned appliance store left in my community. I buy tires from an independent tire shop that also does all kinds of automotive work. I don’t bother with the franchised tire stores.
Although they don’t have much in automotive supplies, Dollar General has put up many stores in small communities in my area. It’s probably only a question of time before Dollar General stores begin carrying motor oil. I would bet that Dollar General is positioning itself to take the small community business from WalMart by being closer for the people in these less populated towns. When I am really in the mood to bargain hunt, I go to Big Lots. However, I’ve never seen synthetic oil on the shelf at Big Lots.
Some years ago we were in a hurry to replace our TV while the kid was at camp. Best Buy had what we wanted on sale, but lo and behold, they didn’t one in stock anywhere in Minneapolis or St. Paul. Went to a local store and I was told that these units are special manufacturing runs where they use bins of left-over parts. The model numbers never appear in any of the repair books.
Need a washer and dryer now and there is only one local store left. So its either them or the big box, but at least the model numbers are the same.
Yes, this is the same with computers, TV’s, etc., especially from Wal-Mart. I called to find a replacement screen that happened to have been on a Wal-Mart Black Friday laptop. I called the manufacturer and they told me this wasn’t a valid model number. I was positive I was reading the correct model number as I found it in several places but they told me this wasn’t a valid product and therefore they didn’t support it.
I ended up taking the screen out and the casing was GLUED and not screwed together. These things are basically made to be thrown away when anything breaks and you need to get inside. I was able to get it apart carefully without destroying the unit and extracted the kid-smashed LCD panel. There was a part number on the back of this panel and was able to find a replacement. I think they spent more on this repair than they did on the original laptop but I guess they didn’t care about that as I told them I wouldn’t have fixed it.
The good news with computers is that they usually belong to a “series” of similar products. Many of the major components are basically the same layout so finding replacement parts/diagrams can be improvised by substituting better supported models.
As for the Dollar General oils, be careful! Many of these are non-detergent and either have outdated or no API certifications. I wouldn’t put these in my engine unless I was on a long trip and realized I was low and had no other options. Having the wrong oil is usually better than no oil. Either way, I would change the oil ASAP once I found another type, even if only at a quick lube place down the road. At least they would be using real motor oil and not something only fit for chainsaw bar and chain oil.
Dollar stores and Big Lots can have great deals but they also commonly have cheap crap/rejects. Be careful on automotive products (or other products for that matter) unless you know it is the same thing and it just came from somewhere else that went out of business or such. I have seen regular products where the label was put on upside down at those kind of places. In this case, it is the same product but there was a packaging error.
Well I looked at that Snapper/Walmart site and looks like after being bought out by Briggs now, they are back in the Walmart stores. Maybe had to resort to having them made in China though to get the price low enough. I think maybe its time to treat Walmart like the telephone monopoly and start breaking them up.
Some of the cheaper Briggs motors have plastic camshafts and timing gears. I told someone that the camshaft in one was plastic and they didn’t believe me. So, I handed them the part and asked them what it was. Their response was “a plastic camshaft.”
I wonder if this is a way to make sure it doesn’t last much past the warranty, even if you change the oil.
I also know a buddy who had some 5500 watt generator with a briggs engine. The timing gears keep cracking as the keyway is poorly designed. He replaced the key and entire timing set once but don’t know if he ever fixed it the second time it died…