Well said. I definitely didn’t want to start a Walmart war again, though its easy to do. I agree, I just don’t see how it can be the same unless like others have said, its a loss leader. Again, Walmart sells soft soap for .88 cents whereas its usually 1.09 other places. If they sold that soft soap for .57 cents I would be wonder the same thing I do about M1.
Its obvious that they are running a special line for Walmart M1 or batches of M1 for walmart, since they have their own specially labeled bottles.
What I find odd is that There is not special labels for coca cola sold at walmart, nor is there for canned goods for example. Now I admit its probable that if it is indeed the exact same oil, its probably packaged different to prevent you from taking it back to another store and running a scam. The other thing we must remember, There are some products at walmart that do have different aspects to them. Some BUCK knives sold at walmart have a nylon sheave, whereas at other retailers they have a leather sheave, but the knife is the same.
I admit, I am 95% sure its probably the exact same oil.
Here is a question posted on M1 Q&A page. Its from 07
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Question:
Is the Mobil 1 Sold in Jugs at Wal-Mart the Same Quality as the Product in Quart Bottles Sold Elsewhere?
I have a question about the 5-quart Mobil 1 jugs I buy at Walmart. Is the oil in the 5-quart Mobil 1 5W-30 jugs the exact same oil that is in the 1-quart containers sold elsewhere? I ask because I have heard that the Walmart gets a cheaper formulation made to their specs in order to allow them to sell for less and you do not get the same quality of oil when you buy it. When I compared the labeling on the 1-quart containers at Advance Auto Parts to the 5-quart jug I got at Wal-Mart, I noticed that the 1-quart container says ACEA A1/A5 B1/B5 and the 5-quart does not say ACEA at all. Both have the HTO-06 and are, I believe, both API SN and ILSAC GF-5. Frankly, I doubt that any company would risk their reputation by packaging a different product for a chain store under the same name but I thought I would ask.
– Paul Sceva, Plainfield, IL
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Their answer
“You are right, the formulation and quality level of our motor oils are the same wherever the product name is the same, regardless of the package size in which it is sold. The difference in ACEA claims you are referring to sounds unfamiliar to us. Was it the exact same product in both cases?”
Many manufacturers sell private label products at a steep discount compared to the prime product. They are the same as far as the product goes, but other costs are different. Walmart tells Exxon that they will buy a million gallons of Mobil1 but they don’t want to pay for Exxon’s advertising. This is a legitimate request since Walmart is buying in bulk and the advertising is immaterial to them. There may be other costs, including packaging, that cost less too.
I will give you my example. I bought an HP desktop from costco 5 years ago. The model number reads something like HP Pavilion 6221; now if you look on HP’s website, you won’t even find this model. What you find is the 6220 has the exact same specifications. So they name it very close, but not the same and this way I can not go to bestbuy or some other outfit and request a price match. That model with its price is specific to costco which is a volume retailer and negotiates very hard for a lower price and also probably sells on a tighter profit margin.
@gallant Yes that’s true, its not the exact same model for price matching but also it was probably put together with a bin of left over parts from the suppliers. This has been going on for years with the discounters for TVs, and other electronic items. It will not be a recognized model number from the manufacturer because it has end run parts.
If you go to Menards which is a mid western home improvement store, you can buy a serta mattress which has mismatched fabric and piping, they are put together by using up leftovers. Me for one could care less what the mattress looks like.
It should be obvious to people but you named a few.
“a lot of us don’t like Walmart and expressed our opinions as such”
That’s clear. The point was already made why not to do it here.
Back to the topic - I’d be willing to bet there is no difference other than packaging. The other retailers, while large in their segment, are small potatoes compared to Walmart.
In my area of business we often have customers approach us for branding changes. We accommodate them if the volumes warrant and do not charge them differently. It is exactly the same product as it would actually add cost to deviate from the normal production stream. It’s identical up to the point of branding (labels, packaging).
Walmart can get price concessions in many ways; sheer volume, long term commitments, shipping cost productivity and so on. Their costs are less, they can afford less margin due to volume, as mentioned it could be loss leader for them to get you in the store…no need to change the base product to achieve the price difference…
I buy XOM at TDameritrade. I know that I pay 1-3 dollars more than another company but I’ve been with TDa for a longtime, plus they leave me alone and I pretty much don’t want to talk to them. I had full service company for another account and they didn’t want our business so we left.