"Don Bruder" wrote in message
...


Wal-mart forces customers to shop only there through the fact that by
sheer size (ignore the pressure they apply to manufacturers that I
mentioned above for the moment) they can and do run any other
competition in a town out, leaving no option.


They don't force the customer to do ANYTHING. Customers get what they
deserve. They're lazy, so they never figure out that they can get any
product they want, anywhere they want, as cheaply as they can at Wal Mart.

1) Big ticket items: How often does one family buy a TV? So, they buy a $250
Sanyo TV at Wal Mart, and probably never discover that they could've had the
same set at Circuit City for the same price or better. Wal Mart may have
more stores, but they actually buy less TVs than Best Buy, Sears or Circuit
City. The customer doesn't shop for a TV that often, and less "buying
cycles" means there's almost no possibility that they'll discover they
could've gotten a better deal.

2) Groceries: In fact, if customers did what newspaper reporters sometimes
do, and compare prices for SPECIFIC AND EQUIVALENT ITEMS OVER SEVERAL
SHOPPING TRIPS, they'd find that they actually spend the same or less at
traditional supermarkets. But, customers don't do this. They're sheep. They
believe whatever they're told, and WM tells them everything's cheaper there.
What's pathetic is that with groceries, you have an opportunity every single
week to see that you're being snookered. If your idea of a bargain is saving
82 cents on a $150 cart of groceries, and waiting 40 minutes in line to pay
for it, then you're a shmuck, your time is worthless, and you deserve to
spend half your afternoon at WM. This is especially true if you make the
same mistake 52 or more times per year.

3) Clothing: Who the hell knows? So much of it's proprietary to WM that you
can't comparison shop. But, if you can't tell the difference between a $12
Lands End T-shirt that lasts for 8 years and still looks good, and a $2.00
rag from WM, then you should buy the rag. As far as equivalent brands, I
just shopped for jeans and found Sears to be a buck cheaper than WM for the
exact same product. If WM had my size, I would've bought it, rather than
guzzle a gallon of gas going to Sears, but it doesn't change the fact that
the jeans would've have been cheaper somewhere else.