Yes I do shop at Wal-Mart

[Telefunken]

Originally Posted by glatt

Marichiko is right on that the stuff sold at Walmart is inferior crap. Walmart uses its buying power to force manufacturers to lower the wholesale prices on the goods it stocks. The manufacturers have to obey. So they cut corners on the stuff they make in order to lower the prices and still stay in business. You end up with cheap crap that doesn't last.

The sad thing is that there is a trickle down effect. Other stores have to sell crap too in order to compete. It becomes very difficult or even impossible to find any store that sells quality items that last.

My grandfather (RIP) had a toaster that was made in the 1930s or 1940s that still works great today. Today, I seem to be replacing toasters every 5 years, regardless of what I buy and how much I spend. What the hell? I'd be curious to know how many hours wages his toaster cost him. Maybe I should be spending $200 on a toaster from Williams Sonoma instead of $50 on a Krups. (I don't buy the $8.99 toasters from Walmart.)

I agree. I bought a package of white tube socks at MaoMart a year ago and this week half of them I had to throw out because they developed big holes. I used to be able to get at least three years of wear out of a pair of white tube socks before I bought these socks from MaoMart. I'm fortunate these days to have the disposable income that allows me to spend more money on a quality pair of tube socks. But these days I'm trying to be frugal and I should not have to pay $8 for a pair of tube socks that won't fall apart in a year.