Wal-Mart Planning to Carry iPad 'Later This Year'

[misfit356tsw]

Some of you guys need to read the difference between monopoly and oligopoly.

Here, I even made it easy for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly

 

[tigress666]

If you think you are getting a higher quality product at BestBuy you have fallen into something a lot more dangerous than Steve Job's reality distortion field. Wake up. It's the same junk, made in the same factories. The only difference is maybe the trim is different w/ a new SKU so they don't have to price match.

Um, it's Walmart that gets the skus changed so other stores can't price match them (get them out of those stores into walmart).

It's called having the buying power to tell companies that we will only buy your product if you change the sku slightly.

 

[notjustjay]

I just HATE superstores of any kind, and not just Walmart - whatever that makes me. I don't want to buy my clothing, food, electronics, furnture, hardware, etc all in the same store, and crappy quality at that. Superstores are OK as long as they SPECIALIZE, like Best Buy. That's because you get better depth of selection and better quality at similar prices at specialty stores.

On some things, sure. But is it worth the extra time and effort? Only you can make that call, and it depends on where you live.

For example, suppose I want to buy an iPod touch, a gallon of milk (I nearly said a "bag of milk", but you Americans don't have the privilege of buying milk in bags ), a box of wood screws for my deck project, a box of Ritz crackers, some Kleenex, and some Tide laundry detergent. I also need a new ink cartridge and some more paper for my printer. Oh, and the new Justin Bieber CD (for the kids )

So I could walk into my neighborhood Wal-Mart and be done. Or I could go to the Apple Store, then the local grocery store, then Home Depot (or the mom and pop hardware store, if you prefer), then Borders, then Staples. Either way I'm walking out with the exact same brand-name goods. It's not like the iPod for sale at Wal-Mart is inferior to the one that Apple sells in their own stores. Even if it's NOT cheaper at Wal-Mart, I've saved time and gas money by not having to drive all around town.

Feel free to rail on superstores for their business practices, or for wanting to carry cheap-brand inferior goods (but this isn't a real issue as long as they still also carry the name brand stuff, no?), but "I don't want to buy my food in the same place they sell furniture!" in itself is a poor excuse. You can argue limited selection, and that can be true in some circumstances -- I agree that Home Depot would have a far bigger selection of wood screws than Wal-Mart would -- but then, I've also been to a lot of mom-and-pop stores where they carry the 4 different types and that's it, that's all.

 

[thecartoonguy]

Ya and Best Buy has the greatest employees

and and by the way all Apple employees know thier products

The difference is if an Apple employee does not know, they will find someone who does. Best Buy will not even try. Walmart, just looks stupid and act like they have something to share.

 

[smarch]

I saw your response and i can't belive someone could say something like that. Let me ask you something. When you walk down the street holding your girlfriend or boyfriends hand. Do you get stares? Do you get people giving you nasty looks? Probarly not.

Walmart didn't have a non discrimination policy for a long time for their gay and lesbian employees which ment that they could use unethical ways to fire people.

At least big companies like IBM which has this policy in place since 1975, Apple, Even adobe,Microsoft, AT&T not to count others. Want to make sure that all employees are protected and feel comfortable. Because just like you can have your other halfs picture on your desk or whatever at work. I should be able to have my partners picture for example. Without have to worry about some type of recourse.

So to you since you obviously dont get it. It may not mean anything. So spend your money there. But im not going to spend money at a company that has the audacity to treat their employees like that.

Your obviously straight so you don't get discrimated against because of who you choose to love.

OH NO! you get stared at?! I can't believe the injustice. I could get you real mad and suggest that being gay is your way of acting out for attention anyway, but I won't do that. oops. i just did. don't mind me. I'm just a bigot. (although I have many gay friends)

I don't know alot about wrongful termination and whether you can sue if your fired for being gay, so I can't argue too much about that. So feel free to keep being offended.

I feel like one of the reasons America may be declining in developmental potential is that we have enough money here to sit around worrying about how offended we are about everything (and hire lawyers and write books, and study it in school and.....). Every person in China is working their ass off in their paradoxically free market, without regard for offense and insult. The collective capability of all of that individual effort is going to drown our capabilities in short order.

 

[mdatwood]

Walmart likes to move in to a small town well out past the boondocks. They sell their products below cost until the local stores go under. Then they close up the shop and the locals need to drive 50 miles to the closest Walmart.

So what you're saying is WMT goes through the cost of opening a store near a town. Runs all the other stores out of business then closes the store that forces everyone to drive 1-2 hours to another WMT to shop? Um, why doesn't anyone just open another store in the town at that point? What you're saying makes zero sense.

They are known to make deals with small manufacturers. The deals look good at first, however do to fine print, Walmart quite often gets the products for free, running the manufacturers out of business.

Deals go both ways. People want to sell their stuff in WMT. If you don't like WMTs terms then don't deal with them. With the ease of selling stuff online nowadays you have plenty of other options to sell your goods, especially if they are good quality items that people want.

Walmart is not efficient. They are just big.

You do know that WMT is a case study in inventory management efficiency? I think the show as on CNBC and the way they manage inventory is almost completely automated. Pretty amazing.

This lets them take money from one market, and use it to kill the competition in another one. I don't like shopping at Walmart because they rip off the communities they infect. I also don't like the way they limit our choices in what we can buy. I do not like the way they under staff their stores so it takes much longer to get out than other stores.

As someone said earlier, the markets are global now. If I don't like the choices or options in my area I can order online. Often times a product is shipped directly from 1/2 way around the world. The issue isn't WMT or that the economy is going global, but more how do we prepare everyone for this shift? Retail jobs? Those are jobs for high schoolers and kids in college. They should not be making someones career in the first place.

The same thing happened when carriage makers were replaced by the car, and happened again as computers replaced LOTS of jobs.

 

[bludodge]

If Apple does, it will be to only help seal it as the tablet of all tablets, by giving them another avenue to sell them. Beat the other flood of tablets. There are many places without a Best Buy or an Apple store. Now someone even in the small town that only has a Wal-Mart because everyone else was ran out of business can get onto the iPad bandwagon. So this makes sense for Apple to market it like this like they already do the other Apple products sold by Wal-Mart.

 

[AppEzzy]

Uh oh, here come all the highbrow macusers bashing Walmart.

Good for Apple and good for Walmart.

Totally agree, the more retailers selling the product the better!

 

[Becordial]

Every person in China is working their ass off in their paradoxically free market, without regard for offense and insult. The collective capability of all of that individual effort is going to drown our capabilities in short order.

Couldn't be more true! National income (up ~10%), wage rises (up~15%), living conditions (up) every year in China. Massive improvements in a range of other variables compared to a far more dismal domestic story.

 

[Tones2]

On some things, sure. But is it worth the extra time and effort? Only you can make that call, and it depends on where you live.

For example, suppose I want to buy an iPod touch, a gallon of milk (I nearly said a "bag of milk", but you Americans don't have the privilege of buying milk in bags ), a box of wood screws for my deck project, a box of Ritz crackers, some Kleenex, and some Tide laundry detergent. I also need a new ink cartridge and some more paper for my printer. Oh, and the new Justin Bieber CD (for the kids )

So I could walk into my neighborhood Wal-Mart and be done. Or I could go to the Apple Store, then the local grocery store, then Home Depot (or the mom and pop hardware store, if you prefer), then Borders, then Staples. Either way I'm walking out with the exact same brand-name goods. It's not like the iPod for sale at Wal-Mart is inferior to the one that Apple sells in their own stores. Even if it's NOT cheaper at Wal-Mart, I've saved time and gas money by not having to drive all around town.

Feel free to rail on superstores for their business practices, or for wanting to carry cheap-brand inferior goods (but this isn't a real issue as long as they still also carry the name brand stuff, no?), but "I don't want to buy my food in the same place they sell furniture!" in itself is a poor excuse. You can argue limited selection, and that can be true in some circumstances -- I agree that Home Depot would have a far bigger selection of wood screws than Wal-Mart would -- but then, I've also been to a lot of mom-and-pop stores where they carry the 4 different types and that's it, that's all.

Well, I live in a big city. And thus I can buy mostly everything I need by walking a couple of blocks. And I hardly EVER want to buy an iPad at the same time I need milk - I shop for groceries seperately than electronics. I know that's just MY CASE and not yours, but I was only TALKING about MY case, not yours. You have a different situation and that's fine.

In terms of "quality", I'm talking about the AVAILABILITY of product depth and higher quality type products. Certainly, Walmart has the lower end of most catagories and they are the same quality as specialty stores, but they don't carry the depth of different brands of speciality stores and they certainly don't carry higher end brands for the MOST part (and I know they carry SOME, but certainly not a lot).

I still hate going into superstores for whatever my reasons are, but I don't hate others who do.

Tony

 

[JAT]

Exactly. Whats the big deal if the iPad is sold in Wal-Mart!? Its a plus for both companies. If you have Apple stock you should be happy!

I love how Wal-Mart = Redneck to some people... unbelievable..

Only people living near rednecks, which isn't me. Walmart is horrible on many, many levels. The least of which is the clientele.

I had to purchase something there last weekend, after trying 4 other stores, my first time in a Walmart in several months. I still haven't cleaned off the disgust, yet. And frankly, I would've spent less at the first store AND gotten higher quality, but couldn't find a product that worked. (boots for an 8 year old)

Actually, the first store I went to is a lot closer to redneck clientele than the Walmart 2 blocks down, farm supply store.

 

[JAT]

Exactly how this a bad thing?

Sure, we like the personable service from these Mom and Pop stores, but Walmart certainly employs a lot more people than any Mom and Pop store out there. And the managers at Wal mart probably make a higher annual salary than a Mom and Pop store can provide. Secondly, the prices at Wall Mart are much cheaper than Mom and Pop stores. This allows people who don't make a lot of money to afford food and common household items.

No, no they don't make a higher annual salary. Walmart is well known as a horrible, horrible employer. They have been in trouble more than their fair share. And much of it is little stuff that can't easily be attacked, like reducing hours to keep people from being benefit-eligible, and so forth.

And your theory is that Target doesn't put local businesses under?

Ok, now you are messing with me.

Not like Walmart. Really.

Um, it's Walmart that gets the skus changed so other stores can't price match them (get them out of those stores into walmart).

It's called having the buying power to tell companies that we will only buy your product if you change the sku slightly.

They all do that. ALL.

One of my favorites. I know it's just parody and comedy, but the similarity to reality is pretty frightening.
http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/big_box_mart

 

[Pojo458]

I have practically boycotted Walmart, haven't been in one for two years
When me and my friends are walking down the plaza and we want a soda and they want to go get one at walmart, I tell them to keep walking and get a soda at one of the local store next door.

 

[Minimoose 360]

What the **** is wrong with some of you people? (pardon my language)



Judging by the negative ratings of this story and some of the comments, I think you all need to get off of your high horses...seriously. Just because Walmart is selling the iPad doesn't make it any less "exclusive". On that note, why is it "exclusive" in the first place? All Apple products are CONSUMER products, available to all customers. The fact that you can blow out cash on the spot for one is no different than a less fortunate person saving up and buying one...from Walmart or Best Buy or Apple.


I think this image is appropriate, I will battle with the mods for it.

 

[smarch]

I challenge your conception of the idea that the word 'capitalism' refers to

Uh, but a retail slave does not make much money. I'm barely making out as is and I don't have a family or some one else to support. Retail really doesn't pay enough to live on, least not when you have a family to support.

Mom and Pop stores may employ less people, but more people are owning them and actually having the part that makes the money (if they are succesful, it is more of a risk than just being employed by some one).

So, yeah, one store employs more people at crappy wages. Replacing lots of stores owned by people who were making more money with their own business than they would being employed by Walmart (and there is only so many of those manager jobs to go around. And honestly, being manager does not mean you get paid that much more than a non manager. You gotta be one of the higher up managers to start making a decent wage). Which means more people with money to put money back into the local economy.

Even replacing smaller chain stores means you are replacing more manager positions with just the regular retail positions cause they aren't going to have the same ratio of managers to employees as a smaller store. And yes, Walmart does seek to eliminate not just the mom and pops. They quite eagerly target other chains as well. I just don't want to see them get as successful as what they're striving to be. Cause you know what, they won't be cheap when they have no competition (shoot, they've already shown that prices will go up once the competition is gone). And they'll be able to pay people whatever they like cause who else are you going to be employed by when they are the only game in town? Capitalism only works if there is competition to keep each company in check.

 

[IBradMac]

Easier access to the product. Pretty simple. Not everyone has an apple store a block away.

 

[madmax_2069]

Gosh I can't figure out why- http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

LMAO the pictures.

 

[bdavis89]

I love how Apple allows the iPad to be sold at Wal-Mart, and everyone gets pissed at Wal-Mart. All of you are fanboys. Apple is a business, not some elitist company.

I live in Jacksonville, FL, the largest land area city in the country, and we have ONE Apple store. Putting iPads in Wal-Mart is perfectly smart business. Get over it.

 

[jw2002]

Um, why doesn't anyone just open another store in the town at that point? What you're saying makes zero sense.

Because Walmart has already bled the town dry? Who would be left with the capital to open a new Mom and Pop, gas station, grocery store, and pharmacy? I would also add that the Walmart version of retail is theorized to be unsustainable at its core. Sure, they have been preying off of and rolling over weak competition for a long time, but their business model in general is just one big race to the bottom.

The only justification I have seen here for going to Walmart is lower prices. Yet any savings offered by Walmart will pale in comparison to the sales tax on the ipad, so a much better deal could be had simply by purchasing the ipad from Amazon. Buying from Amazon, paying no sales tax, getting free delivery, and not having to enter a grody Walmart would definitely make for a better deal!

 

[IWantItThatWay]

Now all the illegal immigrants can easily get an iPad.

 

[MorphingDragon]

Starschmucks Coffee drinkers are going to be pissed.

 

[53buick]

I, for one, do consider marriage (and traditionally associated benefits) as an institution that is condusive to encouraging the formation and success of stable family situations for raising children and has been pretty damn successful for the human race as a whole.

successful?

you are either:
a. a troll
b. uneducated
c. all of the above

i'm going with "c"

 

[smarch]

successful?

you are either:
a. a troll
b. uneducated
c. all of the above

i'm going with "c"

nooo. not successful at all. humans have accomplished so little in the last few (marriage dominated) centuries.

you are ignorant and ungrateful for all that has come before you, and all that has provided the life you take without a thought. probably a child of half retarded hippies whose arrogance and stupidity know no bounds. either that or you are some flamboyantly destructive European.

 

[JediZenMaster]

Delete accidently posted