Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Wal-Mart Threatened by iTunes Movies?

I hate Walmart, I always have. they make people think they're so cheap. they really aren't cheap at all. they never have sales.

I wouldn't give a crap if walmart did anything to hurt the film studios. I don't buy movies there anyway because they actually check your ID if its R or unrated. not that I'm not old enough but I sure as hell hate taking my ID out to justify that I'm at least 17. they never have special editions or unrated versions so why the hell does it matter.

STICK TO BEST BUY OR CIRCUIT CITY.

BOYCOTT WALMART
 
mac-er said:
Unfortunately, you wouldn't because you'd probably be out of business.
Click to expand...

I don't buy that argument. If a customer wants to buy a DVD, they'll just go to Best Buy instead of Walmart, or wherever else it is sold.

Walmart doesn't sell Grand Theft Auto, yet it is still a big seller in the video game market.
 
This feels like a story planted by Apple, in order to apply leverage in all the behind the scenes fighting amongst the big players.
 
Go Target :p

anyway.., if they actually continue to do this, apple can sue them(see Ben and Jerry's vs Hadgengas, and i spelled that wrong)

anyways, wow, walmart is finally threatened :), yay

DOWN WITH WALMART, UP WITH TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
babyj said:
Are Apple any different?

All their product is made in Asia, I'm sure they bully their suppliers to get the best prices and there have been question marks over the working conditions in the factories they use.

Everyone wants lower prices and better quality. A lot of people feel guilty due to the effects this has on other people, but not guilty enough to actually stop shopping at the cheapest shops.
Click to expand...

I agree. Apple and Wal-mart are just companies. They are not evil or benevolent. They compete in a very competitive market and can in no way be considered monopolies.

Wal-Mart doesn't drive local mom & pop companies out of business. The people who shop at Wal-Mart drive the local mom & pop business away. If Wal-Mart is so evil, bad to employees, sells rotten product, why is it that so many people shop there?

Sure Wal-Mart pressures suppliers to lower their price, so does everyone else. That is why prices drop when supply is high or demand is down. Sure Wal-Mart puts pressure on local business. So does every business that competes in that market including mail order.

If the local business can't stay afloat in their market then it just means that customers are choosing for whatever reason to go somewhere else.

I don't particularly care for Wal-Mart myself and I don't shop there except for as a convience for the most mundane products. But I can't stand all this whining! This is a free world. If you are a consumer, shop where you choose and those companies will reap the reward. If you are a supplier supply to who you wish, if you have a great product it will sell. If you are a competitor, do whatever you can to keep prices low, quality high, customer satisfaction high, and you will stay in business.

What's the big deal!:rolleyes:
 
PerfectlyFlawed said:
I hate Walmart, I always have. they make people think they're so cheap. they really aren't cheap at all. they never have sales.

I wouldn't give a crap if walmart did anything to hurt the film studios. I don't buy movies there anyway because they actually check your ID if its R or unrated. not that I'm not old enough but I sure as hell hate taking my ID out to justify that I'm at least 17. they never have special editions or unrated versions so why the hell does it matter.

STICK TO BEST BUY OR CIRCUIT CITY.

BOYCOTT WALMART
Click to expand...

It's appropriate to check identification for age, whether it's movies, music, or video games. What's wrong with doing the right thing?
 
Not to be bigot....

I'm just stating pure fact:

Most of the people I know that shop at Wal-Mart don't own an iPod with video let alone a computer that supports iTunes videos. Most own super cheap or older Wintel boxes and some cheap flash MP3 player. They will still go to Wal-Mart to buy DVDs.

What is Wal-Mart worried about?
 
mac-er said:
Unfortunately, you wouldn't because you'd probably be out of business.
Click to expand...


So, what you're saying is that hard copies of DVD's are the wave of the future? :rolleyes:
Funny, I thought technology was taking over and that downloading mulitmedia was the wave of the future. :confused:
I believe over a few year period, you would be the one out of business if that's your convicted thought.
 
I've been reading this forum for years and have found it interesting and helpful. Thank you everyone for help and opinions. I have never joined a forum of any type until now. Well, here it goes. For the first time I feel the need to put my 2cents in. I looked at this post and I really got angry. It's not even a iTunes thing for me but a "Wal-Mart is Evil Thing". This report is of no shock to me that some WM dude is threating retaliation. They do this every day by putting Mom & Pops out of business.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

Thank you again. I feel better.
Now I hope to join everyone in future discussions.
 
Rocketman said:
It seems that since Wal-Mart tends to service the very lowest income class in our culture and many of these folks tend to not have computers, and to the extent they do, tend to not have broadband either, it seems there is a degree of mutual exclusivity of markets.

Therefore it seems Wal-Mart is less concerned about the sales themselves as the "benefits" they receive by the physical customer traffic they get from some people going to Wal-Mart to buy intentionally underpriced product so they will shop for other things while there.
Click to expand...

I think there may be a flaw in your reasoning. If wal-mart tended to service the very lowest income class, then how does this class propel such a company to become the biggest retailer of just about any consumable good in this country? Wal-mart targets anyone with a buck to spend and will try to sell them anything to help them part with that dollar, be that an iPod shuffle, DVD or box of peanuts.

As for the foot traffic, I doubt that online music sales has any effect on it. If so, how is Walmart still growing?

edited for grammer
 
Unspeaked said:
This is just a business being a business. Get over it.
Click to expand...

Do you really think that? Beyond all the questions and concerns about Wal-Mart's treatment of its employees and some of its deceptive practices and its tendency to sap small communities dry and wipe out smaller, local businesses (all of which I have witnessed with my own eyes so don't accuse me of quoting any lefty Web sites)... beyond all that, you think anti-competitive behavior is just "a business being a business." I don't think it is. In fact, it runs counter to everything I've been told about how the U.S. works. If you really believe what you're saying, I ask that you reconsider your point of view. You have very little support for the argument that one company making threats against another industry to stop a potential competitor is just "being a business." In fact, there have been lawsuits against some companies engaging in this very thing. Notable for an Apple discussion forum would be the example of Microsoft, but there have been others.
 
wow this is messed up if this is true i used to by dvds from walmart cause they were cheap but after reading this i think im not gonna buy another dvd From walmart
 
It is a Load

mac-er said:
I seem to remember Wal-Mart's CEO saying in a CNBC show that his company doesn't bully vendors.....what a load.
Click to expand...

Yes, my publishing company does business with WalMart and they do intimidate and bully. For sure.

I avoid shopping there at all costs.
 
Welcome

STLSigns said:
I've been reading this forum for years and have found it interesting and helpful. Thank you everyone for help and opinions. I have never joined a forum of any type until now. Well, here it goes. For the first time I feel the need to put my 2cents in. I looked at this post and I really got angry. It's not even a iTunes thing for me but a "Wal-Mart is Evil Thing". This report is of no shock to me that some WM dude is threating retaliation. They do this every day by putting Mom & Pops out of business.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

Thank you again. I feel better.
Now I hope to join everyone in future discussions.
Click to expand...


Yes, Welcome!

I agree with you -- I have seen that PBS show. Walmart is a plauge.
 
It doesn't really matter what you think about Wal*Mart and their practices, however this story seems very unlikely. If proof of these allegations comes to light Apple would be able to double their cash on hand through one of the biggest lawsuit the world has ever seen. These allegations, if true, violate many different federal and state statutes and Apple would probably be bigger than Microsoft after the dust settled. Real damages would be in the Billions and punitive damages could be ten times as much. Wal*Mart can do this kind of thing to small companies and many third world countries, but Apple has the money to actually take this to court and juries are far more likely to believe the popular and stylish iPod maker than Wal*Mart with their reputation (deserved or not) for exploitation.
 
notjustjay said:
It's all fun and games until someone wakes up with a dead horse head in their bed.

But seriously... $9.99 to $12.99 movie downloads when I can go over to any store (like, oh, say, Wal-Mart) and buy the real deal for a buck or two more? Just how in God's name is this a threat to them?! Wal-Mart's smartest move would be to drop their DVD prices by that buck or two, until they cost the SAME or LESS than online downloads.
Click to expand...


not factoring in the gas to get there. maybe drop it 5 bucks to copensate lol
 
So, hypothetically, what if Wal-Mart's CEO doesn't "moderate" their stance, and Apple ink deals with more than Disney including Library titles? Surely Wal-Mart's bean counters and legal eagles have already played the war games scenarios. Who would be the winners if this ratcheted up to another level?
 
BrianMojo said:
Last I checked this kind of anti-competitive action was illegal under monopoly laws...
Click to expand...
They, for the most part, stopped enforcing those laws back in the Reagan years.

Digitalbiker just wrote," Apple and Wal-mart are just companies. They are not evil or benevolent."
True, but they are owned and run by people who can act evilly or benevolently; they are not disembodied spirits or forces of nature. The actions large corporations take can have very bad consequences for real people (not to mention animals, birds, the air, etc.). Corporate amorality is a pretty shabby, threadbare garment.

...and also from Digitalbiker (sorry, i don't mean to pick on you, i'm just commenting in general), "They compete in a very competitive market and can in no way be considered monopolies."
True, but only partly. Apple and Wal-mart do everything they can to limit competition. Besides, at the highest levels, these publicly owned companies are largely owned and run by a relative handful of people--the plutocracy. The idea of a truly free market at the corporate level is a myth.
 
Eff Wal-Mart.

And if you shop at Wal-Mart when other choices are available, then eff you, too.

People think the Antichrist will be a single person. I tell you that it's very possible that the collective amount of evil within the organization known as Wal-Mart qualifies it for Antichrist status.

(In case you are still wondering, I don't much care for Wal-Mart.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back