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Wal-Mart to Sell iPhone Starting Sunday

McPaul said:
Yes, but you see.... it's not ONLY WM. Sure, many of us THINK it's only WM because WM by FAR has the biggest Negative marketing campaign targeted against them, and because they're the BIGGEST of the companies that are doing this, but the "outsourcing of america" as someone earlier called it... is a worldwide trend that THOUSANDS of companies are participating in.

The hate should NOT be focussed on just WM alone.

Which it seems to be.
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No need to YELL. The toolbar has formatting tools that let you make your point more subtly.

Never said it was only Wallmart, never said we shouldn't hate other companies, never said this was only about outsourcing. I happen to be talking about Wallmart in a futile attempt to remain somewhat faithful to the thread topic, I think the big box craze as a whole is a problem and Wallmart is simply the most accomplished entity, and I started my comments by focusing on the impact to the regional economy.

I know it's hard to read all the way to the end of a post when you have so many important things to say, but it really helps keep the conversation directed if you do.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

Wow. One heck of a cut by having the iPhone in Walmart. I didn't think that this would actually happen.
 
This is depressing to me. However, it may just be because I have a hate for Wal-Mart that many others may not share.
Honestly, Wal-Mart is a dirty, unorganized, and evil corporation. I felt the iPhone was a bit more high-class if you will.
 
McPaul said:
It's those midwestern farmers that are Nth generation farmers in their family that the guy is talking about. Sure, if I'm not a farmer, I'm not going to work on a farm. I'm going to hire cheap labor to do it. However, if my farm was passed on through generations upon generations of my family and it's in my blood, I'm a farmer through and through. It's these midwestern farming families that are the driving force of america (and Canada)....
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Thomas Jefferson would be proud to hear that coming from anyone. Many of the voices for farmers are long gone and it is only a matter of time before those who live naïve lives, sucking on the boob tube ruin the last bit of freedom left in the world. Walmart does not have a clean track record, nor do many unobserved corporations. This constant summarization without any evidence or factual information is only going to make things worse. The noble farmer is a dying breed.

McPaul said:
spend some time there
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Driving through is about as useful as watching a biased report or show on TV. I drove through Nebraska and saw a man in overalls passed out in an alley. Should I assume everyone in Nebraska is a drunken whino? Talk to people, understand the situation. I'd like to shake your hand McPaul.
 
Small White Car said:
Having the phones in Best Buy and Wal Mart are critical if they want to reach huge sales numbers.
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That's the only reason I can see for involving Walmart. But there's something I've been wondering: at Best Buy, are the workers on commission? Years ago I worked at Radio Shack, and we would rabidly push certain cell phones because we got higher commissions on certain models. Walmart employees most likely have no stake in what cell phone you buy. And they're probably not going to suggest a more expensive phone like the iPhone, especially if the employees don't actually use the phones themselves. The same I would think would be true at Best Buy (more so if they earn commission). It seems like sales associates would be more likely to push a cell phone that they think the person will buy, hence a cheaper model unless a customer specifically asks for the iPhone.

That might be true of AT&T employees as well. They might be more inclined to push phones with higher profit margins. I guess about the only place the iPhone would be pushed exclusively would be at Apple stores.

Any thoughts on this?
 
One in a million

Wal-Mart must be desperate if they're selling something made in a factory that doesn't involve indentured servitude and gross human rights violations. What next, allow workers to unionize or extend their catalog of U.S.-made goods to more than 20%?

Always exploiting people and communities. Always.™
 
I just want to say
1. Apple is not a corporation, they are a mom and pop shop full of unicorns, rainbows and Oompa Loompas.
2. Apple products are not made in China. They are made by Oompa Loompas who are paid in candy.
3. Apple doesn't make a huge profit. They are a non profit that gives their profits to starving Oompa Loompa children in Oompa Loompa land.
4. Apple hates rampant consumerism. Because Oompa Loompas hate capitalism and Apple really hates you buying their products.

I'm glad I can feel good about buying Apple because they are a different kind of company than that evil Wal-Mart.:rolleyes:
 
misfit356tsw said:
I just want to say
1. Apple is not a corporation, they are a mom and pop shop full of unicorns, rainbows and Oompa Loompas.
2. Apple products are not made in China. They are made by Oompa Loompas who are paid in candy.
3. Apple doesn't make a huge profit. They are a non profit that gives their profits to starving Oompa Loompa children in Oompa Loompa land.
4. Apple hates rampant consumerism. Because Oompa Loompas hate capitalism and Apple really hates you buying their products.

I'm glad I can feel good about buying Apple because they are a different kind of company than that evil Wal-Mart.:rolleyes:
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Best comment about the absurdity of the Wal-Mart hating Apple diehards.
 
In many towns in the midwest Walmart is all there is. It's the supermarket, food court, clothing store, appliance store, tire store, gas station, etc. And without it these small towns would have fewer choices and higher prices.
There are no Apple Stores, At&t stores, Best Buys, etc for these consumers.
 
coolfactor said:
Are there Wal-Marts in countries outside of North America?
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They own Asda - the 3rd largest supermarket chain in the UK, but they've never fully re-branded it as Wal-Mart for some reason. Which is kind of strange as Asda isn't a particularly strong brand being viewed as cheap, nasty and tacky though that has improved.

There are two Asda's near me, both out of town, one big and one massive. Both are open 24 hours a day except for Sunday, they shut late on Saturday, open for 6 hours on Sunday then open early Monday. I'm sure they'd be open 24 hours a day on Sunday but the law in the UK says 6 hours only. I know plenty of people that work there or have worked there and haven't heard any complaints from any of them either.

If anything the supermarket that catches all the flack in the UK is Tesco, who hold the number one spot by some distance and account for something like 1 in 8 £'s spent in the UK in shops. I doubt Wal-Mart or Tesco do anything particularly bad other than being very successful which is why they get such a rough time from people.
 
I object to this with every fiber of my being. This act cheapens the iPhone. Who would want one now? (me of course! but not from WalMart)
 
According to demographic research from 2003 "WalMart is shopped by 84% of US families".
In small towns the Supercenter's are the only game in town.
I think this shows that the average WalMart customer is NOT "too poor to buy an iPhone".
 
THX1139 said:
Yeah, but the people who shop at Walmart are NOT the demographic that supports Apple products because they can't afford them. Have you ever been to a Walmart and noticed the people pushing their carts around? If not, go do that and come back here and explain how you think they will be able to afford the monthly service fees. Most of the people who go to Walmart so they can buy cheap crap. If they need a phone they are going for the pay-as-you-go type deal because that's all they can afford. Especially since they are only giving a measly 2 bucks off.
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I occasionally shop at Walmart. I also use a macbook, an iphone and an ipod nano. I have a Family plan and pay $120+ a month for my wireless service. I also have a $250,000 mortgage and own a couple of pretty nice vehicles. I have a family of 5 and work as a professional in the Financial Industry. When I go to Wal-Mart, I see all types of people. The demographic is pretty representative of the population of our city.

To be honest, I prefer Target for the same types of products, mainly because it is easier to navigate the store and they seem to manage their stock better, but there are certain things that I'll stop by Wal-mart for.

All that being said, I don't appreciate the ignorant, stereotyping that is being made here about what type of people shop at Wal-Mart. Many opinions are being stated here as fact and seem primarily driven by some sort of principled hate of Wal-Mart on moral grounds. There are issues with Wal-Mart...we all know that.

The basic stuff to remember is this; Apple is a corporation that is in the business of making money...generally as much as possible. Wal-mart is the same. It makes sense for them to partner up to make money together...much like the way Apple paired up with AT&T. In fact this, ranting is pretty similar to the posts that went up as soon as Apple announced that partnership almost 2 years ago.
 
dextertangocci said:
I hated Wal-Mart ever since I saw that Family guy episode about it :D
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I was just thinking of that.
.....................................................

It is so funny as a non-American to read through this thread and see the bickering that goes on. Personally I couldn't care less if the iphone is sold at wal-mart because last time i checked there wasn't one in the country i live in. But to everyone that is downing Wal-mart: have you ever heard of tall poppy syndrome? Seriously, from what i know Wal-mart is a shining example of American capitalism, remember that economic practice that you fought for not so long ago? If you don't like it move, thats my principle.
 
misfit356tsw said:
I just want to say
1. Apple is not a corporation, they are a mom and pop shop full of unicorns, rainbows and Oompa Loompas.
2. Apple products are not made in China. They are made by Oompa Loompas who are paid in candy.
3. Apple doesn't make a huge profit. They are a non profit that gives their profits to starving Oompa Loompa children in Oompa Loompa land.
4. Apple hates rampant consumerism. Because Oompa Loompas hate capitalism and Apple really hates you buying their products.

I'm glad I can feel good about buying Apple because they are a different kind of company than that evil Wal-Mart.:rolleyes:
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GREAT!! :)

bluefido said:
Best comment about the absurdity of the Wal-Mart hating Apple diehards.
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Ditto, I feel that most of these posts are from Apple elitists rather than folks that truly care about the condition of humanity. As much as I can't stand the Windows/PC world many of these post make me feel that many of the "apple snob" comments hold some water.
 
I'd still rather stop by the Apple Store to buy an iPhone 3G... I'd get a much better experience for just 2 itty bitty bucks more. Not to mention I will be getting quality service and not some high-school dropout helping me.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
I'd still rather stop by the Apple Store to buy an iPhone 3G... I'd get a much better experience for just 2 itty bitty bucks more. Not to mention I will be getting quality service and not some high-school dropout helping me.
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Sadly the Apple Store doesn't have the proliferation of Wal-Mart. I find the Apple Store employees not to be much more capable either unless they're a Genius.
 
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