jaydisc
30th January 2009, 09:44 AM
Now, when I was a kid and my Dad bought me TFs, it was from Toys R Us, Child World, or in rare situations, the overprice KB Toys. I never really got into Kmart or Target for anything until I started collecting TFs here, and I was always diametrically opposed to Walmart's business practices. They also had not reached New York in my time, so I had no first hand experience.... until now.
When & Where
These things seem to be strategically placed in 6 mile radiuses of each other in any urban area. It's scary. In two hours, I could hit seven of them.
One of the things I always appreciate when visiting the USA, is that every day, except Sunday, is what Australians would call Late Night Shopping (open till 9pm). I was shocked when I called a Walmart to see if by chance they were open a bit later, only to find out they're all open 24 hours a day, every day.
The Less Fortunate
I am certainly not opposed to Walmart giving less fortunate, mentally handicapped people jobs, but I feel that in their case, they do it because they can pay them nothing and make them work ridiculous hours. Walmarts are basically all open 24 hours. And there is always a Walmart greeter ready and waiting to say hello and goodbye, although there's nothing friendly or genuine about it during the night and graveyard shifts. It's sad and depressing.
Beyond the less fortunate, they also specialize in the less desirable. Going during the day is usually painful enough, but asking someone for help or if you have a question after 9-10pm, you're lucky if they just ignore you, and unlucky if they impose their inferiority complex or expressions of authority on you.
Pricing
When I found my first figure of interest, Animated Swindle, in New York, he was priced at US$7.77. That worked out to be about A$13! I assumed this was the standard pricing. However, once I began my trek to Florida, I stopped at another Walmart in Virginia, where I found truckloads of Cyclonus, Hound and Starscream, and they were priced at US$9.96. I asked someone why it was different from the other store and the website and she said they don't price match (:confused:). Another day later, at another Walmart in North Carolina, I found a bunch more, also priced at US$9.96. I posted a question at the TFW2005 sightings if this was a region-based-pricing thing or a sale. Some thought both. No one knew for sure.
When I finally arrived in Florida, I confirmed it's completely an individual store prerogative. In a 20 mile radius, one store had only Universe Deluxes at $7.77, another had only Animated Deluxe at US$7.77, the third had both at US$7.77 and the last had everything at $9.96.
As I had already purchased about 20 deluxes at the higher price, i started to try to get them to refund the difference. The first time I tried it, I only had about 5-6 figures on me and with only some slight persistence, they refunded the difference. The next day I went back with all the remaining figures, and had them do the same. Bonus!
So, of course, this is the upside of the moral dilemma that is Walmart. They have the best prices and best selection by a long shot, but they're notorious for treating you like shit, taking advantage of staff, censoring content and muscling manufacturers & distributors.
No One Makes You Shop at Walmart
This reminds me of an interview I heard with the author of the above named book describing the the Walmart effect and how it was destroying town's main streets and smaller businesses. And while no one really wanted that end effect, the sum of their collective actions was the obvious cause of it. The analogy he used was: say that you were walking through a field and you just finished a can of soda, and you couldn't find a bin. Of course, you have two simple options. Discard it on the ground or take it to a bin. Now, if this situation and its result is completely isolated to you, there's really not that much harm in you discarding it. However, this is not the way of life. We are not one person on this world. We are many, and if everyone does that, it has a detrimental effect. Same here. Sure, I love Walmart pricing and selection, but what am I causing and effecting?
On one of my midnight, six-store runs, I found a Swindle on a $7.77 peg and grabbed it, only to realize the next day that in my haste, I never confirmed the price at checkout and they charged me $9.96. I went back the next night, left Swindle in the car and had a perusal of the shelves and sure enough, the $7.77 peg tags were still there, although there were also $9.96 tags also saying "TRA Animated Deluxe" with different codes (not UPCs, Walmart codes). I went back to the car, grabbed Swindle and the receipt and went to returns and explained the situation. The lady came from behind the counter and said she would go check. I asked her if I should come and she gave me some snide comment like, "Uh, no. Believe it or not, I work here and no where it came from." I slightly rolled my eyes and patently waited what seemed like 10+ minutes for her to check and come back and she said there were three pegs and they all said $9.96. I said, "You want me to show you now?" and took her to the pegs and next to her three pegs of $9.96 were 6 (empty pegs) at $7.77. She said the code was different. i asked her how she correlated Swindle to EITHER of the codes as it didn't match. She couldn't answer, and I said, well then just give me a full refund. She obliged. As I was leaving, I told her that her position was ridiculous.
After nearing the exit, I saw her grab another staff member and start walking back to the toy area. I coyly followed and observed in adjacent, parallel aisles. They stopped and started pointing at the pegs and I approached. I asked what they were discussing if this was such a "regular" situation. I asked for a manager and the 2nd lady snidely identified herself as one. I re-explained the situation and could see the pleasure she took in rejecting me. I asked her for her name and the store number and wrote both down in my phone. I then went to take a picture of the pegs and to my absolute shock, they both dived in front of my phone saying it was store policy that NO PICTURES were permitted. I asked them to show me this policy. No. I started discussing the situation again while coyly positioning them away from the pegs and secretly positioning my camera. Then i leaned and snapped the pic and the two of 'em started screaming, and got on their walky talkies, "Call the Sheriff's Department. We got a guy that just took a picture after we gave him a direct order not to." I started laughing and casually walked to the exit while they appeared to be rushing for the phones. While not showing it, I was feeling a combination of eagerness and nervousness at the thought of having a discussion with a policeman about having to take a picture of a price tag so that I'd have proof of a situation when discussing it with the real manager.
Needless to say, no one stopped me, no one took down my number plate. No one called anyone and no one followed anything up. It was all idle threats.
By the 2nd to last day of my trip and my final midnight run, I was do disgusted with the Walmart experience and my willingness to participate and accept it.
Quite differently to Australia, Target's are THE BIG AND UPCOMING THING in the USA. They're potentially a challenger to Walmart's dominance, and their staff and customer service are nothing short of outstanding: Bright, cheerful and helpful. In my last week, Smokescreen, Dinobot, Inferno and Wreck-Gar were all sighted at Targets, so I was hitting those daily and avoiding Walmart as much as possible until that final trip.
I don't know what I'd do if I lived in the USA. Target's Universe Deluxes were on sale for 3 weeks until Feb 9 for $8.99, which was $1.22 higher than Walmart's $7.77 if and when I could find it. Was it worth it? In hindsight, I don't think so.
So, one final parting thought. One of the things that Walmart does is use its size to start to dictate terms to manufacturers, resellers and distributors. As some here have pointed out, it's Walmart that sets the prices of Transformers and it's Walmart that even has gone so far as to insist that figures that were intended for Universe (Fracture, Crankcase, etc.) appear in Movie packaging as that was selling well. Also, naturally, they are able to negotiate a cheaper wholesale price. Does that latter practice sound like any local retailer in Australia? C'mon, even compare their names and logos.
Here are their old logos:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartlogoold.jpg http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/bigwlogoold.jpg
Here are their new logos:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartlogonew.gif http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/bigwlogonew.jpg
I just did a quick Google to see if this was as blatantly obvious to anyone else and Wikipedia's Big W article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_W) came out on top with this excerpt:
Many of the techniques used by Big W in promotions are nearly identical to the US chain Wal-Mart, such as the in store "smiley face" and the "price rollback".[citation needed] Indeed, former Woolworths Chief Executive Officer and former Big W Managing Director, Roger Corbett, has a mentor relationship with a former President of Wal-Mart, and has been appointed to the board of the American retailer.[citation needed]
Well, that sounds like a rational explanation, but I'm leaning towards a greater conspiracy theory. Everything about Big W's methods and growth shows a synergy. I believe Big W to be a Walmart global experiment... to see if their winning formula in the USA has legs elsewhere. Be afraid... be afraid.
And now some gratuitous pics taken during my Walmart Adventures:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb1.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart1.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb2.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart2.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb3.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart3.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb4.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart4.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb5.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart5.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb6.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart6.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb7.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart7.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb8.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart8.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb9.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart9.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb10.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart10.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb11.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart11.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb12.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart12.jpg)
When & Where
These things seem to be strategically placed in 6 mile radiuses of each other in any urban area. It's scary. In two hours, I could hit seven of them.
One of the things I always appreciate when visiting the USA, is that every day, except Sunday, is what Australians would call Late Night Shopping (open till 9pm). I was shocked when I called a Walmart to see if by chance they were open a bit later, only to find out they're all open 24 hours a day, every day.
The Less Fortunate
I am certainly not opposed to Walmart giving less fortunate, mentally handicapped people jobs, but I feel that in their case, they do it because they can pay them nothing and make them work ridiculous hours. Walmarts are basically all open 24 hours. And there is always a Walmart greeter ready and waiting to say hello and goodbye, although there's nothing friendly or genuine about it during the night and graveyard shifts. It's sad and depressing.
Beyond the less fortunate, they also specialize in the less desirable. Going during the day is usually painful enough, but asking someone for help or if you have a question after 9-10pm, you're lucky if they just ignore you, and unlucky if they impose their inferiority complex or expressions of authority on you.
Pricing
When I found my first figure of interest, Animated Swindle, in New York, he was priced at US$7.77. That worked out to be about A$13! I assumed this was the standard pricing. However, once I began my trek to Florida, I stopped at another Walmart in Virginia, where I found truckloads of Cyclonus, Hound and Starscream, and they were priced at US$9.96. I asked someone why it was different from the other store and the website and she said they don't price match (:confused:). Another day later, at another Walmart in North Carolina, I found a bunch more, also priced at US$9.96. I posted a question at the TFW2005 sightings if this was a region-based-pricing thing or a sale. Some thought both. No one knew for sure.
When I finally arrived in Florida, I confirmed it's completely an individual store prerogative. In a 20 mile radius, one store had only Universe Deluxes at $7.77, another had only Animated Deluxe at US$7.77, the third had both at US$7.77 and the last had everything at $9.96.
As I had already purchased about 20 deluxes at the higher price, i started to try to get them to refund the difference. The first time I tried it, I only had about 5-6 figures on me and with only some slight persistence, they refunded the difference. The next day I went back with all the remaining figures, and had them do the same. Bonus!
So, of course, this is the upside of the moral dilemma that is Walmart. They have the best prices and best selection by a long shot, but they're notorious for treating you like shit, taking advantage of staff, censoring content and muscling manufacturers & distributors.
No One Makes You Shop at Walmart
This reminds me of an interview I heard with the author of the above named book describing the the Walmart effect and how it was destroying town's main streets and smaller businesses. And while no one really wanted that end effect, the sum of their collective actions was the obvious cause of it. The analogy he used was: say that you were walking through a field and you just finished a can of soda, and you couldn't find a bin. Of course, you have two simple options. Discard it on the ground or take it to a bin. Now, if this situation and its result is completely isolated to you, there's really not that much harm in you discarding it. However, this is not the way of life. We are not one person on this world. We are many, and if everyone does that, it has a detrimental effect. Same here. Sure, I love Walmart pricing and selection, but what am I causing and effecting?
On one of my midnight, six-store runs, I found a Swindle on a $7.77 peg and grabbed it, only to realize the next day that in my haste, I never confirmed the price at checkout and they charged me $9.96. I went back the next night, left Swindle in the car and had a perusal of the shelves and sure enough, the $7.77 peg tags were still there, although there were also $9.96 tags also saying "TRA Animated Deluxe" with different codes (not UPCs, Walmart codes). I went back to the car, grabbed Swindle and the receipt and went to returns and explained the situation. The lady came from behind the counter and said she would go check. I asked her if I should come and she gave me some snide comment like, "Uh, no. Believe it or not, I work here and no where it came from." I slightly rolled my eyes and patently waited what seemed like 10+ minutes for her to check and come back and she said there were three pegs and they all said $9.96. I said, "You want me to show you now?" and took her to the pegs and next to her three pegs of $9.96 were 6 (empty pegs) at $7.77. She said the code was different. i asked her how she correlated Swindle to EITHER of the codes as it didn't match. She couldn't answer, and I said, well then just give me a full refund. She obliged. As I was leaving, I told her that her position was ridiculous.
After nearing the exit, I saw her grab another staff member and start walking back to the toy area. I coyly followed and observed in adjacent, parallel aisles. They stopped and started pointing at the pegs and I approached. I asked what they were discussing if this was such a "regular" situation. I asked for a manager and the 2nd lady snidely identified herself as one. I re-explained the situation and could see the pleasure she took in rejecting me. I asked her for her name and the store number and wrote both down in my phone. I then went to take a picture of the pegs and to my absolute shock, they both dived in front of my phone saying it was store policy that NO PICTURES were permitted. I asked them to show me this policy. No. I started discussing the situation again while coyly positioning them away from the pegs and secretly positioning my camera. Then i leaned and snapped the pic and the two of 'em started screaming, and got on their walky talkies, "Call the Sheriff's Department. We got a guy that just took a picture after we gave him a direct order not to." I started laughing and casually walked to the exit while they appeared to be rushing for the phones. While not showing it, I was feeling a combination of eagerness and nervousness at the thought of having a discussion with a policeman about having to take a picture of a price tag so that I'd have proof of a situation when discussing it with the real manager.
Needless to say, no one stopped me, no one took down my number plate. No one called anyone and no one followed anything up. It was all idle threats.
By the 2nd to last day of my trip and my final midnight run, I was do disgusted with the Walmart experience and my willingness to participate and accept it.
Quite differently to Australia, Target's are THE BIG AND UPCOMING THING in the USA. They're potentially a challenger to Walmart's dominance, and their staff and customer service are nothing short of outstanding: Bright, cheerful and helpful. In my last week, Smokescreen, Dinobot, Inferno and Wreck-Gar were all sighted at Targets, so I was hitting those daily and avoiding Walmart as much as possible until that final trip.
I don't know what I'd do if I lived in the USA. Target's Universe Deluxes were on sale for 3 weeks until Feb 9 for $8.99, which was $1.22 higher than Walmart's $7.77 if and when I could find it. Was it worth it? In hindsight, I don't think so.
So, one final parting thought. One of the things that Walmart does is use its size to start to dictate terms to manufacturers, resellers and distributors. As some here have pointed out, it's Walmart that sets the prices of Transformers and it's Walmart that even has gone so far as to insist that figures that were intended for Universe (Fracture, Crankcase, etc.) appear in Movie packaging as that was selling well. Also, naturally, they are able to negotiate a cheaper wholesale price. Does that latter practice sound like any local retailer in Australia? C'mon, even compare their names and logos.
Here are their old logos:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartlogoold.jpg http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/bigwlogoold.jpg
Here are their new logos:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartlogonew.gif http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/bigwlogonew.jpg
I just did a quick Google to see if this was as blatantly obvious to anyone else and Wikipedia's Big W article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_W) came out on top with this excerpt:
Many of the techniques used by Big W in promotions are nearly identical to the US chain Wal-Mart, such as the in store "smiley face" and the "price rollback".[citation needed] Indeed, former Woolworths Chief Executive Officer and former Big W Managing Director, Roger Corbett, has a mentor relationship with a former President of Wal-Mart, and has been appointed to the board of the American retailer.[citation needed]
Well, that sounds like a rational explanation, but I'm leaning towards a greater conspiracy theory. Everything about Big W's methods and growth shows a synergy. I believe Big W to be a Walmart global experiment... to see if their winning formula in the USA has legs elsewhere. Be afraid... be afraid.
And now some gratuitous pics taken during my Walmart Adventures:
http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb1.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart1.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb2.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart2.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb3.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart3.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb4.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart4.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb5.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart5.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb6.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart6.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb7.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart7.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb8.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart8.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb9.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart9.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb10.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart10.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb11.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart11.jpg) http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmartthumb12.jpg (http://lindalane.com/temporary/tf/walmart12.jpg)