[ericole]

So since you aren't part of a union, you are shill - as defined. :)

[ericole]

agree about Wal-mart - simple economics even though libs want to make it "moral"

agree about phones - we have one tracfone b/c we don't NEED to be reachable 24/7 ( nor do we want to be). We also realize we don't NEED to reach anyone else that way either. Tracfone fits the bill of "in case of emergencies" perfectly and is all MOST Americans really NEED.

[ericole]

This line in your own post shows how you miss it:

"As a supplier you are forced to become a high-volume, low-quality, low-profit stooge."

So then how do you explain brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Bill Blass, Yvest Saint lauren, etc, etc, etc??? You can go to Wal-Mart to get the things you describe above, but there are MANY things you are not going to find at Wal-Mart b/c they aren't going to meet that description.

We go to Wal-Mart for the staples - food (same brands as any other food store unless its a generic of a particular store), cleaning products (again, same brands as anywhere else), and basic health care items (toothpaste, etc). How many other retailers are carrying the same items, usually for more, but are surviving? How many grocery store chains can you name? How many other retailers can you name?

The simple lack of retailers like Wal-mart in major metropolitan cities (Boston, NY, etc) is one of the main reason the cost of living is so high in those places. People definitely do not live better there b/c they have to spend so much just to get the basics.

[pbh444]

You people need to think outside the box:

Walmart lauching a new IPhone 10 days before Steve Jobs could do it?
Walmart exclusively selling an IPhone model that AT&T and Best Buy don't
have?

As I wrote in my blog on Sunday, analysts believe Apple needs
to differentiate their IPhone line in a way similar to the way they differentiated their
IPod line.

Thus "a $99 IPhone could serve as a low end or entry phone, the 8GB as a
midrange IPhone, and the 16GB IPhone could be positioned as a high end
IPhone with a greater megapixel camera, flash, video and maybe even a
memory boost to 32GB."

Just as there are people whose needs are satified by the shuffle, and some
by the Nano, some by the Touch, there will be people satisfied at each price point
in the continuum outlined above.

To continue from my prophetic blog of Sunday:

"My $1099 bet: there will be a $99 IPhone introduced in the next month,
but it will not launch at Walmart on December 28.

"Walmart has positioned itself, trained its staff, and will be ready
to pump out the $99 4GB IPhones the moment the iconic Steve Jobs
announces it with his typical aplomb [at MacWorld]. (Assuming, of course,
he doesn't shrink away to nothing before then.)

I could imagine Jobs on stage in his turtleneck, the screen is
illuminated, the number $99 appears, and at that very moment, Walmart
employees begin pushing out crates of $99 IPhones to the floor."


From:

"A $99 4GB IPhone at Walmart in January"

http://pressherald.m...ost/036749.html

[moikle]

Yes -- Walmart does have inexpensive prices -- though usually not the lowest ones (especially food prices unless all you want is non-nutritious food such as white bread and white sugar) -- but these prices often come with a hidden cost. Walmart routinely has companies build special editions of their products that use lower quality components than what you might find in other stores. While I do occasionally shop at Walmart, I would never buy any electronics/computer hardware there for precisely this reason. A smarter way to shop would be to first determine the item and precise model you desire, via independent reviews, then shop for the item.