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Author Topic: O/T How WalMart ate America
Jackson Smart
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This is really amazing when you see it in this perspective. Almost like a tumor.....

I knew they were big....but...DAMN!

http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/


Jackson

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Jackson Smart
Jackson's Signs
Port Angeles, WA
...."The Straits of Juan De Fuca in my front yard and Olympic National Park in my backyard...

"Living on Earth is expensive...but it does include a free trip around the Sun"

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Jon Jantz
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Hmmmm....only 3,176 stores nationwide? I thought we had that many just here in our area...

That's a cool graphic though.

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Jon Jantz
Snappysign.com
jjantz21@gmail.com
http://www.allcw.com

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Todd Gill
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Wow! It's great to see capitalism working in America...as well as knowing that I can get reasonably priced products almost anywhere in the United States from one of the countries largest providers of employment.

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Todd Gill
Outside The Lines
Potterville, MI

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Jon Jantz
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Actually, I was just reading that WalMart has over 4,100 stores in the U.S. and over 3,100 stores in Canada and the rest of the world.

So, over 7,200 stores total.... that is impressive when you think about it.

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Jon Jantz
Snappysign.com
jjantz21@gmail.com
http://www.allcw.com

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Alicia B. Jennings
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And this doesn't even mention their international stores. Walmart, Walmart, we all shop at Walmart! Walmart Hospital? Walmart Banking? Walmart Elderly Care? Walmart Home Building Center? Walmart Automotive Care? Walmart Mass Transportation Systems? AKA "The Walmart Shuttle" Walmart, within 1 mile, of your front door. Ahhhh, I'm gonna shoot myself!!!!!

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Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl)
Tacoma, WA
Since 1987
Have Lipstick, will travel.

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Alicia B. Jennings
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Ahhh, I thought of another one! "Walmart Drive-Thru Signs"

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Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl)
Tacoma, WA
Since 1987
Have Lipstick, will travel.

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Dave Grundy
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Don't forget the "Bodega Aurrera"s all over Mexico which are lower end WalMarts that live in harmony with the brand named WalMarts!!!!

And, of course, there are the "Sam's Clubs" all over the place, including Mexico.

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Dave Grundy
retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada
1-519-262-3651 Canada
011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell
1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home

dave.grundy@hotmail.com

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Amy Brown
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If everyone would have realistic prices on their items rather than trying to rip everyone off Wal-Mart would have competition.

All of these stores that are hurting are selling things like sweatshirts that were tagged $70-100 for $10. They are probably still making more thsn 70% profit.

Heck, I went to the movies with my daughter this week and it cost $15 for us to go through the door and $8.50 for a small popcorn and small drink that we shared. What a rip off. Want more people to go to the movies, sell things at realistic prices.

And before anyone goes off about what they pay the employees and how they treat them, I know several people who work or have worked at Wal-Mart and were paid well above minimum wage. There are not many places that will give you benefits for part-time work. Some people just refuse to work hard and improve their status in the organization feeling like the whole world owes them something.

Heck, you couldn't get a job at a Wal-Mart here if you tried. Top executives who are now jobless are begging them to mop the floors!!

Anyway, that's my two cents! [Big Grin]

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Amy Brown
Life Skills 101
Private Address

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Patrick Whatley
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I hate Wal-Mart.

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Pat Whatley
Montgomery, AL
(334) 262-7446 office
(334) 324-8465 cell

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Glenn Taylor
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Me too. How dare they become a successful business offering lower prices. I bet the thousands of people who asked for a job there wished they go out of business so other companies will charge higher prices for the same goods and services.

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BlueDog Graphics
Wilson, NC

www.BlueDogUSA.com

Warning: A well designed sign may cause fatigue due to increased business.

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Dawud Shaheed
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It's funny how while everyone here talks of quality and their business being the most expensive in town and how the vy-null jockeys are ruining the business and aaaaaaaaaaaaaw, THE BIDDING WARSSS!!!
But while walmart nickel and dimes every clothing store, jeweler, florist, hardware/paint store to death all of a sudden we're in LOVE with low prices (and quality) I hate Walmart too.
Only because I can't stand the way walmart bathrooms smell and how some 17 year old girl with a Tupac shirt on under her smock is checking my receipt on the way out as if I stole something.
No, really it's because I always root for the underdog and Walmart is clearly NOT the underdog.
My wife drags me there and I wander around looking at the product packaging getting design ideas, the highlight of my shopping experience.

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Dawud Shaheed
Sign Scientist
Durham (triangle area) N.C
919 685 7641
signscientist@aol.com
www.signscientist.com

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Bruce Bowers
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Gee, maybe the girl at the door is just doing the job she is getting paid to do? Maybe she is taking her responsibility seriously?

Nah, she must be some 17 year old know nothing rapper wannabe that has nothing better to do than harass people on the way out the door treating them like common thieves... Grow up, dude.

I got no problem with Wal-Mart. I don't shop there much because I prefer Target. Both stores are excellent examples of how to run successfully in an economic downturn.

Funny, I used to buy my Avery Vinyl from Fred down at Carolina Vinyl. Fred beat the prices of our previous supplier in price and service. I liked the old supplier. They came to my shop three times a week.

That was up until Gregory beat Fred's price by $50.00 a roll and the turnaround time was reduced by a couple of days. Heck, when we would typically order three to six rolls at a time, the savings were significant. Avery vinyl was Avery vinyl was Avery vinyl no matter where I bought it.

Same thing goes for other stuff. If I can buy cans of Krylon for 2 bucks cheaper than at Sherwin williams, why shouldn't I?

I wouldn't make a special trip to save the couple of bucks but if I was going there anyways for other stuff, what the heck?

If I was going to buy a TV, why should I feel compelled to pay 100 more dollars for the same TV somewhere else? Just because it is a local store and it is a "mom and pop" shop?

Same goes for those 100 dollar sweatshirts Miss Amy was talking about. Maybe a pair of shoes. Coffee. Soup. Pens. Paper. The list is endless.

I never understood the constant bashing Wal-Mart gets on here. They market themselves well, run an efficient operation, and demand their suppliers give them the best deals possible.

If any one of us ran an identical formula and were that successful, you people would hail them as some sort of demi-god.

I had to laugh... most shops around my old shop didn't like us. Why? Because we kicked their ass. In quality. In skills. In design. The list goes on. Being the first and only sign shop in Western New York to get featured in SignCraft didn't endear us to anyone, either. Wah wah wah.

Success breeds contempt.

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Bruce Bowers

DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design
Saint Cloud, Minnesota


"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter

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Russ McMullin
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My opinon mirrors yours, Bruce. I have never disliked Walmart, and I shop there often. I don't see a moral difference between shopping at Walmart, or Target, Shopko or Kmart, Circuit City or BestBuy. They are all the same to me. They sell the same products as their competitors. Sometimes one place is cheaper; sometimes the other place is.

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Russ McMullin
Tooele, UT
www.mcmullincreative.com

My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone.

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Russ McMullin
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double post

[ January 25, 2009, 03:14 AM: Message edited by: Russ McMullin ]

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Russ McMullin
Tooele, UT
www.mcmullincreative.com

My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone.

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bruce ward
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how can you hate walmart. I went there yesterday and bought a 22oz framing hammer for $20, home depot across the street wanted $32, its a no brainer. and after you sort thru all their cheap a$$ chinese products you cant beat them.

although their meats do suck.

I have to wonder IF one day they will also meet their demise from being so large

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You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore

http://www.visual-images-signs.com/#!

VISUAL IMAGES
MONTGOMERY, AL


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Dawud Shaheed
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Sarcasm doesn't come across too well on the internet. Then when people come by on their high horses saying things like "grow up, dude"
that's what breeds contempt.

just sayin'

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Dawud Shaheed
Sign Scientist
Durham (triangle area) N.C
919 685 7641
signscientist@aol.com
www.signscientist.com

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Bob Moroney
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Walmart has destroyed downtown America and thousands of micro/small business's whose nitch was high quality, product knowledge, customer service, and community support.

Yes, they do offer savings, but they don't provide the level of community support, tax revenue, customer information, or employee salary level of the many local business's they forced out of business.

How much support will Walmart get here when they start offering sign shop services?

I hate "BIG" because they eat the small. I'll stay with supporting the local small business's instead chasing discounts where it's a matter of time before our industry is their next marketing push.

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Bob Moroney
The Sign Guy
310 Club Valley Drive
Falmouth, MA 02536
508-259-6297

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Bob Rochon
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quote:
Originally posted by Amy Brown:
If everyone would have realistic prices on their items rather than trying to rip everyone off Wal-Mart would have competition.


Boy that sounds so similar to what I've read here when a customer tells one of us that, after going to a franchise or a low-baller shop. It's that same mentality that a LOT of us come here to bitch about. But somehow it seems to work when WE fall into that mentality.

The products in Walmart are NOT the same as the ones you could find in another store usually.

So it's not like buying Avery vinyl, and believing that the vinyl will be the same as long as it has the Avery name.

Levi's were a prime example.

I know this story is 4 years old but if you have the time please watch this PBS special and then feel warm and fuzzy about this corporation that is running on greed and bullying.

Walmart what you don't know.

Like Walmart or not, thier business practices have severely hurt this country and it's economy. Walmart makes certain it won't have much if any competition, now and in the future. Somehow it's ok that those 10 dollar sweatshirts are made by workers in conditions that we ourselves would not work in or even allow in our own country. Using chemicals and materials that are NOT safe or allowed in this country. But we turn our eyes very easily because we saved money so we can fuel our obese appetite of consumerism

[ January 25, 2009, 09:42 AM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]

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Bob Rochon
Creative Signworks
Millbury, MA
508-865-7330

"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you."

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Dale Feicke
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I pretty much have to go with Bob. I do shop at Wal-Mart at times, but it's because I have a list of vastly different things, and I can most likely get them all at Wally's. I do like the concept of being able to get a CD, a head of lettuce, a bottle of vitamins, and a set of tires on my car, while getting a haircut at the same time.

That said, I believe the whole concept of the stores has gone away. When Sam Walton started Wal-Mart, it featured mostly American-made items, that provided jobs and livelihoods for thousands of rural people who worked for small manufacturing operations, particularly here in the south, but all over the country. Now, since, he's gone, you're hard-pressed to even find anything made in America, and many of these small manufacturers have closed their doors.

They, along with Sam's, closely monitor product sales, and regularly discontinue items for profit reasons, rather than needs of the customers. We regularly shop for low/no fat food items and low/no salt products. Those have become endangered species on Wal-Mart shelves over time, obviously they don't move as fast as some others. But at the same time, the fat-laden snack food aisles, and the breaded, processed pre-cooked, fast-food wannabe chicken products are ever-expanding....see where the priorities are. Other lower-profit areas are disappearing also. My wife sews and makes quilts. Many stores have completely done away with their dry-goods departments, scaled down their craft supplies, and shoe departments. Where they once carried some brand name shoes, most are plastic or some cheapo unheard-of name brand.

You also have to watch their creative pricing on many items. One week you can buy a can of Campbell's soup for 60 cents less than at mom/pop's; and the next week, it's 50 cents more. If you don't comparison shop, you can get burnt. And, I'm sure this is intentional on their part. Get 'em hooked, then burn 'em up.

There are good and bad points about Wal-Mart, but I feel the bad outweigh the good. Many great family stores and businesses have gone away because they couldn't compete. Many customers no longer care about quality, just as in our business; and only shop for price. But, it's the way of the world/country today, and I guess we'll just have to live with it for now. I'm sure there's no bigger company than Wal-Mart, waiting in the wings to buy them out.

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Dale Feicke Grafix
714 East St.
Mendenhall, MS 39114

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."

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Glenn Taylor
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What's interesting to me is that Walmart isn't always the cheapest place to buy.

Suffice it to say, my wife is a "shopper".

About a month or so ago, she went to Farm Fresh instead of Walmart to buy groceries. Farm fresh was offering something like double or triple coupons and on top of that the cereal she buys was on sale.

Long story short, she bought 6 boxes of cereal (Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes, Rice Crispies, and whatever else) and paid 40˘ for all of it.

She went back the following week and bought 6 more boxes and ended up paying $1 for all of it.

She does this kind of thing all the time.

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BlueDog Graphics
Wilson, NC

www.BlueDogUSA.com

Warning: A well designed sign may cause fatigue due to increased business.

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Dawud Shaheed
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that's the business, Glenn. Hi-fives all around for bargain shopping wives!

--------------------
Dawud Shaheed
Sign Scientist
Durham (triangle area) N.C
919 685 7641
signscientist@aol.com
www.signscientist.com

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Cam Bortz
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Walmart is not necessarily a cause of what we perceive as national decline, but it is a very big, visible symptom.

Look at the longsstnding institutions of this country, how they present themselves; for example, the local branch office of a big, national-brand bank. Remember when a banks were solid, substantial buildings? That wasn't just to provide physical protection to the hard-money assets they contained, it was also psychological; a physical reminder that banking was a serious, no-nonsense business, an institution that an average American could trust. Now look at the buildings they put up. Fake colums and pediments, a faux-brick veneer over an aluminum-framed box, furnished and outfitted with the cheapest sh*t imaginable. The whole thing has the structural and psychic integrity of a fast-food joint; from that, what are we to think of the "serious and trustworthy" business practices that go on there?

We are living in a country that has ecome so degraded, morally and economically, that our local and state governments turn to casino gambling as a substitute for economic development. Our Town Halls have been taken over by gangs of unionized bureaucrats, using taxpayers money to bribe legislatures to give them lifetime guaranteed employment and benefits on the backs of the same taxpayers. Our Federal Government has become a vast, unlimited ATM machine for failing industries and institutions: Mark my words - all that money is not a cure, its jut an ever-increasing morphine drip designed to ease the pain of dying.

Roman citizens, living in the 4th century AD, where equally convinced, I'm sure, that the collapse they saw happening all around them was a "temporary downturn." I'm sorry, but I don't see the growth of Walmart as a sign of "efficient American free enterprise". Blowflies and maggots are efficient at stripping the flesh off a corpse, too, but is that the example we want to follow?

I hope I'm wrong about all this. I really do. But the only way we can preserve and protect what we have is for all of us - liberal, conservative, left, right, ALL of us - to stop pretending that black is white, that consequences can be avoided, and that someone, somehow, is going to pull our collective balls out of the vise we pretend in't closing on them. If we as a country continue to allow the ease of the disease to be so much more seductive than the cure, God help U.S.

[ January 25, 2009, 10:42 AM: Message edited by: Cam Bortz ]

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"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle


Cam Bortz
Finest Kind Signs
Pondside Iron works
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"

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David Wright
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Sorry Cam, you are not wrong. You'll get no points or honor for stating what has been obvious for years to those that really want to know.

This is a symptom of a long and precipitous decline for western countries especially this one.

Why is cheap always good except in our business, then it about quality, craftsmanship and integrity.

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Wright Signs
Wyandotte, Michigan

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Todd Gill
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People often try and compare "Walmart" with the "Cheap Sign guys" in this forum.

There's a big difference.

The Cheap Sign Guys price their stuff so low that they cannot maintain a profit substantial enough to keep them in business.

Walmart apparently knows what their margins need to be...last I checked, their stock has been consistantly on the rise and they continue to build more stores and employ more people.

Some people will always try and knock down success - I guess it somehow makes them feel better about their lack of same.

Walmart is not so different from a drug dealer;
They wouldn't supply a certain product if there wasn't a demand for it.

So, if people quit buying Chinese stuff from them, and just bought US or favored nation products....eventually Walmart would stop stocking Chinese crap.

It's not so difficult to understand, is it?

Beyond that, they must be one of the biggest employers in America and elsewhere...so, even if they do sell Chinese crap - they still provide income to those seeking work.

Regarding shirts/clothing made in sweat-shops? LOL...yeah, right. You just look at any store you go to...you'll be very hard pressed to find clothing made in the United States. Most of it comes from Asia....so I don't see that as even a valid point.

I try and buy American wherever I can...but sometimes there simply isn't a home country alternative.

--------------------
Todd Gill
Outside The Lines
Potterville, MI

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Rene Giroux
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Has anyone seen the movie "wall-e" ?

See the link ?.....

[Cool]

--------------------
Rene Giroux
Perfexion.ca
Gatineau, QC.

www.renegiroux.com


I'd rather regret things I did than things I didn't do!

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Cam Bortz
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If Walmart and other big-box retailers operated on a level playing field, I wouldn't find them so egregious. But they have openly manipulated trade policy, forced suppliers to close domestic plants and import goods from Asia, all in the pursuit of underselling every other retailer, no matter what.
But as I said, Walmart isn't the cause, it's a symptom. The causes are in the values we hold and the day-to-day decision making based on those values. Our entire society has become based on consumerism, on buying staggering amounts of unnecessary crap, mostly on impulse or because it looks like a deal. We have such an absolutely stunning array of choices of the goods available for purchase, that it blinds us to the the choice of NOT buying something. Be honest, does anyone NEED 90% of the crap at Walmart? We've become a country where a major industry is "self-storage" - renting space to stuff all the extraneous junk we have no use for, all the stupid bread machines, espresso-makers, excercise equipment, and video game consoles, the cross-country skis, mountain bikes and tennis rackets that were apparently so much more fun to buy, than to actually use. And to top it off, we bought all that junk on credit, on which we'll pay that 12.9% APR minimum balance to VISA for the next fifteen or twenty years. If Americans actually limited themselves to buying what they actually NEED, and paying for it with real money, Walmart and the rest of the discount/junk retailers wouldn't have this stranglehold on the economy.
Self-storage? Wait until that term becomes literal, in that people start living in them. People think THESE are hard times, they ain't seen nothin' yet.

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"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle


Cam Bortz
Finest Kind Signs
Pondside Iron works
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"

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Bob Rochon
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Cam makes some great points, and Todd did you even read the link I posted? You don't get it, it's not about the products they sell, it's how they do business.

Hell I go there when I have to, not saying I never do. but I will never stand in awe of Walmart, success maybe, but at what cost and to whom? I will be the first one to applaud anyone at thier success, but if you are successful by the means in which they do it, then shame on you.

[ January 26, 2009, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]

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Bob Rochon
Creative Signworks
Millbury, MA
508-865-7330

"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you."

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Stephen Deveau
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This is a true story.

Where I live there is a company that is a grocery outlet (Home Grown) for over 100 years.

They allowed Wally-World to set up shop on their property, close to 10,000 sq. feet.

Next Wally-World desided to start selling groceries!

Wrong move on their part as the owner of the land said to fold up and get out.

Wally-World moved down the road 3-4 KM.
on free openland space and guest who set up shop next to them!
Wally-World has nothing to offer me as I buy Canadian!

[ January 25, 2009, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: Stephen Deveau ]

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Stephen Deveau
RavenGraphics
Insinx Digital Displays

Letting Your Imagination Run Wild!

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Bob Gilliland
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quote:
Originally posted by Todd Gill:
Some people will always try and knock down success - I guess it somehow makes them feel better about their lack of same.

Truly, truly – I read that in various posts and replies in Letterville, I receive emails about it from here, I get phone calls about it from here. How true, how true – so much easier sit and complain and play the role of victim than to put forth the effort to succeed.

quote:
Originally posted by Cam Bortz:
But as I said, Walmart isn't the cause, it's a symptom. The causes are in the values we hold and the day-to-day decision making based on those values. Our entire society has become based on consumerism, on buying staggering amounts of unnecessary crap, mostly on impulse or because it looks like a deal. We have such an absolutely stunning array of choices of the goods available for purchase, that it blinds us to the the choice of NOT buying something.

The teacher of a recent Sunday school adult elective class (targeted finances and stewardship), who also happens to be an elder, commented early in the course about our Americans society today:

“We buy things we don’t need-
to impress people we don’t know-
with money we don’t have.”


Simple, to the point, and from my perspective, oh so true.

Interesting you mention the Romans Cam; I see many parallels in today’s society (United States) with that of the Romans. That would be a wonderful discussion to have, unfortunate, this is not the appropriate place for such.

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Bob Gilliland
InKnowVative Communications
Harrisburg PA, USA


"The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it.
You have to catch up with it yourself."

Benjamin Franklin

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Kelly Thorson
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I have no qualms about supporting chinese workers, they work hard for way less and appreciate it way more.

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“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?”
-Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne

Kelly Thorson
Kel-T-Grafix
801 Main St.
Holdfast, SK
S0G 2H0
ktg@sasktel.net

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David Wright
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It's good your so magnanimous about it Kelly, you will probably make the adjustment to working for them in the future. (Since they hold so much of our assets and control our economic future, we probably are working for them already).

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Wright Signs
Wyandotte, Michigan

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Alicia B. Jennings
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I thought of some more,,,Walmart Airports? Walmart Caribbean Cruises?, Walmart Rent_A-Centers? and of course the Low-Cost Law Offices of Walmart?

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Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl)
Tacoma, WA
Since 1987
Have Lipstick, will travel.

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Mike Pipes
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Well, that first round of economic stimulus checks that went out to Americans was thanks to money borrowed from China, so yeah, David Wright, you're right.

The other side of the coin is that as the US sends its money to China via the products it buys, the Chinese people are enjoying an increased standard of living. In China, Wal Mart is where the well-off Chinese go to get the high end and innovative American imports.

Oh, the irony. Americans seeking out cheap and the Chinese looking for quality, yet both are buying stuff for the sake of having more stuff.

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"If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."

Mike Pipes
stickerpimp.com
Lake Havasu, AZ
mike@stickerpimp.com

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Joey Madden
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What I have to say has nothing to do with Wal-Mart and only has to do with me and how I value my surroundings.

I love this country but fear the government

I've never been inside a McDonalds or have eaten their food and I've never bought anything at Wal-Mart and as I look through my home I can honestly say, outside of my computer room which I can't really say where my computers are from, I own no products made in China. My books are old, and even my furniture is made here in the states of real wood. At this time I own three vehicles all which are older than 20 years and throughout my whole life the only things I've loved from the Chinese is their food and their woman [Smile]

I seek to own less and less as I enter my golden years which will probably take me as long to rid myself of these things as it has taken to accumulate them and most of what I have cannot be bought at Wal-Mart to begin with. For the past year I've been going through my four sets of Snap-On, Proto, Craftsman and S-K tools just to sort them [Bash]

Might as well place an ad here as well, anyone looking for an Electro-Pounce senior or a Hold-Heet glue pot with a couple pounds of glue, a few sign kits, opaque and overhead projectors or a brand new GE Monogram pro six burner stove top with griddle and a double wall convection oven. How bout a new heated, lighted six jet bathtub. Whatever you've dreamed of, I probably have just waiting for you [Smile]

Time has taken a toll on me and I gotta tell ya' all this bickering is stupid and just takes time, which is precious to all of us

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HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952
'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'




http://members.tripod.com/Inflite
http://www.pinheadlounge.com/hotlinesjoeymadden

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Doug Allan
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thanks for posting that link Bob.

I suggest some of you read it & see what happens behind the scenes over there that make others who saw that documentary more suspicious.

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Doug Allan
http://www.islandsign.com

"you get what you settle for"

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Checkers
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While I admire Walmart for its success, lean towards Cam, Bob and Dale's comments.

Very little is made in America anymore. And, when our leaders are saying "run out and buy something" to stimulate the economy. All this does is make more of this...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam
this...
http://www.zuzafun.com/dubai-construction-update
and this...
http://www.spaceimagingme.com/content/Downloads/samples/Palm_Island.jpg

It's going to take a long time for us to get out of this current recession and, like it or not, it's probably going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Making the best of it,

Checkers

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a.k.a. Brian Born
www.CheckersCustom.com
Harrisburg, Pa
Work Smart, Play Hard

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KARYN BUSH
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our government is a bunch of crooks...fact. lets face it obama wants to put in a crook for the treasurey...oh joy. if you expect me to believe he made an honest mistake...dream on. he knew exactly what he was doing. our country is so screwed its scarey. wait til 1st quarter #s come out...you think the last qtr of 08 was bad...wait.
we have criminals running corporations, banks and financials. idiots in government. its ridiculous. people should be very afraid.

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Karyn Bush
Simply Not Ordinary, LLC
Bartlett, NH
603-383-9955
www.snosigns.com
info@snosigns.com

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Theresa Hoying
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Well said Karyn... People should be afraid. It's not me I am worried about, but our young children and the world they will grow up in.

Sad really!

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Theresa N. Hoying
Visual Concepts
130 South Lester Avenue
Sidney, Ohio 45365
937.492.2110

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Bobbie Rochow
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You are so right, Karyn, it IS scary. It is about time people wake up & see what is going on.

As for Walmart...Are monopolies no longer illegal? What ever happened to Sears & Kmart joining together? I was hoping for newly remodeled Kmart stores to compete.

Bob, I am SOOO glad you posted that link...watch it people!!!!!

Cam mentioned the Romans...our country has much in common with the roman empire before it collapsed, part of it being the decline of the the country's morals.

Edited to hopefully avoid hurting or offending anyone...so sorry.

As for the way the world is going...read the end of the "Good Book".

[ January 26, 2009, 08:25 PM: Message edited by: Bobbie Rochow ]

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The Word in Signs
Bobbie Rochow
Jamestown, PA 16134

724-927-6471

thewordinsigns@alltel.net

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Ray Rheaume
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I have no problem with WalMart making money, but I don't care for the mentality it has spawned.

WalMart is a multinational company of huge scale, yet everyone who shops their seems to think that EVERY OTHER COMPANY ON THE PLANET has to be "low prices...always" regardless of what they sell or what services they provide.

Getting a good deal is not always determined by the lowest price. Value is not only measured by the initial purchase price. If that were the case, we'd all be driving Hugos and the Detroit Big Three would have gone belly up 30 years ago.

Personally, I hit WalMart occasionally, but I do not limit myself to their mentality. You get what you pay for and I prefer to have the brakes on my truck done by someone who's NOT making minimum wage.
Rapid

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Ray Rheaume
Rapidfire Design
543 Brushwood Road
North Haverhill, NH 03774
rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com
603-787-6803

I like my paint shaken, not stirred.

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