Hail mighty Wal Mart!

[blakeci]

Originally Posted by NCXD40

You mentioned something I don't really get. Most of the small local stores are only open during hours when people can't easily make it in. Then they sometimes have hours and schedules you can't keep up with either.

I know what you mean, I work pretty standard hours, 8 to 5, which means with most gun shops I have to wait til saturday to go to them. They aren't open on Sunday, and they're only open from 9 to 5 the rest of the time. Or like some of them around Raleigh, they close at 1 or 2 on saturday. Seriously, most of their potential customers aren't going to be gun shopping at 10:30am on a thursday. They would receive more business if they were open from 12 to 8 during the week.

[HellTeeOne]

I will buy ammo at Wal-Mart, and I have no qualms about getting household items there either.

I can see and understand how a gun shop may have to charge 2 or 3 bucks more per box for ammo, but double or more Wal-Mart's price? Ummm no, I don't buy into price gouging.
One notable is the bricks of Winchester or Federal .22LR at gun shows for more than twice what Wal-Mart charges.

[bucketobolts]

I just picked up 100rds of Winchester 357 Mag for $60, mom'n pop don't even have any at their shop. What I have seen around other shops has been $20 for 20 rds. Now I have enough brass that I won't have to buy any ammo for a while. I'll just keep my reloading supplier busy.

So Walmart sucks, its capitalism at work. Don't like it, well there is always socialism...

[geneinnc]

Originally Posted by bucketobolts

I just picked up 100rds of Winchester 357 Mag for $60, mom'n pop don't even have any at their shop. What I have seen around other shops has been $20 for 20 rds. Now I have enough brass that I won't have to buy any ammo for a while. I'll just keep my reloading supplier busy.

So Walmart sucks, its capitalism at work. Don't like it, well there is always socialism...

$59.95 out the door at my local gun shop. How many do you want?

[CZaddict]

Hey geneinnc, if you don't mind what's the name of that shop? How are the rest of their prices and do they stock any rimfire rifles? They only shop I've been to near Hickory is Bullseye in Vale and they Larry was reasonable and has a decent selection of ammo.

[bucketobolts]

Originally Posted by geneinnc

$59.95 out the door at my local gun shop. How many do you want?

For what?


Just happened to stop at a different store tonight with my wife and picked up a box of Winchester 45 Long Colt. Its getting to be about as rare as 380. Now I have to buy another set of dies

[Ed Zachary]

Another thorn in the side for the Wally World haters:

Take note how they are now playing their customers.
Those limits on ammo? Just the tip of the iceberg.

A new WW opened in town late last summer. I noticed that the aisles were super wide. There seemed to be a lot of room in there. There were a lot of things that they just did not have in stock.
Seven months later, nothing much has changed. Still don't carry a lot of things. I asked a couple of senior-looking types and they told me that this particular WW was set up for "the small-town demographic".
Oh, really?
So people in small towns don't use Vaseline Intensive Care? Or Advil Liquid Gels?
WW corporate has already begun dictating what we have available.

Take your business elsewhere? Sure! Go to the local stores that no longer exist thanks to the 800-pound gorilla living down the street. Or the outlet of another chain that, by the way, has adopted the WW marketing strategy and also no longer carries day-to-day items that have been around for years.

On the subject of marketing strategy, you want mouthwash? It is in five (yes, FIVE!) different places in the store. Hand lotion? Four different places. Chips? Three different aisles.
We're not talking the entire selection in those places, but a couple here, a couple there, and so on.

I asked one of the managers if the intent was to make the customer wander around the store and possibly pick up a bunch of impulse buys while they were looking for the items that, by the way, WW no longer carries. All he could muster was a sheepish look, a shrug, and "I can't really discuss marketing with customers."

I have noticed that lately the aisles in other WWs are getting wider and the selections are thinning.

[MuShu Gordon]

Ed, have you ever worked in retail? Yes, they want you to buy quite a bit of stuff off of impulse. They have also put many of the most popular items on the bottom shelves so that you have to look over all of the not so popular items to get there. You see, they figure that if you want the best selling item you will do a little more to look for it than the lesser selling item.

On the aisles thing, I can not comment on that because I only know what we at Lowes Foods did on our aisles by spreading them out. Allowed the customer more room when the company made their carts larger so customers could put more stuff in their carts. When you get larger carts, with more items in them, the aisles need to be further apart so customers can go each way comfortably.

The small-town demographic is true, however, people from the large towns are the ones making the decisions with no experience in a store like that in the first place.

[wicked-fast]

Originally Posted by bucketobolts

I just picked up 100rds of Winchester 357 Mag for $60, mom'n pop don't even have any at their shop. What I have seen around other shops has been $20 for 20 rds. Now I have enough brass that I won't have to buy any ammo for a while. I'll just keep my reloading supplier busy.

So Walmart sucks, its capitalism at work. Don't like it, well there is always socialism...

Everytime some one says this about capitalism it really gets on my nerves. This system we have is not what capitalism is.

[NCXD40]

Originally Posted by Ed Zachary

Take note how they are now playing their customers.
Those limits on ammo? Just the tip of the iceberg.

WW corporate has already begun dictating what we have available.

I have noticed that lately the aisles in other WWs are getting wider and the selections are thinning.

I hope you picked up some tinfoil while there?

Also, I'm sure they were likely doing you a favor and had the EXACT same thing only labeled in their Wal Mart store brand packaging, for half the price of the name brand stuff you wanted.

[1985mustanggt50]

Bucket, FYI bass pro had 45LC last night when I was there. Thier pistol ammo is now on the rifle ammo aisle.

And I will continue to buy ammo at WW for the simple reason that at every "pawn and gun" store in kannapolis, concord and charlotte, a box of fmj 45 is 30 bucks a box and .22lr value packs are 30 also.

[DAR748]

I don't much like WW but the poor man has to save money somewhere to be able to shoot.
I got the wife a .380 at Gander and picked up 200rds of ammo @ $14.99
Went back 5 days later and they marked it upto 24.99
Nope if they want to jack their price up because it's said to be harder to get it now, and someone else has it for less guess what I'll shop there.
If the m&p would not jack their prices up so much I would still shop there.
Now when you jack it up $10 you can kiss something on my way out. I'm one to laugh at you in your face and do so loud enough for everyone to hear that so and so has the same thing for $ less.
A few bucks i'll still goto a m&p but over $5 nope.
Now if the guy out there that has money to waste please send some my way, i'll buy only from the M&P shop, you have my word.

[OpenCarry]

Originally Posted by 1985mustanggt50

Bucket, FYI bass pro had 45LC last night when I was there. Thier pistol ammo is now on the rifle ammo aisle.

And I will continue to buy ammo at WW for the simple reason that at every "pawn and gun" store in kannapolis, concord and charlotte, a box of fmj 45 is 30 bucks a box and .22lr value packs are 30 also.

'Aint that the truth. They charge 10-15$ over for birdshot as well.

[bigfelipe]

I go where I can get the best bang for my buck. If it's range ammo, I go to Wal-Mart or Lawmen's because they have the best prices. When I want a pistol, I shop around the internet, boards, and local shops; best price wins. I don't care about the local gun shops anymore, because they are inconvenient with their locations and schedules, and most of their customer service is sub-par at best. Throw their inflated prices on top of that and it's a deal-breaker for me. I'd gladly pay a small percentage more to support good local business with quality customer service, but I'm not paying twice the price for a box of 9mm FMJ just to avoid WallyWorld...

[mekender]

Originally Posted by wicked-fast

Everytime some one says this about capitalism it really gets on my nerves. This system we have is not what capitalism is.

For the most part, the current retail market is the closest thing to capitalism that has ever existed. Sure there are some things going on at the distribution and corporate levels that arent truly capitalist but for the most part the retail market is very free and open. Even when things like licenses and legislation are bought and paid for by big retail corporations, these happenings are VASTLY more open and the system is much less corrupt than any other country in the world.

And I am quite sure that Sam Walton did indeed practice true capitalism, he created a business that offered cheaper produces than anyone else and did it better than anyone else. Is that not the very definition of capitalism?

[car0linab0y]

One LGS I frequent has prices a little higher than WW; usually has the oddball military calibers in stock or will get them; lots of shooting stuff WW doesn't carry. Also good selection of firearms.

Also supports local organizations; raffled off a shotgun for a group. Store gave us the shotgun at just over cost; sold tickets for us, and then made a donation in lieu of ticket purchase. Try getting that from WW!

Our local WW has people in their departments who know their stuff, are helpful, and pleasant. (not every employee, but a pretty large number)

Just my .02.

CB

[bcammons21]

yesterdays purchases at WW were:
50 box of 45 auto remington umc was about $19
100 box 9mm umc hollowpoints $24
20 box 5.56 winchester $9.97
5 box 00 buck $5
actually got the 5.56 about a month ago at dicks for 7.50. bought 10 boxes at that time.

[bikerpipes]

I bought a new Glock 22 last fall from local gun shop.While there i bought a box of federal FMJ 40 cal the price was high but I was there. When I got home I looked at the box the price tags was peeling up so I pulled it off under it was a Wal Mart price tag.I heard rumors when WW gets ammo the gun shop sends there people in and buy it all.