I avoid Walmart. I’ve been in one a couple of times and didn’t like it - too much stuff in the aisles, they didn’t have what I wanted, and an overall junky feeling in the place - much like shopping at a K-Mart. Target seems a notch better and something like Sears/JCP a notch above that. </p>
<p>I don’t have any moral issues against Walmart and think it’s silly for people to say ‘they don’t pay their employees enough’ or whatever - if the employees don’t feel they’re paid what they’re worth then they’d be foolish to not just go get a job at an employer who’ll pay them what they think they’re worth but guess what - if they can’t find that job then they’re not worth what they thought they were.</p>
<p>I also think it’s silly to knock Walmart specifically due to cheap Chinese goods. I avoid buying Chinese goods much more than most people but perhaps because of that, I realize they’re pervasive - in most retail stores - not just Walmart. I’ll willingly pay more money if necessary for goods made in the USA.</p>
<p>So even though I don’t like shopping at Walmart I have nothing against them.</p>
<p>In answer to the OP’s question - I think in some areas of the country Walmart is convenient and is the nearest store that has the stuff one wants so I imagine some ‘millionaires’ would shop there out of convenience if nothing else. Millionaires need stuff too. It might surprise some people to find out how frugal some millionaires are - which is how some of them ended up millionaires to begin with. One doesn’t just suddenly change their habits and start blowing their money on unnecessary expensive items just because they did the math and realized they were net-worth millionaires.</p>
<p>"Another reason for everyone to shop at Walmart: the entertainment value of the other shoppers. If you can afford to waste some time, check out the addictive images of bizarre shoppers at peopleofwalmart-dot-com. Not for the queasy. "</p>
<p>Ever shopped at Barneys in Beverly Hills? Now THAT’S a freak show. A more refined upscale form of entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless.</p>
<p>^^Emeraldkity - I’d love to visit your Costco. The one I shop at leaves me underwhelmed. So underwhelmed that I still need to shop at Wal-Mart for some things.</p>
<p>My local Wal-Mart (Key term - local) does sell some things that I can’t get locally. </p>
<p>For example, they have a fabric department. The nearest fabric store is several towns away, so I always check in at Wal-Mart first. </p>
<p>Also, they sell nursing scrubs. There is no nearby nursing uniform store near where I live so catalog ordering is the only other option. </p>
<p>WM is a good place for millionaires and anyone who needs what they sell. Why pay more than you need to? For some items, it is not worth it. When you need a certain quality, go find that but no one needs top quality for everything.</p>
<p>Just a word on Walmart’s wage practices. I think even the most basic of educated people are worth more than $8.00 an hour. If you don’t believe Walmart drives wages across all of retail, you are in denial. (And probably outside of the retail sector too) We are harsh against those riding the welfare train, but seriously…why not consider it if you make more money sitting on your backside collecting food stamps and public assistance, versus 40 hours a week at Walmart paying for child care? I also suspect that people who are basically day labor for Walmart are also who’s kids are scoring the Pell grants and a great deal of the financial aid. Their parents work just as hard Jane Doe’s middle class parents, they just get paid less for it. I don’t care if the world supports walmart or not. I simply choose not to.</p>
<p>I worked in retail before Wal-mart was even known anywhere outside Arkansas. Wages were low then too at a major dept store chain. Hardly a Wal-mart driven issue. And the starting wage is not where you end up if you have some drive. Most Wal-mart asst mgrs and mgrs come from the floor starting as entry-level associates.</p>
<p>I shop at Costco all the time and there are many thousands of items not at Costco you can get at Walmart any time. Need a mop and a bucket and some cleaning supplies, some paint, brushes and a hammer–Walmart.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping – As far as I can see, most local retailers pay minimum wage or close to it. Wal-Mart is far from unique in that perspective. Retail is a very low wage industry, in general. </p>
<p>I’d also argue that Wal-Mart has some of the least appearance-discriminatory hiring practices of any retailer. I don’t see Banana Republic or the Apple Store hiring people on oxygen, or with missing front teeth, or the very elderly, or the morbidly obese.</p>
<p>There are two WMs within 5 mi. of our neighborhood; I drive a couple of minutes extra to the new one. The store is clean, well lit and the customers appear to be a mix of farmers, blue collar workers and country club golf & tennis players (just guessing from the clothing.) It’s about 4X as far to Costco, so I only shop there a few times a year. </p>
<p>We don’t have Bloomingdales or Nordstrom here; the most similar may be Saks and Gus Mayer, but I’m guessing their price range is a bit lower. If I can’t find what I want online, I’m more likely to try Stein Mart where a typical cocktail dress may run $75 - $120 with their usual discount, not $300 - $600+ as I’ve seen on some of the shopping links on other threads. Most women I know in our general income/net worth range prefer to make several shopping trips each year to a larger city, but clothes just aren’t that important to me (I have other “vices.”) </p>
<p>I used to go to WM mainly to buy underwear/t-shirts for dh, cleaning supplies, cheap annuals (their nursery buys from local growers), and a few frozen food items that Publix doesn’t carry. Lately I’ve noticed that less of their stuff comes from the PRC, which will make a difference in how often I shop there. I found some US-made party items (for a care package) today, and saw a display of colorful pans that were made in Italy. It’s encouraging (to me, anyway.)</p>
<p>I am 50 + years old! What do I need? Groceries & pharmacy, I have an independent grocery store I can walk to for that. Ditto for local independent hardware stores & nursery.
How much stuff do we need?</p>
I don’t know what Walmart pays but I disagree with the premise you present. The definition of what they’re ‘worth’ regarding the salary is what people will pay them. It’s supply and demand. If no one will pay them more than $8/hr then they’re likely not worth more than $8/hr by definition.</p>
<p>I did work in retail (JCP) a long time ago getting somewhere close to minimum wage. It was a starter type of job, one that takes all of 5 minutes of training, one I could do while still in HS, and I seriously doubt I was ‘worth’ more than they were paying me for what I did even though I did the job very well. I think most of these jobs pay in a similar range. If people stick with the entry level jobs they’re likely to not increase their salary tremendously but they often have some opportunity to get ahead, become a lead, supervisor, manager, and do reasonably well. I doubt many other low end retailers pay much more than Walmart. Some people just love to hate Walmart for some reason.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how accurate your $8/hr quote is anyway - </p>
<p>People do or do not shop at Wal Mart for various reasons, but it would be foolish to assume that millionaires do not shop there simply because they are millionaires.</p>
<p>My daughter worked two retail jobs when she was saving money for her volunteer gap year. The reason why she worked two was because it was about impossible to get full time hours and benefits, although one of the jobs she did belong to a union and so had retirement & health care.</p>
<p>Walmart doesn’t hire full time. According to employment sites you may get the opportunity to go full time after 90 days of employment.</p>
<p>D earned about $15 an hour working @ FredMeyer which was about double her Scale at a high fashion dept at Macy’s where she was required to wear their clothing.
She saved enough money to go to India & the uk for 5 months by working @ Fred Meyer & wearing a uniform. ;)</p>
<p>Times two. And I am very, very frugal. I’m currently working at an entry-level job at a non-profit and I don’t think I’ll ever be a millionaire. But I wouldn’t go to WalMart.</p>
Wait until you buy a house and you’ll find out you’re buying many more things than you listed - furnishings, lawn mower, shovel, toilet flapper, paint, hammer, screws, appliances, and the list goes on and on. Although Walmart has much of this Home Depot/Lowes/etc. have a better selection.</p>
<p>I guess for me it boils down to the choice we made to live in an “anti-big box” community. Mom and Pop stores rule here. It is what I love about the community I am part of and it is why I live here. Like I tell my kids everyday. Everyone has options. I don’t judge your choices, you don’t judge mine. I will explain why I feel the way I do, but I certainly don’t condemn anyone for where they shop, what they wear or what they eat. I love that I walk into our farmer’s market and the guys knows what my family eats and the lady at the dairy counter knows what kind of milk I buy. I really love that when I go to our local shoe store it take 30 minutes for the guy to fit my kids for good fitting tennis shoes. (same ole shoes that are sold at Dick’s, same price, much better service) I know my dollars go to local people who spend their money here and make our community stronger. That is something I can live with.</p>