<p>Um, for the cost of dry cleaning, it’s almost cheaper to buy a new blouse. Maybe it is different in other parts of the country, but it is quite pricy here and really adds to the ‘real’ cost of a garment. This is why I always check the label to see if it is machine washable. </p>
<p>I have purchased t-shirts from Talbots (among other things) and they pilled at about the same rate as cheaper t-shirts.And it would never occur to me to dry clean t-shirts. </p>
<p>There is a Marshalls near me that I may need to revisit. It is not a particularly pleasant store to shop in and it has a terrible return policy (learned about that the hard way). I have heard from others that I happen to live near a particularly bad Marshalls, so I’m guessing that you live near one of the better ones. I know that they are not all alike.
Alas, there is not a TJMaxx near me.</p>
<p>Marshalls and TJ Maxx and Homegoods are all the same company.</p>
<p>Here, like our in-state tuition!, dry cleaning cost is low, for a mens dress shirt or womens blouse is $.99 per shirt. And since the COL here is also low, Walmart wages aren’t terrible.</p>
<p>My recent purchases from Kmart, before Christmas when they were cleaning out past season were $1.99 women’s blouses and t-shirts. Have held up well with frequent washes. They now have their winter stock at $1.99. Old Navy had their women’s peacoats for $4.97 last weekend.</p>
<p>Our local Walmart had a bunch of kids clothes also marked low, sweatshirts for $.25 and coats and jackets for $2-$5 each. Put some away for the angel tree next Christmas.</p>
<p>Many WalMarts are located in lower costs areas where the pay is not nearly as bad as it might look from NYC or Seattle. I spend time in Lynchburg, VA which has several WMs and a very low cost of living. Two full-time WM employees with some experience make around $9/hr or $37,500 year which is right around the median family income there. You can rent a decent 2BR apt for $500/mo there. A house can be bought for $100K in a pretty good area. Payment with taxes and ins would also be around $600/mo. That leaves a nice amount to live on where dinner out is still $30 for 2.
And your drive/walk to work to the nearest and brand new WM–under 1 mile.</p>
Apparently most people don’t think the ‘good ole days’ were so great and I’m one of those. If people really felt that way then the big box stores would fail and the mom&pops would still be around. Many of the mom&pop stores are only around because of restrictive legislation - not the free market at work. The big box stores are successful because at the end of the day, most people prefer them.</p>
<p>People like a few things when it comes to shopping and it’s usually price, selection, service, convenience. I think for most people price/selection trumps service/convenience unless they have the discretionary income to afford that. </p>
<p>What I don’t like about many mom & pop stores -
High prices
Poor selection - to the point that it can be necessary to go to multiple m&p stores to find the item - and sometimes giving up on them altogether and going to a big box store
Poor service - just because they’re a m&p store doesn’t mean the service is good. They don’t fire themselves like a big box can do with employees who receive complaints.
Poor return policy - most of the big box stores are great in this regard. You can bring back almost anything and get full credit for it. You can’t do this with many m&p stores.</p>
<p>I really didn’t like climbing around an old dusty poorly lit hardware store to find something I need only to invariably discover they didn’t have it but if they did, the price was high. Given a choice between Home Depot and the little hardware store I’ll pick HD first since it saves me time and money. The same is true for a store like Walmart that has some of a lot of stuff - there’s a reasonable chance the store has what you go there for (even though I personally prefer other big box stores to the grungier ones like Walmart and K-Mart and even Target). Sears turned this into a sales jingo - ‘Sears has everything’.</p>
<p>The above are generalizations of course but I really don’t think the ‘good ole days’ were so great in this regard and it’s clear most people prefer the big box stores. I think a lot of people like the ‘idea’ of m&p stores but at the end of the day prefer the practicality of the BB stores.</p>
<p>The other thing the big box stores bring, and the reason they’re more successful, is efficiency which allows them to have a decent supply or product at good prices. It’s all about supply chain, scale, and efficiency. Going back to the m&p model is like winding the clock back on progress - like hand building every car instead of getting an assembly line version.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insight, gladdad. However, many of your points I’m not sure I’d agree with. Big Box stores were brought into this country when manufacturing left to go overseas where the price of production and labor was a fraction of the cost of keeping it in America.</p>
<p>So I really don’t agree that “people prefer them” if that’s all there is! People have gotten used to the convenience over the years as mom & pops have been forced to phase out.</p>
<p>I also don’t agree with selection. Big Box stores like Home Depot, for instance, have the same exact lighting, rugs, and flooring. Generic. Boring. Cheaply made and cheap looking. Do you know that companies manufacture appliances just for Home Depot (and I’m sure Wal Mart specifically?) Many of them are low level inferior appliances, lighting, etc. that the masses buy. I’m saying that I like the selection, quality and different styles made and sold by mom & pops. They don’t look like everyone else’s.</p>
<p>None of what’s on your list of dislikes I have ever experienced with a mom & pop store EXCEPT maybe their return policy. Usually they give me a store credit, which can be a hassle. But in every aspect when I buy something from that type of store, it’s something I want to buy & keep. Otherwise I’d go to a big box store and buy it, knowing I could return it if needed.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, imho it’s important to have a balance. Right now we have swayed waaaaay over to the big box stores so much that it’s hard to find things different! I agree about convenience, but that’s why it would be great to have more of a balance. When I said “good ole days”, I was refering to a downtown where small businesses were thriving and people talked to one another! Now people order on-line and don’t even communicate with each other! My father owned a mom & pop type restaurant many years ago in the heart of a downtown district. It was quite popular among the people who worked in nearby offices. All around him were cool shops that people bought from…I do miss that type of interaction! That’s why I still enjoy shopping at small shops as opposed to buying clothing on-line or from Big Box type stores. I don’t like the mass merchandise except for things that are just everyday necessities, like batteries, shampoo, greeting cards, light bulbs, etc.</p>
<p>^^^ agree 100%^^^^ Home Depot was good, 15 years ago, now it stays ‘value’ oriented by selling low end products from manufacturers who also make better lines…</p>
<p>On Home Depot, just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ve actually had my W return some items she bought there after she brought them home and I saw they were made in China low quality items. I’ve also gone to HD before looking for something specific, like maybe a shovel, and walked away without buying one because I didn’t like the quality (usually more Chinese made stuff). I’ve found the staff at HD to be generally very helpful and knowledgeable - many of them used to be contractors in the particular field (electrical, etc.). </p>
<p>OTOH the small hardware stores seem to have the same stuff but a much smaller selection and stock. I just need to keep searching to eventually find a Made in USA one whose quality I like. It doesn’t bother me to spend more for it since I’ll buy only so many quality shovels in my lifetime (i.e. they’ll outlast me).</p>
<p>But overall I’m more likely to find what I want at HD or Lowes than a small old fashioned type of hardware store. If I’m really looking for something in particular that they don’t have, like a particular ceiling fan I was looking for, I’ll buy it online. There’s a ceiling fan store in the area, something along the line of a m&p store, but the prices are outrageous.</p>
<p>I did just buy a couple of appliances (DW, Range) from HD and they were the exact same models that other stores carry. The overall price at HD when delivery was included was better. At other times it hasn’t been as good as another appliance store (also a large chain but specializing in appliances).</p>
<p>I’ve check Walmart a few times for things like electronics and appliances but they seem to mostly carry low end stuff I wouldn’t buy.</p>
<p>I have noticed that Costco in particular has a lot of unique model numbers for some electronics and appliances only they sell but are basically identical to other models by that manufacturer. I have no doubt they’re usually made on the same line with the same components but with a different number stamped on them for pricing purposes.</p>
<p>When I say ‘people prefer them’ it’s simply that those stores couldn’t exist without shoppers and in many cases the shoppers made the choices with their wallets - for the BB stores.</p>
<p>The quality of simple items like nails and screws is way below my acceptable level. Two turns of the screwdriver and the + on the phillips head is distorted. Nail heads bend off before you are done hammering.</p>
<p>When we built our house (1999), our plumber explained to me that even though the brand and the model number matched the faucets purchased through Home Depot were NOT the same as the ones from the plumbing supply store. For the kids shower controls we bought one of each to prove the point - he was right. The insides were made with different materials. </p>
<p>I have noticed that even some materials at our mom and pop hardware store have gone down in quality. I suppose they need to buy cheap to keep up with the big boys.</p>
<p>One of H’s favorite things to do when we go to SF is putter around a “mom & pop” hardware store, where he can find things that he can’t find easily anywhere else (except perhaps on-line). He much rather be able to handle and inspect the items he wants to buy to be sure he’s getting what he THINKS he’s getting, as the quality keeps declining, as noted above. Even when you want high quality and are willing to pay the higher price, it can be difficult to find and purchase.</p>
<p>I live in a neighborhood with lots of small, charming mom and pop stores. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed in terms of food, that some don’t do enough turnover in certain items and are not usually fresh.</p>
<p>My son lives near a Whole Foods in Boston. You would not believe the amount of traffic that place gets. They have free parking, an incredible amount and variety of prepared foods and a smaller than usual grocery section. There aren’t any convenience stores or mom and pop stores for several blocks. How are you going to compete with free parking in Boston?</p>
<p>If the Wal-Mart is located in a high cost area and that is the best job you can find YOU are the one who needs to take a hard look at your life.</p>
<p>Can’t answer to the WalMart question, but just now I was picking up TP at my local Costco…Multimillionaire (many times over) Anthony Vilolago with 2 of his exquisitely decked out Rolls Royces and several of his family members were shopping there as well. </p>
<p>A few years ago I saw Michael Stipe (of REM fame) shopping at Costco the day of a show. I told him I was a fan, and was going to the show. He sneered. I hoped it was because he was hoping not be to recognized at Costco. The following year my D went to a book signing and asked him to confirm that her Mom saw him in Costco in our town. He sneered. She laughed, and said, “oh my god, she did!” (up to that point she didn’t believe me).</p>
<p>:)
I imagine far more than we think are frugal shoppers.</p>
<p>I think shopping at Walmart is several steps removed (& below) shopping from Costco. Nearly all the country club set in our state seem to shop at Costco; many are rolling in dough & drive late model cars of all kinds there.</p>
Even when you want high quality and are willing to pay the higher price, it can be difficult to find and purchase.</p>