"This is the proven and effective method they deploy using major categories to drive loyalty and to take marginal sales away from the competition," Richard Hastings, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based consumer strategist for Global Hunter Securities LLC, said in an e-mail. The strategy may force others to lower prices, he said.
"Walmart Cuts Turkey, Television Prices to Grab Holiday Sales" [Bloomberg]
(Photo: laurgasms)
@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Weird. I was wondering how Walmart could afford to price so low (if they profit, it's marginal, otherwise it sounds like somebody is taking a bath here), but they know that shoppers never show up just to buy one box of stuffing -- they're going to buy other things while they're there, from groceries to clothes to electronics to hardware. They can advertise a few low-priced items to get in bargain-hunters and then profit when they buy other items.
(Augh, this comment system is making my head hurt!)
]]>@gnoswal: Unlike the rule about happy meat, the opposite is true with produce. Cranky cranberries taste much better than happy ones. I only buy from growers who regularly blast loud rock music at their fields at 3 am and make their fruits and vegetables sit in rush hour traffic.
]]>I have no idea why I have suburbancowboy in there -- I think I was going to reply to something s/he said, then realized I have nothing to add.
]]>@suburbancowboy: @Greasy Thumb Guzik: Weird. I was wondering how Walmart could afford to price so low (if they profit, it's marginal, otherwise it sounds like somebody is taking a bath here), but they know that shoppers never show up just to buy one box of stuffing -- they're going to buy other things while they're there, from groceries to clothes to electronics to hardware. They can advertise a few low-priced items to get in bargain-hunters and then profit when they buy other items.
]]>And I'm too lazy to make my own stuffing!
]]>@suburbancowboy: I'm calling you a liar. Such a guidebook totally does not exist. If such a document, with "Rule 1 - Move to China" really existed it would have been scanned and put on the internet already. Nice try.
]]>"Oh my God....Turkey. With pillowly mounds of mashed potatoes.."
]]>Wonderful.
]]>@working class Zer0: I understand if you have to skimp a lot, $20 to feed 8 people is a huge deal. And it really is a huge deal. but just for a little more than $20 you can have Thanksgiving dinner without canned vegetables, canned cranberry sauce, and real pumpkin pie too.
]]>@downwithmonstercable: I've seen these deals in the past, either spend $20-$50 and get a free one, or accumulate coupons to get a buck off for every $10 you spend. Last year, I didn't see a single free turkey. The best deal I could find was .29/lb with an additional $10 purchase. I expect the deals to be worse this year.
]]>Last year, we did a turkey at my in-law's house, while they baked their own. My turkey "won" hands down, but nobody wanted to say anything so my mother-in-law wouldn't feel bad....
]]>"Walmart said it reduced prices on seven items, including turkey, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, a five- pound bag of red potatoes, dinner rolls and a pumpkin roll cake, for a $20 dinner serving eight people. A $20 meal for 8."
You can bash Wal-Mart all you want but this is a big deal to a lot of people (especally this year) who otherwise would not be able to provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal to their family.
As for Wal-Mart meats I find the Sam's Choice frozen meats are some of the best quality foods of that kind on the market.
I have some issues with Wal-Mart but when it comes to their food (selection, quality and prices) I'm a big fan.
@ionerox: +1
]]>@suburbancowboy: I refuse to listen to anyone that tells me that doing something is "patriotic" or "unpatriotic".
]]>@Outrun1986: Another good option for thawing turkeys is to put them into a large Igloo-type cooler submerged in lots of water with a little bit of ice, and let it thaw over a few days. Keep the temperature at 36-38 degrees (no higher than 40) by stirring the water, and then adding more ice every day, as needed. At the very least, you can stick it in the garage or laundry room and saves room in the fridge.
]]>My comment should not be construed as criticism of Walmart for using their size to achieve a result (lower prices at the expense of quality). Ultimately it is our fault for expecting to pay so little for so much. Walmart just gives us what we want.
]]>Walmart DOES have influence over the quality of electronics and every other product they sell, because Walmart has the purchasing power to demand lower prices. Cutting prices can mean improving efficiency (Walmart is responsible for significant increases in efficiency), and it can also mean reducing quality. Both of those things often carry over to other stores as well - other stores pay lower wholesale prices than they might have if it weren't for Walmart, but they also get Walmart-grade crap. In some cases it's hard to find a good product anywhere, because manufacturers have all been forced to cut costs either directly by Walmart, or to compete with Walmart's suppliers. Most people won't dispute that the overall quality of consumer goods has decreased in the last couple of decades, but most people don't realize that it's at least partly a result of "Always Low Prices."
In a product category like electronics where manufacturers have several products with similar capabilities but various levels of quality, you can bet that the Walmart probably sells the worst product. Sometimes it pays to pay a little extra.
]]>People have enough trouble returning hand mixers from them... god forbid I have to return a $400 tv.
turkeys? no. just no.
]]>@Greasy Thumb Guzik: I implore all of you, make your own stuffing, please! Don't succumb to buying Stovetop stuffing!
]]>@floraposte: I know Cooks is more discerning because they contrast turkeys with each other. I'll buy a brand name in my price range, even if it is a ho hum Butterball. I'd like one that tastes the best, but if my guests aren't taste testing various turkeys, how are they going to know that I didn't spring for the best turkey ever? :P
]]>Since nearly all mom and pop electronics places are out of business (or have moved to the high end to survive) I don't have any problem with buying an LCD TV from Wal-Mart over Best Buy.
]]>Who buys turkey? It's free at grandma's house....
]]>I get the same vibe. I'm a big game video nut, and -- don't ask me why -- I have to buy my games at Gamestop or Target. Something about putting my Madden 10 or Arkhan Asylum in a wal-mart bag that tarnishes the buying experience. Silly, I know.
]]>Unless there are manufacturers out there that report widths rather than diagonal measurements, if your TV is 32" wide, it is NOT a 32" TV.
A 32" wide non-widescreen TV has a 40" diagonal. A 32" wide widescreen TV has a 37" diagonal.
]]>Agreed. With computers in particular, they don't even tell you what parts are in their, other than a few selling points. Sure, you know the cpu and graphics card you get, but who made your ram? WHat kind of power supply is in there? Ever try to find out the specs for your motherboard?
]]>But, likely, I'll go the Amazon or NewEgg route.
]]>What I love is that it makes the turkey "set it and forget it" so I can prepare other things while it roasts instead of dorking around with basting.
]]>@Jeremy82465: and turkeys!
]]>Electronics, small packaged items like webcams, ipods and speaker docks will probably be the same. I bought an iHome speaker dock last year there for $20 and it was the same one every other store had. Again I don't think they are manufacturing 2 different sets of products, one for walmart and one for other stores. Microsoft isn't gonna make 2 different mice one for walmart and one for other stores. Apple isn't making iPods specifically for walmart.
For big items like TV's, computers and laptops its going to be different, but its pretty much like that at every store. Seems to me it would be pretty hard to find the same exact laptop in 2 different stores.
]]>@dragonfire81: doesn't make it so though.
]]>Make sure you know how many people you are cooking for, a 12lb bird (a smaller one) will probably feed about 6-7 people. We have 4 adults eating about a 12lb turkey and we get A LOT of leftovers. They have really huge 30lb'ers in some stores, which would be ideal for a big family.
]]>Sounds to me like "How to do business in a capitalist economy".
Seriously, do you think the Mom & Pop shops would tell their wholesaler that they've been lowering their prices too much?
As the former owner of a such a business, I can assuredly say "No". In fact, we pressured our wholesalers to give us better deals all the time. The difference is we didn't have the ability to help them lower their prices--they were on their own. And if they couldn't meet another wholesaler's price, we took our business elsewhere.
This is absolutely normal. In fact, Walmart is nice precisely BECAUSE it tries to help failing businesses fix their problems, rather than just letting them fail and moving on.
]]>Sounds like Sears with Black and Decker tools; I've been told by a former tools salesperson (who was my friend, not trying to sell me stuff) that Sears actually gets B&D to make power tools cheaper for them. More plastic parts, etc on the "Sears special".
It isn't just Walmart that does this.
]]>If you are a patriotic American, you would never shop at Wal-Mart.
]]>Chinese raised and Mexican processed turkeys preloaded with toxic contaminants?
]]>They devil is in the details. They don't mention what brand of turkey they will price cut. I bought an off brand Turkey at the grocery store last year because they were 88 cents a pound. There was a noticeable quality difference in the finished product. It would have been worth it to pay 99 cents a pound for the Butterball ones they had instead.
]]>@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
I'm gonna try that bacon tip this year. bacon = added deliciousness.
Oh, and OP, I've got to echo the other commenters on this one--at least around the Philly area all the large grocery chains seem to have loss-leader type specials on Turkeys for the big day. Check sunday paper circulars.
]]>@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
"same model # but with an 'x' on the end"
so ... not the same model number, then.
]]>If your getting an exact matching model number at Walmart and say, Best Buy then you should be getting the same item. Walmart has quite a few "made for Walmart" models. Those frequently have lower quality parts inside. Sam's Club gets some made for Sam's Club computers and TV's also. They had an HP laptop a few years ago that was an utter piece of crap that was a made for Sam's Club model. I didn't buy one but got to hear the tales of woe from two friends who did.
]]>Good tips, everyone. Thanks for all the advice! I'm not sure how many people I need to feed - at least ten.
I have the Nov/Dec issue of Cooks Illustrated and I think I'm going to follow that advice on cooking thr turkey - it's just that I don't think there were any instructions on buying the turkey.
]]>My other tip is, if you roast your turkey with bacon draped all over it, the fat in the bacon will baste the turkey for you and you don't have to do any basting. Plus it's freaking DELICIOUS. Plus it's the cook's prerogative to eat pieces of bacon that fell off the bird while carving the bird before serving.
]]>Huh-huh-heheh...you said 56K...ohhh the memories.. I miss you 14.4 Baud, ohhhh & 28.8k, don't feel neglected, when you first came out, you rocked my world. Bring back TexT only internet & BBS's.
]]>The thing is, the TV prices aren't even that great. The Panasonic Plasma is second to the bottom in the Panasonic line (U series) and 720p. You can get a 1080p version with MUCH better specs (S series, NeoPDP, anti reflective coating, less energy use) at Sears for only about $60 more.
Walmart will have to try harder.
]]>The big giveaway is that the model numbers don't match with other stores'... but it's only a matter of time before they disguise those and mark of blocks of serial numbers to the substandard items.
Big brands so scared of Walmart not stocking their items that they'd instead allow their brand name to be diluted with substandard crap instead is pretty short sighted if you ask me.
(interesting note: Walmart didn't come up with this. Some companies have been doing it for years already with stores like Brandsmart USA)
]]>@sir_pantsalot: Still, Walmart electronics seem like a safer buy than Walmart turkey.
]]>I just wanna say that everyone who followed-up on EdnaLagume's initial comment are the most rockinest posters today ! Keep up the good work people !
]]>Nothing says luvin like a Walmart turkey from the oven.
]]>I misread this comment as "I'd rather buy electronics from turkeys ..." which gave me an interesting visual.
]]>@downwithmonstercable: I think it's more like $200 or something over the course of a month or two.
]]>Walmart does get products made exclusively for it, which may be of lower quality. If you're comparing with other stores it's important to compare model numbers to make sure you know what you're getting. However, I'd be less concerned with TVs since the Walmart version may have fewer connections or other features, but I doubt that Samsung is making a lower quality lcd panel just for Walmart. On the same topic, it is difficult to find reviews for Walmart-specific products due to the exclusivity, which doesn't help if you like to research products before you buy.
]]>isn't it great to live in a free country!
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Keep an eye out on your local grocer's circulars. Don't know bout where you live, but there's always at least one of the three major stores here offering a free turkey with a minimum purchase (eg spend 250.00 get a free 10 lb turkey) One year we ended up with 6 of em. Remember if you're buying frozen ones to be very careful with the thawing process and allow yourself extra time.
]]>Wally should ignore Thanksgiving. Any mix of Walmart and the holiday makes us remember death by stampede
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Ditto for me too. Our tv went out (as in, busted.) right before they stopped selling the big CRT tvs.. so we ended up getting one because that is what we could afford at the time.
I'm hoping my dad will get me a new TV for Christmas, but I'm not holding my breath. If they really do go cheap though he might go for it.
]]>@EdnaLegume: Had to be said:
I build my own high end electronics at home!
@sir_pantsalot: They do it for Levi's jeans, why not TVs?
]]>bRilliAnt ! Walmart sells kittens & neutered cats !
*BUMP*
]]>REGARDLESS OF PRICE, I'D NEVER BUY ANYTHING.... FROM WALMART.
]]>Also, I would be scared of returning that expensive of an item to Walmart.
]]>Aren't turkeys free most anywhere during thanksgiving? Like, spend $25, get a free turkey?
]]>I ended up buying my flat panel from Walmart - 42" Vizio LCD, 1080p, $600.
Used ship-to-store, so I did have to go in there, but I got a good TV cheaper than I would have anywhere else.
I had previously ordered one online from Fry's, and had FedEx destroy it and then lose the return, forcing me to file a chargeback, so I'm reluctant to ever order a big screen TV online again.
]]>I recognize some meat brands at Walmart. The ones I don't make me more than a little hesitant.
]]>We want a new TV, but we really don't want to pay for one. Ours is just fine, even though it weighs about 300 pounds and probably won't survive another move.
What would happen if Wal-Mart cut prices on turkey? I'm buying my very first turkey this year and I have no idea what constitutes as a good price - I pretty much just plan on buying one I can find in the right weight range. I don't think I can spring for a free range bird for the amount of people I'm feeding.
]]>I will not buy one from Wal-Mart or Best Buy. My money will be spent at Amazon or Costco for a TV.
]]>