Mobil ATF at Target is cheaper than Supertech

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Kruse
If WM always had the lowest prices, they wouldn't HAVE to do a price match. Most WM shoppers are too stupid to figure that out.

WM matches price even with on sale item(s) which is sometimes a lost leader to lure customers in the store. If you have WM nearby and have a flyer from another chain that is out of your way has item(s) you like on sale, you can use that flyer to get the same item at the sale price at WM


But two points are valid - price matching of the same item from a flyer only... But wm often has off size bags or something else to make it look cheaper, when really you're getting a different quantity at the same price or higher, but with a different product/part number so no match can be made. Also, best prices aren't always from a flyer. Some places have a better everyday price, or some places may be online, yet apples to apples because of free shipping.

Claiming a price match guarantee exists and makes it all better is an invalid point, when pains are made to have different products that can't easily be price matched.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Claiming a price match guarantee exists and makes it all better is an invalid point, when pains are made to have different products that can't easily be price matched.


That is why all the big discount stores sell appliances that are basically all the same, but each has a slight change in the model number, so they can't be compared to each other.
Has anybody went to pay for the items in your shopping cart at WM and have a dozen different competitor fliers and made them price match? You hold up the line for ten minutes while the poor lady has to look through each flier and make price adjustments for each item. Usually, a supervisor is also called over to help her out. You also have 5 people waiting in line behind you who are complaining...loudly. Try price matching at the self checkout line and you will get a visit form the cops. (Humor now off)
I will admit that I shop at WM. But my time is worth more than to stand there while the prices are adjusted just because they claim to price-match. It's a slogan they use to bring people in the door. In reality, it doesn't work too well.

 

[dnewton3]

Walmart ST fluids are excellent buys; good specs in a VOA with excellent service evidenced in UOAs. But that does not always make them the "best" buy. They are typically the cheapest, but not always ... There is always some really good sale going on somewhere on something. One has to shop around. It is up to the purcahser to find the best deal.

For example, engine oil is currently $1.69/qrt at Rural King right now for their API licensed, Citgo produced house brand. That beats Walmart, Menards, AAP, AZ and about anyone else I've seen in the last three years for "off the shelf" pricing.

Caveat Emptor ....


BTW: I am aware, as many are, that Walmart bashing is in vogue, and has been for several years. But if you think other brands and super-chains (Menards, Rural King, TSC, Meijer, Target, K-Mart, Sears, etc ...) don't participate in the same thing (sourcing from cheapest options, including China; manipulating package sizing; having unique SKU model numbers), then you're fooling yourself.

I used to work at H.H.Gregg many years ago in the stock room. Model numbers were "common" across the branded products back then (30 years ago). In the last ten+ years, large chains have negotiated to get "unique" model numbers, so they can specifically avoid the "price match" because there is no perfect model match. When H.H.Gregg, Best-Buy, and Target all offer a flat screen, they are often not the same model, even though they are the exact same unit except for a trim color, or button placement. That makes the model "unique" and therefore gets a unique SKU. If you think Walmart is the only place that uses that market strategy, you've got a limited sense of reality.

If you all want to discuss lubes, do so by all means.
If you want to complain out marketing strategies and blame one retailer about their orient sourcing, also practiced by just about every large retailer in the western hemishpere, then please keep your politics to yourself.

 

[Tempest]

A difference in $.09 creates a WM bashing thread......

Why don't you post a full cross comparison of all of their oil products and make a really useful thread.

 

[tommygunn]

This thread wasn't meant to be a Walmart-bashing thread.

I was just surprised, since WM and XOM are both very big companies, and that Mobil-branded oils are very cheap at Walmart, and I was wondering why they couldn't get Mobil's ATF at a good price.

 

[TechnoLoGs]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Kruse
If WM always had the lowest prices, they wouldn't HAVE to do a price match. Most WM shoppers are too stupid to figure that out.

WM matches price even with on sale item(s) which is sometimes a lost leader to lure customers in the store. If you have WM nearby and have a flyer from another chain that is out of your way has item(s) you like on sale, you can use that flyer to get the same item at the sale price at WM


But two points are valid - price matching of the same item from a flyer only... But wm often has off size bags or something else to make it look cheaper, when really you're getting a different quantity at the same price or higher, but with a different product/part number so no match can be made. Also, best prices aren't always from a flyer. Some places have a better everyday price, or some places may be online, yet apples to apples because of free shipping.

Claiming a price match guarantee exists and makes it all better is an invalid point, when pains are made to have different products that can't easily be price matched.


Well said.

If you think they will HAPPILY price-match, you are wasting your time.

I used to work at a K-Mart. The manager there would do everything possible to say "Different item, can't do it." (Different UPCs.)

We ran into that all the time in hsoes. Same show, same style, company; different price point, UPC, vendor. One would be on clearance $24.99, the other like $59.99. "Can we price-match, it's the same thing two different UPCs?" (*relevance: Same store, same aisle, right next to each other. One scans clearance; one scane full price. Being them up to the register, get a manager..) "NOPE."

Then you have to defraud the company to try to help the customer, since if you get caught switching a tag, you could be fired.

Now, since I am presently exchanging ATF AND have a RedCard.. Should I get on over to Target?

I did not know Target had auto parts. Hmmmmm...........

I pay #3.68 a quart for High Mileage ATF. Walmart brand.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
This thread wasn't meant to be a Walmart-bashing thread.



My posts weren't meant to bash WalMart either. I will admit that I do a lot of purchases at WM, especially in the automotive section. There have been some exceptions, but I usually won't try to do a price match in a WM. If some other store has a good price on something THAT I ACTUALLY WANT and if the store is not out of my way, I'll congratulate that store by buying their product. I never ask other stores to price match either. Let all stores lower their own prices by free enterprise.