Paid $13.99 for a 5qt of M1 5w30 dino Walmart, Autozone sells it for $23.99. I doubt they could negotiate the price down that low, and curious if they sell it at a loss just to bring folks to the auto department. Thoughts?
Does wally world sell motor oil at a loss?
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They buy it in monstrous quantity's that's why they sell for so cheap.
But parts stores have sales that puts their prices close to wal-mart, so I imagine they have a huge profit margin on oil at auto parts stores.
But parts stores have sales that puts their prices close to wal-mart, so I imagine they have a huge profit margin on oil at auto parts stores.
WalMart buys oil in such quantity that they pretty much dictate its pricing no matter what.
No way would they sell a product without some percentage of profit.
Think about it. Walmart has serious buying power. I'll bet they get the producer to sell them product and the producer makes only a few pennies per quart,but once you multiply those pennies by millions of quarts then that keeps the producer happy since he is getting paid,it keeps walmarts prices low because there isn't a vendor on earth that can compete with their volume.
And wal mart gets special jugs that I only see on their shelves. Like the 4.73 litre jug. So they don't have to price match since those jugs seem to be a Walmart exclusive. In fact when oil goes on rollback or on special its never the 5 litre jugs,just te 4.73 litre ones.
So yes Walmart is making a profit,even when they have their rollback sales because the supplier will supply the volume with less profit margin for themselves.
Think about it. Walmart has serious buying power. I'll bet they get the producer to sell them product and the producer makes only a few pennies per quart,but once you multiply those pennies by millions of quarts then that keeps the producer happy since he is getting paid,it keeps walmarts prices low because there isn't a vendor on earth that can compete with their volume.
And wal mart gets special jugs that I only see on their shelves. Like the 4.73 litre jug. So they don't have to price match since those jugs seem to be a Walmart exclusive. In fact when oil goes on rollback or on special its never the 5 litre jugs,just te 4.73 litre ones.
So yes Walmart is making a profit,even when they have their rollback sales because the supplier will supply the volume with less profit margin for themselves.
Originally Posted By: gr8gatzby
Paid $13.99 for a 5qt of M1 5w30 dino Walmart, Autozone sells it for $23.99. I doubt they could negotiate the price down that low, and curious if they sell it at a loss just to bring folks to the auto department. Thoughts?
M1 is an abbreviation for Mobil 1. All Mobil 1 is full synthetic. You mean "Mobil".
Paid $13.99 for a 5qt of M1 5w30 dino Walmart, Autozone sells it for $23.99. I doubt they could negotiate the price down that low, and curious if they sell it at a loss just to bring folks to the auto department. Thoughts?
M1 is an abbreviation for Mobil 1. All Mobil 1 is full synthetic. You mean "Mobil".
Target use to sale motor oil cheap. There's a store in this area of the country called Meijer that is sort of like a Walmart supercenter but has been around longer that also sells 5.1 jugs and the price is about the same as Walmart. Big stores like those buy in bulk and are their own distributor and sell in high quantity so they don't need as much mark up. But there is a mark up. I'm going to guess at least 25% or maybe more.
Does wally world sell motor oil at a loss?
Yes, only on clearance oils such as 5qt jug PU for $10.50 and quart bottle for $2.50. Regular price was $27.xx a jug and $7.xx a quart, no way they paid less than the clearance price.
Yes, only on clearance oils such as 5qt jug PU for $10.50 and quart bottle for $2.50. Regular price was $27.xx a jug and $7.xx a quart, no way they paid less than the clearance price.
Yep bulk which means less middle men and a better per unit price to the consumer for the same product.
And yes they are making a profit otherwise walmart would be lining up for a bailout.
And yes they are making a profit otherwise walmart would be lining up for a bailout.
Correct. Most regular prices there are above the 0 line. Clearance can be anywhere from flat to way below The only other time is when there comping someone else's price on a national ad or in there own ad ( this is usually a more mass market item than motor oil....think like tide detergent)
Walmart is bigger than all the other large retailers combined, im sure they get it real cheap
they also know when people come in for oil they buy lots of other stuff...i do
I disagree. Walmart MUST sell their oil at a profit loss.
Retailers will take a profit loss on certain items with the hopes of selling other more profitable items. CVS has milk for $1 after extra bucks; Mitas has a free safety inspections on all cars; Walmart Tire Express will fix an TPMS flat for $10. The retailer hopes that you will get a box of $6 Capt'n Crunch, add on a brake job, or spend an 90 minutes shopping while your tires are off.
I admit it: I will walk into Meijer to grab a jug of M1 EP and walk out with a cart load of stuff.
Retailers will take a profit loss on certain items with the hopes of selling other more profitable items. CVS has milk for $1 after extra bucks; Mitas has a free safety inspections on all cars; Walmart Tire Express will fix an TPMS flat for $10. The retailer hopes that you will get a box of $6 Capt'n Crunch, add on a brake job, or spend an 90 minutes shopping while your tires are off.
I admit it: I will walk into Meijer to grab a jug of M1 EP and walk out with a cart load of stuff.
They make money but they don't have every brand. If mobil is too long a truck ride for store X they'll sell havoline instead. Plus if Mobil isn't playing WM's game and cutting costs by 2% every year they'll get shown the door.
Mobil must be doing something right in the cheap dino lineup as they're also sometimes the store brand bottler. Since this varies by region it helps their logistics to "breathe" production-wise, to be able to dump extra through WM without diluting their brand. IMO Mag-1/Peak/Warren is doing the same with Amazon.
Same here today, gone tomorrow brands show up at WM with dog food, cough syrup and other quasi-commodities.
Mobil must be doing something right in the cheap dino lineup as they're also sometimes the store brand bottler. Since this varies by region it helps their logistics to "breathe" production-wise, to be able to dump extra through WM without diluting their brand. IMO Mag-1/Peak/Warren is doing the same with Amazon.
Same here today, gone tomorrow brands show up at WM with dog food, cough syrup and other quasi-commodities.
Mobil is even so good that they make Walmart's Supertech oil for them most of the time!
I have found that the sales at the parts stores put the prices to within a few dollars of Walmart, usually on the plus side. It is called competition and hopefully the parts store can do something else for you (like charge a battery as I recently had to have them do) or you won't go there, rather will continue driving to where you can get it the cheapest: Walmart.
It might be possible that the time saved can justify another store, but Walmart has become a mecca and pilgrimage, especially on motor oil, almost specifically.
And yes, I always throw *something* else in my cart when I go.. could be Seafoam, could be milk, could be a shirt.. It is all right there, and I have found the total at Walmart to be consistently less than somewhere else. And here, Target is out of the way, and they are OK but I prefer supermarkets for food, unless I get used to Target.. but Target doesn't sell anything car.. it is all relative.
I have found that the sales at the parts stores put the prices to within a few dollars of Walmart, usually on the plus side. It is called competition and hopefully the parts store can do something else for you (like charge a battery as I recently had to have them do) or you won't go there, rather will continue driving to where you can get it the cheapest: Walmart.
It might be possible that the time saved can justify another store, but Walmart has become a mecca and pilgrimage, especially on motor oil, almost specifically.
And yes, I always throw *something* else in my cart when I go.. could be Seafoam, could be milk, could be a shirt.. It is all right there, and I have found the total at Walmart to be consistently less than somewhere else. And here, Target is out of the way, and they are OK but I prefer supermarkets for food, unless I get used to Target.. but Target doesn't sell anything car.. it is all relative.
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