Wal-Mart Challenges Amazon with Unlimited $50 Shipping

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Super-Store chain Walmart is going directly after Amazon’s business model and will be testing out an unlimited shipping service for items bought online and delivered free for participating customers.

The move underscores Wal-Mart's efforts to scale its online business rapidly and gain a share of a market dominated by Amazon.
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How is that challanging Amazon, let's take all the other things you get with prime out. I can actually buy some decent stuff at amazon, Walmart is all cheap junk
 
Have you tried using their website? I don't think amazon has anything to worry about.
 
Yoda4561 said:
Have you tried using their website? I don't think amazon has anything to worry about.
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Yes, Walmart has a lot of work to do with their site. They already offer free shipping anyways on a lot of stuff. Besides, that $50 gets you 3 day shipping which isn't really that good of a deal.
 
What I don't get, is you can buy a bed on Amazon or Walmart and get free shipping, no problem. But try to ship a bed yourself through UPS or whatever, and its like $1000. :rolleyes:
 
Romale23 said:
How is that challanging Amazon, let's take all the other things you get with prime out. I can actually buy some decent stuff at amazon, Walmart is all cheap junk
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I think this is the point. Wal-mart is connected with other digital media efforts out there. By pressuring Amazon on Shipping, they want to force them to separate out Prime Shipping from Video, Music, & Storage. Its not just for Wal-mart's direct benefit. And people first join Prime for the shipping. They can probably do more to deny Amazon new Prime members than steal old ones.

But even looking at the discription its not exactly on par.
 
Lol challenge....you mean trying not to get "blockbustered"....which probably would never happen due to Wal-Mart's subliminal music telling people to fill their cart at the checkout line! Hrm... Amazon, i have an idea!
 
Yoda4561 said:
Have you tried using their website? I don't think amazon has anything to worry about.
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Have you tried to use Amazon's website? It is AWFUL! Filled with ads, no advanced search, designed purposely to return irrelevant products, categorization is a mess. I could go on for ever about how unbelievably bad their website is.
 
Ducman69 said:
What I don't get, is you can buy a bed on Amazon or Walmart and get free shipping, no problem. But try to ship a bed yourself through UPS or whatever, and its like $1000. :rolleyes:
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Corporate bulk mail discount.

Shoot my Nexus 6 was shipped directly from China and got here in 2 days shipped free. I priced what that would've cost for a joe consumer and it was $200 for a damn phone.
 
"Wal-Mart's service, which will be by invitation only for now, will offer selected products on the company's website to customers within three days or less"

Selected items.... So will it be 20% or their inventory, 99%?

Will it include items by third party sellers, probably not, and that's where most of Walmart's good "online" only items are.
 
BryanSTG said:
Have you tried to use Amazon's website? It is AWFUL! Filled with ads, no advanced search, designed purposely to return irrelevant products, categorization is a mess. I could go on for ever about how unbelievably bad their website is.
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It definitely needs work, but 99% of the time, I do a search and I find what I'm looking for. Where it's a mess is on the music front, where it's a PITA to get to physical media or I'll search for an artists album and instead of showing the MP3 version, the CD version and perhaps a Vinyl version, they show me umpteen single MP3's from that albums.

That said, if I'm paying $50 for free shipping, I might as well get the version with video and music. I probably wouldn't do it for 100, but Amazon seems to put prime on sale at least once or twice a year.
 
Compete with Amazon? So instead of drones are they going to force minimum wage employees into gyrocopters?
 
I still find Amazon a better deal. The streaming video and the cheap upgraded shipping. Yesterday I ordered a new SSD in the morning and paid $5.99 for SAME DAY delivery. Awesome.
 
I think Amazon has one of the worst websites on the internet. But sadly it is only one of the worst and not worse than Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart does have the worst website on the internet of any major company. It doesn't matter what you search for you pretty much just get a long list of books. Good luck challenging amazon when all people will be able to find is books. Also tons of stuff on Walmarts site you just can't buy for no particular reason.
 
griffinhart said:
I still find Amazon a better deal. The streaming video and the cheap upgraded shipping. Yesterday I ordered a new SSD in the morning and paid $5.99 for SAME DAY delivery. Awesome.
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I guess it depends if you have a local shop that carries them. if you do it's probably cheaper to just pick one up after work. Most places price match Amazon.
 
I tried ordering food from Walmart once, the stock status of the items in the cart was so volatile that I gave up and ordered from Amazon instead.
 
Walmart has mostly a different clientele compared to Amazon. I'm sure both can coexist without affecting each others' business. I think Walmart needs to worry more about whether its customers can afford and willing to pay the $50 fee.
 
Too many Amazon acolytes in tech forums.

I welcome competition. And they price match.
 
snowcrash said:
Walmart has mostly a different clientele compared to Amazon. I'm sure both can coexist without affecting each others' business. I think Walmart needs to worry more about whether its customers can afford and willing to pay the $50 fee.
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We all like to make fun of wally world shoppers, but the reality is that a lot of people shop there and they drive cars that are pretty much the same as most other stores. I still go for some items, but gave up on groceries when it became clear the prices were about the same as the grocery store that was closer and had faster check out.

And honestly, every single person I know with Prime shops at Walmart at least a few times a month.
 
What I don't get is why I pay 100 bucks for prime and then I still get charged more for prime items. Not to mention all the times my item took 3 days to get here.
 
Freiya said:
What I don't get is why I pay 100 bucks for prime and then I still get charged more for prime items. Not to mention all the times my item took 3 days to get here.
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To break even....most of the time UPS 2-Day is often a $30USD service even for an 8.5x11 evnelope....at that rate you break even in only 3 items/year.
 
this isn't a competitor for amazon directly to prime. The point here, is ease of access and returns. If Walmart can ship groceries, and other cheap items you avoid the long lines you get at Walmart. On top of that their 3 month return policy is golden with the fact theyll allow customers to return in store.

You cant compete with amazon directly, you have to find new ways. Walmart potentially has the unique new way as it can offer huge retail store fronts.
 
Staples said:
Too many Amazon acolytes in tech forums.

I welcome competition. And they price match.
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Stating a preference for Amazon doesn't mean having disdain for competition. I have little interest in Wal-Mart's offering but I'm still happy to see competition. They could attract enough customers to make Amazon get more aggressive with pricing, and I'm all for that. I just won't be in that group, mainly because I'm not going to drop Prime (video/music) and adding another $50 service just devalues my Prime subscription since it would just fragment my purchasing - I'm not going to suddenly buy more stuff to make the Wal-Mart subscription worthwhile.
 
Babbster said:
Stating a preference for Amazon doesn't mean having disdain for competition. I have little interest in Wal-Mart's offering but I'm still happy to see competition. They could attract enough customers to make Amazon get more aggressive with pricing, and I'm all for that. I just won't be in that group, mainly because I'm not going to drop Prime (video/music) and adding another $50 service just devalues my Prime subscription since it would just fragment my purchasing - I'm not going to suddenly buy more stuff to make the Wal-Mart subscription worthwhile.
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Yeah the issues isn't just price. I order a lot of gear through Prime. I even get next day free courier delivery on a Sunday which in the UK would probably cost $50 a time. I make a killing on delivery through it.

However, one of my old suppliers called me and asked why I hadnt ordered anything from them in a while. I told them straight that usually they were a pound or two adrift on price with Amazon. But even when they were several £ cheaper I still had to pay at least £5-£10 delivery and then...type all my address and credit card details in every time.

I told him that people are lazy and even if they work out £1-2 cheaper I'll probably still go to the Amazon tab and just click "buy" and be done with it. Also they just didnt have the range that Amazon have.

I think he'd had that feedback a lot. I used to spend thousands with these guys but my annual spend with them has now dropped to next to nothing.
 
nilepez said:
And honestly, every single person I know with Prime shops at Walmart at least a few times a month.
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It really depends on where you live and what you other options are... I avoid Walmart because their prices are rarely lower, their parking lots are poorly designed, they are normally understaffed/understocked and their employees normally look like extras from The Walking Dead.
 
Ducman69 said:
What I don't get, is you can buy a bed on Amazon or Walmart and get free shipping, no problem. But try to ship a bed yourself through UPS or whatever, and its like $1000. :rolleyes:
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Ya, it's weird. I had a 82" DLP TV shipped to my house for free from Amazon. And it wasn't even UPS or FedEx. It as an actual courier that just had my TV in his delivery truck. And the TV was still cheaper then local businesses.
 
Ponder said:
It really depends on where you live and what you other options are... I avoid Walmart because their parking lots are poorly designed
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Must be a local ordinance thing. Here in Texas, they are just big huge concrete fields. Can't complain too much about a concrete field.
 
Skripka said:
To break even....most of the time UPS 2-Day is often a $30USD service even for an 8.5x11 evnelope....at that rate you break even in only 3 items/year.
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It doesn't cost them that much and in many cases they're just sending things via the USPS. What's more, as the person you replied to noted, they don't always arrive in 3 days.

IME, most non-prime shipments arrive about 2 days after they ship...the difference is that Amazon now sits on non-prime orders for several days (something they didn't do until about 2 to 3 years ago).
 
Ponder said:
It really depends on where you live and what you other options are... I avoid Walmart because their prices are rarely lower, their parking lots are poorly designed, they are normally understaffed/understocked and their employees normally look like extras from The Walking Dead.
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Maybe so, but that still doesn't change what co-workers and friends do nor does it change what I see in parking lots. Walmart has diverse customer base. There are certain items that I simply can't find anywhere else, so I go there and I buy them once every month or 2.
 
Walmart blows and does not have anywhere near the variety or can even match the pricing of AZ.

I don't think Amazon has much to worry about.

If they run this service like my local walmart with clueless 19 year old's and incompetent managers it will fail and I won't shed a tear.
 
nilepez said:
I guess it depends if you have a local shop that carries them. if you do it's probably cheaper to just pick one up after work. Most places price match Amazon.
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Most local places cost allot more than online, and the few places big enough to carry the better items local tend to be far away, but even if they were not, getting a $350-400 SSD price matched, tax still makes it cost FAR more than that $5.99 same day shipping, and I would still have to take time out of my day to drive and pick it up.

I do most of my shopping online, other than food, as it is cheaper, and rather than taking all day to get shopping done, I spend 10mins online and I am done, without spending a cent on gas.
 
snowcrash said:
Walmart has mostly a different clientele compared to Amazon.
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Don't really see this. I shop at both Amazon and Walmart, I'm guessing millions do as well. It's not so much different clientele as different reasons for people using both. I'll go to Walmart for basic needs, toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, etc. but I'll buy computers and bigger ticket items from Amazon. Again, something I'm guessing is the same for millions of folks.

snowcrash said:
I'm sure both can coexist without affecting each others' business. I think Walmart needs to worry more about whether its customers can afford and willing to pay the $50 fee.
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I know plenty of people far from poor that shop at Walmart. The combination or their countless number of brick and mortar locations and inventory and pricing is unmatched in the US. In a nutshell, Walmart is super convenient for lots of basic items. $50 dollars is nothing compared to what we spend at Walmart yearly. I just spent $300 there a couple of days ago loading up on things we needed for vacation. Again, something that I'm guessing is common for millions of folks. Indeed you go to just about any big vacation spot it's almost certain that there'll be a Walmart around.
 
heatlesssun said:
Don't really see this. I shop at both Amazon and Walmart, I'm guessing millions do as well. It's not so much different clientele as different reasons for people using both. I'll go to Walmart for basic needs, toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, etc. but I'll buy computers and bigger ticket items from Amazon. Again, something I'm guessing is the same for millions of folks.



I know plenty of people far from poor that shop at Walmart. The combination or their countless number of brick and mortar locations and inventory and pricing is unmatched in the US. In a nutshell, Walmart is super convenient for lots of basic items. $50 dollars is nothing compared to what we spend at Walmart yearly. I just spent $300 there a couple of days ago loading up on things we needed for vacation. Again, something that I'm guessing is common for millions of folks. Indeed you go to just about any big vacation spot it's almost certain that there'll be a Walmart around.
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Not to mention Walmart brand food items and pharma tend to be pretty damn good.
 
I used to go to Walmart but they are starting to get just as bad and Best Buy now. They do not even stock as much stuff anymore and what they do stock is junk. (Actually, Walmart is worse than Best Buy.) Hell, Walmart did not even have something as basic as hearing aid batteries in the "Super Center".
 
Oh yes, a diverse clientele shop at Walmart, I will agree. But you have to be insane to bother, the cheapest man on earth, or have lots of kids to feed on a small budget, which means your average Walmart shopper is lower-middle-class. Not poor, but far from well-off.

My local Supercenter has everything you could possibly want, but makes it hell finding. The place is twice the size of a Lowes, a full football field in length!. Assuming you know where it is, this means you have to walk a football field to get from your space to the door (parking lot is constantly packed), and at least another football field to get to the merchandise you want, and back to the registers. And if you don't know, you'd better have an hour to kill, because sales associates are hard to find, and there's not tooo much logic to the layout.

Or, you could just shop at Target. They have 95% of the same merchandise (really everything except for auto), and a quarter the crowd, meaning you can actually park within a minute of the doors. The prices are usually within 5% of Wally World, so you're not missing much.

* Used to shop at wally world. Back in the 80s it was massively better than K-Mart.
* Switched over to Target, because Walmart today has become K-Mart.
* Wallet can't really tell the difference between the two.
* K-mart sucks.
 
defaultluser said:
Oh yes, a diverse clientele shop at Walmart, I will agree. But you have to be insane to bother, the cheapest man on earth, or have lots of kids to feed on a small budget, which means your average Walmart shopper is lower-middle-class. Not poor, but far from well-off.

My local Supercenter has everything you could possibly want, but makes it hell finding. The place is twice the size of a Lowes, a full football field in length!. Assuming you know where it is, this means you have to walk a football field to get from your space to the door (parking lot is constantly packed), and at least another football field to get to the merchandise you want, and back to the registers. And if you don't know, you'd better have an hour to kill, because sales associates are hard to find, and there's not tooo much logic to the layout.

Or, you could just shop at Target. They have 95% of the same merchandise (really everything except for auto), and a quarter the crowd, meaning you can actually park within a minute of the doors. The prices are usually within 5% of Wally World, so you're not missing much.

* Used to shop at wally world. Back in the 80s it was massively better than K-Mart.
* Switched over to Target, because Walmart today has become K-Mart.
* Wallet can't really tell the difference between the two.
* K-mart sucks.
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Target always seems to be more expensive than Walmart for me.
 
nilepez said:
Maybe so, but that still doesn't change what co-workers and friends do nor does it change what I see in parking lots. Walmart has diverse customer base. There are certain items that I simply can't find anywhere else, so I go there and I buy them once every month or 2.
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Rich people do not always buy nice cars, and the poor do not always have a car that would seem to be within their means. It is best not to use one local market as a nation wide benchmark. I can only talk about my experiences, just like you can only speak of yours. Walmart started tailoring stores according to local demographics about a decade ago. So ones mileage may vary.

Still I like numbers so ...Nationally(US) the average income of a Walmart shopper is well below its rivals(~20k less). It also has less shoppers who are in the higher brackets(~1/3 of rivals) and more in the lowest bracket(~double most rivals).

Still I can not imagine much you can find only at Walmart. I know people in the top 1% who shop at Walmart. They feel prices are lower.(they can rarely give a good example) It has been my experience that this is rarely the case. They can vote with their dollars however they want.

People can shop wherever they like, but my experience is they do not offer the best value. That is before considering the negatives of my local Walmart(s).

The massively full parking lots, carts everywhere, cars parked poorly and then to top it off... one entrance or exit. Any savings, if there was any, would be lost in the time I spend leaving the parking lot. I know part of the problem is that my local government is not good at forcing structure and design on companies. One would think a company, which is trying to convince me to shop there, would care about the time it takes to leave their location. Especially when you consider they have built 5000 or so stores in the US alone.
 
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