It's a rare person who has any business criticizing anyone for shopping at Walmart

[JohnnyRingo]

41. That's a point many WalMart loyalists seem unaware of

I didn't start shunning WalMart out of principle, I did it because I had to return too many of my purchases. I have a friend with a small business who used to vend to the local WalMart. He told me that after he signed his contract they gradually cut the price he was paid until he could no longer supply them.

A bigger vendor would find a way to cut their bottom line to continue supplying WalMart, like selling goods that are made in other countries with lower quality control, or selling seconds. Therefore, not all consumer goods are created equal.

A Westinghouse steam iron sold at WalMart will likely not be of the same quality as one sold at another store. WalMart doesn't care because they just refund your money and send it back to the supplier. One just has to look at how many people are at the return counter when they walk into the store.

When one factors in the gas they waste returning items that are unnacceptable, they save nothing. But then again, after going through the customer sevice line they can do more shopping and "save" even more money.