Are you now swallowing your pride and shopping at WalMart because of the worsening economy?

[cboy4]

Wal-Mart expanding its low-priced drug program

By Nicole Maestri
Reuters
Monday, May 5, 2008; 8:08 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) expanded its low-priced drug program, saying on Monday that it is now offering more than 1,000 over-the-counter items for $4 or less and selling some 90-day generic prescriptions for $10.

Wal-Mart also increased the number of women's medications it offers at a discount.

"We expect that today's extension will generate additional pharmacy volume for the company, especially given the current weak consumer environment and rising health-care costs," Uta Werner, a retail analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, wrote in a research note.

Later on Monday, Wal-Mart's rival Target Corp (TGT.N) said it was cutting prices on prescription and over-the-counter medications.

In 2006, Wal-Mart began selling some generic drugs for $4 per monthly prescription in Florida, and it quickly extended the program to all its U.S. pharmacies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/05/AR2008050501013.html

on edit....

If you don't shop at WalMart, where do you shop for comparable prices? Name some places if you want.

[LisaM]

1. You forgot

Hell no! I never have, and I don't need a bunch of cheap crap anyway!

[unapatriciated]

64. I was looking for the hell no,

I second the never have and never will.

[bean fidhleir]

82. I was looking for the "hell no" choice too, for the same reason (nt)

[Fearless]

2. I will NOT shop at that place.

[Tikki]

9. Nor will I....

I have learned how to shop economically without Wal*Mart.


Tikki

[sellitman]

3. No I continue to.........?

I don't understand?

[cboy4]

10. It should have said boycott....but for some reason, the

word boycott disappeared.

It's fixed... thanks. :)

[NMDemDist2]

4. 'splain me this, how come WallyWorld can negotiate for lower drug prices

but the Bush administration can't?

[Rosemary2205]

19. Can't or won't?

The Bushista's WON'T. Walmart WILL.

[Freddie Stubbs]

27. What leads you to believe that Wal-Mart has negotiated lower drug prices rather than just

taking a loss knowing that this will bring people into the stores in the hopes they will make other purchases?

[unapatriciated]

65. You will find lower drug prices across the board

at most large chains and drug stores.A large variety of generic drugs have been in the $4-$10 dollar range for awhile. I think it may be due to patent's running out and more drugs becoming available as generics.

You can find low prescription drug plans at Target, Rite Aid, Ralphs/Kroger and most major grocery chains.

[Gormy Cuss]

92. because Wal-Mart would never take a large loss. It doesn't need to.

My guess is that Wal-Mart is at least breaking even on the deal.

[Nitrogenica]

5. Never have never will.

[blm]

6. No. Haven't gone in there for 8 years and still will NOT. Fuck the fascists and all

who helped them. Hear that Clintons?

[OhioChick]

7. Hell No...

Never have, never will.

[bbinacan]

8. No, I will continue to

shop elsewhere.

[juno jones]

11. Never will

But I am lucky to live in an area that values its local buisnesses, we have plenty including two dented can outlets and a grocery outlet, all locally owned.

[AlCzervik]

12. no.

[murielm99]

13. I won't go near the place.

Are we sure where they get their prescription drugs? Are they cheap knockoffs from China that might kill us?

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Other. I broke my boycott to buy a bicycle there, but only after

exhausting every other possibility of finding a bike of the type I need for less than hundreds of dollars.

WalMart - the store of last resort.

[DarkTirade]

30. I did that too a few years back...

and that cheap-ass bike broke numerous different ways every few days, starting from a few days after I bought it.

I didn't shop there for years unless I absolutely had to... unfortunately I lost my job and had to work the night shift for about 3 years and during that time I was only free to go shopping at 4-5 am most days. So I had to start shopping there again because they were the only store open. :\ Thankfully I know how to cook, so I minimized my expenses by just buying essentials there, and got things in boxes and spices and various other things that won't go bad if they sit in my fridge too long at other stores during the few times I was able to make it out to do errands during the day.

Thank the gods that's over. And now that I've moved, not only is the closest Wal-Mart miles away, but there's a local supermarket chain that has a 24 hour store near here if I'm ever in a situation where I need to go shopping at 4 am again. :)

[Lorien]

76. I'm shopping Craig's list for one

there's a lot to choose from.

[RaleighNCDUer]

94. Probably a good idea, but I must admit to being a bit of a luddite -

I don't buy ANYTHING on line or over the phone. If I can't put my hands on it first, I don't buy it.

[cboy4]

15. I accidentally voted for no change. Mother beeeeeep.

:argh:

[Critters2]

16. The economy will never get so bad that I need to go to Walmart!

I bite the bullet and spend whatever it takes on food (at the locally-owned IGA, or occasionally at Kroger). For non-food items, I go to resale shops and charity rummage sales. Or I do without.

[emilyg]

17. I have always shopped at Wal-Mart.

[Rosemary2205]

18. No snark - I can't afford Walmart.

for the most part, if it's not Goodwill, yard sale, barter or food pantry I don't have it. My boss takes me to Cosco and I get laundry supplies and toiletries - which with card are much cheaper than Walmart. I can also get vinegar, bleach, baking soda and scrubbing power for cleaning.

[unapatriciated]

83. the world can't afford Walmart

and that's a snark

[noamnety]

20. Continuing to boycott

but I'm not going to find fault with people who need to chose between going there or not being able to afford their medication, or act superior to them. I can afford to stay away because I'm privileged enough to be healthy and in a two income family.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

21. Around here, WalMart is the expensive place

Most folks I know buy clothes at the thrift stores, food at the farmer's market, salvage groceries, and the local mom & pop stores and pharmacies.

[Critters2]

23. Around here, the Farmer's Market and mom and pop stores

are WAAAAY more expensive than Walmart!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

70. We have Walmart Store #2

so its been around for a long time, much longer than other places. And somehow the mom and pop stores have adapted. My pharmacist undersells Walmart and has better, friendlier service, too. The one comment I hear again and again from locals is how cold and unfriendly Walmart is.

[Pastiche423]

22. No

And it has nothing to do w/pride.

[HughBeaumont]

24. I'd sooner dumpster dive than give a DIME to the ChinaMart Brats.

Wouldn't step in that moth ball-and-Drug Mart perfume smelling store if you paid me. The last time I did so was in 2004, and that was only because I was in a North Carolina small town with nowhere else to go.

[MissB]

25. I don't shop there.

I live in a city with tons of choices, so it would literally have to be the last store open in town for me to go there.

I shop for groceries at WinCo foods. I only have to fill a couple of prescriptions now and then - the kids' vitamins at Costco and dh's medicine every few months. I'll be using the mail order pharmacy through my new employer, which offers a 90 day supply for $15. The $5 difference between that and Walmart just isn't worth it for me. It would require me to drive way out of my way to go to Walmart. I'd probably eat up the cost savings in gas alone.

[MrSlayer]

26. I will not betray my union brethren.

Screw Wal-Mart.

[Rue]

29. I'm with you on that.

Organized labor needs all the support it can get right now.

[coriolis]

28. If I don't go to WM, it's a 65 mile road trip to buy groceries.

The only store in this half of the county...so it's a fairly clear choice. Were it not so.

[Greyhound]

47. I hope at least the food is decent. n/t

[Wiley50]

31. Only autoerotic lions swallow their pride

Sorry, i know that's borderline too raunchy for DU

But i couldn't help myself

Please forgive me

[trixie]

32. OMFG NO!

The "savings" are just a myth that many have bought into.

Krogers
Vegas

Independent markets are your best bet for savings like (for Detroiters) Biondos, Kowalski, Randazzos, Nino Savagios, etc And the food won't be processed crap.

ETA we have successfully kicked Walmart out of Warren. Seems they cost a lot to have in your community and we gave them the heave ho. We couldn't afford policing their store, property values went down and the latest condo builder could not sell units with a Walmart in the area. Who is going to buy a home for 140k in a slum? They have been gone for a few months and the change is amazing. Quiet neighborhood, back to a nice area.

[logosoco]

33. My 13 year old daughter won a

$20 card for walmart at school so we went tonight. I bought a few other items (i had coupons!) and it was a horrible experience. Everything i wnted to get had dirty or crumpled packaging . We will not be going there for a long, long time. (But i must add the cashier was very pleasant...i think it was almost time for her to get off work!)

[Miss Carly]

34. waste of time, walmart is as expensive as everywhere else

I was just there

Carly

[cboy4]

35. Oh come on..."as axpensive as everywhere else"?

As expensive as union stores that have to charge more to pay higher wages and benefits.

Of course not.

[Miss Carly]

36. whatever

I am not going to get into an argument about this, just not my style,

Carly

[trixie]

37. You make no sense

Yes, it is proven that Walmart in the long run is more expensive. Us union workers really thank you for your right wing propaganda though.

I had no idea that slave labor = fair prices.

[cboy4]

59. No no no.....the person I responded to said WalMart is

as expensive as "everywhere else."

That's BS.

The union Safeway grocery store's prices are in some cases twice as expensive as those at WalMart.

I'm not defending WalMart.

I'm just pointing out that, no, WalMart's prices are not as expensive as union stores.

Try not to be so disingenuous next time trixie.

[Canuckistanian]

38. No

'nuff said.

[uppityperson]

39. No. Costco. eom.

[alittlelark]

40. I haven't walked into a Walmart for 4 years

I hope to make it 6 years before they go out of buisness.

[Greyhound]

41. No. Nothing they sell is really inexpensive, it is only cheap and that means you have

to buy it over and over and over. We pay more for quality and buy much less.

Food, cleaning, and personal items come almost entirely from Trader Joe's, clothes (when we can buy them) frequent journeys to Ross looking for the higher quality articles that occasionally get through (we buy something about 20% of the time, great deals on bras, BTW). A few odds & ends that we buy occasionally, like batteries, we ask a friend to pick up for us when they go to Costco.

The poorer you are, the more time you spend shopping.

No, we do not make even a reasonable amount of money, we are working poor.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

42. No, I'll just buy less stuff

as I did last year when business was slow: Bought no clothes, got books and movies from the library, didn't eat out, didn't attend any events that didn't have free admission, drove even less than I usually do.

Even when I was totally broke (early in my career as a translator) I was desperate enough to go to WalMart.

The only time I ever bought anything at WalMart was when I was volunteering on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi after Katrina, and a bunch of us decided to buy supplies to donate to the relief center. WalMart was the only place open.

[HughMoran]

43. I'll die before I shop at that hell-hole

I hate that fucking place for so many good reasons...

[Fox Mulder]

44. Yes.

But that's because Wal-Mart is the only place where I can go to buy cheap groceries. I'm not going to drive an hour and a half to get groceries at a more liberal establishment.

[dmr]

45. No. I watch the ads & buy

as much as I can afford when something is on sale, and head over to the Goodwill when I need something. I just bought 6 five-pound bags of sugar at 99 cents each at my grocery store, and will go back and buy 6 more later in the week (the limit is 6). I just carefully pack them away in closets, being careful about bugs. Last month I bought 60 boxes of Rice Roni for 30 dollars, and have them stored away. My son loves Rice Roni.

I try to do the best I can with the little I got and make it stretch as far as possible at stores that I believe have decent business practices. Wal-Mart doesn't make the cut.

[Quantess]

46. No. I shop at secondhand stores and thrift shops, though.

There's a lot of surplus stuff of all kinds being tossed out or donated.

WalMart isn't that much cheaper than anywhere else. I like clearance sales, but the WalMarts near me don't have clearance very often. Target and Fred Meyer have good clearance sales.

[Duer 157099]

57. Love the thrift stores too

I inwardly snicker whenever I find these awesome vintage "Made in the USA" things in thrift stores, knowing that they probably ended up there because their foolish prior owners bought a newer shinier (cheaper, inferior, Made in China) so-called "upgrade" - Hah! I'm slowly purging my home of all those cheapo Chinese products and replacing them with the older quality built USA stuff. Yeah, I have always been a little backwards, lol.

[Quantess]

80. Yes, like a durable old blender, for example.

But thrift stores also have a lot of new or barely used stuff, since the influx of cheap imported goods has led to an oversupply.
I've seen thrift stores get big lots of merchandise from department stores that didn't sell. Most of the time, the new stuff is worthless dust-gathering junk that should never have been made, but sometimes, you can find something good that's brand new. It's hit-or-miss, and it does take a lot longer to shop when you're at a thrift shop, so I understand why most people would rather go to the mall.

I get the idea that thrift stores in some parts of the country are more fun to shop than others, and with different levels of newness. Around here, there's a lot of newer items, but the vintage stuff is scarce and picked over.

[BuelahWitch]

48. I go where the sales are

Lately that's been our local Kroger affiliate, Dillons, which is probably just as bad as Wally's. They've been having excellent weekly sales lately, and sent me some coupons last week. I like their bread, and if they have what I want on sale, I go there.
I don't visit Walmart as much since CVS moved in next door (they give me lots of coupons too), but I will go occasionally if I need over the counter drugs.

[NuttyFluffers]

49. no, because i don't buy meds

further, they are so far away that to get there would waste gas that could easily have paid for my medication elsewhere and closer by. in addition, i buy generic drugs anyway if i have to.

beyond that i already know "cheap is expensive" and know how to buy things via mail. so there is absolutely zero reason for me to spend any money at Wal*Mart. i like saving money, that's why i don't shop Wal*Mart -- and trust me, i know how to save money.

[DainBramaged]

50. Target, Costco, never WalMart, never ever, I'll eat dirt first

[KillCapitalism]

51. Not as long as I have decent alternatives.

Target has fairly good prices, and Trader Joe's has excellent deals, so I see no need to go to Wal-Mart.

[Digit]

52. I STILL refuse to shop at WalMart!

Never, never, NEVER will I shop there.

[last_texas_dem]

53. I buy printer cartridges there sometimes

Generally 'cause I don't plan well and need to get one late at night to print something at the last minute... Otherwise, I never shop there, and I don't know of anything that would cause me to start. (Well, maybe if they started giving a shit about their employees, but they seem to be moving further and further away from that possibility...)

[newmajority]

54. Even if I wanted to go to WalMart, which I don't

The amount of money I would spend on gas getting there would negate any possible "savings" in prices.

I do go to Grocery Outlet once in a while. Some times they have some great deals.

[Duer 157099]

55. Oh hell no. I barely even remember that we even have one here

It's actually the closest store to where I live, and yet it's completely off my radar so I often even forget that it exists here. Until someone inevitably says something about "getting it at WalMart" to which I always reply - nope, never shop there.

It's like it doesn't even exist in my world.

And I like it that way.

[LaPera]

56. Never, there's not a Wal-Mart in all of Humboldt County, CA - We voted them down 3 different times.

They know better than to try again....Closest Wal-Mart is well over two hours away in any direction from where I live....Wal-Mart hurts people more than they help!

[Ellen Forradalom]

58. Target works for me

On those rare occasions that I need something they sell.

[truebluecollar]

60. I 'd like to think I wouldn't...

...out of principle. Knowing myself, honestly, I'm a cheap fuck--I'm sure I'd catch myself shopping when I wasn't out in front of the store picketing. Since there's no store anywhere close to the Northern SF Peninsula the point is academic and the dilemma does not present itself so I voted 'Other.'

[El Pinko]

61. I don't shop at Wal-Hell, but it's not just for political/philosophical reasons.

First and foremost, I don't go there because there are very few things there that I would be interested in buying. I don't need cheap plastic crap, electronic gizmos, or faux-decorator home-accent products. Nor do I need to buy from their limited selection of junky, chemical and hormone-laden "foods". Their prices are not appreciably lower than my supermarket - certainly not enough to make the gauntlet through disheveled aisles of screaming, slurpee-drooling kids and gargantuan and sluggish bargain-hunters worthwhile.

[Voltaire99]

62. What a stupid trivialization. It isn't about "pride."

It isn't a question of swallowing pride.

If you shop at Wal-Mart, you might as well stop voting.

You can't fund GOP Amerika with your shopping dollars and expect ever to have anything but GOP rule. Like oil, finance and war, the mono-culture retail store happens to be one of the major right wing arteries.

That many Democrats can't understand that helps to explain why the party is so weak today (and I should hardly need mention that one of the candidates, let's call her Chug-A-Lug, is a former valued Wal-Mart insider).

[Solon]

63. It has nothing to do with pride, Wal*Mart stole my wages and that of thousands of other workers...

that worked there. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!

[Inittowinit]

66. no!

[Connonym]

67. my employer likes to give out Walmart gift cards

I'm not going to throw that money away so when I get a gift card from work (frequently offered as a bonus for working overtime) I swallow my disdain and buy my groceries at Walmart that week. I'm too poor to throw away $50-100 on principle. My reality is that making sure my family eats is more important than holding ideals. It's the same way I feel about accepting subsidized school lunches for my kids. I'm not proud that I'm in that position but I'm not going to let pride stand in the way of my kids' wellbeing.

[K8-EEE]

68. COSTCO!!!!!! Dem values - good pay & healthcare!

I would never go to a WalMart. I do have a lot of alternatives though here in L.A. & I realize some people don't.

[Lorien]

75. Yep. I shop with friends and neighbors so that, as a single person,

I can still buy in bulk.

[DemReadingDU]

69. Other

I had a gift card that I received at Christmas. I needed a lawn sprinkler, so went to Wal-Mart. Technically, it wasn't my money. Wal-Mart is the last store I go to, if ever.

[annonymous]

71. Wally World is the store of last resort for me.

I only go there if I can't find an item anywhere else for a reasonable price. I prefer to avoid the place because of the crowded parking lot, poor quality merchandise, slow check out lines, and screaming toddlers. I mainly shop at Aldi, Save-A-Lot, Big Lots, Costco, Value Village and the local farmers market.

[ElkHunter]

72. There's a Wal-Mart less than a ten minute walk from my home...

...and I wouldn't think of shopping there. I've been a member of a union for more than thirty years. It simply goes against my principles to spend money with that outfit.

[Mad_Dem_X]

73. Not as long as there are other stores in my area

I have a K-Mart and a Target nearby, as well as a Wal-Mart. As long as I have those other stores, I will not set foot in a Wal-Mart.

[Lorien]

74. Nothing is worth fucking over my fellow American

and the planet. I survived the 1970s before there was a Wal-Mart. There are better alternatives out there.

[Marrah_G]

77. I wish I had the option to never go there

But I am a single working class mom of three teenagers. Buying nothing that isn't on sale and using as many coupons as I can is the only thing keeping us afloat right now. Come winter I will need a second full time job to pay for heat. The kids will have to do without me.

[Tracer]

78. I haven't set foot in Walmart in years.

For one thing, it's 12 miles away, and the last time I was there, the store stank so much of old, greasy popcorn that I nearly threw up.

I shop almost exclusively in my local stores -- especially at a privately owned pharmacy, rather than at the CVS and Rite Aid --- which are within 2 blocks of each other.

Unfortunately, my daughter continues to shop at Walmart despite my entreaties to her to go somewhere else.

[old mark]

79. Anyone stupid enough to boycott Walmart ....

...deserves to lose money.
EVERY chain retailer in the US is buying from the same places, every major manufacturer based in the US is opening plants in China- most of them just won't tell you. It's not Walmart's fault that US manufacturers have given up on the US. It's just greed, improved global shipping and communications. I recently bought 2 items online, and the one ordered from Thailand arrived here in PA several days before the one ordered from the Western US. It is a question of who wants to do business more, and the overseas businesses are winning.
ADDED: I was a Steward in AFSCME for several years, and have always shopped at Walmart, and always will.

mark

[Dorian Gray]

81. There is no Walmart

in NYC, so I've never shopped at one in my life. I've never had the choice to boycott one because there has never been one near me. However, I do shop regularly at Target, and I will continue to do so. There is one ony a 15 minute walk from me in Brooklyn, and I love it.

[high density]

84. Wal-Mart is way on the other side of town

It simply isn't convenient for me to shop there unless I want to take a 20+ minute ride each way. I buy most of the stuff I need at the supermarket.

[blondeatlast]

85. I'll never set foot in a WM even with one very close. Target has the same generic drug

prices (Costco, too) and I hated WM before it was politically fashionable!

[suffragette]

86. Not about being "proud"

It's about supporting or not supporting practices and policy that are detrimental to our society.
If I give them my money, I feel I'm giving them tacit approval. I'm not going to do that.

[zorahopkins]

87. NEVER EVER NEVER EVER

I will NEVER set foot inside a WalMart!

EVER!

Just the thought gives me a headache.

The ONLY way I would ever go into a WalMart would be as part of a mass protest against Walmart's sadistic employment practices!

Walmart is EVIL Incarnate!

[zorahopkins]

88. NEVER EVER NEVER EVER

I will NEVER set foot inside a WalMart!

EVER!

Just the thought gives me a headache.

The ONLY way I would ever go into a WalMart would be as part of a mass protest against Walmart's sadistic employment practices!

Walmart is EVIL Incarnate!

[Mind_your_head]

89. Nope - NEVAH!

I won't even take my 80-something y/o mother there (she LOVES the place). I'll take her anywhere else she wants to go - no problem. I tell her to ask my stupid bush-bot sibling to take her there (but that sibling never takes her ANYWHERE - the jerk!).

[scarletwoman]

90. Other: I live in a rural area. I buy as much as I can from locally-owned businesses -- and gladly

pay higher prices in hopes that the local business owner will be able to STAY in business -- but there are some things that no one carries except WalMart. Like nicotine patches, for example; I'm desperately trying to quit smoking. There's a WalMart about 35 miles away, the nearest Target (which I would prefer to shop at) is almost 60 miles away.

I can't afford the gas to drive a 120 mile round trip to pick up nicotine patches, and I can't afford to spend extra money on a bunch of other stuff to make the trip worthwhile. A 70 mile round trip to WalMart is bad enough, so I end up buying a few grocery items that the local small-town grocery stores don't carry (whole wheat pita bread, chunky natural peanut butter, dark chocolate candies) to make it more worthwhile.

Except for my recent desire for nicotine patches, I generally shopped at WalMart only 2 or 3 times a year. I'd love to do a total boycott, but when you're in a rural area, choices are very limited. If WalMart is the only store within miles and miles that has something you need, what can you do?

sw

[ismnotwasm]

91. Nothing to do with pride

I can't stand Wal-mart for a number of reasons, not all of them political. There is only one anywhere near where I live, and it's not close enough to conveniently use in the first place. All three times I went there it was filthy, crowed and irritating. The prices weren't that great, and it uses the typical marketing ploys such as item placement--a lot of time crap you don't really need---and "markdown" sales other stores use.

Honestly, I can find better deals at second hand stores for some items. Goodwill industries for instance. Shop for a very good cause.
For other things, well, I can find cheap underwear closer to home.

As far as things such as labor practices, they suck and I wouldn't shop there even if it was convenient, but I don't condemn others for it. You live with the options you have.

[LucyParsons]

93. No fucking way. No.

I am making do with less and less, but will not shop at Wal-Mart. I do 90% of my household shopping at a cooperative grocery store a mile from my house. I do the remaining 10% (for items not stocked at said co-op) at a regional, independent chain grocery.

I HATE Wal-Mart. It makes me lose all faith in humanity to even enter that place.

[truebrit71]

95. Nope. Fuck WalMart and Sams Club. We use Meijer and Costco...

..