Wal-Mart Corporation Wal-Mart Store's and Wal-Mart.com Bait and Switch!!! Internet

First, to the ex-manager of Wal-Mart.  Having worked there you should be quite aware of why .com prices are cheaper.  They have an entirely different, and much lower, overhead to handle the product that the store does.  That's why prices are different.  With profits being very tight, no manager at any store is going to make any major price concessions.  Why?  Because its his bonus on the line and possibly his job.

Second,
  I wanna ask Flynrider, Stacey, Robert, Edge and all the others who "apparently" work for all these banks, companies etc how I can get in on that.  I could use a little extra scratch.

Wow, on top of every other name that people have called you on this site you are now a Wal-Mart employee? Why didn't you tell us that you have an employee discount at Wal-Mart?

Hey flynrider I thought that was you in the break room the other day..:-).

Anyways I am not a fan of Wal-Mart and do avoid it at all costs.  However, some of the responses to this are really funny.

First to the person who bought 24 cables for a HOME network..who says we are not dependent on technology.  After all there was a time not so long ago when most small offices didn't even have a single computer let alone a "network".  But I digress.

Back to the subject..your last line was great.

so guess who gets MY business??

- Ummm...Perhaps Wal-mart after all that is who you bought the cables from isn't it.  You didn't buy them from Target, you didn't buy them from Home Depot, you didn't even buy them from some other on-line computer retailer.  Wow you really taught Wal-Mart a lesson didn't you.

Then to Hvn's comment.

It is time consumers take a stand against being used and abused

- Yep just like the person you praised did.  After all they hate Wal-Mart so much that they actually bought 24 cables from them. 

   Now I work for Walmart too :-)   What will I do with all of these paychecks?

   In real life, I refuse to shop at Walmart.   I don't care for the way they do business.

   The point I was attempting to make is not a Walmart point.   It applies to nearly every brick and mortar retailer that also does business on a .com site.  If you go to Kmart, Target, Best Buy, etc... the policies are the same and they're posted on the sites.   You may not like it, but that's life on the Internet.  

This is a response to #4.

I was very impressed with your rebuttal.  You laid it out exactly as it is.  I wish more people had your common sense.  I think the person who wrote the rebuttal above your post is working for the company (anyway it sure sounds like it). 

It is time consumers take a stand against being used and abused.  We have the power to make a change, however, every one is so busy just making ends meet that they don't have the time or energy to put up with all the double talk.  It is infuriating at times to talk with a person who just doesn't have any respect for the consumer.

Anyway thank you for proving that their are still people in this world like you. 

God bless and take care.

I most whole-heartedly agree with the author of this post.  "wal-mart" & "walmart.com" are both under the same corporation and they at least should honor each other's prices! 

Here is my run in with the idiots:

While home on leave in Anamosa, Iowa, I was installing a new patch panel on a home network, and wanted to purchase 24 Cat-5e patch cables.  At the local wal-mart, they had them in stock for about $15 each.  at walmart.com, these same exact path cables were right around $5!  I called the manager and made him an offer that makes business sense:  "On your own website, these same exact cables are selling for five bucks.  now you and i both know (i am a former walmart manager) that wal-mart is not going to sell things like this at a loss.  in fact, computer peripherals are some of the most marked up items in the store (next to jewelry and dietary supplements).  So here is the deal:  I am giving you a chance to sell me those cables at $5 each, and that profit goes into YOUR local store, and your profit sharing plan, hence, your bonus check.  Otherwise, i buy it online, wait a week, use the free ship to store, and someone else gets those profits".  he said they can't match the online price, so i did exactly what i said i would do.  i ordered them online, had them shipped to the store on wal-fart's dime, and made sure that the manager i talked to was on duty at the customer service desk when i picked them up.

these companies need to realize WE are the ones with the dollars and we are the ones PAYING THEM, so they should take a little better care of their customer!

here is MY beef with wal mart.  they don't offer ship to store in Hawaii.  makes no sense at all.  it is not like they don't have to stock the shelves out here anyhow, so why not make room for my already purchased product, versus some POS piece of merchandise that might not sell?  heck, i will bet the ships that carry a chunk of their cr@p from China makes a swing through the harbors here on their way to the USA!!  Home Depot offers ship to store.  i think target might - so guess who gets MY business??

   "My question to the manager was " As a consumer how am I suppose to know that walmart stores and walmart.com are two different company's when you guys operate and advertise as one?! It just sounds and looks to me like walmart is trying to use the old bait and switch routine to get shoppers to buy at a higher price! "

  They're not really different companies. They're different entities within the same corporation (like Sam's Club).  Their point was that there you should not expect store prices when you shop the online site.  The answer to "how am I supposed to know" is either common sense (everybody knows Internet pricing isn't the same as store pricing), or you could read to website terms of service which explain it.

   Bottom line.  The store was out of the TV you wanted for $248.  They told you where you might find the 26" Vizio elsewhere (not necessarily for $248).  If you find it unusual and suspicious that an advertised special (especially a good one like this)would be out of stock by the time you reached the store, you need to get out and shop more. 

   You obviously haven't done much online shopping at major retailers' websites.    What they told you is correct and is common practice for almost all "brick and motar" retailers that also operate a website.  Check their terms of service and you'll find disclaimers very similar to the one on the Walmart.com site (which you obviously didn't bother to read) :

We do our best to provide you with great values on the Site as well as in our stores. However, sometimes a price online does not match the price in a store. In our effort to be the lowest price provider in your particular geographic region, store pricing will sometimes differ from online prices. Our stores do not honor Internet pricing or competitor advertisements from outside of a store's local trade territory.

 Walmart.com does not price match with any other online or offline retailer. We strive to maintain highly competitive prices and review them regularly in order to serve you with great values, every day.