if you had to choose. target or walmarts?

.however, there are some people who shop at W-M out of necessity, vs. personal preference or some misperceived socio-ideological caricature....not everyone can afford Von Maur, folks.

I see/hear this argument often about W-M. I really cant believe anyone "needs" to shop there. Not only do I live in the middle of nowhere, and Id be willing to bet that I have the lowest monthly budget for food and household supplies of anybody on this forum, I can still make the effort to get what I need without going there. I would be more willing to accept that after a long day at work and screaming kids in the car, its just must easier to shop at the mall-wart. Throw out quality for the sake of convenience, its the American way.

I stopped shopping at Wal-Mart more than 15 years ago. At that time they had a big marketing plan pushing the "made in the USA" agenda saying that all of their clothing was USA made. Support the American worker; buy from Wal-Mart. What patriots. Then it came out that they knowingly bought foreign made clothing and added USA tags to be sewn in them. I thought then it was a trashy way to treat the very people that had been so badly harmed by out sourcing and I still do.
Target, K-Mart, or Meijers or almost anywhere else for me thank you. Convenient or not.

Given my druthers, I prefer Target. Living in the Stony Brook area they are both close to to house.
The merchandise seems to be a lot better quality at Target and the store is definitely laid out better. The displays are a much neater than Wal-Mart or K-mart for that matter. Like everyone else though, my money doesn't grow on trees and I will purchase something from wherever I feel I getting the most for my money. Although it does make my skin crawl just walking into a Wal-Mart.

Like everyone else though, my money doesn't grow on trees and I will purchase something from wherever I feel I getting the most for my money. Although it does make my skin crawl just walking into a Wal-Mart.

Not to come off as argumentative, but I am curious as to why you would take your hard earned money and spend it at a retailer that makes your skin crawl.I am assuming that by you saying your walking in there, you are spending money there. I would imagine you would never do that at a restaurant that made you feel that way. Its important to support the local merchants/retailers just as much as it is the indie restaurants.

There are just those times when every penny brought in has to stretch as far as possible...for myself as well as many people I know, a lot of times it is a matter of necessity, not choice. That's the reason why places like WalMart are so profitable. I would love to buy every item imaginable from local merchants or places that have better moral practices (and do so as much as possible) but when it's been a rough month and I'm counting every dime, lower prices at some of these larger chains can make all the difference. When it comes down to tightly budgeting due to car repairs, unexpected bills, ect., things like worrying about the kind of people the money is going to sometimes has to become the seondary concern. Doesn't mean it does not have that "skin crawling" quality but in times like this anything done to succeed in this economy for the most part has it's downsides, such as in this case.

Well said Mandy. I think you wrote what a great many people have to deal with right now.

There are just those times when every penny brought in has to stretch as far as possible...for myself as well as many people I know, a lot of times it is a matter of necessity, not choice. Doesn't mean it does not have that "skin crawling" quality but in times like this anything done to succeed in this economy for the most part has it's downsides, such as in this case.

So do you really have no other choice than to shop there? Is there no other place you go in the entire city? Again, if it makes you have "skin crawling feeling" why go there?
I have googled around a bit to find if WM is really cheaper than a Kroger type store and I could not come up with anything conclusive either way. One the low end I found they are about 3% cheaper,and at the high end maybe 15%. Granted that was compared to a store similar to a Kroger and a smaller retailer might be a bit more expensive than a Kroger.
My income is very seasonal(flowers/fireworks) so I have watch my money very carefully,even more so this time of year. When we dont have anything coming in(like now) we budget at 8 to 10 dollars a day for each of us (around 500 a month for two). This has to cover all the food,household supplies,prescriptions and things like pet food. Our eating out budget also comes out of this. I am not complaining, I really enjoy doing what we do. I can make the sacrifice as far as income goes, so we can be happy doing what we do.
We have found that we can get what we need on a limited budget and still feel good about where our money goes by shopping around a bit. Yes, it does take more effort and time.
WM has done a great job convincing people that they are the cheapest for anything. I dont believe it. Take a jar of olives for example,what would say it goes for at WM 3.99? You probably get about eight ounces of olives. Go to Lotsa and get a half pound for the same price and feel good about it. I guess Im just to idealistic. It seems that our country could use a little help from all of us right now. That ten dollars you saved for yourself might have been better spent shopping at your local hardware store thats been there for fifty years employing local highschool kids and that old guy in the paint section whos been there forever. It might cost a bit more to buy a book from a local store than it does at WM, but I bet they would be willing to order any title you want. Plus that book stores paying somebody rent, whos then able to keep the building well maintained. Small retailers are really hurting now. Ask your self how much your really saving by shopping at WM. By spending money with them your making a conscience effort not to support mom and pop businesses therefore hurting them. I dont expect to anyone to be militantly against shopping there, I just want to challenge the notion of it being necessity. I have found this forum to be filled with community minded people that do what they can to help others. Lets not forget that spirit when were doing our everyday shopping.

As I said before, I try to shop at retailers that I actually FEEL GOOD about patronizing as much as possible. I try not to go into places like WalMart unless I feel the need to. If money is particularly tight on a pay period and I know there are several things that I must have (wants vs. needs being a larger part of the picture) then I may go there on occasion, partiularly if I know it's on sale. At the same time, I do try to shop at the more local retailers whenever I can. The last time I needed hardware for my kitchen I went to Oscar's on Frankfort. I try to shop at Carmichael's as much as possible when there is a book I want and I'm not paying $10 more for it when some of the larger retailers can offer deep disounts on new releases. It's all about attaining a balance. What good is it feeling great about my purchasing morals if I don't have even $2 left to my name before my next pay day? Someday I hope to advance enough in my career to not have to make choices like that, but for the time being trying to make on my own in my 20's at a job that has more rewards for the job done that the pay itself doesn't give many options at times.

What about the thousands of folks in this country employed by WM? Are their jobs expendable, simply because some people disagree with Wal-Mart's business practices?

I prefer Target, but I'll make no apologies for stopping by Wal-Mart if I happen to be in the area and need an item, or if they have a better price on an item. Plus, my aunt is the Assistant Mgr. at one of the 'Marts in town, and I feel good knowing that she'll have a job, and therefore, medical insurance, having just lost her husband, and all.

since i started this thread, i noticed more people lean towards target.

I don't have the figures handy, but the average household income of Target shoppers is something like $20,000 more than Wal-Mart shoppers.

hey i ask the same question all the time tarja aka target or walmart

me my self like target better but i live in upstate NY State now and all we have close is a dumb super walmart but when i live is Louisville i also went to target and Kroger

o well there much better than dumb walmart but now that i live in upstate NY i try to got price chopper and target for everything

Wal-Mart stinks. Literally. Every time I walk into one, my nose gets blitzed by the reek of polyester and cheap cologne.
It smells like poverty.

Target, not so much. Though most of what is marketed there comes from the same places as Wal-Mart's merchandise, somehow, it doesn't stink. Target seems to do a better job of stocking some more-unusual home decor items, and better kitchen gear. And it's kept on the shelves, as opposed to Wal-Mart; there you can find a CD case in the frozen-food section, by the pizza.

K-Mart used to stink, too. I hated going to those when I was a child.

Who remembers Zayre's?

The one we had near us in Chicago always had a large black and white stripe sign. The building was more or less stripes of black and white masonry. I remember calling it the zebra store.

Are you sure that was Zayre, John? I recall a store called "Venture" that had the black and white diagonal stripes.

I grew up in the western/northwest suburbs, and I remember Zayre having huge red letters, and there were stores in Addison, Mt. Prospect and Hangover Park.

Are you sure that was Zayre, John? I recall a store called "Venture" that had the black and white diagonal stripes.

I grew up in the western/northwest suburbs, and I remember Zayre having huge red letters, and there were stores in Addison, Mt. Prospect and Hangover Park.

Yeah your right, Venture was it. I was thinking of the one on Manhiem(Lagrange rd.) and Joliet near all the car dealerships. Last place we lived was Berwyn/Lyons area just off Harlem. Its now time to make the obscure Son of Svengoolie reference (Berwyn!).

Are you sure that was Zayre, John? I recall a store called "Venture" that had the black and white diagonal stripes.
I grew up in the western/northwest suburbs, and I remember Zayre having huge red letters, and there were stores in Addison, Mt. Prospect and Hangover Park.

Yeah your right, Venture was it. I was thinking of the one on Manhiem(Lagrange rd.) and Joliet near all the car dealerships. Last place we lived was Berwyn/Lyons area just off Harlem. Its now time to make the obscure Son of Svengoolie reference (Berwyn!).

At the risk of boring everybody else on this board, Son of Svengoolie presents "The Bells of St. Berwyn".

You made me do it.