Technical Crate Motors From WALMART?

Walmart can sell the exact model number as your local dealer for less because they are buying in bigger bulk. A dealer has 1 or only a few locations to split the stock among so they might order like a 100 of each item but Walmart is located all over the place and will order like a 100,000 at a crack and split them up among the stores.. At 100,000 at a crack they get a major discount that allows them to sell less than the local dealers and still make a profit.

My dad did the same thing when he was alive. His competition wanted it at the same price but the problem was most were ordering half a semi and a few a full semis but my dad ordered 25-35 semi loads at once. Competition didn't realize that. My dad saved lots of money ordering this way.

Walmart teamed up with Advance Auto recently. You get free shipping from Walmart if you spend at least $35 at a time. I normally just get cat food there so I ordered a few bottles of brake fluid too. Not Walmart brand either but from advance auto so I got the free shipping for getting my order over $35 even though it came from 2 different stores.

 

Anyone buying an engine should deal with a company that specializes in automotive stuff. There are all kinds of "rebuilt" or "crate" engines out there. Getting the cheapest one may not be the best value. If you order a crate engine from GM, you get a warranty. You can order them from Summitt and be pretty sure you got a good price and they will be there if you have a problem later. Returning one to Walmart or any other similar place is going to be much harder to deal with.

 

Don't get me wrong but Walmart sometimes does order a cheaper version similar to another seller but not all the time because they can beat them in quantity brought. Just need to look at the model numbers closely. If the numbers match, it is the same machine.

 

I can buy auto & tractor parts, chainsaws , feed , hardware , Tires ,get my Oxygen for my cutting torch ,welding supplys ect. All from a Family owned store. At a lower price than Wal Mart. I can buy a 5 quart jug of bar and chain oil for less that Wal Mart sells a gallon. The Store is Hirsch Feed. They have two locations. One at Thayer Mo. and Another in West plains Mo. When Im at Thayer I buy fuel a Caseys for about a dime less that the Wal Mart Murphy in Pocahontas

 

I have noticed lately that when I "Google" speed parts, Walmart comes up right along with Speedway Motors, mainly selling the same Speedway parts. In some cases, they cost a bunch more.

If you hate WalMart, it's gonna get worse. I predict that pretty soon, it will be impossible to get all but the most essential goods locally. Amazon, with their "Prime" program (which others will soon be duplicating) will drive most local operations out of business. The general public will not be able to resist getting their everyday stuff delivered to their door at a significantly lesser price than "going to the store". Amazon is already doing it with groceries. Pretty soon the only local stores open will be gas stations and liquor stores.

In some areas, it's already here.

 

Yes, Walmart teamed up with Speedway too.

Good for you Old Wolf for finding a family owned store that is still making it.

Walmart is changing big time. When I worked there the first time my bonus checks were $425-$500 every quarter based on the store profits. then they changed the stores up, got rid of us on third etc. Now the quarterly bonus checks for the store profit is only $25-$85. Not worth it.

They are busy buying up internet only companies and don't seem to care about the stores anymore and they are deteriorating and it shows around here anyways. Even the ceo mentioned that they could close the stores at any time.

 

I buy most of my beer at the local beer and liquor store

 

Your probably correct. I like to see and hold and inspect the item before I buy it. I ordered a starter for my neighbor . It was for a 1949 H Farmall tractor. Item arrived brand new looked great. I installed it. and the drive would not engage. The starter on H &M Farmall's installs from the rear of the bellhousing. This starter turned backwards from the direction it needed to. the Armature and drive was correct. The field coils where incorrect. It took a lot of Phone calls and Emails to get it solved. had to ship the first one back. and wait a week. When our generation is all gone things will likely be a lot different. Old folks are resistant to change. Especially change that is regressive.

 

Walmart? what's that?

 

Yes Wal mart is closing some stores. In Corning Ark. The opened a store. then built a bigger new store. and drove all the local Buisnesses out . Then after they got everything sewed up. They built a Supercenter in Poplar Bluff mo. and Pocahontas Ar. then closed the doors on the Corning store. Now everyone there has a 40 mile drive. The folks there got crapped on and likely still go to Wally World?

 

I have been known to distill and brew my own.

 

..............Can you just imagine standing in line at the Customer Service counter with a SBC engine on a cart!!!!...Yeah, I would like to return this, it won't fit!!!

 

Sears had their dark side, too. When they were the biggest bull in the barn (the 1960s +/-) they developed the fine art of strong-arming their manufacturers and suppliers. Step #1 was to use their buying power to cause the supplier to have to tool up and staff up to meet the Sears demand for product. And if Sears could squeeze out any other customers the manufacturers had, so much the better. Step #2, once Sears had 'em by the short-n-curlies, was to send in the wrecking crew, bully boys with a buy-out ultimatum very much in favor of Sears.
There were a lot of other ways Sears played dirty pool. Remember the Craftsman socket wrenches with the marvelous little button on top that released the sockets into your hand? Sears tried to screw the inventor and drug their heels for a decade before they finally lost in court. They built their reputation for quality goods over many years and then tried to ride that rep while switching to lessor quality, off-shore products. It's fair to say Sears was the first of the big box stores to outcompete the mom-n-pop stores. But the other big box stores outcompeted Sears.
The advent of the internet had a huge impact on retail sales. We as consumers are now able to comparison shop without ever leaving the house and the seller with the least amount of meat on the bone gets our business. Suddenly, we make out like Gypsy horse traders and the seller, if he has a bad day, makes just enough profit to buy the baby a gallon of milk and a box of diapers.

 

There's an additional reason for the "Model Number Game". By changing a few mechanical parts and trim as done by the big store sellers, they have an exclusive product. You've seen all those ads saying "If you can find a better price for this model, we will match it" or "beat the price by $xx". Well, since they are the only seller of that particular "model", it's a pretty safe bet that nobody else can beat it.

 

Something I noticed on Wheeler dealers. The economy tanked in the UK and the big manufaturers left. now those big buildings have been divided up into smaller shops. Mike needed a steering wheel refurburshed. He took it to a one man shop and that guy did nothing but steering wheels. And fixed it better than new. It appears there are lots of one man speciality shops in place over there. perhaps it will come full circle here as well? A small one man shop can be competitive because they can have lower fixed cost of doing business. Right now a one person shop that did auto interiors would have all the business they could stand. The Archilles heel for the internet sales is going to be the shipping cost and state and local goverments trying to recoup the lost tax revenue.. Eventually all the small trucking companys and owner operators will quit . and the few remaining large trucking firms will have them over a barrel. and the government Tax & spend parasites will prey on them since they are the only ones left.

 

What did they say? something like 600 trucking companies filed bankruptcy last year and I thought that was just for 1 quarter but not positive now.

I can see a 1 person shop making it. Less overhead a lot less. If he can do quality work he can do make it work.

 

Companies like Amazon are becoming their own shipping companies now. They are reportedly delivering almost 50% of their own packages at this point. I don't think they are too worried about companies like UPS jacking shipping costs infact it's probably the opposite. UPS is probably worried about Amazon doing the same thing to the shipping industry it has done to the retail indusrty.

 

You are comparing service industries to manufacturing. Apples and oranges. As someone else points out, the big guys are taking over the shipping as well. Amazon Prime is essentially free if you buy enough stuff from them. I fought it for years, but since I am retired and on a fixed income, I finally gave in for strictly financial reasons.

 

The demise of Sears started when they tossed " Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" and replaced it with "would you like the extended warranty ?" Quality was replaced with throw away junk that they knew would fail after the original warranty expired had that happen with a Kenmore washer and a dryer. Wal-Mart has made some changes you will find certain items displayed with signs "Made in the USA" that give you some buying options. When I was doing my rewire I was able to find 3M connectors there.

 

I lose about $5 on every sale..........
but I'm going to make up for it with volume. ******

 

There is no such thing as free. It cost lots of money to run any truck down the roads. Insurance. Road use taxes. permits , trucks repairs and maintence cost continue to rise. And everyone wants to tax money from the evil trucks. eventually those retailers will have to pass to rising cost on to their customers. and the states will pass the rising cost of road building and repair on to the trucking companies. To assume that will have no or little effect on amazon & others is wishful thinking. Myself because of the high cost I quit buying licence and insurance for my bigger trucks. I just Let them set and rot.

 

I didn't say anything was free. YOU said internet companies will have to deal with shipping companies jacking their rates when all the little guys are gone and I was pointing out that they will not because they will be the shipping companies. Also if you don't think companies like Amazon have ways around paying taxes you are crazy. Amazon made $11.2 billion last year and got a refund of $129 million. The increased taxes get put on the ones that can't afford to line politicians pockets like you and me.

Anyways this has kind of drifted way off the ops post and is certainly way off the content of this board so I will stop.

 

Compare your WM Wranglers to those from other stores. I had been getting mine from WM, but noticed that recent ones felt different. Thinner material = cheaper. Like someone on here pointed out, even Michelin tires have a WM specific (cheaper) grade that WM demands of their suppliers.

Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

and Allstate Scooters made by Cushman & motorcycles. U remember the thick Sears Catalog,the wish book for all us kids & Parents to order from ??

 

Yes there was a sears catalog in every outhouse.

 

I rarely go to Walmart. Best to buy local when and if you can. Even if you spend 10% locally it has a huge multiplying effect. The "local" dépanneur (convenience store) has been around 1898 and is thriving.
The local village (pop 500), Wakefield, Quebec is also kinda thriving. It is due mostly to folks spending locally, and folks coming to visit due to its natural beauty and many restaurants and artists. With the right attitude, and right people in charge, people anywhere can prosper.

 

The first thing I remember doing automotively was my dad letting me "help" put a Sears short block in the family '50 Merc. That was while I was in junior high school. In '61 I learned to drive in that car.

 

And you could look at all the women's underwear ads.

 

So can I buy a Hot Rod from Home Despot yet? With red wheels?

Then I could stop screwin around wastin my time on the H.A.M.B.

Big Boxes are NOT traditional!!!