This or That: Target or Walmart

[The Deadman]

Where do you like to spend the most of your money? Is it Target with their lovely products or Walmart with their low, low prices.

[CyberCubed]

When I used to go to stores it would usually be target. Back when I was a teen/early 20's I always used to buy TMNT toys or videogames from target, and DVDs.

Nowadays I retired from buying toys, I watch movies/shows for free on streaming sites, and I get most of my games through amazon or ebay. Besides clothes from time to time, at this point I basically have no reason to step one foot into a store ever again for the rest of my natural born life.

[IndigoErth]

Kind of split now.

Typically it's always been Walmart for both prices and the fact that it's just simply a lot closer. The only Target we had until now was over there at the mall near I-95 and those roads and traffic over there are a pain so I don't go very often.

Though now that the building of my former workplace has been converted into Target, finally opened in April, and is not far from Walmart... it's just going to depend on what I'm after. I prefer Walmart's prices, but my nearby store is a real pain about actually having things I'm after and often even some normal basic things are out of stock for too damn long.

I've already once hit Target after work simply because I didn't feel like driving that much further over to Walmart and do it's required amount of walking, and doubt it will be the last.

[IMJ]

This thread is eventually going to populated by those "the people of Wal-Mart" memes.....

[MsMarvelDuckie]

We only have a Wal-Mart here, so that's the obvious choice for me. I get just about everything I need there, since it's close to work and I can just grab whatever I need on the way home.

[CyberCubed]

Is Walmart even cheaper than most other stores these days? I remember back in the way everyone flocked to Walmart because their prices were cheaper than Target, K-mart, etc.

Is that even still true anymore? I honestly don't know.

[Leo656]

Mostly. Of course, they bought most of the "competition" so there's not much to compare it to. I've noticed that they're a lot cheaper than Shop-Rite for most grocery-type things.

I just go to whichever is closest, really. I used to work around the corner from a Target, so I'd go there since it was on the way home. I don't work there anymore so now Wal-Mart is closer.

I don't remember which was cheaper. Location factors heavily into such things, like Target and Wal-Mart stores' prices vary depending on location and demographics. Pretty sure all stores are like that. For example, the Target I used to shop at is in a town with mostly Indian people, who were all generally making six or seven figures in computer software or whatever, so that Target was higher-priced than the one a half hour away. Likewise, I live in between two Shop-Rites (they're each ten minutes away from me in opposite directions) and their prices are totally different; the one is right near a senior citizen "village" with a mostly-Jewish population and that store intentionally sets their prices higher so they can gouge the Jewish people. Or so I've heard from people who work there.

I can't be assed to go out of my way anymore, so I just go to Wal-Mart for most everything. I will say the Target had much better selection on toys and DVDs, though.

[IndigoErth]

Around here, Walmart is definitely still the cheapest. Certain things may not be by a lot, but still better. (Heck, even better than Dollar Tree on a few name brand things.)

Target is mostly mid-range. Though if prices can vary depending on the community, I haven't a clue where this one stands. Sometimes wish their prices were a little better. We have an Acme right in the middle on the drive between Walmart and Target and, as anyone who is familiar with them knows, is the expensive one. They sadly ate up cheaper Pathmark. Without Pathmark, Walmart is our only cheaper grocery option now.

I do hope the Acme can survive being straddled by those two, they do have certain things I don't tend to find in the others. They had a deal with Walmart when it opened that it would not do the full sized grocery thing like some Walmarts have, which helped, but not sure about Target... But this Walmart's food stocking efforts, esp frozen stuff, tends to suck too, so...


I HOPE the next time there's decent toy aisle TMNT stuff that everyone is wanting, not just adult collectable stuff, this Target will be really good at carrying them. My Walmart has always been so slow to get things and in some cases just never did. Our original Target was a tad better but not much. Hoping this one will be good on that.

[CyberCubed]

I've forgotten what it was like to see if toys or videogames were in stock. Like when you go to a store you have no idea what they'll have or not until you walk down the aisle. When you order stuff on the internet you go on amazon or ebay and you can immediately find what you're searching for, look for a good price, and decide if you want to buy it or not.

I remember as a teen/early 20's looking through department stores for toys/videogames. Feels like a foreign concept from another lifetime now, I haven't stepped into a brick and mortar department store in at least 5+ years. I just order everything online now. It's so much more conveinient to buy something online and have it mailed directly to your house and not having to wait on line at a cashier or search for something or deal with crowds.

I've honestly forgotten what "shopping" is actually like.

[IndigoErth]

I dunno, I kind of like when you have that chance to luck out and actually find what you're after and get your hands on it. I'll usually check stores first before looking online. Online always seems more expensive, too, so that's less appealing and may sometimes just be patient and wait.

Besides, when it comes to figures you can compare paint jobs in person and pick the best one. Don't tell me I'm the only one who does that.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I've forgotten what it was like to see if toys or videogames were in stock. Like when you go to a store you have no idea what they'll have or not until you walk down the aisle. When you order stuff on the internet you go on amazon or ebay and you can immediately find what you're searching for, look for a good price, and decide if you want to buy it or not.

I remember as a teen/early 20's looking through department stores for toys/videogames. Feels like a foreign concept from another lifetime now, I haven't stepped into a brick and mortar department store in at least 5+ years. I just order everything online now. It's so much more conveinient to buy something online and have it mailed directly to your house and not having to wait on line at a cashier or search for something or deal with crowds.

I've honestly forgotten what "shopping" is actually like.

You're also rich and "retired" from collecting toys and stuff, by your own admission. So it doesn't affect you.

Stuff with an MSRP of $15 in-store generally goes for $30-45 online, even on Wal-Mart's own website. Just for example. Not to mention the Amazon and Wal-Mart sites are usually sold out of the toy stuff people actually want, OR if they have it it's even higher than eBay sometimes.

I get most of my new toy stuff from BBTS these days, since with shipping it's only $5 more than retail, but the wait time can be ridiculous. There's stuff I ordered in February that just went out today. It beats the eBay and Amazon prices but lots of people can't handle the whole "You'll get it whenever you get it" part.

So lots of people still prefer to buy stuff in-stores when they can. Unfortunately, for most people it's not even an option anymore thanks to scalpers. But yeah, not everybody's okay with the "pay twice the MSRP" and/or "You'll get it someday" stuff that goes along with buying online.

I remember how online shopping was supposed to make collecting easier and less stressful, but for most people thanks to bots and scalpers the exact opposite is true, to be honest.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Besides, when it comes to figures you can compare paint jobs in person and pick the best one. Don't tell me I'm the only one who does that.

No, tons of people do that. Tons of people are SUPER picky about buying toys, and lots of times sloppy paint or cross-eyed type errors are common.

I'm generally fine with whatever I get, but some people refuse to buy ANY action figures online for just that reason; you're at the mercy of whatever they send you.

I recently bought a Joker figure that was made with both black and purple suit variants. I specifically ordered the purple one, the purple one was the one in the picture... they sent me the black suit one. No big deal, but stuff like that is kind of annoying.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Stuff with an MSRP of $15 in-store generally goes for $30-45 online, even on Wal-Mart's own website. Just for example. Not to mention the Amazon and Wal-Mart sites are usually sold out of the toy stuff people actually want, OR if they have it it's even higher than eBay sometimes.

I get most of my new toy stuff from BBTS these days, since with shipping it's only $5 more than retail, but the wait time can be ridiculous. There's stuff I ordered in February that just went out today. It beats the eBay and Amazon prices but lots of people can't handle the whole "You'll get it whenever you get it" part.

So lots of people still prefer to buy stuff in-stores when they can. Unfortunately, for most people it's not even an option anymore thanks to scalpers. But yeah, not everybody's okay with the "pay twice the MSRP" and/or "You'll get it someday" stuff that goes along with buying online.

I remember how online shopping was supposed to make collecting easier and less stressful, but for most people thanks to bots and scalpers the exact opposite is true, to be honest.

i agree 100% **** scalpers

[IMJ]

I've been in Targets and TRUS (back in the day) where the store manager kept inventory in his office or in the back for alleged "scalper issues xyz". I never believed it - doing that did nothing, as far as I could tell the store managers who do that are scalping.

It might be different if a manager told his employees to stock the "scalpy stuff" of the moment on and off across the day instead of all at once, but that never happens.

[CyberCubed]

Weird because I find things much cheaper online. Unless you're talking about really old games or toys from decades ago, and of course modern stores wouldn't have old stuff in stock anyway, in which ebay is your only choice for "retro" stuff.

I buy all my videogames on either ebay or amazon depending on what's cheaper, usually get it with free shipping too. I've never paid full price $59.99 for a game in about 15 years...I usually get games around $35-$40 at the most. At this moment games are my biggest expense, besides stuff like gamepass, because there's no other way for me to get them.

[Leo656]

Newp. Toys and action figures. Current. In my case, the Masters of the Universe, AEW and WWE stuff. And I'm only cherry-picking a few but the McFarlane DC stuff, as well.

All goes for $15-20 MSRP in-store, but every bit of the "good stuff" disappears as soon as it hits store shelves. Most of it ends up on eBay the same day for $30-50. There's sometimes VERY brief windows where you can theoretically buy them on the Wal-Mart or Amazon website for retail price (plus shipping, of course), but those windows are generally measured in minutes.

And sometimes they screw ya; Trap-Jaw from the MOTU Origins line retailed for $15, same as all the basic-series figures... but then when supplies dried up, Wal-Mart jacked up their online store price to match what the eBay price was (around $35-40) just because it was so in-demand. The official retailer was "scalping" their own exclusive product to take advantage of product scarcity and high demand! If you lived in an area lucky enough to have that figure on shelves at Wal-Mart, you paid $15; if you bought it online - even through Wal-Mart themselves - you paid the inflated "Sucker Price".

I like ordering from BBTS because 1. Before shipping, they only charge like a buck and change over retail, 2. Shipping per-item is only $4, 3. Their stuff always shows up in great condition, and 4. $5 extra is reasonable, to me, for peace of mind. But the flip side is, there's no timetable for delivery and you'll get it whenever they send it. So it's both more convenient AND more of a pain.

But no way you'll ever find any toys that are "in-demand" cheaper online than you will at Wal-Mart or Target. Zero chance.