Top 10 Products You Should Never Buy at Wal-Mart

Taking into consideration that our modern world is comprised of one part immediate gratification and one part penny pinching, it is easy to understand why Wal-Mart has become the de facto one-stop shop for millions of Americans looking to save both money and time. You can literally buy everything from food to fuel. Wal-Mart is like a convenience store on steroids. Does this mean that Wal-Mart has the best deals on everything? No. As with all shopping adventures you need to know where to get the most bang for your buck. Comparison shopping is the key. Here are 10 products you should never buy at Wal-Mart.

10) Deli meats and cheeses. Most Wal-Mart delis don’t have the greatest selection of meats and cheeses. Plus, those that they do have are typically higher priced, often much higher, than what you can find at your local mom and pop deli or local meat store. A recent trip to a meat store just 15 minutes from our hometown Wal-Mart offered a much greater selection of meats and cheeses. The prices on cheeses averaged nearly $2 per pound less at the meat store. Wal-Mart hardly had any cheeses under $5 per pound, whereas the meat store had none over $5 per pound. The meat selection was far and above greater at the meat store with prices up to $3 per pound less for comparable meats. You need to shop around.

9) Televisions. They lure you in with the promise of low prices. This may be so but at what expense? While offering many of the top brands – like Samsung and Sony, oftentimes the Samsung and Sony televisions carried by Wal-Mart are the lower end models. If you need to buy a television from Wal-Mart you need to understand that you get what you pay for. This is the motto to remember when shopping for electronics. It will always and forever be the truth. That $300 television won’t be so cost effective when it needs replaced in two years.

8) Jeans. The same motto holds true here as it does for electronics. Ask yourself the following question – if you buy a pair of jeans for $20, and they need replaced every year (due to wearing out) are you saving money over buying a better quality pair of jeans for $100 that will last you for a decade or more? In the long run you are saving money by opting for the superior product. Plus, they will look better on you.

7) Video games. For those who are avid gamers, shopping at Wal-Mart has become easier due to the recent remodeling of many Wal-Mart electronics departments. As video game sales continue to rise exponentially, Wal-Mart continues to offer more floor space to gaming products. While prices and selection are often comparable, and in many cases better than at competitor’s locations, the reason to not buy video games at Wal-Mart is because it is always cheaper to buy games used. Roughly 99% of all current-generation (new) video games can be found online or at gaming specialty stores, used, for tremendous savings. Usually the only difference between a new Mario Brothers game and a used one is $10 – $20. Quality of used games is the same as new games and if a product is defective it can usually be returned or exchanged. Unless you enjoy paying $20 to remove cellophane wrapping from a game’s box – avoid buying new from Wal-Mart.

6) Music CDs. Exact same logic applies to CDs as to video games, plus one added annoyance – Wal-Mart censors their music CDs. If you enjoy listening to rap/hip-hop music you should never buy from Wal-Mart. All of the CDs will be the ‘clean’ version without the artist’s original material. This is a terrible idea. Just buy CDs online or download from iTunes like the rest of the world.

5) Produce. The reason to not buy produce at Wal-Mart is because the selection is usually so poor compared to what you can find at your local farmer’s market or mom and pop stand on the side of the highway. Freshness isn’t a problem, but if you like produce that isn’t a common find that can be found everywhere then avoid buying from Wal-Mart since they mainly carry only your most common produce staples.

4) Extended Warranty/Service Plans. Go back and read #9 about televisions. Do you really want to pay extra money for that television? Extended warranties aren’t just to be avoided at Wal-Mart, they should be universally avoided at any store. Rarely, if ever, will you make your money back. They are just another marketing gimmick designed to separate you from your cash.

3) On credit. While not a specific item, buying groceries on your credit card is one of the biggest financial mistakes you can make. Unless you pay your balance in full every month, you will wind up losing any money saved by shopping at Wal-Mart in the first place. Think about it, do you really want to spend $25 for a bag of Oreos? They will wind up costing around that much if you carry a never-ending credit card balance from food shopping.

2) Magazines. This impulse item du jour is one of the biggest wastes of money found at Wal-Mart or any grocery store. If you regularly read a certain magazine just get a subscription. You will save up to 80% or more. Example – GQ sells for $4.95 an issue at Wal-Mart (or most any store). A 1-year subscription (12 issues) is available for $12. If you are a casual magazine shopper consider reading them online. It’s free for most major magazines.

1) DVDs/Blu-Rays. Buying DVDs/Blu-Rays is possibly the biggest waste of money in the entertainment industry. Wal-Mart always has a large selection of movies displayed all over the store. They aren’t just in the electronics department, they are in front of the store at the check-outs, they are in aisles, they are advertised on screens all over the store, they are advertised on the security devices at the entrance, they are everywhere. Why shouldn’t you buy DVDs? Because 99% of those that you buy, for up to $30 a piece, will only be watched one time. ONE time. You are paying $30 to watch a movie once. Then you sell them at a garage sale or online for $.99. You are losing nearly every cent you spend on a DVD. Just get an online rental subscription or get your rentals from a Redbox kiosk. They are expanding at a rabbit-like pace and they only cost $1 per movie. Please America, please stop throwing away your money. Consider this. If you buy, on average, 10 movies per year at $20 each (again an average price) that is $200. If you were to just rent those same 10 movies it would cost you $10. That’s a savings of $190! If you were to invest that $190 in silver you could gain a steady profit every year. Think about it. Do you hate making/saving money? If you regularly buy movies you do.


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