Retailers in America

Noach said:Comments?

We live in a pathetic country where everyone wants to work as little as possible while making as much money as they can. It's a textbook example of how Yellow Cab drivers operate—just cruising around all day, picking up a few rides here and there, and ripping off customers.

They should just set decent prices, work a full day, and end up making more than they do now.

Same goes for retailers. I was looking at donut prices today $0.83 and the cashier told me they've been slammed. She said since they dropped the price, they've been moving 300 donuts a day, which she claims is five times their usual volume.

I know from experience—I’d buy two donuts every single day if they were $0.83, but I'm not about to let them rip me off with a price hike of +$1.25 per donut.

Absolutely agree. Idiots don't realize that selling donuts for $0.83 makes them $250, whereas selling them for $4 makes them $80. But how much work would it take to actually produce 300 donuts? Not happening. 🙄 Look at the owners of IKEA and H&M—they're some of the richest people in Sweden, and somehow they sell cheap stuff. 😁 You'll never root out this kind of mentality, unfortunately. I'm losing all hope for this country. 😢🙄

copperjackal89 said:Look, those of us living inland get it too. By the way, the label says it's totan, but honestly, I doubt you holy people living by the coast could even tell the difference in taste between bad frozen squid and just bad frozen... well, anything else. 😉
Sure, that doesn't excuse manufacturers playing dirty, but the whole squid versus totan thing is such a textbook example.

God, I wasn't trying to insult anyone here... I just know most people don't even realize there's a different subspecies. It isn't even about how it tastes, it's more about the texture and how it looks; totan looks different and it's way tougher than actual squid. But whatever, let's move on—the point is that this "local" product ends up being more expensive and lower quality than the imports.

brisktinker15 said:God, I wasn't trying to insult anyone here... I just know most people don't even realize there's a different subspecies. It isn't even about how it tastes, it's more about the texture and how it looks; totan looks different and it's way tougher than actual squid. But whatever, let's move on—the point is that this "local" product ends up being more expensive and lower quality than the imports.

It isn't merely a sub-species; it is a distinct species altogether. 😉
When it comes to the matter of texture and toughness, would any sane individual be willing to sink a massive amount of capital into a blind taste test to distinguish between squid and octopus? I am utterly certain that I could tell them apart just by looking at them, but if you actually put them in front of me to eat, there is absolutely no chance I would succeed. 😬

brisktinker15 said:God, I wasn't trying to insult anyone here... I just know most people don't even realize there's a different subspecies. It isn't even about how it tastes, it's more about the texture and how it looks; totan looks different and it's way tougher than actual squid. But whatever, let's move on—the point is that this "local" product ends up being more expensive and lower quality than the imports.

Good grief, these whole "buy local" campaigns are nothing more than a transparently foolish manipulation, built upon a shaky foundation of forced patriotism and manufactured national identity. It is quite frankly absurd. In my view, we ought to prioritize our own individual interests over any sense of American loyalty; if we were actually acting in our own self-interest, we would select our food based on quality and value rather than some arbitrary flag. 😉

Walmart is easily the biggest scam artist in the US—maybe even globally. They own everything from the soil to the canned meat, yet somehow their canned meat ends up being the most overpriced option in the store. My stomach actually turns when I see their "deals," like buy two fly swatters and get one free. Seriously, when am I ever going to burn through three fly swatters? Here’s another one: go buy eggs at Walmart. It says "SALE: Eggs $13.99" in big bold letters. At first glance, it doesn't look sensational, except for the fact that those exact same eggs cost $3.25 at any other grocery chain. So, they just shook you down for an extra $4.00—about 40% more than the competition. But wait, there's more. You open the carton and realize the eggs are tiny, like they came from a quail. They're about 20% smaller than the standard eggs offered by competitors in the same grade. And the scam doesn't end there. You get home and start making pancakes—say, 30 of them. You’d expect three eggs to do the trick, but you throw in four just to make sure they turn out yellow and homemade. Except, the more eggs you add, the whiter the batter gets. The quality is basically zero. In short—our beloved Walmart cheated us on price by 40%, cheated us on quantity by 20%, and then totally failed on quality by 100%. If you don't believe me, go buy some eggs at Walmart and try making pancakes.

Also, take a look at the women working the registers. These are our mothers, sisters, wives. You ask them something simple, like "Do you have white noise machines?" and the poor soul just repeats the same script: "Good morning, do you have a rewards card? Thank you, goodbye." Honestly, seeing how broken, exhausted, and brainwashed they are—to the point of having zero personality left—is pathetic. And on top of all that, they earn the lowest wages in the industry. It's the same story with Cosmo. Unlike what you see with Todorić, just look at the staff over at Lidl or CVS.

It's solely because of Walmart that our food prices are 20% higher. Small local shops wonder why they should sell Podravka soup for $7.99 when the exact same stuff is $8.99 at Walmart. Naturally, they just bump their price to $9.49 to compensate. I really hope Walmart goes under soon.

...

Most other places aren't much better, honestly—I pretty much just steer clear of Walmart and anything from that Agrokor crowd. I'm mostly hitting up Target right now, but if Agrokor ends up grabbing a stake in them, I'm out too.

I’d much rather shop at a store in Canada than grab anything from Walmart. Honestly—they just insult my intelligence at every turn by treating customers like complete idiots. And the worst part? They actually think they can keep pulling this crap indefinitely—cheating us on quality, quantity, and the final price tag.

So, I picked up some frozen fries from Coca-Cola the other day. I had to do a double-take when I saw the "made in Netherlands" label on the bag. For the longest time, Coca-Cola was one of the few brands that didn't sell its soul by using imported ingredients, but I guess even they've caved.
Seriously though, can't we just grow our own damn potatoes and actually compete with the Dutch on price?

Look... the Netherlands is actually one of the top ten potato producers globally—they hold records for yield per hectare. 😉
Wealthy nations aren't wealthy by accident; it’s because, more or less, they simply do everything better than impoverished ones. They are more efficient, more productive. 😁

I just wanted to touch on the quality of what's available, though I realize my comparison might not be perfectly apples-to-apples. These days, I shop every single day at a massive store here in Stockholm, somewhere like a Walmart, and since I'm big on fruit, I tend to buy all sorts of things. Honestly, the difference in produce quality compared to what we get back home—especially at places like Walmart—is night and day. I'm not even exaggerating. What they're selling us feels like bottom-tier stuff, no joke. And the price is basically the same.

Sam Murphy3 said:Walmart is easily the biggest scam artist in the US—maybe even globally. They own everything from the soil to the canned meat, yet somehow their canned meat ends up being the most overpriced option in the store. My stomach actually turns when I see their "deals," like buy two fly swatters and get one free. Seriously, when am I ever going to burn through three fly swatters? Here’s another one: go buy eggs at Walmart. It says "SALE: Eggs $13.99" in big bold letters. At first glance, it doesn't look sensational, except for the fact that those exact same eggs cost $3.25 at any other grocery chain. So, they just shook you down for an extra $4.00—about 40% more than the competition. But wait, there's more. You open the carton and realize the eggs are tiny, like they came from a quail. They're about 20% smaller than the standard eggs offered by competitors in the same grade. And the scam doesn't end there. You get home and start making pancakes—say, 30 of them. You’d expect three eggs to do the trick, but you throw in four just to make sure they turn out yellow and homemade. Except, the more eggs you add, the whiter the batter gets. The quality is basically zero. In short—our beloved Walmart cheated us on price by 40%, cheated us on quantity by 20%, and then totally failed on quality by 100%. If you don't believe me, go buy some eggs at Walmart and try making pancakes.

Also, take a look at the women working the registers. These are our mothers, sisters, wives. You ask them something simple, like "Do you have white noise machines?" and the poor soul just repeats the same script: "Good morning, do you have a rewards card? Thank you, goodbye." Honestly, seeing how broken, exhausted, and brainwashed they are—to the point of having zero personality left—is pathetic. And on top of all that, they earn the lowest wages in the industry. It's the same story with Cosmo. Unlike what you see with Todorić, just look at the staff over at Lidl or CVS.

It's solely because of Walmart that our food prices are 20% higher. Small local shops wonder why they should sell Podravka soup for $7.99 when the exact same stuff is $8.99 at Walmart. Naturally, they just bump their price to $9.49 to compensate. I really hope Walmart goes under soon.

Cosmo isn't owned by Agrokora anymore😬
it hasn't been for at least half a year now😉
and the wages in all those retail spots are pretty much the same, though I suppose Kerum and CVS (especially that guy) pay a bit more in this sector
and honestly, I'm not even surprised...
in Target, it was actually a good move when they introduced self-checkout; it's way faster, and it ends up being cheaper for them too🙂

you could say one decent thing about Walmart is that they opened a shop in somewhere like a smaller coastal town and kept the fruit prices maybe$0.67 slightly higher than they would be in a big city like Los Angeles
before that, it was totally normal for produce to be at least 40% more expensive there than in LA😉

Kaufland has somehow managed to claw its way to the top of the retail game, but honestly, every single time I step foot in there, I end up completely exhausted just trying to navigate the chaos. The way they stock their shelves makes zero sense; you could be hunting for something basic like toothpicks and find them tucked away in some bizarre corner next to the canned tuna instead of where they actually belong.

I’ve been thinking about Tommy lately—isn't he actually Italian? It’s pretty interesting how he’s positioned himself within NTL as a major player in the retail sector.

Richard Lewis16 said:Cosmo isn't owned by Agrokora anymore😬
it hasn't been for at least half a year now😉
and the wages in all those retail spots are pretty much the same, though I suppose Kerum and CVS (especially that guy) pay a bit more in this sector
and honestly, I'm not even surprised...
in Target, it was actually a good move when they introduced self-checkout; it's way faster, and it ends up being cheaper for them too🙂

you could say one decent thing about Walmart is that they opened a shop in somewhere like a smaller coastal town and kept the fruit prices maybe$0.67 slightly higher than they would be in a big city like Los Angeles
before that, it was totally normal for produce to be at least 40% more expensive there than in LA😉

I’m a huge fan of those checkout lanes. 🙏🙏
It's basically the only reason I shop there. 😁

Wish more stores would just catch up.

Oh, come on, you’d probably go anywhere at this point, as long as it was somewhere out in Westgate 😬
just a little joke here and there... 😉

Yeah, I'm totally on board with that too, though if I'm being honest, I'm not exactly a fan of that whole system where they fill up all those little bags... I feel like there have to be much better ways to handle it

Richard Lewis16 said:Oh, come on, you’d probably go anywhere at this point, as long as it was somewhere out in Westgate 😬
just a little joke here and there... 😉

Yeah, I'm totally on board with that too, though if I'm being honest, I'm not exactly a fan of that whole system where they fill up all those little bags... I feel like there have to be much better ways to handle it

Truth.😁 The one over on Washington Street is more my speed, though they have the same stuff at both locations anyway.😁

By the way. The retail scene and Walmart... my old lady just scored an Easter voucher for Walmart. 🙄 So we hit up that Superkonzum over on Ljubljana Street today. Honestly? Thank God for other grocery stores. 🙏
Trying to navigate this store with a cart is a total nightmare. The aisles are way too cramped, and they’ve just dumped pallets of sale items right in the middle of the walkway. As for the selection? Don't even get me started. They don't even carry about half the stuff I usually grab at other places, like Spar. The produce section is a complete disaster, too. The radishes and green onions that are supposedly on sale for Easter look like they were picked a month ago. 👎 The deli selection is pretty pathetic.
We mostly blew the voucher on sodas, drinks, snacks, and other useless junk. As for the prices? I don't even need to go there.
The only decent part was the fish prices—we picked up two medium sea bass for about... $8.25 I think it's 1kg. $15...and two big trout. $4.00 (1kg is... $6.75). 🙂

Overall impression? Total disaster.

Nathan Newman3 said:So, I picked up some frozen fries from Coca-Cola the other day. I had to do a double-take when I saw the "made in Netherlands" label on the bag. For the longest time, Coca-Cola was one of the few brands that didn't sell its soul by using imported ingredients, but I guess even they've caved.
Seriously though, can't we just grow our own damn potatoes and actually compete with the Dutch on price?

Most of the time, companies like Coca-Cola are just repackaging imported goods into their own branded bags. If you aren't reading the fine print on the label, you'd naturally assume you're buying something local just because of the name on the box. 🙄

Frozen fruit and veggies usually come from Canada, Italy, or Belgium. Frozen fish is sourced from pretty much everywhere, though there is a small local selection. As for frozen chicken? That’s almost always Brazilian.

The entire economy in America basically functions on one simple rule: if sales or profits dip, just jack up the prices...

It’s honestly pointless to debate this when we all know absolutely nothing will change until we finally clear out this entire, outdated mess of a political establishment...

Take this recent crisis tax, for instance—just a rough, amateur observation—but the way they implement it and then scrap it within a few months perfectly illustrates the sheer incompetence of those running America. Meanwhile, all the other political parties just stay silent... and looking at the bigger picture, I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. Since I still have a job, I guess I'll stick to laughing for now... but once I get laid off and find myself living off government handouts for a year or maybe three months, then I'll be crying too.

The reality in America

Just another quick example—I won't name the company (unless you count being American...) but they’re world-famous, and there's a good chance you have at least one of their products sitting in your pantry right now. So, here's the deal: an American working as a brand manager at the firm's European headquarters over in Canada decided—in the middle of this massive crisis—to actually lower prices for one of our local brands. Want to know what happened?

While all his colleagues—other brand managers, mind you—were busy slashing headcount, cutting salaries, trimming costs, and gutting product lines just to try and maintain last year's profit margins... this guy did the exact opposite. He slashed prices, and in the middle of a recession, he managed to jack up sales and profits for that brand by about 20%...

And believe it or not, it was an American who pulled it off!

What a joke this country is!

1. This is why our local "entrepreneurs" are all just scammers running shady schemes where they care about profit per unit rather than volume. unknown, I’m buying something he sourced for $17 while I end up paying $83. Instead of grabbing stock for 50 and selling it to me, his sister, and his mom for 100 a pop, he just squeezes every cent out of single sales. It's the same story with those high-end boutiques in shopping malls—the managers of these "fancy" shops live in penthouses in Chicago's "Tax-Free" zone (basically the suburbs), buying high-end knockoffs for 20+€ and flipping them for over 150€.

2. Then you have the staff in smaller shops who are literally paid to sell things. For example: I walk into a Ray-Ban store on Ilica one day and there’s this woman working. First, she rolls her eyes just because I walked in to spend $500. Then, as I try on glasses, she hands them to me with total attitude and keeps rolling her eyes at every question I ask. I wouldn't even leave her enough for a coffee, let alone $500 for some sunglasses. I already messaged the managers to tell them to get their staff under control.

Walmart? No thanks!

gentlebison18 said:Most of the time, companies like Coca-Cola are just repackaging imported goods into their own branded bags. If you aren't reading the fine print on the label, you'd naturally assume you're buying something local just because of the name on the box. 🙄

Frozen fruit and veggies usually come from Canada, Italy, or Belgium. Frozen fish is sourced from pretty much everywhere, though there is a small local selection. As for frozen chicken? That’s almost always Brazilian.

And that's how a first impression can totally mislead you...