[sarasmom]

Good for Rush!
I am sick of the people who push the anti-everything-Walmart viewpoint, pretending they are conservatives.

It's just a big box retail store.
Stripped down customer service, merchandise selection is on the lower end of adequate, but come on...how many poor to middle income people actually require designer brand socks or unique hand painted glassware?
Home Depot is also everywhere. If I know exactly what I need, they have an adequate selection to choose from, at low prices based upon their large quantity buying discounts.
But if I need professional advice, I hit the local mom and pop hardware store, and purchase the exact item I need from them, by the people who explain to me exactly what I need,how to use it, and what my alternatives choices are.
That information is well worth the 5-15% additional cost to me, and I pay it gladly.
What I do not do is "steal the added value" from the mom and pop store, and buy the product from Home Depot/Walmart.

[Gabz]

I love my local mom & pop hardware store/lumber yard. They beat the big guys (84 Lumber, HOme Depot, Lowe's) hands down on just about everything.....including price.

Yet...........they were the ones who sent me to WalMart for paint, particularly indoor paint that wasn't your standard flat or semi-gloss white. The paint department manager of the WM is a retired hardware store owner and knows his stuff.