Will Wal-Mart Steal Christmas?

Time ^ | 12/08/03 | DAREN FONDA

[Scenic Sounds]

I'm no longer shopping there, and you can be sure that this year my 16 nieces and nephews will NOT receive the Walmart gift cards I usually give them. I think gift cards from a bookstore will probably be better for them anyway.

Several friends have told me that Walmart will never notice my boycott, which I'm sure is true...but it makes me feel better.

Good for you, Amelia. America will be a better place for your decision. ;-)

[Hildy]

What the heck do you have against Target? So you don't wnat any competition, ever?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Toys R Us needs to get its act together. Last Christmas I went looking for a set of "Rook" card. Toys R Us not only didn't have it but they also told me that they couldn't get it for me. I finally found it at Wal-Mart.

I put up with awful service for cheap prices but I am not putting up with awful service for high prices.

[Hildy]

What the heck do you have against Target? So you don't wnat any competition, ever?

[DLfromthedesert]

I don't know if Wal-Mart has stolen Christmas, but if the shoppers I've seen on the News are a representation, the Christmas Spirit certainly needs some tending to.

[Hildy]

A Gift certificate, by law, can NEVER expire. It's just like cash.

[Amelia]

America will be a better place for your decision. ;-)

I suspect it's rather like sticking one's hand in the proverbial bucket and pulling it out again...but it makes me feel better to know they won't get any more of my money.

[Amelia]

A Gift certificate, by law, can NEVER expire. It's just like cash.

Tell that to Walmart. They won't honor my gift cards any more.

The big print says they never expire. The fine print says that after 24 months, they take out $1 per month as a "handling fee."

I bought several gift cards in relatively small amounts - $10-$15 - as gifts for the nieces and nephews several years ago. Before I'd given them all away, we moved, twice. It's a long story, but much of our "stuff" stayed in storage longer than we'd anticipated, and the gift cards ended up among the things in storage.

When I found them again, they were worthless, and Walmart refuses to refund the balance that should be on them, even though they have gotten the use of the money on the cards for over three years now.

[Scenic Sounds]

but it makes me feel better to know they won't get any more of my money.

Yes, your best bet is to just not deal at all with a bunch like this. As we speak, they are probably concocting some new scheme to perpetrate on new victims.

[Flyer]

Several friends have told me that Walmart will never notice my boycott, which I'm sure is true...but it makes me feel better.

Same here. I don't shout it from the roof tops or try to sway others, but I have made my decision, for my reasons.

[Richard Kimball]

Oh, is this the same Toys R Us that said they would pull their toy store out of Times Square if the NRA was allowed to put a store in? Makes me cry.

[Amelia]

As we speak, they are probably concocting some new scheme to perpetrate on new victims.

Could be, but I won't be one of them! ;-)

[tubebender]

The new shop, Geoffrey, named for the company's mascot giraffe, is a multihued, airy warehouse...

With a name like Geoffrey this business is DOA. DUMB DUMB DUMB...

[Amelia]

Same here. I don't shout it from the roof tops or try to sway others, but I have made my decision, for my reasons.

I want everyone to know about their deceptive practices, and that they aren't receptive to their customers.

The thing is, if they'd refunded my gift cards, they'd still have been ahead financially (just not as much) and they'd have built goodwill.

I guess they're big enough now they don't have to worry about goodwill.

[Old Professer]

Chuck-E-Cheese

[hunter112]

With a name like Geoffrey this business is DOA.

Yeah, but you gotta admire them for sticking their neck out! ;)

I remember 20 years ago when my kids were little, and TRU used to be the "discount" store. Now, its not anymore. What's the big difference between them, Target, and Wally's World? They all get toys that are practically 100% made by slave labor in Communist China. You have to go to a mom-and-pop toy store (if you can find one, good luck coming up with one in suburbia) to find toys that are made by people with our values.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

With American wages at an all time low in real terms, I expect Walmart will be the winner. Americans hate their products, but that's what they can afford.

[PAR35]

But, in historical context, ToysRUs ran the traditional, mall based old-line department stores out of the toy business a few years ago. They were, at that time, considered a category killer. Once they drove out the competition, they got fat and lazy. If WalMart does the same, new competition will be generated.

[IncPen]

With a name like Geoffrey this business is DOA. DUMB DUMB DUMB...

I agree, but not just because of the name.

When they were coming up with names for this venture I would hope they ventured outside their own experience. "Geoffrey" seems like an obvious choice, but the while the character was once warm and cuddly - a cartoon rendering - his latest incarnation is a 'realistic' 3D or live action creature that's frankly sort of frightening.

The Geoffrey brand is recognizable but it's blurry in the marketplace. How can they make 'Geoffrey' a destination it's indistinct and leans toward 'scary' (my kids' definition)

Equally troubling in conjunction with this 'icon' is their attempt to run a high-overhead store in an era of cost-cutting.

Sure, it's a great idea and it works in Fondue, Wisconsin, but where I live there's a ton of more 'legitimate' culture than there is in that BFE town.

I'd give it two weeks here.

[Xenalyte]

They may not realize it, but the good folks of Fond du Lac, Wis., are participating in a high-stakes shopping experiment courtesy of Toys "R" Us.

What are the apostrophes around the R supposed to signify? The company doesn't do that.