Posted on 03/28/2020 3:44:14 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
The local Walmart has 5 quart bottles of Conventional Super Tech 10W-30 for $13.98 and Synthetic for $14.88. Regular quart bottles of all brands/grades are also at months ago prices.
These are the same prices for which it has been selling for months. With the price of oil at around $22 a barrel, that is WAY too high for oil. Doesn't seem to be right with what is going on right now with the whole region in economic distress. Never did see Walmart as gouging, but on this item they are.
Oh no. How awful. Just this morning, I paid $1.03 per croissant at my local Walmart. Just a month ago, I’m certain I paid $1.02. Just outrageous. I tried to complain but was just brushed off. For some reason, the manager seemed more concerned.about crowd control since a truck with tp was at the loading dock. The nerve.
what might be a typical turnover time for gasoline?
Why don’t you sell it for less? You could make a bundle.
ML/NJ
Then don't buy any! Having the government dictate prices is a path to economic disaster.
How would the price of a quart of synthetic sitting on the store shelf change just because market price per barrel dropped?
What did Walmart pay for the inventory they are selling right now? if this has been sitting in their warehouse why should they take a bath on it? If they just bought it at a lower price and stocked it on shelves you have a point, so which is it old stock they paid more for or new stock they paid a lower price for, if it was a lower price?
Nah, don’t you know Walmart has a direct pipeline to the refinery?
I guess you can see when oil prices turn around (which they will, eventually) if they jack the price up immediately or if there is a lag. Kind of like what gas stations do during big fluctuations.
So you don’t understand how retail pricing structures are generated.
Nope.
Well, there ya go...putting that brand on it magically made it worth so much more.
You got hosed.
During the Obama years the demand for ammo exceeded supply for years. Prices rose dramatically, more than doubling in some cases.
Walmart, somewhat surprisingly, did not raise their prices. My guess is that Walmart had long term prices set by contracts with suppliers so they could afford to hold the line on prices.
What I don't think they ever realized is that the disparity between Walmart's prices and the market overall created a tremendous incentive for Walmart employees to buy up all the inventory on the day it arrived and re-sell it for a handsome profit.
A policy that was designed to serve their customers actually deprived their customers of a valuable commodity.
I have heard that the explanation for Walmart's behavior is their whole business philosophy. Walmart figures out what price will attract customers to their stores. Then they negotiate gigantic deals with suppliers at a price decided by Walmart. They don't give the supplier a chance to dictate the price.
The success of Walmart demonstrates that their business model can be quite successful. Inability to quickly conform to market forces is perhaps a key downside to how they do business.
I stand on what I wrote. No apologies. Flame away. I really don’t care. Last time oil prices dropped, Walmart dropped the price of oil. This time, it dropped even more and they didn’t. I don’t think that is right and I’m going to stand on that. Liberals can spout whatever they want to and when any of us take a stand on something, everyone wants us shut up, or probably, dead. Go for it.
Well explained. Thanks for taking an intellectual approach.
Motor oil has never, ever been associated with the price of a barrel of oil. If it was, you could have never afforded in when a barrel of oil hit in the hundreds.
They bought the oil that you are talking about six months ago. There is at least a six month lag between the well and retail (maybe more). Gasoline prices at the pump are cheaper now because very few people are driving so the supply is way up. Do you think they should take a loss on the product they already purchased? The cheaper oil will make it’s way to the stores soon. It is called supply and demand. They will pass on the cost to consumers whether it is cheaper or more expensive. I doubt very much they are “gouging” as you suggest.
Do you know how silly you sound? Bottled oil isn’t the same as the price of a barrel of oil. Good god how embarrassing.
Thanks. It always brightens my day to receive praise from a Freeper.
Let me offer another example from my own experience.
Since the onset of the illness of my very thoughtful and attentive wife, I find myself more often arranging my own meals. Three or four times a week I'll have Wheat Chex for breakfast. (Whatever happened to Bran Chex, anyway?)
We buy in bulk and on sale when possible since we are frugal and live outside of town. At our local grocery store Wheat Chex is priced at 5.25 per box. It sometimes goes on sale, two boxes for the price of one.
In normal times, I keep us stocked up at sale prices. For some reason it seemed that the sales didn't occur when I needed them. So I shopped around and ended up buying 12 boxes at $3 per box from Walmart, delivered free to my door.
By not offering the product for sale, my local grocer encouraged me to find a better deal. We will still be dealing with that grocer, but we have become better shoppers and the grocer will have to adjust to slightly less revenue. This is what capitalism is all about.
Retailers provide services and products that their customers will buy and they have great latitude in how they price their products. This is a very good thing.
Probably no more than a week. Gas stations get fuel almost daily. The refineries pump to the holding tanks constantly.
It’s not the cost paid to get the item when they bought it. The cost reflects the cost of buying the product to replace the product sold.
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