[Wayne Luke]

People need to do their research. Wal-mart's prices usually aren't lower than their competitors and for the most part their quality is lower. When you buy a television for hundreds less at Wal-mart, you are buying one with fewer features and/or a lower resolution. Many times if an item is on closeout or sale, its because its last year's model that was picked up from a discounter.

Circuit City's demise may have been influenced by Wal-mart but wasn't caused by Wal-mart. When you walk into a Circuit City there are over 100 television models to choose from, not 10 or 15. Even with those 10 or 15 televisions, the same sale prices and closeouts often apply. In other electronics departments the choice disparity is even greater. What Wal-mart sales is the illusion of choice combined with convenience. It is one location where you can buy a television, a gallon of ice cream while getting your tires rotated. However their selection is very limited in each category. They are just counting on people who don't care whether they get the best product or not as long as they get something that does the job.

As a consumer you dictate the market. Would you rather buy a $10.00 knife that you have to replace every year because it gets dull or a $50.00 knife that will last you generations? Wal-mart doesn't sell the $50.00 knife and they never will. The same goes for many of their products. Unfortunately, most people will buy the $10.00 knife because they don't think long term and about lasting value. They need a knife to cut their steak that night, not next year. They don't care or even consider the fact that the $50.00 knife will last 50 years where the $10.00 knife will be replaced in 1 year. This is how Wal-mart succeeds. They cater to the present instead of those people who look to and plan around the future.