In an ideal world, it is great to have a store like Walmart, where you can buy all your daily necessities at low prices without breaking the bank or patronizing different stores. Sadly, this is not always obtainable due to different factors such as price differences, availability of items, individual preferences, or value for money.
Walmart is one of the best retail chain stores around, promising a wide range of products in one shop at “bargain prices.” While certain items live up to this promise, others might not be up to your expectations regarding price and value obtained.
Here is a list of items you shouldn’t buy at Walmart, so you can save money and get the best quality products possible.
Organic Produce
When it comes to buying inexpensive food and groceries with convenient delivery options, Walmart is a good destination. However, you might want to check elsewhere (like Trader Joe, Kroger, or Aldi) if you are looking for quality products at better prices.
According to personal finance expert Trae Bodge, Walmart tends to increase the price of organic produce more than most stores, which is not ideal when you’re spending on a tight budget. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can get select items at exclusive discount prices in Whole Foods.
Large Home Appliances
While many things at Walmart are sold at low prices, the same does not apply to large appliances. Walmart does not have a large selection of appliances, and those they do have rarely offer value for money.
As a result, most people rarely go to Walmart to replace a broken-down dishwasher, laundry machine, or refrigerator. In most cases, you can find better deals for quality appliances at Best Buy, Home Depot, Target, or Lowe’s.
Another alternative is to visit stores catering exclusively to home appliances like Sears. Make price comparisons with Walmart’s prices and select the best place to shop for them.
Furniture
While the prices for furniture at Walmart are on the low end, their offerings are not always great, and the choice of selections is limited.
The furniture will last for a short time, and you will end up spending more money in the long run. According to Julie Ramhold: “Most of Walmart’s affordable options [for wood furniture] are made of things like particleboard.
Unfortunately, this often means these pieces won’t survive one move, let alone others, and they won’t be able to handle minor scuffs and scratches.” If you want to decorate your home, you can save up more money to invest in buying high-quality and long-lasting furniture in places like IKEA or Amazon.
Alternatively, you can visit antique stores for better deals at lower prices.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is well known for its use in pancakes or waffles. When you need original, high-quality pancake syrup, you are better off going to Trader Joe’s or Costco instead of Walmart. This does not mean that Walmart’s offering is bad in any way.
On the contrary, Consumer Reports gave the Great Value Pure Maple Syrup a “good/very good” rating in their review. Walmart offers good brands of sweet maple syrup, though these tend to be on the expensive side.
However, there are better stores to shop from when steeper savings are required without buying knock-off products, such as those mentioned above.
HD TVs
Walmart gives the lowest price around. In most cases, this is not always a good thing because the product comes paired with the price, even at a discount. You get what you pay for. This means that high-definition TVs you get from Walmart at attractive prices are of lower quality than those you can buy elsewhere (e.g., Spectre vs. Samsung brands).
You can check out better deals in stores like Costco or Newegg. Before buying a TV, make sure that the television is from a good name brand, is durable and long-lasting, and also comes recommended based on online review sites.
RELATED POST: 10 Money-Saving Apps You’ll Want to Download Today
Phone Accessories
If you are looking for new cables, casings, or chargers for your phone, Walmart is not the ideal place to get them. As David Dristas of Brad’s Deals notes, “Big retail chains like Walmart are charging way more for tech accessories than they need to.”
You are better off going to online stores like Amazon or eBay because these big retail stores profit from selling these items whose prices are easily overlooked by those who are in a hurry to get them. Apart from the price hike, it is not advisable to get them in Walmart because of their poor quality.
For example, finding out you bought a non-functional charging cable!
Gift Cards
Walmart offers a broad selection of gift cards. With these, you can shop from brands such as AT&T, Nordstrom, Starbucks, etc. The downside of utilizing these unique pieces of plastic at Walmart is that you will pay the full prices for them.
On some occasions, thieves might even copy out the card numbers and scam unsuspecting buyers with them. Instead, you can use online sites like GiftCardGranny, Card Cash, or Raise to get your gift cards at a discount, with the option of cashback deals on some cards.
You can also shop for your gift cards at Costco or Sam’s Club at discounted prices of, say, $70 instead of $100.
Organic Milk
Getting all items you need at low prices in a single trip at Walmart sounds like a great idea, but you probably shouldn’t add dairy products to the list. It is expected that organic milk is more expensive than regular milk due to the level of care and expertise required.
This does not, however, justify the prices found in Walmart. Other options are at better prices in stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, or even at your local grocery store. According to a report by Kiplinger, organic milk can also be found at better prices in Aldi’s, Trader Joe’s, or Whole Foods.
Baby Diapers
Diapers like Huggies, Pampers, Luvs, etc., are great name-brand diapers that you can shop for on Amazon. Do your research on the cheapest diapers you can get before selecting one. While Walmart has good prices on their store-branded diapers, Kiplinger notes that purchasing from Amazon can save you a few cents.
That might not look like much, but it adds up to many saved dollars with repetitive buying of diapers for your child. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get an exclusive discount of up to 20% off that even Walmart can’t beat. You can also shop for Kirkland Signature diapers at Costco.
Books and Magazines
In terms of pricing, Amazon is a better option than Walmart as a retail outfit for books and magazines. It is better to buy your magazines from a newsstand or to get it directly from the publishers. If you prefer reading magazines in the physical format, you can subscribe to them instead of buying them at Walmart.
With a subscription service, you can get at least a 50% discount on the cover price, which is a good deal. Alternatively, you can just read up the needed information online, especially as more hard copy books and magazines get upgraded to digital formats over the years.
P.S.: Check out Amazon’s best sellers!
Walmart offers the best deals due to its “price match” policy. But while you can shop for nearly anything at Walmart, some items are not worth the prices they are sold for, no matter how low they may be.
Sometimes we barely glance at the prices before making a buying decision, so we cannot remember to compare prices with similar products in other stores. Though there are many options on what you can get at good prices, you might want to shop elsewhere for the items listed above if you want better prices with good value for your money.
