Wal-Mart -Walmart.com- Gifts, Needs, and Wants
Written: Nov 14 '02
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Wal-Mart -Walmart.com-
One person's Experience:
It is not that I am a cheap person, I just like to find cheap prices on gifts or items for my home that are of some quality and will not fall apart on me the next day. My experience with Walmart.com has proved to be a mix of both good and bad or somewhat less than I expect.
I realize I am not shopping at Macy's here but they do carry some brands that are well known and do hold up well to time and some amount of abuse. On the other hand, there are those off the wall brands that shrink if you look at them wrong or fall apart quickly.
In the four instances that I have ordered from Walmart.com, I have had three good experiences and only one semi-bad experience. The instance that fell short of my expectations was to do with shipping. I waited near two weeks before I finally e-mailed and asked about my order. I am not pushy and realize there are times that things do not ship as quickly as we might all wish them to. But after two weeks, well, I am wanting to know where my order is.
Apparently, my order was mishandled in the warehouse. According to customer service. It was shipped some place else, it just was not shipped at all nor did they even have an clue that I had ordered at all! I did not re-order and they did not offer me a discount or credit of any type. My credit had not been charged either. At least I did not have to contend with the pain of getting a charge removed. The bad thing was, it was a gift and I had to go out and buy another on the spur of the moment so I would have one to offer. It did upset me but I realize that mistakes happen and we are all far from perfect.
I am not going to give Walmart.com a negative rating. The other three times that I have ordered from them have went off without a hitch and everything I ordered has arrived pretty much on time, give or take a day or two. The items have been in expected quality and as I ordered.
Shipping and Returns:
As far as shipping costs go, there really is not much one can do about it. Wal-Mart ships by weight, size, and type and unless one is ordering from a place that personally discounts the shipping or offers free shipping, costs are pretty much standard no matter where you shop or ship to.
I have not had to return any items that I have ordered from Walmart.com but I do know that you can return your purchase to a brick and mortar Wal-Mart and they will refund the price to your credit card or offer a store credit. Be sure to have your packing slip though! They state complete customer satisfaction. And they stand up to those claims for the most part. Except for my (non-shipment) incident.
What Walmart.com has to offer:
Walmart.com offers nearly as much on-line as the brick and mortar store has to offer. They even have their vision department where you can refill your contact lenses on-line if you are so inclined to do so.
The departments that you will find at their on-line store are:
electronics, photo, movies, music, books, toys, home, video games, sporting goods, jewelery/watches, gifts, baby and baby gift registry, pharmacy, financial services, garden and hardware, tires, and they even have a vacation planning category.
As you can see by the categories listed above, there really is not much left for one to want from an on-line store.
You will find their prices to hold true to form when comparing it to that of their brick and mortar store but you will also need to take shipping costs into consideration and then determine whether or not you are still getting a good price. You may be better off to drive to the physical store to buy what you want. I have found instances where they had what I wanted on-line but not at the store. So in that case, the price of shipping is worth it if I have not other options for obtaining that which I want.
You will also find that Walmart.com will offer significant savings in price cuts on clearance items. Sometimes up to seventy-five percent off. You will just have to keep an eye on their site to catch them or read the e-mails that they will send out to you once you have set up an account with them.
Site Cosmetics and Navigation Ease:
The site is really average. I have seen so many that are so close to looking the same. I feel they could do something to spruce it up a bit.
Navigation is great though. The pages load quickly and I have never had a problem finding what I was looking for or finding out they do not have what I want.
The categories are clearly marked and you should have no problems what-so-ever searching, probing, and prodding for those sought after wants and needs. lol
Odd's -n- Ends:
Walmart.com has a DVD rental program. It is a tad less expensive than Netflix but I can not testify to the service. You may want to check that out. I personally buy my DVD's and do not rent. I do know that many do and it could be worth the effort to inquire further into it.
I would like to state that I feel Walmart.com is a wonderful place to find toys for the little ones. A great place to find a suitable Christmas gift for anyone or birthday gift. The toy department is usually jammed packed with goodies and the on-line version holds true. You should have no problem finding a neat toy for your son or daughter or grandchild.
I especially like the video games section and it has been the bulk of my selections here. I do not always go for the new games and tend to buy off eBay or Half.com, but for presents, I do go with Wal-Mart or Walmart.com for the gift of games. Their prices are good and competitive and the return policies are satisfactory. You really can not find better prices on new DVD's either.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation:
I do recommend you shop or at the very least, take a thorough tour of Wal-Mart on-line version store. Be sure to seek out the bargains and %-off deals. You may find a great buy, even with the shipping tacked on. But check around before you buy and make certain that there is not something better out there. Something lighter on the pocket-book.
All in all, Walmart.com is reliable and does put forth the effort to give you, the consumer, a good deal. They have a lot to offer and if you can not make it by the brick and mortar store, the on-line version may right up your alley.
Happy Holidays and happy shopping!
Audrey
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Audrey
Location: Arkansas
Reviews written: 257
Trusted by: 720 members
About Me: Savanis on wow's Whisperwind server (For the Horde!)
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