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NEWS: Manga in Walmart


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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4555
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:15 pm Reply with quote
Also, I should add that, if people don't like Wal-Mart's policies against explicit or controversial CDs, they are free to boycott Wal-Mart too, since boycotts can work both ways, though I think Wal-Mart probably ran the numbers and concluded that the number of people whom would boycott them if they carried the explicit albums in stock far outnumbered the number of people whom would boycott them over their policies regarding explicit CDs, since the majority of those people would likely be in more urban areas where they have access to proper music retailers, while Wal-Mart's policies are geared more towards the rural and "hinterland" (outer suburban) consumers.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15615
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 7:12 pm Reply with quote
Emerje:
Quote:
For over the last 20+ years toys have been "Made in China" or "Made in Taiwan". It has nothing to do with Walmart driving down the prices forcing the companies to seek cheaper labor alternatives,


It may not be new, but Wal Mart has tossed their hat into the ring in this fashion. They used to emphasize the "buy American" angle, and now I guess it's "Buy off of of Indonesians forced to work in horrible conditions". (BTW, you can break the cycle by buying from http://www.americanapparel.net/ )

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Maybe if it wasn't for Unions forcing pay raises for dumber than dirt factory jobs in the US the companies could afford to run factories over here


Maybe if corporations didn't keep cutting corners while polluting the world with subsidiaries, and then misappropriating funds, then they'd actually have money to pay their unions.

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I'll tell you what would kill the industries, having to pay American workers $7/hr plus benefits forcing prices to go up to levels that no one can afford.


But paying 7 cents an hour with no benefits is helping America, right?

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As for your comment on Maxim, Walmart has every right in the world to decide not to carry any products they don't want in their stored. Walmart doesn't limit consumer choice, it's crazy to think that.


I'm sure that's what people said about Blockbuster when they refused to stock NC 17 movies.

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There is nothing that says they have to be fair and carry every single product under the sun.


Then how does that help the consumer when they're the only store in your community you can buy from?

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There are thousands of products they don't sell and they all seem to be doing all right for themselves.


That's the problem.

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Kidotai and Gatsu, you both make it sound like Walmart is the only place that sells ANYTHING!


They want to be the only place.

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No one is forcing you to buy from Walmart,


Not yet.

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Maybe some of you are just getting to lazy to shop around (yeah, that's getting personal, but am I wrong?)


The problem is that there won't be any places left to shop around, if Wal Mart has its way.

Tenchi:
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Artists and record companies have the right to record pretty much anything they want,


Not if they're affiliated with the RIAA. But that's another issue.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7425
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:25 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
It may not be new, but Wal Mart has tossed their hat into the ring in this fashion. They used to emphasize the "buy American" angle, and now I guess it's "Buy off of of Indonesians forced to work in horrible conditions". (BTW, you can break the cycle by buying from http://www.americanapparel.net/ )


No one forced the slogan on them, if they chose to disregard it then there's nothing holding them to it.

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Maybe if corporations didn't keep cutting corners while polluting the world with subsidiaries, and then misappropriating funds, then they'd actually have money to pay their unions.


Maybe if there weren't any unions they wouldn't have to worry about their money so much. I work in nursing, we don't have unions, everything is government regulated, our pay sucks, and we work hard for our money after years of schooling. But you've got high school drop outs making more than me with no training just snaping parts together. I'm not going to get into a big debate about unions and what not, sufice to say I don't like them.

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But paying 7 cents an hour with no benefits is helping America, right?


How about something a little more reasonable, something called minimum wage? Last I checked $8 wasn't minimum wage.

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I'm sure that's what people said about Blockbuster when they refused to stock NC 17 movies.


And I'm pretty sure those movies are still being made so I guess it didn't really effect anything did it?

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Then how does that help the consumer when they're the only store in your community you can buy from?


that's there problem, not Walmart's.

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That's the problem.


Well how much does it take before it's not a problem to you? The way you over react about this you'd think they only carry single products for each department. One brand of laundry detergent, one brand of clothe, one magazine publisher, try being a little realistic here, Walmart gives the consumers more choices than they're obligated to.

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They want to be the only place.


Gee, good thing we've got laws against monopolies.

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Not yet.


Not ever. Again, be realistic.

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The problem is that there won't be any places left to shop around, if Wal Mart has its way.


There will always be specialty shops, Walmart can't beat them all. I have faith in the government to stop them before that could ever happen anyway.

Emerje
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 3904
Location: CO
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 10:53 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:

It may not be new, but Wal Mart has tossed their hat into the ring in this fashion. They used to emphasize the "buy American" angle, and now I guess it's "Buy off of of Indonesians forced to work in horrible conditions".


So are you going to boycott shopping mall now? Every article of clothing I've ever bought from stores like Express, Macy's, Filene's, Foley's is made outside the US. Wal-Mart is *not* the only place that stocks products manufactured outside the US.

If local businesses want to compete with the big boys, they have to be able to play according to their rules. This whole notion of "let's help out baby businesses!" is absolutely ridiculous. Even Walmart started out as a small chain. Through smart business moves and adaptation, they've evolved into the mega-franchise they are now. They shouldn't have to be punished for being successful. Sure, helping small businesses grow is the American dream, but what about those who've acheived their dream? What if your local mom & pop store made it big and before you knew it, formed into a mega-franchise? Are you going to suddenly stop shopping there?

If a small business wants to make it in this world, it needs to learn to play with the big boys. That means competing against WalMart. If a small business isn't good enough to play hardball, that's their fault. If that business wants to survive, it needs to stock just as many items as Walmart and have it at competitive prices. Sure, maybe the business will lose money for the first few years, but that's a sacrifice they have to be willing to take. They can't expect to be spoon fed everything.

When Walmart started out, nobody handed everything to them on a silver platter. But look at them now. If you want to survive, you have to be prepared to do everything in your power to stay alive and fight back.

As for Walmart not giving people a wide enough selection, there's a counter argument for that one. Say there's 5 brands of shoes, and Walmart only carries 4 of them. That's their choice. No one can force them to carry all 5 brands of shoes. If you live in a town that doesn't have any other shoe stores, that's just bad luck for you. Deal with it. But if another business moves in that sells that 5th brand of shoes, it's not going to be immediately driven out of business. The people that want only that 5th brand will shop there-- provided that the price is comparable to Walmart's. If the small business wants to charge a high price for the shoes, their customers will take a dive and just go to Walmart. Competition, provided the players are determined and smart enough, is what drives the economy.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15615
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 11:30 pm Reply with quote
Emerje:
Quote:
Maybe if there weren't any unions they wouldn't have to worry about their money so much. I work in nursing, we don't have unions, everything is government regulated, our pay sucks, and we work hard for our money after years of schooling.


The reason the pay sucks is that your government would rather invest in bombing people rather than healing them. Unions have nothing to do with that. I mean when states close down trauma centers and hospitals, it's not because of unions, but because there aren't enough tax dollars going into them.

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But you've got high school drop outs making more than me with no training just snaping parts together.


And you've got a college drop-out who makes billions selling software which crashes. At least the high school drop outs provide a service.

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How about something a little more reasonable, something called minimum wage? Last I checked $8 wasn't minimum wage.


It is in San Francisco now. Actually, a living wage.

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And I'm pretty sure those movies are still being made so I guess it didn't really effect anything did it?


True, but you have to go out of your way to see them.

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that's there problem, not Walmart's.


So Wal Mart forces other stores out of business, and decides for you what to buy, and if you don't like it, but can't afford better, then it's your fault?

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The way you over react about this you'd think they only carry single products for each department.


They do is the supplier refuses to do a price drop.

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Gee, good thing we've got laws against monopolies.


Too bad we don't enforce them as much as we used to.

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Not ever. Again, be realistic.


I am. It happened once, it can happen again.

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There will always be specialty shops, Walmart can't beat them all. I have faith in the government to stop them before that could ever happen anyway.


The same government that lied about WMD's?

Sake:
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So are you going to boycott shopping mall now? Every article of clothing I've ever bought from stores like Express, Macy's, Filene's, Foley's is made outside the US.


And I generally avoid malls anyway, seeing as the prices they charge don't justify the quality of the product. (For example, $200 for sneakers is insane.) But seeing as I can't avoid foreign-made products forever, I try to at least find a balance by paying what I think the actual cost of the product would require to at compensate all parties involved, without giving them too much profit in the process.

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Wal-Mart is *not* the only place that stocks products manufactured outside the US.


No, but they're the worst offender right now. They actually lower standards for sweatshop wages.

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If local businesses want to compete with the big boys, they have to be able to play according to their rules.


So that means forcing their employees to work in hot or cold weather without heating or air-conditioning, selling products which are produced poorly, just to cut costs, and screwing over business associates?

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This whole notion of "let's help out baby businesses!" is absolutely ridiculous. Even Walmart started out as a small chain.Through smart business moves and adaptation, they've evolved into the mega-franchise they are now


You don't usually get ahead by being smart, but by cheating.

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Sure, helping small businesses grow is the American dream, but what about those who've acheived their dream? What if your local mom & pop store made it big and before you knew it, formed into a mega-franchise? Are you going to suddenly stop shopping there?


If they don't remember where they came from, or the loyal customers that made them who they are today, then sure.

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If a small business wants to make it in this world, it needs to learn to play with the big boys. That means competing against WalMart. If a small business isn't good enough to play hardball, that's their fault.


You mean paying people for the value of their work is a weakness?

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If that business wants to survive, it needs to stock just as many items as Walmart and have it at competitive prices.


But that's why they're small businesses. Because they don't have quantity, just quality and variety. But people don't care about those characteristics anymore. They want every place they go to to be like McDonald's.

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When Walmart started out, nobody handed everything to them on a silver platter. But look at them now.


Yeah, being the center of class-action lawsuits is a sign of success. Who cares if they hired illegal immigrants and made them work overtime?

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As for Walmart not giving people a wide enough selection, there's a counter argument for that one. Say there's 5 brands of shoes, and Walmart only carries 4 of them. That's their choice. No one can force them to carry all 5 brands of shoes. If you live in a town that doesn't have any other shoe stores, that's just bad luck for you. Deal with it. But if another business moves in that sells that 5th brand of shoes, it's not going to be immediately driven out of business. The people that want only that 5th brand will shop there-- provided that the price is comparable to Walmart's.If the small business wants to charge a high price for the shoes, their customers will take a dive and just go to Walmart.


But what if the fifth brand of shoe costs a little more than the other four pairs, but has more durability and comfort, and still fails to sell? Competition isn't just about who has the better price, but who has the more innovative product for that price. But what you're saying is you'd prefer paying less for an inferior product to save money, instead of getting you money's worth. But that's fine with me.
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1705
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 11:42 pm Reply with quote
"Manga in Walmart...manga in Walmart..." I must keep telling myself that's what the thread topic is...
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4555
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 12:19 am Reply with quote
Look, the lack of Maxim and Eminem CDs at Wal-Mart and the lack of NC-17 films at Blockbuster is only a problem if you live in the smallest of the small towns, many of which are in the Bible Belt where the (over-romanticized) Mom & Pop stores the Wal-Mart and Blockbuster replaced likely wouldn't carry that sort of thing even if they were still open. People that live in towns too small to have separate record, video and magazine stores always have the Internet, and, if they can't order off the Internet... T.S. Don't live in Biblethump, Arkansas then.

Maybe I'm wrong and the poorly-Xeroxed socialist pamphlets are right, maybe Wal-Mart is teh huge Republican conspiracy of teh great evil that wants to close all teh competition, but, in the suburbs and urban areas, regardless of Wal-Mart's alleged wishes, there will always be "other stores". And Blockbuster's anti-porno policies just give other video rental chains a niche to exploit.
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Kidotai



Joined: 29 Oct 2003
Posts: 138
Location: one of those islands in the pacific
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 1:20 am Reply with quote
I would like to say more to defend my arguement, but I dunno which is worse: complete ignorance or complete ignorance forced upon an individual.

edited to add: I do advocate that the thread be closed immediately before this really turns into a flame war. I'll show restraint from here on out and shut up, seeing nobody doesn't like an independent voice.*

But I do wish to make one last statement: Many of you advocate that buisnesses affected by Wal-Mart must either "put-up or shut-up," but when all the competition is gone, and the nearest competion takes half a tank of gas for one trip, and thenthe only game in town (Wal-Mart) decides to "raise prices to reflect the economy," then what?

Don't say I didn't warn you...

(*No, this is not to the name calling. Perhaps I did cross the line there, but I'm still am on the position that people can be ignorant of certain things and don't wish to face this reality sometimes even if it did bite them in the ass.)
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7425
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 1:53 am Reply with quote
Kidotai wrote:
(*No, this is not to the name calling. Perhaps I did cross the line there, but I'm still am on the position that people can be ignorant of certain things and don't wish to face this reality sometimes even if it did bite them in the ass.)


I couldn't agree more, there are obviously people in the topic that would rather live in the fantasy world of everyone playing fair rather than the reality of the big fish always eats the little fish.

Also I find it interesting that you would ask for this topic to be closed on the acount of being a flame war when everyone else is playing relativly fare and debating while you constantly take the low road with insults.

But maybe it is time for this topic to be closed, it has left the relm of being anime related now.

Emerje
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SkullKnight



Joined: 20 Mar 2003
Posts: 317
Location: Deep South
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 9:44 am Reply with quote
Confused wow, this thread blew up didn't it. it will be interesting to see where this trend will lead. anime and now manga in walmart. I live deep in the biblebelt, I get annoyed sometimes by some of the complaints, but you know they mean well, regardless if they are ignorant of the situation.
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Carol Maxwell



Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 359
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 1:30 pm Reply with quote
I think this whole Manga being in Walmart could be a good thing. One, it's cheaper. Because it is cheaper, people will buy it. Two, because it is more open to the public, more people will be into manga, and the more money the manga industries would get. So, this could be good. But, that's just a thought.
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Shorty22



Joined: 09 Aug 2003
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Loren Leah wrote:
Hm... old news. I bought a volume of Cardcaptor Sakura there last year.


Yeah, I bought volume #4 of CCS there last year. However, that has been the only title (& volume) I've seen since then. Those 3 copies stayed there forever. But, I have continued to see the Cinemanga of SpongeBob & Kim Possible since then, so... *shrugs*

Perhaps Wal-mart will sell things like Cardcaptor Sakura and Digimon. Those titles aren't in any of the other stores I have.
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radicaledward



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Posts: 776
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 2:00 pm Reply with quote
I have found that the prices that people say Walmart is charging form manga is about the same as what Overstock.com is charging.
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ZahmiraV



Joined: 06 Nov 2003
Posts: 243
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 3:13 pm Reply with quote
Wow, this topic got changed around pretty fast. For a while I was wondering where the manga topic went and why this topic hadn't been locked.

Oh well. Manga in Wal-Mart is good. But if you don't like Wal-Mart, there are still pleanty of places to get manga.
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Nagisa
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Joined: 19 Aug 2003
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Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 3:22 pm Reply with quote
ZahmiraV wrote:
But if you don't like Wal-Mart, there are still pleanty of places to get manga.


Since I'm 99.9% certain what GATSU's response to this is going to sound like, I'll spare him the trouble. Rolling Eyes

"Not for much longer."
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