Friday, December 26, 2003
This is another example of Walmart thinking their customers are stupid. As if we're not capable of understanding anything other than a price tag. Consumer spending is a driving force behind the US and world economies and employment. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of all US economic activity and personal comsumption accounts for 60% of total employment. Spending is a very important job that we all fall into. I don't suggest that we artificially change what we buy or when or how much. You should spend your money on whatever you like whenever you feel like it is the right thing for you to do. We do however need to be aware of what's at stake and there are times when we need to take a stand. I don't like being made to feel foolish. I don't like it when I'm tricked into thinking that I'm getting a bargain when I'm really being taken advantage of. I don't like being mislead into doing something that is ultimately damaging to myself and the people I care about. We make all kinds of assumptions are we go through our day. We cannot agonize over every decision we make. It's just not practical. We have too much to get done and only a limited amount of mental energy and we tend to focus on things that are immediately important. I think that one of these assumptions is that we all have the same basic moral framework within a loosely defined range. This assumption becomes almost a contract (not in the sense of a legal contract of course). It defines a set of expectations and allows us to go through our daily lives with a minimum amount of hassle. We're shocked and disappointed when someone does something well outside of whatever we expect them to do within a given set of circumstances. All of this is great. It makes complex society possible. You might have a craving for jellybeans but none us, operating within a pretty wide range of accepted behavior, would harm someone else for a handful of free jellybeans. Of course, it's a silly thought. When we walk into a retail store, we want to get the best price we possibly can. That's the responsible thing to do for ourselves and the people who depend on us. We assume that the price the merchant is charging reflects this same broad moral and ethical sensibility, and that it allows them to make an acceptable profit, we can't be expected to uderstand the intricacies of pricing goods and services at retail. After all this is the end of a long and very complicated process and it's highly specialized. None of us would feel good if we walked into a retail store to find great prices only to discover later that the merchant had stolen the products they were selling. In this example the price is really irrelevant. The merchant is profiting by harming others and they're involving us. It's offensive behavior and clearly damaging. I want to make very clearly that I am not stating or implying in any way that Walmart is doing anything illegal. I have absolutely no doubt that everything about how they operate is 100% within the law. Walmart isn't stealing a thing. I have no knowledge of that. The last example has nothing to do with Walmart. But something doesn't have to be illegal to be objectionable. Take this new music download service as an example. The price tag is 88 cents per song. 11 cents cheaper than competing services. But for a savings of only 11 cents you're giving up almost everything that you thought you were purchasing. For 11 cents Walmart is demanding that you surrender the music you just purchased immediately and forever. You don't own your music, Walmart does. They've lent it to you at the outrageous rate 88% of the total purchase price elsewhere. Would you rent a DVD for $26.00 and call it a bargain? From Walmart's Terms of Service No right, title or interest in any downloaded Products or software is transferred to you as a result of any downloading or copying or otherwise. All rights in the Products are owned by WALMART.COM or its licensors and you have only a limited, nontransferable, nonexclusive, revocable, nonsublicensable right to use the Products for personal use in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. and . You may not sell or offer to sell the Products, including but not limited to, posting any Product for auction, on any Internet auction site. All Products are sublicensed to you and not sold, notwithstanding the use of the terms "sell," "purchase," "order," or "buy" on the Service or in this Agreement. End Of Quote Here Walmart plays off of the fact that everyone assumes that they know what it means to own something, that we all share the same rough concept of what ownership is. In my opinion Walmart knows that you're not getting what you think you're getting. But your assumption doesn't actually entitle you to anything. Aren't your rights worth more than an approx 10% discount? Walmart has set a new standard price for not owning a song at 88 cents and that seems a little steep to me. Now what if that same 10% savings cost someone you didn't know their job... is it worth it? What is that same 10% cost someone in another country their quality of life, an education, political freedom, the right to a fair wage? For only 10% are you willing to give up a huge chunck of 70% of the US economy and control of 60% employment to one corporation. Who is really getting the bargain... is it you or is it Walmart? I'm not refuting Walmart's right to exist and to operate in any way that seems fit within the law. I am suggesting that if you feel that the way they have chosen to operate is not in your best interest, and to my way of thinking it clearly is not in my best interest, that you shop somewhere else. I know what Walmart doesn't understand. Their customers aren't stupid. We've only acted in good faith in partnership with a company that we thought was working in our best interest. In my opinion Walmart has abused our trust and so we need to be re-examine this arrangement. I ask you to boycott Walmart. Thanks for your time and efforts.
3:43:05 PM
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