[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Yes, and how does Walmart get such low prices on brand names? Well they go to the manufacturers and 'assist' them with 'efficiency' changes to their production system in order to provide WMrt with products at the desired price point. Since WMrt is a big volume buyer, suppliers can set up an entirely separate production line, or divert from the regular line - basically cut corners at the factory, then put it in the same packaging. Perhaps that is how Mobil 1 lost their cert, but I don't have specifics. Nobody would, because this falls under trade secrets and they don't have to disclose (you might find diffs on the tech sheets, but only if ingredients were fully deleted). You can look this up, it isn't really secret but it also isn't widely publicized. Years ago I knew people at the Goodyear plant who warned me off of their tires from Wmrt or Costco because they weren't getting any quality control checks - they let the end users bring 'em back if they bubbled or took too much weight to balance and it saved the necessary 5-10%. I'm not willing to risk a motor by saving a few bucks.

This is certainly true with Levis jeans - the units you get at Walmart are not the units you get at a higher-end retailer or directly from Levi Strauss & Co. itself. I buy from both sources, using the Walmart units when I'm going to get dirty, and the more expensive ones when fit matters to me.