Things you see at Wal*mart

And on the other side of the coin I referred to (android boxes), I find it fascinating how many (and varied the selection) they carry. They’ve been selling the Xiaomi Mi box longer than Best Buy, and selling it for $60 when everyone else (including Amazon) was selling for $85.

They’ve carried the Matricom G-box since it’s first inception (which I really like), the Beelinks & cyberboxes and tons more, through vendors, on their website and I’ve come across the Tanix TX9, Mi Box and a few Matricoms on store shelves in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Portland.

!?! I’ve never really looked to WalMart for tech. In my small town NW Ohio, it’s pretty much my only option for general purpose shopping.
I’d barely drive around one state to get to Best Buy (45min away), much less state to state shopping… but then I don’t have a dancing girl wakeupcall

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There’s a very large Walmart in the Seattle area, where you can pick up your Online Orders at a Locker inside. It’s a huge wall or Lockers, input your Pickup code and the door with your order pops open … it’s like an Amazon Locker, but five or six times bigger and it’s inside the store.

Order your item(s) while in the car or out driving around, at the movies, etc., then go pick it up when you get the text, telling you it’s ready.

My wife does her grocery shopping online at Walmart. Then just drives there to pick up the order which is loaded onto the car for her. Helps at our age - just to unload once - at home. Also a time saver.

You can find her at Walmart quite often, she loves it. Buys all of her health & beauty items, protein supplements, groceries and small appliances there. And treats for Sparky.

I have, a couple of times, online - pickup at store with Walmart… But park in the massive lot, walk to the back of the store, wait while they sort through the pile finding my item - wasn’t as quick as I’d hoped.
This works out at Lowes when I’m doing small project and know all the little things I need. Instead of wandering around the store, order it and by the time I get there it’s all ready.

I did notice some large orange pick-up at the other end of the store. Now if I can pick it up right in the front door, with out dealing with the struggling associates this would be a major positive! I recall articles about how Walmart has miss the mark with online sales - while still largest US retailer.

As someone else mentioned, I use Kroger ClickList for groceries. It’s a great time saver… and I don’t end up with stuff I don’t need in the house.

I guess this is a cross-over between online shopping and real-time.

just mention “treats for Sparky” and look at him go! :dog2: he’s ready to dance

Really, she’s a Walmart health & beauty gal? she is truly adorable - I suppose she doesn’t need any premium gunk.

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This is a self-serve pickup station and kiosk. It’s in a nice little lounge area with overstuffed chairs, plugins for tablets & phones and wifi.

This is for non-grocery items, there is a separate area for grocery pickups.

And a couple examples of the DVRs, Android boxes, etc.

I did notice the big orange tower! They relocated the self check-out lanes from one end to the other to make room for it. Not sure about the chairs, but since you mentioned them, I did happen to notice an older fella setting on the other side. Just casually sitting on the bench chair, enjoying himself (not disgusting), and hoping if/when I retire I can find better entertainment than sitting around Walmart. Yet he appeared to be happy, so I guess it’s working for him.

So if I get there before they have it all prepared, I have a comfy chair and find what ever to do online while I wait, and not drain my battery :smile:

As for the converter boxes, ematic $40 box and the RCA one just hang on display hook - not secured in a case. As for streaming devices/services, I barley have the minimum bandwidth (and a personal preference to avoid specialized proprietary devices). So they aren’t much of a deal for me. I am surprised converter boxes still have a market demand and they have DVR capabilities!

He was probably waiting for his wife…

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:laughing::smile::laughing:
Possibly, I won’t refute that.
I do believe people, for unknown reasons, leisurely sit around Walmart. Maybe to rest from wandering all over the big store before hiking through the parking lot.

I actually have one of those Ematic digital tuner/DVR’s that I purchased several years ago for about $30. Not to be used as a DVR tho, but because the tuner on a bedroom LG 32" mysteriously stopped working, and this was a much cheaper alternative than replacing an otherwise decent TV (all other functions worked, it was only the tuner that broke). Now all I have to do is switch to hdmi input, and voila, OTA tv as good as new. Added bonus, the Ematic is also preloaded with a few basic games, like Snakes and Tetris

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No comfy chairs for me :frowning_face: There is plenty of empty floor space behind the lockers…

but there was a “side-show”! Some guy with a microphone announcing “Today only”, “Ok, everyone have item 1?”, “No shipping - you don’t pay shipping at Walmart” (because if you saw it on a shopping channel you pay shipping) I have no idea what it was. Theses people were so tightly crowed I couldn’t see what was so exciting, I really just wanted to get through the isle to the other end. If I really needed it, I wouldn’t need him to tell me.

I did see a recognizable name DVD player on sale for just under $20 (the name wasn’t memorable though). I can’t recall last time I used one, but they have several isles of disk for sale - still. I know the vending machine outside stores- you hide behind a flab and hopefuly have have plenty of hand cleaner. But this is a lot of retail floor space, obviously there is a market. Several here have mentioned DVDs, some people I work with use them, but they don’t under stand streaming and don’t know DVR.

DVDs. They have those bins full of DVD movies for $3.50 (and CDs for $5). I’ve bought movies on Blu-ray before, get home later and find them populated in my Vudu library, which is bizarre and fantastic. Many of those DVDs are “Instawatch” product, so they get a free adjunct to their library as well and I suppose that is a factor for some. Strange that people are still buying them, good for them though.

I got my outside antenna at Walmart, its great.

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One day I was at Wal*mart and noticed that 3 of the 35 cashier stations were being manned. Amazing sight. No line had more than 8 people in it.

Since they gave them a name “HDTV” antenna, some antennas look unusual from their beginnings. Although the signals change, stations still broadcast over the same frequencies.

Nevertheless, you wouldn’t want to put up an old-style rod antenna in many locations! Although appearances are irrelevant, your AR-163 looks cool! :cool: and I’ve read it’s working wonders for you :victory:

I’ve noticed the “self check-out” aren’t labeled for few items or less any more. I think they’re trying to push people to do their own.

If things do work right, great. Usually, you want while somebody fumbles around. Can’t follow simple instructions. Or have trouble understanding what they read on the screen. Walmart needs realistic expectations of their demographic :slightly_frowning_face:

Yeah it looks really good I love it. And I’m getting so many channels from it.

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