> Wal-Mart won the retail game because it won the price war, like you said, but it held the keys to the kingdom for so long because it also enforced a minimum quality standard with suppliers.
Wal-Mart is nearly just as guilty of selling shoddy items as Amazon. Wal-Mart has struck deals with brands so that lesser-quality versions of popular products are shipped to Wal-Mart stores than to more upscale shops. These lower-quality versions are not clearly marked as such, and it is difficult for the average consumer to notice how the plastic molding is thinner and less durable – they will only find out when it breaks on them.
> enforced a minimum quality standard with suppliers.
I'm not saying Wal-Mart is top tier quality. The point is that their product quality vetting with suppliers is still magnitudes more than what Amazon does.
Wal-Mart is nearly just as guilty of selling shoddy items as Amazon. Wal-Mart has struck deals with brands so that lesser-quality versions of popular products are shipped to Wal-Mart stores than to more upscale shops. These lower-quality versions are not clearly marked as such, and it is difficult for the average consumer to notice how the plastic molding is thinner and less durable – they will only find out when it breaks on them.