Amazon Is Buying Whole Foods Market!

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by Yvonne Smith, Jun 16, 2017.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Amazon has made an offer of almost 14 billion dollars to buy out the Whole Foods market grocery chain. While the deal is not finalized yet, it sounds like it is going to go through. Amazon would be able to sell more grocery products, and also it sounds like the grocery stores would operate as pick-up points, kind of like Walmart does with their "ship to the store" option.
    We have Prime, so we already get free 2-day shipping, and unless there was some benefit in picking up the product at the store, we would probably still choose the 2-day delivery option. However, we just got a new Whole Foods market not far from us, less than a year ago.
    The prices are too expensive compared to Kroger or ALDI, so we have never actually shopped there, we just made a tour to see what they had and how the prices were.
    When we got to the $10 per lb. chicken, we already knew that this was not going to be a shopping place for us.
    I am excited to see how this merger works out, and what Amazon plans on doing with the acquisition.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-buy-whole-foods-for-13-7-billion-1497618446?tesla=y&mod=e2fb
     
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  2. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I just read that Amazon is reducing the cost of Prime to $5.99 per month for low-income people; and possibly is going to start accepting EBT cards as payment option for food. To get the discount, you have to show proof of being low income, such as an EBT card.
    I think that this is a great benefit, and I am hoping that this will work for me to reduce the yearly cost of Amazon Prime. If I can use EBT to purchase food, I would definitely buy more food products from Amazon !

    http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...rime-membership-rate-for-low-income-customers
     
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  3. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    What is the normal cost of Amazon Prime? Also what is an EBT card? I have a Debit Card.

    Also what qualifies as low income? My widows benefits always seem to be over what it is...
     
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  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Amazon usually charges $99 per year for Prime. Now, they offer monthly payments of $10.99 since most people like to pay monthly. For low-income, the cost is $5.99; so almost half price of the regular monthly cost.
    EBT is what is commonly called "food stamps" even though there have not been any actual paper food stamps for years now. Low income people can apply for SNAP/EBT online, or at least check out the amount of income that you are allowed before you qualify for EBT.
    It looks like the government is starting a program this summer with 7 food retailers to accept EBT cards as payment for online food purchases, and Amazon is one of the 7 chosen ones, although Walmart is not .

    It might only work for the Prime Fresh Pantry (or whatever it is called) where they deliver fresh food to your house. I think that @Lon Tanner started a thread about using this service from Amazon.
    Since we live close enough to shop at the store for fresh foods, and I like to pick them out myself, I have never tried the fresh food delivery service from Amazon.
    I can see it working for @Ina I. Wonder though, since she is having mobility issues with going to the store and shopping herself.
     
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  5. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Thanks, didn't know they had a monthly plan...I wouldn't mind having amazon video again since I'm spending more by not having it.

    Just bought season 1 and 2 of "Mom" from Amazon and paid $24 for each season. A waste of money but I wanted it and saw no other option.

    I also,pay $4.99 a month for CBS but going to cancel that and of course I have Netflix. Also AT$T Uverse is $154 a month...that's a lot of money for how little I actually watch anything. :(
     
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  6. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    :eek::eek::eek:
     
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  7. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Ha ha! Well I saw season 4 and couldn't find the first two seasons online anywhere for free so I treated myself.

    It's funny and I like most of the sitcoms on CBS...Life in Pieces is another one and of course Big Bang.

    Don't recommend Mom on here, it's a little raunchy but funny.
     
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  8. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    I watch very little American tv... As said before I like British and Canadian tv better. I do like Big Bang...Mom I dont make a point in watching but have watched. I grew up on reading mystery ...so am really big on those.
     
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  9. Kitty Carmel

    Kitty Carmel Veteran Member
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    They are advertising Whole Foods in my area. With the nearest being about 2 hours away from me it makes me wonder if they are planning to open in this area. We have two decent nice health food stores and the crappy co-op. Also Trader Joe's and I don't think we could handle a Whole Foods in this town and I'd hate to see them run the other stores out.

    Since I don't eat meat, there are some things I'll get at the health food stores I can't get anyplace else. My favorite for winter when I use the oven are the Ling Ling vegetable rolls. Yum. Things like Tofu and organic if I want it, I can find in regular grocery stores now.

    I should add, the money involved in these transactions is mind boggling.
     
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    It is sounding like the competition between the two shopping giants, Walmart and Amazon, is ramping up another notch. If this video is correct, then Walmart is basically threatening independent truck drivers that they will lose the Walmart business if they are also hauling products for Amazon.
    This would force the truck drivers to make a decision to only haul for one or the other of the two companies.
    I thought that Walmart only uses its own Walmart trucks, because you see them on the highway. Amazon , at least from what I have seen, send their orders out with the USPS mail, or through UPS, and occasionally, we have some that are delivered by FedEx. I am not sure how it would affect anything if Walmart is making a threat to the independent truck drivers, because it seems to me like they both use different carriers, and Walmart uses their own trucks and drivers.
    Regardless, it is getting pretty obvious that there is a lot of competition between the two companies. According to the video, Walmart is not building any new Walmart centers, and is concentrating on their shipment centers instead.
    Possibly, the trend will move to the smaller Walmart neighborhood markets instead of the giant Superwalmarts that they have been building all over the country. Our new one (that is just down the street from where we live) was set up for online shopping and drive-by pickup of grocery products. they actually have about all of the food products that the larger Walmart super enters have, the just do not carry all of the other things, like clothes, home goods, and stuff like that.

     
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  11. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I seldom shop at Walmart and have never shopped online with Walmart. I like Amazon, and I don't get the truck issue either.

    I'm one that liked the big super Walmart though...the plain old Walmarts never appealed to me.
     
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  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I don't really like Walmart either, and both Bobby and I hate going there; but it is an easy place to go and get about everything you need all in one place.
    I really do not like shopping malls; so if I need to go shopping, I like to just be able to go and get what I need or want, and be done with it, and not wander around in different stores looking for stuff.

    I totally believe that Amazon has cut into Walmart's business, and more and more people are ording things from Amazon.
    I looked at Walmart before I ordered the mini-trampoline, and the only thing Walmart carries is a small one for $40, and the large ones that are several hundred dollars.
    On Amazon, they have all sizes and all prices. There were the ones with side bars for balance, the ones with cages for little kids, and just about everything else that is a trampoline, from the $12 one I ordered to ones that cost over $1000.
     
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  13. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Walmart...eek..well about the only close place to buy food since other stores have closed. I go early and leave early...never on a week end or holiday. Also unless buying grocery items...I park out by garden center...check out there also...in and out in no time;)
     
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  14. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    We are seriously on the same wave length, @Gloria Mitchell . We usually leave early on our way to the fitness center (about 830) and we check to see how the Walmart parking lot is. If there is a place by the main door, we park there; but usually we park down by the garden center , too, and then just walk through the store (getting our steps in as we shop) and get whatever we went there for.
    If we have to go on a weekend, we go before 7AM on Sunday morning, and it is usually pretty quiet in there at that time of day. The party-people are still sleeping it off, and the church-people are home getting ready for church; so there is not a lot of shoppers there that time of the morning.
    We now have the "Baby Walmart "(Neighborhood Market) just down the street; so if I just need to get food items, I can go there and not have to deal with the massive shoppers and parking problems that comes with going to the Super Walmart.
     
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  15. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    @Yvonne Smith ....we hv a Walmart Neighborhood Grocery store ..the much smaller verision if Walmart...use to be good now I dislike it. Stopped carrying so many things use to buy...never enough checkers even during high volume hours.
     
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