WalMart Stops Layaway

[combatcutie]

Not sure if this belongs here but


I don't know if any of you have heard or not, I just found out about it today, but as of November 19, 2006, layaway will not be available at any Walmart. Wal- Mart says they will not see a decrease in sales and will encourage more people to get their low interest credit cards. I feel that this is an injustice to all who use Walmart layaway as a means to buy Christmas for their children and families. There are several sites online where you can sign petitions to try and stop this. For those of you who feel just as wronged by this as I do, please sign one.

I will include a couple of links for a few.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/walmartlayaway

http://www.petitiononline.com/tex3218/petition.html

[Veruka]

Are there many other retailers who still offer lay away? I was under the impression that pretty much everyone had gotten rid of it.

[combatcutie]

Are there many other retailers who still offer lay away? I was under the impression that pretty much everyone had gotten rid of it.

Kmart offers it. Burlington still offers it. I understand that most have gotten rid of it. BUT a lot of families rely on their layaway for Christmas purchases, especially those with small children

[Veruka]

I can remember my mom using lay away to buy school clothes for my sister and me when I was growing up, but I can't say that I fully understand the process. What exactly IS layaway? What are the benefits of using it?

[combatcutie]

The benefits are that you don't have to shell out a large sum of money all at once. You make payments over 60 or 90 days, which for families it is much easier

[Veruka]

Do you pay any sort of interest? Do you get the items you've bought when you start the process, or when it's paid off? If you don't get the items until it's paid off, what happens if you never pay the full amount? Do you get your money back, or do they get to keep the money and the items?

[combatcutie]

There is no interest. You get the items when it is paid off. They usually do a price check also to see if any of the items were on sale during the layaway period. If you don't pay off the layaway, you don't get the items and I don't believe you get your money back either. (not sure about that as I always paid mine off)

[Veruka]

So the alternative, I guess, has to be buying Christmas gifts a few at a time, rather than getting everything at once? I can see both sides to the argument here. If Kmart and Burlington still offer it (and Burlington FINALLY offers returns too!) I think I'd be inclined to reward them for having policies that help consumers by shopping there. I think that Walmart would hear the message louder if Kmart's sales were to go up considerably while there's went down after getting rid of layaway as opposed to hearing signatures on a petition.

On the business side, I'd be curious to know how often people put things in layaway that they never pick up / pay off. If they've put things in there for a nominal cost, and never come back, that is taking merchandise that Walmart or another retailer can't sell in full. When you look at how critical holiday sales are for a retailer, having a tickle-me-Elmo on the sales floor on December 4 is quite different from having that same item on the sales floor January 20. But, if you make the initial payments to put something in layaway so high that it will ensure that the customer pays it off / buys the item(s) then you're defeating the advantage of layaway for the consumer.

[combatcutie]

I don't know. I think seeing a petition will help also. But they have to feel it in their pocket. I, for one along with my family, refuse to shop at Walmart anymore. I do use layaway often especially around the holiday. I also use it for patio furniture, towels, microwaves...etc. There is a layaway fee that is non-refundable.

Oh, just so you know.....Burlington has a cash back policy ONLY if you pay cash for it. If you write a check (even though it is taken out of your account that day) you have to jump through hoops to get your money back. I am in the process of doing that right now.

[lambikins]

Like so many other personal services that are disappearing, it seems like Lay A Way was doomed, with the upswing of personal incomes. I remember, as a poor kid, if my mom couldn't do Layaway, we never got anything, but that was 40+ years ago.

If the amount of people using the service diminished to the point that it was costing a store money to run it, I can see that they dropped it. But, it doesn't help the person on a fixed income.