Are There Stores You Don't Want To Shop At, But Do?

[petunia_843]

I just went to Kohl's and bought some bras out of sheer necessity. I hate Kohl's and I don't know why. I just really don't like their clothes. I buy bras at Kohl's because they have major brands and good sales. I haven't had good luck with Penney's, I refuse to shop at Sears, Dillard's is too expensive and doesn't carry Wonderbra, and I refuse to shop at Victoria's Secret. So I'm stuck with Kohl's for bras.

I am also stuck with W*lmart when it comes to diabetic stuff. I eat Atkins bars for breakfast and I like the Atkins Endulge brownies. I also have a penchant for sugar free candy - mostly sugar free Twizzlers and sugar free Russell Stovers. No other store in my area carries Atkins food, and no other store in my area has the selection of sugar free candy that W*lmart does. So I'm stuck going there. How I hate it! The parking, the other shoppers and their tribes of unruly children, the non existent customer service. I could go on and on.

I am also stuck with Best Buy when it comes to electronics. Mostly I buy my ipods there. I hate them. I hate their high pressure sales, and how you have to go to the ipod department and wait for 30 minutes to be handled by some teenage dimwit that tries to sell you a 100 dollar warranty on a 125 dollar nano. We don't have an apple store, so if I want an ipod, it's Best Buy.

I might be able to buy some of this stuff online, but I am not an online shopper. I like to feel things in my hands and see them up close before I buy.

What about you? Are there places you are forced to shop that you are not thrilled with?

[underage_elf]

Walm*rt. I hate everything about it, but the reality is that they sell a handful of things I can't find elsewhere in my town. I end up there around 2 or 3 times a year and it puts me in a grumpy mood.

I'm starting to get really sour on ordering through online giants like amaz*n and z*ppos. I prefer to buy things locally and that's often not an option. Where I used to be really impressed by the shipping speed and, of course, loved getting a new pair of boots the next day (!), this article in Mother Jones about packing warehouses was really sobering: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor?page=1

(I think you're talking more about brick-and-mortar stores, but your question made me think of that article. It's a fascinating read.)
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[town hall]

I very very occasionally shop at T*sco (giant supermarket chain), which I really loathe with a passion. Other than that, anywhere that has ethically suspect manufacturing policies and/ or provides poor pay & working conditions for its retail staff, or is anti-union. Basically all national & international chain stores. It's not easy to avoid these places altogether, even though logically I know it's possible.

Oh, and I find it REALLY hard to keep to my boycott of Ama*on. It's just become the default for so many things, but it's an awful company. AND, just remembered, my mobile is through Vod*f*ne. I don't know if there's a mobile provider out there that I'd feel entirely happy about, tho'.
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[bookselves]

Home Despot. I usually need one thing - and have no idea where it is or what it is called. The sales people are totally condescending when I need to ask for something, always point me toward something that is not what I'm looking for, and then I have to ask someone else, etc. I end up walking around uselessly forever, and the store is massive. I don't drive & there's no safe route through the parking lot for pedestrians.

Basically all cheap clothing stores. The quality/labour practices of the stores I can afford to shop at is depressing. But wearing ill-fitting thrifted clothes that would cost 80% of the amount I would pay new is also depressing.
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[PurpleDoor]

Most chain/big box stores, because a) pretty much everything in them gives me some ethical qualms, and b) so much of the merchandise is clearly oriented towards a super-consumerist, throwaway lifestyle. Never mind the atmosphere, the product alone is depressing.

Fortunately, I don't actually have very good access to Target/Walmart (I think the nearest Target is about an hours drive away), and even getting to a smaller chain store (Gap, Ann Taylor, etc.) involves 20 minutes on the bus each way. So I'm only going to go if I REALLY need something.

The one big chain store I shop at with any regularity is probably Michael's (the craft store), though I do prefer to go to the LYS or the local "chain" craft store (I put "chain" in quotes because there are only 2 locations). The LYS does actually stock a fair amount of stuff that is at least somewhat ethically produced, and in the case of the local craft store, well, at least it's a local business, right? Plus I like both places better than Michael's. The Michael's is just closer and near the grocery store I go to, so it's super convenient (a big consideration since I don't have a car).

Just due to budget/time constraints, I do a decent job of avoiding these places, I think my last big-box purchase (aside from craft supplies) was a pair of jeans in January. I'm lucky to have a couple of really good thrift stores nearby and have scored some great clothes and housewares that way (solid cast-iron pans for half retail, anyone?).

Online purchasing is a bit more of an issue, but since I've started being stricter about budgeting and at least making an effort to pay attention to the production info of products I'm purchasing, I'm buying very little that way either. Basically, I am just turning into more and more of a minimalist.

One thing I REALLY wish is that I could justify spending more $$ on food and purchase more of my produce at the local farmer's market. You can get some good deals there (and I totally make use of those), but sometimes the supermarket is tons cheaper. I do pay attention to the country of origin for food though, and really avoid things that were likely flown into the country (i.e., grapes from Chile).

[irish*eyes]

"LooLoo Lemmin". I hate them.


But when they have a good sale on yoga pants that make my butt look cute, I buy some. Happens about once a year, maybe.

I really do hate them though and their priviledged platitudes on their stupid shopping bags make me want to barf on their Barbie-ish salesgirls.
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~Amanda J.

[daircroi]

I too much prefer to hold things in my hands or try them on before I buy them. I had a really good experience recently with buying a couple of dresses online, which surprised me, but haven't done as well with, say, buying undies online. Won't do that again. Which will stick me with going to...Macy's, I guess. There aren't many chain stores in my town, and on one hand I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, buying undies in local shops doesn't seem to work out for me--I usually can't afford them. So Macy's it is. Blah.

(SF gals, if you have a lead on that, lemme know...)
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[Lassi]

I'm with a lot of you! I hate Home Despot, but I find myself there a lot. I try to go to Ace instead because it is less overwhelming, but I often need things (heater/ac filters) that are only at the Despot.

I also hate K*hls and I don't really know why. I get angry when I'm in there. I bought a cute top there recently and they gave me a coupon for $10 off any purchase (even if that purchase is $10.01) and I am having trouble bringing myself back to spend it.

I also kind of hate T*rget. Mostly, I hate how it turns me into this total consumer every time I set foot in there (which is too often because, you know, it's better than W*lmart). I feel like I never leave without spending about $50, even if I'm only there to buy toilet paper or something.

Which brings me to the W*lmart. I hate it, hate it, hate it! I feel similarly to you, petunia_843, in that I hate the parking lot, I hate the crowds, I hate the products. I pretty much don't go there ever, but every once in a blue moon I end up there because I happen to be going somewhere in the same parking lot and don't want to make a whole separate trip to buy paper towels or something and thus, I end up in W*lmart.

I also have kind of grown to hate one of my local malls, mainly because the students at the school where I work are always there. If I go into Old Navy or something and buy a tank top, I get like five kids coming up to me at work the next week to report that they saw me there or heard from someone else that I was there. Eek!

[happyhats]

Oh, walmart, how I hate thee! I go/my hubby goes there probably once a week though. It's the only major store in town, and the only place that is open after 8pm. So yeah us night folks frequenty there often. I refuse to buy clothes there, and certain foods, but it's pretty much the only place I go to for toiletries and household items.

Amazon is bad, I know, but I do like the one stop shopping aspect. I don't shop there that often, but I do occasionally get things for the kids that I would otherwise have to travel a distance for, can't find as easily elsewhere, etc.

Otherwise I typically shop at thrift shops, or go to jcpenneys with the hubby when he needs things (I actually like jcpenney because clothes hold up on hubby who is rough on clothing and oddly shaped).
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[Fritz]

[Aliceinwonderland]

[daysleeper]

As much as I hate w*lm*rt, I did work for their retirement record keeper for awhile and developed a real soft spot for their employees, despite them being quite abusive when you tell them they can't withdraw their retirement funds. When I shop there I feel like I'm doing it for all the senior citizens who really are not welcome to work anywhere else.

I live in NJ, so chain stores repeat themselves every 8-10 miles or less. My local Targ and Wal and home despot are easy to navigate and never all that crowded. I hate shopping at my local chain grocery store, but its 2 miles away - that place is perpetually packed.

I just went to Targ this morning and I'm getting pretty bummed out by how expensive everything has become. Simple kitchen items (not that I need any, I was just looking) were all $8+, and all their nifty housewares etc were just as proportionately expensive.

I dislike clothes shopping pretty much everywhere.
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[PrickleyPete]

I don't like one of the Tar*gets near me. On the weekends the shelves are bare and the lines are terrible. I rarely go to Target anyway but if I have to I try desperately to go to the farther one that is nicer. I am in the city so the farther one is like 4 miles away as opposed to 1.

I dislike Wal*Ma rt and haven't been shopping inside one in a loooooong time. I have recently ordered a few large pieces of exercise equipment from them because they ship to the store for free and I can return the item by just taking it back to the store instead of the mail like Ama*zon.

I am trying to think of somewhere else that I hate and I don't think I go places I hate- if I start not to like being there I just eventually will quit shopping there.

I do not watch TV so I have no defenses against advertising. When I rarely go to the mall I feel compelled to buy stuff I do not even want, so I try very hard to stay away from any mall.
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[silverfish2007]

[WorkAndPlay]