From: fos@sdf.org   
      
   On 2021-12-12, Michael Trew  wrote:   
      
   > There was a documentary made about Snapper mowers that stood up to   
   > Walmart, and said they wouldn't sell a cheaper version of their mower to   
   > make a ton of money retailing them at Walmart stores.   
      
   > Unfortunately, someone later bought the Snapper brand, and they   
   > immediately caved into corporate pressure.  You now find cheap Snapper   
   > mowers at Walmart, that are not quality -- they only retain the old name.   
      
   Snapper was bought by Simplicity and Briggs and Stratton bought   
   Simplicity not long after that. I'm pretty sure it was Briggs and Stratton   
   that caved and put Snapper mowers on Walmart shelves.   
      
   i refuse to even purchase power equipment at big box stores such as Home   
   Depot and Lowes. That equipment suffers from the same thing as equipment   
   at Walmart, it's made cheaper.   
      
   riding mowers for example. they're all powered by the same engines,   
   Kohler, Briggs, Kawasaki, etc, and all have the same transmissions, Tuff   
   Torq, but none are of commercial quality. The sheet metal frames and   
   decks are made from is thinner, and the moving hardware is the same.   
   When you see Cub Cadet's, Deere's, Husqvarna's, etc at a box store, those   
   are cheaply made knock offs compared to the models sold at actual dealers.   
      
   you buy a riding mower at a box store, you're buying a 5-10 year throw   
   away machine. a few years ago i purchased a Simplicity riding mower from   
   a local farm supply. Briggs and Stratton commercial v-twin engine, heavy   
   duty Tuff Torq trans, cast aluminum deck, serviceable spindles with   
   grease fittings, steering components have grease fitting, heavy gage sheet   
   metal, minimal plastic. with proper maintenance i'll easily get 30 years   
   out of it. on the other hand, my next door neighbor buys box store riding   
   mowers and is on his third one in 25 years. his mowers are priced half of   
   what i paid sure, but i'm further ahead by buying a quality product that   
   will last 3 times or more as long up front.   
      
   back to tires, or anything auto related, at walmart. the tire shop i use   
   and the collision shop down the street from them both say they see vehicles   
   with loose wheels or damaged vehicles from improperly tightened lug nuts on   
   vehicles serviced by walmart several times a year. i can't vouch for   
   whether walmart has lower gradetires as i've never compared specs, but if i   
   did ever buy tires from there, i sure as hell would not have them   
   mounted and balanced there based on their crappy reputation alone. if   
   you ever do, check the lug nuts for proper torque.   
      
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