Walmart may be a haven for bargains, but not every product on the shelves is a great deal. Some items at this superstore aren’t worth your money, whether that’s because they skimp on quality or because you can find a lower price elsewhere. From shoddy-tasting food to inflated prices, it pays to know which products to avoid. Below, we’ll cut through the clutter and highlight the worst Walmart purchases according to experts, from kitchen appliances to Great Value food duds.
1. Home Appliances
When your toaster stops working, you may want to grab the cheapest option around—however, it's important to remember that Walmart home appliances are cheap for a reason. They may not be the best quality, and they likely won't last you very long. That means you'll be running to buy another one soon.
"Unless you’re literally planning on using a kitchen appliance only a few times, skip the Walmart brand," David Bakke at DollarSanity told Go Banking Rates. "The quality just isn’t there. I bought a microwave oven from them a few months back and it didn’t even last a month. I’ve had better success with kitchen appliances at Costco, and the prices are competitive." Good to know!
2. Paper Towels
According to Chloe Elise, a certified financial coach and the CEO/founder of Deeper Than Money, Walmart has a "big selection of paper products" like paper towels, toilet paper and napkins, but if you are shopping on a budget, "you will be disappointed by the cheapest option at Walmart,” she said. "Unless you like 1-ply toilet paper. While, for the same price, at ALDI you can save big-time on these items and still get incredible quality."
3. Glasses and Dishware
Just as with kitchen appliances, it's not a good idea to buy glasses and dishware at Walmart if you want them to last you a good amount of time. According to Bakke, "All you need to do is basically look at a set of dishes or drinking glasses and realize that the quality isn’t that good, Since these sorts of items are ones you normally want to last for years, you’re better off going another route and paying a little more for more durability."
4. Maple Syrup
Maple Syrup is a staple in many households, which means it's important to find the best deal around. Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with DealNews revealed that the price per ounce for maple syrup at Walmart is "so much more than what you’ll pay elsewhere." The best deal you can find on this item, she noted, is "undoubtedly at a warehouse club." She says that Costco has a "33.8 ounce bottle for $13.11, which works out to about 39 cents per ounce." Plus, there are plenty of other great items you can pick up while you're there! At Walmart, even the generic brand (which is usually the cheapest) will "cost you nearly 64 cents per ounce, although a 32 ounce bottle (the closest to the Costco size) will cost about 50 cents per ounce.”
5. Great Value Cereal
The health risks of cereal aren't the only reason you may want to avoid stocking up on this food at Walmart. Although Great Value brand cereals come at a low price, experts say the taste just isn't worth it.
"There are Great Value versions of classic cereals like Apple Jacks and Cocoa Puffs, but the taste isn’t even close," Bakke said. "If you’re like me, it’s not worth it to save a few pennies when you can’t taste what you’ve known and loved since you were a kid."
6. Gift Cards
Ramhold said that shopping for gift cards at Walmart means "paying list price for them, but if you shop at warehouse clubs, you can get multi-packs with a discount." She also points out that depending on the store or restaurant you’re buying gift cards for, "you can expect a 15% to 20% discount when shopping at Costco or Sam’s Club."
7. Equate Beauty Products
Just like Great Value cereal, the quality Walmart's beauty brand likely isn't worth the money you'll save on the products. Jasmine Charbonier at Your Tampa Bestie told Go Banking Rates that Equate makeup remover pads, shampoos and conditioners, and skin creams should all be avoided.
8. Paper Plates
At Walmart, Ramhold says, you can get "generic paper plates for as little as 3 cents each, but the odds are good that you’ll be trading quality for that." She also stresses that at Costco, you can buy "name-brand quality disposable plates for about 8 cents each. It’s definitely a matter of preference but paying a little more up front could be worth it to protect your floor and prevent losing food."
9. Great Value Frozen Broccoli
Vegetables are a crucial part of a balanced diet, and stocking up on frozen varieties can be extremely convenient. However, if your veggies taste bad, you won't want to eat them. According to Tabitha Bailar, founder of Travel Compositions, that's exactly the case with Great Value's Frozen Broccoli. "You would think that a frozen vegetable would be hard to mess up, but Great Value does a fantastic job of it," she told Go Baking Rates. "Its broccoli, when heated up, is the mushiest mess that it’s hardly recognizable as broccoli anymore." Gross!
