Walmart apparently has a new strategy … we’ll order a bunch of stuff, we’ll make sure it’s shipped to us first and then we’ll stack it sky high in gardening and cover it with a tarp.

I’m not exactly sure this is a money making strategy but it is a strategy.

Humm, what could be under these pallets?

They LITERALLY stretch as far as possible … two aisle double width …

As you round the corner, they start to run out of tarp …

Humm, what’s could be in cardboard with a black and purple band?

But wait, there’s more – when you round the corner …

Yep, EXACTLY what you think it is … it’s December 5th and here it is sitting in gardening, exposed to the elements … exactly the intention?

Of course, just so the CARS pallet doesn’t get lonely, they keep it company with another 20 pallets of toys …

Not kidding about the 20 pallets, this is around the corner from the two doubles aisles of toys shrouded in black tarp but they ran out of sheets that large so they are just stacked. Basically, there are enough toys unopened and stacked here to start your toy distribution business.

As noted yesterday, apparently no room or employees to put these out but of course, much higher margin and priority is given to …

Yep, 6 pallets of toilet paper and paper towels rushed onto the selling floor …

Meanwhile …

Well, the store is definitely uncluttered …

Apparently the managers and stockers are stumped, humm, where would you find room to put all those toys – better keep them exposed in gardening or under a tarp where they are out of the way …

Wouldn’t the time spent tarping the pallets be better spent putting them in the aisles?

And just so you don’t think I’m picking on just one store, here’s a store 15 miles away …

I couldn’t see everything back there but I can tell you on the actual INSIDE of the store, there are about 8 CARS on the shelf and there is no CARS pallet … but enough open floor space to hold the Rose Bowl parade …

They sure ordered a lot of stuff … if only there were some sort of holiday where people might want to buy merchandise … of course, most customers prefer to buy merchandise on the floor and not under a wet tarp but maybe that’s just me … even Costco will actually cut the boxes open and don’t make you shop outside in the elements … if this is the #1 retailer in the world, who exactly is #2?

Now, I know this isn’t 100% of every Walmart in the US (though it’s 2 for 2 within 20 of my house) but when Walmart tries to tell Mattel, Hasbro and others that their toys aren’t selling so well, maybe they’ll wants to point out that their toys tend to sell better under an actual roof, with the boxes cut open and not under a wet tarp in a section of the store most people do not go to look for CARS or toys?

So, self serve? Don’t bring a box cutter on the plane but bring one to shop at the world’s #1 retailer? If they’re going to make us self serve starting here, don’t we at least get to drive the forklift around or even better, just be able to place our own factory orders? They could save a lot of wear and tear moving stuff around in gardening to use as a warehouse and then having to troop across the parking lot to buy real tarp at Lowe’s …

I don’t know about other toy shoppers but I can tell you that CARS buyers just want to buy CARS, so instead of bothering to unload from a truck container only to tarp it, why not just make an aisle in the container box itself, cut open a few boxes, we’ll tear the others open by hand … set up some self serve registers, we’ll be happy to buy that way … unless of course, your planning some master strategy where you become the ultimate eBayer by hoarding all these boxes … in 5 years, you’ll sell us a P7735-9993 MINT IN BOX Mattel December pallet with hundreds of CARS and original pallet! (+ $299 shipping)

Someone might buy a complete sealed CARS pallet but the Bolt 3D plush dogs 5 years from now, um, not so much …