5 Home Items You Should Never, Ever Buy At Walmart

Walmart has gained a reputation for being a one-stop shop for everything for the home. To give you a better idea of its success, as of August 2022, Walmart has a reported net worth of about $430 billion, according to GOBankingRates. The retailer carries a huge range of items, from groceries to electronics, and everything in between. With Walmart's low, hard-to-beat prices, it's no wonder the retailer is so popular. Walmart is able to keep its prices to a minimum because of its low operating costs and lack of competition, explains Business Insider.

However, not everything at Walmart is worth purchasing. Compared to other major retailers (and even some small businesses), Walmart's products aren't always top-tier quality. Additionally, there are certain cases where Walmart has higher prices for the same product, per Finance Buzz. Between low-quality products and higher-priced items, you're better off shopping somewhere else for certain items. That being said, let's take a look at five home items you should never, ever buy at Walmart.

If you're shopping for herbal supplements, skip the generic products at Walmart. In 2015, The New York Attorney General Attorney prohibited Walmart from distributing adulterated and mislabeled herbal supplements, Food Safety News reports. The retailer was caught selling herbal supplements that didn't contain the ingredients the label claims they do. After conducting DNA tests on the retailer's products, the GA found that 79% of Walmart's generic supplements were falsely labeled. The product was either missing the ingredients they claimed were inside, or they added filler ingredients like rice and wheat.

The GA discovered the same issues with Target, Walgreens, and GNC, so it's best to avoid those retailers as well if you plan on shopping for generic-brand supplements. Instead, Mother Earth Living recommends Herb Pharm, Gaia Herbs, and ​​Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems. Not only do their supplements contain FDA-approved ingredients, but you can purchase each company's products online, saving yourself a trip to the store.

In an attempt to keep its reputation for having the lowest prices, Walmart marks its produce at lower-than-average costs. However, one of the major issues with Walmart's fresh produce is the short shelf life, says 24/7 Wall St. If you've ever purchased fresh produce from the retailer, you may have noticed the lack of quality compared to its competitors. According to Consumer Reports, Walmart was marked as one of the worst retailers for produce. You're better off shopping at Aldi or Costco for high-quality produce (this includes organic produce as well).

Though Walmart claims to have the lowest prices on its groceries in general, it actually has some competition. In a study that compared prices between the same grocery items at Aldi and Walmart, Aldi had the lower prices on 17 out of 25 items, Ramsey states. If you have access to an Aldi, we suggest purchasing your produce there instead.

According to Business Insider, Home Depot, Best Buy, and Costco have bigger selections and better prices on their appliances. They also recommend purchasing your items in-store, so you can actually see and feel the appliance for yourself. Additionally, shopping for appliances in-store gives you the chance to bargain with the salesperson, per Consumer Reports. They also found that consumers who haggled reported a high success rate when haggling over prices on appliances. This bargaining tactic doesn't work at Walmart, so you may not actually be getting the best deal.

USA Today warns against shopping at Walmart for major appliances, saying a good majority of the items aren't actually manufactured by Walmart, but by a third party. These third parties often have a poor reputation, so you can't bank on getting a high-quality appliance. Another issue with purchasing large appliances from Walmart is the lack of installation services. This means it's up to you to install the item yourself (and you may need to replace it in a few months, anyway).

At first glance, you might be tempted to buy a laptop from Walmart because of its low price, but what about its quality? According to 24/7 Wall St. when you buy a cheap laptop from Walmart, you're getting what you paid for. For example, take a look at the Dell Chromebook, which retails at Walmart for just $44. With a mere 3-star rating, the Dell Chromebook proves its low quality matches its low price tag. The same can be said for a different Dell Chromebook model, for which one customer stated the laptop wouldn't even turn on.

At the end of the day, you're better off shopping somewhere else for a new laptop. Laptops and other electronics aren't Walmart's specialty; they're just a fraction of what the retailer offers. You'll have better luck at an electronics store, such as Best Buy or Apple, where you'll be helped by professionals who specialize in laptops and can point you in the right direction.

There are certain items worth splurging on, and luggage is one of them, The Travel states. Luggage is expensive for a reason — it protects your belongings during transit from one place to the next. Cheap luggage has a higher potential of losing a wheel or even busting open. Think about how embarrassing it would be to watch your luggage split open at the airport, leaving all of your personal items out for everyone to see. Not only that, but you'll also need to replace the broken suitcase with a pricey piece of luggage at the airport.

24/7 Wall St recommends skipping Walmart when searching for a new piece of luggage. Don't let its cheap prices trick you into thinking you're getting a steal on a high-quality suitcase. Though it's more expensive, it's best to invest in a durable piece of luggage you can count on to make it safely to your destination.