1,200 Walgreen's Stores will soon be DEAD TO ME !

Thanks Kamala.

Their prices are too high - not enough sales/discounts. I go to CVS only because of their deals and discounts.

I think Walgreens is a better store than CVS - but they're not competitive.

Oh shit

In my area, the Walgreens is better than the CVS. Better prices, etc.

I have never been to a Walgreens or a CVS and I don't know why anyone would go.

It's very strange they fill prescriptions but also sell beer and wine and greeting cards.

It seems like a free for all for meth addicts.

I only go to Walgreens for flu shots and other shots, not to shop, not for prescriptions. An indie pharmacy near me is so much better than the chain pharmacies. Lower prices, they’ll order stuff they don’t stock, service is friendly and warm, and they’re the insurance whisperers - fix any Rx problem fast.

CVS no longer sells cigarettes. Walgreens still sells cigarettes.

R2 I find just the opposite. I find them much cheaper than CVS. I find CVS marks way up on their retail prices just so they can issue those 'rewards coupons' and 'sales' on the product - which only brings the price down to the every day price at Walgreens. I've comparison shopped both stores many times this summer, and this is what I found in my area.

[quote[I have never been to a Walgreens or a CVS and I don't know why anyone would go.

Because in my area , they're the only game in town located conveniently. All the independent drug stores I grew up with on every corner in my neighborhood were all pushed out / shut down by CVS before the 2000s. They targeted these locations, bought land close by / across the street and built a mega-store with a drive-thru. The corner drugstores had no choice but to close - they couldn't compete with the brand new CVS across the street. (Walgreens did this as well, but CVS was the one which always was a few steps ahead of the competition). The only way the independent stores profited in the end was selling their prescription customer base to CVS.

Drugstores can't sell liquor in my state, and CVS dropped cigarette sales about a dozen years ago.

Years ago, there was a great thread on here about how surly the cashiers were at Duane Reade. Since Walgreens purchased them, are the cashiers still surly?

This will be huge blow in the Midwest such as Illinois and Wisconsin. You can find a Walgreens almost on every corner in Milwaukee.

CVS and Walgreens over-saturated the market years ago. There are so damn many in my city, it's ridiculous.

I remember about twenty years ago, Walgreens bought all the Rite Aids in my state. They promised they wouldn't close any of the Rite Aid Stores - they would be run separately. They kept that promise for about three months.

Weren’t Walgreen's pharmacists the ones that reserved the right to withhold medication if it conflicted with their moral values? Boo 👻

The CVS stores here are the old school dirty carpet dumps. I get prescriptions filled there and that’s it. You can buy meds much cheaper at Kroger or even Ollie’s. Walgreens, ugh, it’s like being in a hospital with the same bright lighting.

This is what happens when you allow shoplifting.

Yes, R13, and that's why I stopped going to Walgreens. I switched all my Rx to another pharmacy. (Not CVS; I hate them. I actually like Walgreens much better but made the slight sacrifice not to give them my business anymore.)

[quote] I have never been to a Walgreens or a CVS and I don't know why anyone would go.

Where do you go then?

[quote]I have never been to a Walgreens or a CVS and I don't know why anyone would go.

...they are often conveniently located at major thoroughfares and intersections

...it is usually easier and quicker to go to them to pick up a few items than to go a grocery store or big box discount retailer

surely you have realized this.

are you autistic or something?

[quote] Where do you go then?

where do i go for what?

I'm not dopped up on scripts

[quote]CVS and Walgreens over-saturated the market years ago. There are so damn many in my city, it's ridiculous.

This is the problem. I've seen it from both chains. Where my parents live in Denver, there are at least 5 Walgreens within a 10 minute drive.

I lived in AZ and CA, and there was the same thing with CVS.

This doesn't even account for the pharmacies at Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Safeway, etc.

CVS is is laughably more expensive for most things.

The only reason to go to CVS is the wide reach of their pharamcy. Your prescription can be sent to a CVS, but you can actually pick it up at any CVS without transferring the prescription - including pickups in different states.

I also was able to get a flu and covid shot in one state while traveling and have it covered by my insurance even though I live in another.

[quote] I'm not dopped up on scripts

Oh, dear, and you’ve never been ill?

I've had a cold, yes. But I don't need a Value Card from CVS for that

I'm truly curious who the fuck on here is arguing that either Walgreens or CVS has "excellent prices." My area has both, and they are ALWAYS higher than Walmart or Costco, often far so. (Also more than my area's main grocery chain, and Target *used* to be cheaper until CVS took over their pharmacy operations.)

The one & only reason I go to CVS is for prescriptions, since they're the same price on my health plan and I definitely prefer their drive-thru than waiting 20 minutes in line.

Costco Pharmacy for the win. Their rates aren’t marked up to hell and back like CVS. I use them exclusively because I’ve been without health insurance often enough that Costco drug prices are still reasonable paying out-of-pocket. Prices at CVS/Walgreens are completely outrageous. We’re just paying for their expensive, high-visibility commercial real estate.

[quote] I'm truly curious who the fuck on here is arguing that either Walgreens or CVS has "excellent prices." My area has both, and they are ALWAYS higher than Walmart or Costco, often far so.

Costco doesn't sell everything that CVS & Walgreens sell.

I don't buy any rx drugs on a regular basis, so this is not my main point of comparison.

Also: convenience & stress factors. The Costco where I live is almost always crowded. Walmart and Target are further, in distance, and crowded.

The CVS and Walgreens are very close and not crowded. I can pretty much go at any time of the day and be OK.

I'm not retired, yet. So, if I do end up paying more for something at Walgreens, so be it.

We actually had a few large, well-stocked, nice Walgreens close to our area. But then they halved themselves to make room for urgent-healthcare offices occupying their other side and dumped half of their inventory in the process. Believe it or not, meanwhile, our local huge Walmart actually has a fantastic pharmacy with attendant doctors and excellent staff/service.

I go to an independent pharmacy. Excellent service.

The Walgreen family was a hot mess in Lake Forest.

In my small beach town we have a Walgreen's across the street from a CVS. All the local geezers go to CVS. Tourists go to Walgreens.

^^^I was just about to ask if Walgreen's across the street from CVS at a major intersection is common in parts of the country. In the Dallas area, they do it all the time.

Whenever I want to transported back to 1998, I visit one of my local Walgreens. The light is extra fluorescent, the floors appear to be white linoleum tiles and the shelves are hideous industrial metal painted white.

R25 — I got my COVID shot today at Sam's Club. Excellent pharmacy, the pharmacist and his assistants are very nice and considerate to their customers. Whenever I go to Walgreens or CVS, it's like being in some kind of scary ghetto hospital. Sketchy as hell with bad service. You don't even have to be a member of Sam's to use their pharmacy. Warehouse club pharmacies for the win.

r10 Milwaulgreens?

The world will be unbearable with 5 retailers left.

It feels like there is a Walgreens on every corner in my city. I can predict at least one closing—I stopped in one the other day that I’ve never been into since I’m rarely in that part of town. The shelves were really bare. I had stopped in for like 3 things, which they didn’t have. They didn’t even have Vaseline ! (No, it wasn’t for THAT) There are busier stores within a few miles in any direction. This one will surely close.

R21: Walgreen does the same thing and has been doing longer than CVS.

[quote] Whenever I want to transported back to 1998, I visit one of my local Walgreens. The light is extra fluorescent, the floors appear to be white linoleum tiles and the shelves are hideous industrial metal painted white.

I like Target, but it's offensive, also. Cornea-frying lights. Everything is primary-color red. I don't think the layout is that great. The store is kind of bisected and not in a good way.

R25, just FYI, are you familiar with GoodRX.com? It's been a godsend for friends of mine who don't have health insurance. It's not as cheap as a copay, but you can get most generics (ones that aren't already $4 at Walmart or something) for under $50 for a month's supply.

R26, Costco obviously sells in bulk, but you can *definitely* find nearly everything at a Walgreens or CVS at the supermarket. Interestingly, I've had the opposite experience as you when I've had to buy something at Walgreens: there is ALWAYS a line, and only a single register open. At Target I can do a self-checkout in under two minutes. (It helps that the store is still nearly new and has a huge number of checkout stations.)

[quote] you can *definitely* find nearly everything at a Walgreens or CVS at the supermarket.

R39, yes, probably. However, OTC drugs and some other things are cheaper at Walgreens / CVS.

When I say "crowded," I'm factoring in the parking lot situation. JMO, but the Costco and Target parking lots in my area can be stressful. If I can go to Costco at night, it's still somewhat crowded, but bearable.

[quote]I was just about to ask if Walgreen's across the street from CVS at a major intersection is common in parts of the country. In the Dallas area, they do it all the time.

This has always been the strategy for both chains. Same as when Burger King / McDonald's always open up restaurants across the street from one another (or within a quarter mile on the same street). It's all their business strategy.

As for Costco or Sam's Club - none in my region. We just have BJs and there are no 'pharmacies' in our BJs. We just have 'health and beauty aids' sections, but who really needs to buy 12 tubes of toothpaste for $35 when you live alone ? That's when the drugstores come in - you can buy one tube of that same toothpaste for $4 at Walgreens, or for $8 at CVS (but use the 50% off coupon in their app to bring it down the SRP of $4).

I stopped jumping through Walgreens and CVS price hoops several years ago. All the coupons, "extra bucks", points and gimmicks are tiresome. I just get my toiletries at Target at their everyday low price. Target frequently has the $5 or $10 gift card when you purchase $25 or some other amount on toiletries which is the only game I'll play at this point.

Walgreens isn't as bad as CVS with the complicated promotions, but on the off chance that you actually have an eligible item, CVS is cheaper.

way too many Walgreens out there and CVS too. to be profitable.

R39. "At Target I can do a self-checkout in under two minutes. (It helps that the store is still nearly new and has a huge number of checkout stations.)"

They removed the self-checkouts at Target in San Francisco a number of months ago. This was done for "asset protection" which Target takes very seriously here. The store is loaded with security personnel and they don't let people just walk out with merchandise any more.

" It's all their business strategy."

R41 obviously working well.🤣

[quote] who really needs to buy 12 tubes of toothpaste for $35 when you live alone ? That's when the drugstores come in - you can buy one tube of that same toothpaste for $4 at Walgreens, or for $8 at CVS (but use the 50% off coupon in their app to bring it down the SRP of $4).

Why not get 6 tubes of toothpaste in one go? I'm still working (not retired) and this saves me from having to buy one tube of toothpaste at a time. I don't buy my toothpaste from Costco, but I do buy maybe 6 tubes at a time.

$4 for toothpaste? I can get them at the Dollar store for $1.25.