NEW YORK — Wal-Mart is bringing back something its customers have been asking for since the Great Recession: layaway.

The world's largest retailer, which ditched the pay-as-you-go plans in 2006, is rolling out a holiday layaway option from Oct. 17 through Dec. 16. Wal-Mart is following rivals that brought back the service during the thick of the recession.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44442002...s_and_economy/

Hmmmmm maybe Wal-mart has FINALLY realized they screwed up by taking away layaway. Even if it is only for th holidays, the article says they may extend layaway throught out the year. :)

wow - thanks for the update....

Great news for us thanks!

YOUR ALL WELCOME. Maybe WALMART will get SMART...and keep it all year long. Not sure I want to tell my husband. LOL.

so if i read this right you can put a $15 toy on layaway and pay an additional $5 fee for the service?

how is that interest free, that's a 33% charge on a $15 purchase.

Most people would be putting more then just a $15 toy on layaway though. I see what your saying though.

From the article:
"The program, which has a minimum layaway purchase of $50, "

So you wouldn't be able to just do the one $15 toy.

(And the $5 fee on only a $50 layaway actually works out to an annualized interest rate of 60%. ;-)
I'm sure, though, that no one is thinking that way.)

Many will be very grateful for the availability of the service.

And I'm sure it will be used for more flat screen TV's than toys. ;-)

I am glad they are bringing back layaway, but I wish it didn't have so many restrictions on it. I am not fond of Kmart, but I do use their layaway quite often. No minimum purchase there, but the same $5.00 fee and $10 cancellation fee.

And yep, I will probably put flat screen on layaway for hubby.:mrgreen: DD's TV tore up and we gave them one of ours.

Those fees really don't seem out-of-the-line crazy to me.

So I'm guessing it's only valid to Dec 16 because regular price cuts/sales will go into effect.

I wonder what happens if you put something on layaway on Nov 1, and then it goes on sale for Thanksgiving. Do you get your layaway adjusted to the lower price as well? ;-) Maybe you get adjusted to the price the item currently sells for when you pick it up.

Enjoy your TV. ;-)

Great news! Thank you from me and DD!

I worked at Meijer in the layaway department when they still had theirs. The deadline is so that products not fully paid for can be returned to the shelf in time for other shoppers to buy before the holidays.

Oh I love lay-aways, I have missed them.

Don't mean to be a naysayer here, but until it actually arrives in the store here, I won't believe it. Kind of like all the stores getting material back. Won't be happening. One of our friends is head mgr. in a town north of us, and he has not heard of this.

I can understand this. I hope that it does happen in all the stores. This was just on the msnbc.com website today.

Just in time for people to do their Christmas shopping!

Good news

I guess that's why they're not called Wal- Smart.

Well I was in the Walmart nearest me today & wasn't impress with their "remodeled" very small craft section & sewing section. Not many low cost, mostly nearly $5 & $6 bolts.

. :thumbup: :thumbup: ;) ;)

YEP THATS RIGHT I SEEN IT ON THE NEWS MYSELF THIS MORINING GLORY GLORY.ITS ABOUT TIME.

It's a shame Walmart doesn't do this all year long, would come in handy for buying school clothes, summer clothes, etc. When my kids were young I always went to K-Mart to do the lay-away for all there clothes.

I like layaway. I don't have any credit cards, so this is good for me. I'll have to go check out what sewing machines they have.

yes I heard that on the TV this morning, but it was my understanding it was for toys and electronics

Kmart also has layaway again.

If the stores hadn't done away with layaway, maybe the country wouldn't be in such a credit card crisis....

sorry, just had to say it.

I hope they learn that they screwed up big time when they took away the fabric section. It is a crying shame to not get fabric there anymore. They always carried panels which were just precious for baby quilts. Regular quilt fabric stores do not carry those type of panels.

Don't know whether layaway is coming back here, but only a few weeks before our Wal Mart started getting fabric into the store warehouse, a female assistant manager assured me--vehemently--that Wal Mart would never carry fabric again. It is possible that those Harvard MBA's don't tell the local yokels until the deed is done. froggyintexas

It is a sign of the times with this economy. I also use coupons to eat out with, too.

They are available on line and they are made by most of the big name quilt fabric makers. Some area quilt shops are carrying more panels in spite of the sneers that the quilt police perpetually send toward those of us who love panels. I suspect that it is the LQS' fear of the quilt police that discourages them from stocking panels. I think the LQS ought to have a separate section of the store for those of us who love panels. Then the purists wouldn't have to be subjected to the presence of the impure. froggyintexas

I can just picture a LQS with two entrances.... :thumbup:

One of our Wal-Marts never had their fabric department taken out the other one did.... THey put it back in last month.... we are a little vocal in our area lol

I had never used layaway until last year when the Zhu-Zhu pets and their accessories were the hot item for kids. I loved it because I was able to get the rapidly disappearing toys for my nephews even if I didn't have the full amount at the time. I thought it was actually cheaper than using a credit card. I was able to pay off the amount in 4 weeks and I picked it up and it was packed up and everything! I'll wait and see about Walmart because last year, I wasn't impressed with their toy selection or kid's clothes at Christmas. I do think it is a good idea though as alot of people locally grumbled about it last year while we picked up our layaways at Kmart.

Thanks for the update but until Walmart brings fabric back to my local store (and they're not) I have no reason to go there very much, so I think I'll stick with K-Mart and Sears for layaways where they don't charge any extra fees.

Yea, they finally got it!!! first fabric and now Lay-away.
Don't mess with what "we" like......

they found out that they were wrong about fabric also.....

mm, maybe they should listen closer to the customer....

they're always right, so they say!!!!!!!!!!

they found out that they were wrong about fabric also.....

mm, maybe they should listen closer to the customer....

they're always right, so they say!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info.

kmart is doing that to.

I was just in the quilt shop in Durant, OK and there lots of panels. I didn't have time to look at very many and didn't buy anything because I can't cram another scrap of fabric into my stash. But you gotta remember that Okies and Texans, unless they're from Dallas or Houston and maybe San Antonio, are pretty much given to hickiness, which is probably why there were so many panels there. froggyintexas (native Texan)

Thanks for the info - now if they would only bring back the fabric to my local store, I'd shop there more often.

That's great news. I also went to the Walmart nearest me yesterday and they have fabric. It is a new store and they never had fabric from the beginning but now they do!

I just read that in the paper today!! Woo Hoo!!