rjs,
Very informative post.
The original poster and photographer of the Walmart sighting and purchase indicated, and the photo shows, that the sponge was found in the "AS SEEN ON TV" section of the store. I have to admit that I've never been in a Walmart so I don't know what one of those sections looks like, but it appears to be a collection of unrelated inexpensive items that have only one thing in common......they carry the little red nameplate that says AS SEEN ON TV. I found no evidence that the use of the nameplate requires a license. There is an Asseenontv.com website (in which I could not find any SPNG products) that offers many products and it appears that any product that carries the nameplate can call itself an AS SEEN ON TV product.
Here's what I'm wondering:
I know that Walmart has several different types of stores and I don't know if similar sections appear in all stores. Does it represent a Walmart department that has a unique buyer who seeks out, or is sought out, and walks individual manufacturers through the torturous process that you've posted......wherein the manufacturer seeks a "permanent" position in all the Walmarts that include such a section? Or is there a distributor of AS SEEN ON TV products who must go through the vetting process and who has the responsibility of providing various manufacturers (who avoid the process) products on an ongoing basis, rotating them by popularity, availability, close-out status, etc. ?
An understanding of Spongetechs basis of doing business with Walmart in terms of the above distinctions would be interesting and perhaps indicative of the potential of the future relationship.
