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you hit a nerve with the hardware store post

N

Northeast Puller

Member
I am in my late forty and have bought a local hardware store in August a true vale and have a lot riding on this venture and will be living in a refrigerator box if I can not make a go of it.This post struck a nerve as some folks have no idea what it takes to do this. Yes my prices are some what higher and I admit that and can not compete with home depot nor am I trying too. If you need large amounts of 2x4 go to home depot . If you need two come to me.I grew up on a farm and offer a lot of experience with things that the average person who does not read this forum needs my help.I am adding new inventory every day so you have what you need and now also offer Deka batteries and will be making hydraulic hose soon.The reason why small store price are higher is simple. some of the stuff on the shelf that you may need at 4pm on Sunday in an emergency like a relieve valve for your hot water heater. I buy 2 to have and have to pay a broken carton change from the suppler.Home depot can buy the hole case.I am open seven days a week from 7am to 5:30 pm and have one part time helper so I have Thursdays off to keep up with things at my house. This is just like when I had worked on dairy farm .Did you know that when stock comes in my back door I have 14 days to pay for it in full or it is 18% interest.So please keep this in mind when you complain about small stores. I have my head above water but not buy much.I have made the choice not to take a pay check home yet so as that I can add new stock each week to be able to serve you and earn your respect. OK I am now finished venting . Pleas have a nice day.
Northeast puller.
 
There's a lot to be said for a local hardware store. The one in the town closest to us has stuff that the big stores haven't even heard of and you don't have to drive 40 miles to get it.
 
We still have 2 large local lumber yards. I try to shop at these as needed, because the national ones SUCK. If I don't want help to find it, I go to the nationals. If I don't want help loading, I go to the nationals. 'Nuff said. Greg
 
Northeast puller, i fully sympathise with you. a couple of years ago i bought a small retail store in a small town. it was so frustrating to see people drive 40 miles to save a buck when it cost them 10 to get there and back but yet it was still "cheaper" over there. But the one thing that made me close my door was the "happy charger". These are the people that are glad to charge something but sad to pay. I hope you don't get hit with these. Think about it - people pay at restuarants, grocery stores and for their entertainment, but they faulter on the "parts" bill. But yet at the start of next month they will come in to charge more even if their past due is still due.
I wish you the best of luck in your adventure!!
 
I have to say I appreciate the people at the hardware store. When I go to a big place, (Ottumwa only has a Menards), I end up having to give the clerk a detailed lesson on what I"m looking for since most of them are completly CLUELESS. At O"Hara"s everyone in the store is knowledgable about what they sell, and won"t steer me wrong. That in itself is worth the extra money.
 
Knowledge is not cheap in any form. There is a lot to be said for folks that know what they are doing selling stuff. If I need something to keep the farm running, I'd rather pay more and get what I need than to waste time on a wild goose-chase.
 
Shoot, I'm only 26 and I like the 2 local Ace Hardware stores better than any big chain. Why? Because even though I can work on almost any tractor, when it comes to home improvement, I'm lost. Luckily both stores employ a whole fleet of old timers that have been there, done that, and are willing to let me learn from their mistakes. It may cost more, but I get the right stuff the first time. Add on the fact that the one Ace has a section for all US made ball valves, plumbing supplies etc. I will go there every time.
 
I shop at small local owned stores as much as possible, I will gladly pay $29.99 at the local employee owned mimbach fleet than shop at corperate owned min waged wally world, or home depot or menards, to pay $24.99. Keep up the dream and best of luck to you.
 
Northeast what part of the N.E. are you in In, I had always thought of having a small hardware store.
I live on Cape Cod where people will pay $4.00
for a Ice Cream cone or slice of pizza but try to make a quarter on a $2.00 part and they hem and haw.
 
Yes, My local Ace store is my favorite because it has the small hard to find stuff. Went down a notch when they advertised that Amish-rip-off heater though.
 
I appreciate a good hardware store filled with QUALITY merchandise. Don't stock inferior bolts or whatever just to keep the prices low.

The book by Sam Walton helped my brother in his business and I would suggest that you read it if you haven't already.

Might also pay you to look over the Lehman's Hardware Store web site to get a feel of what they carry. You area needs will probably be different.

My very best wishes for a successful venture as good stores are needed.
 
DDL The first thing I did when I took over was do away with all the I will pay you when I can customers. I sent a letter to all legitimate business owners and asked them to fill out a signature card for all people with signing authority. I told them if they fire an employee it is their responsibility to remove their name not mine. I also told them that I can not afford to do 60/90 day billing and pay the taxes do on their purchase that I am not a bank or credit card company.They are aware that at 30 days they are on credit hold and will be told so at the counter in a loud voice with their next attempted purchase.
 
I drive a mile past the nearest Home Depot to the local hardware store (unless I'm getting a truckload of sheetrock or something, even then I don't buy it from HD).

The two reasons are the high quality of service, and the wide selection of parts. When I had a problem with a faucet in my 60-year-old house, the hardware store clerk knew the part I needed, and had one on the shelf. A big chain store wouldn't be able to do anything but sell me a new faucet.
 
Best of luck to you,and I really mean that. I HATE those big stores. Thank God for guys like you.
 
I'm all for you and hope it works; I'd much rather deal with a small businessman, but.........there's a Lowes about 25 miles North and a HD about 18 South. There's a LARGE locally owned hardware store less than 5 miles away. If I go in to get a few sticks of lumber at the local store, I'll have to pick through as many as 50 planks to get 5 usuable ones; at the chain stores, the first 5 will nearly always be good. The local store apparently NEVER throws away the warped, twisted, unusable stuff; I'd rather buy from him, but it's not worth the aggravation.
 
I don't go to the big box stores unless I am in town for something. I shop at the local hardware store whenever I need something. The prices may be more than the others. But not really when you consider the gas and driving time. The nearest Lowes is 55 miles away and H/D is 58 miles. Plus the local store has people that know what they are talking about and you can really find them when you need help.
 
There's a Tru Value store in the little village of Zurich about three miles from the farm. Ther's also a Rona. I go to Tru Value as much as possible..and surprisingly Tru Value is cheaper on a lot of stuff especially hardeware such as bolts..the big stores package bolts and nuts in packages of ten..when you only need two, the Tru Value is cheaper ,even if you calculate the cost per bolt. Paint and hardware I need is just as cheap at Tru Value, even if they don't buy in volume. The chain of Tru Value stores must be able to buy and distribute at a good price.
Good luck with your store and I think more and more , rural people are starting to realize that hometown shopping is a necessity to keep the store going.
 
I really prefer mom and pop and go to the big box places as a last resort. I wish you the best of success. I think your keys to success will be diversity of product and service and minimizing on- shelf time of most inventory. I think you have also recognized where you can compete against the big box people and what is pointless to attempt for competition.
My dream (one of them) was to have a business like yours but the opportunity never came along. Enjoy.
 
northeast puller,
first of all, good luck with your store.

Few thoughts from reading your post:

the Big Box stores are all about population density and demographics. I have 2 HD's and 2 Walmarts within 5 miles of each other ON THE SAME ROAD. The nearest one of each is within a mile of my house. Also have a Lowes within a mile on that road as well. Our subdivision (one of many in the area) has 1140 homes. Probably 10,000 homes withing spitting distance.

Nearest Ace hardware is about 3 miles away. I DO shop there for paint and if I think of something while I'm at THAT strip mall. But by and large my first stop is at HD or Lowes. They're open at least the same hours as Ace, prices on commodity type things is less.

I think you are smart in finding things that the Big Box stores don't offer (i.e., making hydraulic hoses). That will give you a niche and while I'm waiting for my hose, I'll browse the aisles and maybe pick up a light bulb or 2 rather than make the extra trip to HD which may be farther away but cheaper. Your idea may not work for the next guy but the core concept is you're trying to satisfy a local need.

My point is that small hardware stores will prosper where they are economically viable. If not enough folks shop there because a HD or Lowes or whatever is close enough than bye-bye small store. Many business types are gone because someone came up with a better idea or technology made them obsolete. Just the economic nature of things.
 
I sincerely wish you the best of luck. I love to shop small home town stores, hate Home Depot, lowe"s, Meijers, and most of all Wal-Mart. Before I go there, I will do with out. rw
 
Two pet peeves about hardware stores. Don't ask men (and maybe women too) if they need help finding anything when they walk in the door. They way I know what you guy's carry is by wandering around. If you take me right to what I need, how will I know you have XYZ in stock so when I need it, I know I can go to your store. If have a doubt that you might not have something, I will just order from McMaster and have it next day for only a few bucks.

Also, carry fasteners by the pound. You can have an "each" price and a "bulk" price. If you are a farmer, rarely do you need "just one." You are going to want to get a handful so you have spares next time something breaks.
 
I always try to make my purchases from the independently owned stores when I can. I would rather pay just a little more for an item and do buisness with an independent than a large corporation, but lets face it guys sometimes I have to go to those large corporate owned stores because my bottom line counts as well. Good luck on your store, I hope you can keep it going.
 
One of the big problems with the big stores is finding someone to help you that knows what they're talking about. There might be a couple people but you can search the whole store looking for them. The worst thing is when someone tries to fake it that they know what they or you are talking about. Product knowledge is the key to any sales. Properly arranged shelfs with the prices on everything is also good. I hate going to a store and everything shows the price, except for what I'm looking at. Fasteners likes nuts and bolts is a real pain in most stores. I like to go to the UFA because they sell all the standard fasteners by the pound. It's a whole lot easier and cheaper than writing 4 different bin numbers down. Only specialty bolts like plow bolts are sold individually. Are you open any days after 5:30? Or have an emergency number? A lot of parts places have an emergency number and charge an extra $25 or so fee if you need something after hours. It might be a little higher fee nowadays. HD I think is open till 10 pm everyday but Sunday. A lot of people can't come during the day cause they are at work. If they need something after supper and you're closed, you will lose sales. If you study up on every product you sell and it shows, your customers will tell others. My dad had a hardware store in the 50's. He ended up selling it when the big stores like Sears came in. He used to sell a lot of appliances but couldn't compete with big stores. It always amazed him that current hardware stores are selling a bunch of stuff that a person could buy a lot cheaper at Wal Mart, Sears etc.. Yes, have stuff like lumber and farm related supplies that a person can just run in and get. Keep good track of what's selling so you can order more before you run out. You can't sell what you don't have. We had a grocery store that was horrible for that. I prefer dealing with a place that has knowledgeable people and excellent service. That's usually more common in a family run business. Good luck with your new venture. Dave
 
Thurlow, I have the opposite problem with "lumber yards". The local ones want to load you out and give you the warped culls at the same time. But at Home cheapo and Lowest, all the culls others have left are on the front of the rack. Takes a half hour to sort through the rack to find a dozen good and straight boards out of the middle of the pile. If there aren't many left in the pile, I'll ask them to bring a fresh load in from outside or go somewhere else. One lumber yard will deliver for free which saves gas and everything but you get a high percentage of culls as well. For some projects you can make the warped stuff work, but for small projects, they are more trouble than its worth. I just hand pick my lumber and still have to settle for some crooked stuff that I can deal with.

For hardware stores, Ace is the best and they have all the little stuff and stuff for little projects that the big box stores don't have.

My only gripe about big box stores, farm stores, and hardware stores is than NONE of them every carry and stock all the plastic PVC fittings I need for a project. Have to go to multiple stores and then come up with alternate ways to plumb something. Sweeps, wyes, multiple size wyes to name a few are hard to locate.
 
Nancy and I frequent Mason's Hardware Store in Mt. Pleasant, TX.

It's always good to walk in their front door and have someone waiting to help you.

I've learned that if "it" isn't at Mason's Hardware, "it" probably isn't available anywhere else in town.

I would rather pay extra/more money for an item at Mason's than spend time walking down isles looking for the item at another large store.

If unable to find the item at the large store, spending time walking down isles looking for someone to help me.

Keep up the good work and I wish you much success in your new business.
 
Not sure what was said that was anti small store.

I love my local store. It is a small store front with wood floors. The little old man who owns the joint went to high school with my grand parents. They don't always have what I need, but they seem to always have something I can make do with. I would rather pay twice as much for a $1 part for not have'n to drive an extra 10 miles and the chance to talk to Mr Bill.

They sell Stihl and Snappers, and also work on them too. The guy who runs the mower/saw shop most of the time can fix my goof ups over the phone. Great people and I buy from them every chance I get.

Dave
 
Northeast, I applaud you on your new venture. The first advantage I see in a mom and pop store is the service. There is nothing better than being waited on by the owner of the store because the owner's livelihood is at stake in that building.

I always go to my local hardware and lumber first, even if they cost more. The service is worth it. When a Menards went up twenty miles away from my favorite local lumber yard I was a little worried if the local lumber would be able to compete. As it turns out, the local yard is doing fine. Contractors are driving right past Menards and going the extra miles to the local yard so they can load up quick and get going again. There's no work order, no guard shack. The help in the yard loads them, writes down what they get and they leave. It's as simple as that! Jim
 
Good luck with your store. I really hope you make a go of it and are happy doing so. I have a hometown True Value store that I frequent and am glad that it is there. All three employees know me by name when I walk in and a big box store can't compete with that.
I don't know how big your store is, but hopefully areas of your store are labeled and people can look at signs hanging to direct them to where they want to do. The one thing I can't stand is to go into a store where there is no way to find anything without asking the person who works there. One other piece of advice. If you want the employees to respect you, don't ask them to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. That includes jobs like cleaning the restrooms.
 
There is a huge differance between your kind or store and a Home Cheapo. We have a few Ace Hardwares around and I like them more the HD and Lowes. You can find things easier, and they stock alot of stuff, from nuts and bolts to canning supplies. I'd rather go into your store any day over HD. We also have a great Farm store which has "Everything under the sun in it" as they say. Wish you good luck. J
 
Most of us answered that other thread as consumers. And all your customers arn't driving ten dollars worth of gas to save a dollar, they're maybe going to walley world and movies, maybe paying a hospital bill that's over there too, they just pick up the cheaper part while their there.
Is True Value charging you those busted box charges, if so that sounds like a screw job? Why don't you start your own mini co-op with all the TVs in a 50 mile area and see what whole boxes you can split to beat the charges.
Out local TV quit TV, don't know why, might ask him sometime.
 
You know, here in Montana, my nearest Home Depot is 45 miles away. I have an Ace hardware that is 15 miles away and a Gambles that is 5 miles away. I shop at the Gambles because they are closer so I burn less fuel to buy what I need. Their prices are much better than Ace for most of the things I buy and for other"s they are at least similar to Ace and I"d like to see them be there so I don"t have to travel all over creation. Someetimes they may not have something I need and I have to go elsewhere but they are my first stop, otherwise. They offer better service than the Depot for a lot of stuff and when I factor in the fuel prie for a round trip to the Depot, I have to save over $10 by going to the Depot to come out even. If I charge the normal $0.55/mile charge, I have to save near $50 to break even. So those cheaper prices at the Depot are not really so cheap when you consider just the wear and tear and fuel cost on getting there. Then there is the issue of how you value your time! A 20 minute round trip versus an hour and a half round trip.
So there are lot of good reasons to support the small hardware store in your home town.
 
When it comes to fencing supplies we buy it at ace, we also started buying cattle cubes from them since they are actually a few dollars cheaper than our feed store. I hate going into home depot or lowes especially for hardware because i know i'm being robbed. There is no way a 1/4" bolt should cost what they charge. I go over to one of our local fastener stores buy the same amount for 1/8 of the price. Half the time they will just say dont worry about it, or does this sound fair, rather than going through the hassle of adding it all up.
 
Thanks folks. I live 27 miles from the store and am new in town.My long rage plan is to move their in several years and buy my own building. We still sell nails ,bolts and grass and bird seed by the lbs. We do not use plastic bags only paper. I greet most people and offer to help them. I will tell people with plumbing trouble I close at 5:30 but call before then in an emergency and I will get what they need after hours. I am still their most nights till 7 doing paper work or cleaning except the night once a month our tractor club meets.I never ask my retired part time helper to do any thing that I will not do. I do clean the bathrooms and unload most delivery my self and do not expect my helper to lift the wood pellets or the 80 lbs concrete.
 
Good luck, NE Puller. I wish you were near-by; I'd trade with you. The Mom & Pop businesses and small family owned farms are what made this country great. Unfortunately, we are seeing them vanish from the scene in favor of the cheaper chain stores and large coperate farms, etc. Then we complain about the poor service & shoddy merchandise. I'm pulling for you. C.L.
 
home depot is terrible as is lowes and the rest of them. Good luck I hope it all goes as planned for you the small store needs to be a part of life, it makes me feel good to go to a local business and try to support it.
 
I am all for you and I hope you make it and prosper. Stores are all about adding value. Those that do, usually do well. There is a local guy here, he sells a little of everything; feed, plants, even has a few old tractor parts, and has developed a pretty good business, from the look of it. He has lots of stuff you need that the big stores won't handle. I think that is the secret, if there is one: you can offer things the big stores can't or won't (maybe they don't even know about) and stuff that is useful locally that their buyers don't have a clue about. Try to avoid tying up your capital in low-margin, commodity stuff unless you see a need to carry it because customers will expect you to have it. Also, always be looking for those items.
Your customers can help you. Yes, you have to be higher on some things, but there are all kinds of value you can add: convenience, location, hours, maybe enve knowledgable advice and a friendly smile. I get tired of big stores where people act like they're trapped there and don't care about the quality of their work. A small store is work,those who think and work at it have a much better chance to make it. It's easy to blame Wal-Mart when people go broke and don't understand you can't just open the doors and they will come. My cousin started several video rental stores. He would burn out and sell them; people would buy them and run them into the ground in about a year and close up. They did not understand the need to (1) keep fresh movies (cuz spent $2000 per month on new tapes) (2) be there yourself, rather than hire kids who don't care at best and steal at worst (3) know the business. Cuz would know a "sort of like" movie to offer a customer if the one they requested was out; they usually left with something. In every case he was competing with a big-name store in the same town and was always able to develop a loyal customer base, and the subsequent owner would end up losing all of them.
Again, hats off to you; don't get discouraged.
 
Where are you located?
There was a true value that was in my town of Ortonville Michigan but the owner(s) commited tax evasion and the store closed, there was another store in another town 15 miles away and that one closed too--Same owner.

Best of luck to you.........Even my prayers are with you due to Home Depot because of their hugeness and ability to destroy the little guy. I spent $25,000 in Home depot in 1999-2000 when I built my home. Home Depot does a good job in supplying EVERYTHING, (almost) to build a home.
I wish I would have bought all my electrical from a local electrical supply house that was 2 miles from my old employer.....They have way more stuff then Depot for electrical.

My best advice for you...Pray a lot.
And do things that Home depot wont do like sharpening chains/knives/scissors.
Know your plumbing fixtures and fittings, Home depot employees are totally ignorant when it comes to fittings. I have been a pipe fitter for years and I hate going there, the employees follow me around like a lost puppy.
And very important.....keep and eye on your employees.....young kids steal stuff....a lot.
I am not kidding. It would be very likely that 1/2 your missing (stolen) goods will be from employees. I have a distant friend that worked for Sears and he ripped off piles of tools.
Good luck
 
One more point, if you can sell ammo for the common calibers of guns, (you can get it from www.gunbroker.com) good wholesale pricing.
There have been times in the past that I was going to the range and wanted more ammo and it wasnt available at the hardware store. You will need to sell, ear/eye protection too.
If you sell specialty stuff then it is more of a chance for you to survive.
 
After Wally world opened up they told me at the local hardware that they were not going to stock something I needed any more because walmart was stocking it. I had been doing business there for about 25 years and was a pretty good customer. I went right upstairs and told the owner that I didn't have time to walk a half a mile at Walmart and please keep carrying the stuff I need. I can't take the time to shop around for nickles and dimes. The experts say "Just say Hi! to your customers" and you will do OK. I'm in the Northeast. Wish I knew where you are so that I could come in and buy something.
 
Enjoyed the post & thread and wish you best of luck Northeast!

If I ever manage to save up a few years of income I could put aside for living expenses, I'd love to try owning a store like that myself.
 
I have been in a continuous house and farm building project for the last 5 years and really need my local hardware store. It is usually when I'm broken down, or leaking, or the plumber is begging for parts etc etc. I keep an open account there because it is faster at checkout and gives me a record for my files.

I am fortunate to have a pretty good store 6 miles away, Lowes is 15, they irritate me.

But let me tell you my biggest complaints:
clerks that don't know their stock and cant find the parts, music so loud you can't hear your self think, checkout girls that would rather play with their cell phones and flirt with the boys in the store and make smart aleck remarks.

Rememmber, I don't go there for social hour. Sell me what I need and let me get back to work. I know that your staff is stuck there for the shift, but I'm not. Last, sometimes I'm just looking for a solution, some odd shaped piece of metal or a bunch of fittings that I can Jerryrig together as a contraption to fix something or do something. If you ask and i say I'm just looking, please don't hover over me, I'm not sure what I'm looking for either, so you can't help.

Hope you are successful, we need you. But remember, if you can only do what Lowes does, you will lose. You must find a reason why the customers prefer you.
 
I support my local hardware store every chance I get. They have hit and miss hours, it is actually more of just a supply house for their HVAC business.

Sure beats even driving 25 miles round trip to Ace Hardware, my next closest store. The Lowes, Menards, Home Depots are all at least 45 miles away, 90 miles round trip. The only reason I go to them is for stuff our local store doesn't have, such as appliances. I go to Ace for shingles, lumber, etc.

Hope you make a go of it! I used to be a parts manager at a Case-IH. One thing customers knew we had was ANY size and grade bolt up to 1 1/4 x 15, and all the normal metric sizes before metric was even common. We kept the hardware prices reasonable, the "while I'm here" sales made up for the low hardware markup. DOUG
 
I'm lucky enugh to have a small HWstore close to me and had much rather spend my money there (locally owned) than with the "big boys) As a retired farmer and a former business owner, my best advice is to ALways remember your selling service along with hardware. I guarntee you if you service the customers well, you will be sucessful. I could write abook on what I learned dealing with the public

Beat of Luck..three things will make you sucessfull #1 service #2 service #3 servive
 
I can buy most everything in need with in 3 miles. I pay more but the nearest Homedepot is 300 Miles. The nearest Walmart is 140 Miles. You add the cost of driving just as cheap at home.
 
Best wishes for mind boggling success!

We do most of our shopping at Tractor Supply. There's a HD and Lowes about the same distance as TSC, but as someone else said the price of the nuts, bolts, etc are ridiculous and its hard to find anyone who knows anything.

We also have a TV. They carry the less common stuff. Same folks have been running that store for years. They know where everything is and are knowledgeable. They know how to give good service.

Don't know if they sell ammo, but they do sell hunting & fishing licenses, a few items of clothing, housewares, dishes, etc.

Keep us posted on how you do. Wishing only the best for you.
 
I managed a True Value Just Ask Rental in Portage Wis. for 3 years.

I loved it, wished I would have stuck it out a while longer and purchased the store. Just another dumb kid at the time and went onto greener pastures, but now I look back over the fence and miss it.

You are offering a different type of service and though your prices have to be reasonable no one should expect you to pay them to shop there.

I used to look at every hook every Sunday night and place our stock order. Took about 6 hours. I could direct a customer to any item within 1 foot of accuracy. We also had $2.00 bills in the till to give out as change, and tootsie rolls or suckers for the kids. Just another home town touch to go along with the paper sacks.

I now live in central Minnesota and we have two True Values with in 4 miles of each other. They both do well as they each carry the same nuts and bolts but they each have their own specialties as well.

Good luck to you and if you ever want some ideas I have a load of them.
 
Good luck with your store. Although a lot of neighborhood hardware stores are closing, I see that the good ones are doing very well. I always find it amazing that Home Depot has so much of the stuff I DON'T need, while my local hardware store usually has exactly what I need and (usually) at very reasonable prices.
 
I agree. Going out of your way to help a customer will pay huge dividends. Product knowledge is equally important. I worked at an ind. supply outfit for a few month's and the boss disagreed that product knowledge is the most important aspect of selling. There's a good reason he's not doing as well as he could be. He also doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. Dave
 
You probably didn't know that a small harware store is at or near the top of those businesses that fared well in the 30s.Its also considered one of the most recession proof businesses there is. The small hardware will make it through. While many of the big box stores will go out of business and their inventory will be prime pickings for the small guy .You have chosen wisely. As the economy grows worse , more and more people will have no choice but to repair. Our local hardware does a land office business repairing window screens and replacing broken glass. I would look to hire an older handyman if you are not skilled in these areas as well as plumbing and that is where I would put my efforts in building stock.Someone who can give advice to the customer will be a very good way to grow your business.Security and survival items would be another place to keep well stocked and that can include several different items.
 
I wish ya all the success you can shake a stick at. The biggest thing that a local hardware store has that the big box"s dont is the customer service. None of them has the old fashioned, friendly and knowledgeable customer service anymore.

The thing i miss most about the old days was here at the local hardware store. In an emergency such as broken water pipe, basement flooding etc and needed a pump or section of pipe or whatever. And if was after hours even 2am at night you could call the owner. He would tell you be at the store in 20 mins. You would show up get what you needed, he"d ring ya up and you would be home fixing the problem. He"s since sold the store and if you called the owner now at 2am he"d tell you to take a hike.
 
Ever thought you may have made a better politian,
you never answered the question which was asked on a number of occasions.
 
I wish you the best of luck. I think True Value stores are the best for selection and the prices are good too. For some reason all the T-V's around here closed a few years ago even there distribution center is only 25 miles from me. The closest hardware/ lumber store to me is 15 miles away. the closest H-D, Lowes is 45. Surprisingly the local guy is just as cheap if not cheaper on lumber than big box stores. Just a note, when we still had a T-V the owner told me that one reason Wally world and the big boxes can sell power tools cheaper is that some of the tools are manufactured to their spec's and are made with cheaper parts. I always buy local unless what I need isn't available. I also love to browse at older locally owned hdwe stores because they usually have interesting items the big boxes don't.
 
(quoted from post at 03:25:46 01/15/10) I managed a True Value Just Ask Rental in Portage Wis. for 3 years.

I loved it, wished I would have stuck it out a while longer and purchased the store. Just another dumb kid at the time and went onto greener pastures, but now I look back over the fence and miss it.
Click to expand...

I wish you would have stayed and bought it, its closed now and gone. The owner didnt know how to run a business and ran it into the ground. There is a Dollar General or something like that in the building now.
 
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662
Danny Prosser
D
F
Totally lost on a good hand held posthole Auger...
2 3
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PJH
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jd2cyl1943
Would you read this?
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drsportster
drsportster
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Funny tractor sayings... What can you come up with?
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Graysonsutton
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Tell me about "the 80's"
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EFV
E
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