Why do I try?


  #1  
Old 11-26-07, 11:45 PM
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Why do I try?

I live just a couple of miles from one of the big orange box stores. Time and again I have gone there for some specific, yet common, item and they didn't have it.

Or else they had four hundred "vests" running around on the floor yet only one cash register open.

The big blue box, which is a bit farther drive, is only marginally better.

I've been working on a PVC conduit job. Saturday I went to big orange and they did not have any two-hole straps for 1-1/2 PVC conduit. Nor did they have any 1-1/2 C conduit bodies. I went to the local full-service hardware store and they had plenty of each.

Sunday I needed a few more parts so this time I go to big blue. Yep, same story as far as either being out or just not having the common parts I need so another trip to the hardware store where again I find just what I need.

What is your experience in finding relatively common items at either of the big boxes?
 
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Old 11-27-07, 12:01 AM
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Well Furd--Words cannot adequately express the amount of frustration when this has happened to me--and it happened SO MANY TIMES....so ...
here is where I am, and well, it saves me a ton of time anymore.
I have the phone #'s for the stores. I ALWAYS CALL 1st to see if they have the item I need. Yes, sometimes it may take 3 different people and 15 minutes to find a person who actually KNOWS what you are talking about--but it saves the time in traffic and the frustration of making a trip for nothing. Gas is expensive, and so is time--why waste it? And yes, I too have found the orange box less stocked than the blue also...plus their prices are consistantly higher
 
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Old 11-27-07, 05:27 AM
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Calling the stores is a futile attempt at sanity. For the most part the associates are not educated enough to know the particular parts we need. You describe it to them, and they say they have plenty. When you get there....wrong item. I use the Home Depot Pro Book by Craftsman. It is a CD you install on your computer with price lists and inventory. Each time you log on, it asks if you want to update it. Click yes, and it will download the pricing of your local store. From there, you can look up what you want, give the associate the SKU, and no physical looking, just a few clicks and they can tell how many they have in stock. This program is not offered any more to my knowledge, but may be available through Craftsman. I can sit down and do an estimate at 10pm, after store hours, and get accurate pricing.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 08:02 AM
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It's been my experience that if you're going to either color of big box store seeking information or help, you're already in trouble.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 08:23 AM
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[QUOTE=furd;1266080]
What is your experience in finding relatively common items at either of the big boxes?[/QUOTE

I guess people in New Jersey must be engaged in a lot of home repair/improvement projects. The 2 Home Depots and 1Lowes I frequent always seem to have what I am looking for.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 08:40 AM
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The supply houses have better prices

What I am amazed at in the Lehigh Valley, PA is that the supply houses have better prices then the chain stores. I really do not understand since they have more buying power but do they pass the savings along, Nope. I think it is safe to say why their sales and stock prices are on the way down.

The benefit of a supply house is that you never have to wait in line for anything.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 08:41 AM
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I do a lot of DIY projects. I have 3 orange and 1 blue box within a 20 minute drive. I find that they have most of what I need. Today I was unable to find a pipe fitting I needed at either store, but that is the exception. My opinion is that the big boxes carry a much larger inventory than the old time hardware stores. When it comes to individual trades (plumbing, electrical etc.) specialty stores are more likely to have the part. However, as a DIYer when i walk into my local plumbing supply house I'm usually standing around for 20 minutes while they take care of their contractors.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 09:10 AM
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I usually have pretty good luck at Lowe's. The one I go to is usually well stocked with decent staff. I don't go to HD much, because it's out-of-the-way from where I spend most of my time. Plus I think the local HD is not a "super sized" store; their stock seems pretty limited compared to other HDs I've been in.

I have a Menards store in the area too, which I reluctantly shop at. That's basically the dollar store of home improvement centers -- aisles and aisles and aisles of stock (often in mislabeled bins) at good prices, but poorly organized and bottom of the barrel customer service.

I really like to shop at the local hardware stores when I can, but the markup is really terrible sometimes. I understand they can't operate on the margins that the big box stores do, but sometimes prices are 3-4 times higher on equivalent items like PVC fittings. Supporting local business is nice, but so is keeping within the budget.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 09:29 AM
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Last night I was looking for a 3/4 inch PVC LB conduit body. Not only did they not have any they didn't even have the open display box on the shelf, just an open space. I suppose it IS possible that someone picked up the last one just minutes before I entered the store but I would think that for such a common item they would have at least one back-up stock box.

Two days previously I was in the same store looking for 1-1/2 PVC two-hole straps. None. They had 1 inch and they had 2 inch but no 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inch.

Calling first wouldn't save me a bit of time if I was on hold for 15 minutes as the store is less than ten minutes away and it is also on the way to the hardware store I mentioned. Of course the hardware store doesn't have quite the hours as do the big box stores.

The blue box which is about 20 minutes away has the most disorganized electrical section I could imagine.

My full-service hardware store DOES have a far better selection of electrical conduit fittings, rigid, EMT and PVC than does either big box. The same is true of plumbing fittings. Their pricing is just a bit higher than the big boxes but being retired and on a fixed income I have to take the best prices I can and again, their hours are not as flexible as the big box.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 09:51 AM
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I use to work at a big box store. (Please don't ban me from the forum for that. G) I too found it frustrating. While I didn't work plumbing I was often in plumbing because there was no plumbing associate. Extremely frustrating to be able to tell a customer what they needed but not be able to provide it. I had giving directions to the nearest hardware or plumbing supply down to a "science" I had to do it so often. Talking to managers accomplished nothing. Everything is ordered by computer but the managers want their bonuses and often there are restrictions on ordering and employees on duty.

When I did plumbing around my house I would usually go first to my employer's nearest store then in frustration to the hardware store.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 10:13 AM
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Well guys, It seems all trades are exactly alike.

"WELCOME TO CORPORATE AMERICA"

As an Auto mechanic I find that our "BIG BOX" stores are useless also, But the little old man in the little old hole in the wall parts store is a Genious. No computers , he still has his catalog Rack from 1974, and never fails to answer a "Reasonable" question. (Why is it so expensive? Doesnt qualify as a reasonable question.)

The only 100% satisfying experience I had at a Blue box store was on Opening day. Got everything I wanted , needed or could have asked for. I was very dissapointed a month later when it turned into "I dont think we carry those" , But this would work Instead, ."But of course you would need to change EVERYTHING up till this thing"
 

Last edited by Unclediezel; 11-27-07 at 10:16 AM. Reason: misspell
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Old 11-27-07, 03:03 PM
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Why do I try??

You try, because that is human nature.

Also, by going to the Big Box stores to get their 'lower' prices, you pay the price of frustration & peace of mind. It's just slightly offset by the smalller number of coins exiting your pocket.

On the flip side, you can go to the hole-in-the-wall hardware store, where most everybody has been working there for decades, and knows their products, and the floors are wooden, and often uneven between sections of the store, and so on, pay a little bit more, but they'll have that left-handed metric Framistat and the Inverted Kanooottenvalves that you need at 7:45PM!!!! They can cut a key without messing it up, know the difference between a street elbow and a rat-tail file.

Otherwise, patronizing the big boxes is furthering the McDonaldization/WalMart-ization of America;
 
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Old 11-27-07, 03:08 PM
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Furd, I find my local ACE guy has most of the stuff on the shelf, or can get in on his next order for me. And, his prices are usually within pennies of the big box stores. I find the prices in those box stores can be well above list at times! Besides being able to answer questions, the kids he has working for him are trained to immediately help anyone walking into the store, they will fetch items from the shelves without being ask, and are always willing to carry any purchases out to my car with a smile. I feel better supporting a neighbor in town, and I don't have to park and walk a half mile to do it.

Pete
 
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Old 11-27-07, 03:24 PM
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Furd, had a similar situation. LB's are common, and they have them most of the time. But don't ask them for LR's or LL's. They just look away like they know where they are. They don't stock them. Granted, you don't use them much, but when you need them, you need them.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 04:11 PM
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Furd:

I am sure you know me by now on this forum normally for most common item i keep in my mind i go to big box store for a back up for myself but normally i go to the electrical supply centre for obovus reason.

most electical supply centre will useally dont run out of common item and they will stock it up very fast some case i order alot of item and it will get some oddball item show up in my order list like the LR or LL ell [ it do from time to time]

price wise it pretty close the same depending on what you order.

Merci, Marc
 
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Old 11-27-07, 04:28 PM
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The big box stores will continue to be in business and people will continue to shop there.

Why?

Because they offer much more than just electrical items, or plumbing items, or whatever the specialty store is selling. People prefer to go to one store to get ALL their needs, rather than driving all over town, especially with these gas prices.

Because they advertise. The big box stores put out glossy circulars in the newspaper. They have ads on television. They give out coupons. When was the last time the small electrical supply store did any of that?

Because they are open better hours. For me to visit the specialty stores, I have to go at lunch or maybe on a Saturday. They aren't open at 6:00 in the morning or 6:00 at night or Sundays. I hate taking time off from work run errands.

Because they tend to have the common items. Sure, they run out of things, but they usually have the common items in stock.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 04:40 PM
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big orange box of crap

I needed a small stick of wiremold and some fittings (all the supply houses were closed) orange box had the sticks in white and the straps,boxes and elbows in almond......I hate that store
 
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Old 11-27-07, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Bsquared
I needed a small stick of wiremold and some fittings (all the supply houses were closed) orange box had the sticks in white and the straps,boxes and elbows in almond......I hate that store

You may hate the store, but you will keep going back.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to stock everything people want and is impossible to please everyone.

By the way, I am a part time employee of "big orange".

I love it when people come in and say, "Well, I'm taking my business to Lowes" just because we don't carry a specific item.

What most people don't realise is that big orange and big blue carry the same items, just different brands.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 05:06 PM
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The problem that annoys me most about the box stores is when I purchase merchandise such as light bulbs or in the case of today, a time clock, get to the job and find that it is a defective piece that someone else returned only to have it put back on the shelf.
I bought a T101 timeclock today, got to the job, opened it, only to find some guts that had been taken out of an old clock and then returned for credit.
When I returned to the store, they acted like I was trying to pull a fast one.
This has happened several times with merchandise that came in boxes.
One of these days maybe I will learn to check my purchase before leaving the store.
 
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Old 11-27-07, 05:57 PM
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Originally Posted by HotinOKC

What most people don't realise is that big orange and big blue carry the same items, just different brands.
thats not been my experience I can find some items at one and not the other and vice versa

they are what they are , homeowner DIY based , no place for a Pro to depend on .

personally I'm glad they don't carry some items I need

it keeps them out of the DIY /handyman hands and makes me look like a the pro I am when I show up with the specialty items of my trade

as to the clock , if the package isnt factory sealed I look for another that is
 
 

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