On 04/11/08 10:11 am Joe wrote:

Personally, I choose Ace Hardware over the big box stores. Every time
I'm in Lowe's, there is no help available, and if they're available,
they usually don't know what you're talking about. Same thing with
Orchard Hardware Supply. In my town there is a very small Ace
Hardware, and every time I go there, they are very helpful, go with
you to show you the item, and discuss the pros and cons with you. They
usually have the everyday things that I need for repairs, and they're
even cheaper. I find myself shopping there all the time now, do others
like Ace better, or are you more into the big box stores? I'm curious.
Ace stores vary. According to the Benjamin Moore Web site, our two local
Ace stores sell their paint. One has no 5-gallon pails of B-M, the other
doesn't sell B-M at all.

I have occasionally gone to a local independent lumber yard/hardware
store because I was going that way anyway, but then I have seen the item
I bought there priced far lower at one of the big-box stores. A few days
ago I was at said local store but did not buy because I wanted to check
the price at Lowe's. The item was $20.xx at the independent, $11.xx at
Lowe's -- same item, same brand, same packaging, same item#. At the
independent store I had also noticed a tool I possessed already, priced
at $10.24; it was $8.xx at Lowe's, and the one I bought (again: same
item, same brand, same packaging, same item#) not long ago at Menards
(Midwest chain) still has the $4.99 price sticker on it -- and I bought
it when it was on sale, so probably I paid even less than that.

Seems to me this might be a case of shopping for price only with
blinders on. If you factor in the cost of your time and
transportation (gas, depreciation, maintenance, etc @ 30 cents per
mile) when you find something you need at a local outlet, then the
convenience of buying it there is sometimes worth the higher price. So
the issue isn't wholly black or white, rather, using good judgement
and knowing what a fair price is for your project tools and materials

As I wrote already, I've gone to the local independent if I was in that
area already for something else. But most of my journeys take me much
closer to Lowe's, HD and Menards anyway.

Perce