Phisherman wrote:
On Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:58:37 -0700, Larry Caldwell
wrote:

In article , nada (nada
) says...

Big Box stores don't come into an area to save you/us money.
After they take the business/ put the local competition out, of business
they raise prices and cut inventory to the fast movers or items that
offer the larger margins of profit. This is one reason that American
made is being made ancient history.
Small harware building supply stores often tried rigorously to carry
American made. people bought it even if it was a little more. The
quality was there, generally. Big Box carries only what it's buyers buy
in China etc in volume. Of course lumber and other things are
exceptions. There is no concern with what we want. We are forced to buy
what they offer because they are the only game in town.
The big box stores didn't put the lumber yards out of business, but the
lumber yards around here close on weekends and at 5:30 PM. One yard
used to be the Saturday morning meeting place for hundreds of men in the
county, but too many weekend tinkerers go to the big box stores, so that
business is gone.

I don't know anyone who buys lumber from the big box stores. They carry
some specialty items, like 3/16 planed box stock, that is hard to find
anywhere else, but for studs, rafters, TJ-Is and trusses, a lumber yard
is the place to go, if you can't go directly to the truss manufacturer.


One time I went to 84 Lumber and needed to buy several 2x4s. As I
sorted thorugh the boards associate approached me and said, "You can't
do that!" Hugh? He stated that I picked the best ones there would be
a useless pile of warped, waned, split, and twisted boards left. HD
or Lowes never does that. Guess who went out of business?

Agreed, at the end 84 was also pretty sad, and carried a very limited
line. Our 84 went away shortly after Menards opened up across the street
from Lowes. No traditional full-line yards left near here, just a couple
boutique places that specialize in high-end doors/windows or fancy
millwork, and only have a small supply of normal stuff. I assume they
survive on M-F crack-of-dawn business from the trade, because during the
few hours they are open when I can shop there, the parking lots are
always empty. A regional franchise, 'The Yard', tried to open up here a
few years ago. Selection was slanted to rural country folk houses or
pole barns, and prices were on the high side, but at least the small
showroom smelled like a real lumberyard. They went away when the
money-lenders imploded last year. I miss the Wolohans we used to have.
They tried to match the selection Lowes had on decorator frou-frou, and
cut back their selection of actual building materials, and the real
builders quit going there. They had been like a traditional yard, in an
industrial area and all, but they weren't that old. I think they were
the ones that made the local ma'n'pa yards that stored their framing
lumber in outside racks go under or become boutique specialty yards.

--
aem sends...