On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:02:51 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, Jim
Rusling quickly quoth:

"Cliff and Linda Griffith" wrote:

"Carpenter" wrote in message
roups.com...
What's wrong with going to local HW stores and lumber mills? I get
better service and a better price there

I miss the old TrueValue hardware stores that we used to have around here,
but Home Depot and Lowe's have caused most of them to close. (It was nice
being able to say, "I need one of these", and have the clerk take ten steps
and find it for me.) Fortunately, though, not far from here, Home Depot and
Lowe's are within a block of each other.

We had an Ace Hardware just take over an old Walmart building just3
miles from here. I also have a Lowes and Home Depot with 10 miles.
Guess where I go to get most of my hardware.

Let's see, the closest HD is in Eugene, OR, 100 miles north of me. The
closest Lowes is in Medford, 25 miles south of me. Two TrueValue
hardware stores are 4 and 8 miles away. A large (mini-HD) store called
Diamond Home Improvement is 5 miles away and an electrical/plumbing
store (Grover) with GREAT prices is 4 miles away. I get by shopping
for most of my necessary items at Grover and Diamond.

I order from HD via mail-order only. And I make (bi?)monthly trips to
Medford, stopping at all the big stores (Costco, Target, Lowes) when I
do. Now that gas is expensive, it's cheaper to order most things from
HD by mail. I had a Ryobi 14.4v cordless tool set (drill, cirdc saw,
charger, 2 batts, case; $99) delivered for $12, less than half what it
would cost in gas and without losing half a day to drive it.

You guys are lucky. I used to have a HD within 5 miles of my old home,
but I much prefer the climate (socio/politico/weather) up here, so I'm
not too jealous.

I've also learned to buy multiples of whatever I get when I go.
Instead of a single 1/2" nipple/ell/tee, light switches, brackets,
nuts/bolts/lags/screws, etc., I'll get a handful (or 100pc box) of
each. That has saved extra trips several times so far, and new
hardware always beats an old crusty piece. Often, 100-piece boxes
cost less than the 20 individual bolts, etc.

--
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"Boy, I feel safer now that Martha Stewart is behind bars!
O.J. is walking around free, Osama Bin Laden too, but they
take the one woman in America willing to cook and clean
and work in the yard and haul her ass to jail."
--Tim Allen
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