May 31, 20188 yr Popular Post Two Local Sam's Clubs are closing and I get notices from an auction liquidator. High bidder on this one I bid on this, a 20' long x 7' wide wine rack, mostly for the boxes on the top that I plan to convert into work boxes and a wall storage unit. Well, I got the winning bid and went today to pick up what I could. About 3 dozen boxes are all clear-finished baltic birch and seem to be very sturdy. Inside the frame was about 12 sheets of 1/2" plywood and lots of 2x4 framing, like a hip roof. Surprised that most of the screws were good quality square drive that can be reused, and the carpenters left behind a whole unopened box of 600 premium 1.25" square drive screws. Underneath were six half-sheets of 3/4 particle board, and several dozen rough cut 1x8 boards, 4' long. 4 pallets with nice casters on them, and a few odds and ends of long boxes. All in all, I got a pickup truck loaded to the top of the bed cap and a 5x10 trailer stacked about 3' deep. Best news: Strike price $8.26
May 31, 20188 yr Author I kept wondering that it probably took a union carpenter or two most of a week to build this thing, a few hundred in materials, it probably cost Sam's $5,000 - $10,000 to get it. and it's got a heavy metal frame base. Don't they have anywhere else it could go? The whole warehouse, less stock, was for sale, including fixtures like soap dispensers, racking, carts, appliances and display cases was up for sale.
June 1, 20188 yr The local Sam's club is closing here. Wonder what will be available and how to get on the list of those notified.
June 1, 20188 yr The way I understood it, they will all close sad! But with stores being online so much, it takes the wind out of the sails of brick and mortar stores.
June 1, 20188 yr 6 minutes ago, Charles Nicholls said: The way I understood it, they will all close sad! But with stores being online so much, it takes the wind out of the sails of brick and mortar stores. given wally world's CS, product line, low level employees.. no wonder they're closing...
June 1, 20188 yr Author 43 minutes ago, Charles Nicholls said: The way I understood it, they will all close sad! But with stores being online so much, it takes the wind out of the sails of brick and mortar stores. A quarter mile away Costco is going great. They were flooded with new members when the Sam's said they were closing. It's my favorite store.
June 1, 20188 yr Well, they had built too many stores and many were very close to other locations, it had to happen. Our store has been spared, as I read about it they are closing 60 in total. That aside, that is a nice, nice purchase. I woldn't mind getting a one or two of the smaller racks they have to store lumber on.
June 1, 20188 yr Author Popular Post Final count 36 baltic birch finished boxes, of which 30 are roughly 24"w x 8" tall x 16"w. Rest are about 18" w 3 boxes of solid wood or plywood 10 sheets of 3/8" plywood, probably A-C. 4 have a corner cut off NIB 600 1.25" square drive wood screws About 2 lb each "only used once" 1.5" and 1.25" square drive wood screws 30 pieces of lexan suitable for blade guards 6 half sheets of 3/4" particle board 24 rough sawn one side 1x8 boards, about 40" long large pile of 2x4 SPF wood ranging from 18 to 48" - destined to become legs for assembly table. 4 clean pallets 16 casters 4 pull handles garbage can full of kindling - short pieces of 2x4 and china-ply gussets So for the boxes that is what I wanted, 25 cents each. Rest is free with some labor involved for breakdown and loading. Still have heavy steel racking 4 sets 10' w x 4'd x 20"h
June 1, 20188 yr Author 11 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said: Well, they had built too many stores and many were very close to other locations, it had to happen. Our store has been spared, as I read about it they are closing 60 in total. That aside, that is a nice, nice purchase. I woldn't mind getting a one or two of the smaller racks they have to store lumber on. My impression of Sam's, the few times I've been in them: A lot of the same name brand items, when they have them. Inferior house brand items to Kirkland brand. Cater a lot to the food industry (commercial cookware, restaurant supply, etc.). Never tried the meats, but I find Costco to have some of the best meats around, maybe comparable to a custom butcher shop. Costco has other deals -- auto buying, insurance, eyeglasses, computers, hearing aids, Rx, excellent no-questions-asked return policy. And you get some of the fastest and friendliest checkout people, and they open more lines as soon as needed, Sam's had the same type as Wal*mart. Costco must be good to their employees because you see the same ones over decades.
June 1, 20188 yr Unfortunately, I don't have a Costco close by. I have become disillusioned with Sam's of late. Less and less name brand quality items and more and more of their crappysub-standard Members Mark store brand. Yesterday, I took a trip to the local BJ's, which was only a couple of blocks from Sam's. Comparable prices (within pennies in some cases) and name brand products all over the place. They do have their own store brand (Wesley Farms) which I haven't tried. Anyway, excellent score, Keith. Well worth the labor to get all of that material(s).
June 2, 20188 yr 13 hours ago, kmealy said: I find Costco to have some of the best meats around, maybe comparable to a custom butcher shop. Costco has other deals -- auto buying, insurance, eyeglasses, computers, hearing aids, Rx, excellent no-questions-asked return policy. And you get some of the fastest and friendliest checkout people, and they open more lines as soon as needed, Sam's had the same type as Wal*mart. Costco must be good to their employees because you see the same ones over decades. My son would agree with you. He's been with Costco for 20+ years. John
June 2, 20188 yr Here's an interesting article about Sam's https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sams-club-will-now-match-walmarts-prices-after-furious-customers-complain/ar-AAy6VAj?li=BBnb7Kz (you'll have to do a paste...this won't save as a hyper link) Oh, I forgot to mention...BJ's has in-store coupons AND accepts manufacturers coupons if you're into that...Sam's won't.
June 2, 20188 yr On 5/31/2018 at 4:54 PM, kmealy said: I kept wondering that it probably took a union carpenter or two most of a week to build this thing, a few hundred in materials, it probably cost Sam's $5,000 - $10,000 to get it. and it's got a heavy metal frame base. Don't they have anywhere else it could go? The whole warehouse, less stock, was for sale, including fixtures like soap dispensers, racking, carts, appliances and display cases was up for sale. They have the attitude that it is beneath them to scrabble for efficiency. That's why so many companies outsource: just too much trouble to do the job, like, "Management". They all just want to clip coupons rather than roll up sleeves. Of course, that's part of the story of why the stores are closing. It is interesting that very few novel ideas come from yesterday's success. The arguments about who gets which parking space drown out innovation.
June 2, 20188 yr We don't have a Costco either, wish we did. Did you also get the metal racking that was used for the base? Very nice score.
June 2, 20188 yr 6 hours ago, HARO50 said: My son would agree with you. He's been with Costco for 20+ years. John I just saw survey results this past week on ABC News (don't recall which big name conducted the survey) about Best Places to Work in the U.S. The reporter stated, "this is partly surprising, but Costco is ranked #1." Ranked ahead of Google, Apple & Microsoft...they also made mention of the longevity of Costco employees with the company; obviously they (Costco) are doing many things extremely well. The nearest Costco for us is the Northeast Side of Indianapolis...about a 1:15 away. There also was a Sam's very close by...the Sam's closed last year during that round of cuts. I haven't had a Sam's Club membership in years...The company I retired from use to get reduced rate for Ee's...The store was across the road from the plant. Most of the items they carried at the time were also in the Wally World stores and often less expensive...we also didn't need 10 pound boxes of corn flakes or puffed rice or 5 gallons of ketchup or baked beans either. At the time though, they did carry pretty good meat. We DO NOT buy any meat from our local Super Wally.
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