In our area, we have 4 Lowes, 2 Home Depot with rumors of another one going in, and 2 Menards.  I usually go to Lowes or HD so that I can take advantage of their military discount.  I asked a cashier at Menards why they didn't offer a military discount, and the answer was that they feel their everyday prices were low enough that they didn't have to offer the discount.  Since a discount isn't part of our guaranteed compensation, I didn't comment on that, but my thoughts were that that didn't offer any recognition to the veteran.  And that is besides the fact that their 11% rebate they are always offering is only good in their stores, after you wait weeks to receive it in the mail.  When I want really good stuff, I just go to HF!  I think we are pretty well saturated with home centers and hardware stores.  What we need now is another good retail hardwood outlet.

43 minutes ago, PostalTom said:

When I want really good stuff, I just go to HF! 

Go Harbor Freight!!!

Herb

 

Souplantation, what I really want in our neighborhood is a Souplantation.

6 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Souplantation, what I really want in our neighborhood is a Souplantation.

 

 

I had to look that one up ,John, For everyone who is a dummy like me.

Won't find me there anytime soon.

Herb

 

Souplantation

sweettomatoes.com

Souplantation is a United States-based chain of all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurants. The first Souplantation opened in 1978 in San Diego, California, where the company is headquartered. The company was incorporated as Garden Fresh Corp. in 1983. The company went public in 1995 but was taken private in 2004. Outside of Southern California, Souplantation operates under the name Sweet Tomatoes. The company is owned by Garden Fresh Restaurant

11 hours ago, PostalTom said:

 When I want really good stuff, I just go to HF! 

We have a Harbor Freight here, and I avoid the place as much as I avoid Tool Shop products at Menards. 

Edited November 7, 20187 yr by CharlieL

Near me in Michigan City Indiana we have Menards and Lowes next to each other.  Lowes is still king of materials and tools but consumer items which is does not carry and Menards does is why Menards is more retail orientated while Lowes is more commerical orientated.  Both do well and neither are closing.  But as we enter another building bubble we will see a down turn in new buildling.  Around here we are built out pretty much so most of the money is spent on maintenance.

For example for my home improvement shower replacing a tub all the requried tools for the job came from lowes but the vanity (due to style of spouse preference) came from Menards.  Lowes is still best for most all building materials but for example when I went to insulate my rim board the 2" thick insulation at Menards was considerably less than Lowes mainly because Lowes does not carry the "pink cat" brand but Menards does.

"They will honor ALL lifetime warranties on the Craftsman line (like Sears) and will exchange for the like item."

 

Be interesting to see if they give a new "lifetime" tool or some non-warranted POS.   Also would be good to know if they will be re-stocking the ratchet rebuild kits.

18 hours ago, p_toad said:

"They will honor ALL lifetime warranties on the Craftsman line (like Sears) and will exchange for the like item."

 

Be interesting to see if they give a new "lifetime" tool or some non-warranted POS.   Also would be good to know if they will be re-stocking the ratchet rebuild kits.

All I can tell you is what the associate told me. ALL of the Craftsman tools would be honored with the lifetime warranty. However, They will only exchange in like kind if it is in the store. You can't exchange a 12pt socket for a 6pt. If you want the 12pt replaced and they don't have it in stock then you go to the website to perform the exchange. No more Sears Bullcrap of replacing a Craftsman with a Champion, or them trying to weasel out of the warranties.

 

The factory rep told them that they have a long road to reverse the negative stigma that Sears has given the line. However, they were committed to doing just that and restoring the reputation.

 

We talked about the ratchet rebuild kits. He, stated, that, he hopes that they go back to that. However, if a Craftsman ratchet fails they will replace it as stated above. It will probably be up to you to make sure that you get the like replacement (fine tooth vs. regular or general duty vs heavy duty) I would never rely on the "associate" to know what they are doing or the differences. I had Sears personnel try to substitute light duty for my heavy duty ratchets...they didn't know the difference.

Our closest Lowes is directly across the street from HD. Lowes seems to do a lot more business than HD. But, HD has 90% of the contractor business. Heard someone say that you go to HD to build the house and, Lowes to finish it out. 

23 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Our closest Lowes is directly across the street from HD. Lowes seems to do a lot more business than HD. But, HD has 90% of the contractor business. Heard someone say that you go to HD to build the house and, Lowes to finish it out. 

I really think that it depends on the store and the store manager. I seem to find more of what I want a HD as opposed to Lowe's. However, the difference is obvious between the two Lowe's stores in my area. Sometimes one will carry things the other store doesn't. Again, dependent on the store management.

 

If there is a like product stocked by both chains I generally find that the cost is only pennies apart.

 

I find things at Lowe's I can't find at HD...fasteners/specialty items are more readily available at Lowe's. Most people don't realize, that, the fasteners in the stores are not stocked by the store. They are set-up and maintained by another vendor. The vendor decides what is being stocked the stores only provide the space and process the sale for their cut from the vendor.

 

You do need to be very careful. I needed a couple of copper fittings. I didn't pay attention when the "associate" snagged them for me. When I went through the checkout they charged me $10 for the two fittings. I went ballistic and returned the fittings for a refund. I then proceeded to go to the local Ace Hardware store and buy the exact fittings for $0.99 apiece. $1.98 is a far cry from $10.00

I'm in MA which has one store closing.  I'm not really surprised by this as there is a Home Depot (smaller concept store) a few hundred yards down the street and another Home Depot (larger concept store) a few miles away.   I went to this Lowe's to buy a particular product and was told that it was not a full line store and was given the location of a full line store several miles away that would have the product.  Since this soon-to-close store opened it was never really busy.  I would go to the HD down the street and it was pretty busy....then I'd go to the Lowe's store and there seemed to be more employees than customers.