Nice mark up....

[JDgreen227]

Was at the local small hardware store yesterday to get a key made, and while there I checked their price for a 16" chainsaw bar and chain combination...turned out their price was $9 more than the Meijers store across the road, plus at Meijers I could use a $5 in-store coupon good on Saturday...meaning I saved $14 plus tax on the same item. Priced some hardware items, I wanted some 1/2" locknuts...well, their price was $1.50 EACH !!!! As much as I want to support local small businesses, that store has simply obscene mark ups and rather than shop there I will simply wait until I need a list of things and then go to one of the big box home centers.

I asked the guy who copied my key how business was, he said sales were really down...maybe if they didn't mark everything up so much more customers would shop there...I know I would. Great clean store, helpful staff, excellent selection...but prices are simply obscene.

 

[Bird]

that store has simply obscene mark ups

You might be right, but I figure odds are that it isn't their mark ups, but rather the fact that they have to pay more for the products themselves. Big companies that buy large quantities get much lower "wholesale" prices than small companies.

 

[Western]

I agree with Bird, volume buying, but still.. Folks always complain about big box stores , or Walmart, even blame them for the death of Mom and Pop stores, but it was the shoppers that demanded the low prices that make the large stores successful. Worst part of it IMO, in trying to gtt lower price products, we now have to by lower quality products from overseas.

 

[RickB]

You might be right, but I figure odds are that it isn't their mark ups, but rather the fact that they have to pay more for the products themselves. Big companies that buy large quantities get much lower "wholesale" prices than small companies.

Very true, and often overlooked when folks "think" (used loosely) that small volume retailers are making huge margins. The last of the old time horse traders around these parts told me when I was a youngster " You don't make money when you sell, you make it when you buy." Took me 30 years to figure out what he meant. If you can't buy stuff right , you can't sell it right.

 

[joemd11]

I use the local stores when I need advice on the project I'm doing. They seem to have the most knowledgable and helpful staff as opposed to the big box stores. I accept that I'll pay more for the merchandise but the knowledge and experience is worth it. If I know exactly what I need (rare, but sometimes the case) I go to the big box stores. Just my experience and I know there are exceptions, but the staff at the big box stores, if you can find someone, are not the most knowledgable or motivated group. YMMV!

 

[300UGUY]

Was at the local small hardware store yesterday to get a key made, and while there I checked their price for a 16" chainsaw bar and chain combination...turned out their price was $9 more than the Meijers store across the road, plus at Meijers I could use a $5 in-store coupon good on Saturday...meaning I saved $14 plus tax on the same item. Priced some hardware items, I wanted some 1/2" locknuts...well, their price was $1.50 EACH !!!! As much as I want to support local small businesses, that store has simply obscene mark ups and rather than shop there I will simply wait until I need a list of things and then go to one of the big box home centers.

I asked the guy who copied my key how business was, he said sales were really down...maybe if they didn't mark everything up so much more customers would shop there...I know I would. Great clean store, helpful staff, excellent selection...but prices are simply obscene.

I don't understand why these folks even try. They really can't win a fight with the big corporations.

 

[JDgreen227]

I use the local stores when I need advice on the project I'm doing. They seem to have the most knowledgable and helpful staff as opposed to the big box stores. I accept that I'll pay more for the merchandise but the knowledge and experience is worth it. If I know exactly what I need (rare, but sometimes the case) I go to the big box stores. Just my experience and I know there are exceptions, but the staff at the big box stores, if you can find someone, are not the most knowledgable or motivated group. YMMV!

I am one of those who know more than 99% of the help at the local stores and I could give THEM advice, such as: "You need and deserve to make a profit, but to try and screw a customer over by pricing an ordinary nut at a dollar and a half when you paid maybe twenty cents for it is just pure greed" And if they didn't try to screw customers over, odds are I would give them more business...a LOT more.

 

[JDgreen227]

I don't understand why these folks even try. They really can't win a fight with the big corporations.

Well....in my area, they are the only real game in town as it's a 20 minute drive to a Lowes or Home Depot or TSC....they are in a great location in an upscale neighborhood and would generate real traffic IF they would just price merchandise reasonably.

 

[RickB]

I am one of those who know more than 99% of the help at the local stores .

When folks start telling me how much they know, I find they usually exaggerate by quite a bit.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a small Mom and Pop hardware store within about 5 miles of my house and they usually have about anything I need and most times are cheaper than Lowes. I don't know how they do it, but they have stuff that larger stores just don't carry when it comes to repairs. Most all the big box stores will sell you something new, but rarely do they stock anything to fix something with. I try to buy most of my stuff from this local store if they carry it. Unfortunately they don't carry lumber or cement so I have to get that at the larger stores.