Ace Hardware

[lman]

Our local Ace just closed up. The closest Ace is now about 30 miles away. Lowes is about 15 miles away.

 

[Runner]

Our local Ace just closed up. The closest Ace is now about 30 miles away. Lowes is about 15 miles away.

I have four within a 15 minute drive, and they are all in between HD, Lowes and TSC, so pretty handy for me. I also like to buy flowers there to plant in the spring.

 

[ultrarunner]

Where the heck do you live??

California SF Bay Area… it’s happened several times at Home Depot and Supply Houses plus on the job while relighting a pilot light or plunging a toilet…

Shatter a window and go.

Replacing the broken glass costs more than what is taken… except when they got my sawzall and blades… the box was chained with padlock so only got the tool and 2 blade packs…

Nothing is visible but I do have a rack so it looks like a contractor truck.

My friend is a one man electrician and his dog is his security… best trained I have ever seen… people can walk by all day but the moment someone stops with feet pointed towards the truck the Doberman goes to alert and comes out from under the truck… just an amazing dog.

 

[Runner]

California SF Bay Area… it’s happened several times at Home Depot and Supply Houses plus on the job while relighting a pilot light or plunging a toilet…

Shatter a window and go.

Replacing the broken glass costs more than what is taken… except when they got my sawzall and blades… the box was chained with padlock so only got the tool and 2 blade packs…

Nothing is visible but I do have a rack so it looks like a contractor truck.

My friend is a one man electrician and his dog is his security… best trained I have ever seen… people can walk by all day but the moment someone stops with feet pointed towards the truck the Doberman goes to alert and comes out from under the truck… just an amazing dog.

Unfortunately, this is not particular to California. I had the catalytic converter stolen from my truck in a busy Lowe's parking lot in Independence, MO (suburb east of KC) in the middle of the morning.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Yep I have 2 Ace's equidistance from the house. One is a nice 10 minute drive into the country the other is into the city (I live right on the outskirts). I normally go to the the one into the country . They are owned by 2 different outfits. The country store has bulk gravel, feed, screws by the pound, etc. I just like the feel of that one a little better. It feels more old school to me. Also, if you join the Ace App they send you coupons for $5 off all the time. That helps with the slight price increase over HD and Lowes. You are right they have a WAY better fastener selection than the big stores.

 

[Hay Dude]

Our local ACE is also our local Stihl dealer. Good people. They give me 10% off on Stihl saws and I have a separate non taxable account for farm related purchases.
Nice place to stop in and talk to neighbors.

 

[Panik]

I'm lucky that in our relatively rural area we have 2 separately owned Ace Hardwares, a Tru-Value and both flavors of Borg (Home Depot/Lowes) within 35 minutes of my house. It's actually a really nice change from living in Tampa in that I am on a first name or better basis with staff at all of the stores except for Lowes. Both of the Ace's are what I think of as "true" hardware stores & power equipment dealers, while the Tru-Value has a business model that is closer to hardware store & outdoor home goods. All of them have pretty excellent selections of fasteners.

A couple years after we moved up here I decided to go "all in" on putting in a bougie barrel stove in my shop.... firebrick & mortar lining the bottom half and entire back wall of the barrel, as well as buying double wall pipe for portion of the piping transiting the shop rafter area. After the owner of the closest Ace saw me in buying supplies twice he inquired about what I was doing and cut me a significant deal on the double wall piping I needed.

Our local ACE is also our local Stihl dealer. Good people. They give me 10% off on Stihl saws and I have a separate non taxable account for farm related purchases.
Nice place to stop in and talk to neighbors.

Up until this year one of our Aces was a Stihl dealer and the one closest to home was Husky - with both having decent small engine repair/service shops. While I'm not particularly brand loyal most of my stuff is husky so when the closer store went over to Stihl I inquired about the change. Apparently they've been having parts and equipment supply problems from Husky corporate and it was more cost effective to become a Sthil dealer.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I have been told that Husky dealers are expected to sell a certain amount of saws or they will lose their franchise. The person who told me that had given his up or lost it, so there may be some truth to what he says.


Unfortunately more volume for them doesn't necessarily mean better quality and service for us.

 

[masscity]

We have a Ace Hardware 20 miles from here. Not huge, prices are high, but handy to have when you need something.

Best part is they give 15% discount for Veterans.

 

[dadohead]

The local Ace hardware (town of 4k) had been a Hardware Hank for 50 years. They carry building materials, full equipment rental, green house, Stihl... The owner went Ace this year because he said the support from Ace is unmatched. They have sales/margin data on every item in the store. Hank offered nothing. I was in there yesterday wanting a #00 Phillip's screwdriver to change the battery in my phone. The young gal walked me right to them. Yup, knowledge there.