Hardware stores suck?

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Bob W

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Recently I went visiting the local hardware stores in search of an OldTimer pocketknife. I thought the other readers would be interested in what I found regarding availability of knives in general. I was quite suprised and disappointed.

1) DoItBest. A half dozen $5 Chinese crap knives, only one model.
2) ACE. A large floor case advertising Buck, Case, and Schrade. High-prices, very poor selection.
3) TrueValue. Absolutely no knives at all!

Am I going crazy, or is this the norm?

-Bob
 
that's the norm. i'm usually not thrilled about the assortment of knives found in hardware stores either. not even to mention their knowledge of knives.....
 
" What can i help you with?"
" i'm looking for a pocket knife."
" all the knives we have are over there in that display box"
(but heaven forbid i would walk Waaaay over there to TRY to sell you one)
"thank you" ......EXIT STORE...........
 
I guess I'm lucky - sort of. The local hardware store has a display case about 10' long full of knives: Benchmade, Cold Steel, CRKT, Kershaw, etc, etc. It's great to be able to handle knives before buying.

Unfortunately they charge MSRP. :rolleyes:

Now, it's worth money to me to be able to handle knives before buying them, but it's not worth enough to pay 180% or 200% of the online price. I offered to pay them the online price plus shipping plus a little more, and was turned down. The manager told me that the online prices were "too low to believe", and that to charge such low prices the online merchants must be rip-offs (take my money and run) or be selling used products as new, or something. What a dork.

So I left and bought the knives online, and saved a mint. :D
 
Oh please, some people are never happy. We have an ACE here. I buy knives there. I walk in, and start looking at the knife case. They ask if I want to look at a knife and I tell them when I have decided I will let them know. People gripe if they dont run over to sell you one. Well, they probably dont know anything about them anyway, at which point you would come here and post about what morons they are and how the info they gave you was stupid.

Hardware stores have knives, most of the people who but them are not knife people anyways. They come in, see one they like and say "i'll take that one".

The ACE here is good that way. They dont know much about them and they dont try to pretend any different. The prices are not the lowest, but they are decent, the people are polite and besides, I feel better qualified to choose my own knife then what they might try to sell me.
 
Not a hardware store, but there are two Victorinox stores, one in Hartford, CT and one in White Plains, NY. They have HUGE selections of Benchmade and Spyderco and they carry other high end brands like William Henry and Klotzli(sp?). But their prices are twice as high as any online dealer (sometimes it looks like they are above MSRP) and they have a no returns policy, and the people there, instead of saying "I don't really know", which I can respect, say things like "the Spyderco Sharpmaker works ONLY on serrated knives." The bottom line is, unless you find some special sale or closeout, online is the only way to buy knives.
 
sak_collector said:
...People gripe if they dont run over to sell you one. Well, they probably dont know anything about them anyway, at which point you would come here and post about what morons they are and how the info they gave you was stupid...
Click to expand...
actually, people here aren't griping that someone isn't selling them a knife, they're annoyed that most employees in retail are too quick to just point in the general direction of a product and turn away. it doesn't matter what channel of retail you work in: the customer should, more often than not, be led to a product and offered as much information as is available to the sales associate, even if it's "they're made out of steel, and they come sharp. sorry that's all i know". that's just good business anyway you look at it. it's reasonable, feasible, and helps with repeat business. i know, i worked retail for 5 years.

also, the "info" that most people are complaining about is a pile of phony misinformation dished out in order to wow and deceive the customer. this is a valid complaint.

let's face it: a lot of retail chains don't look for informed people when they hire; they're just after "warm bodies", which is a shame for everyone involved, including the customer. nothing wrong with people calling BS on it! simply being comfortable with these uninformed and sometimes lazy employees is a big chunk of the problem.

vote with your dollars.

abe m.
 
sprokker said:
I guess I'm lucky - sort of. The local hardware store has a display case about 10' long full of knives: Benchmade, Cold Steel, CRKT, Kershaw, etc, etc. It's great to be able to handle knives before buying.

Unfortunately they charge MSRP. :rolleyes:

Now, it's worth money to me to be able to handle knives before buying them, but it's not worth enough to pay 180% or 200% of the online price. I offered to pay them the online price plus shipping plus a little more, and was turned down. The manager told me that the online prices were "too low to believe", and that to charge such low prices the online merchants must be rip-offs (take my money and run) or be selling used products as new, or something. What a dork.

So I left and bought the knives online, and saved a mint. :D
Click to expand...
I'm going to guess you're talking about McGuckins.

I don't think I'd buy a knife there, but it's fun to look. It's kinda too bad they don't have real big knives either.

Their clerks are not always the brightest around ;x
 
Really, we can't charge much under MSRP. Unless you want to buy from a store without lights. ...or sales people, or dusted displays.
Hmmm, knife vending machines. There's a friggen thought.
exit bitter mode
 
Ok, here's a question-
The hardware store has some/all of the following scenario:
high fixed cost-so it hires low wage earners (controlling variable cost)
Selling everything at msrp, or close to it-do you go in, and say, hey, this o/l store has screws for 1/2 this price, or paint, or wood?
If they do not sell knives, they stop selling knives. It's too expensive to keep a crapload of knives in stock, when I can sell hammers all day long.
I try to buy from small business, even if I pay a premium. It's the discount mentality that is destroying this country, thanks wal-mart.
 
Bob W said:
Recently I went visiting the local hardware stores in search of an OldTimer pocketknife. I thought the other readers would be interested in what I found regarding availability of knives in general. I was quite suprised and disappointed.

1) DoItBest. A half dozen $5 Chinese crap knives, only one model.
2) ACE. A large floor case advertising Buck, Case, and Schrade. High-prices, very poor selection.
3) TrueValue. Absolutely no knives at all!

Am I going crazy, or is this the norm?

-Bob
Click to expand...

Same deal here in Detroit. Even the home centers like Home depot and Lowes don't carry more than a few cheap pocket knives.

In Mackinaw city Michigan there is a hardware store that has the largest Case selection I have ever seen. Their prices are reasonable. The best thing is the end of the summer. Mackinaw city is a resort town. Most of it closes up shop in the early fall. The hardware store has a big sale. If you like Case this is the place to be in late sept. My problem is that I like the Case CV steel but Case practically never use it.

Drew
 
what i posted is not everywhere, just some places. it's a shame that buying form small business in America has become a numbers game. also, work ethics in this country are very poor. the youth of America just don't seem to be taught the "values" that my older generation seem to take a little more serriously. this is not true for all older folks, but seems to me it gets worse every year.
i would like nothing more than to do away with all the "big business" in this country and get back to the local hardware.

*there is a Ace store in Ashland Va. where i get VERY good service and i return there every chance i get. (i think there are "right people for the right jobs" and when a place of business gets that combination it works better for everyone. my0.02 cents
 
It's the same here, hell I'm 10 miles from the friggin' Camillus factory and it seems like not a single store in the state sells the damned things. We just got a Bass Pro Shop here though, about 25 miles away, and they have a lot of knives, even Benchmade! Still even there the sales people are very knife illiterate and they still don't carry Camillus knives, bah.

The 'do it best', ace, and true value around me only sell box cutters! Home depot doesn't even sell knives, Lowes sells some Case knives... But that's about it.
 
I think it's a matter of management more than employees. Employees shape up in a hurry if they have supervisors who care, who train them well, and who make sure they work up to the best standards set for them.

I had to pick up a few items in our local Home Depot recently, and every question I asked got me two or three employees all walking over to help, to make sure I got what I needed.

We have a small family hardware store up the block from me, and whenever I go in there, even the youngsters working there are cheerful and knowledgeable.

I'm not sure how bad today's youngsters really are. The Quick Chek across the street usually has a few hanging around with friends outside, sometimes making noise at night. But there's also a few working inside, and they are great, despite their unemployed classmates doing nothing over by the magazine rack.

It's no good generalizing. Some shops just run better than others, even in a chain. Quality is where you find it ... I agree we should vote with our dollars. If I walk into a store and the hired help can't be bothered to notice me, I walk right back out. I will not beg for service.
 
I would agree with Knife Clerk that there probably isn't a great mark up in knives. Certainly not the 200% quoted earlier in this thread versus Internet sites. I'm in the building materials distribution business and I would guess that most retailers; lumberyards or hardware stores are lucky to make 50% and no where near that on many items.

Something over the Internet going for 200% under MSRP would be very suspect IMHO.
 
Does anyone know if I can buy wing nuts, PVC pipe, or garden hose at NewGraham.com or 1SKS.com or Bladeart.com?

I guess I just know where I have to go to get what I want. I really don't expect to find the best knives or flashlights at a hardware store.
 
farmboy said:
Does anyone know if I can buy wing nuts, PVC pipe, or garden hose at NewGraham.com or 1SKS.com or Bladeart.com?

I guess I just know where I have to go to get what I want. I really don't expect to find the best knives or flashlights at a hardware store.
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ah, but where do you go when you're searching for the best tools? the tool store. logic would dictate that a hardware store would carry high end tools of all kinds.

abe m.
 
The hardware store here has an ok selection of knives. They have a few high end models along with the junk. I actually picked up a small Anza knife there that I really like.
 
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