Sad day for hardware store lovers and our neighborhood.

[imwjl]

A week ago my neighborhood hardware store with 100+ year old roots failed me on small plumbing parts. Today I go in and see someone had their forklift stuck off the parking lot and fancy Yeti coolers SO not their style. A woman asked about screen repair. Dude says we don't do that anymore but we have so many exciting changes coming.

When the same guy could not help me for their no longer having heavy duty shop brooms he said he's the new manager. He was hired from national retail and grocery chains and he will for sure get the place looking better. He said there's so much stuff that doesn't sell often. He said the watering can my wife wanted and broom I wanted were too expensive. I kindly told him that's the stuff that brings people in.

What irony for them to bring in $300 Yeti coolers and tell me heavy duty old school stuff is too expensive.

 

[2HBStrat]

Give them 6 months.

I used to go to a nearby town primarily for a book store there. They had new magazines and all kinds of used books, magazines, newspapers, etc. You'd never know what you'd find. The owner was an older gentleman that liked that kind of stuff. I always spent hours there finding all kinds of things I never knew existed or that I needed and wanted. I would quite often engage the owner in discussions about this or that, depending on his mood and desire to talk. Then one day I went for a visit and everything had changed. All of the vintage books were gone. The porn mags were gone. The place had even been cleaned up and repainted for a more family oriented clientele. I don't think it lasted a year.

It's a shame when someone tries to 'improve' something that doesn't need improvement.

 

[Red Ryder]

Ya spent hours there? I wouldn't think those pornmags would take more than ooooh 6 minutes.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Give them 6 months.

I used to go to a nearby town primarily for a book store there. They had new magazines and all kinds of used books, magazines, newspapers, etc. You'd never know what you'd find. The owner was an older gentleman that liked that kind of stuff. I always spent hours there finding all kinds of things I never knew existed or that I needed and wanted. I would quite often engage the owner in discussions about this or that, depending on his mood and desire to talk. Then one day I went for a visit and everything had changed. All of the vintage books were gone. The porn mags were gone. The place had even been cleaned up and repainted for a more family oriented clientele. I don't think it lasted a year.

It's a shame when someone tries to 'improve' something that doesn't need improvement.

So many questions!

 

[ChicknPickn]

A week ago my neighborhood hardware store with 100+ year old roots failed me on small plumbing parts. Today I go in and see someone had their forklift stuck off the parking lot and fancy Yeti coolers SO not their style. A woman asked about screen repair. Dude says we don't do that anymore but we have so many exciting changes coming.

When the same guy could not help me for their no longer having heavy duty shop brooms he said he's the new manager. He was hired from national retail and grocery chains and he will for sure get the place looking better. He said there's so much stuff that doesn't sell often. He said the watering can my wife wanted and broom I wanted were too expensive. I kindly told him that's the stuff that brings people in.

What irony for them to bring in $300 Yeti coolers and tell me heavy duty old school stuff is too expensive.

Wow. That's disheartening. I do have to believe that these things create opportunities for others, though. Certain buying trends over the last decade have hit small stores hard, and I'm sure some businesses will never come back. But where there is too much of a void, someone will see the possibility for profit and take a calculated risk.

 

[2HBStrat]

Ya spent hours there? I wouldn't think those pornmags would take more than ooooh 6 minutes.

Sure, I looked at some of the porn...this was in the days before the internet. But my main interest was in the used magazines (not porn), music magazines and books. You would just never know what you might find there. It was like a thrift store for publications. I miss it. I miss Tower Books, too. And Tower Records.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I used to love used record stores, back when used records could be cheap. There was one I went to that was up a rickety flight of stairs that seemed to be about ready to rot away any minute.

 

[Red Ryder]

Sure, I looked at some of the porn...this was in the days before the internet. But my main interest was in the used magazines (not porn), music magazines and books. You would just never know what you might find there. It was like a thrift store for publications. I miss it. I miss Tower Books, too. And Tower Records.

That was in reference to the movie Lonesome Dove when the hide hunter wanted to get some from the pregnant woman.

He didn't recone it would take more than 6 minutes. And it's OK to check out the mags I've done it myself.

 

[Trenchant63]

They are no longer a hardware store but a “lifestyle brand” catering to convenience. Ugh. I remember when an old CEO of an auto company said “we don’t sell automobiles. We are a ‘mobility lifestyle’ company!!” Umm… yeh.

 

[bobio]

We still have a couple of small, local hardware stores near me, in addition to an Ace Hardware and a Lowes. The hardware store closest to me has been here since before I moved here, so at least 30 years, probably longer. They have a loyal following, hopefully that keeps them going. No Yeti coolers to be found

 

[fjblair]

A week ago my neighborhood hardware store with 100+ year old roots failed me on small plumbing parts. Today I go in and see someone had their forklift stuck off the parking lot and fancy Yeti coolers SO not their style. A woman asked about screen repair. Dude says we don't do that anymore but we have so many exciting changes coming.

When the same guy could not help me for their no longer having heavy duty shop brooms he said he's the new manager. He was hired from national retail and grocery chains and he will for sure get the place looking better. He said there's so much stuff that doesn't sell often. He said the watering can my wife wanted and broom I wanted were too expensive. I kindly told him that's the stuff that brings people in.

What irony for them to bring in $300 Yeti coolers and tell me heavy duty old school stuff is too expensive.

Corporate America and Wall Street will eventually snuff out every business that has a soul.

 

[Chester P Squier]

I'm glad we still have our mom and pop hardware stores in town. I don't have to make my way through the exurban sprawl to get to either of these stores.

 

[dkmw]

I thought you were gonna say your hardware store closed. At least that’s not the case (yet).

We had a place here that had been around since the early 60s, which was space race boom time for our area. And they had a lumberyard out back. Only place like it on the barrier island. It hardly changed over the decades. Then about 15 years ago a Lowe’s opened less than a mile away.

The lumber portion shut down almost immediately, but the old store hung on for about ten years. When they finally did their going out of business sale, I went in and bought a few things just for the memories. Among them a box of slot-head screws that are close enough to pickguard spec that I’ve installed them on three guitars.

I still miss the place.

But… My old neighbor owns an Ace just down A1A that is seriously non-conforming to corporate standards. It’s in an old strip mall so it’s small, cramped, and packed to the gills. I know the people who work there. If you ignore the Ace branding it’s almost like an old store.

 

[Killing Floor]

I don’t know your exact situation or this store. But if I was feeding my family or sending my kids to college I’d rather sell Yeti coolers than a push broom or a faucet washer. And I’d also rather pay $0 to have someone walk in and buy that cooler than $20/hr for someone to sell you that broom.

I miss a lot of things. But I get it.
Suppose that store’s lease and utilities and labor and insurance and taxes are $35,000/month or more. What should they do?

 

[Obsessed]

I feel your pain @imwjl , I have watched two excellent hardware stores within 100 miles of here go the same route. Fortunately, our local 3rd generation Mom&Pop hardware store is sticking to the old school stuff. I play poker with the 30 something owner and he still keeps a herd of cattle at the family ranch, so he knows the importance of having the good stuff on hand. We are 90 miles from the nearest HD/Lowes, so competition is limited.

 

[Milspec]

That new manager is a fool. People buy coolers online, but brooms in stores. He is in for a shock.

We still have several farm supply stores that cater to sensible people. That is where I shop for such things, those people still know their stuff and prices are fair. They don't sell fancy coolers though.

 

[Toto'sDad]

Sadly, the mail order/internet buying public is killing off any kind of nostalgia store. I used to love frequenting, and buying from local owned camera shops back when I was into photography. Now they are all gone, along with the local music stores that once abounded here. The truth is, it costs so much to stay in business nowadays, you probably won't stay in business if you do everything right, one little slip, and you're gone for sure.

 

[Brian J.]

remember when you could buy everything from nails and plumbing to new and used guns and ammo at the local hardware store them days is gone the way of the dodo

 

[Telecaster88]

He said there's so much stuff that doesn't sell often.

The whole point of a hardware store is it's full of stuff that doesn't sell often, but when you need it, they have it. Little slices of heaven.

 

[mfguitar]

I spent 40 years supplying hardware to hardware stores. The old hardware store model is something that does not work anymore for most owners. Too much money is invested in inventory and not enough turns. You do need big ticket sales to survive. It is even hard to find suppliers that you can buy quality goods from.