Bid Farewell to Orchard Supply Hardware...

[rootabaga]

Man, this really sucks.

We're now left with Lowe's and Home Despot, as well as Ace and True Value, which is hardly saying anything at all.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...hard-supply-hardware-stores-close/1060236002/

If you have a good old fashioned neighborhood hardware store, please be sure to frequent it. You may pay a little more, but trust me, you'll otherwise miss it when it's gone.

 

[olbriar]

They closed my mom & pop hardware store a few years ago. And yes, I do miss it terribly.
You could always find what you were looking for there and the knowledge base was worth whatever extra I might have paid. They saved my bacon on too many occasions to count.

 

[DonB]

They were owned by Lowes anyways, so you'd still be dealing with Lowes either way. The Big Corps keep buying out the small guys to have control.

 

[Unforgiven]

Last October what was the oldest continuously run hardware store in the country closed its doors.
https://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2017/09/elwood_adams_employee_reflects.html

 

[MoodyBlues]

I'm breaking one of my own rules: reviving an old thread! But, hey, it showed up in the 'related threads' under the thread I was in, so why not? If AF thinks it's relevant, who am I to say otherwise?

I loved OSH. Before I got sick you could often find me at the Pasadena store, mostly in the gardening/outdoor areas, but also picking up the odd washer for a leaky faucet, or supplies my handyman or gardeners needed, etc. I could easily waste spend an entire afternoon there, looking at things, picking them up, debating whether I needed some object I'd never seen before--and had no idea what it was for!--buying some plants, some pottery...

I miss it. *sigh*

 

[olbriar]

My go to hardware I mentioned a couple of years back was a literally a mom and pop shop that the pop had passed on before I became a consumer. It was then a mom and daughter shop.. the daughter being about my age. They had a large store all things considered and always had or would have a work-a-round for all of my projects and problems. One of my treasures from their store was some ancient cast iron cookware. The stuff was likely older than me but new when I bought it. Very heavy cast that would hold its grease seal (seasoned). Stuff like grandma had. I still cook with the stuff fifty years later and it's goof as it was when purchased.

 

[MoodyBlues]

It's sad seeing long-established businesses forced to close because they can't possibly compete with the mega-stores.

They don't have the same buying power as the big guys, so they can't buy in huge quantities, thereby losing out on volume discounts and preferred terms. Then they have no choice but to charge more than the big guys, people balk at that and buy where it's cheaper, and there you go...another local gem shuts its doors.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

How long has it been closed @rootabaga

 

[ocnbrze]

right now my go to place is Merrit's Ace Hardware. it is small, old, and kind of ghetto, but that is the appeal i like. it has more charm then Home Depot. i mainly go there for my fuel for my BBQ.

anybody know the difference between Ace Hardware and Merrit's Ace Hardware? are they the same?

....google does not help.

 

[MoodyBlues]

How long has it been closed @rootabaga

According to the article, which was posted on August 22, 2018, at the OP's link, all stores would be closed by February 1st [2019]. So more than a year.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

But it's Ace.
Hardware Megastores freak me out.
Which floor was it on?

 

[MoodyBlues]

anybody know the difference between Ace Hardware and Merrit's Ace Hardware? are they the same?

This is purely a guess, but I'd say the former is a company-owned store, and the latter is owned by a franchisee.

 

[maire5]

There was an OSH near where I lived one time that I distinctly preferred to visit because I could spend more time looking around without necessarily being approached by a harried employee. It was a quiet and peaceful store.

 

[joe71]

I saw a OSH store when I first started driving a truck, forgot where though. I see Ace hardware in a lot of the smaller towns I go through.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Boston isn't as big as I play it is.
It's like 15 New Yorks.

 

[puppykickr]

First off, let me say that I really do appreciate and strive to utilize the local mom and pop shops.

But where I live, they are horrible.

Not only do the elderly customers tend to stand in the center of the aisles and stare at things that I can't see (or might not even be there) but the stores seldom have anything I need.

The typical 'help' from an employee is "Did y'all try wrappin' it in Duck Tape first?"

Seriously, I recently purchased a combination lock and hasp from the local hardware store. In fact, it was the nicest lock of its size and type in the place.

I get it home and open the package.
That is as far as I got.
The lock would not open.

So it is another trip across town, back to the hardware store.

Of course, the person at the counter does not believe me (quite understandably, as I am still in disbelief today) but she can't get it to work either.

She asks if I wanted to exchange it, and I almost laughed.
Uhh, no. I sure don't want to cart another one of those **** things around town again.

I even returned the hasp as well, saying "Why do I need a hasp if I don't have a lock?"

You might say I was ticked off.

Our town is small, but basically a battlefield to get from one end to the other.

There is literally one of each store on each end of town because it us so inconvenient to get through town.

Two McDonald's, two Arby's, two Burger Kings, two of that (awful) local hardware store, two Bottle Stop liquor stores (1&2) (among many others), a Wal-mart at one end and a K-Mart (now gone) on the other, until recently two Al's supermarkets, and it goes on and on.

Anyway, after taking back a worthless lock to the hardware store I bit my tongue and went to Wal-Mart, where I found a lock and hasp for so much less money that I also purchased a small heater and a phone stand- and the bill was still 32¢ less than what I spent at the hardware store.

And that is just one example.

Most mom and pop shops here are ran by the parents of mom and pop.
They are grandmoms and grandpops shops.

Often they (even before this lockdown bolonia) are only open on Tuesday through Thursday, from 11AM to 2:30PM and closed for an hour at lunch.
Or some other nonsense hours that basically make them so difficult to get in I have never seen the inside.

So, yeah, I would like to see mom and pop places thrive- just not the ones around here.

If you're not open for normal business hours, and/or you can't/don't have what I need- what am I supposed to do?

Heck, I did NOT want to go to Wal-Mart.
But guess what?

I have gone there three times this week, got exactly what I needed- when I needed it- and got my projects done.