I’ve been meaning to talk about shopping at independent specialty stores. You know the kind, the online retailer that focuses on a specific product category or industry.
KC Tool, whose banner image is shown above (for lack of a better alternative), is a good example of this. Larger retail chains can sometimes also be considered specialty stores. Retailers such as Rockler, a woodworking tool and supply store, usually falls into this category too.
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But for the sake of this discussion, most of the focus will be on smaller independent retailers – “mom and pop” type stores, or those that originated as such.
I recently reflected upon my purchasing habits, and thought about the reasons I had for shopping at the retailers I’ve been patronizing more.
Reasons to Shop at Specialty Suppliers
1. They Know Their Stuff
If you need some help in making a purchase, or have a question about a product, a specialized store will probably have answers or guidance for you.
Have you received an email lately, asking you to answer questions about a purchase you made at a online mega-retailer? I have yet to have that happen at smaller specialty stores.
2. They Care About Your Business
I have found that smaller independent businesses care more about me, as a customer. They want me as a future customer, they want me to be completely satisfied with my experience, and they want me to tell my friends. But also, depending on the product type, they’re passionate about the products, and truly care about doing things *right*.
3. They Know How to Ship Things
Who here has ordered a sensitive tool or component from a mega-retailer and received it in a giant box with no padding?
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I received an order from JetPens yesterday, 2 days late. It arrived in its USPS Priority cardboard envelope, covered in an “oops, we care about you” plastic bag. There was a huge gaping hole in the envelope. Oh no!
But, JetPens is very good about how they package their orders. Everything was neatly wrapped together, and nothing was lost out of the gaping hole in the envelope.
I ordered woodworking finish from Amazon once. Then I ordered from Rockler. If I have the option, I will only ever order from Rockler or other woodworking suppliers from now on. They shipped my quarts of finish with lid locks and within sturdy cardboard frames.
4. Less Chance of Counterfeits
A certain mega-retailer has been in the spotlight for mixing merchandise from different sources, including 3rd party sellers, which can lead to counterfeits being mixed in with genuine products.
I have yet to hear of this happening at independent suppliers, which often have only one direct source per brand.
5. They Know What Their Customers Want, or Can Usually Get it
While mega-retailers boast huge selections, I have had trouble finding certain products. They don’t care, and there’s not much that can be done about it.
If I want something from PB Swiss, a PB Swiss tool dealer can likely get it for me. If I want something from Wera or Knipex, I know I can find it at KC Tool, or at least ask them about it.
If I want an Irazola/Bahco Tekno 4.0mm ball hex driver, and Amazon hasn’t listed it for over a year and a half at Amazon UK or DE, there’s not much I can do about that.
A Few Reasons to Shop at Mega-Retailers
1. Lower Pricing, at Least Sometimes
Larger stores can sometimes negotiate better pricing. Or they might have multiple inventory sources.
2. Free or Discounted Shipping
With smaller shops, they’re sometimes unable to eat shipping costs, and often don’t have the volume to negotiate lowest freight fees with carriers.
3. Greater Selection
If something doesn’t sell very well, a store might not carry it. But what happens if you’re the one person a year that wants a particular brand, size, or style of something?
4. Quicker or Easier Returns
I have yet to find any retailer that makes returns as quick or easy as Amazon.
Whiskey and wood
With small retailers, don’t forget about discounts! Toolguyd, woodwhisperer, woodtalk, etc. often have group discounts negotiated with specialty retailers for 10% off or free shipping as well!
Hilton
For me shopping from across the Atlantic, sometime the Mom & Pops store doesn’t have an online presence or if they do they insist on me calling in first to place the order and then I must mail in a cheque. I haven’t used a cheque book for about twenty years now.
Given their proper online presence., I’ll support them all the time assuming access to information about the product is readily available. More importantly these days are the reviews. I can’t return stuff so I regularly rely on decent reviews (or blogs such as this site) to gauge the quality of an item.
I think I’ve only had one bad experience from a US small store. The rest I’m warmly speak of.
Stuart
The reason for that could be because a lot of stores get burned by overseas scams, and it’s harder for smaller stores to absorb the losses.
reese
For overseas bloke the shipping makes or breaks it for us. Many times even for discounted item, the shipping costs more than the item!
JoeM
For the Canadians, like me… There’s two MAJOR benefits to shopping the small stores: Shipping time, and CUSTOMER SERVICE.
If you want examples, these are the best in the business for us Cannucks.
http://www.blackrocktools.com – Power and Hand Tools, Free shipping over $149.
http://www.leevalley.com – Need I say more?
http://www.busybeetools.com – Industrial and Machine Shop tools and supplies. Free Shipping over $200 (which is easy to do there.) plus they have show rooms where they encourage you to come in and test it before you buy it. They have experts on the floor that don’t let you go outside your limits, and who are happy to advise you on anything.
Yeah, you all know Lee Valley… but they’re a CANADIAN company, and they not only treat you like GOLD if you’re Canadian, they also still HAND-PRODUCE the Veritas brand tools! It was a company started by a Canadian who was a machinist, and not satisfied with his tools. So he started making his own. That business grew, and he brought in both family AND expert employees. When the job became too big to produce every product in-house, they STILL decided to produce the prototypes and test them here in Canada, before sending every spec to a factory. (Last I checked, some of their mass-produced products are made in Japan, others in China, and still others are made in Germany. But they’re all DESIGNED and TESTED here in Canada.)
Sorry… got a little excited there…
Jim Felt
As a non-Canuck Lee Valley customer for many years I concur with your rabid assessment of their customer service skills. I’ve never had an issue with returns. Even once when I ordered a brand new to them at least product and it wouldn’t work in our application when we finally tried to install it and they refunded my money two years later.
Pretty darn decent I’d say.
michaelhammer
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Lee Valley is great company with quality products. I love doing business with them.
Nick Batistic
Amen. Lee Valley is the Gold Standard in the industry. If you think some of their stuff is pricey, just remember this (and I used to produce a fly fishing rod holder, made entirely in Canada) you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. That’s a lesson list on most people.
One of my rod holder retailers told me a telling story one time. He had a young fellow come into the store looking for a type of product. He prefaced his request with the comment:. “I don’t have much money, and I can’t afford to buy anything cheap”.
He obviously learned a very important lesson early in life. And it applies to EVERTHING. …..
Rami
“they’re passionate about the products”. That makes big box store employees sound like they don’t care about their job. I work at a big box store selling tools, and, depending on the product type, I really am passionate about our products. And, I do know my stuff. I know that big box store employees are sometimes dumb as a boot, but not all of them. Why big box stores don’t always carry all the specialty products? It’s simple, usually there is not enough demand for them. Big box store selection also usually depends on what suppliers they are already using.
Stuart
I’m more talking online dealers.
Someone at Sears used to care, but they must have left a few years ago, because their tool department changed and was never the same.
When you are shopping for a good pocket knife and have a question, do you email Amazon, or a place like BladeHQ or KnivesShipFree, where they can pull the item and answer a question?
Or when you have a question about pen refills, wondering why one is $1 and another $1.25, JetPens will get back to you, quickly, with the insight that one is in USA retail packaging and the other in Japanese market packaging.
Email Amazon with a question about chisels and see what they can tell you. I’ve talked to someone at Lee Valley about the Narex chisels they carry.
There ARE big box store associates that are knowledgeable and good at their jobs. But you and them are the minority.
Buying hardwood from a place like Bell Forest Products, and you get a well-protected and accurately represented product. They can help with custom cuts or planing too. Buy from a big box home center, and you’ll get jagged torn-out cut because the blade on the panel saw has never been changed.
I meant no offense. My intent was to explain why I might spend more on an item from one place, rather than buying it from a mega-retailer (online).
I’ve been slowly reforming my views. It used to be that I’d go with the cheapest source. Now, I’m okay if I pay a little more or have to pay shipping, if it means a better shopping experience on average. But for other things, Amazon and other mega-retailers still get a lot of my business.
As another example, where do you prefer to read about new tools? ToolGuyd, or broad-topic mass media sites that might talk about a new Apple device, sneakers, and potato salad recipe the same day?
Rami
I can’t commet on amazon, as I never buy anything from them, or any other web store.
Specialty store workers have one advantage over big box store employees: specialty stores usually have a smaller product range. For example you mentioned knife shops. Workers there only need to know about knives and things related to them. I, on the other hand, am expected to know everything about everything. I am expected to know everything about powertools, handtools, pneumatic tools, generators, pressure washers, compressors, dust extractors, metal working, wood working, masonry work, electrical work, plumbing, cars, contractor trades, painting… the list never ends. We all know that is not possible, but a surprisingly large amount of customers don’t seem to understand it. I would like to work at a specialty woodworking store, but there is only a few of them here in Finland, as the markets are so much smaller here than for example markets in USA.
TonyT
Well, Amazon tries to farm out the Q&A to product owners with their Q&A section….it’s useful but not the same.
And, yes, money isn’t the only thing of value. My time definitely has value, too.
Finally, having a relation with a specialty store can save you money, the Peneconomist goes into some details about how this can be in the fountain pen market (which just might have some similarities to high end tools):
http://www.peneconomics.com/blog/2015/7/31/benefits-of-a-relationship-with-a-retailer
Wayne R.
In my experience, big box employees are working hard at avoiding customer encounters.
“Oh, I can’t help you, I have a piece of paper in my hand!”
“Is that a bird up near the ceiling?”
“We’re busy discussing, uh, paint-stirring stick stock.”
“I’m going to be helping this lady until closing time.”
Stuart
I can understand why.
A Home Depot department manager was helping me with something, and we were interrupted with the strangest requests.
I would never work in retail. I was buying some sketch pads at the local AC Moore. I was in a hurry.
The woman in front of me bought 2 elastic bead bracelets. She didn’t like the $5 bill the cashier gave her back, because it had a small tear at the corner. So she returned everything on the spot. Apparently there’s a group of customers that cause nonsense like that every week.
I don’t like super-wrinkled or torn bills. So I put them at the front of my wallet and spend them first. To return a purchase because the bill is ugly?
A few months ago, I went to Best Buy to look at phones. Then I was browsing around, debating whether to get a new iPad. Some guy was complaining to a worker for the whole time I was there, because something went wrong with his credit card when he tried to place an order online. He told the guy 10 different ways that he should contact his bank.
Greg
Hey, leave the bird up by the ceiling out of it! I swear my Homedepot has like 3 of them, I’ve seen them raiding the bird seed section now and then.
Joe Smith
Have a little empathy for retail/service workers. They get treated like crap by unhinged customers on a daily basis. They are usually not paid much and receive little training. Turnover is very high. It’s really not surprising they hide.
michaelhammer
I just need someone to go up to freaking ladder and get the product off-the-shelf. After explaining to them that I realize it’s not their department I literally have to wrangle them to get a ladder. Sometimes I just do it myself, after all it is DIY warehouse.
Danny Kumite
I worked at Home Depot for 2 years in my youth. I’d seen the kind of retail employees you mentioned, who turned their tails to customers. But I will say this, there is no excuse for not being helpful to customers, even if they can’t answer the question, they should walk the customers to another employee who knows better. In fact, by being helpful, I found the job much more enjoyable. Badly behaved customers happen (though rarely), but you can still be polite regardless. I really enjoyed working there.
kent
I run into the occasional big-box employee who knows their stuff. Sadly, it’s not often enough.
Thanks for being one of the good ones.
Rob B
Bought a bunch of stuff from KC and they are great and helpful. Their deals of the day can be killer and cheaper than many larger retailers like Amazon, I recommend following them on Facebook to get notifications.
I really miss good independent tool shops, in the UK where I am originally from smaller hardware stores are still fairly prevalent, here in the USA it seems Lowes, HD and HF have the market, don,t get me wrong I enjoy buying tools at those places too. But you cant beat going to a small independent store where you can buy obscure tools or nuts and bolts by the weight like an old fashioned candy store!
David Richardson
KC is awesome. Too often with Wiha, Wera, and others descriptions are terrible and you’re never sure what you’re getting . These guys are spot on. Great selection and they know these tools.
Diamond Dave
Heartfelt article but unfortunately we can’t go back in time. These stores have always been out there and the same with privately owned hardware stores but we let our “cheapest price” attitudes determine their fate. We also let our local politicians line their pockets by giving the big box stores along with stores like Walmart tax incentives, tax reliefs, no taxes to bring in their company promising more jobs (low wage) and they crushed the independants and smaller companies. Same with sporting goods! The progression moved forward and online shopping continued to surge. Who would have ever believed 6-8 years ago Amazon would surpass Walmart? I am an older guy so I have seen ALL these transitions where as the younger generation has grown up online and is perfectable comfortable shopping, banking, learning and even having relationships online. As much as I miss the relationships and advice offered in speciality and small companies in general the market marches forward. We have YouTube, and a plethora of other ways to get advice and reviews on products ie your web site.
Stuart
A lot of these stores have NOT been out there a long time. Some have been, others have emerged in recent years, to fill holes in niche markets.
It used to be that I had time and effort to spare, but a strict budget. So I shopped for the lowest price for what I wanted.
Now, my budget is more flexible, but I am short on time and effort. I don’t want to deal with purchases that are broken in transit because of poor packaging efforts, items that are incompatible or don’t suit my needs because they were wrongfully described, or counterfeit items because stock was mixed or sourced through 3rd parties.
I bought my last 2 TVs from Amazon, but my kitchen and home appliances through the local shop.
I regret over-paying for a small Cross pen at the mall, but I don’t regret buying a different brand of refill for it from an online retailer (through Amazon, actually).
I will spend a little more for a better shopping experience and customer service.
fred
I might add to the “pro” list in that smaller retailers often provide a better price when you buy in bulk. This can because of a discount applied for multiples or just because they are honest about the shipping costs that they add onto the price. Amazon and some other retailers that offer “free” shipping – may actually buid the shipping cost into the unit price – so if you buy 20 or just 1 the unit price remains the same. Some folks who add on shipping – might add on say $10 for shipping 1 item – but perhaps not much more for shipping 20 – based on size and weight.
MT_Noob
Stuart,
I think you forgot the most important thing that I see a lot of mom and pop shops do when shipping items. Sometimes they throw in a tiny bag of M&Ms, or Skittles, or other little treat.
: )
Silly at it sounds, to me it says a lot that they took a moment to just throw in a little surprise.
You have mentioned jet pens, have you tried Goulet pens? Their customer service is fantastic, they do an insane job making sure things are safely packed. If you have not tried them yet, I ‘d suggest giving them a try to see how they rate against jet. They even take a moment to hand write a thank you note (and they tell you what ink they used).
Stuart
Yep, I like Goulet Pens too. =) I haven’t yet had to contact their customer service *knock on wood.*
For my order this week, I asked for my thank you note to be on the blue turtle, elephant, or whale note card, if possible. They wrote on the packing slip that all they had at the moment was the cardinal, and they hoped I liked it. But then they forgot to put it in with the order!
I like free candy with my orders too, but it’s a little weird accepting candy from strangers. Something I ordered recently came with a tiny bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Eew, I didn’t see what I was eating and had what must have been buttered popcorn.
Ryan
Every time I’ve ordered something from thermoworks, they throw in those jelly beans.
Stuart
That’s what it was! Thanks for jogging my memory.
fred
KT Tool always seems to send a PH#2 bit – with a printed note that says “a bit of thanks” or something similar.
With Southwest Tool – it was chewing gum.
fred
KC Tool – not KT
MT_Noob
Thumbs up for Thermoworks, even though they have the best product out there, they put that same excellence into customer service.
Stuart
I haven’t opened the thermometer yet. It’s been on my shopping list for a while. I wouldn’t consider them a small or specialty store, since they’re basically only selling their products directly. They used to be sold on Amazon, and I believe it was a counterfeiting issue that led them to stop.
MT_Noob
I bought a thermo pen a few years ago and absolutely love it. Then I bought the bbq sensor and one of the mini-pops.
If you sign up for their newsletter, you get notices of their “open box” deals and any upcoming sales. And best of all they don’t inundate you with too much email or newsletters. Maybe once a month which is about right for me.
You are right, I am not sure what the cut-off point is for mom and pop size. I am sure they don’t fit that description. But I think they have the attention to detail and pride in their product that “feels” like mom and pop to me. They definitely seem to meet several of the “specialty suppliers” key features you mentioned. At least in my mind.
Stuart
I suppose that’s true, but I rarely see brands or makers that aren’t passionate about the products or insightful about their customers.
There are times when buying direct is not the best option. Some companies are not very experienced at retail sales, leading to delays or random issues.
MT_Noob
I totally agree that buying direct might not always be the best option. A few months back I was looking at getting a rollgear screwdriver. I sort of assumed that going to their web page was the best way to make the purchase. However, their webpage and web-store and shopping cart were all so clunky that I had second thoughts. I then thought about just grabbing one from Amazon, I think the price was slightly higher, but the total cost would have been lower with free shipping. They are also available on Lee Valley, so I thought maybe I’d just keep it on my wish list until I bought something else from LeeValley. So there we have three potentially completely different shopping experiences, for the same product. In the end indecision got the better of me and I still have not ordered one… although it is still on my wish list.
TonyT
My Prusa i3 Mk2 3D printer came with a bag of Haribo gummi bears – which made my kids very happy! (Although not a specialty tool retailer, they’re a small company that does a lot of things right).
MT_Noob
I’m almost ready to bite the bullet and jump into 3D printing. How do you like that one? I’m a complete newbie. Would it work for someone like me?
The free gummi bears might tip the scales on my decision.
TonyT
I’m very happy with it (the Mk2), but I highly recommend checking out the Mk3, despite its backorder delay. As always do consider your own requirements. Some quick comments:
– I wanted to be able to do fun materials (such as nylon, wood fill, metal fill, etc. Abrasives do require a hardened nozzle, which is $25 for the Prusa). I figured it’d cost almost as much as a Prusa to upgrade a cheap printer to do what I want, but would be a lot more hassle.
– I also wanted to do multi-materials, which Prusa offers
– Prusa uses top notch components such as E3D hot ends (UK), Bondtech extruder gears (Sweden), PEI print beds, and controllers from Ultimachine (US).
– Prusa has a pretty integrated system (Prusa Control, slic3r (open source, but sponsored by them), and frequently update the firmware
– Prusa is pretty open, but is also innovative. The Mk3 has filament break detection, removable print beds, and more.
– Prusa is pretty good at providing an upgrade path. I’m waiting on my Mk2 to Mk2.5 upgrade to arrive (which provides some of the best Mk3 features).
– There is a large community
– And, of course, the printer has been working well. 3D printing definitely has a learning curve, and I’m still getting my feet wet.
Some things:
– If you want the latest and greatest, you’ll have to wait a bit since they’re running behind demand
– I bought the kit, and it does take a while to assembly. The online instructions are great – you can see the details better, and read suggestions from others. The plus is saving $250, and learning more about the machine (which was especially fun for me because my job is in industrial automation).
MT_Noob
Thanks, it does sound like it might be the right choice for me. Especially since I am a fan of open source.
Jim Felt
KC Tools seems to always enclose something nice like a 1/4” bit. And obviously a German branded one at that. Now if it was a Lemon Head sample…
MT_Noob
Now that you mentioned it I remember that I was very impressed with the free bit. Mine was a Phillips #2 which you can never have too many of…
And it was great quality.
Rami
I have watched German Tool Reviews videos in Youtube. When he does unboxings of his KC tool orders, there is always a Felo- branded #2 phillips bit, and the package says “a bit of thanks”.
Rob B
Yeah its always a Felo Phillips No.2 with a nice card saying “A Bit of Thanks”.
Its a nice touch!
DeeEyeWhyyyy
I love KC Tool Co. I check out their “Deal of the Day” sale religiously every single day. I bet I’m on their website looking around 4 or 5 times a week. I’m really trying to move more of my purchases away from Amazon…
But what holds me back from buying from KCTC is they are sometimes as high as double the price of Amazon plus an extra $15 to $20 to ship it via USPS “will probably get lost on the way” snail mail. Its a tough pill to swallow even to feed my need to support small businesses and move away from Amazon..
Even buying a “free” Wera product catalog from KCTC is $13 to ship it to my house.
Tim
I live in the UK, though I do buy a good number of tools on my frequent work trips to the USA. I’m a hobby woodworker. For specialist tools, I usually buy from axminster.co.uk or one of a bunch of quite small (though not tiny) online outlets. There’s a real Axminster store near my parents’ house, and it’s a proper tool heaven. But for the small “Mom & Pop” store for a vast range of tools, I live near the most fantastic place. Their online presence of mackay.co.uk doesn’t really do them justice. They are a Cambridge legend, and I (slightly) know the family that owns it too. There firm has been on the same site since 1912. It’s about half a mile from a B&Q store, which is our equivalent of Home Depot, really. I’ve pretty much totally given up going to B&Q because Mackay’s has more choice, better service, and – this is what surprises me – lower prices. The big-box store genuinely isn’t cheaper. The family store where you get really expert advice from people who know my name is genuinely cheaper. They don’t stock the shockingly poor own-brand tools of B&Q, but sell a range of tools from low-end to high-end at appropriate prices. While there are (possibly) fewer tools actually there, what they have amounts really to a better choice.
The best thing of all is this. If I go to the big-box store wanting a 14mm socket, I end up having to buy a kit. If I go to Mackay’s, I can choose (I’m making this up here, but you know what I mean) from standard or deep, regular or impact rated, and ¼”, ⅜” or ½” drive for all of them. And all of these are from grown-up brands, not cheap own-brand disposable things. I can get just what I want, and spend less on a higher quality tool than I would in the big-box store.
Even when I’ve compared exactly the same DeWalt tool at Mackay’s and B&Q, Mackay’s wins. Really, the only reason to go to B&Q is if you want bathroom tiles, or something else that Mackay’s doesn’t stock.
I love supporting the independents. They are terrific. I strongly want them to continue. Luckily, the place is always full of customers, so I’m not alone in my wishes. Now it may be that I’m just incredibly lucky living where I do, but for me, the indy is the best. I’d be devastated if the place closed. Devastated!
TonyT
Here’s an interesting discussion of mom and pop hardware stores you might enjoy:
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/max-maxfield/articles/thats-nuts-and-bolts-and-washers-and-machine-screws-and
Tim
YES! YES YES!! You are so right, TonyT. My pet store Mackay’s is a Grand Master of this hardware world. I didn’t mention it, because we were talking of tools, but for hardware, it’s untouchable. There’s a special counter there which always has a queue of people with a sheared off bolt, bike part, piece of kitchen chair etc, in their hands saying, “Have you got one of these?” Not only can they find it for you, but they will sell you one for 2p (~3¢) instead of one of those blister packs of 10 for $1.50 in HD (or specifically, £1 in B&Q). It’s better than that. You go in there, determined to fox them, asking for a 2″ (not 50mm) M12 bolt with a hex head. Then they ask whether you want BSP, stainless or black japanned (for example). I have beaten them on occasion, but so rarely. It is truly an amazing resource. And if you need 100 of the widget in question, they’ll sell you a box for £1 instead of 10 blister packs for £10.
The benefits go deeper still, I think. You can check the thread against your broken widget, or the nut on the bolt, or whatever. In the blister packs, you can’t except through the plastic. It’s expensive, and often a complete waste of both time and money, in a literal sense.
Genuinely, there is no reason to go to the big box store when there’s a little indy shop on the corner that does everything faster, better AND cheaper!
And for reference, I am not in their pay. Usually, it’s quite the reverse!
Brian
KC Tool is fantastic. Sometimes it’s hard to pass on some bigger stores pricing, especially on errors but I support KC Tool all I can. There are great people working there AND they’ll deal with the warranty hassle for you. A lot of times warranties from Amazon or eBay are void or dealing with the company is difficult. KC Tool literally will warranty some of their impact bits(Pretty sure Felo is one) from breakage, that’s a disposable item and they warranty it…who else does that? I’d never warranty one and I actually told Ryan they should stop warranting them but he was having none of that!
Don’t forget when you’re pricing that there’s a 10% discount and check their sale section and daily deal, there are some really good deals to be had.
Toolfreak
Another good reason is keeping them in business.
When the specialty shops go under, and there’s less competition, prices can go higher, so you can actually be saving yourself and everyone else money in the long run by sometimes paying a little more now for stuff from smaller specialty shops.
Or you can just call/email and ask if they can match a price. It’s rare that a business won’t match a slightly lower online price from their competition, especially if that’s what it takes for you to buy it from them, and even more so if it’s one item in a larger order with other items.
ktash
Then there are locally owned chain stores like True Value and Ace. In my area, I love the True Value and Ace Hardware stores. I try them first when I buy something, because they are so much more knowledgeable than the local big box stores. The True Value store is exceptional in the range of sizes of fasteners they carry, for instance. In both these stores I enjoy the employees, most of them long-time employees who know a lot. I hope they can compete with Big Box because there are many advantages to them. Unfortunately they carry tool brands like Craftsman, Black and Decker, etc. rather than the higher end brands that Home Depot carries.
Most of the hardware stores don’t have much woodworking stuff. The one Big Box store that has more than most is Menard’s, which is regional. They used to carry better tool brands than they do currently.
Usually, when I go to True Value or Ace, I leave in a good mood. With the Big Box stores, it can seem like a waste of time or more unpleasant. Still, I’m trying to purchase more from local stores, either owned or Big Box and not so much from amazon. I like to go see what I’m buying, for one thing.
Love Lee Valley, Woodcraft, Rockler, Peachtree, etc. not to mention Woodpeckers, Incra, and Jessem.
We used to have an independent tool place that had great tools and could sharpen blades, etc. but they went out of business.
TonyT
Around here (SF Bay Area), Ace is about the best choice for local hardware. Our local Ace is trade-oriented, seems to be doing well (they recently expanded), has knowledgeable staff, and does great things like sells individual ball end hex wrenches. Since it’s on the other end of town I don’t go there too often, though.