Repackaged Crap At The Depot.

K2

The home centers have a liberal return policy but I hate when Sally homeowner returns something that Johnny Homeowner buggered up and they put it back on the shelf without checking to make sure it works etc etc. Then I don't feel like opening every package in the store so I get some things home and find I can't use a couple of the items. Then I have to decide if it is worth my time to stand in line and do another return which will only get it back on the shelf or just be I don't believe in chewing out the clerks and the managers hide when they see me comming.

dkillianjr

Yup that sucks. I cant tell you how many things ive got that were broken or missing stuff.I've started checking stuff before I buy it, the employees give me some weird looks but I dont care, theyre not the ones that have to bring it back if its messd up. When I buy a lot of stuff I try to go to the local supplyers around here, but anymore homedepot and lowes are driveing them outa bussiness so i'm forced to go there.

Dave

skylands

Last week I bought a power washer from Lowes. The box was sealed and stapled. When I opened the box at home, there packaged neatly inside was a old broken power washer that looked to be a couple of years old----complete with a quater tank of gas.

K2

Geez that's bad. I better go and open the dewalt combo pack I bought yesterday. i have a habit of buying stuff and letting it sit around until the other ones break. One time I moved and found 3 brand new worm drives in the basement that I had bought 5 years earlier and forgot about them. i think I will also start opening everything before i leave the store.

So did Lowes give you any trouble. That happened to me on a new sealed vinyl album I bought in the 70's and they didn't believe me.

thom

Bought a whirlpool tub at HD. Got it to the jobsite, up to the second floor, opened the box and it was the wrong hand. Apparently someone bought the wrong one and trashed the box, then bought the correct one and packed the other one up in the box.

Pain in the a--. Take it back, swap for the correct one.

DecksEtc

Here's your solution...

Don't buy ANYTHING at Home Depot.

Problem solved!

K2

Not solved. They ran everyone else out.

DecksEtc

Not if you look around enough. I deal with as many local suppliers as possible. The tool supplier I deal with also gets me all my nails and screws. For example, a box of 1500 #8 3" deck screws costs me $54.99, the same box at HD costs over $100. Heck, they even delivered a special order router bit that was late being shipped directly to my work site with NO delivery charge.

And, don't even get me started on wood. I'd refuse to do a job if someone insisted on me using any wood from HD.

If you look around enough you can find better and less expensive alternatives to HD.

Teetorbilt

A word to the wise. Never buy anything that is not in it's original packaging.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

K2

They repacked items i bought today looked to be in the original packaging. They are getting pretty good at that.

Teetorbilt

All that you have to do is examine the tape and look for previous staple holes. They haven't fooled me in a long time.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

K2

They just need to stop selling crap and wasting peoples time.

JamesNLA

If you buy at the box stores, you MUST be very cautious on what you are getting. Ex: copper fittings are cheaper than at my plumbing supply house. Pipe is more exspensive at box stores, Rarley are the correct fittings in the correct place, and I have screwed my self many a time. So I just shop the jobs the night before for the things I need at the box stores. This way, I can take the extra time to make sure I have the correct and working part. (I totally open up everything, and get the looks from the employees too) And after a while I have memorized where everything is in all my local HD's and Lowes. BUT HD is the worst on returns. The worst in the business by far. So I try to stay away from them. And yes, never buy wood from there. They are usually a little cheaper but my local lumber yards have a FAR better selection, and if I actually have questions, they have somewhat of a clue what they are talking about.
Over time I have learned who to talk to at the box stores about their products should I need help. And there are a few cuties that do the registers on the contractors checkout side, so it's fun to flirt with them
My favorite is asking for an item and getting the responce "umm, yeah we don't have that right now, we ordered it a while ago, it should be on the truck tonight if you wanna come back" ....sigh...it NEVER is.

What also helps me is knowing the return policies better than the clearks themselves. I know I can return damn near anything at lowes. HD, I'd rather loose the money than have to deal with them. Most importantly hang on to your receipts. Things that become discontinued you will loose your a$$ on. Last week I bought a planer. Just a cheappie $75 GMC piece of junk. The stupid vent on it gets clogged and sends shavings everywhere. I brought it back and the guy goes "we don't even carry that one anymore" I said, I just bought it. Gave him the recipt and he gives me the intelligent "OH". Later he told me that they marked them down from $75 to $22.50 to dump em because they were such pieces of junk. Had I not had a recipt, I would have only gotten a store credit for $22.50 plus the tax on that.....

I am all for the little guy, just depends on the job, I don't like paying anymore than I have to, and that has really hurt the smaller guys. But I go to them every chance I get. I used to own a small retail business not too long ago so I know how it feels. One thing you have to expect from the box stores is they usually don't have all the parts to do a lot of jobs correctly (electrical is the worst) so knowing who has what helps.

Teetorbilt

GMC.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

JNLP

Ohhh that's good. I bought a belt sander about 6 years ago, and inside was a red brick. When I took it back they said I was the 3rd person to be so lucky & get a brick. That's nothing compared to a power washer though.

Soul-tez

The guy who works the returns at my local Home Depot caught some loser returning a 5 Gal. bucket of drywall primer that was full of water. He said that when he lifted it out of his cart it felt lighter than normal.

I can't stand having to ask someone to get something out of the overhead shelves. Yesterday I needed a bath tub. The computer said there were two in stock but they claimed not to be able to find them. I suppose shoplifters took them. I wound up going 20 miles to get one somewhere else. Today I go back to the first place and there are two sitting on the floor where they were supposed to be the day before. The jug head that helped me the day before said they came in overnight on a truck. If it didn't weigh 300 Lbs. I would have picked it up and threw it at him

dougchips

Sounds like homeowners when they shop for the cheapest contractor, have problems and complain....only here it is shopping at the (not always) cheapest suppliers having problems and complaining.

Most of us make our livings not being low ball scums....why do we shop at HD&Blowes?

troubleseeker

I likewise always scrutinize the packaging for any signs of having been tampered with, but still have been fooled. Yea, it's easy to point the blame on the big box store, but I put most of the blame on the scumbags who work in this trade. They are mostly the ones returning broken items and not telling the clerk, or pirating parts to replace something they screwed up during installation.
Got to admit, the beltsander brick and pressure washer stories are two of the best I"ve heard.

When Depot first opened, they were cheaper on everything, but now I can beat their price from a trade supplier on the great majority of items. And when there is a problem with something large, like cabinets, you will be willing to sacrifice your first born child by the time you get it resolved at the big box.

K2

My first trip into the Pepot was kicking and screaming after all the stores I'd used for years finally closed. It's hard to compete with "whatever their price is, we'll beat it by 10%" Now they don't have to beat anyone's price here.

dougchips

Luckly we still have 3 lumber yards within 10 minutes of my office.