Conference 7.286::home_work

    
    	I was also at the mob scene, oops, Grand Opening, yesterday.
    I came away with a very positive impression of the place.  Examples:
    
    	1)  The employee that I talked to concerning a dry-well I am
    putting in seemed to really know his stuff.  Turns out he is only a few
    credits away from having his plumbers license in Mass.  He said that
    Builders Square tries not to hire people "who have only flipped burgers."
    I couldn't confirm that, but if he is the average employee, the
    store has a wealth of knowledge.
    
    	2)  They seem to have everything.  Everything.  I don't have
    to mess around with Courvieu-Routhier's strange hours to get concrete
    items like re-bar.
    
    	3)  Yes, they seemed to be stocked with the "standard items"
    (for an opening of another Builder's Square, that is), but two
    separate employees that I was talking to told me that they are
    definitely looking for input on what they should stock.  In the
    fireplace section, for example, I asked if they stocked fireplace
    inserts (not really believing they would...) and the employee said
    "gee, you're the second person today to ask for those.  I'll suggest
    we stock them."  Same in plumbing when I was asking for a strange
    type of exhaust vent adapter but his answer was "I'll be talking
    to the vendor tomorrow, let me order some."  They seem genuinely
    interested in stocking what the populace wants.  *** Get in there
    and tell them what you want!!! ***
    
    	4)  They have an agressive policy of selling things at the lowest
    price.  All you have to do is tell them a better price that you
    saw anywhere in the area (they'll call to confirm it) and you not
    only get the lower price, but (and I might not have caught this
    part entirely right) you also get "Builder's Bucks" (or something
    like that - good for a discount on future purchases) for 10% of how
    much they had to lower the price.  (Or 10% _of_ the lower price.  Like
    I said, I didn't really catch this...)  Basically, they'll match any
    other price plus give you a bonus for having found it.
    
    
    	In general, I really liked the store.  Good selection, prices,
    employees, etc., and, to top it off, its only 2 miles from my home!!!
    
    							-craig

    We have been fortunate and have had a Builders Square in our city
    for 2 years. It seems I am in there at least once a week because
    they have a good selection and their prices are always the lowest.
                                      
    They will get thinner with the clerks, but the people usually are
    good when you can find them.      
                                      

    I visited Builder's Square the day after the Grand Opening; still
    a mob scene!  
        
    I was very impressed with the knowledgeable staff.  They had employees
    assigned to specific areas that knew all about the area they were 
    maintaining.  Hopefully this arrangement is'nt just for the
    Grand Opening period.                      
                                               
    The hours and the location is nice.  I believe they are open until
    9 o'clock Mon - Sat, until 6 o'clock on Sundays.   The only other
    comparative store (Grossman's) is located on the other side of Nashua.
        
    They have some great Grand Opening deals (until Tuesday, Sept 6).
    I particularly noticed 1/2 inch, 2 X 4 sheetrock for $3.98!
        
    Chip
    

    Make that 4 x 8 sheetrock....now THAT'S a deal.

    By the way, Builder's Square is owned and operated by K-Mart.

    I keep remembering things I heard during my visit to Builder's
    Square.  Anyway, I think it's important to note that they will deliver 
    FREE within a 50 mile radius of the store.  No minimum purchase is 
    required.   (Grossman's requires a $300 minimum purchase).
    
    Chip

    
    

    I'll add a ditto to the plaudits for Builder's Square.  I was there
    on Sunday, and it was crowded, but not "mobbed".  I found some very
    nice unfinished furniture at quite reasonable prices, and a knowlegable
    gent in the paint department helped me find the stuff I needed to
    finish it, without pushing the high-priced products.  The clerk
    in the doors department gave me the "that's the second time I've
    heard that today - we'll be ordering some" response to my inquiry
    on louvered doors in wider sizes.  The prices were overall very
    good, from what I knew.
    
    				Steve

I was there a week ago wednesday the day before it opened to the public, when 
they had a "Contractors night".  (Ok, I am not a contractor but my wife knows 
the store managers wife and I got an invite with a 15% off anything I bought).

I found that the store had a good selection of stuff and competitive prices.
However, the staff on hand, at least for for contractors night, was under
trained and most of them were unsure of what was available, where it was, etc.
This was probably due to little or no experience.  Things should get better
as time goes by.

The manager told me that a lot of manufacturers would be setting up displays
of their products as soon as things get a little bit better organized.  He 
also told me that at 75,000 sq ft this store is a little small.  Normal BS
stores are at least 100,000 sq ft.  Also, the store is not fully stocked with
products as some new stuff is arriving daily.

They didn't come right out and say it but they are really trying to get the 
local contractor business.  They will have many "contractor only" sale days 
and specials.  This probably means lower prices for everyone.

    I too went there last night, most of the prices I saw were very
    good, some were average, they have 5/4 X 6 16' premium decking on
    sale for $6.27, which is $3-4 cheaper than I can get it at Grossmans
    with my contractors account, I'll be buying the decking there for
    now, also they have a good selection of plumbing supplies,
    single outlet boxes (plastic) $0.25 each, I paid $1.00 for the same
    thing 1 1/2yrs ago when I built my addition.....
    
    
    
    
    Royce

    Do they have any other stores?
    Are there any in the Hudson - Central Mass area?
    
    

    I hope they open some in Massachusetts.  Where I lived in Denver
    there were a few of them, and they were really great.  Much
    better than the Hugh M. Woods (which is owned by Payless Cashways
    which also owns Sommerville Lumber).
                           
    See what happens.

    re .10,.11
    
    I got a flyer from Builders Square yesterday, and it showed a 
    listing for a store in North Dartmouth, with a 508 area code.
    I just don't have any idea where N. Dartmouth is!!
    
    mike
    

    
    Dartmouth is next to New Bedford.
    
    CdH
    

    
    I was talking to one of the managers at the Nashua store last night,
    he mentioned that there were 4 (four!) stores in all of New England.
    Also, that there were only 9 stores four years ago and that there
    are 198� stores now.  They are working at being #1.
    
    They post a sign outside stating that they will beat any price +
    10%; I asked him if he included Spags in that deal.  Not being from
    the area, he didn't know what Spags was.  I explained it to him
    as best as I could without actually taking him there.  Anyway I
    told him that the same case (100pcs) of lag bolts that I just bought
    from his store for 14.97$ was 7.19$ at Spags; He told me to provide
    proof of the price and he would match it.  Fortunately I have the
    Spags reciept and the old lag bolt box at home with the price still
    on it, and a few of the other items with the prices still on them
    to bring to him either tonight or tomorrow night.  I will report
    back to you folks whether he accepts this as proof or not.  If so
    I guess we should all save our Spags receipts and boxes.
    
    If he matches the prices, i'll be pretty happy about it.  You folks
    that live next to spags will be busy getting price quotes for us
    that live next to Builders Square.  (hint hint)...  ;*)
    
    						.dave.
    

I stopped by last week to look around and was very impressed.  I live in 
Maynard, I but get up to NH occasionally on business.  I suspect I'll be 
haunting Builder's Square whenever I'm in the neighborhood.

For my money, they've got the right way to sell hardware and construction
supplies.  Excellent selection, knowledgeable salespeople, intelligent
layout, great prices.  A bright, cheerful, upbeat (literally - rock Muzak)
store.  If they turn out to be as good as they appear to be, Grossman's and
Somerville Lumber are in trouble. 

I'd be very much interested in knowing where the other New England locations 
are, and about any plans for additional stores. 

    Since this started out about a 'new' builders supply store in the
    area, I was wondering if there are any Home Clubs in New England?
    
    I believe Home Club is owned by Zayres, K-Mart, or one of the big 
    discount department stores.  You pay something like $25 to 'join',
    but they have good prices like Builders Square.   

    A brief note on builders square. On the 19th I put an order in for
    20 sheets of sheet rock. Drew a map on the back of the form as
    requested with directions to my home which is only 51/2 miles from
    the store. They were supposed to deliver yesterday afternoon. Well,
    to them morning is between 9am and 2PM. The afternoon is from 2pm
    to 8PM. I took the afternoon off to be there for the delivery. I
    called the store (for the 6th time) at 8:10pm to inform them that
    they still haden't delviered and wanted to know if they were delivering
    it tomorrow instead. I was informed that the truck left at 7:30
    and that if I didn't take delivery that night they would have to
    reschedule it to some other time but not the next day. The truck
    finally showed up at (*!!!!) 9:10pm. I had to coerce the driver
    to deliver it inside because I wasn't about to leave it outside
    all night to get wet in the morning condensation and had no one
    else to help me bring it in. The driver called me just before showing
    up for directions. The fool couldn't even follow a simple map and
    said he didn't know the area. So when ordwering a delivery from
    builders square be cautious.

    How ironic.
    
    Our delivery was there when we got home yesterday, around 7pm, neatly
    stacked in our non-garage.  We had fun carrying it around to the
    basement door in back of the house and stacking it inside, with most of
    the yard in the dark.  I hadn't realized that sheetrock was so heavy.
    It's time to buy some work gloves. 
    
    I have no complaints about their delivery.  On the other hand, they
    gave us some pretty crufty looking, warped plywood, and a couple
    of the two by fours were also poor.  Since we just want it for a
    temporary shelter, we don't really care.  If it were for something
    important, then I wouldn't trust them to pick out lumber.  
    
	Gary

    re .18
    
    Unfortunately, your experience is typical of most places when they
    get to pick out the stock for delivery.
    
    Some places (Concord Lumber and I assume Littleton Lumber) allow
    you to return less than good grade stuff.
    
    Bob (who bought a truck to solve the problem)

>    Some places (Concord Lumber and I assume Littleton Lumber) allow
>    you to return less than good grade stuff.

I had a similar experiences with Somerville Lumber.  About 20% of the
pressure-treated 2x2's I had delivered for balusters on my deck railing
were too badly warped, cracked, or knotted to use on my deck; I brought them
back and exchanged them for good.  In this case, they came in bundles from
the mill - so the yard did not have anything to do with the selection.

I also had a problem with the pressure-treated decking.  They were happy to
pick the bad ones up at my house on delivery day and leave some new ones
(some of which were bad again - grr!  At that point, I took them down to the
yard and picked my own).

When you ask for 10 pieces of wood to be delivered, they take the 10 pieces
on top of the pile.  If you want 100% good, go to the yard and pick it
yourself - but you will have to truck it home.  The alternative is to order
a little extra - as I did in the case of the balusters, only I overestimated
the quality.

Since a rental truck costs $$$ per day, I will probably have to put up with
this kind of cr*p in the future when I need large pieces and/or large
amounts.

    
    Well all worked out with getting the Spags price match on the Lag bolts
    I bought, and an additional 72� Square Buck off my next purchase. Now
    when I need to buy another box (tonight) I can get them for less than
    7.00!!  If anyone needs to buy a box of 100 3/8x3 lag bolts for less
    than 7.00$ and wants to use my receipts, let me know and i'll loan them
    to you.  (also on the reciept is jorgenson 6 inch bar clamps for
    4.99 each!)
                                                      
    						.dave.

there is another choice.  Some yards will let you pick out your materrials 
and puy them in a pile to be delivered.  that way you get good materials
delivered.

I also, had problems with BS delivery this weekeend.  they charged me 0.25 a 
sdhhet for delivery (handling) of sheetrock but when they showed up (i wasnt
home) there was only the driver so my neighbor had to come over and help
unload them.  I may ask for my $6 back!

I went to builders square for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was
somewhat disappointed - maybe because all the rave reviews in here biased me too
much.

All I wanted was to buy a white 3-way toggle dimmer (the kind that looks like a
regular switch).  They had them in brown and ivory but no white.  What really
frosted me was they had 2-way toggle dimmers in white.  I hunted down the dept
manager and he simply said he didn't see a reason for stocking them.  I pointed
out that they obviously thought there was some demand since they stocked the
2-ways switches, but I guess it was lost on him.

I also noticed that they had a huge stockpile of romex wire that was SEVERELY
overpriced compared to what SPAGS sells.

Unfortunately I didn't have a lot to explore, but it looked like there were a
lot of bargains there.

I guess my message is to not fall into the trap that assumes that ALL their
prices are good ones.

-mark

    nothing like telling a retailer that a well known competitor has a
    better price.
    
    I told Littleton lumber that their price for a DELTA table saw was
    $200.00 higher that Spag's and others often sell if for.
    Mmmm, he said maybe that's why we have never sold one!

    RE: .24
    
>    I also noticed that they had a huge stockpile of romex wire that was SEVERELY
>overpriced compared to what SPAGS sells.

    The same applies to Spag's!  I have actually found stuff cheaper
    at Sommerville Lumber than Spag's.  I guess Spag's isn't what it
    used to be so you should still shop around.
    
    Phil

    I don't know if this store has hit your area but I expect it might
    soon.It is called "Home depot" and is kicking "Builder's Square's" rump out
    of town.  While it does not have the quality of service that Builders
    Square does it has a tremendous advantage in price and selection. I
    would be interested if anybody out there knows the store that I am
    speaking of. 
    
    
      John Taylor (Georgia)
    

    Home Depot is based out of Atlanta.  At last count they had 11 stores
    in the metro area.  Builders Square came into town about 2 years ago.
    Builders Square has a wider range of tools for professionals and the
    "Square Bucks" coupon as a means of paying you the difference in price
    from someplace else.

    I am able to find supplies easier at Home Depot than at Builders Square
    but then I have spent *considerably* more time in Home Depot.  At one
    point, the staff in the plumbing aisle knew my name and greeted me
    personally.   I have spent about $5000 over the past 3 years at Home
    Depot.  Of course Home Depot is closer to me than Builders Square and
    for the convenience reason, I shop Home Depot.  Occasionally I shop
    Builders Square but find they don't have the parts/hand tools I need.

Some more competition for Builders Square in Nashua may be on the horizon -
I see that Somerville Lumber is building a BIG store in Merrimack along
route 3.

I have become discouraged with Builders Square lately, mainly with finding that
they're out of everything I want to buy and that it takes forever to get
through the checkout lines.  Not only that, but you need to take a day off
work to get to the "courtesy desk"!

				Steve

    Hi Bruce-
    
    One of the biggest things I missed from Atlanta, when I moved to
    NJ, was Home Depot, especially since I bought an older house and
    am doing lots of renovations.
    
    They have opened here and are kicking the xxxx out of Channel, Rickels
    and Mr. Goodbuys (the local emporiums).
    
    One of my pieces of advice to a new homeowner buying their first
    house:
    
    	Pay cash for the house and get a mortgage at Home Depot!
    
    -Barry-
    

re .29:

Somerville in Merrimack?  Isn't that a bit close to their Pelham store?

I usually go to Builders Square on my way to work in the morning.  There
are no lines at the cashiers.

Re: .31

No, it's at least a 20-25 minute drive from Pelham, and is well-positioned
for the Nashua-Manchester market.  I can't wait! 

				Steve

    Where in Merrimack is it going to be??
    

    Next door to the Christian Center/church....
    Across from wear the Dragala House restaurant use to be...
    
    Jean

    Isn't that Bedford?
    
    ed

Well, maybe it is Bedford.  North Merrimack, anyway.

		Steve

It's definately Bedford.  Can't wait! Live 1 mile from there!


Mb

    
    
    	....well not to rain on anyone's parade, but I live in Pelham
    	and I end up driving to Nashua to Builder's Square cause Somerville
     	is quite a bit more expensive. And I mean quite a bit.
    
    	Gary

    Home Depot is here?? Where is "here"?
    
    Chris D. (my middle name is cheap)
    
    

Since this has sort of become the generic home center note, I thought I'd
mention that Channel has filed for bankruptcy.

Channel has been closing their stores in southern MA for the past 2 years. 
When the last one closed (Weymouth, about 6-9 months ago) the sign said
something about visiting their closest store Salem (I think) NH.

All the Channel stores in NH are being closed.

		Steve

    
    The Channels in Upstate NY closed about 6 years ago. In depressed
    economies, only the better ones will survive.
    
    Mike

>>All the Channel stores in NH are being closed.

	Have they started the "going out of business" sales yet?  Being
	in the middle of a home improvement project,  I might just buy
	a whole bunch of stuff if it's cheap.
	
	Garry
	

    I was in Channel (Salem) the other day but didn't know about the
    financial problems.
    
    Was suprised to find a lot of items with big clearance stickers
    on them with drastic price reductions. For example, I bought a tube
    of bathtub grout for $.49. The original price sticker was about
    $2.79.
    
    Ray

I happened to like Channel - they tended to have items that Builders Square
did not, their prices weren't much higher and they were always less crowded
(of course, that contributed to their going under!)   I will miss them.

			Steve

    I also liked Channel, especially the Salem, NH one.
    
    I never knew about their troubles either.  Now I understand why their
    shelves were going bare on the items not demanded much.  I happened to
    need one of these items (replacement globe for ceiling light), and
    while I never went out of my way for it, in my once or twice a month 
    trips there, I haven't found one in about a year, come to think of
    it....
    
    Too bad, there really isn't much around like Channel anymore.
    
    John

    Personally I don't like stores like Channel or Builder's Square and go
    there only when I have to.  With the exception of lumber the Aubuchon in 
    Nasuha has almost everything I would buy at Channel and at a lower
    price.  I just prefer more traditional hardware stores where you can
    buy 3 bolts and 3 nuts if that's all you want.
    
    George

    Gee, I thought the Channel store in Livingston NJ just closed up and
    ran away about two months after Home Depot opened about 2 miles away in
    East Hanover!
    
    	-Barry-
    

The Channel in Simoneau Plaza in Nashua doesn't look like it's going out of
business.  No bargains and no empty shelves.

    Maybe not yet. 
    
    Rest assured, it IS going out of business.

    Re .49
    
    A recent issue of either Forbes or Fortune commented in an article on
    the home-fixup business that, when Home Depot moves in, the others
    are driven out.
    
    pbm
    

    I heard that Home Depot stock is listed as in the top 20 desireable
    stocks because it is doing so well and they are expanding rapidly.

Supposedly the paint business is counter-cyclical:  In bad times people 
paint their houses because they can't afford a vacation.  

re .48  At Builder's Square, in many cases (most cases?) I can buy just 2 or 3
of the bolts, etc.

Ed..

P.S. Not all Builder's Square stores are the same.  I stopped in one at Taunton
and was lost.  In Nashua, I can pretty much know what is where and go right to
it.

    Well, PF OConnor has called it quits also. At least in Walpole they
    have. I drove in there last Sat and the place was bare. There was a 
    crew in the main yard sweeeping and clearing debris. They told me that
    all the PF OCONNOR stores were closing.  
    I believe that the recent opening of HQ in Norwood did them in. Maybe 
    Grossmans is next. The Grossmans store in Walpole is empty most of the 
    time now.  

    I was suprised to drive by the P.F. Oconnor in Merrimack a few weeks
    ago.  It had been swept up already.  Nothing left but a locked gate.
    It was my favorite place for PT lumber.
    
    I can almost guarantee that Grossman's in Nashua is not long for the
    world.  They seem to be reasonably busy tor the time being but Home
    Depot is currently setting up shop in their back yard.  Not sure when
    they'll open but it's probably sometime this summer.
    
    I was shocked with PF Oconnor.  There was nothing about it in the local
    paper and noone was talking about it.  Just all of a sudden...

    Last time I was in Somerville I noticed that they had lowered their
    regular prices on some items, so that they are actually underselling
    Builders Square (for instance, a 250-foot roll of 12/2 Romex is now
    $31.99, BS sells this for $36.99, Somerville used to charge $41.99
    regularly.)
    
    Hooray for competition!
    
    			Steve

>>    Builders Square (for instance, a 250-foot roll of 12/2 Romex is now
>>    $31.99, BS sells this for $36.99, Somerville used to charge $41.99

	Yeah,  and I managed to fit one of those boxes into a shopping bag
	so I got it for 25% off during their "25% off everything you can
	fit in a shopping bag" sale last week.  Not a bad price at $24!.

	Now if I could have just fit a few doors and a whirlpool tub in that
	bag...
		
	Garry    

I've bought 250 spools of 12/2 romex at Spag's for $27.00.  Their price
fluctuates though.  Can't beat 24 bucks though!

    RE: P.F.O'Connors
    
    Their Wilmington, MA store has also been KO'd...Their huge store in
    Revere still has a sign up advertising "50% off everything. Cash only",
    and they still light it up at night, but the few times I've been by
    lately, I haven't seen any activity, and there's also a big 'For Sale
    or Lease' sign up on the gate...anyone know what's going on?
    
    RE: HQ & Builder's Square vs. Grossman's
    
    In what looks like a direct attempt to compete with the new HQ which
    recently opened up 1/4 mile away, the Grossman's on Rt114 in Danvers
    is redesigning and expanding it's store. They've started stocking their
    shelves with items that are coded rather than priced (a la HQ), but the
    only problem (at least the day I was there) is that they hadn't posted
    the prices on the displays yet! Understandable since the redesign was 
    obviously in process, but unforgivable to have no prices readily 
    accessable on a Saturday morning...IMHO, they're already dead, but just
    don't know it yet. 
    (All I need now is a Builder's Square to open in the Danvers area in
    order to keep HQ from getting too cocky!!!) 
    
    RE:.59 (Somerville Lumber Bag Sale)
    
    Was up there last Wednesday and saw a salesman tell a customer that
    he was entitled to 25% off of the 6' lenghts of 1/2" copper tubing
    simply because he could put one end of the tubing into the bag!!!
    
    Try as we might, we couldn't fit any portion of my utility sink into 
    one of their bags...:^(
    

    
    Re -1  I put 16 pcs of oak 16' baseboard molding in a bag and got 
    25% off. I also went back in and got a 6'mailbox post in a bag and 
    got 25%off. If one end can fit in.... it's 25% off.  Last year I went 
    in and out 8 times in a two day timeframe to get the 25% off.
    
                                                         Bill

I also got 25% off the wire, even though I didn't try to put it in the bag.

I also note that they now have the wire on sale for $29.

I was in Channel yesterday - business as usual, so far.

			Steve

BTW, I got a price match at Builder's Square by taking in a HQ ad.  One guy
said to the other (in more of a joking tone than a worried one), "HQ is
beating us again."  They added in the 5% sales tax before deducting the
10%.  I hope HQ opens in NH soon.

re .57:  Home Depot in Nashua?  Where and when?

Re: .64

Home Depot is building a store near the Pheasant Lane Mall, to open
sometime this year.  

As for BS prixe matching, I had earlier bought a roll of Romex there,
and then noticed that Somerville had an ad with a lower price.  I asked
them to match it, but they refused, saying the wire was a different brand.
So I asked for a refund and bought it from Somerville.  I would have thought
that a lower priced sale was better than no sale at all, but I guess they
disagreed.

I am becoming more and more disillusioned with Builder's Square.  It gets so
I actually hate going there.

			Steve

    I was in Channel in Salem, NH on Saturday and it's still business as
    usual. I mentioned to the cashier that a lot of the Channels seemed to
    be closing and she said that in 8 - 10 weeks the Salem store employees
    will all be out of a job. She also said that they will be having a huge
    clearance sale. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that one - I need
    some insulation for the attic! I'll post a notice if/when I hear
    anything.
    

 RE: HQ building near Grossman's

	The new HQ store beinfg built is about 1/2 mile from the Grossman's in 
Shrewsbury.   Grossman's went thru a major facelift a while back.  They still
have the problem of every store being different, stock wise though...

/joe

HQ vs. Spags -- who'll lose?




Grossman's and Somerville.

    
    I don't think so. Spag will price at what he thinks is fair. If HQ is
    lower who cares. People will always come to Spags. Somerville is in a
    more critical competitive position, they will have to compete heavily
    with HQ since their market niche is exactly the same. Grossman's will
    be the big loser. Their price restructering they did at the start of
    the year still leaves them 10%-15% above competitors, except for a few
    things now and then.
    
    CdH
    

>>    with HQ since their market niche is exactly the same. Grossman's will
>>    be the big loser. Their price restructering they did at the start of
>>    the year still leaves them 10%-15% above competitors, except for a few

	I found Grossman's to be cheaper or real close on many items. For
	instance:
	
	2x4x8 Kiln dried, stud grade
		
		Somerville: $1.75
		Builder's :  1.38
		Grossman's:  1.39
		
	Insulation ( on sale ) R19, Kraft faced 15" width rolls
	
		Somerville: $11.76
		Grossman's:  11.24
		Builder's :   couldn't find the sign - it was missing
		
	However on common nails:  12D, 5 lbs:
		
		Somerville:   4.49
		Grossman's:   4.99
		Builder's:    3.00 !!!!!!

	In general,  I've found Somerville to be slightly higher on most 
	things but have really great sales.  They also tend to offer a
	much better selection and higher quality ( and thus higher price )
	of things like bathroom fixtures.  Builder's seems to cater to the 
	"cheaper" crowd and offer lower quality at lower cost.  Grossman's 
	seems to be somewhere in the middle for quality but in the stores 
	I've been in,  don't have nearly the selection.
	
	Somerville offeres free delivery while Grossman's it's $30 for
	anything under $200. Somerville will match prices although they
	weren't exactly thrilled about it once when I asked then to match
	Grossman's on some waferboard ( 4.99 vs 5.49 ).  They started
	saying something about that Grossman's didn't have free delivery
	and Somerville did but they did give me the lower price.

	I hope they all survive,  the competition should at least make
	my home improvement projects cheaper.
	
	Garry

    Went to Channel in Nashua last night. They're having a 10% off Going Out
    Of Business Sale. I assume the discount will climb as time goes on.
    
    Mike

    It was advertised as 20% in today's Telegraph.
    
    		Steve

Grossmans is closing 15 stores due to the company losing money.  None of the
stores are in Central MA, the article did not say where the closing stores are.

Didn't know it, but Grossmans operates some stores in CA, as well as the NE.

    Passing the Channel in Pasippany today, we noticed a 'store closing,
    40% off everything sale'.
    
    The place had been pretty well picked clean and the lines at the
    registers were very long.
    
    We didn't buy anything.
    
    	-Barry-
    

	I was at the Nashua Channel last Friday.  It was at 20% off and
	no crowds yet ( lunch time ).  I didn't notice anything spectacular
	yet.  They did had a whirlpool bath tub for $125.  Sounds real good
	until you realize that that price is without any of the plumbing
	or pump!
	
	The other interesting thing I noticed that a bunch of items that
	had been repriced - HIGHER.  While,  there's no way for me to know
	when this happenned,  it seems kind of funny.  For example,
	a furnace humidifier was changed from $75 to $85 with 20% off.
	
	I'll be back when it gets to 40%.  Maybe then,  some of the tools
	that I don't really need will be worth it.
	
	Garry

    RE: .-1
    
    It in not unusual for the spot prices to appear to rise.  Usually the
    percentage off is from the "regular" price.  The price change you saw
    was to return the item to this base price.  This makes accounting for
    the closeout much easier because the actual "cost" of the item from the
    store's perspective is usually a fixed percentage of the base price.
    
    Dan

When I worked in a hardware store, we always removed the old sticker when we
were raising prices, but we always left it in place when we were lowering 
prices.  

Well, they seem to have lost it altogether now. I stopped by last week to
pick up a few items, and instead of their familiar placard on the front
of the building boasting about how they'll beat any competitor's price
by 10%, they now agree only to match them equally.

Kinda stupid - the 10% discount used to provide me with a big incentive to
shop there. Why on earth would I want to go out of my way to go there and
dicker with them just to get the same deal I could get someplace else?

-Jack

It's been dead for a while, but Home Depot's 10% is still alive.  BS often
puts insulation on sale under HD's price, and I have twice gone to HD and
gotten 10% under BS' price.

What's worse is that Builder's Square is back to their "everything you want is
out of stock" problem again; something they had managed to solve for a while.
But I still look there because they DO undersell HD on many items and carry
some things that HD does not.

					Steve

    When I worked in a hardware store we had a policy of removing old price
    stickers when we raised prices but of pasting the new sticker over the
    old one when we reduced prices.
    

An item in the Nashua Telegraph this morning said that the Nashua Builders
Square store would close on November 1.  It would not be converted into
a "warehouse-style Builders Square II" store, according to Kmart officials
(Builders Square is a division of Kmart).

I'm sorry to see it go - though when Home Depot first opened, I thought I
would never have a reason to go back to Builders Square, what I found was that
BS carried items I wanted which HD didn't, and their prices were often
lower!  

Comparing the parking lots at the two stores makes it quite clear why
Builders Square is closing.

					Steve

>>     <<< Note 2613.81 by QUARK::LIONEL "Free advice is worth every cent" >>>
>>                  -< Just over five years - soon to be gone >-

So I wonder when the big sales will start?

Garry

    
    this is a bummer. I go there often.  It's closer to where i live and I 
    can't stand the traffic congestion getting to home depot.  X-mas season
    only makes it worse at exit 1.
    
    

I'm surprised that HD put BS out of business before Grossman's.

Re: .84

I agree, though it may be that Grossman's has lower costs (not that they
pass that on to their customers...)  

			Steve

>I'm surprised that HD put BS out of business before Grossman's.
>

It's not too obvious, but I think there's a "land for sale" sign right at
the edge of the Grossman's parking lot.
<Insert your own interpretation here>

-Mike

The vultures descend today - 35% off "selected items", final sale.

				Steve

    
      They already have 50% off tropical plants. They are large and great
    looking plants for about $5. I'm heading down today.
    
    				Kenny

How about a trip report from someone?  What's the "selected" stuff?

I was by there this morning - very disappointing.  The 35% off is for
discontinued and display merchandise only.  Most everything else is full
price.  Most of the display stuff is gone.  They seem to feel that they
can sell back to the distributor the majority of their merchandise. Some
lumber seems to be discounted, though, and they are selling off various
used items (extension cords, etc.) for cheap.

				Steve

    
    I stopped in this morning too.  Most of the power tools are gone.
    Bins of crap for sale cheep.  

I was there too, and was also disappointed.  All that was cheap was end-of-
season stuff and (mostly gone) display stuff.   Since I was looking for some
specific items, I compared their prices with HD, and found them to be a few
pennies more on everything.  They didn't have a lot of the items I wanted.

Do they have any other stores in the general area?  I think not, but if they
do, they could ship unsold stuff to the other stores.

    Did any of you happen to notice the plant selection?

    
      They still had a good number of tropical plants yesterday. I bought 4
    of them. They were 50% off (3.99 end price) for 10" potted plants. A
    very good deal.
    
    				Kenny

I saw a sign that said 25% off tropical plants, but no plants.  I didn't go
out into the greenhouse area.

			Steve

    
    	And how do you get there?
    
    	-Erik

    
    On Amherst Street (101A). Take Rte 3 North to exit 8, follow the 
    exit ramp all the way to end (through 1 or 2 lights) and bear right
    onto 101A West. Builder's Square is hundred yards or so up on the 
    left.
    

When I went this morning, they has some nice tropical plants out front at
50% off.

    I was there at lunchtime. All the displays were 50% off but there's
    nothing left (nothing worth speaking of). I talked to one of the clerks
    who said they have ~136 stores, the 6 (or 6 of the x#) New England stores
    are closing. I'm not sure how many stores they have in New England? 
    
    What they've done is marked displays at 50% off, discontiued
    merchandise 35% off & everything else regular price. They will
    not/cannot make special orders & will not be bringing in any more
    stock, as a matter of fact next week they will start loading tractor
    trailers to haul the good/stock merchandise out to their other
    stores. This guy also told me they WILL BE closed to the public by
    October 3rd & they'll be totally out by Nov 5th +/-.
    
    So much for a good thing. I thought they're gonna have some awesome
    deals. Damn! And I have some money to spend?things I need. Oh, well
    looks like it's back to HD (I refuse to go to Grossman's).
    
    Alan
    

The discount is now 50%, but it still is only on discontinued and display
merchandise, of which there is very little.  I would not waste my time
going there.

				Steve

> I would not waste my time going there.

	Now you tell me :-)  I did end up wasting an hour there early
	this afternoon.  There were very little "tools" marked down.
	Some plywood was marked down 25% but not what I needed.

	There were a couple of nice security lights marked down 50% but
	I don't need any .....

	Was just there tonight (Monday) and overheard some workers
	talking how it's going to be mobbed later this week when
	they put everything on sale.  When I then asked "which day
	is that" they mummed up.  I asked the checker on checkout
	and it sounds like it will be Wed. the final sale starts
	(they close for good on Sunday I believe).

	The question is will there be anything worth buying by then :-((

    ]
    
    OK, IS THE SALE ON TODAY?????  I MIGHT BE IN THE AREA.  
    SO IS IT WORTH MY STOPING IN????
    
    CHRIS COLUMBUS

>     OK, IS THE SALE ON TODAY?????  I MIGHT BE IN THE AREA.  
>     SO IS IT WORTH MY STOPING IN????

	Good question.  I may of been had, or maybe it's unadvertised.
	I just looked in today's (Wed's) Nashua Telegraph and I don't
	see any ads from Builders.

	Maybe there won't be a final big sale, maybe they'll just
	truck everything to other builder's squares in the area.
	Most of what they've been selling so far are discontinued
	items and such .... (?)

I went in this morning.  They have some good prices on drill bits (just
inside the door, opposite the service desk), but not much else of interest
(to me, at least).  I spent $5 and change.

    
    
    .......ok, after picking up a few items, all I can say is being
    from Mass.....I saved some sales tax...  Like any sale, should
    have been there on the first day and bought in quanity..:)
    JD
    
    

Now that Builders Square is gone from Nashua, Grossman's is closing.  From
today's Boston Globe:

Grossman's Planning to sell headquarters, close 21 stores

Grossman's Inc. said it will sell its headquarters to Kmart Corp. pending
certain approvals and conditions.  Grossman's also said it agreed to sell
its store site in Nashua, N.H. to an unnamed buyer and disclosed a program
to sell 21 of its 130 eastern division stores in the fourth quarter of this
year.

...

    Grossman's is selling it's headquarters to Kmart, eh?  And Kmart
    owns Builders' Square, doesn't it?

Yup.

The Nashua Telegraph reported that a retail computer "superstore" was
proposed for the current Nashua Grossman's site.

				Steve

Kmart owns lots of other things too.  I don't think they'll be opening a
Builder's Square in Braintree, particularly since Grossman's headquarters
is probably office space, not retail space.

    
    
    Well, I can say I wont miss Grossmans.  B.S. didnt impress me
    much eather....  Now Home Depot is supposed to open soon.  Thats
    across from HQ in Shrewsbury.  This should be something to see.
    Just look for the path crossing RT9....:)
    
    JD

Grossman's in Nashua has 10% off the lowest ticketed price, all sales final.

Do we have an official "Where do I find it" note?  This qualifies as a
Builder's Square Requim note so I'll enter it here.

I just got back from clawing my way to the only building center left in Nashua,
Home Despot.  They did not have the wonderful weather sealing product I bought
at Builder's Square last year.

It was a caulk which came in a caulk tube and was installed with a caulking gun.
It goes on clear, seals cracks around windows, dries hard and in the spring
you just peel it off and doesn't mar the paint or finish.  A wonderful product
for sealing old windows that are needed for summer ventilation.  I think it
was called Zip Seal or Zip Strip or some such name.  Anybody seen it for sale
someplace closer to Nashua than Spags?

You might try Brookstone in the Pheasant Lane Mall - I think they have it
in their catalog, and may have it in the store.  Also try Somerville Lumber.

			Steve

"Zip Strip" is a paint remover, so the name of the stuff is more likely "Zip 
Seal"

Grossman's is down to 20% off.

    RE: .116
    
     Yea, but even with -20%, Home Depot still has lower prices than most
    of the products. 

> Yea, but even with -20%, Home Depot still has lower prices than most
> of the products. 

	The question of the day however is with Builders and Grossmans
	out of the Nashua picture, will that affect Depot's pricing?

    
    Never mind their pricing, what about the fact that he nearest place to
    park is Hudson and the checkout queue stretches so far I keep expecting
    them to all join hands and sing "We are the world....".
    
    I see the Manchester HQ flyers are now hitting my doormat.
    
    C
     

I've rarely had a problem parking at HD - I guess some people can't stand it
if they have to walk more than 100 feet.  As for checkout lines, these can
get long, but they move much faster than they ever did at Builders Square.
I try to go at off-peak hours when it's less crowded.

There's also Somerville Lumber, which is closer to Nashua than HQ is.

			Steve

    There used to be a Somerville Lumber between Merrimack and Reeds Ferry,
    NH as well as one in Pelham, NH.   Most of the time I'd rather go there
    than face the megaplex parking scene that begins at Rte 3's exit 3 and
    extends to the cinema in Tynsboro...not to mention the related mania
    of the area.
    

The Somerville Lumber in Bedford, NH is still there.

			Steve

    
> I guess some people can't stand it if they have to walk more than 100 feet. 
    
    Well some of us don't go there for a handful of nails Steve,
    try 6 rolls of insulation on a wet day with no carts. 
    
     ;-)
    
    C
    

    Only 6 rolls?  I walked out of there with 10 bags of cellulose,
    the blower and 40 propa-vents. Amazing what one can fit into a Saab.  
    But I've rarely had a problem finding carts.
    
    Anyway, if you have a big load, the clerks will hold it for you
    while you pull your car around.  Also, there are usually spaces
    towards the end of the lot near the exit (most people don't think
    it through and park near the entrance.)
    
    				Steve

    
    I concede. Anyone who can fit that load into a Saab must be a
    professional shopper!
    
    C