This is not an advertizement. I am a contractor in Maryland. Unfortunately the big box stores have closed a lot of the lumber yards and hardware stores in my area where I work. You can throw a rock in almost any direction and hit a Home Depot. Therefore my company ends up puchahasing a lot of materials from Home Depot to avoid the longer drive to the few lumber yards left.
Several months ago a cashier at the check out counter told me that I can save 5% on my entire purchase every time I check out. The only catch is you have to purchase your materials with a Home Depot credit card. I already use my Home Depot credit card for my purchases since the monthly credit card bill come with a detailed itemized list of all of the materials that I purchased for the entire month.
To save 5% on every purchase all you have to do is tell the cashier that you want “The Lowes 5% competitive discount match”. The cashier will scan a bar code and it automaticly takes 5% off of the entire order. No strings attached
Any of you that might have a military ID and you present it during check out you will get 10% off of the entire order.
I asked the cashier why I have never heard about this before and he replied they the program has been around for a long time but they do not tell anyone. It has been working for me for for 3 or 4 months. I know that 5% is not a huge amount but when you think about what you spend in a year it can add up to a nice little chunk of change.
I do not know if this policy is nation wide but i would assume that it is. Hope it works for all of you as well.
Replies
You get what you pay for when you go to Home Despot, like you do at any mega-chain grocery store, like Safeway: poor service, poorer quality, and gimmics like 5% discounts that aren't commonly posted.
I continue to shop at Bruce Bauer Lumber and Supply in Mountain View, CA, where I get top of the line service, friendliness, immediate answers to phoned-in questions, quality material, and prices that are often equal to Home Despot prices. Try calling HD with a question, such as whether they have in stock an item you need.
If you wish to keep those locally owned, quality yards open, continue make the drive and shop at them. Do the same when you grocery shop, and you'll continue to get their friendly service and quality goods. They're your neighbors and they treat you as such.
Gary
PM me and I'll get your address and send a vintage "Support Your Local Lumberyard" bumper sticker I picked up from the Ohio Lumbermans Association.
A nice way to display your feelings.
I do not shop at Home depot for price
I do not shop at Home Depot for price or service (or lack of service). I have to shop there sometimes out of necessity. I have accounts with mutiple suppliers including lumber yards, plumbing electrical HVAC and roofing supply houses as well as many other speciality accounts. I order the bulk of my material through these venders.
I live in one of the most traffic congested areas in the country. When I am faced with the choice of driving across town 2 hours round trip to go to one of the few lumber yards in my area (closer to 3 hours if it is rush hour) or driving 10 to 30 minutes round trip to go to a Home Depot to pick up a few items to keep me crew going I am going to choose the shorter driving time.
I probably despise going to Home Depot more than you do because I am forced to do this more often than you do, to eliminate down time that I incure due to driving time.
I agree with you about he horrific service that you recieve from the big box stores and can not stand that they drove so many local lumber yards out of business. My post was not to enocurage fellow contractors to solicit Home Depot. That is the farthest from my intent. I just want anyone that is interested if they have to solicit Home Depot they can save 5% each and every time they make a purchase and 10% for anyone with a Military ID. I will take 5% off over paying full price anyday and will feel good that Home Depot got 5% less of my money.
Paul Z