Yesterday I went to Home Depot and tried to buy some ceramic tile
I had bought a box of tile on “clearance” 3-4 months ago and I wanted another box of it.
I brought a piece of the 6 X 6 tile with me.
The associate said “I don’t have any on the shelf but let me check in storage”
I said “huh” and walked with him to a register and he scanned the barcode on the back of the tile.
He said “the computer shows I have 500 pcs of this tile in storage” and I said “huh”
He said “follow me” and I walked across the store and he started walking down an aisle and looking way up high at the top shelf and he said “it’s gone”
he said we put stuff like this in storage and I could see pallets were filled with a variety of items and then plastic wrapped.
There were hand written signs on the pallets with the six digit HD codes so that they could come back and find specific items
Apparently when Home Depot discontinues anything they run it on clearance and then what’s left and they can’t sell goes into “storage”
Seems like this would be an opportunity to offer them pennies on the dollar just to help them get rid of it.
seems like they would be motivated to get rid of this stuff
Have you ever bought things this way from HD?
Maybe you could buy the entire pallet for a nominal amount
Replies
Go out back and check the dumpster periodically.
do they have a special one for 'storage'?, LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
We shop a lot at our local Lowes. On a number of occasions over the years they will have a big clearance sail and if they know you, like you, want to be nice to you, you can get a few great deals.
I bought 5-5'X 5' Pella thermopane new construction windows once for $5 each. I bought a dozen display vanities, 5 medicine cabinets, a bunch of mirrors, 20 gallons of flat white paint and some basic bathroom wall cabinets for $190 on another occasion. Also 5 dewalt 4" angle grinders for $30 each.
Just a matter of right place, right time and having some kind of relationship with them when the time is right. DanT
I suspect that after a few months that the "surplus" is sold off to a SURPLUS house.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Not usually. I work at the Depot and what is supposed to happen and what really
happens are two different things. When an item goes clearance it will eventually
keep droping in price with the hopes it will sell. The problem in the "specialty" areas
(flooring) is that corporate office mandates new "plan-o-grams" (specific products in
specific places). When that happens dependingon how much left over clearance
product and if some big wig is coming and many other situations the easiestand
"cleanest" thing to do is just "throw it up!" Right or wrong, thats just what they do.
What about a small time guy like me walking in and wanting to buy the whole pallet for a modest price?
it all depends on that stores management. i would suggest talking to the pro desk guys (usually....not always) they can "hook you up" i know if someone cameinto my storei would and do "hook them up"
That's the kind of tactic that often works with the manager of a store who has some disgression about how liquidations are handled. If you want to try it, first be sure that you're talking to the person who has the authority to negotiate price.
With a big chain like HD they may have a policy about when they sell that stuff and how they price it, just to keep the bean counters at the home office happy.
The problem for anyone who's a compulsive bargain hunter, as I am, is that they must have a solid plan for where the bargain items will be used and when.
Otherwise they become a storage problem, taking up capital and space without rewarding their owner for his clever purchases.
I'm sure that many of us could make a long list of bargains and/or mistakes that we have stored away, waiting for a home.
In the end I believe that it's wiser to look for good deals on quality products as the need arises, rather than buying bargains with only a vague idea of how they'll be useful at a later time.
Edited 10/23/2008 5:01 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
I got the tripod for my rotary laser for half off at Depot.
They evidently dont sell many cause the lady in the tool crib had to climb to the top of the rack to find one. When she brought it down I joked that the box was open and had dust on it.
No further discussion, she marked it 50% off.
Thank you.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.