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Yeah , Well I bought $50K worth of HOMER’S Stock in 95 its worth about $370K today So Who is the Fool, Here???
Sippin Drinks on the Beach????
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Yeah , Well I bought $50K worth of HOMER'S Stock in 95 its worth about $370K today So Who is the Fool, Here???
Sippin Drinks on the Beach????
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Lawrence,
They will get back to you as soon as they can hire some one qualified to take the rubber band off the plans and actually roll them out.
Hey c3po or what ever,
Stick your head in the sand. Your drink provider has alot to improve.
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jd Improve???? 1.5 BILLION SHARES OUTSTANDING, PE RATIO 56.37, YEAH!!! THEY NEED TO IMPROVE!!!!
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Ever been to one? I don't give a shit about shares, I need many things they don't supply and since they have eliminated much competion, they are getting as bad as the a--holes they drove out and still fall short of the local lumberyards when it comes to getting oddball stuff.
Excuse my ignorance, but a PE of 56? Isn't that nothing to write home about unless your an internet stock?
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Ignorance, Yes I can excuse, bad spelling no! (its competition) PE is the profit to earnings ratio, Key factor in buying stock!
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Oh sorry, I thought PE was gym class, what's profits? Maybe you can teach us yahoos economics along with spelling.
For what it's worth, I'm done with you and this sniping. But good luck with the investing.
*Price/earnings ratio?
*G80104, since we were sparring across threads this may have been after the cease fire. Slap me around once more then we can discuss trim details or something more in keeping with the board.
*Gee G., you seem to know all about the company. Can you elaborate upon the importance of Seasonally Adjusted Hours, Sales Adjusted Hours, GMROI, and a few other Depotisms? Seems the real deal from JD's point of view is customer service. *The Home Depot was founded on customer service, a in-stock policy, and a can-do attitude. Those tennents have been lost in the stock-price pursuit. Now, it's downstock, cut the overtime, watch the cull/shrink numbers, and staff-up when the Sales Forecast says to. No matter it's 70 degrees F, and whole lifts of material's leaving the store. Three guys on in Lumber and Building Materials combined, four cashiers in the whole store, and no lot attendant. *The store is being run by Wall Street, and the cornerstone of the business, Customer Service, has been downsized. The Street loves it, as it has many other companies... until the consumer cuts and runs, or the Ouiji board says SELL! then lets talk stock prices.JD's no fool, only a visionary. Home Cheapo, better work at being Home Depot once again.
*Glad to have the big boxes as I finally can buy trim that is'nt stored on an outside wet gravel damp barn!They are making my regular lumber store even better and I always like the locals here anyways...We are lucky around Albany NY that we have had among the best yards nationwide for twentyfive years that I have been going to them...And I base this on the fact that I have visited (for fun yards) in every part of the country that I happen to be in for vacations, weddings and whatever.Near the stream and knowing what to buy where,J
*I have not had the best of luck getting advise from the folks at Home Depot but maybe that is more of a reflection on my knowledge than theirs. I do count on them as ONE of my sources of supply. As long as I know what I want, or even if I want to find some oddball fitting, I start there and combine the trip for other materials. I also chek their prices/quality against the local yard, and I seldom see tools anywhere else consistantly cheaper. Around here they are open at 6am and later than I've ever tried to buy something. I gladly trade personal service for access to all that stuff when I go there. No, they are not perfect, but neither am I. - yb
*My move to CT coincided with the opening of the first HD in the area. At that time, both the materials they sold and the help they employed was well above average. They called IMEDIATELY upon receiving plans sent in for a bid and never took more then a day of two to get back with a firm bid. Lumber quality was also above average. I negotiated then, and still get, free deliveries.After some of their competition closed doors, the prices nudged upwards, there was a drastic reduction in both the quantity and quality of help, but more importantly, the lumber they started stocking was embarassing to pick through.The man running their Building Materials office told me of the "shifting" policy, where the better lumber is sent to the "grand openings" to make a good first impression on the locals. When a second store opened about 20 minutes from here, the first store transferred much of the better, more experience personnel to the newer store and the newer store started getting the primo boards.My first-hand experiences mirror what their employees told me. I agree with yb and others. Use HD for it's strengths, and avoid their weaknesses. Both locals and HD's have strengths and weaknessesses. Each can help both pro's and DIYer's perform better. Don't surrender on pricing, though, I often nail them on the 10% less than lowest price. If they're gonna advertise it, I'm gonna hold them to it.The issue of stock performance is totally unrelated to this thread. The desires of the end user are not usually in sync with the desires of an investor. Now, had you put your 50K into DELL back in '95...
*"Who would buy a pre-fab fence from these guys?"I took advantage of their lousy forklift drivers and got a deal on fence panels. Solid Redwood panels, 6'high, 8' long. Corners broken in places by forklift collisions. Bought about a dozen for 10 bucks a piece. Made a good fence, with steel posts, concrete footing and special simpson fence brackets. Only replaced and moved around a few boards.Actually the PE ratio is used in coed gym classes. The best P.E. Ratios are in badmitton (sp?), vollyball, and dance. ;-)I'm surprised that anyone expects Home Depot to give them a free quote on a plan. If they have a guaranteed best price, why should they waste the man-hours?
*And ignorant was the person who suggested that a high PE is good thing. 56 is horrifying -- it means the stock price is pumped up on speculation (read: greed) that the company has no present earnings to back up. High PEs have become commonplace and essentially ignored by investors, but boy will they we discussed when the next recession comes and the pyramid schemes fall.Earned 120% return on HD stock in 18 mos. and feel quite lucky, not impressed with myself. Having a good stock is great, but don't forget to deduct the dogs in the portfolio -- that's your real profit. And it's not real 'til you sell.And who is this no-name Star Wars cyborg castoff? Do I hear AOL calling?Always counseling caution, and hoping HD reinvents itself, andrew
*... and if a better price is advertised elsewhere, take it to HD and they'll beat it by 10%. This has worked very nicely for me. And for cheapo Mongo. :)Anyone else notice that HD-topic threads grow like radioactive zucchini around here?
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I spend a good deal of construction $'s at HD and the thing that bugs me the most is the fact that they hung a heavy looking trailer over the contractor door that is basically suspended on eye-bolts sunk in the concrete wall. I do not believe that those bolts have adequate shear strength to safely hold that damn trailer into the future. I'm waiting to see that trailer crash land one of these days.
By the way, I was in the Sacramento HD last night for some copper plumbing stuff and they were out of some basic components in 3/4" and really don't stock high quality valves IMO. Never the less, my favorite plumbing suppler ain't open at 6:30 PM on Saturday night either.
I wish I had bought shares in 1995!
Steve K.
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When you mentioned the "sacramento HD" i realized that there are FIVE in the greater sacto area (probably with a 20 mile radius) kinda scary. I guess sacto isn't a cow town anymore.
I agree with others. HD is a good place to buy some stuff cheap, but you gotta watch em and know what you're buying. When I want to fax in a lumber order and get no surprises, I use Wayside Lumber (for those 'o you in sacto)
BTW, does anyone else get a kick out of listening to those highly trained, tradespeople-sales consultants with the orange bibs expounding to poor homeowners. I jus' gotta shut up and keep walking.
*Sometimes you get one who will say "I don't know." I kind of like that. Sometimes you get one who really does know, or will find out. that's even better. :)
*Someone emailed me this joke, which I think fits in nicely here. Three couples, an elderly couple, a middle-aged couple and a young newlywed couple wanted to join a church. The pastor said, "We have special requirements for new parishioners. You must abstain from having sex for two weeks." The couples agreed and came back at the end of two weeks.The pastor went to the elderly couple and asked, "Were you able to abstain from sex for the two weeks?" The old man replied, "No problem at all, Pastor." "Congratulations! Welcome to the church!" said the pastor. The pastor went to the middle-aged couple and asked, "Well, were you able to abstain from sex for the two weeks?" The man replied, "The first week was not too bad. The second week I had to sleep on the couch for a couple of nights but, yes, we made it." "Congratulations! Welcome to the church!" said the pastor. The pastor then went to the newlywed couple and asked, "Well, were you able to abstain from sex for two weeks?" "No Pastor, we were not able to go without sex for the two weeks,"the young man replied sadly. "What Happened?" inquired the pastor. "My wife was reaching for a can of paint on the top shelf and dropped it. When she bent over to pick it up, I was overcome with lustand took advantage of her right there." "You understand, of course, this means you will not be welcome in our church," stated the pastor."We know," said the young man,"We're not welcome at b Home Depot anymore either."
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I use HD for savings on brand name items because they're usually cheaper. . .but what I really like is nailing them on their 10% off, I look up the ads in Fine Homebuilding/Woodworking and bring in the ad when I find a better price, other than that I used their framing lumber once,(when they 1st opened) and found the quality to rank right up there w/kindling wood!
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Andrew, every dollar saved on lumber is a dollar I can invest in dark, thick, frosty, aromatic fermented beverages. My version of "cost-shifting." An "investment" you'll hopefully soon get to appreciate!
One of my better deals, though, was when they started dealing in wood slat blinds. I went bottom-feeding in the back of the "decorating" magazines, HD prices were in the $200 range, after a bit of wrangling I got one of the mag outfits down to the mid-$90's, plus an additional HD 10% for a final tag of mid-$80's. Same manufacturer, trim, etc. HD Manager was in a tizzy as that price was below their cost (he claimed). With 14 windows, that worked out to beer for a year!
*... and if you were truly cheap you'd be buying Bob's malt liquor.
*Please, I had one walk by me the other day and it must have been bring your kid to work day. On another occasion I had an orange bib argue with me about a door knob, of which I had bought many. He told me that they had never carried them. I corrected him and explained that I had bought many of them. He said no, I said yes, he said no, I gave up as he was an idiot. Another guy was restocking shelves, he was never the employee of the week type, but when he hocked a lunger into a display, that was above and beyond the call of a--hole. Yea I still go there, they are handy and there isn't as much competition around. It does mean I'm happy about it. I bet most here would pay a premium to avoid them, it is all the damn penny pinching homeowners who encourage this mediocraty(sp).
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Andrew! There are some things in this world that are ALWAYS worth spending more upon. Beer and the opposite sex are at the top of the list. So are (usually) books, food, wines, music...
*Absolutely superb! You can be my material procurer any time!! Seems we need a new event at the gabfest - "most outrageous deal/bargain/trade". Bet you even had enough left over for chips and salsa...
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Lisa, you have a fine memory regarding my "pantry staples"...Maybe it's also time for me to splurge and upgrade the kids from "water" to powdered milk (ugh)...okay, maybe a soft drink...
*I certainly can picture Mongo's Y2K stash. A basement full of beg kegs, salsa, and chips. Maybe he'll open a Y2K bar.
*I certainly can picture Mongo's Y2K stash. A basement full of beg kegs, salsa, and chips ... and for the kids, powdered milk (the ultrapasteurized stuff is better, a little, and has a long room-temperature shelf life). Maybe he'll open a Y2K bar.
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Oh by the way this is Clay famous for "New York Transplant" message about thirteen down. Here in Virginny, we haven't had the huge influx of Home Despot that other citites have, but we have the same problems. Me and most of my carpenter buddies try as much as possible to hit the family owned yards/ hardware places with as many reasons based on price as there is on basic principle. You get a much better response by in large for the mom and pops, both in and out of the sales center. The guys at the desk try to get to you faster, you eventually build a repetiore(??) with them and get them to cut you a break on price or delivery schedules==$$$. The guys in the mom&pop yards have been there longer (because they treat them better- like drain off the fluid in Pinkies wrist or give Duck that raise he's been punchin; for) so therefore they are more knowledgable and after a few years they know your face, can cut you in line and it's like loading lumber with your favorite cousin that you've been working with forever; again- faster out of the lot==$$$.
They guys at the local (s)Lowes will hardly acknowledge you after years of contact. Plus- you leave the yard of the Mom&Pop and feel much less depressed about being involved in a convict ridden industry, thus you go back to work with a good attitude after the kindly old black gentleman nailed a flag on the longer pieces of lumber and told you something funny about his ex-wife and you get alot done on the job==$$$$$!!!
*Plus, I haven't even gotten into the de-humanizing elements of conglomerate retail (for the client, the employee, and the community to boot- look at Wal-Mart) that my anarchist buddies are always espousing, but I guess that would fall under principle.
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Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
Hiccup...
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Hey G80104,
Haven't you heard that there is a big difference between being competitive and competent? Sounds' like you really have the money but not much else! Need to stop talking out of your 4th p.o.c. Homebase and HomeDepot both seem to hire to fill their need's but not the paying customer's ie.,diy,contractor's etc. Maybe since your so smart, you should tele them and put a request in for them to hire more than cheap laborer's! Adamhenry!!!
*fireeater , Cheap Laborer?? Why dont you ask some of the floor people @ Home Depot what they make, Many make 32-35K a year in this part of town , just working the floor , WHATS YOUR BEEF ? JERKEY!
*Gee Andy, sorry its my zip code. P.S. No present earnings to back up, Right!
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The customer is the fool.
*Gee G., as per usual... you've been smoking home-grown again. Your salary rate for a "many of them" equates to $15.39/hour +, a rate paid to Department Managers and Leads. Of course, you could be in a high cost-of-living area, Metro-some-big-city, where the $15/hour equates to $8/hour in God's Country. Denver isn't it. A Store Manager I know stated: "I can hire all the people I ever needed in Arizona for Minimum Wage, what is it with you people in the Northeast?"Depot ASM's usually drag down a salary in the $35K range with a 25% bonus for making the numbers work.Store Managers will do far better... but that's management, and you were talking floor Sales Associates. Come back with facts, figures, and less hyperbole... so far, only the stock price has been remotely accurate.
*The people that work in Home Depots here in Nashville are as stupid as mud.Even more stupid than you G.Hard to imagine isn't it? I'd tell you to take Andrew's advice and sell your stock, but I'm pretty sure that most people that buy stuff there are equally stupid and they actually believe these overpaid floor slugs. Just for kicks today I asked a floor person if they had a Construction Master Calculator that I could look at. He told me to "Try Wal-Mart or somewheres that they sell calculators an stuff". The stock will probably keep soaring. On a brighter note, (as Fred pointed out) crappy home depot subs make it very easy to sell quality workmanship and accountability. Home Depot doesn't give a sh*t because they don't have to. Glad as I Wanna Be,DanP.S.STOP YELLING! and what's with the multiple question marks??????????? Are you really that anxious? Or are you just a prick?
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Just where is God's Country?? Why don't you go see who is # 32 on the Fortune 500 list, 30 billion in sales 25% growth in 1 year. Wheres your $15.39 from?? I love how people like to beat them up , even if they shop there!!!!!
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G., Do the math. $32K divide by 52 weeks, divide by 40 hours. It gets worse if you use $35K as your figure... either you're being given a line of bull or you're pulling numbers out of the air.
It's not only the Big Orange Box... change the name... keep the equation. Some are worse.
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Dan , Were you buying the Construction Master, to add up how many of your cousins you slept with?????
*Just where is God's Country?? Why don't you go see who is # 32 on the Fortune 500 list, 30 billion in sales 25% growth in 1 year. Wheres your $15.39 from?? I love how people like to beat them up , even if they shop there!!!!!
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Dan, funny... I showed a friend who was the Hardware Manager a CM-IV, he wigged... he went to the ASM at the time who said: "Cool" (He now has his own store, and is an example of the "right stuff" from a customers point of view).
The idea got derailed in the Regional Buyer's office... seems like the utility of a Construction Master was lost on the boy.
Recently, all the Hitachi pneumatic tools, nails, and accessories was dropped by the Home Depot.
Seems the HD buyer had a tif with the Hitachi National Accounts guy (both in GA) so... per usual, the Depot said: "Wanna play tough?"
Seems there's going to be a new Depot Hardware Buyer in Atlanta... maybe he'll see the purpose of a CM calculator too.
*G., nice double post... am I hard of reading? The Denver area isn't God's Country anymore eh? Too bad, I warned you about letting all the Left Coasters in...
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George, This place hasnot been Gods Country for a very long time , About 20 years or better Kind of like fishing in your neck of the Woods!
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Article in todays' Maine Sunday Telegram: "Too Many Striped Bass?" I just change recipes... hide the Cod ones for a few years...
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Its the Flounder that I am after!
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I sure do find these flame outs entertaining...Commendations on the witicisms on both sides. I'd suggest we have a flamers corner at the ,"Fest", but I wouldn't want to suggest,well, it could be taken the wrong way!
G, don't be the fool with the gambling problem, stand up and back away from the table with your winnings and never, ever look back.
Well, the depot is now selling installed fences, and decks, and still have the horrible leaning display out front.
I still have not been notified that my quote is ready, (almost 2 months I think). When I submitted them for the quote I wrote my phone number on the plans, and attached a business card with full name, phone, 1800#, fax#, email and website addresses. (I'm not hard to find).
I still have to buy Stanley Bostich nails at the depot, the only other retailer is 60 miles away. I can't even order directly from stanley anymore.
I recieved a flyer in the mail a few days ago. It seems it advertises a better grade of lumber. It has a great diagram of how they cut their lumber so that it won't crack etc. Not even 1" away from this they have a couple of 1x6's advertising their pt fence products. BOTH boards have been cut from center of the tree. They will split right down the middle. They are selling the same junk as everyone else.
In the same flyer they show a beautiful deck with a cedar arbor, in a similar style to our work. I decided to find out if I could buy that deck. If I could purchase plans I would. All I wanted was plans for the hand rail...but I would purchase whatever they had. 2 entertaining hours on hold, 10 people, and the answer, he didn't think plans were availiable and their contractors wouldn't be interested in quoting it.
In other words, the depot isn't interested in supplying nice decks at any cost. They want to supply the cheapest decks, with the cheapest materials, to the cheapest people only.
Once again they have pidgeonholed themselves, and I would love to compete one on one with such a big, inept opponent.
*HA HA HA HAHAHAAAHAHAHAH HAAR HEEH HEE HAR OH MAN YOU'RE KILLING ME WHOOPHEE HEEE HAA HAHAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA STOP IT PLEASE!!I see your sense of Humor matches your intellect.Dull.I wasn't actually buying one because they didn't know what the f*ck it was. I was shopping for one because I'm getting tired of figuring out square roots on a 2x4 block at the job site.
*Home Depot experiences are usually funny in hind sight. Not always during though. Unless you're asking a question just for fun.I try to avoid them whenever I can, but there seems to be a shortage of places to buy lumber here. Seriously.Dan
*Our lumber supplier actually has an 'outside saleperson'. She sends us quotes on our jobs,within two days, stops by the job a couple of times during construction. On time during a stop we looked like we were going to be one shy on the crown molding we were installing we mentioned this to her and three hours later their truck showed up with the piece of molding in it. This is in a VERY busy construction environment. Also if we have any lumber left over we call them and THEY come and pick it up and credit our account. We can call and actually talk to someone who knows lumber and millwork within minutes they usually are the one that answers the phone. When we go there we park right in front of the door.We pay a little more for this. Maybe $200-300 per house. It seems that we as builders are always talking about OUR service and OUR expertise and how people should be expected to pay a premium for US. We're right, they should, but so should we. When we find someone who is still provides service, who still takes pride in their business because their name is on the door, and is willing to prove it by occaisionally giving a little extra and seeing that their employees do also, we should support these businesses. The small builder is facing many challenges, the fact that not many young people are choosing our trade, economic pressure from the big builders, increasing regulations and expense of doing business. But one pressure we are putting on ourselves is the demise of our service oriented suppliers. When they are gone I'll find something else to do.
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You're right about Denver not being God's Country anymore. The Left Coasters are driving real estate prices thru the roof. I was looking at a house for rental income recently and a Transplant come to town and paid over $200/sq. ft for a 40 year old 800 s.f. ranch. BTW I shop at HD but only for specific items and forget about finding any help
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...so what's wrong with a little home grown?
*Where I live, NC, Home Depot has brought a lot of the mom and pop's in line. Since the beginning of time, the locals had been gouging the locals. Home Depot came in with a choice, and some price competition. The worst of the town stores is going to beat Home Depot's price on a Senco framing gun by 10 bucks. I need a new gun, and I'm gonna reward them.Still don't like 'em , though, BB
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It's always fun to pick on the big guy. I dropped off plans for a quote for an addition early April. Since then the three reputable local yards all returned quotes. I will not chase, and all the other quotes were in within 2 1/2 weeks. Still no word from the lumbering giant. Out of curiosity, I'll wait to recieve the quote. Sad but true. No phone call, no fax and no sense.
If I treated clients in that manner...I wouldn't be long in the business.
I suggested that there may soon come a day that these giants will fall ill with serious financial problems...and again, it is my opinion it may be sooner than later. Agree...Or not, they have problems. This is the basics of my question, but I will lead off with some good natured flaming for this senseless, voiceless, giant.
When pricing saws last week, a small local yard had their price beaten by more than 10 percent on the exact tool. Consistantly they advertise the lowest price...again misinformation. Proven on just about every quote I submit. In this area they advertise the best quality lumber, again very laughable. The day they invest in substance over marketting "Schemes", I will become a skeptical supporter.
I find ironic that the fence experts have a fence display rivaled only for sickening appearance by the local Beaver lumber. The posts are in with fence spikes and all 5 sections have a 3" lean. The rails are laid on the flat and they sag from day 1. OH Yah, they are the experts all right. Who would buy a pre-fab fence from these guys?
Go ahead homer,keep spending money marketting your trash. Mabee someday you will have the vision to consult the real experts!
(Tempted to show up and heckel their FREE fence and deck clinics...But I'm Too Busy Building Things That Last!)
L
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HD is a mixed bag. Our closest one is open all night. We can get that missing part or tool without worrying about the store closing. Their prices are generally lower than the local small stores. There's only one big place in town (this is L.A.) which is usually lower than HD. On the other hand their electrical dept is a mess and their selection of copper plumbing is small. It's a good place to go if you know what you're after.