Lowes - Out of Oak Plywood?

[Steve]

My local Lowes (Northwest Indiana) has been out of 3/4 oak plywood for almost two weeks now - on backorder, no idea when it will come in. Oddly, the local Menards has been running a good sale on their oak plywood ($29) for two weeks. I was hoping to get Lowes to give me their price match + 10% off the Menards price. Just a coincidence that Lowes is out of stock? Is there some shortage of plywood going on (Home Depot wants $39 for real crappy c-3 oak)? Whatcha think? sl

[Doug Miller]

I think a few other guys besides you had the same idea: buy it at Lowe's for

10% under the price at Menards. Lowe's ran out. Not just at your store, but in other areas as well where they compete with Menard's.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[George]

Must be a conspiracy like the OSB shortage. D*%$#@m Bush administration....

[Master Chef Richard Campbell]

Hi All

As someone who has a friend who works at Lowes. My friend says that his manager will let a item sell out and remain out of stock until he can make money on it again. Sometimes even leaving it on trailers behind the store. Every year the local RP has a fanastic sell on Drywall and Lowes sells out. And for the next two weeks the alley behind the store is filled with trailers of Drywall. This and many other reasons make me think twice about doing business with Lowes.

HD on the other hand has special ordered in more of a product(Subfloor OSB) at a sale price match. But that was kinda wierd in that the last three pieces where marked from the mill 23/32 but were 47/32 or just under 1-1/2". Took me over a hour to exchange them for 3 not 6 sheets cause the piles were not the same height. UAMMV.

Chef

[Bob Davis]

Whatever the driving force, I notice the Lowe's closest to me is frustratingly low or out of stock on items almost all the time, whereas another Lowe's five miles away has great stock. They must have some independence in how each one is run. Home Depot is noticeably superior on having things in stock. I live in a big metropolis where there are several locations for each store. Lowe's may be prettier but HD does a better job. Neither compares to the local woodworking stores and contractor focused hardware stores for having good stocks and choices.

Bob

[Charlie Self]

Neither Lowe's nor HD are woodworking stores.

Charlie Self "Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves." Dorothy Parker

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

Nor do they claim to be.

Barry

[Doug Miller]

It's the exact reverse for me. The only reason I have for going to HD is that it's closer than Lowe's; in fact, to get to Lowe's, I have to drive directly past HD -- and I often do. I've had just a few too many experiences with stopping at HD only to discover that they don't have what I want, and Lowe's does.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Charlie Self]

In fact, it's barely even a major sideline for either store, so I really, really don't understand the shudders and wails when someone discovers they don't carry the very latest Dubby or Unisaw tenon jig or similar item that maybe sells 200 a year nationwide.

And the stunned sounds from those who do discover for the first time that the big box stores are NOT what they do NOT claim to be is absolutely awe inspiring. Well, the noises make my stomach lurch, anyway. Maybe that's not awe.

Charlie Self "Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves." Dorothy Parker

[Greg]

I usually end up at both too. HD hasd a lot better selection of electrical and plumbing but just about when you decide tyou can get everything, there is that widget you need to go to Lowes for. (or vice versa). In my air piping project a couple weeks ago I couldn't get enough 10' sections of 1/2" pipe from either. HD had 2 bent ones and Lowes had one.

[Mark]

I'm in the process of wiring the barn. I'm going to run PVC conduit along the wall for 20 amp 120v and have the conduit large enough to add a 240v outlet if needed.

The plan is to run two circuits and put duel outlets every

8' (on each post). Each box will run both circuits so if I trip the breaker or GFI on one plug the other will stay active.

When Lowes first opened I inventoried their selection of PVC fittings and made the plan. Last night I went to buy the PVC and found Lowes has reduced their inventory by about half. They had the types of pieces I wanted , just not all the same size.

I don't want to go to the local electrical house as they tend to be quite a bit more expensive. Like 25%?

Time to do some shopping at Grainger or McMaster Carr. Or mayhaps I should just go to EMT.

[Bob Davis]

Stock issues may be improving in my area. For one thing, the end of the year cleaned out a lot of stores. I'm shopping for metal ductwork and found Lowe's had completely restocked everything in that area last week. There was a lady at the exit with a clipboard that was canvassing every exiting customer to find out if the found everything they were looking for. That's very encouraging. My favorite woodworking store replenished to the gills last week. For example, they were almost completely out of Japanese handsaws. Now they have 6 of every model made in stock. I can see my wallet is going to take a beating from the breather it had right after Christmas.

I hear ya on electrical availability. When I was doing major wiring, I found that I bought stuff just because it was in stock and I "might" need it. Lowe's is very, very good about returned merchandise for 90 days and I depend on that policy. They get a lot of my business because of that policy.

Bob