Lowes vs. Home Depot

[ng_reader]

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

[johnnymo]

Yea, I was wondering this very question recently too. My recent experience found a happy medium. I found Lowes to be more expensive on some wood I was buying and a couple dollars more on some other items, but the selection of the quality of the products at Lowes was greater. Lowes had a nicer selection, but it costs a little more for the look and quality. I would suggest regular items go to HD, but if you want character and style on some stuff go to Lowes. Example, buy light bulbs at HD, but buy track lighting at Lowes.

Example:

20 1"x6"x10' - Lowes $5.99 and HD $5.29 (adds up when you buy 20 of them)

[mm]

Gutter screws were cheaper at Lowe's. Maybe 50 cents cheaper for 10.

On Rte 40 in Baltimore, both stores within a half mile.

[Toller]

What on earth do you do for a living? Are you unaware they have had they eyes set on each other nationally for years. Are you unaware that the founders of HD are from California? (though probably from the NE before that...)

[johnnymo]

I thought one of the HD founders was from Atlanta. He donated a ton of money to the new Aquarium in Atlanta.

[jah213]

This mirrors my experience pretty well. I find Lowe's has a better selection when style is an issue. Most recently, I was looking for a flush-mount ceiling fan, and HD had only one cheezy looking model, but Lowe's had several in all price ranges. I like the look of our Lowe's better, too -- brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming. HD seems to have a slightly broader range of large appliances, though, but I'm not sure either of these would be my first pick for those.

Jo Ann

johnnymo wrote:

[---MIKE---]

There isn't a Lowes (yet) in my area. I went to HD yesterday to get a piece of 2" styrofoam. They refused to cut it for me (8 feet is too big for my car) so I went to a nearby lumber yard for it.

---MIKE---

[larry moe 'n curly]

I live within walking distance of a Home Depot and a Lowe's, and I quit going to Lowe's because of all the pricing mistakes, lack of employees (10-minute waits to get anybody, even when the store isn't busy), and lack of knowledgeable employees. I had to speak to three people before finding one who knew where the window air conditioners were -- in Arizona in July. A person who had worked in the plumbing dept. since day one asked another employee, "Do we have anything called 'copper fittings'?" And when I shopped for a washing machine, no employees could answer my questions but simply referred me to their appliance catalog, which didn't cover the models I was looking at. One person also recommended that I use PVC pipe for hot water. Don't you mean CPVC? "They're the same thing, except for color."

Home Depot people seem to be better trained, whether they're moonlighting tradesmen (they're the ones who don't smile much) or regular employees.

[John‰]                      Â]

Out here in lower down home flyover country it's no contest. Lowe's wins hands down.

Every time I go to Home Creepo it takes ten minutes to shop and twenty minutes to check out. There is never more than one register open and there is always a long line. They have that stupid "self checkout" thing, but half the time their primitive computer returns "item not found" and I have to stand there until an employee gets back from their weed break to reset the damned thing.

The only reason I go there any more is for some item that I can't get at Lowe's. I'm a landlord and spend a lot of money on home improvement stuff every month. It used to be about 60/40 for Lowes but now it's closer to 95/5; I just don't have time to stand in line for twenty minutes every time I go to the Orange place.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

They both suck. Don't let something as little as a half mile travel be the decider; try both and see what you like. You'd be better ff in the long run with a good local lumberyard/home center. As for who is worse, that varies from store to store. For the most part, both chains stock the same products at the same price. A few may vary a few pennies, but not very much.

Both chains draw fro the same pool of applicants for their help. If you catch the right crew, you are going to be OK, but in a few weeks, faces change and so can service. It is rare that either store has more than two good people in the store at any given time.

Both have very neat and clean stores, both have very cluttered and dumpy stores. That will vary depending on where you live and how interested the manager is in keeping a nice store. Stores do have "personalities" depending on the management. Pick the one you like best after a couple of visits.

[Phisherman]

Home Depot is about 2 miles away. Lowes about 17 miles. I'd use 2 gallons of gasoline ($5.50) more just to go to Lowes than Home Depot. They are talking about putting a Lowes next to the HD which would be great for the customers.

[Steve B]

"ng_reader" wrote

The answer is yes, no, definitely, and maybe.

You have to know what you're going after. You have to know what it costs at more than one place. You can find bargains everywhere. No one place is consistently better/worse than another.

Steve

[mm]

That's right. That's what CPVC stands for. Colored PVC.

[Pete C.]

In my area the Lowe's and Home depot are essentially across the highway from each other so no advantage either way distance wise and no issues splitting purchases between the two for the best prices.

Lowe's seems to have a better selection on a lot of things, but I still find for any larger project I end up being able to find 1/3 of what I need at Depot, 1/3 at Lowe's and the remaining 1/3 I end up having to chase after from "real" suppliers.

Other than the odd time when one or the other has pissed me off and gotten themselves on my 6 month black list my shopping is pretty evenly split between the two.

Pete C.

[John Doe]

...

Of the two, I think Home Depot is more politically correct. That's one reason I like Lowe's.

[Rudy]

But then cheaper at Lowes once they take the "competitive" 5% discount off the HD price. Just tell them how much they are charging at HD.

I find that no matter what job I go to HD to get material for, they are ALWAYS out of at least one item I really NEED to finish the job... Then I go to Lowes and get ALL the stuff with the 5% discount off HD prices

R

[Al Bundy]

John Doe wrote in news:u4NLg.21905$kO3.5673 @newssvr12.news.prodigy.com:

Good one!

[Al Bundy]

"ng_reader" wrote in news:GPCdnYhqR9KzqWLZnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

I've gotten to know most of the people at HD. Who and who not to ask stuff. I have trouble finding anyone to get to know at Lowes.

HD is 3 mi closer to Lowes. No big deal right? Well my junker pickup has one of those can't kill'em big 5.7 li. 350's. 10mpg with a tailwind. 900lbs of stone in the back and you never know it until you have to jamb on the brake and it comes through the back window. Now a 6 mi extra round trip at three bucks a gallon comes to a buck 80. I DO consider that.

[Al Bundy]

mm wrote in news: [e-mail]:

LMAO!

[John Doe]

Huh?

newssvr12.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm05.news.prodigy.com!newsdst01.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.com!newscon04.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local02.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.usadatanet.net!news.usadatanet.net.POSTED!not-for-mail

sv3-ERU8PDMYkpmp2Su2k5J8mp7XG2T4D+0jWXkjH5ILJUnLQJElWRSd/vknS59+nEgkS08v0aEC0TJninN!GAejEdGX3faseO9LlXQWT0bl05ZLMnz5XdDEbXT0v1EQv9rAWbtWVN3i2hUy+rDrxRn/Cl0cmRlf!n4TVEow=