Total Unacceptable Prices

[dusty]

Maybe I should start marketing my loose "common" hardware. In the past, I never went to a hardware store to buy a screw, bolt or nut but I came home with extras (just in case). Many times I bought a box rather than a piece count.

Ed, post a list of exactly what you need. I just may be able to put together a $100 Christmas present.

Forget the springs. What I have, I keep.

Ed in Tampa....you still got those coffee cans full of hardware??

[reible]

I have a trip to a hardware store coming up in a day or two but just to show how crazy this price is:

https://www.amazon.com/Socket-Screws-St ... ead+screws

Now these are over kill for the job they do and are stainless steel so the price shown is for 25 screws. Sure I will have a few extras but so what....

The price is about $.26 each, or if you will the 6 I need will come to $1.56, so I save $22.14 and have 19 spare parts for more tables.

Shopsmith charging say $1.00 I might pay but not $3.95, that is just plain crazy.

Hardware stores are pretty much a decent example of pricing, they have the top stock they keep they have people filling bins, checking you out and have to keep the lights on so if they wanted to charge me say $.60 I'm fine with it. If not a major profit center it is a service they provide and it is worth something. Shopsmith use to have that service but they are clearly gone to an attempt to make it a profit center.

I have no idea what shopsmith pays but it is more then $.26 then they need to start shopping at Amazon.

Ed

[JPG]

I feel the comparison is very fair. It comes down to value for your dollar. Any product that is expensive and has a short life is not worth the cost. A low priced item that lasts forever gives you the value for your dollar. My Shopsmith is solid and dependable and all the parts on it are the same. It is now 35 years old and still working great. Try to imagine what a 35 year old electronic device would be today, and add up the cost of maintaining one for 35 years, and you see that these small Shopsmith parts are a real bargain.

I think 'we' see what you originally posted the same, but with different emphasis.

Yes compared to a cell phone with a couple of years life a reliable screw is indeed better value fer the dollar.

However that is no excuse to charge an excessive price for a screw which is made far more inexpensively.

My point was that is not a valid comparison. They are simply nowhere comparable by any measure.

The fact that expensive stuff is routinely purchased is no reason to expect 'common hardware' to be expensive also.

Maybe I was born 50 years too soon and think in terms of how things 'were'.

[jsburger]

I have a trip to a hardware store coming up in a day or two but just to show how crazy this price is:

https://www.amazon.com/Socket-Screws-St ... ead+screws

Now these are over kill for the job they do and are stainless steel so the price shown is for 25 screws. Sure I will have a few extras but so what....

The price is about $.26 each, or if you will the 6 I need will come to $1.56, so I save $22.14 and have 19 spare parts for more tables.

Shopsmith charging say $1.00 I might pay but not $3.95, that is just plain crazy.

Hardware stores are pretty much a decent example of pricing, they have the top stock they keep they have people filling bins, checking you out and have to keep the lights on so if they wanted to charge me say $.60 I'm fine with it. If not a major profit center it is a service they provide and it is worth something. Shopsmith use to have that service but they are clearly gone to an attempt to make it a profit center.

I have no idea what shopsmith pays but it is more then $.26 then they need to start shopping at Amazon.

Ed

Again Ed, I have no issue with what you have said. Everett's comments are very appreciated and on point. However in your case we are talking about non stress general hardware. Kind of if it fits use it. Your example of the flat head socket screws is perfect. They don't need to be hex head since they will never be removed once installed, but they are higher quality than the SS offering at a way cheaper price.

I am lucky here in that we have both a Fastenal and a Grainger outlet within 5 miles of me. I am sure it is due to Hill AFB. Almost all of our hardware came from one or the other when I worked there. The advantage is that some of the things can be bought in individual pieces through the local distributor as opposed to on line and you save the shipping.

[dusty]

Fastenol - a good place to shop but take the credit card with you. The change in your pocket won't buy many screws, bolts or nuts.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/faste ... kets%22%7C~

Don't judge based on this one link. Browse the online catalog and see for your self. You don't buy hardware for penny/piece prices anymore.

Shopsmith catalog prices for this sort of item USED TO BE $.80 and I thought that high BUT that was "back then" when assembly line workers (us grunts) made a lot less than todays union wage.

[bill50cal]

dusty got it right with fastenal. i needed 100 1/2 x 7 bolts, nuts and 200 fender washers. fastenal was $2.50 per bolt. i got them from a local supplier for .89 each and the rest was also cheaper. i guess it costs a lot to run a nascar team.

[dusty]

dusty got it right with fastenal. i needed 100 1/2 x 7 bolts, nuts and 200 fender washers. fastenal was $2.50 per bolt. i got them from a local supplier for .89 each and the rest was also cheaper. i guess it costs a lot to run a nascar team.

I hope you didn't miss my intended point, Bill.

Yes, you can find lower prices for the type items we are talking about BUT you may be getting lesser quality at those lower prices.

It is my opinion that much of what is available to the casual shopper is just one step above pure trash. Now if that works for you, fine. But if you expect to rely on the parts you install, expect to pay more than dime-store prices.

Showing my age! What's a dime-store? Do they even exist any more? My wife (who was a teenage clerk at Kress) just told me that they do exist but they are now referred to as "dollar stores".

[ChrisNeilan]

I am often wary of box store hardware. Ames and the like are a bit better. Ever notice that the hardware doe not thread quite right? Loose fits lead to quick strips! Or worse, the steel is so soft it snaps. Unfortunately, that is often our only source if we need it fast.

[reible]

At least around here most of the hardware stores such as Ace and the box stores like Lowe's and Home Depot have Hillman Group fasteners. They are decent parts and I would have no problem using them for just about anything on the shopsmith. They are an Ohio based company but I can not say where the fasteners are actually made and I personally don't care.

I'm heading out to an Ace Hardware to see what parts I can find. I don't expect them to have all the parts, things like the conical spring might be something that I will have to find an odd replacement for. The spring is not critical so something remotely close will do.

I pulled a spacer and it looks like it .31" or almost 5/16, Now is that special order or just slightly undersized, I don't know. The knobs are not critical either, and I have two different knob types from shopsmith so even if I end up with a third it no big deal. I do like the older knobs I have and if I can find the same head type I would prefer that to the second generation ones.

Ed

[mountainbreeze]

Just curious...

Is Shopsmith selling Fastenol quality nuts and bolts or Home Depot quality? How does one know?