Hardware Sales
27/02/24 00:57
One day when I was working at our church in Bellingham, I needed a nut driver to make some adjustments to a handbell. I happened to mention that I was heading to a hardware store to our church janitor, who told me that a local hardware store was closer than the big box store where I had initially planned to go. I’m a fan of independent merchants and I like supporting local hardware stores, so I followed his directions and found the store. It is located in a mis-matched set of buildings a few blocks from a Trader Joe’s grocery store. When I walked into the building, my jaw dropped. It was packed with row upon row of shelves with narrow aisles between, filled with every type of hardware i could imagine. On my way to find the tool section, I passed all kinds of hardware items in bulk bins. It is possible to purchase a single bracket or bolt, something that is nearly impossible at the big box stores. And the selection far exceeded any big box store. When I got to the tool section, they not only sold individual nut drivers without the need of purchasing a more expensive set, they had every size in both metric and standard sizes in at least three different types of drivers.
I’ve since made the store my “go to” place for hardware. In addition to expansive stock, the store boasts very friendly employees. Unlike big box stores, it is not difficult to find an employee and when I do they take time to show me where to find exactly what I want. When I wanted a strip of adhesive backed Velcro eight inches long they had it and sold it by the inch. When I wanted a harness ring, they have them in stock. So far, I haven’t failed to find what I’m looking for when I go to the store.
When I have a bit of extra time, I enjoy just wandering in the store. There is an upper level with all kinds of wonderful things. There is a rental shop. Larger items such as pipe are in a separate building out back. Power tools and hand tools each have their own section. They sell obscure tools that are not stocked in the big box stores. And over head as you down the stairs from the upper level is a sign that reveals a bit of the history of the store. The sign says, Powder Sales & Equipment. That was the name of the store in the 1950s and early 1960s before the family that currently owns and runs the business purchased it. It used to be a supplier of industrial tools and dynamite was one of the supplies that they sold. I asked an employee and was informed that they no longer sell powder. Keeping up with safety regulations combined with a very limited demand to cause the store to go out of that particular line of business.
Around the time I discovered the store, it made headlines in the local newspaper because an employee was arrested and charged with embezzlement of $1.4 million. The story caught my attention because I had the impression that the store was not large enough for that much money to go missing. The dollar figure was, however, an indication of just how big the company is.
Starting with the purchase of the old Powder Sales and Equipment store in the 1960’s the family grew the business into a source for all kinds of hardware. As the customer base grew, demand for mail order sales grew also. Soon they were shipping enough hardware to other locations to require a remote warehouse to keep extra stock on hand and to provide a place for shipping. As Internet sales became a reality the business continued to grow. Now in addition to the brick and mortar store in its original location and the shipping warehouse in a community north of Bellingham, the company has an Amazon storefront for online sales. Among their customers are general contractors, shipbuilders, and refineries.
Despite all of the varied aspects of the growing business, it is still a wonderful place for an individual who happens to like hardware to go to browse and shop. I’m not much of a shopper. I usually like to just go into a place and find what I’m looking for and get out as soon as possible. However, when I go to Hardware Sales it is fun to just look around and see what they’ve got.
One of my father’s business was a farm store. He ran a John Deere dealership out of the main store and had a feed warehouse across the street. The business also sold tires, fuel, oil and grease, and general hardware. He was a member of the Montana Hardware Dealer’s Association for decades and had many friends who were in the hardware business including businesses that grew into large chains. I loved stocking the bolt bins in our store. Among other things, I learned all of my fractions of quarters, eighths, and sixteenths from the bolt and nut sizes. I also learned to know what size wrench to use by looking at a bolt or nut. In those days we only stocked standard sizes, so my eyes and mind aren’t as well trained for metric bolts, nuts, and wrenches, but I’m leaning.
These days, I’m quick to recommend Hardwares Sales to others who are looking for hardware. If nothing else, it is a lot more fun to shop there than in the big box stores with their wide aisles and short staff. I suppose it is partly nostalgia, but I like the smell and feel of the narrow aisles and high shelves jam packed with boxes and bins. I’ll never learn the location of all of the merchandise, but I know that if I wan a specific item there will be a helpful employee who knows where things are and is eager to help me.
I’ve since made the store my “go to” place for hardware. In addition to expansive stock, the store boasts very friendly employees. Unlike big box stores, it is not difficult to find an employee and when I do they take time to show me where to find exactly what I want. When I wanted a strip of adhesive backed Velcro eight inches long they had it and sold it by the inch. When I wanted a harness ring, they have them in stock. So far, I haven’t failed to find what I’m looking for when I go to the store.
When I have a bit of extra time, I enjoy just wandering in the store. There is an upper level with all kinds of wonderful things. There is a rental shop. Larger items such as pipe are in a separate building out back. Power tools and hand tools each have their own section. They sell obscure tools that are not stocked in the big box stores. And over head as you down the stairs from the upper level is a sign that reveals a bit of the history of the store. The sign says, Powder Sales & Equipment. That was the name of the store in the 1950s and early 1960s before the family that currently owns and runs the business purchased it. It used to be a supplier of industrial tools and dynamite was one of the supplies that they sold. I asked an employee and was informed that they no longer sell powder. Keeping up with safety regulations combined with a very limited demand to cause the store to go out of that particular line of business.
Around the time I discovered the store, it made headlines in the local newspaper because an employee was arrested and charged with embezzlement of $1.4 million. The story caught my attention because I had the impression that the store was not large enough for that much money to go missing. The dollar figure was, however, an indication of just how big the company is.
Starting with the purchase of the old Powder Sales and Equipment store in the 1960’s the family grew the business into a source for all kinds of hardware. As the customer base grew, demand for mail order sales grew also. Soon they were shipping enough hardware to other locations to require a remote warehouse to keep extra stock on hand and to provide a place for shipping. As Internet sales became a reality the business continued to grow. Now in addition to the brick and mortar store in its original location and the shipping warehouse in a community north of Bellingham, the company has an Amazon storefront for online sales. Among their customers are general contractors, shipbuilders, and refineries.
Despite all of the varied aspects of the growing business, it is still a wonderful place for an individual who happens to like hardware to go to browse and shop. I’m not much of a shopper. I usually like to just go into a place and find what I’m looking for and get out as soon as possible. However, when I go to Hardware Sales it is fun to just look around and see what they’ve got.
One of my father’s business was a farm store. He ran a John Deere dealership out of the main store and had a feed warehouse across the street. The business also sold tires, fuel, oil and grease, and general hardware. He was a member of the Montana Hardware Dealer’s Association for decades and had many friends who were in the hardware business including businesses that grew into large chains. I loved stocking the bolt bins in our store. Among other things, I learned all of my fractions of quarters, eighths, and sixteenths from the bolt and nut sizes. I also learned to know what size wrench to use by looking at a bolt or nut. In those days we only stocked standard sizes, so my eyes and mind aren’t as well trained for metric bolts, nuts, and wrenches, but I’m leaning.
These days, I’m quick to recommend Hardwares Sales to others who are looking for hardware. If nothing else, it is a lot more fun to shop there than in the big box stores with their wide aisles and short staff. I suppose it is partly nostalgia, but I like the smell and feel of the narrow aisles and high shelves jam packed with boxes and bins. I’ll never learn the location of all of the merchandise, but I know that if I wan a specific item there will be a helpful employee who knows where things are and is eager to help me.
