As a do-it-yourselfer I have found the grand problem with the big chain hardware stores. The stores in question are “The Save Big Money Stores” …. The Menards , Home Depots , and Lowe’s stores of this country have got a great bait and switch deal going. They bait you with a good price on quality items and then after you have used them for a while , they switch brands to a seldom better one.

I would be ok with it once in a while but, they do it on such a regular basis that you never know what you are getting when you walk in. My most recent problem was with white paint. When I buy something like that im looking down the road to future projects so I get the 5 gallon buckets…… in all I have purchased 4 of these buckets. I know what most of you are thinking ……white paint is white paint is white paint. Not true . White paint is brightened with blue, red, or yellow to bring out a real shine. Even if you match red hue with red hue in different brands , the two WILL NOT match when you paint a wall.

For the length of four years I have been buying the same brand to match perfectly what I have painted before. The last time I went to my local “discount” chain hardware store I was in the middle of repainting my hall when i ran out of paint. I went to the paint department and to my surprise they had changed brands. I asked if they still had the old brand (knowing they didnt) and the 19 year old expert told me that the new brand would match. When i finished laughing , I told him that I would try it and bought the paint. I went home and just to prove it to myself , painted right next to the old brand. Needless to say I ended up re-painting the entire hall ….1-1/2 gallons gone. The new brand sucked so bad that on my next project it wouldnt cover until the third coat (new drywall with 2 coats of primer)……3 more gallons gone. Both jobs should have taken about 3 gallons total. After the second coat on the new job it looked like a zebra had somehow attached itself to my walls. The paint when overlapped with a roller ,wouldnt blend together.

Now as I have it figured , I’m out 2 gallons of paint(1-1/2 on the walls and the 1/2 gallon of garbage thats left in the can). At bulk price it is about $11 per gallon so I lost $22, not to mention about 5 hours of my life .

My guess is that “the bean counters” saw white paint as white paint , never mind that the place is supposed to be a “professional” building store. Would you think that one of their true professional builder/contractor specialists would have seen that there was a difference between brands when the new order was made out?? Nope. The idea is all about bottom line profit margines. The store saved 4cents per gallon on a different brand , and for that it cost me $22. Anymore going to these places is like going to a swap meet in a bayou with a paddle up and park your boat front entrance. So, I guess I will stick to good ‘ole Ace (you’re killin’ me prices) Hardware.