47 replies to this topic

[matt770]

Roundup garden sprayer, useless after one season, the nozzle is like a 95 year old man trying to squeeze out a leak.  Various tools like rakes/hoes, the heads slip right off the handle if I'm trying to rip out ivy or even working in tough soil.  I've had cheap wooden handles break too.  Anything to connect to a garden hose, I'm lucky to get a season's worth of use out of them at best, whether it's a sprinkler, nozzle/wand, shutoff, etc.  It leaks and/or falls apart.  Bought their "best" heavy-duty loppers, the plastic hand grips slide off when I'm using them.  I take pretty good care of this stuff, don't subject it to anything out of the ordinary, but it's just garbage.

I think the Chinese must laugh their asses off when they load this crap on the boat.  I'm finding I have to go online and get high-end contractor grade stuff just to last more than one season.  Do they think homeowners don't use tools more than once a year?!

Sons of bitches.

[stevegrab]

Is it really just Home Depot? Doesn't Lowes and every other place sell alot of the same crap that they sell?

Its like the Wal Mart sells crap discussions, when a lot of what they sell is the crap that is sold at Target, JCP, etc.

[matt770]

stevegrab, on 23 April 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

Is it really just Home Depot? Doesn't Lowes and every other place sell alot of the same crap that they sell?

Its like the Wal Mart sells crap discussions, when a lot of what they sell is the crap that is sold at Target, JCP, etc.

I could have named any store or all of them I guess, I just happen to frequent HD for most of my outdoor gear.

[detlef]

Because we garden pretty seriously, I don't skimp on garden tools.  Most of the brands I buy aren't available at Home Depot or Lowes and, if I'm in a pinch and need to pick something up there, I still go top-shelf.  You're typically looking at $30 as opposed to $15 for a shovel and the extra $15 is well worth it.  Having busted off several handles in this effed up clay we have out here durhing one season alone and now having had a shovel that's lasted several years already and doesn't seem ready to quit...

Clippers are even more important.  We've got a bucket of crappy clippers and one pair of Felco clippers that we always fight over.  The bummer about those is that they cost $60 and are small, so easy to lose.  Case in point, we used to have two pair.

On the topic of garden tools.  Get a large bin and fill it halfway with sand.  Mix a little bit of motor oil into it.  Not much, just like a cup or so for several gallons of sand.  Keep a rag in there and, after you clean your tools each time, put them in the bucket and wipe them down with the sand and oil.  They'll last forever.

[Ursa Majoris]

It isn't just tools, it's pretty much everything, especially in the "don't-think-twice-about-it" bracket.

[Brentastic]

I think this is true with many products these days.  I wear flannel only during the cooler months and my favorite flannels have always been by Polo.  They usually cost $100-$125 and although I do wear them often, I'll be damned if the elbows don't rip out after just 1 season of wearing.  You would think that a $100 flannel would last a few years before tearing at the elbows.

[Scooby's Hubby]

Bought a mower at Lowes last year.  Took it home, filled it with gas and the starter cord would not pull.  Called the customer support number on the warranty, they said they would call a repair guy.  Told them don't worry about it I would just take it back and get a different mower.  Took it back, got a different one, filled it with gas, and starter cord wouldn't pull.  Took it back, but this time I got the Mgr.  He was dumbfounded that more than one didn't work.  I told him to try his displays.  The first one he pulled did the same thing.  The second display, same problem.  We finally found one that would pull and start.  I took that one home and it works.  He also threw in some weed eater string since I wasted my gas.

Lesson learned:  buy your mower from a place that sells and makes their living from only mowers.

I am convinced that everything at Lowe's is crap.  Never will I buy anything there that costs more than $10, which narrows it down to pool salt.

Edited by Scooby's Hubby, 23 April 2012 - 02:41 PM.

[Chief Dick]

Brentastic, on 23 April 2012 - 02:16 PM, said:

I think this is true with many products these days.  I wear flannel only during the cooler months and my favorite flannels have always been by Polo.  They usually cost $100-$125 and although I do wear them often, I'll be damned if the elbows don't rip out after just 1 season of wearing.  You would think that a $100 flannel would last a few years before tearing at the elbows.

Do the knees of your jeans wear out too?

[Bier Meister]

where is rovers when you need him?

[T_bone65]

Bier Meister, on 23 April 2012 - 03:54 PM, said:

where is rovers when you need him?

I was just going to post why does everyone hate Rovers even more now

[Ursa Majoris]

Small electronics like toasters, kettles, coffeemakers, etc is another area with a high incidence of early demise.

[matt770]

Ursa Majoris, on 23 April 2012 - 04:03 PM, said:

Small electronics like toasters, kettles, coffeemakers, etc is another area with a high incidence of early demise.

Yep.  They figure, what the hell, it's cheap, we'll just buy another one.  They've got us by the balls.  Sons of bitches.

[Ursa Majoris]

matt770, on 23 April 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:

Yep.  They figure, what the hell, it's cheap, we'll just buy another one.  They've got us by the balls.  Sons of bitches.

They are right too.  Toaster blows up after 12 months of light use and all we do is put it on the shopping list for Saturday.  It's one of the penalties we pay for chit being cheaper in real dollar terms than it used to be.

[detlef]

Ursa Majoris, on 23 April 2012 - 04:24 PM, said:

They are right too.  Toaster blows up after 12 months of light use and all we do is put it on the shopping list for Saturday.  It's one of the penalties we pay for chit being cheaper in real dollar terms than it used to be.

The messed up thing is that, with something like a toaster, stepping up in price is, in no way, an assurance that you're going to avoid this.  Pay $30, pay $300, it doesn't freaking matter.  You haven't increased your odds of not having to buy another one in a year.

OK, in truth, I can't speak to how likely it is that a $300 toaster is going to last, because I just can't bring myself to do it.  However, the last two we bought, we did step up at least a price tier trying to avoid them breaking and aren't impressed.

[matt770]

detlef, on 23 April 2012 - 04:28 PM, said:

The messed up thing is that, with something like a toaster, stepping up in price is, in no way, an assurance that you're going to avoid this.  Pay $30, pay $300, it doesn't freaking matter.  You haven't increased your odds of not having to buy another one in a year.

OK, in truth, I can't speak to how likely it is that a $300 toaster is going to last, because I just can't bring myself to do it.  However, the last two we bought, we did step up at least a price tier trying to avoid them breaking and aren't impressed.

Are you saying there are actual toasters that cost $300?  Like, for your restaurant, 20 slots?  For $300 it better do more than toast my bagel.

[Big John]

matt770, on 23 April 2012 - 04:47 PM, said:

Are you saying there are actual toasters that cost $300?  Like, for your restaurant, 20 slots?  For $300 it better do more than toast my bagel.

Most expensive "conventional" toaster  But there are more expensive ones that toast multiple slices at a time.

[Scooby's Hubby]

I remember the old maytag commercials with the bored repair man.  Parents just got a Samsung washer and it already has a leak in one of the interior hoses.  Of course, when the repair guy ordered a new hose it was on back order.

Edited by Scooby's Hubby, 23 April 2012 - 05:07 PM.

[Ursa Majoris]

Scooby, on 23 April 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

I remember the old maytag commercials with the bored repair man.  Parents just got a Samsung washer and it already has a leak in one of the interior hoses.  Of course, when the repair guy ordered a new hose it was on back order.

It was probably on back order because so many of the f'n things are leaking, they've run out of spares.  That kind of problem is endemic - one weak component in an otherwise good system.

So, it's either crappy component by accident or built in obsolescence - if they built it to last, why would you buy another?

[bpwallace49]

I spent a day researching and trying to fix my dishwasher, until I saw the same model used on Craigslist 3 blocks away for 40 bucks.  



Bought it. Picked it up and installed it in 7 hours LESS than trying unsuccessfully to fix the other one.

[The Irish Doggy]

detlef, on 23 April 2012 - 11:53 AM, said:

Because we garden pretty seriously, I don't skimp on garden tools.  Most of the brands I buy aren't available at Home Depot or Lowes and, if I'm in a pinch and need to pick something up there, I still go top-shelf.  You're typically looking at $30 as opposed to $15 for a shovel and the extra $15 is well worth it.  Having busted off several handles in this effed up clay we have out here durhing one season alone and now having had a shovel that's lasted several years already and doesn't seem ready to quit...

Clippers are even more important.  We've got a bucket of crappy clippers and one pair of Felco clippers that we always fight over.  The bummer about those is that they cost $60 and are small, so easy to lose.  Case in point, we used to have two pair.

So true.  I don't even waste my time with the cheap to medium priced tools anymore.

[detlef]

Big John, on 23 April 2012 - 04:55 PM, said:

Most expensive "conventional" toaster  But there are more expensive ones that toast multiple slices at a time.

Daulit was the brand that I saw with the jaw-dropping prices.  Plenty of models that cost around $200 or more.

[Bring Back Pat!!!]

Without going into great detail, I can assure you that the product you buy at HD, whatever it may be, is more than likely not the same thing you would buy at a local mom and pop store. gardening, tools, plumbing supplies, it generally does not matter.

The long and the short of the story is that the box stores have such clout and the potential for such hugh sales is there for any product they sell, that they approach a company and tell them, "We'd like to sell your product and this is what we're going ti pay for it." These manufacturers are blinded by the potential sales so much that they will more often than not produce an inferior product just for them. It will have the same name, look the same on the outside, but a screw or two here or there will be different, or a gasket will be rubber as opposed to ceramic, etc. Some companies (Kohler I know for sure, suspect many others) literally have different manufacturing facilities for HD then they do for the local stores. And surprise, surprise, it's located in Mexico. DO NOT under any circumstance buy a faucet or toilet from HD. Trust me and thank me later.

[Brentastic]

Chief Dick, on 23 April 2012 - 03:35 PM, said:

Do the knees of your jeans wear out too?

[SheikYerbuti]

Try shopping at Harbor Freight.  It'll have you begging for Home Depot quality.

[Ursa Majoris]

Bring Back Pat!!!, on 23 April 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

Without going into great detail, I can assure you that the product you buy at HD, whatever it may be, is more than likely not the same thing you would buy at a local mom and pop store. gardening, tools, plumbing supplies, it generally does not matter.

The long and the short of the story is that the box stores have such clout and the potential for such hugh sales is there for any product they sell, that they approach a company and tell them, "We'd like to sell your product and this is what we're going ti pay for it." These manufacturers are blinded by the potential sales so much that they will more often than not produce an inferior product just for them. It will have the same name, look the same on the outside, but a screw or two here or there will be different, or a gasket will be rubber as opposed to ceramic, etc. Some companies (Kohler I know for sure, suspect many others) literally have different manufacturing facilities for HD then they do for the local stores. And surprise, surprise, it's located in Mexico. DO NOT under any circumstance buy a faucet or toilet from HD. Trust me and thank me later.

I've seen this or something similar posted before.  Without a doubt, if you buy at Home Depot or any of the other DIY big box stores, you should be aware you're buying something that is probably sub-standard.