“Big Box” Stores vs. Smaller Independents
When our website manager asked me to write about this topic, I was very happy to do it! The question of which type of store is better is not an easy one to answer, nor is one type the clear-cut winner. Over the years, I have had plenty of experience with both operations, first as a big customer of both types, and second as the owner of a medium size lumberyard. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, I was doing a lot of developing and building, purchasing large amounts of lumber and materials. I bought all my lumber from Barney & Carey at their Milton yard. This was before the coming of the “big box stores,” and the closest thing to a “one stop” home center was Somerville Lumber or Brewsters, both long gone.
Ironically, I wound up doing a condo project with the son of one of the owners of Somerville Lumber. Of course, he wanted us to buy all the lumber from them, not Barney & Carey, so I gave them a try. I sent back the first delivery of pine, because it was garbage. My partner promised he would have them re-ship higher quality lumber, but they just didn’t carry the quality of Barney & Carey’s stock. I guess it was embarrassing to his family that he was buying lumber from a competitor, but that’s what happened. We did buy all sorts of other things from Somerville, like kitchen cabinets, vanities, tile, fixtures, etc. Our partnership was an adventure, to put it mildly, but we completed the deal and parted as friends.
By 1978, I was Barney & Carey’s biggest customer. Harry Carey had passed away, and I eventually bought the company from his widow. Ten years later, the business was outgrowing the Milton location. I wound up moving it to Quincy, in a brand-new facility built for us. It was terrific, but in a few years, I learned the hard way what a “big box” could do to an independent. They opened one about a mile from my location, and set out to put myself and a few other small yards out of business. They sold materials at a loss, and they stole my key employees. I closed in 1993.
I wanted to open a new place, fresh with the hard won knowledge that it was futile to try to compete with the big home centers – at least on their playing field. I bought an old mill in Sharon, and opened a new, smaller, Barney & Carey in 1995, concentrating on the highest quality finish pine and hardwoods that I could obtain. Speaking of quality, the big box stores spend millions and millions of dollars on advertising to convince us that they have excellent quality and the lowest prices. Well, you can’t have both, and they don’t. A lot of people think that there are higher profits in selling high quality lumber, for example, also not true. The highest profit margins are usually realized by selling the lowest quality lumber, or anything else, for that matter. The huge retailers have the money to spend on researching customer preferences, and adapting their marketing to conform. By the time we moved to Avon, Barney & Carey began to concentrate on specialty lumber, and custom woodworking. Our employees are knowledgeable experts who will answer your questions. Have you ever tried to find someone at a big home center, who can answer a technical question? You’re lucky if you can find anyone to tell you what aisle you are looking for! Since these corporations have such immense buying power, they are able to dictate terms to their suppliers. They demand that many suppliers actually produce a lower quality product line than that of their well known name brands, allowing them to sell it at a lower price, with a bigger profit. Usually- and purposely- the product numbers do not match, so one can’t easily make comparisons. All that said, astute customers can find good deals there, watching for “loss-leader” sales and bulk commodity items. You want cheap 2 x 4’s? Head for the big box.
As big as they are, they don’t sell the things we sell. Need a 4 x 6 or 6 x 10 dry oak beam for a mantle, or a 30″ wide walnut slab? We have them, and they don’t. Also, we offer custom milling and finishing on every piece we sell, and we will even do it on your own stock! Our complete woodworking shop can build just about anything you desire, with flawless finishes applied in our spray booth; or by hand, if you like.
We found a game plan that enables us to avoid competition with the home centers, and it has worked very well! One of them put in a custom millwork shop, trying to compete with us. They couldn’t, and they closed it down. I found that very gratifying! Please stop in, and check out the difference for yourself! Whether you’re a homeowner, a custom builder, or a Fortune 400 corporation (yes, we have some!), we will make you happy!