How to find the best hardware store in Philly and the burbs

Hardware stores are meccas for devoted DIYers, the spots to both stock up on tools, supplies, and — at the best ones — get better advice than you’ll find in any YouTube video.

While big chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s may offer low prices, our ratings of Delaware Valley retailers suggest they often offer subpar advice and customer service.

Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook regularly conducts unbiased, independent surveys to help consumers know more about where they’re spending their money.

In Checkbook’s latest surveys, only 33% of surveyed customers gave Home Depot “superior” ratings for quality of advice. Lowe’s fared slightly better with “superior” ratings from 39% of surveyed consumers. In contrast, several independent stores in the area received “superior” ratings for advice from more than 90% of their surveyed customers, including Cohen & Co Hardware & Home Goods (615 E. Passyunk Ave.), Rittenhouse Hardware (2001 Pine St.), and Moorestown Hardware (300 Mill St., Moorestown).

Among the area’s many Ace and True Value stores, Checkbook found no consistent pattern in ratings for advice or other aspects of service. That is not surprising since Ace and True Value are buying cooperatives for independent stores that impose no performance standards or specific operating procedures on affiliates.

Fortunately, many local stores hit the sweet spot, employing helpful staff and offering reasonable prices. To help you find your go-to shop, Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of area hardware stores to Inquirer readers until April 5 via Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Hardware.

To compare prices, Checkbook’s undercover shoppers checked prices for 20 items at the Delaware Valley stores for which we received at least 10 ratings on our surveys of consumers.

For prices, Home Depot and Lowe’s beat almost all the independents and other chains. Home Depot’s prices averaged about 21% less than the all-store average, and Lowe’s prices averaged 15% less than average.

But our price survey also found below-average prices at several area independent stores, including J & J Hardware (100 Ark Rd., Mount Laurel) and Kilian Hardware (8450 Germantown Ave.)

At some stores, you can save money just by asking for a discount. Some independent stores offer 10% to 15% discounts to customers who use a store charge account or the store’s own credit card.

For large projects that require a lot of equipment and materials, you might get a 5% to 15% contractor’s discount from an independent store — but not from the big chains — merely by requesting it. Some stores offer discounts to homeowners who plan to spend over $1,000 — and in some cases even less — over a couple of weeks. Our price comparison scores don’t reflect such discounts.

For many customers, price is just part of the deal. They also want good advice, help finding what they need, and customer service. Running a top-notch hardware store starts with recruiting well-informed, helpful staff. Because the best hardware store salespeople must possess the knowledge of plumbers, painters, electricians, roofers, landscapers, carpenters, and a dozen other tradespeople, finding and retaining a cadre of these professional know-it-alls is not easy. In addition, top hardware stores somehow manage to stock just about everything their customers need, and to organize this amazing jumble of products so shoppers and staff can find them.

Whichever store you choose, seek out the specific clerks most capable of providing helpful advice. Over time, you’ll learn who they are by trial and error, but you can expedite the process by asking questions — for example, “Who knows the most about plumbing?”

It’s important to buy from hardware stores with liberal return policies. It’s easy to miscalculate the volume of paint, number of nails, or type of hinges a job needs. And if you buy materials for a project ahead of time, it may be months before you realize that you have too much, the wrong thing, or a defective product. It helps to buy from a store that willingly accepts returns.

Fortunately, Checkbook found return practices at most hardware stores are remarkably liberal. Almost all retailers offer a full refund on returns for an indefinite period — as long as the customer presents a receipt and the item can be resold. And managers whose stores’ stated policies impose time limits and proof of purchase requirements indicate that, in practice, they are often much more flexible. Even if a sign over the checkout counter says “No returns after 30 days,” the store might offer regular customers a refund on merchandise purchased over a year before. Some stores even offer refunds to regular customers who have no receipts and even if the items have no price tags.

Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. We are supported by consumers and take no money from the service providers we evaluate.