LOOK! It’s A Home Depot!

ON ST. CROIX!  I AM NOT KIDDING YOU!  It really happened and it happened when they said it would:

So, as much as I am not happy with Big Fat America coming here and crushing small local businesses and helping to destroy the unique feeling of our island, I obviously had to go check it out to prove my point that it would be sucky. That it would not have anything I wanted and that the prices would not be different.  Well, it wasn’t sucky, it had a TON of stuff I wanted and the prices were pretty damn OK.  SO SUCK IT K-MART.  Go out of business here like you have done in every other state in the Union.  Even the no-taste- low-quality-people in the America won’t put up with your crap, why should we? And Gallows Bay Hardware- LOWER your prices!  You have been gouging the people of St. Croix for WAAAAAAY tooooooo long.  It’s not 1989 any more. (whew.  I feel MUCH better.)

And here is my Home Depot  review.  First: Kids & Family Friendly.  I saw some kiddos being pushed around in this and thought my kids might like it (but then again- walking around HD with out the kids is pretty nice, too)  Big deal, you might think, but HECK ya- its a HUGE deal for us to even bring our own shopping cart into parking lots, never mind one totally catered to children.  Unfortunately, it probably won’t take long for it to get stolen or car-jacked.

I walked in at 7:42 on a Saturday ma’nin  {by my self}.  The old white guy in the orange t-shirt at the door was not the designated Home Depot greeter I thought they shelled out for WalMart style.  Just an old white guy who happened to be wearing an orange shirt.  Oh well.  To my left was the garden center and these:

HELLO COLOR!  I am not a huge fan of plastic Adirondak chairs and they are WAY to low for my deck, but what a nice selection and THE PRICE!  Sucky quality KFart had theirs for $40.  @ 7:48, a mear 5 minutes after I shuffled though the doors,  I heard my first “Good Morning” from a surprisingly cheerful employee.   But, check out this:

I LOVE tera cotta pots- old and new, broken or whole.  They have a great patina about them after a few years- you can use them over and over again.  But at $50+ a pop at GBH with BARELY a selection um, no thanks. I’ll go see my new BFF, Home Depot.

I heard rumors about fancy-smancy spray paint colors and trigger handles, but had not seen them.  Until that Saturday ma’nin:

Oh Dear God, you have answered my spray-painting prayers.
Who would have thought an entire display of Damp Rid?  A MUST for our damp-ridden island.

Of course there was the normal hardware, doors, moulding, building supplies, and I am sure there were screws, nuts & bolts somewhere in that giant box.  I wandered down EVERY aisle.  EVERY one.  Prices WERE lower.  The store WAS awesome.  The people WERE friendly. The shelves WERE stocked.  There WAS selection.  Was it because it was the 5th day they had been open and every one was in their happy new store bubble?  Or is it because Home Depot has become the happiest place to be on St. Croix at 8am on a Saturday ma’nin?  Either way, its a new beginning for St. Croix. 

I still struggle with the Big Box coming in and ruining small business, but I am all for competition.  I don’t believe the crap about “Well, they are a big store, they can order in large quantities to keep their prices lower.”  Its 2011 people and if I can order tampons on-line, then GBH can lower their prices. 

I hope Home Depot becomes a part of the community of St. Croix and understands what makes our island and living here so unique.  Maybe if they just didn’t open every once in a while because it was raining, that would be cool.  I hope their Big Box doesn’t ruin the uniqueness of us.  Is this a call to Bigger Boxes? 

I hope St. Croix doesn’t ruin Home Depot.  In the mean time, I’ll be there early in the ma’nin.

oh- BTW- just in case you were wondering:

{I do this kind of crap with my phone so I don’t have to remember stuff}

Gallows Bay Pirates

For those of us who live on St. Croix, we have our opinions about the prices at Gallows Bay Hardware.  First, GBH is yes, a hardware store of the Ace variety, though we don’t get all the fun discounts, etc.  They also sell cool home goods, paint, tools, garden, etc.  No Home Depot here, so we do what we gotta do.  And yes, their prices are high.

How high?

I am in the market for a new water filter pitcher.  We were given a Brita several years ago that my mom got on super duper sale for next to nothing.  It has run its course, so I started researching different varieties to see what one I would go with.  Nothing wrong with the Brita, I just wanted to compare.  And prices.  Amazon is my fav place to compare.  I can get pretty much anything on Amazon.

Well, turns out Brita & Pur are pretty comparable in price and productivity.  After reading the reviews it is about 50/50.  So, next step, let’s just SEE what the price is here on island at GBH and KMart.  I do try to keep the money here when ever it is financially possible.

But not this time (and frankly, not many others).  People, paradise is expensive.  And most of the times, no service with a smile, just fyi.

So, I wanted to document the comparison, and in all fairness, KMart prices not included because I was in such sticker shock from Gallows Bay, that I came right home to blog this.

8 Cup Brita Riveria Filter from Amazon $27.99 and even qualifies for FREE SUPER SAVER SHIPPING.

8 Cup Brita Riveria Filter from Gallows Bay Hardware: $59.99

 Pur 7 Cup CR6000C 2-stage filter pitcher for $19.99 at Amazon and even qualifies for FREE SUPER SAVER SHIPPING.

Pur 7 Cup CR6000C 2-stage filter pitcher from Gallows Bay Hardware: $39.99.

And what is even more infuriating is that GBH obviously has to purchase in large quantities & has agreements with shipping companies, so why is the price DOUBLE?  Look, I understand mark up, but this is ridiculous!  I am not even wasting my time going to Kmart to compare when I can purchase from the conveneince of my own home and just be done with it.

So, what would you do?  Paradise.