Ace barely scratches the surface if you need to do anything beyond what a normal homeowner would do by themselves. It's the training wheels of hardware stores but the selection (and quality) of tools is a lot lower because for higher priced, more specialized stuff nobody goes there.
I agree, but Home Depot has been piling a lot of junk on their shelves lately. Think the $5 keychain package with strap when a $0.50 loop will do. Do they stock the $0.50 loop? Good luck finding them or anyone that will know where they are! But you'll surely have no problem finding the big stand of trinkets next to the terrible key cutting machine.
Ace will just have a bin of loops and you pick the ones you want, done.
This pattern, over and over. Yes, you CAN get great stuff at Home Depot for a decent price, but good luck getting out of there with all your bits at a reasonable price. It just seems to me that they're losing sight of what makes a big box store useful.
Of course if I want a stack of PVC or conduit or pressure treated lumber I'm probably going to Home Depot (or a local lumber supplier.)
This guy was looking for cuts of hose. That's an Ace visit.
My not particularly large community has a Menard's and a decent lumber yard (that also sells nice hardware items) and a place ~10 miles away that you can order whatever from.
I sort of hate Menard's, but they do charge a lot less than the better builder stores.
Another small town I've lived in had a Home Depot and a higher end builder store right across the street.
