Acklands-Grainger downsizing

[buffdog]

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Acklands-Grainger has been a good source of various items for me for many years. They had everything from lathe bits, drill bits, reamers, bolts and screws (including some gunsmithing sizes), abrasives, tools, files and a host of neat items. It seemed to me that wherever I was located or lived, there was one reasonably close. Even in farming communities like Moosomin, Sk.

I went to the local Acklands-Grainger store today, and got a bit of a surprise. Apparently they are closing 55 local stores across Canada, with the possibility of more to come. They will keep their internet shopping though, and some of the stores located in larger populated areas. (I guess 100,000 plus was not a larger population.)

Just another sign of the direction of Canada's economy today, I guess.
.

 

[Scotty454]

Have you seen their prices for just about everything? I figured the only reason they were still in business was all of their large corporate accounts. People placing orders without regard for what things cost. They were routinely 25%-50% higher than ANYONE else any time I looked for anything with them.

 

[Paatz]

Soooo - anything on sale?

 

[dirtybarry]

Good, I will take great delight in watching them sink. Between predatory practices and their rebate scam, I wish them a long slow slide into bankruptcy.

 

[FoxAlpha]

Soooo - anything on sale?

While we all enjoy the blow out, store closing prices now we'll be wishing it never happened in 20 years.

 

[sigrunes]

I actually never shopped there , I always went to Greggs distributors over AG. Sad to see places closing and people out of work potentially though , that’s never cool in the grand scheme of things.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Every time I have been at the Ottawa store I was the only customer..

 

[GMC403]

Delete

 

[Diecasty]

try www.mcmaster.com/, maybe more for the money, but they do have everything, and really really fast shipping

 

[vagrantviking]

I'll second Greggs Distributors if they are in your area.

 

[AP]

While we all enjoy the blow out, store closing prices now we'll be wishing it never happened in 20 years.

I certainly wont regret their closure ... They clearly werent catering to me anyway. And if their only clients were the public sector buyers -- well it helps explain where some of the tax dollars go. I probably purchased items from them on three occasions -- their prices forced me to seek out and frequent more reasonable sources.

They were free to charge as much as they wanted for their goods - and the customers looking for hardware were free to buy from whoever they wanted ... looks like they werent choosing Acklands often enough... This is natural selection of the market place - (fit on or fxck off)

 

[IronCanadian]

The one and only time I stopped there to get anything was at the suggestion of a friend; they told me they don't deal with the public.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Got one of there catalogues recently, equivalent of about 3 city phone books. Talk about a wide variety of merchandise, including shipping and janitorial equipment. Some rationalization seems indicated.

Grizz

 

[ShawnC6]

Have you seen their prices for just about everything? I figured the only reason they were still in business was all of their large corporate accounts. People placing orders without regard for what things cost. They were routinely 25%-50% higher than ANYONE else any time I looked for anything with them.

I haven't bought anything there in years, but at work we spend thousands on orders there.

 

[dirtybarry]

Ft. Mac was the only thing keeping them going and that store has seen a 90% decline in sales. The decline of the oil patch killed many suppliers, Grainger just has deeper pockets. Their US parent has been teetering on the brink for years.

 

[Magellann]

I dont go there often, but thy did have some items that were hard to find in other stores, and they are close by to me. Hopefully the store here stays open for a while.

 

[Bennyyb]

I am in the mechanical contracting business and Acklands has tried dozens of times to get our business, and I had to let them know every time that their prices were 20-30% higher then the competitor. I wont miss them.

 

[bellero]

Acklands-Grainger is a bunch of crooks, almost everything they sell is grossly overpriced. DND use to buy a lot from them and now we are told to avoid them if possible.

 

[josquin]

Yup!
Pretty much just cater to the federal, provincial, and municipal customers here in Victoria.

Last time I stopped in, they wanted $85 for some 6” ChanelLock brand slip joint pliers.
I laughed all the way out the door......

I've heard a lot of comments like this over the years. I wonder, though, if they have "consumer" and "corporate" pricing. I buy a fair bit of stuff at the local Lordco on a friend's cash account (with his permission, of course) and there is certainly a difference between "list" and "net" on a lot of items. They're not an AG kind of supplier, of course, but for things like fasteners they re WAY cheaper than the local RONA. Sometimes I'll buy a full box of machine bolts at Lordco because it's not much more expensive than one of those silly plastic-packs of a dozen at RONA. And for things like galvanized bolts, there's no contest. What I can't get there I buy from Hardware Sales in Bellingham as I'm down there regularly anyway. Only REAL hardware store anywhere around here. (Yesterday I was eyeing Silver & Deming-type reduced-shank drill bits, which they have a full selection of, made in the USA by Triumph. Not cheap, but v. good quality.)

 

[zuke]

I pick up there every morning. Went from 6-7 skid's to 3-4 box's.