Another end for a Mom and Pop Shop

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redidbull

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 13, 2018
Messages
754
Location
South West CT
We had a Mom and Pop parts store on RT1 in my hometown forever. I used to go there in the 70's and I have no idea how long before. 1st about 8 years ago they put Autozone about 1/2 mile away. Then 3 years ago Advanceauto then last year Oreilly's all with in less than a mile. I was doing brakes on my Wife's car last week and went to the Mom and Pop to get the parts and they were out of business. Bummed. They knew me by name and never let me down.It is really a shame all these shops continue to close. We had an awesome hardware store to that big box stores pushed out.Miss the old days when there were people in a store that could actually help. Jim
 
we have a napa, auto zone advance and the o'reilly's and i will bypass them to get to the locals. i get better parts and most of the time a better price. people i know and they will go out of their way to come up with what i need.
 
we have a napa, auto zone advance and the o'reilly's and i will bypass them to get to the locals. i get better parts and most of the time a better price. people i know and they will go out of their way to come up with what i need.

I will miss the "hanging out" too. We would talk fishing, model cars etc. I'm bald so I don't go to barber shop. So this was the place. Jim
 
We have a local store that has been here since the 60’s. Auto parts and home hardware. I’m friends with the three brothers that own it, good guys. But I don’t do a lot of business with them anymore due to their business practices. When the local coal mine shut down, they lost half or more of their business. They cancelled everybody’s charge account, business and personal. I had a business account with them for years, in good standing. No matter, everything became due and payable right then. I seldom carried over a $100 balance a month, mainly I would just charge stuff between paydays and then pay it off before the months end. But that wasn’t the worse of it, they raised their prices. On everything.

Now, unless it’s something I need right now, I order online and wait on the postman. I get stuff for about 1/2 what they charge locally. I’ll still buy small stuff like belts and hoses and nuts and bolts there, but most everything else I order online. Most of the time the chain stores have to order it anyway, so I just order from their website and cut out the idiot store help.

I understand the need to make money to run a business, but you can’t penalize your customers because you lost a big customer. They depended on that mine business too much, and when it was gone, they suffered. They knew that the mine was like construction, working to an end, they just didn’t figure it would end when it did. It hurt a bunch of people in the area besides them, those that got used to the big money, then it wasn’t there anymore.

What’s really funny, me and one of the brothers were talking one day, and he said he’s got to where he orders stuff online a lot, too. He can’t afford his stores prices!
 
I think that is one of the things that did in $ local store here. They had merged with another small store but really didn't raise their prices. They were very competitive with the chains. Online is another story though. I will say I do shop bigger stuff at advanceauto. On many sites like retailmenot.com there are some real good coupons if shopping online and pickup in store. $40 off $100 was a good one. Used in a few times on their $109 battery. I just put in the order on line and go get it a 1/2 hour later. Jim
 
In the big city Mom & Pops stand a chance but in the smaller towns... they're toast! :eek:

BoB

tripper the last time i came home to houston there were no hi/lo's or petigru and smith that i saw, as well as a few others i remember.
 
As a former owner of a Mom and Pop business( we even lived above the store) I always shop local and small first.
Unfortunately that is getting harder to do even here in a little town in Northern Mich.
The county seat of my county has all the auto stores but no big box retailer yet. Walmart was supposed to come in a few years back but they pulled the plug for some unknown reason.
Things change every day....
Torchie
 
When I was growing up this town was a nice New England town. Mom and Pops were the norm. Candy store, tires, garages. grocery stores, all were small. As time went on a lot of the older people running these stores passed on amd the kids had no interest. Couple that with the closing a few of the large employers changed things. Factory employing 10K people leaves, the video store, deli, hot dog stand , lose their customer base. Many of our factory and big employing businesses have been torn down and turned into condos and apartments. Being on the train line and 1hr from NYC makes it favorable. Jim
 
I've lived in the same neighbourhood since 1969. "Our" hardware store was established in 1960 and it's still there today... because people like me choose to support their own.

I can drive a few miles and buy a "basket of goods" at Home Depot for a few dollars less. I won't retire on those few dollars, but the same few dollars are the difference between a corporate executive's private jet and a kid's college fund.

.
 
I agree. Problem is the choice is being taken away. I love old hardware stores. When we travel if there is one around I make it a point to go in and wander around. Lots of them in northern New England. Jim
 
very few businesses in my home town have survived. we were to close to houston and it became a suburb to h-town now.:mad:
 
The last privately owned parts store is on the verge of closing here too.
Good friends of mine and I sure do hate it.
Springfield Mo. is the birth place of the O'rielly's.
They were a single store at the time, I was 16, we all supported them and now we pay as high or higher prices than anywhere else in the USA
 

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