Shopping Locally Can Really Pay Off

The centerpiece of our home is the great room. It features a stone fireplace and a vaulted wood ceiling. The 3 floodlights (in picture) shine down on the fireplace. Recently one of the lights exploded. This had never happened before and those same bulbs have been in service since the 80’s!

I figured that finding replacement bulbs shouldn’t be too difficult and headed off to a big box store. They had lots of light bulbs on display, but none were the size/type I needed.  A store employee looked at one of the old bulbs and said they hadn’t carried them for over 20 years.

Oh great, now I have to buy new light fixtures!

Not so fast! I decided to check out the hardware store close to my house. The store employee examined the old bulb and checked their shelves. Nothing in stock. She then went online and found what I needed. They would have them for me in a few days at a price of $9.99 each.

Well, the bulbs arrived as promised and they were the correct size. However, the price wasn’t $9.99 each.  Instead of $30.00, my cost was only $3.00. I asked the clerk if there was some mistake. She said no, they were on sale for just 99 cents each!

No it’s not just a slogan. They really are the place with the helpful hardware folks!