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Habitat Restore - Do you have one near you ?

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  CaptainKlutz 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just took a bunch of excess tools and building materials over to my
local Habitat Restore for donation only to find it completely EMPTY
and GONE. . . . no note on the door. like they just up and moved
in the middle of the night.
drove over to the other store about 10 miles away, same thing - gone.
went back home to check the internet for Habitat Restore locations and the
nearest one is back in the town I just moved from - 30 miles away.
any of you experiencing a decline of the Habitat Restore facilities ?
my local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores are reluctant to take building
materials. I did find a local Thrift Store that took the items off my hands.
I just thought they were a solid organization - guess not.

.

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#3 ·
Where I live, there used to be lots of hardware, fasteners, and tons of junky but restorable tools. Nowadays they tend to seek out Corporate sponsors who donate furniture, and end-of-run components from furniture lines. That and the occasional fixtures from restaurants and hotel furnishings. It seems like they don't even want to bother with people who would kindly bring in the contents of Grandpa's workshop anymore. I haven't taken any good deals out of either H4H Restore facility here in a couple of years.
 
#4 ·
Poopie - that is what I have noticed also with the stores near me that closed.
tons of commercial facilities that upgrade their wares and donate by the
truckload of old, but still usable supplies to the Restores.
I did find a small family owned Thrift Store close by that takes all donations.
of course they are a For Profit store, (which is fine by me).

.

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#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
Poopie - that is what I have noticed also with the stores near me that closed.
tons of commercial facilities that upgrade their wares and donate by the
truckload of old, but still usable supplies to the Restores.
I did find a small family owned Thrift Store close by that takes all donations.
of course they are a For Profit store, (which is fine by me).

.

- John Smith
I'm sure the family-owned thrift store appreciates your business too. I had a problem with staff at my local H4H. Found 2 8 inch C-clamps, both had stickers with two different prices on them. Clerk insisted he was going to charge me the higher price. Staff does seem to be more arrogant with other customers lately, now I'm having the same problem. It's just not the same grassroots organization that it used to be.

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#6 ·
Made me look as I hadn't been to one in a while. It seems by this page, the number near me has grown.

I know Dayton is practically disappearing as a town itself, so they have just had one restore forever. The areas around Dayton are blooming, so new restores appear to be opening. Cincinnati has shrunk. When I worked down there 1 year ago in January they had 3, now it looks like 2, and one has gone across the river to N Ky, a lot of growth there too.

Probably it's more based on traffic, than anything. Populations driving the traffic.

I always got the impression they were like a franchise business, and like any business if it's not there, they close up, or move to greener pastures.
 
#7 ·
Have to agree with others HFH Restore is not a donated building materials store like it used to be?

Phoenix HFH Restore's content is typically 75% commercial surplus, 20% kitchen/bath pullout remodels, and 5% old used donations. The main store downtown looks more like HD close out store, than conventional second hand store. Rarely visit anymore. I haven't seen many wood working supplies in PHX stores last couple trips. Prices are inconsistent and border on absurd too. They wanted $25 for a unopened Rockler blade cleaning kit that retails for $30. Tried to charge me $15 for un-priced stamped Delta Arbor wrench found in a $2 wrench bin. The unopened boxes of fasteners are also priced at ~80% of retail.

That said, visit to a smaller Restore in Flagstaff, AZ last March had more than 60% of content as second hand items. They still had stacks of surplus kitchen/bath cabinets & doors, but you could tell they got a lot more private individual donations than corporate box store items. Brought home a broken Miller Falls parts plane for $12. Also picked up some cheap NIB 240V plugs/receptacles that trip.

My SWAG?
Restore quality is driven by donations? In more rural areas, there are fewer stores dumping last years home improvement surplus into market, and more private owner donations?

BTW - Not sure if true everywhere, in AZ and southern CA; surplus building materials are everywhere. Home Depot sells pallets of stuff cheap and it floods the local market. Some of it is returns, a lot of discontinued items from each seasonal push (Christmas is worst). We have had all kinds of small warehouse sales advertising on CL. They looked like a super sized garage sale, with many things in opened factory packaging.
We even have one huge warehouse that brings in semi-truck loads daily, and sells HD stuff at discount. Place is crazy, have even run local TV ads. https://www.salesumo.com/
Besides BORG pallets flooding the AZ market, can also find Building Materials Outlet in many large cities. Building Materials Arizona Outlet is loaded with cabinetry, doors, and stacks of wood/insulation. http://bmoaz.com/
The BMOAZ pallets in warehouse often have Lowes and HD store identifiers on them. Great place to pick up a stack of Oak trim molding with little water damage on ends. :)

Cheers!
 
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