Ace Hardware

Full review
Ever been to one of those all you can eat places with so many choices that one can’t take it all in at one glance? Before even picking up a plate you scout the territory, sizing up the entrees, side dishes, and desserts. There’s so much to eat, so much to savor and enjoy, yet time, the complainings of a full stomach, and common sense necessitate some limitation of intake. After a second or third perusal of the offerings, you pick up a plate and set your plan of attack into operation, resolving to return for that which isn’t sampled today.

The Ace Hardware site is a smorgasbord of home improvement products, answers, solutions, suggestions, motivations, and inspirations. One can get lost in a maze of clicks exploring the Ace universe of hardware and home improvements. As you’ll see, I think highly of this site and have had nothing but positive experiences purchasing products through the Ace site. Since there are a surprising (to me) number of negative reviews on this topic, I am writing this Epinion to add some balance to the mix.

What You’ll Find


Many choices present themselves on the opening page, but there is no clutter or confusion. The categories are well laid out and easy to understand and access.
At the very top of the page one may choose shopping cart, track my order, my account, help, store locator, or contact us. Below this is a second row of choices: Hardware, Hand/Power Tools, Electrical, Plumbing, Lawn and Garden, Cleaning/Paint Supplies, and Housewares. Moving the cursor over any of these items reveals a new set of subcategories below on which the shopper may click. There is also a search by keyword capability here. I typed in potato and disappointedly only found four items! By comparison, a similar attempt on the Lowes site turned up ZERO items. Lowes appears to have been Aced here.

The page is fluid and changes with the seasons. On the day of this writing Backyard essentials are featured on the Home Page. Below this feature are two additional choices, How Can We Help You and Ask the Expert, a feature with a lengthy list of questions answered by Ace Handyman Lou Manfredini. The reader may also submit a question here.
The How Can We Help You area is absolutely phenomenal. Here one can find an extensive list of how to guides with sound, animation and text. Also linked here are Answers at Ace where FAQ’s are listed and answered, Project How To’s, and Solutions Source, an area that explains products and terms. For example click on drills and find two pages of text explaining drill sizes and their suitability for various users. In addition the browser may link to What’s Bugging You, all about bugs and bug products, and Natural Disasters with tips on how to cope with and survive assorted nasty situations.
On the Ace home page one may also click on the current circular (they’re never really round) the Ace Kid’s Club, the Find a Store feature, downloadable monthly rebate forms, and even a segment on how to own an Ace store yourself.

My Experience

I haven’t shopped extensively on the Ace site, but the few times I’ve made purchases have been extremely positive and satisfying. You’ll find fewer listings here than at the Lowes or Home Depot sites, but then again those behemoths have much larger stores and inventory. You’ll also not find here the customer ratings of items as you will at Lowes.
Prices are mostly reasonable, but bargains may not be found in every department. Visit frequently or subscribe to the Ace email list so as not to miss special sales.
Most items are accompanied by a description, price and photo. The photo can be enlarged and remains clear and crisp even in the magnified mode.

One annoying attribute of this site is the lack of a link to return to the Home page on some pages as one clicks on his/her merry way. Occasionally the only way to return home to hit the back key numerous times. It can be an aggravating nuisance.

My most recent purchase was a 12-foot Werner step fiberglass stepladder. This ladder is also shown on the Lowes web page but has to be ordered for pick up at the store. Since the prices were about the same, and Ace is only a mile from my home, I opted to purchase from Ace. The buying process was smooth and trouble free. The 55 dollar shipping charge was waved because I had the ladder shipped to an Ace store and not my home. Within minutes of purchase I received a confirmation email from Ace stating I could expect my ladder within 5 to 8 days. I had no problem with that time frame and was pleasantly surprised when two days later I received a second email informing me that my ladder had been delivered and was ready for pickup.

At the Ace store the employees were extremely pleasant and helpful. I signed a couple papers affirming I had taken delivery of the ordered item, and an Ace Man helped me secure the ladder to my roof rack. I might add that the ladder wasn’t pristine but blemished with a few smudges and dust as might happen to something lying in a warehouse for months. None of this bothered me either since I’d soon be adding paint drips and smudges of my own.

I’ve never retuned an item ordered on line but have had many happy returns to at least three individual Ace stores. There’s never been a problem. To return an item ordered online, the customer may bring it to any Ace store with his/her receipt for a store credit equaling the cost of the item. Shipping charges are not refunded.

Even if one has no interest in making a purchase here, the Ace site is a terrific source of guidance and information. Several times I’ve emailed questions seeking information and received friendly replies by the next day. Ace really is the friendly Hardware place.


Update 9/8/06 I ordered a set of drill bits online and picked them up at the local Ace a couple days later.
There's much more selection at the online Ace than in the stores. Ace is the place!