HD plywood...help!

[Salty]

What am I doing wrong here? Besides buying from a box store?
I went to HD website to see what they had in hardwood plywood. Are they doing this by design?
I went to 'lumber' and it shows a selection for 'Plywood, Sheathing & Subfloor' and shows (4), which means there are 4 items. That's a bit of a small selection for such a broad grouping. So, I'm hoping for at least 2 selections for plywood....not! For this selection I get 2 tempered hardboard sheeting, a pegboard and some sub-flooring tile! What???
But wait. There is a sub catagory that lists 'Hardwood Plywood (3)'. Oh, that must be it then. No no no, I get the same 2 tempered hardboard selections and the pegboard.
Sheesh!
Now I know they don't sell it online and that's fine with me. But why not list the plywood?
I know the store I am shopping sells it. I've seen it there before. The items they are showing me are also not sold online and it says so in big red lettering.
I just wanted to see the prices and various selection before driving 8 miles to the store.
I like to plan these things out.
But I guess these establishments don't care so much for their customers trying to save gas money on needless trips to their store. No, they just want the sale. Also, there isn't much consideration about if you got what you want or what you need. That is evident in the fact that they will take back anything and usually don't give more than a glance at the returned product. Which is also why I sometimes consider their greetings and 'can I help you' as something of an insult because in most cases they don't mean it and often cannot help anyway.
Maybe I need to now remember that the last time I got box store plywood I was so unhappy with it that I told myself I would buy from the yard next time.

Sorry for all the venting....I'm better now!

[docrowan]

I don't even bother looking at either HD or Lowe's website. They are pitiful. I can kind of understand that they don't list their lumber prices - price is dependent on local sawmills and local timber prices. But at least they could list the specs and information. Other items such as hardware are just as bad to find, though. 100's of choices and most times they're not available in the local store. An exercise in frustration.

[LCHIEN]

i don't find the websites very useful for the box stores, esp. for commodity items like plywood. They don't list exactly what the local stores will have. Not useful for planning nor comparison shopping. Furthermore you have to look at the quality firsthand.

[Uncle Cracker]

Plywood is a commodity item, with prices, specs and availability varying by location (and probably by market influences). The only things you are going to find on the HD website are those where price and availability are more stable. A webpage with no price and no availability info (or worse yet, the wrong price) is useless, hence there is no effort made to provide it. I can agree with that logic.

[shoottx]

What am I doing wrong here? Besides buying from a box store?

But I guess these establishments don't care so much for their customers trying to save gas money on needless trips to their store. No, they just want the sale. Also, there isn't much consideration about if you got what you want or what you need.

Maybe I need to now remember that the last time I got box store plywood I was so unhappy with it that I told myself I would buy from the yard next time.

Yup

They just want you in the store. They believe there are enough impluse purchase items available, you will buy something. Selling something is better than nothing to them.

And you solved your own problem, off to a good lumber yard.

[cabinetman]

Listing plywoods online wouldn't reflect what's actually in the store. I've been to different box stores that had different inventory. I buy plywoods and lumber from local distributors that carry materials that are graded for the industry. Being able to pick out what's suitable nullifies buying online.

The imported grading may reflect their own standards, but traditional plywood grading will have an alpha character indicating the front and back face for construction grades, like A/C plywood, and an alpha and numeric grading for decorative/furniture grades like A-1 through A-4, and the B's.
.

[Pappy]

At one time I had the contractor/pro program they offer(ed?). It was supposed to link to current pricing so orders could be made online for pick up or delivery. The inventokry was so confusing and hard to locte anything in that it was about as worthless as the rest of their web page. I think that the LOML made a coaster out of the CD, so it wasn't a total loss!

[Hellrazor]

Plywood isn't well represented on their website. But if you use contractorservices.homedepot.com you can look up most other items.

[Mr__Bill]

Plywood isn't well represented on their website. But if you use contractorservices.homedepot.com you can look up most other items.

That is good to know, I'll have to bookmark it and give it a try.

What kills me is that to see products and prices at Home Depot web site they want your zip code. So one would think that it would be simple to connect to the store database and actually give you a look at what is available. If Amazon can do it with their gazillion items one would think that those Georgia boys could too.

I expect that Salty is right, lure you into the store and you will buy something. Ever call them and ask for a price on a lumber item? You, or at least I, get the, "We don't give prices out over the phone, we might be pricing something different from what you have in mind." So how am I to know if I have enough money in my pocket to pay for it? For me it's a 30 mile drive to HD and I am not going to do that just to check a price.

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast

ok,,, I just went to contractorservices.homedepot.com and most of the reasons for my rant have been satisfied. As usual I have opened my mouth prior to engaging the brain.

[jonmulzer]

They ask for the zipcode because prices are different at different stores. If they could tell you where it is in stock, then you would probably also be able to tell where it is cheapest and then ask for a price match. Shady eh?

[Salty]

Well yea, I understand the many reasons they don't but I think it is much more a case of won't. Anymore, the webpages are generated from databases so it is just a matter of updating the database.
As I recall, the smelly, lumpy plywood that I got at the blue box the last time was 11 ply and was about $35 a sheet. I was going to the post office this morning and the yard is practically right on the way. So, I got a sheet of 3/4" AB birch. It is about the same in that is is 11 ply and measures about .683". But it doesn't smell so bad.
It was about $4 more but less of a drive than either box store. Cannot tell if it is imported or not. The label doesn't say.
Well, got some garage cabinet doors to build and then I'll get started on my computer desk.
Got some unusual ideas in mind and hopefully I'll get it built before this one falls apart.
Thanks all.

Salty

[stormdog74]

Plywood isn't well represented on their website. But if you use contractorservices.homedepot.com you can look up most other items.

That's a very useful link - thanks for sharing.

[Salty]

That's a very useful link - thanks for sharing.

Yes it is. Thanks also.
I feel better now because I found out the same stuff that HD sells, non-stinking, is actually $2 more than what I bought.

[Wood_workur]

They ask for the zipcode because prices are different at different stores. If they could tell you where it is in stock, then you would probably also be able to tell where it is cheapest and then ask for a price match. Shady eh?

anyone feel like writing a program that will find the home depot with the cheapest price on a given product?

[Hellrazor]

No problem guys. I found that site many years ago and it saves me a lot of time. HomeDepot used to have a cd for contractors, it installed a program so you could access up to date pricing, etc. I think that website took over for the cd.