One rea I really don’t see that happening is building materials/hardware.
I work for a supplier and spend lots of time in stores. When people need stuff, they need it now, not tomorrow.
I’ll be in a store for 4-5 hours and see some guys multiple times.
In my case, there’s a Home Depot two blocks from my house. If I’m on a project, I may make three trips to my supply cabinet, I mean Home Depot. I don’t keep extra stuff, I just go buy what I need when I need it.
Many of my companies products are available online but are wildly overpriced compared to store purchases. Plus, some of them are shipping hazards, which really kicks up the prices.
I completely agree.
BTW, just for fun, I priced 2x4 studs at amazon. In the local stores they are around $2.50 or so each. On amazon, they are around $28 each. I though it must be per dozen or something. Nope. It’s for a single 2x4 stud.
There’s a Lowe’s and a Home Depot within minutes of me. I buy a LOT of stuff from them. I’m replacing molding thru-out the house, much of it MDF. I’d purchased molding from both stores in the past and it had been a good product. Now their MDF products are garbage (MDF is close to garbage anyway)...and expensive. There’s a Building Center a little further away...used primarily by contractors. I wound up buying all of the trim from them...for a much sturdier product with good profiles and half the price. Seriously, I bought a couple hundred feet of 7.25” speed base and it was exactly half the price of Home Depot...and a much better product.
On the other hand... I was running low on 2.5” finish nails for my Bostitch finish nailer. Checked the big-box stores...no dice. Checked Amazon, found exactly what I needed, ordered a container of a thousand and had them the next day.
Another diy project... I replaced every door handle, lock, hinge, door stop in the house...interior and exterior. I wanted it all in the same color/collection. Visited the Schlage site, identified exactly what I wanted right down to product numbers. Neither Lowe’s nor HD could put an order together for me. Wound up buying everything from Build.com...a great site for stuff.
I tend to shop around for stuff. I know you don’t have that luxury in your projects.
Add in a sales tax. Somehow, the states snuck that one in to cover online sales. I occasionally use eBay or Amazon and both have added the tax, so there's one less incentive.
Still good for those who live a distance away from stores though.