Good Quality Tools that anyone can afford.

[woody 73]

Woody Tip.

Most of us like the "Hunt" and when I find that buried treasure it puts a smile on my face

http://www.habitat.org/restores

Take a few minutes out of your busy Day and head on over to a Habitat for Humanity Re store, The money goes for a good cause and sometimes you will find those killer deals on used tools...

Yesterday I picked up a nice used Vaughn hammer, and two old somewhat rusty Mac Wrenches from Sabina, Ohio.

Woody

 

[Fastbird]

*Edit* that reply was meant for a completely different thread.

 

[heavydutyOEX]

Any tools at my local habitat go home with the folks working there. Saw a C-man box full of stuff sitting in a corner and started digging through it and one of the women working there said she was taking it home for her husband. I haven't set foot in there since.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Of course it only took two posts for people to complain. If a volunteer buys something there's nothing really wrong with that. The organization still gets the money from the sale.

If you have such a problem with it, then contact your local Habitat and complain. Whining online does nothing.

Assuming they're buying it, and buying it for what it would sell for. And if the staff is skimming all the good stuff and leaving ****, that drives down the traffic that having cool stuff for sale would bring.

 

[scaron]

i have never ever found anything interesting with regard to tools at a habitat restore, just total junk...

i DID however once find this awesome lab-style faucet head with hose barb built in for like $25. practically NIB. score!

 

[wmartin]

Any tools at my local habitat go home with the folks working there. Saw a C-man box full of stuff sitting in a corner and started digging through it and one of the women working there said she was taking it home for her husband. I haven't set foot in there since.

High grading seems to be a pretty popular hobby at most of our local thrift stores. The one exception appears to be Salvation Army, although they pretty obviously keep some eye on eBay for pricing of name brand stuff. The local hospice thrift store is the most infamous for cherry picking by staff.

I think that the Restores are a great idea, but the one we have is utterly crammed with junk. You'd think they'd try to turn the stock a little bit via sales (or dump runs) and the like.

 

[zkling]

Of course it only took two posts for people to complain. If a volunteer buys something there's nothing really wrong with that. The organization still gets the money from the sale.

If you have such a problem with it, then contact your local Habitat and complain. Whining online does nothing.

How is stating a fact, although it may be of negative connotation, complaining? I see no whining, just someone sharing their experience.

 

[scaron]

it's not that there's anything wrong with it per se, but it is really frustrating when someone at the shop is always pulling the best used stuff before it even hits the floor. half the time they are probably just taking it to drop on ebay, anyway. but this is probably a common annoyance to any of us junk shop deal hunters.

 

[jakemac]

My local Restore is a mixed bag. Out front they display fine furniture and fixings in a clean setting. Out back it's a gritty jumble. Most of the handtools they have are junk not worthy of your local baby clothes yard sale.

However, I did find a 1950's Delta/Homecraft shaper w/ stand, motor, and extra knives for just under $100 this summer. So it can't be that bad.

 

[crewchief888]

at the local HFH restore, i've NEVER seen any tools.
i've been to another one a little ways away, didnt see any hand tools, and what few power tools they had were priced like they were new...

i've never seen any tools at any of the major thrift stores, i have one locally owned thrift store that has quite a few tools, but mostly junk or broken, newer & working stuff has ebay type pricing.

theres tons of pawn shops in the area, most people will either CL or pawn tools before donating them to HFH restore.

 

[wafrederick]

I found 1/2 drive sockets and ratchets an estate sale a widow my father knows.They were her husband's tools,he passed away.I went through it and all in great shape.It was mostly Snap On,Craftsman,SK,a little bit of Mac and Cornwell and some cheap stuff.Some other brands tone ratchet was a simple fix,buy a couple screws from the hardware store which were cheap for the cover plate and it is an old Craftsman with no quick release.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

Never any tools at ours either...

 

[jjjrmx5]

My local Restore is a mixed bag. Out front they display fine furniture and fixings in a clean setting. Out back it's a gritty jumble. Most of the handtools they have are junk not worthy of your local baby clothes yard sale.

I have found the same.

Tools, if any, are usually of low end origin and singles are unknowingly zip bagged into a jumbled mess and labeled for prices that make me laugh.

There is the occasional gem but lots of quarry rock to sort thru to get to it.

 

[G_P]

My Local ReStore has had mostly the same inventory for over a year now. Stuff there is either priced very low or the stuff is missing important parts or is outright broken and useless it is priced 10% below retail.

They do sell bulk hardware for a buck a pound though. Depending on what is donated you can get some very good deals on screws/bolts/nuts/washers and such.

Last time I was in there they were selling old rusty dented 4 drawer filing cabinets made of the thinnest sheet steel possible for $75 each yet they had a brand new kitchen island that had to be 6'x4' with drawers and a thick solid granite top for $199!

All decent tools are kept in back. I have overheard employees saying that they have certain customers who come in once a week and buy pretty much every tool they have to resell at flea markets. What they dont buy is stuff that is either oddball tools that nobody knows what they are or chinese tools rusted worse than the Titanic.

 

[schmelpboy]

My local Restore is a complete joke. Inventory hardly ever turns over, most of the stuff I wouldn't pull from the dump for free....The same early 1900's house door has been there for over 5 years...I know it's the same door, because it looks like a child with a paint brush painted the whole thing dark purple...and it has a price tag of 400.00......Everything in there is similarly priced...crazy for a place that gets everything for free. I'd think it'd be more important to keep cash flow moving than asking almost new prices for things that were donated in the first place...Also, never any hand tools.

 

[woody 73]

Wow interesting replies so far, I have had to sort through the boxes but so far over the year I have picked up a Bell telephone screwdriver, a plomb screwdriver, a proto screwdriver, one old plomb wrench,two mac wrenches, a very nice Vaughn hammer, a small Starrett level (the size of a small quarter in very nice shape), an old rusted up Stanley square, and a snap on wrench.

Yes you have to sort through the piles of junk looking for gold, but they these are items that get overlooked; sorry to hear all the negative posts.

 

[7th Kahuna]

I love ReStore but have only come home with a couple of tools over the years. Both were new, one for crimping steel duct work and one for installing compression coax fittings. No complaints though, I have come home with plenty of other goodies over the years. Every store is different. I used to hit a variety of them when I was out on the road for business. I have to say though, I am envious of you guys outside the city. Your stores seem to be better. But I suspect I've got you beat when it come to Craigslist. It evens out.

 

[plier_able]

I guess it depends on how much you want/can afford to spend but here in Oz I mostly only ever find junk in my local stores. The good (German) stuff is outrageously expensive and I can buy it online (including shipping all the way to Oz) generally at half to two-thirds the price.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Assuming they're buying it, and buying it for what it would sell for. And if the staff is skimming all the good stuff and leaving ****, that drives down the traffic that having cool stuff for sale would bring.

Also assuming they are not selling skimmed goods on C/L or E-Bay...

 

[jacked_72]

There are two habitat stores in our area. I've never seen a hand tool, but sometimes they have battery power tools. I think Home Depot used to donate stuff to them as there used to be a bunch of paint and flooring. I don't think I've ever bought anything there, but if I need a used toilet, I know where to go. I donated some stuff to them and two years later they still had it. I'm not quite sure who they're selling to.

 

[Joe B.]

My Restore is great. I have brought home more tools than I can count. They have had lots of old tools over the last couple of years.

Mine also gets products that suppliers bring to trade shows for Ace & True Value. I guess after the shows some of the vendors don't want to haul their stuff home and just donate it to the ReStore.

At times they have slightly damage but brand new furniture at a fraction of new prices. I think they are hooked up with some manufacturer or retailer.