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I have a 21-inch Bolens push mower that has a ruined blade. Needing one right now, I went to Lowe's and found two identical blades but labeled Troy-Bilt and Craftsman. Thinking the different brands might be priced differently, I took them to the service desk for a price check, Troy-Bilt $29.98, Craftsman two cents. Wanting to deal fairly, I insisted it could not be right and we 'argued' a little bit. She insisted on "ringing up whatever anything scans".

Long story short, I paid two cents and walked out.

I went back in looking for more two-cent Craftsman blades but there were none.

Every now and then a blind squirrel finds a nut in the forrest! Congrats! It is
unusual to say the least.

DaveTN said:

Every now and then a blind squirrel finds a nut in the forrest! Congrats! It is
unusual to say the least.

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I'm going to try another location and see what happens. If positive, I'll try others.

Alex Ethridge said:

I have a 21-inch Bolens push mower that has a ruined blade. Needing one right now, I went to Lowe's and found two identical blades but labeled Troy-Bilt and Craftsman. Thinking the different brands might be priced differently, I took them to the service desk for a price check, Troy-Bilt $29.98, Craftsman two cents. Wanting to deal fairly, I insisted it could not be right and we 'argued' a little bit. She insisted on "ringing up whatever anything scans".

Long story short, I paid two cents and walked out.

I went back in looking for more two-cent Craftsman blades but there were none.

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You said Hello to a good buy.

One of the problems with paying staff peanuts, they have zero loyalty to the store
So the check out operator who probably spends all her waking hours thinking through what she is going to forgo so she can feed her children or pay the power bill probably is glad you got the bargain at the company's expense .
She knew it was a wrong price but she has been trained not to argue .
Some one in IT has probably made this mistake when they last updated the prices
2¢ was probably meant to be the increase in price
So on a discontinued line that now had a $ 00.00 price ( which is a common way to discontinue stock ) a 2 ¢ price rise now amounts to 2 ¢

bertsmobile1 said:

One of the problems with paying staff peanuts, they have zero loyalty to the store
So the check out operator who probably spends all her waking hours thinking through what she is going to forgo so she can feed her children or pay the power bill probably is glad you got the bargain at the company's expense .
She knew it was a wrong price but she has been trained not to argue .
Some one in IT has probably made this mistake when they last updated the prices
2¢ was probably meant to be the increase in price
So on a discontinued line that now had a $ 00.00 price ( which is a common way to discontinue stock ) a 2 ¢ price rise now amounts to 2 ¢

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Yes, somewhere along the line the educational system dropped analysis, critical thinking AND common sense.

I doubt lowes is gonna miss the $20.

On a brand spankin new lowes, the cost of the entire building is paid for the 1st two weeks after opening. The merch it took to fully stock it, is paid within the next month.

Alex Ethridge said:

Yes, somewhere along the line the educational system dropped analysis, critical thinking AND common sense.

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Actually it is management philosophy
Managers are the only people who have brains
Staff are idiot scumbags incapable of thought to be paid the lowest amount possible because they are useless drags on our profit .
The MBA course ( which every manager now has ) teaches their pupils that employees are not people.
They are "Variable Units of Production" , the cost of which is to be reduced to the absolute minimum at every oppertunity .
This is part of the "Greed is Good" thinking which is what is destroying most of the Western economies .

PTmowerMech said:

I doubt lowes is gonna miss the $20.

On a brand spankin new lowes, the cost of the entire building is paid for the 1st two weeks after opening. The merch it took to fully stock it, is paid within the next month.

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Don't fool yourself.
The building is never paid off because it is rented form a subsidery company so they can double dip on tax deductions
Stock is not paid for till after it is sold
So Lowes "allow" various manufacturers , distributors or importers to provide them with floor stock. ( that stock is never Lowes property so never appears on their books )
Lowes only pay for the stock when it is reordered, usually on a 30 day billing cycle from the end of the month .
Thus what you buy on Jan 1 gets replaced on Jan 8 ( assuming weekly deliveries ) which gets billed on Feb 1 to be paid before March 1

Alex Ethridge said:

Long story short, I paid two cents and walked out.

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I'll give ya 3 cents for it, & I don't even have that mower.. But I like a good deal.

7394 said:

I'll give ya 3 cents for it, & I don't even have that mower.. But I like a good deal.

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I'll go a nickel.

I understand that feeling. I found such a deal on dog food once that I bought 20 bags. And bought a dog on the way home.

Wrong thread

PTmowerMech said:

Just incase things don't work out with the rebuild, I got one of these. I probably should've went with the Stens and just swapped out the jets, if need be. It was about $80 cheaper. But the owner of this is a multi millionaire. And has kept my brother in work for over a decade now. Plus this mowers home is about 2hrs away. It's gotta be right the very first time. And stay that way.

Briggs has an online store now. I may start getting a few things from them also, just to try them out.

Briggs online store.

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Thanks for that info.

Alex Ethridge said:

Thanks for that info.

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Oh man, I posted that on the wrong thread.

PTmowerMech said:

Oh man, I posted that on the wrong thread.

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I made a mistake once.

A couple years ago we went to Home Depot near closing time to get something for the next days project. Near the check out they had some adhesive sealer, professional grade stuff in caulking type tubes. The price was like 99 cents so I figured I’d buy a tube. When it rang up, it was the case of 24 for 99 cents. I went back and grabbed the rest of the case that was missing 3 or 4 tubes all for less than a buck. One time at Lowes i was looking for a new chain saw. There was a nice Echo I liked for $250 and I guess a return for something like $200. I got the manager and told him my wife would approve only $135 (price of a cheap Poulan or some other brand). To my amazement he said OK and got it marked $135. I guess the moral is keep your eyes open

PTmowerMech said:

I'll go a nickel.

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Nickel and a penny ️

pro tip: when you go buy blades...or even string trimmer heads..go to store manager FIRST...ask them if you can shop their returns. this is especially true for the big box stores...lots of returns for wrong sized purchases. Same thing with chainsaw chain. And even tools! I have a hard ware store in the local area that I have made a good relationship with and they actually call me when they have tools returned that they cannot sell open box (usually something missing or slight imperfection...or simply wrong tool/returned gift). You'll be surprised.

I go to tractor supply last year and get 3 blades for a 52 ztr. 10 bucks for the whole set. Zip tied together...wrong blades ..returned...absolutely nothing wrong with them...normally 30-40 bucks for the set.

it's a thing.

Just for fun, I just now ran the math on the two-cent blade. Turns out I got a 99.93% discount.

About twenty years ago, I was reworking the head on my car's engine and decided to clean the engine entirely. I went to a locally-owned parts store and could not find any of the products I was used to using. I asked the clerk and he highly recommended something called Super Tuff (sold under the brand of S&N) for only $1.25 per gallon so I bought eight gallons as he bragged it was good for cleaning almost anything with great ease.

And boy was he telling the truth! It melts dirt off as fast as snow would melt in a hot a frying pan.

Fast forward a few years and I went back for more. Long story short, the "price" I paid previously was actually the stock number for that store and Super Stuff was $14 per gallon ($20 today). Still, I bought four more gallons as it is the best tire and engine (or anything similar) cleaner I've ever used. For as long as they make that stuff, I'll won't be without it.

I just now read this "Pennying Out" article at MSN.com.

If an item has been on sale in Home Depot long enough, its price becomes just one penny.

Cajun power said:

pro tip: when you go buy blades...or even string trimmer heads..go to store manager FIRST...ask them if you can shop their returns. this is especially true for the big box stores...lots of returns for wrong sized purchases. Same thing with chainsaw chain. And even tools! I have a hard ware store in the local area that I have made a good relationship with and they actually call me when they have tools returned that they cannot sell open box (usually something missing or slight imperfection...or simply wrong tool/returned gift). You'll be surprised.

I go to tractor supply last year and get 3 blades for a 52 ztr. 10 bucks for the whole set. Zip tied together...wrong blades ..returned...absolutely nothing wrong with them...normally 30-40 bucks for the set.

it's a thing.

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I used to pick up running push mowers from Walmart for like $10 to $20. People would buy, use once or twice then take it back.

Scrubcadet10 said:

Nickel and a penny ️

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I fold. lol

PTmowerMech said:

I used to pick up running push mowers from Walmart for like $10 to $20. People would buy, use once or twice then take it back.

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Actually that's kinda how I got my 1st riding mower way long ago, bought from Sears, used & returned. Said they didn't like it.. Was now priced @ 1/2 off. I looked it over, & peeked under the deck, the guy musta hit a stump or something bad, cause one blade was bent downward.. I pointed it out to the clerk, he said that guy is gonna have a surprise on his credit card..

Anyhow, a $1,750. mower was marked down to $875. I said but it's damaged. He said he will thrown in new blades..

I said If warranty remains intact, I can give $700. cash today only (good blades included) .. He ran upstairs to speak to the manager..
Came back & said NO, $800 is lowest.. I told him to have nice day, walked away. Did my other shopping & strolling back, he saw me & said he could take the $700. cash. I replied that would be acceptable "if" your guys load it in my truck. Thus I got "Greenie" pictured below..

Ran that for 10 years & still got $500. when I finally sold it. Yes I waxed it as well.