If you had $500 to spend at Home Depot

[Matt Day]

I know we don't fancy the BORGs that much, but I can't imagine you can't spend $500 there with any problem.

I'm there at least once a week to buy all kinds of house related stuff, or material to outfit the shop like folks have mentioned above.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a $500 Home Depot gift card, but there is seriously nothing there I want. I wish I could buy my workbench lumber there, but I don't want to use doug fir and there is no southern yellow pine here.



How has it come to this?



Ideas?

Zach, how has it come to what?

You're on a wood working forum, Home Depot is a home improvement store, not a wood working store.

Kind of like sending your friend the plumber to Lee Valley, at best he could buy some acid swabs for soldering flux and leave mumbling about the fact that they don't sell any resistance soldering equipment.

Consider this problem as a sign that your skills and expectations have advanced :-)..................Regards, Rod.

[Van Huskey]

Kind of like sending your friend the plumber to Lee Valley, at best he could buy some acid swabs for soldering flux and leave mumbling about the fact that they don't sell any resistance soldering equipment.

Rod.

He can also get him a nifty Japanese PVC saw...

When I saw you posted, I figured your response would be "nothing" since although they sell hammers they don't sell Hammers nor Hammer parts.

[Bill Cunningham]

I would trade it in for 20, $25.00 cards and give them as gifts next year.. There, that was easy..

[Dale Coons]

Try cardpool dot com. They buy cards you don't want and give you a choice of cards you do want or cash. I was able to sell a partially used american airlines card that had $62 left that had been sitting in my drawer for a couple of years.

[Zach England]

So I am kind of set on a rolling tool chest now...but anyone know the secret to making these gift cards work on the website? It won't take them...tells me I have entered incorrect data for any and all of them. I know at least one is good because I have used it in the store.

Please don't make me call that 800 number...

[Zach England]

Try cardpool dot com. They buy cards you don't want and give you a choice of cards you do want or cash. I was able to sell a partially used american airlines card that had $62 left that had been sitting in my drawer for a couple of years.

I saw that. Interesting. If I hadn't decided I want a tool chest I'd probably do that. The funny thing is at my office they give four choices: Best Buy, REI, Costco and Home Depot. Almost all the people with families go for Costco, all the single males go for Best Buy and the single females go for REI. I'd REALLY have a hard time finding something I want at any of those stores. I am going to submit to HR that if they insist on keeping the policy of handing out gift cards as a poor substitute for a Christmas bonus they look into Lie-Nielsen.

[Brian Tymchak]

I saw that. Interesting. If I hadn't decided I want a tool chest I'd probably do that. The funny thing is at my office they give four choices: Best Buy, REI, Costco and Home Depot. Almost all the people with families go for Costco, all the single males go for Best Buy and the single females go for REI. I'd REALLY have a hard time finding something I want at any of those stores. I am going to submit to HR that if they insist on keeping the policy of handing out gift cards as a poor substitute for a Christmas bonus they look into Lie-Nielsen.

Suggest they offer Visa gift cards. Usable pretty much anywhere..

[Rich Stewart]

I had a fifty dollar card once and the girl gave me change. I bought a pack of gum. Was she not supposed to do that?

[Zach England]

Every time I have used a gift card in a store (Home Depot or other) they either deduct the value from the card and give the gift card back with a receipt telling you how much is left on it or they issue a new gift card in the remaining amount.

I had a fifty dollar card once and the girl gave me change. I bought a pack of gum. Was she not supposed to do that?

[Moses Yoder]

If I had a $500 gift card I would buy my wife a very nice new microwave. I have so many tools there is no more room in my shop. If I didn't have a wife to buy the microwave for, I would give it to the girl next door and ask her to marry me.

[Zach England]

I have a microwave, don't have a wife, and if I gave my neighbor a microwave and asked her to marry me I doubt I'd be received well.

[Brian Elfert]

You could sell your gift cards on Craigslist for somewhere between 80% and 90% of the value. I've been buying Home Depot gift cards and store credits for right about 80% of value. I want to buy a Honda lawn mower from Home Depot in the spring. I would prefer to buy my mower from the local hardware store, but I won't get the same 25% or so off after coupons and discounted store credits/gift cards.

[Art Mulder]

Interesting. I am moving more and more towards hand tools and the only power tool I am interested in acquiring is a high-capacity bandsaw.

There's been several suggestions lately, and that rolling toolbox you mention sounds like a great solution.

Just to add to the mix: I know several folks who like the ridgid air nailers, and also the ridgid cordless drills. The price is competitive, and the lifetime warranty is unbeatable. As I recall their warranty also includes lifetime battery replacement on cordless tools, which is also good. Everyone needs some good drills + drivers!

But also like others have suggested: glue, paint, and other supplies would easily use up funds on those cards.

I too would like to know if the cards expire. I guess I can research this myself...or just go the lazy route and wait for them to not work.

You'd better be kidding. This is like opening your wallet and dumping a handful of twenties into the trash...

(One more thing I like about Canada: The companies are not allowed to set gift card expiry dates.)


I think I'd probably pick the Costco card... It's free groceries!

[Zach England]

Thanks for the ideas. I bought the tool cabinet and still have $150 to spend on sheets of MDF. I am pretty excited to get it delivered. I think it is going to raise my manliness quotient by a few percent.

A few years ago, when I was building up my tool collection and doing a lot of projects on my house I would have never thought I'd struggle to spend money at Home Depot. I have sort of come to a point of DIY ennui lately. I'd rather build furniture, work in ceramics, learn fiber arts and work on some conceptual art stuff I am doing than knock out a wall. I also ran out of walls to knock out.