I was fixing up a 30' ladder my fil loaned me this weekend. The plastic wheels that allow the ladder to slide up a wall were broken. I turned a couple wheels out of plywood and ran out to the hardware store for a push nut. I went to Canadian Tire and found a picture of a push nut on their in-store diagrams in the misc hardware section. After looking at all the little packages for about 10 minutes (including the tags on the out-of-stock labels) I asked the guy working the section if they had any. He said he didn't know and to ask another fella. The other fella said he'd never seen one of them in the store before, after I showed him the picture. He suggested a local Home Hardware (national chain, but franchisee-owned). I tried the HH and found what I needed in 30 seconds flat. Then I choked when I saw the price - $1.79 each. Even in Canadian dollars, that's nuts. Say what you will about the borgs, but as long as these other jokers don't even consider competitive pricing, they get what they deserve. I've paid grossly inflated prices at this particular store before and I try to avoid it like the Plague. Anyway, I bought the damn thing because it was late and didn't feel like going to 3 stores for such a simple thing. It rang up at $1.59. I always ask when things ring up different from the tag price, but needed a petty win so I said nothing. I think maybe I'll get 80% of a gumball with my ill-gotten gains. I expect it will be sweet.
Shawn