Sarasota FL Woodcraft appears to be closed!

[Robert Parrish]

I stopped by the Woodcraft store in Sarasota on my way back from Harbor Freight this morning but it appears to be closed. I called the phone number and it is disconnected.

[Matt Meiser]

Bummer. I worry about that here and try to support mine as much as possible (much to SWMBO's chagrin!)

From their web site:



The Sarasota Woodcraft Store is now closed.
Dear Sarasota Woodcraft Customer,

The Woodcraft store at 4456 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota closed its doors at the end of business on Sunday, February 28, 2010. Unfortunately, this situation occurred very quickly when the franchise owner of the store made the decision to discontinue operations.

We recognize this unplanned closing may be an inconvenience for you, and we assure you Woodcraft’s website and catalog still offer the woodworking tools and supplies you want. In order to fulfill your woodworking needs, we encourage you to shop Woodcraft.com, shop via our product catalog, which you can receive by calling 1-800-542-9115, or visit one of our other retail locations.

There are also two other local Woodcraft stores who would be more than happy to service your woodworking needs both now and well into the future. These are located at 18891 US Highway North in Clearwater and at 3853 Cleveland Ave Suite E in Fort Myers. Either store is only a short drive away.

The monthly advertising flyer for the Sarasota area was already in the mail when this closing came to our attention, but you should know that the items and prices are all valid through mail order, on the internet and at the other stores. You may order by calling 1-800-225-1153 toll free.

Thank you for your understanding regarding this store closing. We value the business of the Sarasota area residents and hope you’ll continue to shop at Woodcraft for all your woodworking needs. We’ve been here to Help You Make Wood Work for 80 years!

[Robert Parrish]

Matt, I guess I should have checked the website. The other two stores are too far for me to drive to. Well I still have Harbor Freight locally.

[roman fedyk]

Both locations are about an hour drive from Sarasota...assuming no traffic issues of course.

[Robert Parrish]

No traffic!! I-75 is bumper to bumper with spring breakers now! I will be ordering from the catalog for now.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have a Woodcraft on the other side of town (1/2 hr drive) but still order via mail. If I place my order by 2 pm it is on my door step at 10am the next day with the regular shipping.

I was told if you wanted to support your local woodcraft you can still place a phone order with them and they will ship out UPS. Same cost.

[Jerome Hanby]

Our local Woodcraft is moving to a bigger facility where they can display and stock more shop equipment. Hope that means they are doing well and not doing a desperate hail Mary.

[Adam Strong]

I have heard of several going out lately. :( Ours in Jacksonville seems to be going strong.

[Van Huskey]

I have been in that store a couple of times about a year or so ago, it seemed to only have about 50% of the inventory on a normal WC, and even though I was there on Saturdays it didn't seem to have near the traffic I usually see in one. I hate it for the locals but I don't have a good WWing store within 100 miles so I can relate.

[Karl Card]

I honestly dont know but I feel our WC here in evansville, in is doing better. I see more people in there each time I go in but really dont pay attention to what they are buying. I find myself going in there more now than before and honestly if I find stuff cheaper on the net say maybe 15 bucks or more cheaper I buy on the net but most of the time I need/want it now so i buy from them.

[Don Selke]

I think that will happen here in Phoenix area in the near future. The last time I went to the store for some Seal A Cell, there stock was quite depleated and the staff was not very friendly.

[Robert Parrish]

Woodcraft seems to be competing with themselves. If I can order from the their internet catalog and get free shipping, why would I drive 60 miles to the store.

[Steven DeMars]

Woodcraft seems to be competing with themselves. If I can order from the their internet catalog and get free shipping, why would I drive 60 miles to the store.

For the rush experienced by entering a massive tool store . . . :)

I am a little disgruntled with WOODCRAFT. They seem to have no problem selling franchises to three or four individuals in a 50 mile radius and they sit back and watch one or two slowly go broke. Most of the WOODCRAFT franchisees are "real" woodworkers looking to invest in something they love. They are not hard core merchants that have the savvy to recognize the potential for failure. That is why you see higher concentrations of stores in popular retirement areas of the country. Someone wants to semi-retire to his dream . .

On the other hand, those of us in Louisiana & Mississippi can't get one store in a two state area. According to the economy stats we are doing far better here than most of the country. Ask the Grizzly how much equipment they ship here. . . or Rockler, or Woodcraft . . . I have a friend that works for UPS and he says there are very few days that he does not handle a package for one of these on his route . . .

WE WANT A WOODCRAFT STORE - WE WANT A ROCKLER STORE ! ! ! !

[Mark Saberniak]

The woodcraft in Merrillville, Indiana is closing this saturday. The owner said he was running at about 45% capacity and couldn't hang on any longer.

[Jason Varner AF]

Robert,

Not sure if you ever have the need to drive north, but there is another Woodcraft in Clearwater. I work at MacDill AFB in Tampa, but live in Palmetto so I would go to either store depending if I was off or going to work. I can see your point about the free shipping though, when it's available...

[Robert Parrish]

Thanks Jason, I would only go the Clearwater store if I had to have something immediately. I don't like to travel North into that traffic!

[Ellen Benkin]

Rockler does the same thing. So does New Balance (shoes). Order online and free shipping. I don't understand why they compete against their franchises and I would be livid if I were a franchisee.

[Jeff Wright]

Rockler does the same thing. So does New Balance (shoes). Order online and free shipping. I don't understand why they compete against their franchises and I would be livid if I were a franchisee.

A while back the online store offered Lie-Nielsen planes with a 20% discount; I had never seen them discounted that much. I preferred to buy at my local Clearwater WC, but there was no way they could compete with the "home office." I felt bad for the local franchisee, but with free shipping and no tax it was hard to resist. I will say however, that one of the planes I ordered (a #8) was back ordered for months and I ultimately canceled that order. Makes you wonder if the WC home office was truly able to deliver on that great price!

[Karl Card]

Woodcraft has a problem that I see. First you have to understand that not everyone is the same and I am speaking about the majority of new woodworkers.

Price - way to high. is it worth it yes but to a new person they have no way of knowing. Woodcraft I know does not make much money at all on there expensive tools, and yes I do realize that is not there fault.

Secondly I buy my pen kits from a place not located in the united states. Why, because I get them at a much better price and the ink refills work great compared to what I can buy here in the states. I average 1.48 per fancy pen and that inclused shipping. Okay I go to WC and buy a very nice heavy pen for 5 or 6 dollars on sale and cant sell it because it writes like crap.. people say well buy a new cartridge for it, duh isnt that why i bought a kit so i wouldnt have to buy a cartridge.

I like woodcraft and have gotten my negative thoughts from the past taken care of. But I wished they had the ability to take care of the middle to low end as well as they do the high end.

[Van Huskey]

I agree 100% from down on the bayou as well.


For the rush experienced by entering a massive tool store . . . :)

I am a little disgruntled with WOODCRAFT. They seem to have no problem selling franchises to three or four individuals in a 50 mile radius and they sit back and watch one or two slowly go broke. Most of the WOODCRAFT franchisees are "real" woodworkers looking to invest in something they love. They are not hard core merchants that have the savvy to recognize the potential for failure. That is why you see higher concentrations of stores in popular retirement areas of the country. Someone wants to semi-retire to his dream . .

On the other hand, those of us in Louisiana & Mississippi can't get one store in a two state area. According to the economy stats we are doing far better here than most of the country. Ask the Grizzly how much equipment they ship here. . . or Rockler, or Woodcraft . . . I have a friend that works for UPS and he says there are very few days that he does not handle a package for one of these on his route . . .

WE WANT A WOODCRAFT STORE - WE WANT A ROCKLER STORE ! ! ! !

[Rick Fisher]

Eventually it has to turn. Woodcraft is not the only one losing dealers..

The great operators will stay open and probably expand when the market is right.. I am seeing it in our area in other industries..

Tough sledding right now..

[Bob Borzelleri]

One thing I have noticed about the Woodcraft store that I have frequented for over a decade is that the folks who work there appear more and more to be like the bicycle racers who work at bike shops. For the most part, they work in the store because they want to be around woodworking stuff and being of service to customers often gets in the way of the ambiance.

Obviously, this is not the case with all the employees, but all it takes is one trip to spend money and walk away with the feeling that you were intruding to make me start to look for other options. Customer service used to be a strong element of Woodcraft's approach to customers. I think that has changed over the years to the point where I am much more willing to order online, and not necessarily from Woodcraft.

[Thomas Williams]

I hope the local Woodcraft is doing well here. Friendly folks,good customer service and the store keeps a good inventory. If I am buying something from Woodcraft I will buy it from the local store.