Hardware stores replacing plastic bins w/ cardboard?

[William Adams]

Went to the local True Value and all the plastic trays of hardware were gone, replaced by new racking w/ cardboard boxes of hardware --- I seem to recall having seen these before (on a vacation?) so I guess it's not that new, but I was surprised at the very traditional store going to the expense of replacing _everything_ (racking, trays, total restock of product).

Anyone else noticed this? Is there a pattern to it? I'm guessing pretty much all stores will be doing this eventually? (consequence of National Hardware getting bought out by Stanley?)

Makes me really glad I cleared them out of saw nuts a while back, but wonder what other obscure hardware can't be sourced there anymore.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Local Ace uses cardboard boxes on plastic pull outs and has for years. The other bins are still plastic. One advantage to cardboard bins is inventory comes in them. Pull diagonal corner off, add left overs from previous box and slide them in place.

[Dave Lehnert]

Worked in retail for years. You can bet the hardware supplier is paying for the new store fixtures not the store.
My guess would be a new supplier is taking over.
In Cincinnati we have the Hillman co located here. They supply the hard to find hardware you see in some hardware stores.
http://www.hillmangroup.com/

Are you saying they are no longer selling hardware by the piece but only in case packs?

[William Adams]

No, they're still selling by the piece --- what's different is that the pieces are in cardboard trays, and arrive filled as noted by Bruce Wrenn.

[Dave Zellers]

Local Ace uses cardboard boxes on plastic pull outs and has for years. The other bins are still plastic. One advantage to cardboard bins is inventory comes in them. Pull diagonal corner off, add left overs from previous box and slide them in place.

This is my experience as well. Going back 40 years, we called these Sharon assortments. I hope it never dies, because most times you just need 5-10 of something. Not 50-100.

I will always drive out of my way to the hardware store with the more extensive Sharon Assortment isle.

[Wade Lippman]

It is certainly not new.
25 years ago a "well known home center" ordered us to change over to cardboard bins for shipping our products. They then never ordered them, because 5 months later they decided they preferred our old packaging. But we got to spend heavily to develop the new packaging.

And no, the store doesn't pay anything; they just order the vendor to make it gone.

[Edwin Santos]

This change could be for environmental reasons. It's becoming a big issue that plastic never goes away. We accumulate millions of tons of discarded plastic. Burning it presents it's own problems. Recycling it is not as easy as people would think. A lot of it ends up in the oceans. At least cardboard is biodegradable and more easily recyclable.
Edwin

[William Adams]

But the plastic wasn't being tossed out, it was just there, in the racks in the aisles, being used --- no need to replace unless broken, in which case, I'm pretty sure it was HDPE which is recyclable.

I just wish I'd known that they were going to do this in advance --- I'm pretty sure there were some obscure hardware things which they spaces for, and stock in, the plastic bins; but which are missing from the cardboard ones they have. Also, the manufacturers / sourcing seems to have changed, and some things are different (e.g., wingnuts have different shapes).