Hammer time on the web a shopping odyssey.

Hammer time: Who has faster delivery

HOME DEPOT AND LOWE’S RACE TO DELIVER A HAMMER TO MY HOME.

By Tim Burke

Iwanted a hammer.

I wanted it delivered to my home.

I wondered who would get it to me faster, Home Depot or Lowe’s.

So, I went online to both retailer’s websites, signed up for an account on each, provided my credit card information on each, and prepared to drop the flag on my own private home delivery race.

Both stores were in neighboring suburban locations to my home, both less than 10 minutes away.

The Great Hammer Race: Pre-race

The Lowe’s website sign-up was easy. After entering my personal information and credit card information the site asked me if I wanted double security authentication to protect my credit card. I did. The Home Depot website did not offer this. But it was also easy to sign-up and add all my info.

Next, I typed in “Hammer” in the search bar for both Home Depot and Lowe’s.

At Lowe’s, the screen flashed bold “337 results for ‘hammer’” and provided images across the top by brand, and a vertical list below for scrolling. Four items down I saw a plain wooden handled claw hammer for $5.98. It was made by WorkPro.

At Home Depot, the screen simply said “Hammer” and below in small print that I had to hunt for, it showed the words “80 Results.” It also provided images of hammers by brand and then bigger images of hammers, with a plain wooden handled claw hammer right in the first spot on the left, where everyone’s eye goes first. No scrolling needed. It was priced at $5.97. It was made by Stanley.

This wooden-handled claw hammer arrived first, in the conclusion of what I was calling The Great Hammer Race. Photos by Tim Burke. The Great Hammer Race: Coming out of the gate

At the Lowe’s site, I clicked on the selection box and my claw hammer went into the Lowe’s shopping cart. The order summary said delivery would be in two days; the item would be shipped to my home; shipping was $5.99 for an “Estimated Total of $11.97.”

In the Order Summary column on the right side of my computer screen the website had now added an estimated sales tax of $1.23 for a total of $13.20. I clicked a “Continue” button to the payment form where I was prompted to enter my CVV number. I received a Lowe’s thank you note.

At the Home Depot site I selected my Stanley claw hammer and added it to the cart. The site immediately showed me a pre-selected box that said, “Free delivery tomorrow.”

I clicked on an orange checkout button which took me to a screen to confirm my email, then to a page where it confirmed my address and showed the total would by $5.97 and reiterated delivery was free.

It also gave me another delivery option to get “delivery today” for the additional cost of $8.99. I clicked on “delivery today” and my total price changed to, including .58 cents sales tax, $15.54.

But there was a catch. Delivery could be as late as 8 p.m. (I didn’t need a hammer at 8 p.m.) Also, I had to be home to accept the delivery. But I was going to be gone from my home all evening. So, I decided to pass on the “today” option.

Note: There was no button to undo my delivery choice. I had to go back out to the main page and start all over again.

But I got back to the “Secure Checkout” page and placed the order. I received a Home Depot thank you.

The orders were placed at Home Depot and Lowe’s for my hammers. The race was on.

The Great Hammer Race: Running the race

Two email updates came that evening.

First Lowe’s sent me a message saying, “It’s on the way,” in big blue letters and a note about when

the order was placed, the order number and that my payment was successfully processed.

The email also showed my order description and the method of shipping. It read: “FDXGND.”

A little later I received an email from Home Depot with the message: “Your order has shipped,” letting me know it was on the way, along with an orange button where I could click to “View Tracking Details.”

On that page it showed the message, “Expected delivery on Wednesday.” And it noted, “the carrier: FedEx Express.”

I went off to bed not giving it another thought. The Great Hammer Race: Outcome Early the next morning, before 8 a.m., I received an email from Home Depot letting me know “my order is out for delivery.” The email included a link where I could track my delivery.

Hitting the button took me to a new page where the words, “Your order is on the road,” couldn’t have been any clearer at the top.

At 20 minutes to noon, a box arrived. And there it was:

My hammer. I brought the box inside and slit it open and I had my claw hammer. Home Depot had delivered in one day as indicated — slightly more than 24 hours after ordering online — and free of shipping charges. There was an email a This hammer arrived at my home in two days, as few minutes later letting the company had indicated it would. Both retailers me know my order was delivered on what they said. delivered. But I knew that. On the second day, also about noon, I received an email from Lowe’s letting me know, “Your order has arrived,” and just as indicated, it was delivered in two days. Now I had two new wooden-handled claw hammers without a scuff yet! The race was over. But I learned something extra: One day delivery or two days, you can never have enough hammers around for all the home repairs we all do.

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