Romex Cable

[Creeper]

I had a little DIY project to add a new electrical outlet in my basement by tapping off an existing circuit. I made a little list of things I needed and headed to Lowes, which is closer and easier to get to than the nearest Home Depot where I am located. It has been a while since I have done any work with Romex so was I shocked when I got to the cable section of the store. First, all the Romex was locked up in metal cages with very serious pad locks, not your run of the mill Master combos, they had these huge 3 inch pad locks that look like they can stop a .50 caliber bullet. I remember going to the store and taking a spool off the shell and heading to check out. Never saw cable locked in a jail cell like that.

Then I noticed the prices! SAY WHAT!!!??? $65 for 50ft of 12-2! Of course I need 35 so I can't get the cheaper 25 ft spool. 100 ft is only $80 for some reason I wanted to ask if I could just get the 2nd 50ft off the 100ft spool for $15, but as usual no one was around to help me.

Of course Lowes didn't have 50 ft rolls and there were no assistants walking around I could ask to see if they would cut 50 ft off for me so I headed to Home Depot - same story except they had the 50 ft rolls. I still had to wait 15 minutes before someone came over and opened the vault so I could get my cable and staples. Home Depot also locked up the insulated staples for some reason. I bought the 100 ft spool so If anyone needs 60 ft of Romex you know who to contact. I'll see you the first 50 ft fot $65 and give you the remaining 10 for nothing!

I know copper has gone up in price but they have copper pipe in the plumbing isle that are not locked up, and all the electric power tools they sell have lots of copper in their electric motors. Why lock up Romex cable? It's not like someone could stick it under their shirt and walk out with it.

 

[rags747]

Why do stores lock this stuff up? Put guards at the exit doors and that’s that! Too bad for hurt feelings…

 

[Tabascocat]

Why do stores lock this stuff up? Put guards at the exit doors and that’s that! Too bad for hurt feelings…

I was in Atlanta a few months ago for a few weeks. There was a Kroger real close, the next grocery store was 15 miles away. So, I reluctantly went to the close one knowing it was in a bad neighborhood.

The store itself was built inside another bigger structure with a 20’ buffer to actually get into the store. Outside and inside were lined with steel bars all around, like in a jail. I had to go through a metal detector just to go through the entrance gate. There were no less than five police patrolling the aisles. Needless to say, that was my only trip there!

 

[Creeper]

Why do stores lock this stuff up? Put guards at the exit doors and that’s that! Too bad for hurt feelings…

They can chip it. They already do it with certain high priced items. Locking this stuff up in a steel cage kind of defeats the purpose of the store's concept.

 

[jwitten82]

I had a little DIY project to add a new electrical outlet in my basement by tapping off an existing circuit. I made a little list of things I needed and headed to Lowes, which is closer and easier to get to than the nearest Home Depot where I am located. It has been a while since I have done any work with Romex so was I shocked when I got to the cable section of the store. First, all the Romex was locked up in metal cages with very serious pad locks, not your run of the mill Master combos, they had these huge 3 inch pad locks that look like they can stop a .50 caliber bullet. I remember going to the store and taking a spool off the shell and heading to check out. Never saw cable locked in a jail cell like that.

Then I noticed the prices! SAY WHAT!!!??? $65 for 50ft of 12-2! Of course I need 35 so I can't get the cheaper 25 ft spool. 100 ft is only $80 for some reason I wanted to ask if I could just get the 2nd 50ft off the 100ft spool for $15, but as usual no one was around to help me.

Of course Lowes didn't have 50 ft rolls and there were no assistants walking around I could ask to see if they would cut 50 ft off for me so I headed to Home Depot - same story except they had the 50 ft rolls. I still had to wait 15 minutes before someone came over and opened the vault so I could get my cable and staples. Home Depot also locked up the insulated staples for some reason. I bought the 100 ft spool so If anyone needs 60 ft of Romex you know who to contact. I'll see you the first 50 ft fot $65 and give you the remaining 10 for nothing!

I know copper has gone up in price but they have copper pipe in the plumbing isle that are not locked up, and all the electric power tools they sell have lots of copper in their electric motors. Why lock up Romex cable? It's not like someone could stick it under their shirt and walk out with it.

Things are expensive, for a job like that, if you would've supplied the right material I would've charged $220 just for labor

 

[Runwildboys]

I had a little DIY project to add a new electrical outlet in my basement by tapping off an existing circuit. I made a little list of things I needed and headed to Lowes, which is closer and easier to get to than the nearest Home Depot where I am located. It has been a while since I have done any work with Romex so was I shocked when I got to the cable section of the store. First, all the Romex was locked up in metal cages with very serious pad locks, not your run of the mill Master combos, they had these huge 3 inch pad locks that look like they can stop a .50 caliber bullet. I remember going to the store and taking a spool off the shell and heading to check out. Never saw cable locked in a jail cell like that.

Then I noticed the prices! SAY WHAT!!!??? $65 for 50ft of 12-2! Of course I need 35 so I can't get the cheaper 25 ft spool. 100 ft is only $80 for some reason I wanted to ask if I could just get the 2nd 50ft off the 100ft spool for $15, but as usual no one was around to help me.

Of course Lowes didn't have 50 ft rolls and there were no assistants walking around I could ask to see if they would cut 50 ft off for me so I headed to Home Depot - same story except they had the 50 ft rolls. I still had to wait 15 minutes before someone came over and opened the vault so I could get my cable and staples. Home Depot also locked up the insulated staples for some reason. I bought the 100 ft spool so If anyone needs 60 ft of Romex you know who to contact. I'll see you the first 50 ft fot $65 and give you the remaining 10 for nothing!

I know copper has gone up in price but they have copper pipe in the plumbing isle that are not locked up, and all the electric power tools they sell have lots of copper in their electric motors. Why lock up Romex cable? It's not like someone could stick it under their shirt and walk out with it.

I've had two partial rolls hanging in my basement for...wow, decades, now that I think about it...Didn't realize it'd gotten so out of hand!

 

[Creeper]

Things are expensive, for a job like that, if you would've supplied the right material I would've charged $220 just for labor

I guess my complaint is Lowes and Home Depot are set up as DIY stores. You find what you need and take it off the shelve. You can buy all kinds of equipment, including power tools, lawnmowers, generators, etc. by taking a hand cart they provide, loading your purchase up on the carts and wheeling it to the checkout. Why is Romex different? They are not staffed to provide help to customers. So if you need a product that is locked up behind a steel cage, it is going to be a time consuming experience.

 

[Runwildboys]

I guess my complaint is Lowes and Home Depot are set up as DIY stores. You find what you need and take it off the shelve. You can buy all kinds of equipment, including power tools, lawnmowers, generators, etc. by taking a hand cart they provide, loading your purchase up on the carts and wheeling it to the checkout. Why is Romex different? They are not staffed to provide help to customers. So if you need a product that is locked up behind a steel cage, it is going to be a time consuming experience.

Maybe people have been cutting off what they want and shorting the rolls for the people who buy a whole roll?

 

[Creeper]

Maybe people have been cutting off what they want and shorting the rolls for the people who buy a whole roll?

When I used to buy cable by the foot, I always needed a Lowes employee to come over and cut it for me. But they have precut rolls in length sof 25, 50, 100 and 250 ft. Locking up the pre-cut olls is what irks me. But I guess copper is getting hard to find and expensive now so we need to deal with the consequences.

 

[Pompey-Cowboy]

Shopping sucks period, could you have bought it on line?

 

[Creeper]

Shopping sucks period, could you have bought it on line?

Probably, but I thought I could just go to Loews and pick it up without any complications. I was wrong.