HILTI store rip offs

[cory]

I went to the new Hilti store grand opening today in Saint John. Looking for a deal on bolts, maybe a new bit, and such.
The bits were expensive.
They also have 3/8" stainless expansion bolts, box of 50 for $200 (4$/bolt)
The rest of the vist went like this:

Cory: Are you was serious? I can get them for less than 1/2 that.

Sales guy: Really?

Cory: Yes, $1.85 each from MEC

Sales guy: Oh, they sell them individually? Wow, I can't come close to that.

Cory: Really? They are Hilti brand. I have a few in the car I can show you if you like.

Sales guy: They must muy them by the skid load.

Cory: (solilloque) Yeah, and Hilti must make/have them made by the container load, surely they can match this price. (aloud, so everyone in the store -which was crouded- could hear) And in Fredericton, at Apex I think it is, which we have here in Saint John too, if you buy by the 50 count it works out to less than that, like a buck sixty-five a bolt. And it's your brand. They're Hilti's.

Sales guy: Yeah, but they must buy by the whole skid. I can't match that.

Cory: OK then. (exit)

[Adam]

lmao

[Fred]

Cory: I suspect the bolts that were in SJ were 316 Stainless Steel not 304 Stainless like the ones MEC sells and in that case their price would have been accurate. They are at least double the price.

[granite_grrl]

We visited the Hilti store out near us and found the same thing. The biggest difference in price was if you had an account with them or not. General public can not get an account with them (can't remember what is required), construction companies and companies that resell them (ie- MEC) will have an account with them.

They gave us the account price plus the volume discount and it sounds right for the price MEC sells them at with a little markup. Other price differences might be (as Fred mentioned) is the 316 and 304 stainless.

Sorry Cory, it just sounds like you got a sales person that didn't know what they were talking about. I think Nathan took down the numbers somewhere before (may have even posted them in an old thread). Maybe he can pipe in and give them to you.

[chossmonkey]

From THIS thread.

So we stopped in at the Hilti store today, and this is what we found out.

For the Kwik Bolt 3 (3/8" diameter, 3" length) in 304 stainless steal they're $155 for 50 ($3.10 per bolt) or $964 for 400 ($2.41 per bolt).

In 316 stainless they are $342 for 50 bolts.

If you bought the 304s through a company [account] then they're $90 for 50.

Now, the 316 stainless is more durable, but the guy at the store said the 304s get used offshore and in sweage treatment plants and hold up great. The MEC site doesn't say which bolts they actually carry, but looking at their prices I assume its the 304 stainless (MEC Halifax, could you verify this?).

This was almost two years ago so I imagine the price has gone up some.

[chossmonkey]

Oh, and MEC carries the 304 bolts. Most bolt hangers are 304 as well.

[betaburgler]

Well just a little info related to 304 vs 316 stainless steel. Mechanically they are very similar. They can take about the same amount of stress depending on the exact composition (standards give a range). Even within the ranges there will little variation. The significant difference is 316's superior resistance to corrosion, particularly in a chloride (salt) environment.

Living next to the ocean I suppose 316 might last longer because it will resist corroding in the salty air better then 304, but either material should be just as durable as the other. The individual manufacturers fabrication methods will have more of an impact on durability then the actual classification of the steel.

[Matt Peck]

I'd stick with MEC in terms of affordability for bolts. I bought a box of 50 hilti's to humor the clerk who didn't want to count out 30 worth of parts. Turns out there were 86 in the box.
Guess I won't be complaining about my Co-op dividends for a while.

[Fred]

hahaha

It's not like they are nails and you buy them by the pound.... One two skip a few.