King Penny

I went here to get copies of my keys. When I asked for this, the older man behind the counter commented, «yeah, I guess they let women do that now,» which I found sexist and unnecessary. The keys were made quickly and didn’t cost much.

This place is such a joke. The owner is always *ss. I’d rather go to BBB to take care my needs. This is why America’s mom&pop shops are gone. One or two bad experience and lose biz for good.

Meh. It feels more like a junk store than a hardware store. All I managed to find here was cheap batteries, but that was it.

This place charms the socks off of me in all of its junk-​store glory. The man who owns the place is so sweet, and the other folks working there are always very helpful and nice. They don’t always have what I’m looking for, but that’s fine. I go to them first before going to any other hardware store because they lend such character to the area, and even if they don’t have what I’m looking for I get a kick out of nosing around and seeing what they’ve got.

This can be a pretty decent place to shop. If you need a few basics to get your apartment up and running, I recommend checking this place out.
I wish I could give it 4 or even 5 stars; I’ll explain why I cant:
A lot of their stuff is junk, so you have to sort through what is worth buying and what isn’t. I expect the owner to do this for me. Also some of their items are overpriced (for any type of store). I saw some really nothing dinner plates there today for $ 5.99 each, and would never pay that kind of money at a discount store. They’re worth no more than $ 1.99 tops. At a discount store, you should find a whole place setting for $ 4.99.
The owner is very nice, but honestly he doesn’t seem interested in bringing better products into the store or building his business. He seems only interested in selling what he can get for cheap. But like other posters have said, when you ask, he is helpful.
At the moment the place seems to have been turned upside down. I don’t know if the guy is revamping the place, but the aisles are cluttered with junk, debris, and merchandise, so it’s hard to walk around and confusing as to what is actually happening there. I do hope he’s revamping, because the store has potential. It has dropped in appearance significantly since recent visits, and the shelves are looking emptier.
A place down the block has a far better selection of kitchenware. It’s called Shanaz Variety and Discount at 35 – 04 Ditmars and unlike King Penny it is jammed with merchandise. I don’t know whether it’s strictly a hardware store; it looks like more like a discount home furnishing store, so the comparison is difficult. But I just came from there and was impressed at their selection and prices on pots and pans.
KP doesn’t take credit cards, and they close very early (6:00 PM each day). I’ve stopped by there often (ready to buy) to find the door locked. The rest of the neighborhood can manage this; why can’t KP?
I will continue to stop by from time to time, but since I’ve discovered Shanaz, I think I’ve pretty much given up on this place — for a while.

I love this place. Good selection and very helpful staff. Sure beats home depot!

Its local businesses like this that make Astoria the true gem that it is, especially when its not dominated by big corporations but rather small businesses who provide no frills service with honest intentions. The prices are here are nothing near the home depot like prices when considering hardware variety and making key copies here is nearly ½ the price cheaper than Home Depot.
Sure its not the prettiest place to look at, given its relatively dingy and old looking interior, but its charm is what keeps people coming back. Finding items is not always an easy feat but thankfully the owner and the cute Russian and Latin girl that works here know their way around all corners of the store.