Ellis Ace Hardware

Awesome, personalized service. They didn’t have what I needed… sent me to the right spot. Totally helpful.

Best little neighborhood hardware store I’ve ever patroned. Family run, has everything from home improvement essentials like caulk, fasteners, ladders & chains, interior applications like weather & mold proofing, even yard & garden supplies (they even have greenhouse plastic). How they fit it all in the modest space, I have no clue. Absolutely worth giving this a quick shot before wasting time & patience at Home Depot.

If I didn’t live in Oakland, I’d still drive over here to deal with these folks. They’re very knowledgeable and extremely helpful, and they have a large inventory of all sorts of parts and tools. Assuming one’s time is worth something, any possible savings realized by going to Home Depot would be more than offset by the time saved in having the people at Ellis who know what they’re doing getting you the exact part in no time at all. Besides which, it’s a local family owned business, and we need to nurture the few such that are left.

Caveat Emptor — Buyer beware. How many Ellis Ace Hardware employees does it take to screw in the correct light bulb? Apparently more than the people who tried to help me. It was me who got screwed, not the lightbulb. Here is my story.
I went in to purchase a lightbulb for $ 6.99. I presented the sales person with the exact packaging and bulb I purchased at this same store a few weeks ago, so they could be sure to get me another one of the correct bulbs. My unhelpful hardware man returned with the incorrect bulb — it was literally twice the size of the package and bulb I handed him to match, not to mention being a totally different part number.
But my bad, I did not notice it was the wrong bulb as I trusted my unhelpful hardware man to give me the correct product since I’d even given him the packaging to make sure he gave me the right product.
Two days later I come back with the original correct package and bulb, plus the incorrect one they gave me, and told my story, but did not have the receipt. Someone there recognized helping me purchase these same bulbs (the correct ones) a few weeks ago.
Not only did they not apologize or seem sympathetic, but the woman who appeared to be in charge said something like, «If he gave you the wrong part…» questioning the truth of my story and putting the blame on me. Bottom line: I had to eat the cost and purchase another bulb. And I was a repeat customer, until now.
Now this wasn’t a lot of money thankfully, and I understand everyone makes mistakes, but you should clearly see the principles by which these people operate their store before purchasing products there. Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware.

First time coming to this place but decided to stop by as i needed some ‘coupler/​connectors’ for PVC pipe i bought to make a temporary greenhouse for my hibiscus. Realized this place is counter service which i guess is more efficient and quick. And possibly considering the area, necessary! Also, told them i needed a drill bit to drill into metal as i wanted to create drainage for water troughs i have at home and the one i just bought that day! YAY.
Staff very helpful, friendly… and definitely a place to visit again.

These people know what they are talking about. I always get puffed up when they tell me to follow them into the back, ha ha. I am a landscaper and sometimes my work takes me into uncharted territory… like what kind of glue to use to attached a potted plant to the steps so it can’t be stolen… Ellis will know. Plus, the community that ends up at the counter, surrounding you as you figure out what you need, it’s like we are all in this together, we are all important, hipsters looking for some DIY, crusty old contractors fixing ancient toilets, stay at home moms who mean business… I’m telling you, this place is great!

The people here are so helpful and friendly! They are well-​staffed and expedite the process of finding products by getting almost everything for you.

Ace Ellis is a throwback hardware store where the service is the main attraction. As a home improvement novice it is incredibly empowering to have this place in my neighborhood. You walk in, talk to somebody friendly and knowledgeable, and they help you find the items you need to solve your problems. Have you ever tried to get help at Home Depot? Trainwreck. Don’t go anywhere else — go to Ace Ellis.

Feels like going to an old-​fashioned general store. You walk in and ask for what you want, and the friendly person at the counter vanishes for a bit and comes back out with a box containing exactly the thing you asked for.
I love browsing in hardware stores, and you can’t do that here — but what you give up in browseability you more than gain back in inventory. The owners, it seems, have made a conscious decision to minimize customer-​accessible space in favor of having the maximum amount of stuff on hand given the space available. This means that they’re WAY more useful as a local hardware store than a similarly-​sized normally-​configured establishment.
In my experience, most people who work at hardware stores (with some notable exceptions!) don’t know very much about the stuff they sell, or where it might be found. This place is the exact opposite.
I took a girl on a date here. That’s how amazing it is.

Not as cheap as home depot but just the best hardware store there is. They not only have everything but will find you what you need even if you dont know what that is yet. And the nicest people working there in the world. Best customer experience of any store ever.

I love this store! Great depth of knowledge of products and excellent selection of merchandise. They make hard to find and obscure hardware easy to find and they are my «go to» place when I know the big box stores won’t have a clue.

Doing some chores today and ran across the «outrageous» $ 76 circuit breaker sitting in a drawer from Ellis Ace.
BE VERY VERY CAREFUL THAT YOU KNOW THE «RETURN POLICY» BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING. ASK IF THE ITEM CAN BE RETURNED AND UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES. I learned a very expensive lesson that a «circuit breaker» cannot be returned. $ 76. Under the big sign at the front of the store it says, TOOLS cannot be returned and under that it lists breaker. When I purchased the circuit breaker from Paul, he was very knowledgeable and helpful. There were 2 types of circuit breakers and he told me that I could exchange the one I bought if it was not the right one. This implied that he would trust me to bring it back in good condition. When I went in first on Monday for a return, I talked to a clerk and Barbara. I was told that the breaker was a tool, not refundable with no explanation. I would need to come back on Thursday and talk to Paul. I returned on Thursday. I explained to him that I had just realized that I had not reset the old breaker properly but when I did, it was okay. Paul said that he could not refund the breaker because there was no way he could tell if I had harmed it in some way. In other words, he would have trusted me to exchange but could not trust me if I wanted to return the item. Many people must have tried to cheat Paul and Barbara. I am very sorry for them because that must have hurt them financially and lead them to no longer trust. A bad feeling. I know, because that is the way I feel now.

This place is amazing. I had been stressing over a tricky problem with hooking up my ice maker. Home Depot told me it was basically unsolvable, and I would need to hire a plumber and basically put in a whole new kit.
I went to this store this morning, explained my dilemma and within 10 minutes I was on my way out with some hardware they put together for me.
I came home, attached the hose with their piece and voila! It works!
I will NEVER go anywhere else for my hardware needs.

In three minutes they solved my problem (sold me the right kind of sawzall blade to cut through very tough metal), and in case that blade hadn’t worked, they suggested I try another tool (grinder) for the job, and recommended I get one from the local tool lending library since I didn’t have one.

I love this hardware store. I bought a spanking huge Stabila level from them at half what some other stores charge. What is totally awesome about Ellis is that they’ve been there for like forever and they’ve always hired local for as long as I can remember (I used to live around the corner 30 years ago). You can read about the history of the place under their counter top. It’s a family run business that bothered to learn my name after I started going in there again on a regular basis. It’s more than just a business, it’s a community based small business that takes its community seriously.
And they recognize that their community is everyone from the serious contractor with a nail gun to a homeowner who was sent to get something by the contractor or hubby without enough info. The poor homeowner is just trying to bring back the right thing and the counter staff never rolls their eyes when the homeowner can’t answer a basic question. They just work around it figuring out another way to ask it with total respect! And they have a shocking stock, like the Stabila, but also 18g finish nails from 5/​8″ to 2″.
I really like having a quality hardware store in the neighborhood And they are easy to get to with a car too. There are easy parking spaces with almost always one open right out front and the store itself is easy to spot on the right when you come off the 880÷980÷24 — 52^nd St./MLK ramp because they have such a great sidewalk display with great big galvanized tubs for instant gardening in tight spaces and a beautifully colorful tomato cage display.
This place makes me feel at home even when I’m clueless about what I’m buying.

I was searching for a small sized screw and nut for my lamp. I first went to Home Depot because it was closer to where I lived. Their customer service is always marginal. I then went to Ellis Ace Hardware. The service was night and day. I explained to the person at the counter what I was looking for. He found me exactly what I needed. He was so nice. Home Depot is great if you are a contractor buying in bulk. However when you are a regular household consumer, Ace Hardware has the best value and service. I will now go to the Ellis Ace Hardware store as my first stop.

The people who run this shop are ace. Always extremely friendly and provide excellent customer service by eliminating the need to go search around the store for obscure materials. You just come in and ask the counter staff for help, and they’ll go find whatever you need.

I’ve only had one brief experience here, but I can’t really think of another hardware store where I’ve received such helpful friendly service, and the employees seem so happy. I’m a handyman so I am at hardware stores often, and I would go out of my way to shop here again.

I am a fan of Ellis Hardware. Friendly and knowledgeable sales people, lots of standard and odd ball hardware. I like to support local family businesses and will continue to shop this store. There prices are a little higher than Home Depot, but the knowledgeable salespeople are worth the little extra!

I love this hardware store. Instead of roaming endless isles at a big box store, I prefer to shop here because of how quick and friendly the service is. Every trip, I’m in and out in a matter of minutes.
My only complaint is that they’re closed Sundays. But I’ve learned to work around that.