Sanford Ace Hardware Inc

So happy that they are close by and carry Valspar, love not having to drive to a big box store for good paint selection. They don’t compete with the others on quantity of gadgets and gizmos but are great for basics. They’ll continue to get my business for normal household maintenance and DIY.

I live as close to the ACE store as I do the big box stores. But Ace is the place I go because service is good and I always can find what I want and in the quantity I want, J Craft

This store is an enigma. I’ve been coming here for almost nine years and I still have mixed feelings.
We own a 100 year old home in downtown Sanford so trips to the hardware store and Lowe’s are a weekly occurrence. Ace is more conveniently located but I still find myself driving past it on my way to the Lowe’s 3 miles away. There’s a number of reasons for this. Selection is a big deciding factor and I understand there’s nothing they can do about that. Ace just isn’t set up to have something for everyone and that’s great. If they have what you need you can get in and out way faster than a big box store. Unfortunately they often don’t have what I need. The fastener department is usually my source of annoyance. First, they don’t want you to use self service so if you’re playing by the rules that slows you down. Second, here’s where selection hurts them. I was building a gate out of pressure treated wood and I needed 2 inch wood screws that wouldn’t corrode in that kind of lumber. They didn’t have coated screws. I could either pay premium for brass or I could buy the cheap screws I knew would be corroding in no time.
They do have a very small but nice garden center. It’s about the size of one aisle at Lowe’s but everything is green and they usually are running a very good sale on some 1 – 3 gallon shrub or plant.
The staff is another mystery. They tend to fall into two different modes. The counter help is almost always super friendly and pleasant. Once you’re past them it’s a bit dicey. At times the small town feel bleeds into a mood that is standoffish. You may get a guy who’s going to bend over backwards to make you happy or you may get someone who’s a bit bugged you don’t know exactly what you came in for. There’s an employee who works in the fasteners who falls into the later category. He’s an older gentleman who can be so unpleasant I’ll sometimes just turn around when I see him. That’s a situation in which I know that the staff at Lowe’s will be way more helpful.
I’ll keep coming here. They are generally pleasant and the location is very convenient. Plus they have dog food too! However, Lowe’s selection and staff will get the lion’s share of my business.

I recently had a bad service experience at «Sanford Ace» near my house and wrote a Unilocal review. I immediately got a response from the owner who jumped all over the problem. Imagine my chagrin when I realized that I Unilocaled the wrong Sanford Ace company/​owner. Well let me tell you, if the owner of the store I did go to cared like THIS owner I would have not had a problem. I don’t think I’ve had a BETTER follow up on a Unilocal EVER. Customer Service, EXTRAORDINAIRE. Now sadly, the owner of this Ace sent my original problem to the owner of the store I went to on Rt. 46 and I’ve not so much as heard a peep from that guy. Obviously it starts at the top in both stores. GREAT here, and SAD at the Ace on Rt. 46 near International. BUY FROM THIS ACE!

Pipes
pillars
and
paint
There are a whole lot of Ace Hardware stores and most of them are convenient and cool places to find stuff. Small enough to be personal but large enough to have lots of different thingies, doo dads and whatchamacallits.
This one is no exception. They have all kinds of things that you might need for your house or yard and probably a whole lot of stuff that you will never need or want.
Also have a discount table where you can find things that someday might or might not come in useful but for a buck or two you can afford to be daring.
The staff here usually knows their stuff and can direct you to the thingie that you need quickly. It can get a bit crowded at times and the service kind of slow but they can’t really help that.
Always a cool place to go when you need a special something or if you just want to poke around and see some cool tools to get ideas.