[Tagging] Do-it-yourself versus hardware stores

Colin Smale colin.smale at xs4all.nl
Wed Feb 10 14:04:50 UTC 2016


Are we writing our own dictionary? What's wrong with the OED? If
everybody just says what they understand to be the definition, what are
we going to do, have a vote on it? Then the US English speakers will
probably win because there are more of them. Why not just save time by
killing the discussion and using a published, acknowledged dictionary
definition. OSM tradition is to use English (i.e. not American English)
so let's start here:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hardware 

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/diy 

The fact that there are two lemmas shows that there is a difference,
however subtle. What I have discerned is that DIY is by definition aimed
at amateurs, whereas a hardware shop sells stuff that may be used by
professional tradesmen as well as DIYers. YMMV. 

On the other hand, if there is no clear distinction, they can be
considered synonymous and therefore can share a tag. 

//colin 

On 2016-02-10 14:33, John Willis wrote:

> Javbw
> 
>> On Feb 9, 2016, at 12:33 PM, Dave Swarthout <daveswarthout at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> AFAIK, Ace Hardware stores do not carry a wide enough assortment of items to qualify. Lowes and Home Depot do.
> 
> +1
> 
> A hardware store sells tools and consumables (screws, glue, paint, etc) as the main focus of the store. 
> 
> A DIY store sells you the thing - or the materials to make the thing, and the consumables and the tools. 
> 
> A hardware store sells a power saw, the blades, screws and sandpaper. 
> 
> A DIY store sells you the 200 pieces of lumber, concrete, and buckets of sealant to make a deck. 
> 
> In Japan, the big chain "Home Depots" - Joyful Honda - have DIY put on the side of the buildings. Smaller shops dedicated to tools - the proverbial hardware shops - sell hand and power tools, specialty consumables (tapes, screws, bolts, etc) and other small, pricey supplies a person needs. They sell the tools to install a toilet - washers and gaskets to fix a toilet - but not the actual toilets, Sheetrock, lumber, tile, and piping to actually make a bathroom. 
> 
> I visit both, both in the US and Japan. 
> 
> The supermarket vs convenience store comparison is not comparable - it is about tools and consumables to make the food, not the food itself. 
> 
> A convenience store sells finished food. A super market sells finished food and ingredients. 
> 
> To compare hardware vs DIY stores:  
> 
> A "hardware" store sells stoves, pans and knives and spices, and some wax paper and whatnot. 
> 
> A "DIY store" sells the stoves, the pans, the spices - and 10 lb bags of sugar, and 30kg of rice, and 5 gallon buckets of tomato paste. 
> 
> As long as we can map the *focus* of the store, this should be an easy distinction to make.  But it might entail mapping a bunch of "home stores" as DIY. 
> 
> This will also limit hardware stores, but his is correct - as "hardware" and "tools" are usually just sections in a DIY store and all the hardware chain shops closed. 
> 
> Javbw. 
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