Ring’s End

Ring’s End carries better quality products than I typically find at a box store such as Home Depot. The layout is nice, and it has very good displays for when you are trying to get ideas. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. I am a serious DIY’er, the box stores often have staff that doesn’t know how to do things, and have on occasion given me the wrong information, and sold me the wrong product. I don’t run into that problem at specialty lumber, hardware stores, such as Ring’s. Sure, there are items I will buy at Lowe’s or Home Depot, but when I am looking for specific higher end products, that need to have longevity, I will buy them at Ring’s. The money I save from not paying for labor, makes up the difference and allows me to buy better quality products.

Rings End has a lot of materials that Home depot does not have. Like I would buy an electrical cord at Home Depot and not at Rings End. I buy wood from Rings End and not from Home Depot. yes the prices are higher than Home depot but the materials are better. just my 2 cents worth

When I heard a large hardware store chain was coming to Branford, I thought «Oh good, this is the shoreline’s answer to not having a Home Depot east of the Quinnipiac River.» You see, the shoreline towns have always had small mom & pop stores such as Pages in Guilford and Goody’s in East Haven, but for a long time they lacked big box stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. Home Depot in East Haven only opened around the same time as this Ring’s End.
I remember when Rings End was built. It took about a whole year and it was really impressive in design. Again, I thought, oh boy, this the store that the shoreline has been waiting for.
Well, they’ve been in business for about 5 years and I still find myself going to the small mom & pop shops and Home Depots just like I used to. I don’t go to Ring’s End for two reasons: 1) their prices are usually 20% higher than their competitors and 2) their selection is very limited. I’m speaking as a do-​it-​yourself (DIY) home owner here. Maybe this store is terrific for contractors, but I can’t speak for them.
Regarding high prices, maybe that should be of no surprise, after seeing Rings End’s impressive exterior and interior. The place just looks «too» nice. If that makes any sense. It’s impressive, but with being impressive comes cost, and with cost comes overhead. Their overhead must be higher than their competitors. Hence their higher prices. Even the staff is too «nice»; they seem way too polished to being working in the hardware/​lumber industry.
After looking at the products they sell and after looking at the showroom floor, it’s pretty clear who their intended customers are. They’re in the business of selling higher end stuff to slightly affluent customers. But I dislike that business model. Is that what the shoreline really needs? Ring’s End is from Darien, Connecticut. Maybe that business model works perfectly well down in Fairfield County where many people have fulltime butlers and handymen, but this is Branford Connecticut. We have DIY’ers like myself here. If I’m looking for answers by a knowledgeable staff, I’ll see the old guy (I forget his name) in the back of Pages Hardware or several of the guys at Goody’s. And if I want the absolute lowest price for anything, I’ll make the trek over to Homes Depot or Lowes. Actually, the prices at the small mom & pop stores aren’t bad because they’re usually affiliated with a True Value or Ace Hardware. And lastly, if I want good quality lumber, I’ll go to Landon Lumber in Madison.
PS: This past weekend, I purchased a set of folding stairs for my attic. Ring’s End Lumber price: $ 145. Same product at Home Depot: $ 119. I don’t need to tell you who got my business.
Double PS: Recently I compared 20 hardware pieces at Home Depot and Rings End prices were 30% higher for every single one (and yes, they were the same exact product. No different. I know this particular product line very well because I used to manage it & source it from China in my previous career).