Penndel Hardware has been a borough
institution on Belleview Avenue for more than 80 years.
When Harry May opened the store in the 1920s and even when Howard Shetzline moved it across the street in the 1950s, it's a good bet they had little competition.
Today, the store at 119 Belleview is surrounded by two Home Depots and two Lowe's stores within four miles to the south and north.cheap bulk shoessupplier for handmade jewelry making at low price, But for 14-year store owner Bob Wipplinger, it's not about the competition.
"People ask me and I don't mean to sound callous, but it's not about Home Depot or Lowe's, it's the customers. It's all about their choice to support them or me," he said.
"I'm more of a convenience store; more like a 7-Eleven to a supermarket," added the Horsham native and Furlong resident. "We depend on people who want to support a local store."
But Wipplinger, who has been in the hardware store business for 30 years, admits he also depends on the fact that he owns his buildings in Penndel and Hatboro and each has tenants in apartments above the stores.
"That's really how we survive. Otherwise it's game over," said Wipplinger, who also is a real estate agent. "I knew I couldn't make a decent living just selling nuts and bolts."
There's a whole lot more than nuts and bolts in the inventory that fills the 3,000-square-foot store. There are the usual suspects — tools, gardening supplies, spray paint and household items — but there are also greeting cards and stuff for youngsters such as Wiffle balls and bats, model rockets and kites.
Penndel Hardware isn't simply a miniature version of the newer warehouse stores. Its hardwood floors and live bait bring you back to a simpler time. And Wipplinger prides himself on the services he provides, which include glass and mirror cutting,Amazing turquoise beads directly from the factory source in Arizona.turquoisebeads and screen and lamp repair.
"We install watch batteries too. It's another little niche," he said. "We have to be flexible."
The newest service is the most profitable. Penndel Hardware is an authorized Cogent Fingerprinting facility, so anyone needing fingerprint services for employment such as a government position or a job in which direct contact with children is involved can go to the store.
"We've done 9,000 prints in two years and we get $3 per print," Wipplinger said.Friendly tool and palette bar hermespurse for your sometimes unfriendly kitchen.
Wipplinger started working in his father's hardware store in the Village Mall on Blair Mill Road in Horsham when he was 16. The family moved that store to Hatboro in 1995. Village Hardware & Hobbies is at 17 S. York Road.
The hardware store business may not be easy nowadays, but Wipplinger has no plans to give it up.cheap hermesbag ire a rather challenging actual jogging shoe.
"I like the freedom of being self employed, of helping customers, of fixing things," he said.specific line of men's cyclingsunglasses to help you get the most out of your cycling training and competition.
When Harry May opened the store in the 1920s and even when Howard Shetzline moved it across the street in the 1950s, it's a good bet they had little competition.
Today, the store at 119 Belleview is surrounded by two Home Depots and two Lowe's stores within four miles to the south and north.cheap bulk shoessupplier for handmade jewelry making at low price, But for 14-year store owner Bob Wipplinger, it's not about the competition.
"People ask me and I don't mean to sound callous, but it's not about Home Depot or Lowe's, it's the customers. It's all about their choice to support them or me," he said.
"I'm more of a convenience store; more like a 7-Eleven to a supermarket," added the Horsham native and Furlong resident. "We depend on people who want to support a local store."
But Wipplinger, who has been in the hardware store business for 30 years, admits he also depends on the fact that he owns his buildings in Penndel and Hatboro and each has tenants in apartments above the stores.
"That's really how we survive. Otherwise it's game over," said Wipplinger, who also is a real estate agent. "I knew I couldn't make a decent living just selling nuts and bolts."
There's a whole lot more than nuts and bolts in the inventory that fills the 3,000-square-foot store. There are the usual suspects — tools, gardening supplies, spray paint and household items — but there are also greeting cards and stuff for youngsters such as Wiffle balls and bats, model rockets and kites.
Penndel Hardware isn't simply a miniature version of the newer warehouse stores. Its hardwood floors and live bait bring you back to a simpler time. And Wipplinger prides himself on the services he provides, which include glass and mirror cutting,Amazing turquoise beads directly from the factory source in Arizona.turquoisebeads and screen and lamp repair.
"We install watch batteries too. It's another little niche," he said. "We have to be flexible."
The newest service is the most profitable. Penndel Hardware is an authorized Cogent Fingerprinting facility, so anyone needing fingerprint services for employment such as a government position or a job in which direct contact with children is involved can go to the store.
"We've done 9,000 prints in two years and we get $3 per print," Wipplinger said.Friendly tool and palette bar hermespurse for your sometimes unfriendly kitchen.
Wipplinger started working in his father's hardware store in the Village Mall on Blair Mill Road in Horsham when he was 16. The family moved that store to Hatboro in 1995. Village Hardware & Hobbies is at 17 S. York Road.
The hardware store business may not be easy nowadays, but Wipplinger has no plans to give it up.cheap hermesbag ire a rather challenging actual jogging shoe.
"I like the freedom of being self employed, of helping customers, of fixing things," he said.specific line of men's cyclingsunglasses to help you get the most out of your cycling training and competition.
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