Is Home Depot Legit?

If you need to build something or do some much-needed home improvement, then Home Depot is probably one of the first places that pop into mind. Why? Well for one, they’re everywhere. With over 2,300 stores nationwide, they’re the biggest hardware retailer in the United States.

The real question you’re asking, though, is, “Is Home Depot legit?” 

Yes, Home Depot is most definitely legit. Home Depot has a location in almost every major city in the U.S., sell top name brands, and are a publicly traded company on the U.S. stock exchange. With over $100 billion in annual sales, they’re also one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.

Legit

You can hardly go anywhere in America without seeing a giant orange Home Depot logo. So, for those of you who may be curious, I decided to put together a quick, conclusive guide to Home Depot’s legitimacy as a company. Below, I’ll discuss Home Depot’s Better Business Bureau ratings, annual sales, customer satisfaction rates, and more. Let’s take a look! 

Home Depot: By The Numbers

Before we begin, I have to disclose that I am a Home Depot Pro member. This is a special in-store membership that they offer to contractors and small business owners who shop there often. Since I buy most of the paint and flooring supplies for my jobs there, I get a considerable discount for bulk materials and extra-fast checkout speeds at the members-only line. 

So, that being said, I am a bit biased. I’ve been going to Home Depot for as long as I can remember, and they’ve rarely done me wrong. However, today I’m going to put my own personal experiences aside and take a look at the cold, hard facts. How does Home Depot stand up to consumer ratings? How is their pricing? How well is their stock doing? In today’s post, I’ll answer all this and more. 

What Are Home Depot’s Annual Sales? 

In 2020, Home Depot did just over $132 billion in sales. That was in the middle of a global pandemic! To give you some perspective, Home Depot’s annual sales in 2019 were $110 billion, and $108 billion in 2018. That means that during the worst pandemic in a hundred years, Home Depot managed to grow its gross revenue by $22 billion in just one year. 

Although they did experience a brief drop in sales amidst shutdowns, the pandemic actually increased demand for building materials and home supplies. As more homeowners started to spend more time working from home, they used some of their stimulus money to start home improvement projects around the house. This, in turn, resulted in an exponential increase in sales as well as higher lumber prices (which further increased the company’s revenue). 

BBB Rating

If you look at Home Depot’s profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), you’ll notice that they have an incredibly low rating of 1.14 out of 5 stars. However, if you look at the customer reviews on Google of the various stores, you’ll see that the ratings are a lot higher. 

Why The Bad Reviews? 

Most of the BBB ratings are the result of angry customers who had an order or installation go wrong. In fact, you won’t find a single BBB rating that seems positive. This means that there’s an obvious bias due to the fact that most satisfied customers don’t go out of their way to write a good review on the BBB site. Instead, most satisfied customers prefer to write a good review on the Home Depot location’s Google business page. 

How Is Home Depot’s Stock Doing? 

Home Depot’s stock is doing incredibly well due to its huge increase in sales in 2020. Over the past year, the stock has increased by just over 23%. While it’s certainly had its ups and downs, it maintained steady growth and has seen a 136% increase in stock price over the past five years. 

Does Home Depot Do Online Delivery? 

One of the factors that has really pushed Home Depot’s growth and development over the past few years has been its implementation of an online ordering system. This is available to both residential consumers and large contractors alike. No matter whether you’re trying to get some new tools delivered to your house in time for Father’s Day or you’re ordering 2,000 pounds of lumber for a construction project, they’ve got you covered. 

Is Home Depot An Expensive Hardware Store? 

One of the biggest complaints that Home Depot has received has been its dramatic, exponential increase in lumber prices. However, this isn’t just a Home Depot issue.

Due to supply chain issues (related to COVID) and increased demand for lumber, prices have nearly quadrupled for popular materials like plywood, flooring, 2”x4”s, and other planks. 

As far as other materials go, though, Home Depot isn’t all that much more expensive than any other hardware store. If you’re interested in tools, paint, plants, etc., you’ll find that the prices have pretty much remained the same (outside of regular inflation, that is). 

Does Home Depot Keep A Good Stock Of Materials? 

One of the biggest reasons why Home Depot has remained in business for so long is that they always keep a good stock of materials. Whether you need Home Depot carpet, paint, lumber, tools, or anything else, they’re rarely ever “out” of anything. 

On a personal note, this is one of the main reasons why I shop at Home Depot so often. Sure, there may be another hardware store that’s closer to a given job site, but they probably won’t have the same selection of materials and tools as Home Depot, which means that I’ll have just wasted my time and gas money. 

What Is Home Depot’s Return Policy? 

When it comes to making returns, Home Depot is incredibly fair. I think that this is partly due to the fact that they’re a huge company and a bit of product loss here and there doesn’t really affect their bottom line.

For example, I recently had to return a batch of paint that a client changed their mind on and decided to go with a different shade of red. Home Depot has a 30-day return/replacement period on all of their paint products, so I was able to return it and get it re-tinted free of charge! Happy client, happy me. 

Final Thoughts

Home Depot isn’t the nation’s largest retailer for no reason. Through steady, calculated growth, providing great customer service, and growing with the times, Home Depot has managed to become one of the highest-valued hardware companies on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sure, there’s always the occasional bad review (what big company doesn’t get bad reviews?), but overall Home Depot is a great place to shop and even purchase bulk materials for a job!