Wouldn't it be handy to have vending machines outside hardware stores carrying the more expendible items like angle grinder cut off wheels and small drill bits.
No. In order to make that really worthwhile, it would have to have a huge stock of different items in all different sizes. It's easier and cheaper to just make the customer wait in line a little longer. They've already started throwing money into those self-checkout lines now anyways, it would make no sense to go of in a totally different direction like that.
hmmm.. how about the basic- tide you over sorts of things? light bulbs, standard and energy saver, basic nails, a flat and a phillips screw driver... they could shut down but not lose business...the theft take would be high, I'd wager.
^^Yeah, but have you seen how many different types of lightbulbs there are in just one of those stores? Even still, who has a lightbulb die on them, then jump up and head off to the store at ungodly hours of the morning? You just take a bulb off a lamp you don't use alot.
to hell with puttin them out side of hardware stores,,,, how bout we just put them along the out back in the stix roadways .... that way we contractors n such aint gotta go drive 50 miles to the other side of a mtn for something retarded that we always break at the most inopportune time