Pfeil Hardware

This place could be great. I’m sad that I only discovered it after I moved out of Troy.
I now know why I never went. Their business hours suck. They have typical old-​school hours where if you work 9 – 5 you’re out of luck. Their weekday hours are 8am until 6pm. That’s not enough time to get there in the am if you commute even if you get up early. And there’s not enough time to browse after getting out of work. So unless you live in Troy with a non-​traditional schedule, their business hours are inconvenient.
However, if you do manage have the time to shop here you might like it, as did I.
The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful yet non-​intrusive. Someone greets you after you get your bearings and asks if you need assistance. If you do the steer you in the right direction. If you don’t they back off and let you know to find them if you change your mind. I love this because I’m usually a browser and don’t want to be hounded by staff. But at the same time it’s great to know that if I’m a mission for a specific item and don’t have time to browse, their staff is there in a heartbeat.
The reason I’m giving 4* review despite their antiquated hours is for two reasons. First, their service is top notch. I’ve wandered aimlessly through huge Big Box stores without any assistance in site when needed and only to find an elusive employee who couldn’t help me because that wasn’t their section. Next, their basic household items such as dish soap, bath soap, toilet paper etc. and other basic household supplies are reasonably priced within the same price range as similar items found in grocery stores or big box stores.
I also love that they have canning and gardening supplies. The prices of the basics they carry are on point and not marked-​up.

Clean and convenient for downtown Troy. The staff were friendly, but the selection is lacking and prices are high.
Despite the general suicidal tendencies of plants around me I am attempting to grown some spaghetti squash this summer in its own container and not an «in-​ground» garden (I’ve thoroughly researched the process and its hit or miss as to whether this method will work, but hell I’ll try it) and when I asked to be pointed towards the garden section I was show to one isle… about 10 – 12 feet long and 4 levels of shelves on each side. That was it.
I guess this place is good for getting something in a pinch when I don’t want to trek out to True Value.

Nice, clean, easy to browse. The prices seem right and staff knows what’s up. I dig it.

I was happy to hear that Troy was getting its very own downtown hardware store, but I was skeptical of the «upscale» label that they kept pushing with it. After a short trip to get some nuts and bolts (literally), I can agree with the first review and say that this really is like heaven for hardware geeks. The huge windows let natural light flood the aisles. It was spotless and clean, and the layout was easy to understand. Try to find something simple in Home Depot or Lowes and you might be there for an hour. I didn’t price out many items because it was such a nice, relaxed atmosphere, it’s almost as if price did not matter. Too bad I live in Cohoes, because this would be my hardware store of choice. As it is, I will still head here before HD or Lowes.

You know how it’s supposed to be when you die and go to heaven? You walk through the pearly gates and everything you ever dreamed of is right there for you, shining and sparkling.
That’s sort of what it was like for Brenda and I when we walked into Pfeil Hardware for the first time this morning.
Much more than the typical local hometown hardware store, a little less than Lowe’s and Home Depot, this store has pretty much everything a homeowner or small businessperson could want.
From tools to paint, from fasteners to plumbing supplies, they have it all — elegantly displayed to please the most addicted hardware fetishist. And at prices that are a little higher than a big box super-​store, but far better than the gouging prices one sometimes finds in smalltown hardware stores.
Truly, a store like this, in a place like Troy, is a gift from the gods. If you live or work in Troy and buy so much as a screw or a hamer somewhere else, may the universe punish you with a multitude of biblical plagues. Because this is the kind of business Troy needs to have if it is to become what it desperately wants to become.
If this store was a theatrical or musical performance, I’d give it a standing ovation and yell «Bravo» at the top of my lungs. It’s that good.
To have a resource like this just a block away from my photo studio — well, that’s the way the world is supposed to work. Welcome to Troy, Pfeil Hardware.