Local Business Focus - Short's Home Store Stands by its Products

Above photo: Chris and Noel Short at their Short’s Home Store in Cobleskill. Photos by Chris English.

COBLESKILL — If you're in the market for a new appliance, owners Chris and Noel Short highly recommend their Short's Home Store at 2395 State Route 7 in Cobleskill. It's right behind the East Side Village Mall.

The couple owned the Sear's Home Store at the same location for two and a half years before that chain went bankrupt and they converted to an independent business under their own name two and a half years ago. The store carries washers, dryers, refrigerator/freezers, stoves, microwaves and other appliances from Whirlpool, Maytag, Frigidaire, GE, LG and Speed Queen. Last week, they also started carrying a line of appliances from Midea, which formerly made appliances for other manufacturers but now has its own named line.

Also among the inventory at Short's are gas grills and certain types of furniture, though Chris and Noel are still trying to figure the furniture part of the business out, and what they want to make a regular part of the inventory.

"It's local, and you want to support local as much as you can," said Chris Short when asked why people should choose their store over the Big Boxes and other appliance stores.

"The service we provide," he continued. "If you buy something here and there's an issue, bring it back and we'll replace it or I'm going to go out and fix it. A Big Box won't support the product if you have an issue."

Chris, who has been repairing appliances the last four years along with helping his wife sell them, said he will also service appliances bought at other stores.

"The hope is to get them in here the next time they're ready to buy," he said.

Short's might be a little pricier than other appliances stores, but the couple believes their local base and firm commitment to stand behind what they sell makes it worth it. A case in point is their Speed Queen washers and dryers, known for their durability.

"We're really taking off with those," Chris said. "A typical washer and dryer lasts about seven years, but buy a Speed Queen and it's good for 30 years and it might be the last washer or dryer you ever buy."

Noel added that they are also excited about starting to carry the Midea line of appliances.

"They have a two-year warranty where the others pretty much only have a one-year warranty," she said.

The Shorts said President Trump's tariffs have also forced them to raise prices at their store in many cases. A notable exception was GE, which at first raised its prices in response to tariffs but then brought them back down again.

"We're selling more GEs than anything right now," Noel said.

Chris was a vice president of Sales at Xerox for 35 years and Noel worked at Scholet Furniture in Cobleskill for many years before the couple moved into operating their own businesses.

"We're really busy with service," Chris said of the current state of things at Short's Home Store. "The store is doing OK, we'd like it to be busier. We're kind of holding our own right now."

The Shorts have no thoughts of retirement.

"Neither of us is ready to retire," Chris said. "We want to stay busy."

For more information on Short's Home Store, call 518-234-2669.