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If the item is at Home Depot and you want to pick it up... why not just get it from Home Depot?

Pricing.

How would you guarantee the item is not a counterfeit/broken in transit/transported at the right temperatures/etc?

They're competitors, and presumably are selling the item at different prices. If Amazon is cheaper, HD would have to give you the item for less than they normally sell it. If Amazon is more expensive, why not buy the thing directly from HD, you're going there to pick it up anyway.

Amazon used to always be cheaper. not any more. amazon has realized people shop it for convenience and not mainly for price.

Kohls has been doing exactly this a while with Amazon:

https://corporate.kohls.com/news/archive-/2019/july/kohl-s-n...