Hardware shop owners Fifty Shades of better off A hardware shop owner says sales of duct tape, cable ties and rope have soared thanks to the popularity of erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Gary Smith, who owns Fishers Hardware in Saxmundham, Suffolk, said he had seen an increase in the sale of the items, which feature in descriptions of bondage in the books, since the publication of the EL James trilogy. And he has put a handwritten notice in his window to reassure customers that he has plenty of stock. Mr Smith told the East Anglian Daily Times: "Every time we get someone in who wants to buy these products, I have a little joke with them. I don't think hardware shops have ever been so popular with young women. The Vintage Books trilogy has sold 31 million e-book and print copies in English-language markets worldwide.