McMaster Carr

Discussion in 'General foundry chat' started by Al2O3, Oct 24, 2018.

  1. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    A lot of times you see posts about vendor disappointments but I just had to post how impressed I am with the service I receive from McMaster Carr.

    The breadth of the product offering is staggering and like eBay, I often use it as a search engine to educate myself on price and terminology of similar items.

    I'm old enough to remember their rice paper paged 4" thick catalogue but their website and online ordering system is great. When you add an item to your order list it shows inventory status and when it will ship, which is usually the next day if not same day.....and the information is actually accurate.

    I'm 160 miles West of one of their warehouses. I ordered 18 items or so at Noon on Monday, two of which were 30"x40" sheets of perforated 16 ga steel sheet, and they were on my door step the next day mid afternoon with standard UPS ground shipping. The shipping cost for the two boxes was $25 and those two sheets of steel were hefty. I think this is the third time in a row I ordered online while I was eating my lunch and had the goods the next day standard shipping. It's for an equipment build I'll eventually post here at THF.

    I went back and took a look at UPS log. The order was picked within two hours, pick up by UPS for McMaster at 5:00 PM, arrived at my local UPS distribution center at 10:00PM, was sorted overnight and dispatched for delivery at 7:00AM, delivered on my doorstep at 2:30PM......man, how do they do that? I have to get up their and tour their facility. They must have an incredible inventory management and order fulfillment system.

    Now I can't say they are discount house by any means, and practically speaking may only serve USA, but they are impressive.

    Best,
    Kelly
     
    Rtsquirrel likes this.
  2. Rasper

    Rasper Silver

    When I die heaven can wait; I want to go to McMaster-Carr.

    Richard
     
    Rtsquirrel likes this.
  3. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    20181024_183241.jpg
    Now that's a book!!
     
    Rtsquirrel likes this.
  4. smithdoor

    smithdoor Copper

    I very rare do I order from MC do to high cost
    Most time I buy from steel where house larger piece and save money too
    The other place is use Amazon the last place be for MC is EBay

    Dave


     
  5. Dave: Are you saying you don't like to buy on eBay? I have had very good results with eBay, cheaper than Amazon in most cases. And the packages are sometimes now arriving in Prime tape.:eek:
     
    Rtsquirrel likes this.
  6. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    I buy steel wholesale by the lb from service centers by way of my day job.......we get daily deliveries. But if you are trying to buy a specialty product like a perforated sheet of specific opening size and open%, trying doing so without buying a 4'x12' sheet (or maybe x minimums), packaging, and shipping......not so much.

    Best,
    Kelly
     
  7. Robert

    Robert Silver

    Agreed, MMC is amazing! Most of their product is also top quality.
    ATL to CLT I frequently get stuff overnight.
    R
     
  8. Mister ED

    Mister ED Silver

    Amazon, Ebay and McMaster for me (no particular order). I usually check Amazon or Ebay first ... but both can be a little hit & miss on quality (Ebay much more so). If there is something very specialized or higher quality that I want ... usually I check McMaster first.

    McMaster prices may be slightly higher ... but ... go compare them with Grainger or MSC.
     
  9. smithdoor

    smithdoor Copper

    Nothing wrong with EBay
    I do use EBay try find the best price but after add shipping typical knock out EBay I use free shipping on Amazon and just wait week or so

    Dave

     
  10. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    I ordered a set of roller bearings from MMC at 5pm and had them at 11:30 the next morning. They're undoubtedly not the cheapest but their products are of at least expected commercial quality and the level of detail in their listings is very helpful in ordering the right items. I use the other usual avenues as well, but the McMaster Carr icon is on the homescreen of every device I own.

    Pete
     
  11. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    I have great admiration for MMC. I have bought hundreds of items from them. They simply do not sell cheap crap. I price compare often and on things like hand tools can often better their price. BUT, they have an amazingly broad inventory. As much as is possible they stock American made goods and,though the brand of item is not listed in their catalog, a call to them will obtain the brand of listed item. Their prices seem reasonable and shipping is quick and cheap. On the rare occasion when I have needed to return an item, no issues whatsoever. And their sales staff is knowledgeable and courteous.

    To me, they represent a business model that I wish more retailers would emulate. (Harbor Freight has nothing to worry about as MMC's focus is 180 degrees from theirs)

    Denis
     
  12. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Yeah Mcmaster replaced an expensive 4 foot ground 1.5" rod that fell out of the package during shipping. They fedexed it to me so it basically arrived 1 day after I reported the package missing. Super impressive.Will definitely be buying from them again.
     
  13. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Agreed. The only time that I have made returns was because I had made an ordering mistake or didn't understand what I was buying....but it was no problem.

    Next time I go their way, I'm going to see if they offer facility tour. Besides the operating and order management system, I'm envisioning an automated pick place inventory retrieval system on hi stacked racks. The packaging area must be very well organized too.....must be something to behold. I have received some specialty items ordered through MMC drop shipped directly from their supplier. I also find that there isn't much if any difference in landed price from McMaster if I buy multiple items because whatever price discount I may find from multiple offerors elsewhere is eaten up by multiple shipping costs whereas it is all combined in one very reasonable shipment from McMaster.

    I use Amazon Prime too which is an amazing service as well. Ever seen their items available as "Add Ons"? They're usually $2-7 and only available with a $25 purchase and they are presented to you based upon your buying practices. If I don't have an immediate need I just put them in the shopping cart and they get included with my wife's orders. I bought a Starret BiMetal blade for my 20" vertical band saw for $9 with free 2-day shipping. I thought it was going to be a hoax but when it arrived, sure enough it was the genuine article. I ended up buying 7 more at that price because I have been buying Lennox stock by the 200ft role but each blade was $30 worth of stock and I had to cut and weld them. That was about six months ago and I've watched since but the same seller offers the same blade at $52-$68 so I figure it was either overstock or a pricing mistake. At <$10/blade I'm set for a couple years. I think I have a dozen or so similar stories.

    Best,
    Kelly
     
  14. Peedee

    Peedee Silver

    If you've ever been to a parcel hub at a carrier it's quite amazing. I've helped unload and split 40 trucks of incoming freight that was divided and reloaded to be trunked out to the correct depots. 8:30pm and every truck had to be ready for the drive out, no excuses. Ball breaking work.
     
  15. crazybillybob

    crazybillybob Silver Banner Member

    I don't order from McMaster very often. But when I do it's because I need it yesterday! I put an order in @ 1Am today and it will be here tomorrow! Means I can get things moving this weekend!
     
  16. Jason

    Jason Gold

    You guys getting prime stuff now on SUNDAY? Wildest thing ever to see slack ass postal people working on a Sunday. Bet they get triple time$$$$ for working that day. Somethings got to keep the usps afloat. 50cent stamps wont pay the bills.
     
  17. _Jason

    _Jason Silver

    We do, sometimes. We also get Prime deliveries from local Amazon warehouses by way of private delivery drivers - something that look like Uber drivers dropping off Amazon packages. It's definitely weird to see USPS out on Sundays though. But, they're also trying to remain relevant in today's cuttroat market place and if they can out service the competition, good on them.

    The thing about a supplier like McMaster Carr is that you might pay a little more for it, but chances are they have what you're looking for. It costs a lot of money to stock a broad, deep inventory across a wide company footprint. Many of the least expensive suppliers can quote you a cheap price if you can wait a few days. Guys like MMC have it now and for a few bucks more than the other guy, it can be yours today.
     
  18. I've got to say our local Post Office is staffed by energetic intelligent people who try hard to do an excellent job. They could be in the minority, however.
     
  19. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    I am very impressed by the work I we done by the USPS. Priority mail is amazingly efficient, cheap, and reliable. Delivery folks are courteous and accurate. Office workers work smoothly and steadily. Complaining about the USPS is old-fashioned! ;-)
     
  20. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    A little off topic, but Canada Post is laughing all the way to the bank now that they are getting $5 (plus tax) per delivery from Ontario's new legal pot monopoly.

    Jeff
     

Share This Page