McMaster-Carr Catalogs

Repeat every 2 weeks, for 2 years, and then, just maybe, one day you will get your mail, and there will be this strange brown box, and as you tear it open, your teary eyes will glimpse that beautiful yellow cover we all know and love.

You will be on the list, more coveted hereabouts than any nightclub doorman's list.

Course you could buy one on ebay

Ya'd think they would get the point and start selling them at least.......

Find out who is in their legal and marketing departments and propose that idea along with a notice that they cannot do so without paying you for the idea... They'll revolt against your legal threat and do so without asking you for permission or paying you and everyone unfortunate enough to be a small customer will be happy to have the option. :)

...I've got an old Thomas Register set I'll give you for the price of shipping and packing... :):):)

Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. (800) 871-5022

I dunno Joe, they just discontinued offering the printed version, so those may be worth something ;)

I guess I am lucky. I take the outdated ones from work as soon as the new ones arrive. Just as good as a new one accept the prices are a little off. Never knew they sold them on Ebay. Larry

I think the deal is you need to have a Brad & Dunstreet rating, and apply for a net 30 account with them......

Probly also helps if you happen to spend several grand / year with them.

...

I think it may be a frequency thing. I order an average of once per month. Most orders are under $50. So I'm small potatoes. But, I get a new catalog every year.

While we're on the subject I'll put in a plug for their service. If I order by 5:30 PM, its here by 9:30 AM the next morning. Almost never a backorder or stockout. For me, its easier than going to the hardware store.

Karl

Secrets to getting a catalog:

Say you have 25 or more employees Say you are in manufacturing or steelfab, not a hobbyist Do not say you are an engineer or purchasing agent, say you are maintenance Be angry on your second call, or at least say it's your second call, and ask for a supervisor.

They have (or had, while I was there) this attitude that they only send catalogs to those they "want" to do business with and meet certain criteria. Credit doesn't have anything to do with it, and if you wait for them to notice how much you order it may be a year before they do.

I've never had a D&B rating in 25 years of being in business. In fact, I enjoy baiting the D&B scammers when they call looking for money for a service that is absolutely useless to me.

My theory is that whenever your accumulated purchases exceed some amount, which seems to be around $1500, McMaster sends you a new catalog and resets the counter. I've got about 10 years of accounting records in the computer and can display purchases by year. The arrival of new catalogs seems to correlate pretty well with this model.

On the other hand, they could be running a lottery, and sending catalogs based on a random drawing from the year's invoices. Or everyone who ordered a package of 10-32 stainless steel flat heads this year gets a catalog. Next year the secret purchase is a set of Bondhus wrenches.

Ned Simmons

I have one employee (me) and usually get a catalog every year.

McMaster has no idea what my business is, or whether I even have a legitimate business.

They've never asked my function, and I've never told them.

I'm puzzled by the folks who think that a business is obliged to send them an obviously expensive catalog just because they ask for it. Especially when the whole catalog is available online in a very convenient format.

Ned Simmons

I order from MMC quite frequently and they have never sent me a printed (or otherwise) catalog....Thank God. Yes, I know what I'm missing....A lot of weight to recycle.

I dunno. I like a printed catalog I can simply peruse for enjoyment and to stimulate ideas. There are many, many items in there you'd never guess they carried, or guess about an application until you read the information they present.

Besides, my laptop is clumsy to use while I'm on the can.

I'm a bit confused by people who insist they must lie to get a service. If I knew they'd lied to get a catalog, I think I'd automatically assume they'll lie to me and their other customers. I have enough other problems to make me want to avoid dishonest businessmen.

If you're looking for a specific item, the online catalogs for both McMaster (better, I think) and MSC (not as good, but perfectly usable) are adequate for any ordering you do. As with anything, if you do enough volume with them to justify sending you a $30+ catalog, they will.

LLoyd

"Karl Townsend" wrote in news:GX7ze.4638$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I'll have to agree wholeheartedly. The longest lead i've had is a week. It is usually here the next day. I have had instances where it was partial shipped out of atlanta and partial shipped from another facility, all arriving within 2 days.

To get around the silly constraints on who gets and who doesn't get a catalog you do what you have to do. And it keeps you from getting put in a "inconsequential" classification which means you have to buy $1500 a year for a few years before they decide to treat you like the real customer you are and send you a catalog.

In other words, because you've decided the way that McMaster allocates catalogs is silly, you're justified in lying in order to get one.

If you've determined the price the 7-11 is charging for a slush-puppie is out of line ($1.49 for a quart of colored half-melted ice!!), do you feel justified in stealing one?

Ned Simmons

It's more along the lines of the 7-11 clerk looking at you, saying "I like how you look, come in the store" and then the clerk looking at the next person and saying "I don't like how you look, go away, you can't come in". I'm trying to tell you how to look nice for the clerk, not how to hide something in your coat and walk out.

Remember, I'm coming from doing the job of having to tell a guy who would buy from us a lot if he had a catalog that he can't have one, give him some lame reason and refer him to our website instead, because he doesn't have enough employees for his SIC code or because he has the "wrong" job title. It breaks your heart after a while.

The catalog cost about $9 to produce, which is less than the manpower expense they spend deciding wether to send you one if you request it.

Some companies actually *sell* their catalogs (although they usually also send free ones to good customers). What's interesting to me is that McMaster doesn't seem to mind providing an exceptionally high level of service to people who apparently don't deserve to get a catalog at *any* price. Do they want my business or not?

I've never looked at their >I'm a bit confused by people who insist they must lie to get a service. If

It would be nice if people were that consistent, but it's well known that people behave differently in different situations. In particular, many people lie in some situations but not in others.

One source on this is "The Person and the Situation" by Ross & Nisbett (1991), but any book on lying is likely to mention it.

If you are anywhere close to a business manufacturing almost anything, stop in and ask if there are any "old" catalogues laying around that you could have.

It's been my experience that most people receiving new cataloges seldom take the time to "update" but just put the new catalogue along with the old one.

A catalogue a couple or three years old would probalby meet your needs as to specifications, etc. and a quick phone call to them would verify current prices.

As to the online catalogue, why not try it? It's actually pretty nice, and you can view the actual catalogue page. When all else fails, call them! What with the prepaid phone cards, three or four cents a minute is pretty reasonable to get what you need.

Ace

Maybe it's part of the mystique. Another thing that only dawned on me recently is that McMaster *never* has specials like Grainger, MSC, et al.

It's worth a look-it's about as good as it gets for an online catalog and ordering system. Despite having the catalog, I do all my ordering online. If you want to browse for an idea, I agree the print catalog is better.

Ned Simmons