1. Home
  2. ⏣ General Metalworking
  3. McMaster-Carr comes through again!

McMaster-Carr comes through again!

I ordered on a Thursday some stuff to be shipped next day air from McMaster-Carr. When it didn't arrive by Friday afternoon I checked UPS tracking and the shipping had been changed from next day (Friday) to the next business day (Monday). The tracking showed that it left the Everett WA facility Friday morning. Everett is across the water from me and Whidbey Island is where the truck was heading. So why it didn't make it to me Friday is a mystery, also why UPS decided to change the delivery date. Anyway, I was pissed because I needed the parts and would have used them Saturday. Then Saturday morning the UPS truck drops my package off. I asked the driver what gives and he said that someone must have decided that I needed the package and changed the new Monday delivery to Saturday. Hmmm. I called McMaster-Carr on Monday to see if they knew why the package arrived on Saturday and apparently they were notified of the late shipment or keep track of shipments because they told UPS to get the package to me Saturday morning instead of Monday when they found out the delivery hadn't been made Friday as promised. Good for McMaster-Carr. Eric

Reply to
etpm
Loading thread data ...

Exceptional service indeed.

I am also a loyal McMaster carr customer becuase of their great service and consistant high quality. One could nit pick that slightly better pricing can be found.I am guilty of looking for better prices when I need a large amount and speed is not critical.

Quality, service, price. Pick any two.

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Karl Townsend wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Their pricing is kind of variable. Compared to MSC, they are often cheaper, although I'm close enough to MSC to get stuff in a day. The things I love about Mcmaster are:

Their search engine & web site are REALLY good. Not perfect, but a heck of a lot better than most. I have an old paper catalog, and I haven't touched it in years.

I don't recall ever trying to order something that was out of stock. Sometimes not at the nearest office, but I can live with that.

One stop shopping. Their selection is amazing.

Quality products. You never have to worry about getting a cheap Chinese knock-off.

My biggest complaint is that they don't tell you what brand most of their products are. Sometimes there are subtle differences, and knowing which ones they are selling would be a help.

Doug

Reply to
Doug White

Eric, good for McM, but if you live next door, why go to he expense of ordering next day air? Wouldn't it normally be delivered the next day anyway? Or is delivery sporadic/variable?

-- Silence is more musical than any song. -- Christina Rossetti

Reply to
Larry Jaques

This is also a problem if you want to fully spec something for production, and sometimes makes me shop elsewhere. But for a wide variety of stuff that you gotta have *now*, they're hard to beat.

Reply to
rangerssuck

I think McMC has the best online ecommerce website, period. They've made a few changes in the last couple of years that actually made it less good, imho, but it is still the gold standard. If you call them they will tell you brand names and mfg part numbers; I've done that a few times when I needed another fluorescent ballast and wasn't sure which part # went with which fixture from previous orders. I'm outside Baltimore so I get next day delivery from McMC, MSC, and Grainger so long as the order is in by 5 pm, for the normal ups ground price, but I order from McMC about 95% of the time.

Karl Townsend wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Their pricing is kind of variable. Compared to MSC, they are often cheaper, although I'm close enough to MSC to get stuff in a day. The things I love about Mcmaster are:

Their search engine & web site are REALLY good. Not perfect, but a heck of a lot better than most. I have an old paper catalog, and I haven't touched it in years.

I don't recall ever trying to order something that was out of stock. Sometimes not at the nearest office, but I can live with that.

One stop shopping. Their selection is amazing.

Quality products. You never have to worry about getting a cheap Chinese knock-off.

My biggest complaint is that they don't tell you what brand most of their products are. Sometimes there are subtle differences, and knowing which ones they are selling would be a help.

Doug

Reply to
Carl Ijames

When I said the package left the Everett WA facility I meant the UPS facility. McMaster-Carr is two states away. Eric

Reply to
etpm

Ah, consternation turns to lucidation.

-- A sound mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. -- John Locke

Reply to
Larry Jaques

McMaster-Carr is excellent. I buy from them when I need items for work, I buy from them when I need things at home. Heck, they just delivered a 7/32 5c collet two hours ago to my home. Sure wish I'd been thinking last week when I ordered the 7/32 brass rod. Oops. I really hate the two part order where the next day you realized you forgot to buy something you needed.

Somehow the 35 miles between work and home increases the shipping time by one day. At work it is generally overnight unless it ships from one of their further away warehouses.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.