Screw assortments

[alex71]

By popular demand, I will be offering assortments on screws and associated items. These items will be discounted from 20 to 40% off regular GJ prices.

I will need commitment from at least four people in order to ship larger assortments, because of the amount of time it will take to pick them. I will not be able to do it unless i pick multiple orders at the same time.

The assortments will comprise of all items in a category that have sufficient stock. 100 of each item will be included. Shipping will be extra. All items will be packed in polybags for high-density shipping.

There is an excel spreadsheet attached to this post detailing exactly what each assortment includes.

Here is what I will be offering:
Machine Screw nuts/washers assortment (3.9M items)
Regular Price $86.33
Assortment Price $60.43

Mini carriage bolts assortment (1M items)
Regular Price $37.10
Assortment Price $29.68

Machine Screw SEMS assortment (4M items) \
Regular Price $82.99
Assortment Price $58.09

Machine Screw Assortment (10.8M items)
Regular Price $231.19
Assortment Price $138.72

Sheet Metal Screw Assortment (7.6M items)
Regular Price $147.48
Assortment Price $103.23

Tapping/Threading Screw Assortment (5M items)
Regular Price $164.15
Assortment Price $114.91

Wood Screw Assortment (1.3M items)
Regular Price $26.03
Assortment Price $20.82

 

[alex71]

No interest in this after all? If anyone is interested but wants to modify these, I am willing to listen.

 

[crashbumper]

Alex, what about a misc. metric assortment? M6-M10? Nuts, bolts, etc.?

 

[Bolster]

Honestly I can't "see" what you're selling based on description...I'm sure your description is fine, I'm just not expert enough to know exactly what you're selling...

...like what's the diff between Machine Screw SEMS assortment and Machine Screw assortment?

A photo of what a handful of the assortment would look like, would be helpful.

Dumb it down until the guy in the photo to the left can understand what you're selling.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Alex, what about a misc. metric assortment? M6-M10? Nuts, bolts, etc.?

I would definately be interested in this as well.

Honestly I can't "see" what you're selling based on description...I'm sure your description is fine, I'm just not expert enough to know exactly what you're selling...

...like what's the diff between Machine Screw SEMS assortment and Machine Screw assortment?

A photo of what a handful of the assortment would look like, would be helpful.

Dumb it down until the guy in the photo to the left can understand what you're selling.

Thats my problem as well...

 

[alex71]

OK, maybe this will help....

Firstly, I will not be doing metric assortments. I do not feel that I have a varied enough stock that ordering by item should be a problem. Just download a spreadsheet and pick what you would like

The screws are a different matter. I have so many different items, and so much of most of them, that I want to get the stuff moving. I can't do a photo of any of the assortments yet, because I haven't put them together. The assortments (combined) comprise of about 350 different items. You can imagine the amount of time it will take to pick, weigh, and bag all of these things. That's why I won't do it unless I have commitment for several people--Its just not worth the time. I'll just sell the stuff on ebay onesy twosy for double the money.

Now for definitions:

Machine screws and Machine screw SEMS: SEMS stands for preasSEMbled, meaning the screws have one or more captive washers.

See this link for the different head and drive styles, both as regular MS and SEMS:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#machine-screws/=7ehrb6

Sheet metal screws. Here is a link that shows you the different threads and point types, as well as head styles:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#tapping-screws/=7ehtkg

Tapping/Threading screws: Here is a link that explains the different types of tapping/threading screws, including thread type, head type, etc.:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#thread-cutting-screws/=7ehu1x

Machine screw nuts and washers, wood and drywall screws, and carriage bolts I hope are self explanatory.

If you explore any of the links above and drill down to product pricing you'll see just what a bargain my stuff is. Many times my prices are 90% less than McMaster.

I hope this helps....I may eventually be able to provide a photo of one of these assortments (I intend to pick one of each for myself eventually), but for now making a thousand new ebay listings is going to take priority.

Let me know if there are any other questions...Thank you.

 

[Sokoloff]

I'm in for one of each [assortment]. Who's with me to make this happen?

 

[alex71]

just need a couple more commitments to pick.

 

[Blackend]

Alex, what about a misc. metric assortment? M6-M10? Nuts, bolts, etc.?

I'm falling along the same lines as crashbumper...

I'd be interested in a M6 - M14 assortment with nuts, hex-head's, and washers. Multiple pitch as well. Doesn't need to be a huge assortment for me, something in the $200 range plus shipping would suffice. Otherwise, I'll probabaly end up at TSC for a handful of whatever they have and then McMaster for the special stuff...

PM if you want to work something out and I'll try to put a list together.

Brian

 

[alex71]

Brian, I sent you a PM.

Guys, if you really want an assortment of metric, or grade 5, or whatever, I can put one together for you. Just tell me what your target $ amount is, like Brian did above, and I will put it together for you. Just note that it will not be discounted like the screw assortments.

 

[vette-kid]

Alex, thats a lot more useful to me. Although I may end up with an assortment of machine screws, the sheet metal screws and such just arent all that useful to me. Mostly automotive applications so hex bolts and even some socket cap screws are what I need mostly. That said, Ill send you a PM with what Im after.

 

[Burgerkong]

OT, but do you happen to have any metal compartmentalized boxes? Similar to the Durham and Wurth ones?

 

[rebrewer]

What is the country of origin for the fasteners? One of the reasons I use Würth stuff is I know where it comes from.

Bob

 

[alex71]

OT, but do you happen to have any metal compartmentalized boxes? Similar to the Durham and Wurth ones?

None that I want to sell right now. I have some like this in a couple of different configs that you can probably talk me out of if you're local.

What is the country of origin for the fasteners? One of the reasons I use Würth stuff is I know where it comes from.

Bob

The small stuff is almost all Taiwan. The bigger stuff is a mix of Taiwan, USA, and Canada. This is surplus, and priced accordingly, so no COO is guaranteed. I will say, however, that this is all top quality stuff. It came from the inventories of industrial suppliers who have gone out of business, and they only sold to other business, so no consumer-grade garbage here.

Some people have asked me if I will just give them a couple of everything, or cut the assortments down to 50 or 25 pieces per item, and unfortunately, the answer has to be no. Let me explain why.

When I started doing this a couple of years ago, my goals were to have a nice fastener selection for my own projects, have some fun (who doesn't like to play with nuts and bolts ), and help out my fellow gearheads. Extra money to support my tool and machinery addiction was a nice bonus.

In addition to the cost of the product, the cost of packaging, and my overhead (I rent a shop to store this stuff), I have to spend time picking and packing these items (in a shop with no A/C), and then I have to spend time maintaining the inventory lists so I know what I have left.

It takes as long two minutes per item to pick and bag this stuff. I have to find the location, weigh a sample, and then have the scale count out the correct amount. With lightweight items I have to hand count as many as 40 before the scale has a large enough sample to determine the APW. It takes the same amount of time to pack 25, 50, 100, or 1,000 little screws. Then I have to seal the bags, pack them in boxes, seal the boxes, print the shipping labels, update the inventory list, etc, etc, etc. I have about 1,000 items right now, so you can imagine how long it would take to put together an assortment that includes "a few of everything". I just don't have the time, or the inclination to spend three hours putting together a $100 order that has a few hundred different items in it. Therefore, I'll do assortments, but I won't do them one at a time, it just takes too long. This is not my job; I work full time, and I have a family.

So those are the reasons for the minimums. If I'm going to spend hours in the shop bagging screws it has to be worth my while. I hope this doesn't come across as whiny or a troll for sympathy, because that's not my intention. People have asked why, and that's the reason.

 

[Vinko]

So those are the reasons for the minimums. If I'm going to spend hours in the shop bagging screws it has to be worth my while. I hope this doesn't come across as whiny or a troll for sympathy, because that's not my intention. People have asked why, and that's the reason.

This totally makes sense to me. If you were to do smaller assortments, you'd have to charge McMaster (or even several times more) to make a profit considering your time.

As for COO, on the bolts on your first go around, I checked COO and almost all were USA that I checked the headmarkings on.

Haven't checked the gr 5 and 8 bolts yet, or even had time to unpack the box.

I can say that the first go around, I don't know how much I spent -- a few hundred or so, but it's already paid for itself in product used and more importantly time saved and convenience.

 

[alex71]

any more takers?