Shout out to McMaster Carr, they're awesome.

[macgee]

McMaster Carr, I can't recommend them enough! They're doing business the way it should be done.

I'm on a huge deadline to get a gearbox rebuilt for a sailboat to be used this weekend and desperately need some #1 taper pins to finish the rebuild. No one had them locally, contacted MSC, Travers, Fastenal and several others who have all warehouses near me and still no luck. I call up McMaster Carr yesterday late afternoon to see if they have any in stock at that location about an hour+ away and they said they can take the order over phone and have them to me by tomorrow morning. They would only charge me $6 total for shipping and $10 for the pins. So I then asked how much for 10am guarantee next day delivery, she says $13 = Done!

So 9:30am this morning, I'm checking UPS tracking and screen says check back tomorrow, shipment delayed (very bad news). I call McMaster Carr to ask them if they had more info, they apologize for UPS and without a thought and immediately they told me they'll have a direct car courier pick up and deliver another set of pins to my door within two hours.

By the way, the taper pins McMaster was the lowest price compared to the others I mentioned above and USA made, normal shipping is a very low $6. The two different woman I spoke to were excellent and very knowledgable, couldn't be happier.

Have to admit, for some reason I don't use McMaster very often, don't know why but that's changing and for now on they'll be the first place I go to.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have had very similar experiences with McMaster Carr. They are generally my go to if I cannot find what I need at my local supplier. I'll admit there are times I think the freight is a bit more than it should be but I guess that's the cost of convenience. I do like it better now where the freight is calculated upon checkout vs. the way it was before when it was sometimes the next day to find out how much for freight.

Glad you were able to get the parts you needed and hopefully you got the job completed in time.

 

[sick467]

I have purchased a fair share from McMC (for work mostly) and it's always been of good quality even though they do not tell you who the manufacturer is on the web site. Shipping has always been quick and decently priced. I'm glad to hear they pulled it off for you and surprised that Fastenal let you down...the local Fastenal store is great too!

 

[aka Larry]

Another plus for MMC is they have detailed CAD drawings of many of the parts they sell, which has helped me out a lot.

 

[glend123]

I use them all the time at work. Almost always next day delivery and sometimes same day. It takes our shipping and receiving guy the same amount of time to deliver it to my bench in the same building. They have just about everything I ever need.

 

[glend123]

Another plus for MMC is they have detailed CAD drawings of many of the parts they sell, which has helped me out a lot.

Not only drawings but 3D Solidworks models as well. I just drop them into my design Assembly with part numbers automatically attached.

 

[macgee]

Another plus for MMC is they have detailed CAD drawings of many of the parts they sell, which has helped me out a lot.

Not only drawings but 3D Solidworks models as well. I just drop them into my design Assembly with part numbers automatically attached.

Agree, I don't have a CNC but its been really helpful and helps confirm if its the correct part and takes out guessing if all dimensions are correct and if it's the right part. There's a lot to be said about that and totally unlike ordering something on Amazon.

 

[vavet]

Not only drawings but 3D Solidworks models as well. I just drop them into my design Assembly with part numbers automatically attached.

Yes, very handy. I found an error in one of their drawings lately - a dimension did not match the spec shown on the website. It was critical for my application. I sent them a message and had a reply with a few minutes apologizing and clarifying that the dimension on the website was correct and that the model was incorrect. I edited the model and it was OK.
I too appreciate that you can now see how much shipping charges will be prior to checkout.
I've never heard of a car courier thing though. That's pretty cool. Most companies would tell you to shove it. It's not their fault. It's UPS's fault.

 

[American Locomotive]

If you need something and can't find it on McMaster's website - use their contact form or email them. Someone will get back to you the same day - and let me tell you, they will move heaven and earth to find that item.

We needed a very specific pressure gauge with a specific BSPT fitting and could not find one anywhere. Emailed McMaster, and a few hours later they informed us they had located a manufacturer of those gauges, and we'd have it in a week because it was special order.

 

[macgee]

I too appreciate that you can now see how much shipping charges will be prior to checkout.

I've never heard of a car courier thing though. That's pretty cool. Most companies would tell you to shove it. It's not their fault. It's UPS's fault.

I can confirm, the item was hand courier delivered to me by noon and now already installed.

I called McMaster Carr and told them to recall the UPS order back so they can keep it, even though they said it was gift, I don't need it and they don't need to lose more money and product than they already have because of UPS. McMaster-Carr really stepped up.

 

[O'Toole]

They are a fantastic outfit.
I usually have my order the next day; two days tops

 

[dr_clyde]

They are by leaps and bounds the best industrial supply in the USA. I order from them several times a week, and they are by far the best company to deal with in that area.

I tend to shop elsewhere for certain things that they can't really compete in like welding supplies and machining cutters, but for general industrial supply, McMaster is the KING.

Their website is the BEST. The models and drawings are amazing. Their shipping is outstanding. They are just plain how an industrial supply should be run. No sales gimmicks, no special pricing tiers, no weird slick sales guy promising the world then disappearing. Just good quality supplies, delivered on time for a fair price.

 

[APEowner]

I too am a huge McMaster fan. I've been using them since before they had a website and I can count on one hand the number of problems I've had with orders from them and I've never been dissatisfied with their resolution to issues.

 

[iajonesy]

I, too, rate them as the best supply company out there. I learned a long time ago if you need top quality parts at reasonable prices they are the guys to go to. I was looking for some stainless steel wire mesh and they sent me a whole sample package to decide what I wanted to order. No charge at all.

Mike

 

[Steve_P]

Yep, awesome, been using them for 30 years. And even better now that they show shipping cost. They've killed me a few times on shipping - a few months ago with a $40? hazard fee surcharge to ship an $8? can of butane separately - no warning. Another time they evidently left out a tiny pack of heat shrink and shipped it in a separate box, main box was half full....all shipped from ATL. I complained about that one and they refunded me. I let the butane one go

 

[Buckgnarly]

They are the only people who can get stuff up here to remote VT in less than 2 business days. I've had nothing but great luck with them, and their online catalog is awesome.

 

[CJM8515]

always had good luck with them, specially shipping-usually super quick and reasonable

 

[dscheidt]

I too appreciate that you can now see how much shipping charges will be prior to checkout.
I've never heard of a car courier thing though. That's pretty cool. Most companies would tell you to shove it. It's not their fault. It's UPS's fault.

Industrial suppliers will deliver by courier if you ask, and pay for it. Some will even open the office up overnight or the weekend so you can get going. If your production line is down because you need a widget or three, it can be a lifesafer.

I wonder if the change in telling you what shipping is going to cost is going to change their shipping practices. When I had things delivered to my former office, I'd sometimes get stuff delivered same day by courier, because the courier was making another nearby delivery. I once got a small box (less than 1' each side) delivered LTL (next day) because another tenant of the building had three pallets delivered. I was very confused when the truck driver called. In neither case was a charged more than i'd have expected to pay for UPS delivery.

 

[RichieP_MechE]

The McMaster-Carr website is truly the best commerce website in the world. It is so easy to find exactly what you are looking for. And customer service is great. If you're looking for the manufacturer of a part, just send them an email requesting the manufacturer data sheet and they'll send it to you. I've done this many times for valves and other components as I'm working on designs.

They have also been putting a lot of effort into having 3D models of everything on their site, which is extremely useful for those of us doing mechanical design work as a day job. I was a beta tester for their Solidworks plugin which was just released recently. I've been involved in a number of their customer research studies and it's really impressive how they are trying to improve their product offerings. I've told them multiple times to make a Solidworks Toolbox that is the whole McMaster-Carr library so I'm hopeful that we'll see that some day

I also had the opportunity to visit their Cleveland warehouse about 10 years ago. That was also awesome - pallet racks of parts as far as the eye could see. One interesting thing is that they don't cut metals in house - everything is delivered to them already cut to size. This explains why their material prices tend to be higher than other online metal suppliers.

 

[Rinspeed]

Simply Awesome company, we use them every day. Prices are not cheap but the **** gets to you the next morning without fail. I can call them up at 5:00 in the afternoon without a PO or anything and their response is always no problem just follow up with a PO in the next day or two.

 

[Qualitytools]

Their customer service is excellent

 

[infinite97]

MMC is amazing. My old company location was ~15 minutes away from the NJ warehouse; I made hundreds of orders, thousands and thousands of dollars with them, picked up from will call usually. Just fantastic service, ridiculous inventory, very knowledgeable staff. Can’t ask for more.

 

[Speed-Racer]

Good post, I will give them a try. Typically order from other vendors, no idea MMC is this dedicated.

 

[Walkers]

I will swear that I have had them deliver stuff whileI was still on the phone with them ordering it. They can be a little spendy, but high quality and fast.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I have bought a lot from them over the years for work. Amazing web site and fast delivery.

 

[Indexmill]

Fully agree with all positive comments. The only issue is that shipping is not free. Most online sites have trained us to expect free shipping. Thus, we struggle with any site that does not.

Of course, there is no such thing as free shipping just as there is no such thing as a free lunch (except from Mom). It's paid for one way or another. It's psychological that we expect free... shipping..

 

[dnschmidt]

Absolutely the best. Nobody else is even close. I don't know how the hell they do it but I've never ordered anything from them that wasn't in stock for next day delivery. These guys even make Amazon Prime look bad. They don't do free shipping but they don't gouge you for shipping either. What they charge for shipping is fair.

 

[The Cobbler]

I wish they had a CDN warehouse, or at least shipped to Canada

 

[macgee]

Yep, awesome, been using them for 30 years. And even better now that they show shipping cost. They've killed me a few times on shipping - a few months ago with a $40? hazard fee surcharge to ship an $8? can of butane separately - no warning.

This

I'm now realizing why I wasn't using them so much recently as others because back in the day before their website was around and had to order out of their telephone book sized catalog and wouldn't know the shipping cost until much later and I would get stung badly and why I wasn't as eager to order from them; not a fan of surprises especially when money is involved but that has been solved.

Having said that, They do really step up and get you the right item in a very professional and thorough way that others can only dream of; so when you need that part to keep business going, that's priceless. Now seeing the shipping prices is a huge plus for me.

I can understand wanting free shipping if I was buying $800 of small items (we're trained to expect that) but then I also look at it when only needing a couple of small cheap esoteric, very hard to find items to test something out for $20 that only cost $6 to ship next day instead of $20 + $20 ship that some places charge makes it a no brainer for me. I would spend $6 alone on gas going to go to the Box Box stores, paying more for BS parts or usually leaving empty handed.

The key is you now know the shipping price ahead of time making it much easier to pull the trigger.

After my first post, I was able to service and install the part, everything went well and was able to test the motor out on the ocean this afternoon; not a bad day at all.

 

[4miller1]

Of course we all know there is no such thing as free shipping.
In reality the shipping costs are hidden by many online companys.
Im also a big fan of mc master carr.

 

[Fatboy148]

After my first post, I was able to service and install the part, everything went well and was able to test the motor out on the ocean this afternoon; not a bad day at all.

View attachment 1481732

How many billable hours were involved in "testing"?

 

[seber]

When I worked in Denver, Grainger was a ten minute drive while McMaster was 1000 miles away. McMaster was always faster and cheaper. Until I started using their online catalog I always kept a physical one near my desk. From the time I started working in 1970 it was always four inches thick with small type and thin pages.

 

[laser3kw]

With the availability of everything on the internet, what separates one supplier from another is intangibles. McMaster Carr's service before (web page info), during and after the sale sells their inventory. Price becomes second in some cases.
They learned this a long time ago and are an exemplary company (IMHO)

 

[DeeKay]

Mcmaster is hands down my favorite supplier to work with. Whether your account is with a multibillion dollar company or a one man shop their customer service is the same; amazing.
There are also really good technical references on the website and catalogs.

 

[DeeKay]

When I worked in Denver, Grainger was a ten minute drive while McMaster was 1000 miles away. McMaster was always faster and cheaper. Until I started using their online catalog I always kept a physical one near my desk. From the time I started working in 1970 it was always four inches thick with small type and thin pages.

haha same here, Grainger is 10 minutes from my house, I only go there if I absolutely have to, the customer service isn't great and you'll be lucky if you ever get ahold of anyone with any technical knowledge at all.

 

[BLUE72CAMARO]

I love mcmaster but man have they hosed me on shipping a few times... Last time was a few months back I was adding some lighting to my tractor and a couple other projects that needed odds and ends at the time so I added a few pieces of heat shrink to my order thinking the stuff weighs nothing and folds up so it should go in the box with the rest no problem. The next day I received my invoice with shipping costs of over $30 for what should have fit in less than a sq. foot box being shipped 150 miles within the same state. When I got home that night and saw the packaging i knew why the two peices of heat shrink were in a 5"dia x 5' long tube shipped separately than everything else.

Oh well live and learn I guess, you cant beat mcmasters selection and fast shipping.

 

[zze86]

I was introduced to McMaster during graduate school. McMaster's website is the best. It's easy and intuitive to use although there's so much stuff that sometimes I'm not sure where to start. They're usually not the cheapest but they basically have everything you need for a project under one website. And you don't have to go digging for specs all over the place.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Back when I worked in an engineering role at a former employer, I used them daily.

Not the cheapest but normally had what was needed and quick delivery.

 

[anndel]

They're awesome and have everything.

 

[metaldad]

i order and use their will call in elmhurst at least once weekly.
99.9% of that book is in stock.
i avoid grainger like the plague
and mmc is building yet another addition to their huge facilty