Amazon Supply

#1

Post by timjahn » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 3:45 PM UTC

Re: Amazon Supply

#2

Post by jgmmo » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 4:57 PM UTC

This seems pretty bold to me? Anyone else suprised by this? Could put alot of pressure on home improvement retailers and industrial suppliers. Reminds me of Octopart - right? that YC supply search startup?

In any event, this is very cool. Especially for home robotics hobbyist :)

Re: Amazon Supply

#3

Post by evandena » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:03 PM UTC

Prices are still twice as high as the items I spot checked from McMaster

Re: Amazon Supply

#4

Post by sakai » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:15 PM UTC

McMaster Carr must be shuddering right now.

Re: Amazon Supply

#5

Post by tesseract » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:36 PM UTC

sakai wrote: post #4

McMaster Carr must be shuddering right now.

This looks like a rebrand of SmallParts which Amazon bought a while ago. Pricing and searchability were always worse than McMaster and it doesn't seem dramatically improved now.

Re: Amazon Supply

#6

Post by devinmontgomery » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:41 PM UTC

sakai wrote: post #4

McMaster Carr must be shuddering right now.

I've done a lot of ordering through McMaster Carr, and the ease, delivery time and selection are amazing. It's strange to say this, but they're the one company that I don't see Amazon being able to distinguish themselves from. McMaster is already operating at that level.

Re: Amazon Supply

#7

Post by tomkinstinch » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:47 PM UTC

evandena wrote: post #3

Prices are still twice as high as the items I spot checked from McMaster

Indeed. One nice thing though is that they honor Amazon Prime free two-day shipping.

Re: Amazon Supply

#8

Post by kulkarnic » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:47 PM UTC

tesseract wrote: post #5

sakai wrote: post #4

McMaster Carr must be shuddering right now.

This looks like a rebrand of SmallParts which Amazon bought a while ago. Pricing and searchability were always worse than McMaster and it doesn't seem dramatically improved now.

Yes, it is rebranded SmallParts. From their FAQ (http://www.amazonsupply.com/help/200223050/ref=sp_ft_au):

What happened to SmallParts.com? SmallParts, Inc., joined the Amazon family in 2005. In the past seven years, the dedicated team at SmallParts helped us expand our service and selection until we have grown well beyond our original focus of tubing, parts and fasteners for the medical supply and research industries. We have chosen the name AmazonSupply to help communicate our new, broader selection....

Re: Amazon Supply

#9

Post by gcb » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 5:51 PM UTC

It's exactly the same crappy stuff they have on the regular site.

everything there i could find on amazon.com, and from my experience buying small lab tools from them, it's a 80% return rate.

last one was a set of precision tweezers which only 1/3 of them properly closed in alignment.

The good brands are 2x and 3x the price at a proper store.

Re: Amazon Supply

#10

Post by joezydeco » Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 6:01 PM UTC

devinmontgomery wrote: post #6

sakai wrote: post #4

McMaster Carr must be shuddering right now.

I've done a lot of ordering through McMaster Carr, and the ease, delivery time and selection are amazing. It's strange to say this, but they're the one company that I don't see Amazon being able to distinguish themselves from. McMaster is already operating at that level.

Delivery time is why I buy from McMaster. If I get the order in early enough, a dude in a van shows up in a few hours.