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Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

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Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#211

Post by dan_quixote »

mauvehaus wrote: post #175
jakearmitage wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HomeDepot's ecommerce is a joke. Not only the shopping experience is poor, they treat logistics as if they were doing you a favor. And, on top of all that, you get damaged items. I made 7 purchases and all 7, in different periods of time, had to be returned or replaced. Same for Lowe's. There's a reason people shop on Amazon. Other than BestBuy, no other retailer "gets" ecommerce.

I beg to differ. Rock Auto is where it's at for auto parts. The website is ugly as hammered shit, but it's fast, shows you the options grouped by rough quality level (economy/you cheapskate, daily driver, performance, etc), shows you what part to select so it ships from the same warehouse as the parts already in your cart and saves you shipping, and returns are painless (disclaimer: I've only ever done returns for co…

My nomination is McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) - They have a huge catalog of parts/tools yet somehow it's so intuitive to browse. I was a mechanical engineer in a previous life and McMaster's website was my bible. Step one for any new prototype design was to browse this site. Best case scenario, you could cobble together your prototype from various COTS (commercial off the shelf) McMaster parts. And if that wasn't an option, scan the catalog for necessary parts and raw materials. If they don't exist at McMaster, your design idea just got at least 10X expensive and lead time doubled.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#212

Post by mauvehaus »

keanebean86 wrote: post #197
mauvehaus wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beg to differ. Rock Auto is where it's at for auto parts. The website is ugly as hammered shit, but it's fast, shows you the options grouped by rough quality level (economy/you cheapskate, daily driver, performance, etc), shows you what part to select so it ships from the same warehouse as the parts already in your cart and saves you shipping, and returns are painless (disclaimer: I've only ever done returns for co…

I've also had great experiences with Rock Auto. I've been ordering the occasional part from them for about 10 years. Shipping can be expensive but everything comes pretty quick. Some parts are cheap but they're also inexpensive.

Yeah, I try to bundle things up to save on shipping. On the other hand, by the time I need anything, I probably also need wiper blades, and the price difference on just one wiper blade usually covers the cost of shipping.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#213

Post by mauvehaus »

solotronics wrote: post #189
mauvehaus wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beg to differ. Rock Auto is where it's at for auto parts. The website is ugly as hammered shit, but it's fast, shows you the options grouped by rough quality level (economy/you cheapskate, daily driver, performance, etc), shows you what part to select so it ships from the same warehouse as the parts already in your cart and saves you shipping, and returns are painless (disclaimer: I've only ever done returns for co…

I like NAPA/Oreilly where you can see whats in a store and have them set the parts aside for you so they are there when you get there.

Advance and I believe Autozone also let you place orders for in-store pickup. At one point, Advance was putting a coupon code right at the top of the homepage that would save you 20% off your order if you did that.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#214

Post by kube-system »

MisterTea wrote: post #26

Can someone please explain to me like I'm 5 why adults have to be told that other retail outlets exist besides Amazon? If you are one of these people, please kindly explain to me how you forgot there are other shops.

Many people who shop online have only become online shoppers after Amazon became the dominant online retailer. For some people, Amazon is online shopping.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#215

Post by derrekl »

I emailed a local comic shop that’s closed to the public, but I was able to order $100 worth of trade paperbacks. Got it 2 days later. No “online” shop, but still worked. As best you can, try to spend money with the local stores you used to go to.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#216

Post by bradlys »

solotronics wrote: post #193
bradlys wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the reasons I don't buy things from Home Depot if I can help it. I've gone to multiple stores thinking something was in stock to only find they were all out of stock. On top of that, the staff there are almost helpless when it comes to finding things that aren't on the shelf itself. If it's up top, be prepared to waste an hour trying to get someone to fetch the item. (If it's there!) Their poor system…

I mean technically that is stealing but I guess its pretty low on the scale of "bad stuff".

Is it? They rung me up with it - it's up to them to decide what to charge me. I'd put as "bank error in my favor." I only noticed later when I was making sure they didn't overcharge me when looking at my bank account. (They had to charge and refund about 3x)

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#217

Post by hathawsh »

mauvehaus wrote: post #175
jakearmitage wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HomeDepot's ecommerce is a joke. Not only the shopping experience is poor, they treat logistics as if they were doing you a favor. And, on top of all that, you get damaged items. I made 7 purchases and all 7, in different periods of time, had to be returned or replaced. Same for Lowe's. There's a reason people shop on Amazon. Other than BestBuy, no other retailer "gets" ecommerce.

I beg to differ. Rock Auto is where it's at for auto parts. The website is ugly as hammered shit, but it's fast, shows you the options grouped by rough quality level (economy/you cheapskate, daily driver, performance, etc), shows you what part to select so it ships from the same warehouse as the parts already in your cart and saves you shipping, and returns are painless (disclaimer: I've only ever done returns for co…

This is why I read HN. Thank you for recommending a good retailer.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#218

Post by hsitz »

ghaff wrote: post #173
Arcsech wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/ presumably. I've ordered some things from there, and generally had a good experience, with a few notes: - For large purchases at least, they are very scrupulous about sending tax documents to your home state to make sure the sales tax gets paid. This is probably a social good overall, but unusual for internet retailers and may take some folks by surprise. - They follow a Jewish holiday s…

Last time I ordered from them, I think they collected the sales tax. I'm not sure when this started; I am a long-time customer but they're not a store I tend to purchase from frequently. I like them overall and I tend to prefer using them to Amazon for AV type of purchases.

Doesn't just about everywhere collect sales tax online now?

BHPhotoVideo is my go-to place for tech and music stuff. I got their affiliated payboo credit card that pays the sales tax for you, saves me that 10% on every order.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#219

Post by spacemark »

ncheek wrote: post #179
rsync wrote: post #163

Mcmaster-carr is fantastic: https://www.mcmaster.com/ Very simple UI with access to technical diagrams. Good pricing. If I order before noon or 2pm or something, here in the bay area I receive the items next day. I wish all web stores could be like this.

McMaster has a powerfully simple website. You can get to any item with mcmaster.com/ . They often provide 3D models of their parts. You can even paste in a list of items to quickly bulk-add to your cart. It just works. Their customer service is also second to none. I've never had the phone ring more than once before being answered by a real person. And they'll respond 24/7 to phone calls or emails. Oh, and they've ac…

I've probably put in 100 McMaster orders over the last year via work, side gig, and home projects. My take on this is that their prime customers (businesses) do not put shipping costs in their top 5 or maybe even top 10 priorities. Businesses pushing out products or engaged in rapid prototyping or meeting a deadline are much more concerned with speed, and McMaster always beats Amazon in shipping time to my workplace (usually less than 24 hours from order to delivery, no joke). Their customer also values accurate technical data so they've put a lot of effort into CAD models and are very responsive to customer service calls.

In short, they know their customer persona. I wouldn't hold my breath that they'll add upfront shipping costs any time soon!

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#220

Post by fennecfoxen »

Diederich wrote: post #133
jefftk wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered buying from stores that normally target commercial businesses? They generally have a lot more slack right now with restaurants not running. The minimum order size is kind of high, but if you buy non-perishables it might be good? https://www.webstaurantstore.com is what I've used.

My wife has tried that but so far she's run into the 'must be a restaurant' wall. We'll try https://www.webstaurantstore.com , many thanks.

When I was in San Jose, there was a "Cash and Carry" foodservice store where one could just walk in and browse the food (I once randomly met the properietor of Psycho Donuts there, looking for new flavor ideas.) It appears to be operating under a slightly different brand now, but seems to be open the the public still?

https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/store/san-jose-57...

Looks like there's a click-and-carry option, but no deliveries unless you Instacart.

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