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Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

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Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#331

Post by chiefalchemist »

xadhominemx wrote: post #36
pGuitar wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Almost everything is next-day delivery, Could it be that you live next to one of their warehouses? On the other hand, Amazon delays orders on purposes if you aren't a Prime member.

Compared to Amazon, MMC has a very small number of SKUs, inventory that never goes stale, and prices that are only affordable in the context of B2B transactions. It’s not a comparable service.

Perhaps. But all the more reason for Amazon to streamline it's UI and UX. Instead it's consistently a textbook case of TMI. If you're not paying close attention you're likely to miss something.

Maybe you didn't see the Footnote:

Footnotes

[1] "Jeff Bezos is an infamous micro-manager. He micro-manages every single pixel of Amazon's retail site. He hired Larry Tesler, Apple's Chief Scientist and probably the very most famous and respected human-computer interaction expert in the entire world, and then ignored every goddamn thing Larry said for three years until Larry finally -- wisely -- left the company. Larry would do these big usability studies and demonstrate beyond any shred of doubt that nobody can understand that frigging website, but Bezos just couldn't let go of those pixels, all those millions of semantics-packed pixels on the landing page. They were like millions of his own precious children. So they're all still there, and Larry is not." https://gist.github.com/chitchcock/1281611

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#332

Post by kuon »

jwr wrote: post #272
iancmceachern wrote: post #34

Mechanical Engineer and product designer here. I've been using mcmaster daily for 20 years to do my job. It is definitely the standard by which all others are judged. I'll gladly pay 2, 3, 5, even 10x the price to get it from McMaster. The service, the CAD models, I have what I need the next day. As an example of the level of their service, you can send them a box of loose parts, no part numbers, no markings, and the…

Alas, for some reason they only cater to the US market and have no presence in the EU, for example. So while it is possible to order from them, it's rather inconvenient as you need to deal with customs/taxes. Digi-Key got this right: you can order DDP, which makes things quick & simple. Incidentally, I am amazed that they don't have a meaningful competitor in the EU. It seems most companies here are stuck in the 80s…

There is misumi but it is not exactly the same market

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#333

Post by hownottowrite »

jwr wrote: post #272
iancmceachern wrote: post #34

Mechanical Engineer and product designer here. I've been using mcmaster daily for 20 years to do my job. It is definitely the standard by which all others are judged. I'll gladly pay 2, 3, 5, even 10x the price to get it from McMaster. The service, the CAD models, I have what I need the next day. As an example of the level of their service, you can send them a box of loose parts, no part numbers, no markings, and the…

Alas, for some reason they only cater to the US market and have no presence in the EU, for example. So while it is possible to order from them, it's rather inconvenient as you need to deal with customs/taxes. Digi-Key got this right: you can order DDP, which makes things quick & simple. Incidentally, I am amazed that they don't have a meaningful competitor in the EU. It seems most companies here are stuck in the 80s…

DDP is probably the only good solution here for most EU customers, but frankly the hassle and expense of doing business in the EU is what keeps most US e-commerce companies from entering the market.

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#334

Post by dejerpha »

jwr wrote: post #272
iancmceachern wrote: post #34

Mechanical Engineer and product designer here. I've been using mcmaster daily for 20 years to do my job. It is definitely the standard by which all others are judged. I'll gladly pay 2, 3, 5, even 10x the price to get it from McMaster. The service, the CAD models, I have what I need the next day. As an example of the level of their service, you can send them a box of loose parts, no part numbers, no markings, and the…

Alas, for some reason they only cater to the US market and have no presence in the EU, for example. So while it is possible to order from them, it's rather inconvenient as you need to deal with customs/taxes. Digi-Key got this right: you can order DDP, which makes things quick & simple. Incidentally, I am amazed that they don't have a meaningful competitor in the EU. It seems most companies here are stuck in the 80s…

Maybe because the site is hard-coded for the US imperial system?

Quoting the article: «Bolts are commonly specified by their thread size (e.g. 1/4"-20), and their length. I'm looking for a 1/4"-20 x 1" bolt, meaning that the bolt's diameter is 1/4" and its length is 1", so I select these filters.»

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#335

Post by yurishimo »

abracadabra_ wrote: post #304
oriolid wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Where are you finding pot metal bolts? Self-assembled furniture seems to have terrible bolts more often than not. Instrument stands and drum kits also come with softest imaginable bolts except the most expensive gear. I'm sure there are other products like this.

The last thing I bought from IKEA had plastic screws. To be fair, I've not had any problems with them but I as a bit taken aback to see them.

I recently moved and needed some new furniture. I purchased a bed previously with storage boxes underneath in the past and I was dreading the same experience again.

I did buy a different model[0] this time around and it's been over 5 years since my last purchase, but the quality on this bed is much better. All of the holes were pre drilled/tapped correctly and they've vastly improved the way the mattress slats are secured.

For the drawers underneath, the joining method was much simpler than before and while I still wouldn't look forward to taking it apart if/when I move, I can at least see a viable path for disassembly and re-assembly at my future house. The previous drawers were junk and got stuck or broke within a month.

I'm currently assembling a TV stand[1] and so far it's been great except for the top shelf. It's a veneered wood product and I guess they want you to pick the "best" side and you have to tap the holes yourself. I would have preferred pre-drilled holes since a TV is going to cover 90% of the top anyway, but it's not a huge problem. It's also possible they use the same part number in some other product that doesn't require holes so this way is better for their logistics.

0: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gladstad-upholstered-bed-2-stor...

1: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/fjaellbo-tv-unit-black-90339290...

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#336

Post by blauditore »

Bolkan wrote: post #305
morcheeba wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll second that. I ordered an 8-foot-long aluminum bar for $25, which, at the time, was too long to ship with traditional shippers. So, a semi trailer showed up at my door. Shipping cost $8.

Might I ask what for?

I don't know the GP's reason, but I also orderd long aluminum profiles for LED installations (it's needed for heat dissipation, and also helped with mounting in my case).

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#337

Post by loh »

It sort of reminds me of a video game UI for an RPG or something. Game UIs usually do a great job of organizing and simplifying complex hierarchical information and making it quick and intuitive to find what you need. A lot of the web tech I've built over the years has been inspired by well designed games.

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#338

Post by red_admiral »

The first thing I tried is, does middle-click open a new tab properly? Turns out it does, which already puts this site above average compared to a lot of online shops I use, simply for not breaking a standard browser feature!

Ways I've seen it done wrong include middle-click/Control+click not working at all, because the links are some kind of onclick="javascript:" monstrosity, or the link working but some script in the background also redirecting the page on the tab I originally clicked on.

(I can understand some kind of "flow control" during the checkout process to stop you from double-submitting the "place order" request. But not when I'm browsing the products, and sometimes want two tabs open side by side to compare things.)

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#339

Post by dagw »

dejerpha wrote: post #334
jwr wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alas, for some reason they only cater to the US market and have no presence in the EU, for example. So while it is possible to order from them, it's rather inconvenient as you need to deal with customs/taxes. Digi-Key got this right: you can order DDP, which makes things quick & simple. Incidentally, I am amazed that they don't have a meaningful competitor in the EU. It seems most companies here are stuck in the 80s…

Maybe because the site is hard-coded for the US imperial system? Quoting the article: «Bolts are commonly specified by their thread size (e.g. 1/4"-20), and their length. I'm looking for a 1/4"-20 x 1" bolt, meaning that the bolt's diameter is 1/4" and its length is 1", so I select these filters.»

Maybe because the site is hard-coded for the US imperial system?

Why not go to the site and take a look. They, obviously, sell both metric and imperial bolts (and everything else).

It's not like Americans don't occasionally need metric bolts.

Re: Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used

#340

Post by nbadg »

iancmceachern wrote: post #34

Mechanical Engineer and product designer here. I've been using mcmaster daily for 20 years to do my job. It is definitely the standard by which all others are judged. I'll gladly pay 2, 3, 5, even 10x the price to get it from McMaster. The service, the CAD models, I have what I need the next day. As an example of the level of their service, you can send them a box of loose parts, no part numbers, no markings, and the…

A friend of mine worked there right after college. I happened to buy some girl scout cookies through her, and joked with her that you can get everything from McMaster. When she brought me the cookies, she brought me a fake McMaster invoice for them too.

I've heard some mixed reviews about what it's like to work there, but I completely agree: as a customer, despite the (sometimes very high) prices, I was always incredibly happy with McMaster.

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