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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

#341

Post by oriolid »

machinawhite wrote: post #324
stdbrouw wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you stripping hex bolts? If so, the solution may be to buy some good hex bits (and a bit extender) which make it much easier to avoid slipping and stripping the bolt compared to a plain hex key.

Good advice but some are so soft they may've aswell been made out of butter, you have to be very careful even with proper tools.

Even worse, the hex sockets are often just a bit too large so that even proper tools won't fit. Ikea also has some special screws that are not really Phillips, Pozidrive or any other standard so there just isn't a driver that would fit.

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

#342

Post by digitalengineer »

tinco wrote: post #302
lokimedes wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The B2B vacuum of Europe. So many voids to fill, for the ones daring to share product details and, gasp, prices, online.

Yeah what is going on with B2B in Europe and not showing prices? It's absolutely bonkers, I have been renovating my house the past 6 years, and to even get into the stores I had to get a business account (by cheating and using my IT business registration). None of the websites show prices if you don't have an account, and some of them even check if your business is legit so I just get refused. The one that rejected m…

Even though the EU is one market, it really isn't much of a single market due to language and cultural differences. I've helped B2B companies and most small/medium sized ones want to limit their services to their own (and their country's neighbor's) country. There are a ton of problems related to fake company addresses placing orders and having them delivered at some random company's parking lot. Problems with regards to refunds, and –mot important– it is VERY hard to get the police to do anything about it. The minute it is outside of their jurisdiction, the police just doesn't do anything really.

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

#343

Post by loonster »

shswkna wrote: post #283
loonster wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's a commonly used item, it would be much more efficient to pay an entry level CAD guy to draw up a parametric screw part. Add in toolsolids of all the subtracts that the component will do (taps, CBore, clearance), and supplier call outs. It starts to become efficient.

Have you done what you suggested before? In my experience, the overhead of what you suggest is significant. Leading and instructing an employee or subcontractor, dealing with learning curves, etc. It sounds nice, but the logic in the GP comment is sound (i.e. that spending 2x or 3x the price for what you get can be worth it in most cases).

I use it everyday. It works very well. Just being able to easily switch screw sizes and having all of the taps/c'bores readjust is worth it.

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

#344

Post by loonster »

iancmceachern wrote: post #226
loonster wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's a commonly used item, it would be much more efficient to pay an entry level CAD guy to draw up a parametric screw part. Add in toolsolids of all the subtracts that the component will do (taps, CBore, clearance), and supplier call outs. It starts to become efficient.

But that's all already done for you in the mcmaster add in for solidworks.

Ah, that may be the key. (I do not use solidworks).

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

#345

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

gruez wrote: post #44
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.

>On the other hand, Amazon delays orders on purposes if you aren't a Prime member. I'm not so sure about this. I'm not a prime member and I frequently get orders delivered before the estimated delivery date. On the other hand I also see instances where amazon takes suspiciously long to ship something. A charitable explanation might be that their logistics capacity (eg. planes or vans) is limited, so if you're not a p…

Prime is a nasty scam. If you compare the final pricing on the same item in a Prime and non-Prime account you'll see what I mean.

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

#346

Post by wscott »

I build my own HVAC system for a guest house last summer and I got to be really impressed with supplyhouse.com. You can find all the part you need very easily and they shipped quickly. Some of these specialized store websites are WAY nicer than trying to find something on Amazon on Ebay.

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

#347

Post by auxym »

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…

> It seems most companies here are stuck in the 80s and dedicate next to zero effort to their web ordering process.

I'm so glad we can order from mcmaster here in canada, even though shipping is two days and usually min 30 USD even for tiny orders. All local industrial suppliers are truly stuck in the 80s. They have a paper catalog, without prices (if you're lucky you can get a PDF too). If you want prices, you have to call a salesperson, or send an email with an item list and wait a day or two to get a quote back. Then you get your quote, and some items are in stock, some others in stock "nearby" (next day delivery), others are backorder (1-X weeks). Then you have a lengthy phone or email back and forth to try and figure out what's in stock as a replacement.

So yeah, McMaster whenever possible and I'll gladly (have my employer) pay more for it. Shout-out to Misumi, too, however. I do mostly prototyping and I use so much of their customizable items, like rotary shafts. Much cheaper and faster than doing a drawing, sending it out to 3-8 local shops to try to find one that is quiet enough jobwise to take on a tiny one-off project and waiting 4 weeks for it, at a high price.

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

#348

Post by duckmysick »

tinco wrote: post #302
lokimedes wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The B2B vacuum of Europe. So many voids to fill, for the ones daring to share product details and, gasp, prices, online.

Yeah what is going on with B2B in Europe and not showing prices? It's absolutely bonkers, I have been renovating my house the past 6 years, and to even get into the stores I had to get a business account (by cheating and using my IT business registration). None of the websites show prices if you don't have an account, and some of them even check if your business is legit so I just get refused. The one that rejected m…

> Yeah what is going on with B2B in Europe and not showing prices?

Is it that much different from SaaS companies that instead of prices show a "contact sales" button?

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

#349

Post by auxym »

auscad wrote: post #213
monstertank wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they ship to Australia? Any idea if that is also comparable to Amazon delivery speeds?

Probably not. They don’t ship to Canada. Don’t be fooled if you’re able to place an order with a non-US address. I was able to, before getting an email the next day when they realized their mistake.

They ship to businesses in Canada (you have to open an account with them I think, our purchasing does that), but not individuals.

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

#350

Post by bartread »

Allow me to correct: "Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used" that only those of you in the US, or possibly North America, will be able to use in any practical sense, which is I'd guess at most about 60-70% of HN's readership.

I got pretty excited looking at this site because I'm refurbishing my home at the moment, and doing most of the work myself, so new suppliers of materials and tools always catch my eye. I'm not sure Screwfix et al really cut it next to this but then, of course, I noticed all the prices are in dollars and all the measurements are of the somewhat ironically named imperial variety.

Is there anything like this for the UK market? I've noticed that CPC and their various subsidiaries (Farnell, for example) can be pretty good, depending on what you need. But you seem to need a set that includes Screwfix, Toolstation, CPC, Farnell, RS, and a bunch of tool vendors (like SGS and Toolden) to really cover it off. I ended up buying specialist drillbits from a niche supplier that I can't even remember the name of now.

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