Am I going to have to buy my bolts from china now?

[jgedde]

Tractor Supply charges $1.99 per pounds for I think grade 2 nuts and bolts. Decent selection at the store where I shop. Probably Chinese.

Roy

The Tractor Supply hardware is actually quite good even if it is Chinese! I wish we had them on Long Island.

John

 

[Rbeckett]

I'm kind of partial to my one light towns only Ace Hardware. They may charge a tiny bit more than HD or Lowes, but they are within 4 miles instead of 34 and usually have everything I need for whatever project I am currently doing. If I ask them to they will even add stuff to their stock. Things like bare metal and all thread are new to them, but available from the Ace wharehouse so they stock them for me now. When I was running my side job shop all nite after work I could get whatever I needed up till 9PM and as early as 630 if I called ahead so they knew it was me. Works pretty good and supports the mom and pop businesses in my little tiny town too.
Bob

 

[November X-ray]

The bad news--------- everything has went through the roof. I ordered belts for my 2 x 48 belt sander-----they went up 40% in the last year. I was so happy that I called the company----- their responce was "have you priced cotton fiber" ??? The part of this that I don't get is if I raised my prices even 10% sales would stop.

Gary - I must expand on this somewhat, The bad news ---------everything you want to buy has gone thru the roof, everything you are selling or earning seems to not be worth what you have in it!

It sucks being a tax slave!!!

 

[AR1911]

Try these guys. Great prices, free shipping over $30, good quality, fast & friendly service.

www.krsupply.com

 

[DMS]

I try to stick with common sizes that I use a lot (1/4-20, 4-40, 4mm, 6mm) and by boxes of various sizes from McMaster. Not good for one offs, or things you need "right now" but definitely much cheaper than the local HW store. For the price of 2 (small) bags of fasteners at the HW store, you can get a box of 100 from McMaster. Oh, you want grade 8? That's about $1 more. You want stainless? About the same difference. Plus they have just about every bolt style you could want. Only problem is storage after you collect a bunch of styles, but I'm managing

I think the main issue is that most hardware stores are now "Home improvement" stores, and cater to contracters. Bolts (especially exotic things like SHCS, stainless steel, and grad 5/8) are "specialty" items now, and you get charged for them.

I remember a few years ago when OSH in the US had rows and rows of bolts in bulk. They were cheap, and they had every size you needed. Now they have the same bagged stuff everyone else has, and the prices are 2x-4x. Damn I feel old....

 

[wawoodman]

I managed hardware stores for a number of years. Part of the reason we pay so much for bolts now is because the guy before us filled his pockets and walked out. ("Heck, it's only a couple of bolts. They'll never miss 'em.")

I'm lucky here in Seattle. When I go to Online Metals and pick up stock, I go right past Stoneway Hardware on the way home, and they have a really nice selection of bolts, clips, bushings, etc., English and metric. So I can generally get all the project supplies at once.

 

[Tony Wells]

I never buy fasteners from the home centers. I have a couple of industrial fastener houses in town that are full stocking distributors of just about everything in the way of fasteners. If it's a $.05 bolt I need, that's all I pay, or they just give it to me.

 

[November X-ray]

I wonder if there is some hobby machinist in China saying, "these bolts are sure cheap for such good quality, me glad those dumb americans buy all the poor quality ones now for much higher price and leave all the good ones for us!"

 

[7HC]

I wonder if there is some hobby machinist in China saying, "these bolts are sure cheap for such good quality, me glad those dumb americans buy all the poor quality ones now for much higher price and leave all the good ones for us!"

You'd think exporting worked that way, but not always.

You would not believe how sweet, juicy, and easy to peel the Florida Oranges and Grapefruit are in the UK.
By comparison, here in Florida we get the dregs.
It appears that the best go for export, second quality go for juice, and what's left are sold in the produce section at twice the price that they are three thousand miles away! :angry:

That Chinese guy is probably cursing the damn Yankees for buying up the good stuff while he has to use bolts that twist like taffy.


M

 

[TRX]

I have a couple of industrial fastener houses in town that are full stocking distributors of just about everything in the way of fasteners

There are a couple a few towns over. I used to give them a fair amount of business, until they decided it wasn't worth their time for one of their salesmen to turn away from the company TV set long enough to sell a couple of dollars' worth of fasteners, so one went to a $15 minimum order, the other wants $20.

They're probably the same people who wonder why "the internet" is killing their business. I order online and wait now.