McMaster-Carr Shipping

It's not a computer glitch. Mc Master sells primarily to industry where time is money, so they try to get you the parts as fast as possible. They are completely upfront about this; if you look at the items in your cart, it says when each item will ship, shipping method and from which warehouse. If you see items coming from more than one warehouse or shipping method, expect more than one shipping charge. If this doesn't work for you, call customer service and the'll ship all items when in stock at the closest warehouse, However, heavy items shipped by fright truck will always incur extra charges.

I wish all places were this upfront.
I recently ordered some electronic components through Amazon with Prime free shipping.
I'd ordered on a Thursday so I didn't expect it to arrive until the following week.
Most of the stuff I ordered had arrived by Monday except for a couple things.
When they hadn't arrived by Tuesday, I went and checked the shipping email notice.
Turns out these last 2 items were on there way on a slow boat from China with this expected delivery date: Arriving Mar 30 - Apr 14
The "Item has Shipped" email was received on March 16.
Had I known this up front, I would have found somewhere else to order from.
 
It's not a computer glitch. Mc Master sells primarily to industry where time is money, so they try to get you the parts as fast as possible. They are completely upfront about this; if you look at the items in your cart, it says when each item will ship, shipping method and from which warehouse. If you see items coming from more than one warehouse or shipping method, expect more than one shipping charge. If this doesn't work for you, call customer service and the'll ship all items when in stock at the closest warehouse, However, heavy items shipped by fright truck will always incur extra charges.
This may be true for some who allow someone to apply the charges. Being in business for 30+ years, I've been around the corral a few times and had a chance to listen to the sales pitch and PR, or in many years past, snake oil. When a company says; "Let us be your stocking distributor" I extend this to how they stock and ship. If they only have 5 of the dozen items I ordered online and choose to ship from two locations that's their call, and it's just good business to pick up the phone and ask for a credit on the freight if it's applied. If their standard stock is a 1,000 pieces in the warehouse and they only have 5, it's their issue, not the customer's. I don't see the issue as a glich or fault, it's just part of the shipping program. If I order product that's over the UPS weight limit then I expect the extra charges for more than one package, or I have the option of shipping common carrier and waiting. Picking up the phone and asking for a credit takes less time than it took me to type this, so rather than give a company a negative review, allow them to make it right like ddickey did.

Some less than straight forward online business's go with the lowest price then recoup their bottom line in shipping and handling charges, but this isn't McMaster-Carr's angle. I always ask if there's a question on pricing or shipping charges and the most they can do is say no.
 
I love McMaster-Carr like my wife loves Amazon...

My wife likes McMaster, too!

They are a class outfit. I've placed an order in the morning and had it on my porch later that same day (NJ warehouse to CT, no special shipping requested). Their prices are somewhat higher than other suppliers, yes; you're paying for the convenience.
 
I like and use Mcmasters but I wish they offered a less expensive shipping option. I don't always need something in two days.
My other gripe is that it is often hard to tell what your going to get with some items. MC is good generally but not always for specific items.
They're metal stock prices are a bit high, so I pick and choose carefully and call or write to ask about specifics/brand, COO, etc...
Overall, they're great for quick processing shipping, so fast that you don't even have time to change an order., so be certain.
 
I like and use Mcmasters but I wish they offered a less expensive shipping option. I don't always need something in two days.
My other gripe is that it is often hard to tell what your going to get with some items.

Cheaper shipping? USPS might offer cheaper shipping for the smaller items but when it comes to larger stuff & volume shipments, USPS costs way more & they often can't compete with the volume pricing that the big box trucks offer.

Mcmaster's UPS pricing that they give to their customes is really good, which means they get great discounts. Mcmaster usually gets you your package delivered the next business day for most in the US but not cause they are shipping with a faster delivery service. They ship ground & their delivery speed is due to their warehouse locations that they stragically set up across the US. MSC is very much the same.

At my old job, we shipped over a thousand packages daily. With our discount, our rates were cheaper for 2 day than ground. USPS couldn't come close to meeting our our rates provided by UPS, FedEx, & DHL nor the delivery times.
 
One of the things that I like about our family here is that they state a problem so we can be informed...and then it things take a better turn they come back and update us. In this case is seems like MC took the high road even if perhaps they didn't have to.

I am glad to hear of all the positive feedback for McMaster Carr.

David
 
I made a small purchase and since they didn't have all the parts in one warehouse I got charged two shipping fees.
Does this sound like good business practice? Personally I think that's bad business but who am I to say. They appear to be a very successful company. Over & out.

EDIT: They refunded one of the charges after I complained. Forget what I said above.
I've ordered thousands of things from McMaster over the years, most for business. Everything seems to be there the next day. But I never worried about the freight because I wasn't paying for it LOL.

So while back I purchase something for myself, and was a little unsettled when I got to the check out page and there was nothing telling me what the shipping would be. When I got the item in the shipping did look kind of high, but of course it was here the next day almost. I agree completely McMaster is an awesome company. But everyone put the shipping charges on the checkout page, I think they need to do that.


Better yet McMaster-Carr Prime!!!!!!



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I've always found McMaster-Carr to be prohibitively expensive. They certainly have selection and availability, but prices are hard to swallow. Most companies will ship a partial (or not) based on your needs. Sometimes getting Item 1 & 3 is a plus, giving you time to modify or install them, while waiting on items 2 & 4 that are required to finish the job. You can always ask them to hold until the order is complete.

Sounds like they get points for customer service......
 
I have my mcmaster account set up to ship USPS, I get parts in less than a week and I am good with that, they are absolutely one of the cheapest places to find true industrial hardware and equipment compared to any big box store who has chicom crap. I prefer made in USA or Europe and am willing to get the better quality vs. the walmart quality you get from Lowes or HD. You may find a better deal on ebay on some things but McMaster is one stop shopping.
 
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