Midwest Steel Supply

[devils4ever]

Has anyone ordered from Midwest Steel Supply recently? I placed an order over a week ago and it still hasn't shipped. I'm not impressed.

I usually use Online Metals, but decided to try Midwest since they will custom cut to size. Online Metals is fast. I usually receive my delivery in a day, sometimes two.

 

[Nyala]

I used Online Metals for a long time until I found Midwest. Now I almost exclusively use Midwest.

Online was always quick to ship and was handy for getting material quickly when you needed to do so. Midwest is not so quick and a week's wait, and likely 2 weeks, is not unusual. What I do is I have a list of projects to accomplish and order material ahead so that I have it on hand when I want it. I usually have material on hand a month or more before needing it.

The advantage of Midwest is that they are way cheaper than Online Metals. Even when Online puts material on sale they are usually still more expensive than Midwest.

I have looked at Speedy Metals and Metals Depot but both are also more expensive than Midwest, and usually more expensive than Online. The only time I might vary from Midwest is if I need something they don't carry, which is rare.

I tolerate the slow shipping.

 

[Ik4771]

Has anyone ordered from Midwest Steel Supply recently? I placed an order over a week ago and it still hasn't shipped. I'm not impressed.

I usually use Online Metals, but decided to try Midwest since they will custom cut to size. Online Metals is fast. I usually receive my delivery in a day, sometimes two.

I order from them pretty regularly, it usually takes about a week to just ship the items but their prices are about the lowest on the web

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[devils4ever]

I guess I have to be patient. I would have ordered earlier if I knew they take a while to ship. Now that I know, I'll adjust my ordering accordingly.

They are cheaper because of the custom sizes that they offer. For instance, I needed a 1" thick piece of 6061 that is 7" X 18". Midwest has it for $39.80. Online Metals has it for $239.06 because I have to order a piece 12" X 24". That's why I ordered from Midwest.

 

[mickri]

How are their shipping prices? Some places have low price on the material and high shipping prices.

 

[addertooth]

The entire industry is odd on shipping times right now (possibly due to reduced Covid staffing). I ordered a mill, and then 30 seconds later a chuck from a highly reputed vendor. The Mill went out fairly quickly, but the chuck on an R8 spindle shipped out about 11 days later. I have had stuff from China arrive faster than stuff from an adjacent state. I would throw in that any metal vendor who "cuts to customer specifications" will have an extra Step in their shipping process, which a competing seller (who does not cut to desired length), does not have, and which may slow them down.

I remember that us hobby-machinists are penny orders, against higher volume purchasers... we many not get the same level of love.

 

[mickri]

Just ordered a bunch of stuff for future projects. Shipping was reasonable. Not cheap but also not expensive. Wonder when I will get it.

 

[Nyala]

How are their shipping prices? Some places have low price on the material and high shipping prices.

Even though I have a retail metal store within 10 miles of me, I buy through Midwest because it's delivered to my door rather than me having to go get it. However, I experimented before making this decision.

I first went to the metal store and bought three pieces os metal, 2-6061 aluminum and one 1018 steel. All three were 6 feet long. After getting home I used the final prices on my receipt for comparison with an online simulated "order" of the exact same products. I compared Midwest's final price to the metal store's final price and they were within 17cents of each other, with the metal store being the higher of the two. And that does not figure in the gallon of gas I used in my truck to make the round trip to the metal store.

For me, it was easier and cheaper to just order what I wanted from Midwest and have it delivered. The same might not be true for you.

 

[mickri]

I buy everything I can online and have it delivered. The nearest small town is 12 miles away. The closest metal suppliers are 35 to 50 miles away. That's a 70 to 100 mile round trip. I never make a trip to town to buy just one item. I make a shopping list and combine as many errands as I can on each trip. Thursdays are shopping/errand day. My elderly mother, 102 years young, gets her hair done on Thursdays. Her doctors' appointments are also shopping/errand days.

Even with buying online I still check shipping costs. The shipping on this recent order from Midwest was $21. I was considering buying the same stuff from another supplier. Their shipping cost was $35. So I went with Midwest.

 

[devils4ever]

Even though I have a retail metal store within 10 miles of me, I buy through Midwest because it's delivered to my door rather than me having to go get it. However, I experimented before making this decision.

I first went to the metal store and bought three pieces os metal, 2-6061 aluminum and one 1018 steel. All three were 6 feet long. After getting home I used the final prices on my receipt for comparison with an online simulated "order" of the exact same products. I compared Midwest's final price to the metal store's final price and they were within 17cents of each other, with the metal store being the higher of the two. And that does not figure in the gallon of gas I used in my truck to make the round trip to the metal store.

For me, it was easier and cheaper to just order what I wanted from Midwest and have it delivered. The same might not be true for you.

Does that price comparison include shipping costs from Midwest?