McMaster-Carr Shipping Charges?

I just ordered a launch rail from McMaster-Carr, having heard of them here on TRF.

I kept looking for a listing of shipping charges, but didn't find it. When I clicked through, I found that I had placed my order, and never got a shipping charge notice.

It's not even on my email confirmation or invoice.

Does anybody know what they charge for standard ground shipping? I have no idea how much I'll be charged for this.

That's my biggest gripe with McMaster, you don't get shipping up front unless you call.

jimzcatz said:

That's my biggest gripe with McMaster, you don't get shipping up front unless you call.

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I mean, I won't be upset unless it's outrageous. But I was surprised to find myself at the end of the ordering process without some kind of review page with the shipping on it, and a confirmation button.

They usually ship UPS. UPS just switched to dimensional shipping charges which means more for longer items ( anything over 50" or so).


JD

I placed an order from them on Saturday 2/14/15. I thought I had a card on file. I got the order Tuesday the 17th. I kept looking for the charge in my checking account, but nothing. Checked my email Tuesday night and there was an email from McMaster Carr: "Hi! We shipped your order, but the credit card didn't go through. Could you call us to arrange payment." How many places nowadays will still ship an order without cash in hand????? I know my business I work for won't. Anyhow, shipping was still a mystery, but I got everything worked out. I don't like how the process works, but they got the stuff I want and I get it quick.

Adrian

jd2cylman said:

I placed an order from them on Saturday 2/14/15. I thought I had a card on file. I got the order Tuesday the 17th. I kept looking for the charge in my checking account, but nothing. Checked my email Tuesday night and there was an email from McMaster Carr: "Hi! We shipped your order, but the credit card didn't go through. Could you call us to arrange payment." How many places nowadays will still ship an order without cash in hand????? I know my business I work for won't. Anyhow, shipping was still a mystery, but I got everything worked out. I don't like how the process works, but they got the stuff I want and I get it quick.

Adrian

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Well, I've heard the service is great, which is why I went with them. But I'd have liked to know what the damage was.

lcorinth said:

Does anybody know what they charge for standard ground shipping? I have no idea how much I'll be charged for this.

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They charge exactly what UPS charges them. Actual charges aren't known until the package is weighed.

lcorinth said:

I just ordered a launch rail from McMaster-Carr, having heard of them here on TRF.

I kept looking for a listing of shipping charges, but didn't find it. When I clicked through, I found that I had placed my order, and never got a shipping charge notice.

It's not even on my email confirmation or invoice.

Does anybody know what they charge for standard ground shipping? I have no idea how much I'll be charged for this.

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An email w/ the ship charges will be sent when its delivered.

in the words of Gomer Pyle -- Surprise...Surprise...Surprise

While the process isn't as up front as most places, their service is impeccable. I just don't worry about it anymore and I place several orders per year. Some things aren't worth worrying about, this is one of them.

I have found their individual package shipping costs to be reasonable, but their shipping process to be baffling. Once I ordered 4' and 1' long stock and it came in two boxes when there was clearly room to put the 1' piece with the the 4'. Had similar experience with long stock and small items (e.g. individual drill bits & end mills) - two packages that could easily be combined into one.

I am now selective on what combinations I order together.

waywayanda said:

I have found their individual package shipping costs to be reasonable, but their shipping process to be baffling. Once I ordered 4' and 1' long stock and it came in two boxes when there was clearly room to put the 1' piece with the the 4'. Had similar experience with long stock and small items (e.g. individual drill bits & end mills) - two packages that could easily be combined into one.

I am now selective on what combinations I order together.

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They have several warehouses and will store similar stock all over the country. I bought 3 tool steel 6' rods, the 1/8th" and 3/16th" rod came from one place and the 1/4" rod from another. Shipping was $30 for the 2 packages... Only compensation was the 1/4" rod came in a 6 foot long 3" tube that will work well as a 3" motor tube. I haven't checked but I think the same goes for the 2" tube, should fit a 54mm no problems.

jd2cylman said:

I placed an order from them on Saturday 2/14/15. I thought I had a card on file. I got the order Tuesday the 17th. I kept looking for the charge in my checking account, but nothing. Checked my email Tuesday night and there was an email from McMaster Carr: "Hi! We shipped your order, but the credit card didn't go through. Could you call us to arrange payment." How many places nowadays will still ship an order without cash in hand????? I know my business I work for won't. Anyhow, shipping was still a mystery, but I got everything worked out. I don't like how the process works, but they got the stuff I want and I get it quick.

Adrian

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Same thing happened to me, I placed and order and I thought they had charged my card... That order was 2 months ago.. Got another email the other day asking for me to call them for Credit card Info!! I was really surprised as I thought I had already payed!

jd2cylman said:

I placed an order from them on Saturday 2/14/15. I thought I had a card on file. I got the order Tuesday the 17th. I kept looking for the charge in my checking account, but nothing. Checked my email Tuesday night and there was an email from McMaster Carr: "Hi! We shipped your order, but the credit card didn't go through. Could you call us to arrange payment." How many places nowadays will still ship an order without cash in hand????? I know my business I work for won't. Anyhow, shipping was still a mystery, but I got everything worked out. I don't like how the process works, but they got the stuff I want and I get it quick.

Adrian

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This recently happened with me and my card on file was expired,
per their records, gave them the new expiry date and all was good.
Their service is outstanding. Since I live "near" one of their main
warehouses I get everything next day.

lcorinth said:

Well, I've heard the service is great, which is why I went with them. But I'd have liked to know what the damage was.

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Rocketjunkie said:

They charge exactly what UPS charges them. Actual charges aren't known until the package is weighed.

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They do not tack on any handling charges, they get good rates
from UPS and only charge what they get charged. Not to mention
they have a great website.

Shipping charges will be on the invoice they email you. I still use
them today. But I was a weekly if not more customer when I was
running my welding shop.

Well, sounds like I shouldn't worry about it. Now I'm just happy to get started using a rail launcher.

This will be my first one - a 6-foot-long metric rail, to be used with mini buttons, from rail-buttons.com, on my Estes Partizon, Quest Big Dog, and other rockets.

My invoice usually shows shipping charges when I log in to their site and check it once it ships. If it's not there it's probably because your card didn't go through. Last time I ordered 3 8-foot rails it was $20 to ship ground (all in one box), Ohio to Maryland, which I felt was pretty cheap given the length. With the new UPS dimensional shipping things may have gone up.

It is annoying but 99% of the time the shipping is quick an very reasonable.


TA

Fire!

Aim...

Ready.....


You sort of jumped the gun on asking for advice, by ordering first.

I would never order anything that I did not know what the shipping cost was first.

The shipping may cost you more than the rail!

My advice has been get the rail thru Grainger's (if you can qualify as a customer) and have it sent to your local Grainger's for pick-up (assuming, of course, that you have a Grainger's in reasonable driving distance, and you can fit it into or strap onto your vehicle).

NO shipping charge when done that way.

- George Gassaway

georgegassaway said:

Fire!

Aim...

Ready.....


You sort of jumped the gun on asking for advice, by ordering first.

I would never order anything that I did not know what the shipping cost was first.

The shipping may cost you more than the rail!

My advice has been get the rail thru Grainger's (if you can qualify as a customer) and have it sent to your local Grainger's for pick-up (assuming, of course, that you have a Grainger's in reasonable driving distance, and you can fit it into or strap onto your vehicle).

NO shipping charge when done that way.

- George Gassaway

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I wasn't asking for advice, exactly. I was going through the ordering process, and when I realized there was no confirmation page with the shipping added on, but that I had actually placed my order, I came here to find out what the shipping usually is. I'd have called them, but it was the weekend.

Daniel, I recently acquired a treasure trove of rocket gear from a guy who had lost his enthusiasm. Among the items was a brand new, never used, 6 foot 1010 aluminum rail from McMaster-Carr. A sticker on the outside of the heavy cardboard shipping tube listed the price at just under $20 but there was no shipping cost to be found on the container. I'll bet that the shipping will (or has) cost you every bit as much as the product. It is what it is so just be thankful if it arrives undamaged.

It's ironic that when I order shipping boxes in bulk quantity from Uline that my shipping cost exceeds the cost of the boxes I need to ship stuff to Colorado! Guess who pays for that? And I'm not about to make a 90 mile round trip to DFW just to save a few nickels. (Your mileage may vary.)

I said this before..

Companies like McMaster deal in large MRO buys. Hobbyist nickle & dime stuff, they are not geared for. I place huge orders frequently and never asj the shipping. it is part of business. Yeah you can say XXX can quote shipping up front, but it really does not matter. The way they function is to support commercial customers. When dealing at that level you never know the shipping in advance. You want the stuff on time and on location.

P.S. I have never gotten anything incorrect or broken from MCMC (and for grins just checked) - My total 12 month spend was $65,912. I don't have a clue what the shipping was. Never entered my mind.

lcorinth said:

I mean, I won't be upset unless it's outrageous. But I was surprised to find myself at the end of the ordering process without some kind of review page with the shipping on it, and a confirmation button.

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My biggest issue with McMaster as well. If you ask me, using the largest box they can find to ship a bag of screws via UPS Ground is borderline outrageous...

lcorinth,

If you don't mind, let us know what the shipping cost ended up being once you find out.

Actually, I could post the weight and dimensional criteria that would apply to Daniel's purchase and anyone concerned could go to the UPS website, enter the from/to Zip codes and compute it for yourself. Of course McMaster-Carr will be paying commercial rates and probably adds a handling charge for its in house overhead.

I would do that now except it's muddy, cold and my feet hurt. Maybe tomorrow?

It turned out to be about the same price as the rail - a little over $17. So the total was around $34. Which is fine. I don't have a lot of experience with specialized metal parts, but $34 seems pretty reasonable for a specialty part like that.

Still, I'm gonna shop around for a 1010 (this one is metric, for mini buttons) and see if I can get a better deal. If not, I'd buy from them again.

It's hard to argue with being charged *actual* shipping charges...shipping costs have skyrocketed, and even if the price of gas goes down, nobody (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) seems interested in lowering their prices.

For specialty items, I try to see if I can pick up parts at local stores first...if it seems like I'm about to blow more than $10 on gas, then I start looking on-line, with a bias towards trying to get it made in the USA (harder to find stuff made in the USA anymore).

For cheap crap from China, I usually try to buy it at a local store, for cheap. If I feel there is an excessive mark-up on it, I then get it the cheapest I can on-line. The best thing about cheap crap from China? You can always find it cheaper on-line!

Great thread and input. I'm just wondering what the latest opinions on McMaster Carr shipping are. Are people still happy?
I used to order from them years ago. It was for work so shipping didn't matter. I remember it always seemed "fair", but still UPS Ground can be pricey. Plus now ground is based on dimensional weight. I also remember what has been mentioned above, that I'd often order two little bags of things, and they'd come in a big box. Don't they have anything smaller to ship in?
And I wish they could let you know up front what the shipping cost would be, but I guess they don't know until they see how stuff fits in the box.
At least, I like that they used to just charge their cost (or so it seemed). Are they like many other companies today, and have they started adding a little padding now?
Anyway, has anybody ordered recently, and is the shipping still fair? Do you remember about what you paid, especially for a small item shipment?
Thanks!

paid $12 freight for rivets and nylon screws (shear pins) from them.

I don't even remember what the items cost, just the freight and it was 'veiled' til after I hit go - but has allowed me to have a fairly large stash in shear pins and plastic rivets.

I wanted some aluminum all thread and nylon standoffs too, but ordered them from Grainger 'Site to store' and eliminate freight on those sub $10 items.

Kenny

KenRico said:

paid $12 freight for rivets and nylon screws (shear pins) from them.
Kenny

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Hmmm... I'm assuming you had less than a pound of parts? If so, $12 seem like more than I remember, but it also seems like UPS Ground has doubled in price over the last few years. And now it isn't just by weight, they also get you on dimensions. Ughhh
Does anyone else have any recent experience on shipping costs?

I once ordered some stuff at 9 am morning......it arrived SAME day at 2.15pm! I'll never forget that, it's a record for me.

I got some nichrome from them last fall ....in 2 days. Have been using them for 15 yrs with no complaints. Need real help, just call you will get fast friendly help looking for items or descriptions.

Yes they are an industrial supplier and geared for that, so don't expect stupid cheap shipping [ala-Amazon] BUT be amazed at all the stuff they carry & how reliable and fast they are.

Here's a copy of my invoice, you decide if it's fair, I certainly thought it was.

You can get 1010 rails at Grainger, as mentioned, and thru Amazon.