McMaster Carr going downhill?

[Highpower]

Or is it just me? It used to be that whenever I ordered anything from them I would get a quality name brand item. For the third time now, I've been very disappointed in what I've received in an order from them.

I was about to order a spool of MIG wire from an on-line welding supply that I normally use. The cost of the 2 lb. spool (Harris) from them was $34.40 and free shipping. Then I remembered another item that I needed from McMaster, so I just ordered both items from them instead.

McMaster wanted $41.38 for the 2 lb. spool and another $6.00 for shipping, but I brushed it off thinking it was going to be quality wire and they always ship much faster than the welding supply anyway.

Lo and behold, I get the box today and open it up to find a spool of wire (with a premium price) that was made in China.

Again... this is the 3rd time for me now, and it really disappoints me. So am I the only one to be this lucky lately?

[f350ca]

That seems expensive for wire, is it stainless or some exotic alloy. I pay in the 100-200 dollar range for a 40 pound spool of .035 from liquid air. Got a spool of chinese origin crap from them ONCE, would weld nice then suddenly an inch or 2 of porosity. When I told them about it they said they sold it all the time with no complaints.

[EdK]

I've had no problems with the quality of stuff I've gotten from McMaster and, like you said, they ship very fast. I've never bought MIG wire from them though. I buy MIG wire from Northern Tools since there's a store I go by every day to and from work and they carry Hobart MIG wire. Home Depot carries Lincoln MIG wire. What brand name is that MIG wire you got from McMaster?

Ed

[stevec]

(06-19-2013, 12:22 AM)f350ca Wrote: When I told them about it they said they sold it all the time with no complaints.

Sounds like a typical response from the Liquid Air sales/customer relations staff, But I still buy my rods from them because I like the way the rods work for me.

[Highpower]

   

Unfortunately you won't find silicon bronze wire in a Home Depot or Lowes around here. Why? Because I am only one block away from both!

I could have driven a few miles to the nearest local welding supply and overpaid for Lincoln / Harris / Hobart wire, but I usually only do that as a last resort. And I thought I would at least be getting one of those from McMaster.

To add insult to injury - I really only need a couple of inches of the wire to stick two very small parts together. I already have a pound of SIL BRZ TIG rods sitting here, but at 1/16" they are still too big for the job. I only need a small amount of filler to do some delicate TIG brazing and MIG wire fills the bill.

It just worries me because several months ago I ordered a handful of end mills from McMaster and they sent a couple of Greenlee mills, a couple of Atrax, and one made in Pakistan!!!????

[TomG]

One of the reasons I buy from them other than convenience is that they sell good quality name brand items. I would definitely complain. They have always been very responsive to complaints. All you need to do is email them and a real person will actually call back.

Tom

[Mayhem]

I haven't purchased from them in a while but no complaints when I did.

[Highpower]

(06-19-2013, 07:59 AM)TomG Wrote: One of the reasons I buy from them other than convenience is that they sell good quality name brand items.

Tom

That has been my experience as well, up until about a year ago. Someone once claimed that McMaster only sold items made in the USA. I understand about them not wanting to list the manufacturer in their catalog if it truly is a quality name brand. But I've gotten a couple of "no-name" / import items from them in the last year, that I could have bought at Enco for a lot less money. I didn't expect that from McMaster. But it looks like I'm the only one to have had the pleasure.

To be fair, I can't really call and complain to them until I've tried using it. Maybe it's actually decent/good wire and I just don't know that yet. But I'm having my doubts. I've heard stores from people who bought spools of "copper" magnet wire that came from China, and it turned out to be copper coated mild steel wire!