Another Reason to Hate MSC

I don't always order from MSC. But sometimes, they just seem to have something in stock that I need. I generally hate their prices and they always seem to gouge for shipping.

This morning, I was looking for some tooling and wanted to check MSC. Went to log in to my account, and got the message "This account is currently inactive. To reactivate the account, please contact our eCommerce Customer Care team at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-753-7970 for further assistance." So I emailed them, and they came back with some weasel-worded statement to the effect that "We apologize, as due to the nature of your inquiry, we require more detailed information on your account. Please supply us with your account number, phone number, and/or address so we can process your request. We appreciate your patience and understanding." Obviously, they should be able to look up whatever they need by virtue of my account log in name.

Well, they may appreciate my patience and understanding, but I have run out of both of those items. It is indeed a sad thing that they gobbled up all the independent tool suppliers and run their business the way they do. I am not a high-volume customer, as I just run a small job shop, so I guess they think they can just treat me like shit. Well, I guess it is time for me to part ways with those idiots for good.

Mike

b2major9th said:

I don't always order from MSC. But sometimes, they just seem to have something in stock that I need. I generally hate their prices and they always seem to gouge for shipping.

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Yeah but their stock is gonna go up again once all this stuff is over with, the 52-week high was $82 a share! Why do you hate Capitalism!?!?!?! (sarc)
nyse:msm - Google Search

pavt said:

Yeah but their stock is gonna go up again once all this stuff is over with, the 52-week high was $82 a share! Why do you hate Capitalism!?!?!?! (sarc)
nyse:msm - Google Search

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I'm just a lowly customer, not an investor!

I didn't need another reason. They've given me plenty already.

I did have to order from them a bit ago. ONE stupid thing I needed, and
I needed it NOW!!!! McMaster Carr had the "things" I needed, but I needed
one size bigger than McMaster had.

I hadn't logged into or bought a fricken thing from MSC in probably 7 years.
You can just order and pay with a credit card, no need to log in at all.

With how much I've bad mouthed them (and its ALL DESERVED), I'm surprised they
shipped to me at all.

And for the record, McMaster was cheaper on the sizes they did have than MSC was,
though that's not surprising, MSC is ALWAYS the HIGHEST price on EVERYTHING!!!!!!
even when its on sale.

MSC can suck my furry left nut.

b2major9th said:

I'm just a lowly customer, not an investor!

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You and me both. I was being sarcastic earlier. I was just shopping for glue and HSS blanks. They were double what everyone else wanted, even on their eBay store. I used to like them, about 10 yrs ago when they would deal with mere humans. Not anymore.

If they want to become a captive supplier to the Fortune 100 or something, then they need to put that in their Mission Statement and simply close the store to everyone else.

I don't know what all you folks are talking about. I've been buying from MSC off and on for maybe 2 decades. Never a problem. I'm a sole proprietor and always have been, meaning small time customer is my grade, but I get treated like anyone would expect... with respect. Sure their prices are higher then others. You try holding a many-multi-million-dollar inventory and not have it cost you something. When you need a tool holder or cutting tool of practically ANY size or type or coating or flute count or anything, they have it in stock and it's yours the next day, even if ordered at 7 or 8 at night. What's to bitch about? The $12.59 for that overnight shipping? Hardly.

Some years back they offered me a discount of around 30% on multiple categories of my choice. That has brought the prices down to where they're at least a little more competitive. I prefer buying from the locals but their in stock item numbers pale in comparison. So when they don't have it and I need it now, MSC does the trick.

Mike I think a quick phone call would have done you a whole lot more good. You always get better response from people on the phone. And a person always answers the phone over there. It's not out of the question for a company to suspend a long inactive account. It's happened to me a time or two and is typically been fixed with a single call.

Anyway... not trying to deny anyone their sad story, but the take on MSC is different for some.

Dave

13engines said:

You try holding a many-multi-million-dollar inventory and not have it cost you something. When you need a tool holder or cutting tool of practically ANY size or type or coating or flute count or anything, they have it in stock and it's yours the next day, even if ordered at 7 or 8 at night. What's to bitch about? The $12.59 for that overnight shipping? Hardly.
....
Anyway... not trying to deny anyone their sad story, but the take on MSC is different for some.

Dave

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Last I checked, that is called "business" and it is hardly special, difficult, or unique. Do you open a store with nothing on the shelves? I can get the same from Hanes (most items) or McMaster or KBC or Victor, any number of other places. Since when does holding inventory and overnighting make it something special? That used to be *normal and expected*, not warranting 2x the price.

Seriously, we've all gotten spoiled by 10,000 mile supply chains supplied by 3rd-world slave labor. And those supply chains don't do well when there's a virus pandemic...

Try T&S Tool and Supply Co.....tstool dot com....I've ordered some tooling and other things from time to time and it's always been a good experience. I don't know what their prices are lately, it's been a few months since I've used them, but it may be worth a try. They're located in Holland, Ohio.

MSC treats me just fine. Their personnel are knowledgeable and friendly and they are quick to ship. It helps that I'm just one state away from a major warehouse. They typically charge me around 30% less than list prices, with some things better and some not quite so good. Shipping is never excessive, and if I need it right away they give me a free upgrade to 2nd-day delivery. I'm not a gov't or other big-time customer either.

I just checked prices on a few things. With my discount, MSC is cheaper than Travers Tool. Shipping is a little faster too, but not as good as it was a few years ago.
And if they don't have part of my order in Atlanta, they ship from another location at no cost to me. I pay one shipping charge, as if it all came form Atlanta.

MSC only as the very last resort. Granger and Fastenal are worse yet in my opinion though


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npinson said:

MSC only as the very last resort. Granger and Fastenal are worse yet in my opinion though


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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haha! yea, exactly what I was going to post, you think MSC is high, how about Grainger?? look, if you pay "full retail" at MSC in general, you fu..d up. first, you ask for a preferred rate, then you ALWAYS ask if there is a discount or special offer after the order is taken, and I really do like the folks who take the orders there. the very best customer service crew I know of in any field in my experience. over 30 years.

(exception, the machinery division in Atlanta was staffed by morons when i delt with them some years ago.)

13engines said:

I don't know what all you folks are talking about. I've been buying from MSC off and on for maybe 2 decades. Never a problem. I'm a sole proprietor and always have been, meaning small time customer is my grade, but I get treated like anyone would expect... with respect. Sure their prices are higher then others. You try holding a many-multi-million-dollar inventory and not have it cost you something. When you need a tool holder or cutting tool of practically ANY size or type or coating or flute count or anything, they have it in stock and it's yours the next day, even if ordered at 7 or 8 at night. What's to bitch about? The $12.59 for that overnight shipping? Hardly.

Some years back they offered me a discount of around 30% on multiple categories of my choice. That has brought the prices down to where they're at least a little more competitive. I prefer buying from the locals but their in stock item numbers pale in comparison. So when they don't have it and I need it now, MSC does the trick.

Mike I think a quick phone call would have done you a whole lot more good. You always get better response from people on the phone. And a person always answers the phone over there. It's not out of the question for a company to suspend a long inactive account. It's happened to me a time or two and is typically been fixed with a single call.

Anyway... not trying to deny anyone their sad story, but the take on MSC is different for some.

Dave

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Dave, Thanks for the words of wisdom. I guess I was just kind of pissed when I went to log in and they had locked out my account for no reason other than I haven't bought anything from them for maybe a couple of years.

I will try giving them a call in the morning to see if they can do anything about it over the phone.

Mike

jeffm8622 said:

Try T&S Tool and Supply Co.....tstool dot com....I've ordered some tooling and other things from time to time and it's always been a good experience. I don't know what their prices are lately, it's been a few months since I've used them, but it may be worth a try. They're located in Holland, Ohio.

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Thanks for the tip; I'll check them out.

Mike

pavt said:

I can get the same from Hanes (most items) or McMaster or KBC or Victor, any number of other places. Since when does holding inventory and overnighting make it something special? That used to be *normal and expected*, not warranting 2x the price.

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Without exaggerating... MSC stocks about 10 times the selection of those outfits when it comes to cutting tools and holders. Which was my whole story to begin with. There is no comparison. Including the 12 odd bucks for overnight, even if coming from multiple locations. I can get exactly what I need without settling for almost. The somewhat higher, (not double) difference in price when in need is of small consequence.

When in stock I go local always. Plus they're will call, courier or next day UPS at local prices. When not, MSC is real tough to beat.

Even The Great McMaster Carr prices run on the high side. Why? Because they stock everything made in the world, and that cost tons of money. MSC is a close 2nd stocking everything in the world.

Ha... sorry. Hope nobody is offended using McMaster and MSC in almost the same sentence. :-)

Rudd said:

I just checked prices on a few things. With my discount, MSC is cheaper than Travers Tool. Shipping is a little faster too, but not as good as it was a few years ago.
And if they don't have part of my order in Atlanta, they ship from another location at no cost to me. I pay one shipping charge, as if it all came form Atlanta.

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I'd still like to be able to use them from time to time, but I guess what pissed me off was they locked out my account for no apparent reason, then the response I got was bullshit. So I will try calling them tomorrow to get it straightened out. They are the only supplier with whom I've had problems like this. I used to really like J & L supply, one of the companies they absorbed. Oh for those days...

cyanidekid said:

haha! yea, exactly what I was going to post, you think MSC is high, how about Grainger?? look, if you pay "full retail" at MSC in general, you fu..d up. first, you ask for a preferred rate, then you ALWAYS ask if there is a discount or special offer after the order is taken, and I really do like the folks who take the orders there. the very best customer service crew I know of in any field in my experience. over 30 years.

(exception, the machinery division in Atlanta was staffed by morons when i delt with them some years ago.)

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I guess the trick is to place the orders by phone rather than over the net anyway. I'll give that a try.

Mike

b2major9th said:

I'd still like to be able to use them from time to time, but I guess what pissed me off was they locked out my account for no apparent reason, then the response I got was bullshit. So I will try calling them tomorrow to get it straightened out. They are the only supplier with whom I've had problems like this. I used to really like J & L supply, one of the companies they absorbed. Oh for those days...

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I really liked J&L. 35% off meant 35% off.. Not UP TO 35% off (can be translated to ZERO).

I had an awesome salesman. I don't know why I remember his name, its been a
dozen years plus, Brett Ackermann. He'd call me every 3rd Thursday, a tick after 7am.

He'd send me tools to try, and when they sucked (I'm looking at you Hanita).. He'd get
me on a conference call with their tech line, and we'd work through it (As far as Hanita
goes, apparently you have to lower your feeds and speeds for the privledge of spending
twice as much).

I wanted a new lower tool box. From my own money, cheapest I could get it anywhere (not
a lot of wiggle room on Kennedy's).

Anything I needed, even if it was a custom deal, or I couldn't find it anywhere else and
was sick of looking. I could make a phone call, and Brett would be on it like Justin Beiber
on a bad haircut. And sometimes he would save my bacon..

And then that morning he called, and he was sad and somber.. MSC had bought J&L, all the wind
had come out of his sails, his world was turned on its head..

Its never been the same since.

I miss J&L.


On the other hand, I'd like to thank MSC for destroying J&L. Forced me to find different suppliers, and I honestly don't think that Maritool, or ExKenna could have been anywhere near as successful if J&L still existed, and a lot of other small suppliers I've tried out over the years.


And don't get me going on Fastenal. I hate them more than MSC. I'm not fond of Grainger either. "We can't sell you that lightbulb, you don't have an account here".. Assholes.

Bobw said:

I really liked J&L. 35% off meant 35% off.. Not UP TO 35% off (can be translated to ZERO).

I had an awesome salesman. I don't know why I remember his name, its been a
dozen years plus, Brett Ackermann. He'd call me every 3rd Thursday, a tick after 7am.

And then that morning he called, and he was sad and somber.. MSC had bought J&L, all the wind
had come out of his sails, his world was turned on its head..

Its never been the same since.

I miss J&L.

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I miss them too. J&L fed the start of my machining career. I also remember the guy who always took care of me. Tom Muskat. Now works locally at Productivity. I still have a number of HSS and insert cutters in my drawers from all those years ago. Kant Twist clamps and many other things. All picked off of the local J&L shelves back in the day.

I have two big Kennametal Turning and Milling Catologs on my shelf that have both J&L and Kennametal on them. Don't recall if Kennametal bought them and then MSC bought them all? Anyway... the old J&L / Kennametal catalogs come in handy, especially buying used or NOS stuff off of ebay or auction. All the old numbers can be found in the old books. Come in handy for that once in awhile steal deal.

Dave

In order of terrible to great:

Surplus Center
Fastenal
Grainger
MSC
Production Tool
Newark
Automation Direct
Travers Tool
McMaster
Iwen Tool