[TowerTalk] Unistrut Follow-Up

[Jim Lux]

At 09:05 AM 9/25/2005, Michael Tope wrote:
>Just a quick follow-up to my earlier posting. I went to Home
>Despot this morning to see what there Unistrut selection
>looked like. They had 10ft lengths of Thomas and Betts
>"SuperStrut" 1 5/8" 12 guage galvanized slotted channel
>priced at $13.97 each. This confirmed my suspicion that
>McMaster Carr is pricey as they are selling the same 10ft
>lengths of slotted channel (Unistrut brand) for $25.67 each.
>The selection of Unistrut/Superstrut accessories at Home
>Despot is dismal, however, compared to McMaster Carr
>who seems to have everything.

And McMaster Carr delivers it to your door, sometimes the morning after the 
evening you order it. (Fastest I've ever had was ordering at 7PM and 
delivery at 10AM the next morning.. they have a UPS depot in their 
warehouse in Santa Fe Springs)


That, and the wide (nay, HUGE) selection, is why that "big yellow catalog" 
is prized.  By the time you count the mileage to hike on down to HD and 
back, and your time to do so, and the overall hassle of dealing with the 
folks in the orange smocks (Uhh, strut? Isn't that in plumbing, or maybe 
garden supplies. Brackets? Have you looked in shelving?), McMaster Carr 
isn't such a bad deal.  (the ratio for Unistrut is also higher than I've 
observed for other commodities.  If I had to guess, I'd say that McM-C is 
20% higher than the specialty dealer or discounter for most commodities.)