Purchasing material by mail order

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fisherelectric

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Northern Va
Have any of you contractors out there ever purchased material by mail order rather than through your local supplier? I've been playing supply houses against each other for years with good results, but material prices are so high now I'm thinking there might be a better way, at least for some common items. Pipe grounding clamps are $4.20 ea, in-use covers (some brands) are close to $16.00 here, etc. I wonder if there isn't some place to order name brand parts in bulk and save some bucks. Any thoughts?
 
Sure, I've done it. Normally only when I get a flyer in the mail with a screaming deal, and only if it's a common brand. I'll never buy no-name stuff by mail.
 
There aren't that many mail order outfits to speak of, with one notable exeption, Sunstar Lighting. Here's a warning: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PURCHASE A SINGLE ITEM FROM THEM. Everything they sell is complete knock-off garbage, and their "low prices" really aren't that low.
 
peter d said:
There aren't that many mail order outfits to speak of, with one notable exeption, Sunstar Lighting. Here's a warning: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PURCHASE A SINGLE ITEM FROM THEM. Everything they sell is complete knock-off garbage, and their "low prices" really aren't that low.
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Didn't realize you were contracting now. Would you mind ellaborating on the troubles you've had with the Sunstar stuff? I get their flyers all the time.
 
I buy in large enough quantity that the local supply houses and the factory reps pay attention and my deals are hard to beat. Supply houses are lepers you just have to find the one with the most fingers, but even then you are much better off dealing with a local gimp than one to far away to yell at.

An often over looked issue with your local supply house is their awesome buying power and their relationships with the factory reps. When things don’t work like they should or if that really cheap part fails and the lawyers get involved its good to have all the guilty parties there with their collective interests involved.

One more good thing about a local house is this little thing called a “lien release” , some clients can be real jerks about getting your supplier to sign them and a local guy is much either to corner and get it done then that guy in Nantucke... you know the one with the good price.
 
I appreciate everybodies take on this. I believe I get some pretty good pricing as I've been dealing with the same sales men for years and watched them move up the chain to the top in their supply houses, but I can't help but feel that maybe somewhere I could buy smaller items ( brand name)in bulk and save a few bucks. Never heard of Sunstar, but I'll keep that in mind. I also get those bulk mail flyers but usually don't recognize the brands or can actully beat their prices down the street. Thanks for the input.
 
mdshunk said:
Didn't realize you were contracting now. Would you mind ellaborating on the troubles you've had with the Sunstar stuff? I get their flyers all the time.
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Yes, as for how it's going (contracting), well...let me use an illustration: the plane is moving down the runway slowly. It needs to pick up some speed before it has any hope of taking off. Does that make sense?

As for Sunstar, I responded to one of their ads WAY back when they advertised in EC Mag or something for a free bag of wirenuts, which they then bombarded me with calls to buy their other junk. So I said, "Send me one each of this, that and the other thing so I can sample it." The GFI's - garbage. The plastic keyless turned brown and melted down after a few months and needed to be replaced. The wiring devices, particularly the receptacles, lost the spring tension within a year or so - even worse than the cheap Leviton ones. Oh, and the wirenuts? They were knockoffs of the Ideal Twister. I used a handful of them and then tossed the bag in the trash. No brand name = I'm not putting my name on it.

The only thing I had good luck with was some track lighting. I had to do an art studio and I bought all the stuff from them. No problems. But I could have bought the same stuff at Home Depot for about the same price once the shipping and aggravation factor for a few defective track heads was added in.
 
mdshunk said:
Someone told me that their cans and trims were pretty nice. Used any of them? Not sure you could screw up a can.
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No, I'm a diehard Halo guy so I never took them up on the offer, despite being asked a half dozen times. Even Halo has a line of contractor grade stuff (All Pro? I think that's the name) that is comparable to the Sunstar stuff, and I can get it for cheap money at the supply house.
 
fisherelectric said:
Pipe grounding clamps are $4.20 ea, in-use covers (some brands) are close to $16.00 here, etc. I wonder if there isn't some place to order name brand parts in bulk and save some bucks. Any thoughts?
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Yeah, I pay around half of those prices at the orange and blue stores. Shop locally.
 
I agree on Sunstar. They are a PITA with their tele marketing. Tried some tan wire nuts from them. Some would be missing the spring, some would not grab, and others the wires would poke thru. The bad ones would be tosed to the floor. Then I would find them, put it in my pouch, then toss em out again.

Other places I have had fair luck with. A few things I learned:
1. Don't order much of a product until you are sure you like it. I have gotton stuck with my share of garbage.
2. If their is a mistake in the order it might not be worth the time and cost of returning.
3. If there is a chance you will not use or need it you may be better off going local so a return is easier.
4. If the item goes bad a warrenty exchange may not be worth the trouble.
5. There is a differance in quality many times

I stocked up on ground rod acorns and have had them break half the time.
I bought cases of cheap phone plates that fall apart when installed.
I got exit lights still left that were not used because of changes.
I got bell boxes with knock out plugs that are useless because of the thread condition.
Bell box covers that break too easy.
I had too many ivery GFI's. I used them anywhere I could to get rid of the excess.

I was wanting to cut down on invantory. All the local purchased items had no problem returning. But I still have the mail order stuff.
 
I buy a few items of full box quantites from an Internet based company. I can order 24/7 and parts are usually here within 2 days. When you do this make sure you figure in the shipping costs and don't mind having a few extra parts laying around until the next job. So far I have been more than happy with their prices and service.
 
ptonsparky said:
I buy a few items of full box quantites from an Internet based company. I can order 24/7 and parts are usually here within 2 days. When you do this make sure you figure in the shipping costs and don't mind having a few extra parts laying around until the next job. So far I have been more than happy with their prices and service.
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The only other thuink I will add to ptonsparky is make sure its a company that also has 24/7 customer "support". By support I mean I can call their customer service number and get someone no matter what time it is on the west coast or wherever you live. Ironically most of the stuff we get via mailorder is tools...crimpers and what not...
 
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