McFeely's

[Bill Waller]

I placed an order online using their catalog which shows a Lynchburg, VA, address. Everything went fine and the lag screw and washers arrived within a day of when I expected them. I don't need them until tomorrow so a day late was no big deal. I did not pay any attention to the package and it went into the burn barrel this morning.

In today's mail, I received an invoice for the order with a $0.00 balance. I don't recall this ever happening before.

Upon closer examination of the invoice, I find that they (McFeely's) have an address in Janesville, Wisconsin. Upon further digging around onthe web site, I find that they are a division of Lab Safety Supply, Inc., with a Madison WI, address

A review ofthe UPS tracking on the order also verifies that they are now shipping from Wisconsin.

It looks like they sold out or got sucked up.

I sure hope that we don't see any changes in products or policy. __________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA

[e-mail]

[Bill Waller]

I did a little more digging.

Waller New Eagle, PA

[e-mail]

[Doug Miller]

store that's less than ten minutes from home *and* open Saturdays, it sounds good to me.

[WoodButcher]

I had a phone call from McFeely's this morning and the caller ID showed as LAB SAFETY SUPP. Art

[Jay Pique]

Good for Ray. Not good for us, or for "McFeely's" - you can bet on that. JP

[Mark & Juanita]

Really hope this doesn't foretell a decline in quality and/or service. Can only wait and see.

[Lew Hodgett]

"Mark & Juanita" wrote

service.

Have been a Grainger customer for many years.

They didn't get where they are by screwing up a business they have bought and folded into their business model.

Lew

[Mark & Juanita]

Glad to hear that. I haven't had many direct dealings with Grainger, but I do know they have a good rep.

[Doug Miller]

I would expect the opposite, actually. Grainger's a class act. Not to imply that McFeely's wasn't, of course. But Grainger is a very professional operation. IME their customer service and product quality are uniformly excellent.

[J. Clarke]

Lab Safety Supply is the parent company of WW Grainger. I'm not sure that a hardware company getting taken over by Grainger is a bad thing at all, especially if they keep the brands separate, which they seem to be planning to do.

Here's the press release:

[Doug Miller]

Actually, it's the other way around. From the press release you cite below:

"Grainger, a leading North American industrial distributor, today announced its Lab Safety Supply (LSS) subsidiary has acquired substantially all of the assets of McFeely?s Square Drive Screws of Lynchburg, Virginia. [...]"

[Andy]

That's exactly what I was thinking - I haven't used McF's screws, but I'd be much more likely to try them if I could pick up a small quantity locally without paying shipping. Andy

[Doug Miller]

Define "small quantity." :-)

You're not likely to find them at Grainger's in any quantity less than a box of a hundred. To some, that *is* a small quantity; to others, it's not.

[Andy]

Yes, a box of 100 would be great. Even one of their variety packs,

100 each of a few different sizes, would be fine. I realize that trying to buy 10 screws or something would be just about impossible... I was just hoping for home handyman quantities, not commercial cabinetmaker quantities. Any educated guesses whether Grainger will sell McF's screws through their retail stores? Or how separate do they tend to keep the companies they acquire? Thanks, Andy

[Jay Pique]

I have heard good things about Grainger too. I should have kept my negativity to myself, especially in light of the fact I didn't even read the press release. Believe it or not, sometimes I'm just talking out my ass.

Long live McFeely's!!

JP

[Jim Behning]

I went by the hardware store tonight when the orange box did not have what I wanted. They had homeowner quanties of one to a box of 100. I walked out with 3 boxes of different sizes. If I finsih any project all the screws wil be gone and a need for a few more boxes. If you live in a town with a good hadware store they may have what you need or can make do with.

[Robatoy]

Mmmmmmm. We are all making a lot of assumptions here. McFeely has developed an asset worth a lot of money. Maybe it was time to move on. I just hope that Granger can keep that "AwChucks' image alive, an image I found so endearing and was willing to pay extra for. That one-on-one relationship is so damned rare these days. Will Granger say: "I'll get on it, Rob, btw, how is your sister?" Not bloody likely. The whole square drive profit centre will get a good thinning, and they'll keep those few things which will make them money. Guys like McFeely also had parts and pieces, not as a profit centre, but as a complement to a profit centre. Granger's MBA's are not likely to give a damn about that. McFeely was a Festool dealer as well....that makes for an interesting marriage.

My gut-feeling tells me that McFeely did all right, WE are not likely to benefit. Granger will likely rape the brand. Maybe we'll get square-drive screws made in China, which may or may not fit our drivers.

r

[Doug Miller]

Sure, but try finding *any* square-drive screws at your local hardware store, let alone a box of a hundred. That's what McFeely's specializes in.

[Mark & Juanita]

That, and screws that don't snap off at the slightest over-torque. Actually, I've had orange box screws snap off after being lubricated and driven into pre-drilled holes before they bottom out.

[dpb]

No problem, they're right there on the shelf...what you need?

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