Grainger's prices..

[woodchucker]

Was looking for some flexible grinding wheels for my grinder. I have a bunch that are great, but can't find them anymore.

So after doing a search I see a couple of possible replacement candidates.

So Graingers sells case only, but at twice the price of every other competitor.... $422.50

While it can be had for 174.87 from :

Or $229

?psrid=138912054

I know this has been hashed out b4, and I know they have places all around, but really 174 vs 422 that's a hard one to swallow. Even 229 vs 422..

[Spalted Walt]

Will 60 grit work?

Pack of 50 for $78.

[Leon]

Grainger has the advantage of being a handy place to buy odd stuff. And you pay for that.

[clare]

The convenience of "one stop shopping" comes at a price, I guess. They carry a lot of stuff that isn't easy to find, and for many companies (and they cater to companies) are happy to pay their price to get everything they need on one P.O. on account.

[Meanie]

They mark up their prices to give their customers (accounts) discounts which makes them believe they are getting a deal. On the plus side, they will except returns with no questions asked.

[Sonny]

I wouldn't have thought those 1/8" thick discs were flexible. I often use the (24, 36, 50 grit) fiber grinding disc:

.... my grinder has a rubberized backing pad, to accommodate the flexing.

My local tool/equipmemt rental store has, both, my and your kind of grinder s and grinding discs. Your tool rental outlet may have a similar selection .

Sonny

[woodchucker]

Yea, they are not totally flexible, but they cut like nothing else.

I had a bunch of Cronatron flexible wheels. Cronatron Welding apparently is no longer, it looks like Lawson bought them, I think.

These cut so fast, I never went back to the hard discs again. And they gave enough to be able to shape metal nicely and blend it. They also seemed to last much longer than the hard discs. I'll miss them.

So I'm looking to try a couple of discs of varying manufacturers to find the replacement.

[Doug Miller]

woodchucker wrote in news:O5ednbwKPKwoxpXKnZ2dnUU7- W [e-mail]:

Not unusual IME. I encountered these prices recently on the Werner PS-48 portable scaffold: Sherwin-Williams: $125 Home Depot: $100 Grainger: $210

Grainger is a really great place to buy products that you can't find anywhere else... but a really lousy place to buy products that you *can* find somewhere else.

[Leon]

On 4/10/2016 7:05 AM, Doug Miller wrote: Snip

[Gramps' shop]

Or .. in my experience ... if you really need it tomorrow and nobody in town has it, Grainger will have it by 10 a.m.

[Electric Comet]

price matching might be the way to go

most places want your business and many people just pay the going rate or leave

if you ask i bet they will give you a better price

[Bill]

You've obviously never been the place. However, I suspect if you have the correct credentials (meaning you'll be a high-volume customer) that they would offer a discount. No one has mentioned it, but a visit to the store begins with a conversation--so they have a (slightly?) different business model.

[Ed Pawlowski]

If I call the salesman for our account I can get a better price. In less time I can just order from McMaster and have a better price without asking. McMaster does not discount. I asked a few years back when we were moving our plant and buying a lot of stuff. Everyone pays the same.

Grainger web site sucks too. Much easier to search for something on McMaster.

[Scott Lurndal]

Indeed, but I still prefer the paper catalogs from both Graingers and McMaster. They also make good doorstops.

[Electric Comet]

no have not

what is the story

do they have official greeters or is it a counter in front of a warehouse

[krw]

I don't like paper catalogs of any sort. Some companies have a much better web presence than others. They get the business. In the general retail domain, that's Amazon. In the electronics, DigiKey. In woodworking hardware it used to be McFeely's but they've gone down the drain.

[krw]

wht dd u sy?

[Bill]

Yes, it is basically a counter in front of a warehouse. The counter has computers on it, and a cash drawer. Relaxing atmosphere with low traffic. Surely, it's mainly a "front" for their catalog business.

[woodchucker]

Either that or a front for the drug industry... each of us gets a fix with tools and hardware :-)

[woodchucker]

I hate digikey's website. I wish it were better. It's very hard to navigate if you are not an electronics guy.