McMaster Carr – The Smartest Website You Haven't Heard Of

(bedelstein.com)

30 points | by jcartw 6 hours ago

8 comments

  • NaOH 6 hours ago
    Previous and related:

    how come a company founded over 100 years ago has the fastest site - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41883419 - Oct 2024 (15 comments)

    McMaster-Carr: A refreshingly fast, thoughtful, and well-organized website - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34306793 - Jan 2023 (37 comments)

    Best ecommerce UX practices from mcmaster.com - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34000502 - Dec 2022 (169 comments)

    Mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32976978 - Sept 2022 (494 comments)

    McMaster-Carr: Beautifully organized and informational industrial product store - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24803857 - Oct 2020 (27 comments)

  • fsh 1 hour ago
    Built with asp.net and jQuery. Nowadays, it would probably be some React monstrosity that takes 30s to load and only shows one item per page (when did information density become evil?).
    • tjpnz 1 hour ago
      I think there's also some Yahoo UI in there too.
  • temp0826 43 minutes ago
    My father is a metalworker and I grew up with stacks of their encyclopedias all over my house. Was always amazed the sheer amount of stuff in them, probably saved a few trees with their website.
  • jacquesm 2 hours ago
    Note they have CAD files for almost all of their products which - in combination with a 3D printer - can come in very handy.
    • georgefrowny 1 hour ago
      And they download directly as files, not wrapped in a zip that you have to mess around with before you can put the actual file you need where you want it.
      • netsharc 1 hour ago
        That makes me wonder if "files" is a space that needs (in startup-talk) "distruption": what about a utility that applies rules to files, e.g. if you save a file in the directory unzip-me, it'll be unzipped. Or categorize files, e.g. "this email attachment is related to project A, this download is related to project B", and the utility will take care of them, e.g. by putting them in the correct directories?

        Since this is HN it can't be a homebrew open-source solution, it'll have to be AI-enhanced and cost 25.99 a month. Who wants to fund me?

  • hobofan 1 hour ago
    [2022]
  • cbsks 1 hour ago
    Imagine an alternate universe where Amazon has a similar interface. It would be the most amazing tool.
    • imtringued 56 minutes ago
      Germans have https://geizhals.de
      • nbadg 38 minutes ago
        Having used both extensively, Geizhals doesn't hold a candle to McMaster. McMaster is, bar none, the single best e commerce website I've ever used (if you already know what you're looking for, and definitely still top shelf if you don't).

        But McMaster and eg Amazon are optimizing for different things. McMaster knows its clientele isn't going shopping, they're solving problems. As such, McMaster focuses on helping your solve your problem and get back to work. Amazon, on the other hand, is focused on just selling you "as much 'anything' as possible" and wants you to spend as much time there as possible in the hopes that you'll stumble on an impulse buy.

      • scirob 44 minutes ago
        Except for the annoying cookie popup. If only we had a simple browser setting/header that could answer this question without another click. Hmm
        • Rechtsstaat 35 minutes ago
          We do! It recognises the 'Do Not Track' sent, at least on FF for me. I get a very small popup telling me it's respecting this setting, and no request for accepting anything else:

          > "Do not Track"-Modus erkannt! Es werden nur technisch notwendige Cookies verwended. [Datenschutzerkl"arung](...)

          Lovely. If only the rest of the web looked like this.

  • tejtm 1 hour ago
    love metalwork & buy parts but seriously; F@##% anyone that messes with my navigation back.
  • dangusmaximus 3 hours ago
    [dead]