internet supply purchases

[gene]

I bought some 69# nylon thread on the internet recently. It was shipped from Canada. I swear when I opened the box it smelled like Tim Horton Donuts.  :o

Hey. A guy said he bought a Fajita wrap from a Tim Hortons in New Jersey. Now that's what you call eating 'North American'.

I know folks who don't have a local supplier have no choice, but I'm finding more things cheaper on the internet than locally. Does anyone else find this to be the case? Or am I just behind the times and I'm the last one to become a Prime member of Amazon. com?

It does amaze me that brick and mortar stores still exist. It's probably like Fed Ex. There are some things folks need sooner than later.

gene

[sofadoc]

I do buy a lot of thread, feet, needles, etc. off Ebay. And items like a clip stapler, or a hot glue gun are usually cheaper and faster through Amazon Prime. I've also bought a few upholstery tools off Ebay.

Though not an internet purchase, I do order my foam and dacron from an out of state supplier. I could drive to Dallas and pick it up for about the same price, but that would be a 100 mile round trip, and 3 hours of my life that I can't get back. If I had the Dallas supplier ship to me, the total cost including shipping would be higher than having it shipped from Ohio.

I know another upholsterer that drives a 200 mile round trip to Dallas for her supplies because she says that she just can't afford to pay the high shipping rates. I've tried to convince her that her time on the road is worth at least $10 per hour, which means that paying for shipping is actually a better deal.

[MinUph]

I buy some things of the internet but sometimes I find it much more expensive than buying from my normal suppliers.  Example is I've been looking for some metal buttons. Found them online and then found them in a catalogue of one of my odd ball suppliers. While the prices weren't all that much different I just rather deal with a known rather than an unknown.
  I also was looking for YKK zippers and though I had found a good deal online. But another normal supplier ended up cheaper even with shipping and I can support my local guy that way.
  Amazon prime is cool I like it but the prices are a little higher than usual. Still a pretty good deal though and its here in 2 days. Gotta love technology.

[gene]

I know another upholsterer that drives a 200 mile round trip to Dallas for her supplies because she says that she just can't afford to pay the high shipping rates. I've tried to convince her that her time on the road is worth at least $10 per hour, which means that paying for shipping is actually a better deal.

Maybe being away from the shop and family for that 200 mile round trip to Dallas is worth the extra cost?  :)

I also was looking for YKK zippers

I heard those Y2K zippers were all destroyed by a computer virus 16 years ago. (Not that's funny!)

My son was doing some work for me and dropped my circular saw. The base was bent. He picked up his cell phone and sent me a link to my email for that specific base for my saw at searsparts.com. The technology is great but how can I get my son to take the next step and pay for the part himself?

You do have to watch out for prices. Just because it's on the internet does not mean it's cheaper. And getting decent quality is always a concern. Even if there is a return policy it still takes time to fix a problem that isn't your fault.

We have bidfta.com here locally. It's an auction site for stuff that has been returned to stores like Walmart, Amazon, etc. I recently bought a $220 serger for $20. It's brand new - never taken out of the box. Last week I bought two new leather chairs for my sewing machines. $80 total. One chair sells on Amazon for $430 and the other sells on Amazon for $270.

gene

[sofadoc]

We have bidfta.com here locally.

I checked out bidfta over the weekend. That led me to proxibid, where the contents of an area Wal-mart was being auctioned off online and live.

I bid $70 for 2 pallet jacks, and was outbid by 10 bucks.

[byhammerandhand]

You just need to be really careful with BidFta.   I have gotten some good deals on some things in like-new condition.   I also bought a box of tools that were all broken and returned, as in, "This tool broke, I want a new one."

A year or so ago, they had an upholstery cleaning extractor just like the one I use.  I figured if cheap enough, I could use as backup or just part it out, so I went to look at it.  Dirty, rusty, and when turned on did not run.  So the motor was shot, or wiring or switch, and who knows about the pump.  Wand was cracked.    It went for over $70.