Flutterby™! : Web pages that suck

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Web pages that suck

2002-08-08 22:44:14+00 by Dan Lyke 8 comments

Aaargh! I'm looking through the Grainger catalog on-line. What I really want is to see all solenoids with about 10mm throws. Or all gear motors less than 4 rpm with at least 40lbs hanging capacity. But noooo, I'm stuck with keyword search, and a sort function that doesn't operate on any useful column of the results. Can't even say "exclude all valves from searches for 'solenoid'". So we walked over to the local Grainger[Wiki] store to get a catalog, and they're out. Sigh.

And if you walk away from the web page too long, it says "sorry, you're timed out". Excuse me? I was freakin' browsing.

[ related topics: Web development Machinery ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment made: 2002-08-09 02:34:36+00 by: Larry Burton

Write up a proposal and send it to them. What could it hurt?

#Comment made: 2002-08-09 03:33:24+00 by: markpasc

Sounds like the Hamilton County library site.

#Comment made: 2002-08-09 20:29:05+00 by: Ian

I prefer http://www.mcmaster.com over Grainger for stuff like that.

#Comment made: 2002-08-09 20:51:24+00 by: Dan Lyke

Ian, thank you, thank you, thank you. That site is laid out like an industrial supply products site should be. I could tell really fast what they had that I needed, and what they didn't. I'm being dragged back to software, but the guy who's supposed to do the rest of the hardware has the link.

#Comment made: 2002-08-10 00:01:47+00 by: meuon

Thanks Ian, I had forgotten about them, and that is a MUCH better site than Grainger.

#Comment made: 2002-08-10 00:18:10+00 by: TheSHAD0W

Hah. Grainger. I just stopped in at one of their branch stores. Needed a starter for an outdoor lighting fixture.

Fuckers wouldn't sell it to me unless I registered as a business.

Let 'em keep their lousy website.

#Comment made: 2002-08-10 02:11:39+00 by: Dan Lyke

Shadow, the deal with Grainger[Wiki] is that you've got to have a friend who has an account with 'em, or be willing to pay the markup from a local retail outlet who'll order from 'em for ya (my local hobby shop will). But as I'm seeing with the alternatives presented, and the lousy layout of both their catalog and their web site, there are other suppliers who'll probably do better by you anyway.

#Comment made: 2002-08-10 03:49:19+00 by: TheSHAD0W

I already followed Ian's link to http://www.mcmaster.com and ordered from them. They also had the item I needed for significantly less money.