Populus
Dehumanized customer service; wonky credit terms; shipping rates a hidden profit center
Set up an account, ordered via invoice payment method. CC was requested, added CC and paid by CC. Placed a second order via invoice. Order was cancelled and was asked to pay by CC. Paid by CC. Asked why invoice service didn't work. Credit issue? New account issue? Abrupt and evasive customer service reps, misanthropic weirdo vibes. Huge catalog, great website structure, drawing files are a huge help, shipping is fast, transaction emails with fulfillment details are robust. Prices all over the map. Shipping is obviously a profit center so they can front run artificially-low prices. Small bag of plastic plugs that could ship for 4 bucks cost 25 bucks ground. Not overnight, not 2-day. Bald-faced greed. tl;dr: no frills, dehumanized, rip-offy experience. Low-tier version of Uline but for fasteners not boxes. If they upped their game on CS, fair shipping rates and easy automated low-limit credit terms, they'd be able to command slightly higher-than-comfortable prices like Uline through high performance and excellence. Right now their value proposition is scraping 3d drawings and buying somewhere else.