I agree with most that the competitor here is McMaster-Carr. The collateral damage could be places like Lowes/Home Depot etc (brick and mortar supply stores) but agree with most here that SmallParts (which this was created out of) didn't have quite the execution that McMaster-Carr does.
The other bit is there is the whole interaction model. In the fabricator world they seem to get an account with one of these companies, order various bits all month long and then get a roll up once a month or so on their purchases. That doesn't seem to be an Amazon compatible model yet.
Agreed, and I'd like to see what this competition will do with respect to McMaster-Carr. For a school design project, I had to order parts from a website and McMaster-Carr had by far the best website of any vendor. From a cursory glance, the Amazon Supply site doesn't have quite the polish or flow of McMaster's.
Indeed. I've for years been impressed with how sophisticated McMaster-Carr's e commerce operations are. That, and I wonder if not having a "Big Book" will hinder Amazon at all. I've lost days of my life reading MSC's catalog...
The other bit is there is the whole interaction model. In the fabricator world they seem to get an account with one of these companies, order various bits all month long and then get a roll up once a month or so on their purchases. That doesn't seem to be an Amazon compatible model yet.
It will be interesting to see how it works out.