You’re in the manufacturing industry so you know the important role steel plays in society. The steel industry alone generates 49.3 million jobs and employs over 6.1 million people.
It’s never a bad thing to reevaluate your steel suppliers regularly. But as you’re looking at options, it can be difficult to know what’s high-quality steel and what’s not. And with retailers like Amazon selling a wide variety of products, including building materials, it can be enticing to purchase steel from a such a big brand name.
But should really buy steel material from Amazon? In this guide, you’ll learn what qualifies as high-quality steel, whether you should purchase steel from Amazon, and the best places to purchase raw steel
What is High-Quality Steel?
High-quality steel is anything that has a carbon content range between .95% to 1.20%. Why is this considered high-end? Steel that has this type of carbon content range typically displays the best hardness and corrosion resistance. That means it’s more durable and able to withstand harsh conditions.
How to Choose the Best Steel Supplier
So, when you’re considering where to purchase your steel material from, it’s important you look at the quality of the manufacturer. This directly affects the quality of the steel material. It’s also essential to consider the variety of steel supply processing services offered.
This ensures you get what you need. After all, there are many different types of steel building material available so it’s important that you purchase from a manufacturer who specializes in the type of steel you need. For example, you may be looking for stainless steel (which also comes in several varieties), galvanized steel, cold rolled steel, aluminized steel, to name a few.
What Distinguishes The Different Types Of Stainless Steel Grades
It’s also important to consider the supplier’s pricing and company procedures. You don’t want to end up overpaying for a low-quality product. You also don’t want to end up purchasing from a manufacturer who engages in shady business practices or isn’t reliable.
Customer service is also key: Is the supplier’s customer service helpful and knowledgeable about the product you’re purchasing? Or, are they dismissive and unhelpful? When it comes to purchasing large amounts of raw material, you want to make sure you’re working with a company—and people—you can trust and count on.
Most suppliers offer some sort of a quote or number to give you an idea of their pricing. This is also helpful because it allows you to determine if their material is worth purchasing or not before you even invest. These are all factors you should keep in mind before deciding to purchase steel from a large supplier or retailer like Amazon.
Should You Really Buy Steel Material From Amazon?
In most circumstances, it’s not wise to purchase steel material from a large supplier like Amazon. Because Amazon doesn’t specialize in building material or construction, they may not be the best source for purchasing steel material.
And, while Amazon is a convenient retailer, they can be hit or miss when it comes to pricing, quality, and customer service—three key factors that separate a quality supplier from a not-so-great one. Amazon’s customer service largely depends on the individual supplier of the product you’re purchasing. So while you may have received excellent customer service from one supplier on Amazon, the same won’t necessarily be true of another.
Pricing
If pricing is your main concern, then a supplier like Amazon might make sense. Amazon is known for selling products for a low, more budget-friendly price. While this can be an attractive quality, the low price point is also an indicator that the product quality might not be the highest or best quality.
The last thing you want to do when purchasing a large amount of material is to find the quality is severely lacking. It would be one thing if you were only purchasing a small amount, but if you’ve invested a lot of your time and money into a large steel order, it can be devastating to find that your investment didn’t pay off and you’re left with a low-quality product.
Quality
When it comes to a material like steel, you especially want to make sure it’s made with the utmost quality and care. Why? Steel is mainly used as building material for construction projects so quality is really important.
Low-quality steel can create an unsafe construction project or infrastructure which can have devastating effects later down the line. Not to mention, building repairs can be costly and end up costing you more in the long run if the steel you purchased isn’t high-quality and you have to then make significant repairs to a building or infrastructure.
However, whether you want to purchase steel material from Amazon is ultimately up to you, your business, and your situation’s pros and cons. These are merely guidelines for how to determine whether Amazon is the right supplier for you.
Best Places to Purchase Quality Steel
One of the best places to purchase quality steel is from a steel service center. Why? Steel service centers are convenient, reliable, offer a lot of variety when it comes to product, and produce high-quality steel material.
Because steel service centers specialize in the production and distribution of steel, you can feel confident in the quality of your product and in the quality of customer service and care you’ll receive.
Get A Quote Today!
Remember to consider factors like pricing, quality, and customer service when choosing a steel supplier. For high-quality steel and impeccable customer service, request a quote. If you need stainless steel for your next project, contact our experts today. We’ll discuss your project needs and provide you with the best quote for our stainless steel products. We offer a variety of steel processing services, including slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, and toll processing services. And we emboss, prepaint, or fabricate steel to your exact specifications. Pacesetter is your steel expert.
