Metal Guides
Straight answers about buying, cutting, and shipping metal in Canada, written by the sales team that cuts it.
Metals 'R' Us vs marketplace metal: what that Amazon bar listing doesn't tell you
For one small common piece arriving tomorrow, a marketplace listing is honestly fine. For anything welded, machined, loaded, or reordered, a metal supplier wins: chosen lengths cut free, printed alloy and temper, MTRs on request. The listing's gaps are fixed...
Metals 'R' Us vs the steel service centre: small orders or skids?
Service centres win volume: skid pricing, mill lengths, processing, accounts with route trucks. Cut-to-length online wins everything under their radar: any length from 1″ at a listed price, $40 minimum, mixed materials in one cart ($130.70 measured basket, $42-55 shipping,...
Metals 'R' Us vs Metal Mart: the West Coast counter and the East Coast saw
Metal Mart is a Surrey, BC walk-in supplier that sells by quote, call, or visit, with no online prices as of June 2026. We list every price and ship exact lengths: a $130.70 six-piece basket live-rated $54.73 to Calgary, our...
Metals 'R' Us vs McKinnon Metals: build-a-quote or see-the-price?
McKinnon Metals (Woodbridge, ON) runs a build-a-quote model with no public price list as of June 2026, which suits repeat GTA trade lists and will-call. We list every price: our six-piece basket rang up $130.70 with $50.99 live-rated shipping to...
Metals 'R' Us vs Mr. Metal: Toronto same-day or shipped exact lengths?
Mr. Metal is a quote-based Etobicoke supplier built for fast local GTA service; there's no public price list as of June 2026. We list every price and ship exact lengths anywhere: our six-piece test basket was $130.70 plus $50.99 live-rated...
Metals 'R' Us vs Millennium Alloys: per-foot out west, per-inch out east
Millennium Alloys lists sharp per-foot prices from Kelowna ($5.32/ft on 1″ 6061 round in June 2026) with free local delivery. The trade: 4 ft minimum lengths, 3 of our 6 basket items priced online, and freight confirmed after you order....
Metals 'R' Us vs the scrap yard: when used metal is the right buy
The scrap yard often wins on price: used metal sells by the pound for a fraction of new-stock cost, and for art, practice, and jigs it's the right buy. Buy new when the grade matters. A known 44W flat bar,...
Metals 'R' Us vs Metal Pros: Canada's two online cut-to-size metal stores
The closest call in Canadian online metal, June 2026: our six-piece basket cost $130.70 with cuts free; the same pieces at Metal Pros land in the $140s after per-foot list, $3.00 first cuts, and their tier discount, plus shipping they...
Metals 'R' Us vs McMaster-Carr: can Canadians even order?
Canadian businesses can order from McMaster-Carr; their June 2026 terms exclude individuals buying for personal use. On the same six-piece basket we ran $130.70 CAD plus $42-55 measured shipping against their $139.72 USD (about $195 CAD) before border costs.
Metals 'R' Us vs Metal Supermarkets: store counter or shipped cut-to-length?
Metal Supermarkets is the better choice in one case: you need metal in hand today and you're not in Nova Scotia, where their only store sits a 10-minute drive from our free-pickup Dartmouth shop. Buying to a spec? The same...
Metals 'R' Us vs OnlineMetals.com: what a US metal order really lands at in Canada
OnlineMetals publishes no Canadian shipping path we could find as of June 2026, and self-importing its US$120 six-piece basket lands at about $340-380 CAD after the exchange rate, 25% surtax, GST, and brokerage. The same six pieces from our rack:...
Why is Metals 'R' Us cheaper than big box metal chains?
One Dartmouth warehouse instead of 25 storefronts, no franchise royalty, and a B2B engine that's paid for the racks since 1997. The same 1″ 6061 bar at 36″ ran $32.69 here against $59.68-71.38 at the chain in June 2026. Usually...
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Each guide covers the grades we stock, what they're good for, and what they cost. Or skip the reading and go straight to the shelf.