Guide
How Same-Day Delivery Actually Works
The cutoff, the rates, and what happens when an order mixes shelf stock with next truck items.
5 min read · First Ave Supply, 1587 First Avenue
Every supply house in the city says same-day. Here is ours written down, with the cutoff, the rates and the cases where the answer is no, so you can plan a day around it instead of hoping.
The 10am cutoff
In-stock items ordered by 10am New York time go out on that day's Manhattan van. After 10am the order rides the next run. The cutoff is early on purpose: the van has to be loaded, routed and out before the middle of the day, and a promise we cannot load is not a promise.
If you are cutting it fine, call the counter at (212) 535-8400. We will tell you honestly whether it makes the van, and we will say no when it does not.
In-store stock, next truck, special order
Everything on the site carries one of three answers, and the difference between them is the difference between a job that runs and a job that waits.
- In-store stock. It is on the shelf at 1587 First Avenue and a person can put a hand on it. This is the only state that qualifies for same-day. We count our own shelf, not a regional warehouse.
- Next truck. We do not have it today but it is coming on our own restock, and the site shows the day it lands rather than the word unavailable. Order it now and it goes out when it arrives.
- Special order. It comes from the vendor for you specifically, on the vendor's lead time. We give you a date when we have one. We would rather quote you a real week than a hopeful tomorrow.
We also run a second store eleven blocks up at 1668 First Avenue. Stock sitting there is real stock, but it is not on the shelf here, so we never present it as same-day from this counter.
The warehouse truck, Tuesday through Friday
Restock arrives on a fixed cycle rather than whenever it turns up. Orders placed to our supplier by the Sunday cutoff land on Tuesday, and orders placed by the Tuesday cutoff land on Thursday. The paint shop eleven blocks up runs the opposite pair, Monday to Wednesday and Wednesday to Friday, which is why arrival dates on the site differ depending on which store the stock is at.
The practical consequence: a next truck item ordered on a Friday afternoon is a Tuesday item, not a Monday item. The site shows the real arrival date on every product, so read that rather than assuming.
The rates
- Manhattan. $35 per delivery, free on orders over $250. Same-day on in-stock items ordered by 10am.
- Outside Manhattan. $65 per delivery, dropping to $50 on orders over $250. Next scheduled run, never same day. That covers the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island ZIPs on our list.
- Anywhere else. We don't deliver or ship to that ZIP. Pickup only at 1587 First Avenue. Call (212) 535-8400 and we'll help you sort it out.
The delivery charge is per delivery, not per item, and the checkout works out which zone your ZIP falls in before you pay. There is no fuel surcharge and no minimum order.
When an order mixes in-stock and next truck items
This is the case that catches people out, so here is the rule. We do not hold the whole order hostage to the slowest line on it. By default the in-stock items go out on the same-day van and the rest follows when it lands, on one more delivery, and you are not charged twice for the split.
If you would rather have the whole order in one drop, say so in the notes at checkout and we will hold it and send it complete. On a job where the crew needs the first half today, take the split. On a job where a second delivery means a second person waiting at the door, take the single drop. Either way, tell us which, because guessing is how a delivery turns up when nobody is there.
Questions we get asked
What time is the same-day cutoff?
10am New York time. In-stock items ordered before then go out on the same day's Manhattan van. After that the order rides the next run.
What happens if my order mixes in-stock and next truck items?
We do not hold the whole order hostage to the slowest line. By default the shelf stock goes today and the rest follows on one more delivery at no extra charge. If you would rather have it all in one drop, say so in the order notes.
Do you ship outside the delivery area?
No. We deliver in Manhattan and to the outer boroughs on the list, and outside that we do not deliver and we do not ship. Call the counter and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
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Ask us a delivery question
Give us the ZIP you need it at and what you are ordering, and we will tell you plainly what we can do.
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