Franks tools?
- Thread starter zippster
- Start date
B.S.A. (ret.)
Well-known member
It's a good idea to check with him for availability. The COVID-19 issue has shut down air mail shipments from Japan. I agree that he is great to do business with, but right now there is that delivery problem if he doesn't have what you want in stock.
I've heard good things but I never ordered because the website used to force you to create or use a Yahoo or AOL account (or I couldn't figure out how not do so) but it looks like the site has changed and is a normal credit card or paypal checkout.
G1GRANDEUR
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2009
- Messages
- 2,094
ordered before, no problem. website need update though, really out dated look.
LeeG
Well-known member
I ordered from him last week and got it today. Merry HS175C. Another tool I didn't know I needed prior to joining here.
I never heard of him until here on GJ & never really heard bad things about him. So I placed my very first order with him last year. Waited & waited heard nothing. Finally I emailed asking for an order update. Eventually I got a very short reply saying he sold out due to unexpected increase of sales & a separate email refund notice.
Well that refund was issued in the form of echeck which takes forever to process. The refund got declined by the sellers bank. Refund automatically attempted again. Time goes by, declined again. After weeks of BS I had to file a Paypal claim to eventually get my money back in which Paypal had to step in to refund due to the seller not responding.
So disappointed that a seller will not notify you of the item being out of stock, not respond to emails, & delays the refund process. Had it not been for that, I'd consider ordering from him again. I understand he's probably a one man operation who is just trying to earn a buck but I'll never try ordering from him again due to my experience.
Well that refund was issued in the form of echeck which takes forever to process. The refund got declined by the sellers bank. Refund automatically attempted again. Time goes by, declined again. After weeks of BS I had to file a Paypal claim to eventually get my money back in which Paypal had to step in to refund due to the seller not responding.
So disappointed that a seller will not notify you of the item being out of stock, not respond to emails, & delays the refund process. Had it not been for that, I'd consider ordering from him again. I understand he's probably a one man operation who is just trying to earn a buck but I'll never try ordering from him again due to my experience.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I've ordered from Frank's several times without a hitch. However, he was living Japan when I ordered from him. I believe he retired from US Army Japan and is stateside now. He was having issues with Koken availability. However, I've always had great service Frank's tools.
pizza
Well-known member
i can recommend frank. good communication, nice guy, and he treated me fairly. however, his web store does not provide realtime inventory status, so to save time, i would email him first before ordering with the items you're interested in and ask if they're in stock.
supposedly he's coming out with a new website. maybe that one will track inventory.
supposedly he's coming out with a new website. maybe that one will track inventory.
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Qualitytools
Well-known member
I have ordered from Frank on a couple of occasions, great service and a good guy.
HenryAZ
MEMBER EMERITUS
I would love to register and order from Frank, but the requirement for a Yahoo or AOL account is a barrier for me. I have neither account, nor do I want one of those dinosaur accounts. I did have a Yahoo account decades ago, but that's long in the past. I realize I could order without registering, but I always prefer to register where I order. This provides benefits like order status, etc.
You don't need either account to order from him. Either use guest checkout or just click the paypal link in the cart. The Guest check-out option has been there for years. Alternately you can email him and he'll invoice you directly which I've done a couple times hoping to save him yahoo store fees.
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Dumber than lumber
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2015
- Messages
- 1,872
You are right about the horribleness of the website.
I imagine he could get a lot more business by spending a small amount to upgrade.
I imagine he could get a lot more business by spending a small amount to upgrade.
Update
I placed my order on June 11 and still have not received it. Frank has responded to all my emails very quickly but I keep hearing how he is waiting for the shipment to come from Japan.
Meanwhile, palmac says they have them in stock and is receiving orders from Japan very quickly.
Frank seems like a nice guy and I respect him trying to make a living but am I getting the runaround?
I placed my order on June 11 and still have not received it. Frank has responded to all my emails very quickly but I keep hearing how he is waiting for the shipment to come from Japan.
Meanwhile, palmac says they have them in stock and is receiving orders from Japan very quickly.
Frank seems like a nice guy and I respect him trying to make a living but am I getting the runaround?
Palmac is a Koken USA distributor. They are fed from a warehouse out West in Arizona or something, not directly from Japan. Frank dropped Koken USA after numerous supply issues and I thought he was going to dump the line entirely but I guess he found another source in Japan.
EMS shipping got shut down for a while by Covid and Japan actually had halted all mail exports so I have no idea how reliable his shipments have been. I'd guess not very.
EMS shipping got shut down for a while by Covid and Japan actually had halted all mail exports so I have no idea how reliable his shipments have been. I'd guess not very.
pizza
Well-known member
i sent you a long pm on 6/11 about my experience and some advice. guessing you never read it.
metaldad
Well-known member
I ordered from him last week and got it today. Merry HS175C. Another tool I didn't know I needed prior to joining here.
i need it. what is it.
not on franks site, $42 on merry's site, alot more on fleabay
pizza
Well-known member
GirchyGirchy
Well-known member
Still waiting on my order from last November. Emailed him in April and he said he'd get it together soon. Just sent another email about it, thanks for the reminder!
TuxThePenguin
Well-known member
Is there a specific item he says is taking a long time or something? Hot damn that's a long time to wait!
ajchien
Well-known member
There’s some weird shipping issues from Japan.
Japan Post, which I think is Japan’s largest mail/shipping companies, has countries it has been restricted not to send anything to because of Covid. U.S.A. is one of the restricted countries, we have been for months now. If you see them listed as the method of shipping, I’d avoid because I’d expect the package to be in some Japan warehouse until they lift the USA restrictions which could be who knows when.
However, there are other shipping companies like DHL, or Amazon Japan that can still Somehow get around the restrictions.
GirchyGirchy
Well-known member
It seems hit and miss with him. I reached out about something a few months ago, he promptly told me he would get a price within a few days. Never heard back. Some people get orders quick, others says months passed. And this was before Covid complicated our lives. I don’t need amazon service from him, but I don’t need more headaches either, so I have avoided him.
anndel
Well-known member
My wife works for Customs at the International Mail branch at the main distribution post office. Since the COVID shutdown, hardly anything's been arriving from Japan. Lucky if she inspected 1 Japan box in 2 weeks.
dede2897234
Well-known member
Hi Jasondmx2,
I had 2 great buying experiences with Frank back in 2016. However, my third buying experience in June 2020 went no where. I placed a 5 item hand tool order for around $150 dollars. He had everything in stock except the KTC plastic rivet pliers. He said they would arrive in 3 weeks. However, this item did not arrive in said time frame. I gave him 1 more week.
I twice asked him for a refund on the KTC pliers; and for him to ship the rest of the order. Frank acknowledged twice he would ship the order and never did. I emailed him saying that I received better service from him in the past and other vendors selling Japanese hand tools. I mentioned disappointment in his service up to date. He went on a rant on how other buyers cancelled on him due to the long delays. Then, Frank asked me again for the third time what I wanted (WTF???) to wait for the KTC pliers or a refund.
He finally issued me a refund in late July. Frank must have realized his large KTC order from Japan will arrive much later than expected.
I will never order from him again!
If you would like to read my email conversation with him, I attached a PDF.
Dave
pizza
Well-known member
i've said this before, but these are my conclusions based on personal experiences and from reading in these threads:
it's probably ok to order from him, but i strongly suggest avoiding these mistakes.
afaik, he is reliable for orders that are fully in-stock. if this isn't true, please share your experience.
- his website does not accurately indicate if something is in stock. ordering without asking via email if what you want is in stock is a mistake.
- ordering things that are not in stock is a mistake because he misses his ETAs. don't settle for "it will be here in a month" because it probably won't be there in a month. this leads to disappointment, resentment, and wasted time.
it's probably ok to order from him, but i strongly suggest avoiding these mistakes.
afaik, he is reliable for orders that are fully in-stock. if this isn't true, please share your experience.
True Brit
New member
I guess I made the mistake of thinking Frank of frank's Tools was an upright and honest individual. A Veteran he claims? So sad he lacks the honor of 99.9% of Vets I know.
He said he would re-ship an order that went missing in the mail and what happens? AWOL after that last email and that two months ago. What a looser.
So sad, probably had a dishonorable discharge, for stealing from the supply chain.
He said he would re-ship an order that went missing in the mail and what happens? AWOL after that last email and that two months ago. What a looser.
So sad, probably had a dishonorable discharge, for stealing from the supply chain.
Qualitytools
Well-known member
Frank is a good guy and have ordered from him on numerous occasions without any issues, he did reveal that he is undergoing some back issues that have made it very difficult.
pizza
Well-known member
Franks Tools is very unreliable and unprofessional. Customer service is non-existent and he is kind of snappy and rude. I would usually put up with something like that if the deals were incredible or the shipping was light speed or there was some other redeeming quality, but he doesn't really bring anything positive to the table as far as I can tell.
macgee
Well-known member
I enjoyed buying from Frank. No idea what Dillweed is on.
Frank was great over the phone, very pleasant and checked his inventory while on the phone, gave me a great price, sent tracking and receipt via email and shipped it out at a nominal price the next day and I received them 4 days later and been using them daily ever since, This was in Dec. '20. He's the classic tool monger
Covid has made it extremely difficult getting inventory shipped in from Japan. Just call Frank and check what's in stock before ordering online. For sure there's long delays with items needed to be shipped in from Japan for the obvious reason.
Frank was great over the phone, very pleasant and checked his inventory while on the phone, gave me a great price, sent tracking and receipt via email and shipped it out at a nominal price the next day and I received them 4 days later and been using them daily ever since, This was in Dec. '20. He's the classic tool monger
Covid has made it extremely difficult getting inventory shipped in from Japan. Just call Frank and check what's in stock before ordering online. For sure there's long delays with items needed to be shipped in from Japan for the obvious reason.
+1. Will never order anything from him again. I would stick with Amazon Japan or other sellers.