Good and bad online tool stores

[atikovi]

Since so many people buy their tools online, I thought I’d start a list of recommended sellers and those to avoid. This after currently dealing with one I would suggest you avoid. Namely, JB Tool Sales.

Placed an order with them recently and got an email the next morning saying it was shipped out FedEx. Ten days later, tracking shows it was never even received by FedEx. They have no phone number to contact and they don’t reply to emails. All their 5 star Google reviews look to be made up from friends or employees of the company. The 1 star reviews tell the real story and there are many of them. Did a chargeback on my credit card and waiting for a refund. The odd thing is I bought from them previously through their Ebay store with no problems. My takeaway is to buy on Ebay if possible as the layers of protection are numerous and the potential for negative feedback keeps most sellers in line. Between Ebay buyer protection, Paypal and credit card protections, there is a much less chance of losing any money.

As for places I’ve used and can recommend:

Arctic Tools
Autobody Now
Century Tool and Equipment
etoolcart
EWKTool
Toolsource
Tooltopia
TP Tools
Zelenda

 

[Ilikeike]

Zoro
ToolNut
Amazon
Ebay
Grainger
Summit Racing

 

[Davefr]

Lot's of good ones. Here's a few that are very well respected:
-Zoro
-KC Tools
-SO.com
-Epstein
-Cripe

Here's a couple that are often criticised:
-Chads Toolbox
-JCCAYER (Canada)
-Sears

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Lot's of good ones. Here's a few that are very well respected:
-Zoro
-KC Tools
-SO.com
-Epstein
-Cripe

Here's are a couple that are often criticised:
-Chads Toolbox
-JCCAYER (Canada)
-Sears

Yep. I also buy from Bowers Tool.

 

[Michael_in_DE]

toolsdelivered

They have great prices especially on the bahco/SO pipe wrenches. Haven't used them, but someone else on here said they used them once. Any other feedback on these guys?

 

[65k10]

toolsdelivered

They have great prices especially on the bahco/SO pipe wrenches. Haven't used them, but someone else on here said they used them once. Any other feedback on these guys?

They are good to go. The tools I've bought through there have been drop shipped from Williams. Williams shipping department can be a bit odd at times, like shipping stuff out in multiple packages on different dates. However, the guy who runs toolsdelivered was quick to let me know when I had questions about my orders.

 

[DFB]

For most of my tool needs ACME TOOL is my go to

CPO is good too, as is Tool Barn

Tool Up I have had problems with long delays in order fulfillment, high shipping charges and price changes during ordering

Home Depot I also avoid have had an issue with not following thru correctly on advertised tool manufacture sales promotions along with poor customer service.

 

[BD1]

I love Zoro tools. I only buy when they have their flash sales. They have restrictions now unfortunately but some items still a deal. I find it best to place items in cart and wait. Their site can be time consuming navigating.

 

[woody 73]

I do not want to hear the sky is falling...I want some facts.

Why should I not buy from Chads tool box?

 

[jeepinerdeep]

I do not want to hear the sky is falling...I want some facts.

Why should I not buy from Chads tool box?

Google be your friend.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc........0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131.9Z8rRMFwBp0

 

[woody 73]

Got it...

Thanks you saved me from placing a large order with them!

 

[Steve_P]

I've bought many times from Chad's and JB. Sometimes something is out of stock and you have to wait but I've never had an issue. Chad's stocks a lot more now than years ago so their shipping time has gotten much better. I ordered from JB two weeks ago, again no issue. Bummer that you've had a bad experience

 

[woody 73]

I've bought many times from Chad's and JB. Sometimes something is out of stock and you have to wait but I've never had an issue. Chad's stocks a lot more now than years ago so their shipping time has gotten much better. I ordered from JB two weeks ago, again no issue. Bummer that you've had a bad experience

Yes I also remember many years ago buying something from chad's tool box and everything went smoothly with no problems; I wonder what happened to them over these many years?

 

[Davefr]

Yes I also remember many years ago buying something from chad's tool box and everything went smoothly with no problems; I wonder what happened to them over these many years?

KC Tools sells many of the same brands that Chad's does and IMHO they are a "class act". I believe they even give GJ members a discount coupon code but I don't remember what it is.

 

[FA7X]

Placed several orders with these folks last Fall. Emails were answered quickly. One order had an out of stock item. They shipped what was in stock, and didn’t charge my card for what was out of stock until it shipped. Sale prices were great. I will use them again.

https://www.acmetools.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Formula]

Tooltopia is my go to for online tool ordering. They usually have the best pricing and most times my orders arrive the next day.

 

[KCTool_Official]

Thanks for the kind words guys! We do indeed have a Garage Journal coupon code.

THANKS2GJ gets you 10% off your entire purchase!

 

[ZRX61]

Good:



autobodytoolmart.com

They have a distribution warehouse in LA & everything I've ever ordered from them has shown up the next day


Bad:


Northern tool. Bastards wanted to charge me over $120 shipping* on a $90 toolbox & the ******* salesman tried to convince me that "FedEx & UPS charge us more to ship stuff because we ship so much stuff". I actually checked with both to see what shipping would cost & both were around $60.
This was just a small box for my daughter, she ended up with a Craftsman stack.



* I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was closer to $150.

 

[toddoky]

I have found Ohio Power Tools to be a good source.

 

[kb1982]

Add Circle C and Epstiens to the list. As for handling issues, ZORO customer service is top notch. I placed an order for a proto socket set and it included two 10mm sockets. They handled the return quickly, sending out another as soon as they had a return tracking confirmation and upgrading the shipment on the replacement.

Sent from my LML713DL using Tapatalk

 

[Outwest]

I've made several purchases through toolsdelivered and have been happy. Cripe is good to deal with as well as Harry J. Epstein.

 

[bwringer]

A few I haven't seen mentioned yet:


McMaster-Carr is excellent and fast, lots of extremely obscure stuff.
mcmaster.com
There are quirks; you may not know exactly what brand tool you'll get or COO (it's all high quality), and they charge actual shipping, so you don't know the exact shipping cost until later. Their shipping is always very reasonable, though.


Tekton.com - their site tells you what's in inventory and I believe shipping is free.


TBH, a certain retailer named after a river in Brazil has gotten most of my tool dollars in the last year or two. I'm at the point where the stuff I buy is all weird special-purpose stuff and I need it fast; I already have all the basics.

 

[Professional Tool User]

I personally never had any issues with jb tool sales. I tried buying from tooltopia once and gave up after they wouldn't let me input my information properly.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I have had good luck with:

Harry Epstein
Cripe
Amazon
eBay

 

[Mgdoug3]

I like SK and Circle C and HJE usually have the best deals. Circle C also has free shipping over $50.

 

[Steve_P]

Yes I also remember many years ago buying something from chad's tool box and everything went smoothly with no problems; I wonder what happened to them over these many years?

Dunno, but I'll order from them again. The had only ~35 reviews in that link so its obvious that it's almost only the bad experiences that post. I've ordered 5-10 times and no issues and I've never left a review. They probably process more than 35 orders in a day so that sample is not representative.

The only place I've had a bad experience with is NTX tools - many years ago. They get one star on reseller

 

[snickers muncher]

Another vote for

autobodytoolmart
acme
Tekton.com (often however, it's cheaper to order through HD and TSC)

 

[jeepinerdeep]

I like SK and Circle C and HJE usually have the best deals. Circle C also has free shipping over $50.

Never heard of Circle C, checked out their site-might have to try them out.

 

[BigBoreFan]

KC Tools
HJE
Circle C
Tekton.com
AMAZOM
AMAZON.de
AMAZON.jp
Cripes
eBay
Carbide Processors

 

[jgromada]

For those that have purchased on either Amazon.de or Amazon.jp what is the trick? Do you use your existing Amazon account or do you have to set up a new account??

 

[jmcf1949]

Recently made a small purchase (30.00) with Crawford Tools near Atlanta and was pleasantly surprised. They're prices were excellent, packaging and shipping pretty good too. I will buy from them again.

Jim

 

[jeffmoss26]

HJE is the best!

 

[toddmorr]

For those that have purchased on either Amazon.de or Amazon.jp what is the trick? Do you use your existing Amazon account or do you have to set up a new account??

you have to create an account on Amazon Japan. Other than that, no issues. I use my US dollar credit card, it is charged in dollars at an exchange rate determined by Amazon Japan which seems quite reasonable, shipping is quick on the order of 4 days after order, but a bit pricey, usually around 13% or so on a $100 order. No customs issues. No taxes. I've only ordered Koken from them but I would surely do it again.

 

[neophyte]

I've bought many times from Chad's and JB. Sometimes something is out of stock and you have to wait but I've never had an issue. Chad's stocks a lot more now than years ago so their shipping time has gotten much better. I ordered from JB two weeks ago, again no issue. Bummer that you've had a bad experience

Yes I also remember many years ago buying something from chad's tool box and everything went smoothly with no problems; I wonder what happened to them over these many years?

Lot's of good ones. Here's a few that are very well respected:
-Zoro
-KC Tools
-SO.com
-Epstein
-Cripe

Here's a couple that are often criticised:
-Chads Toolbox
-JCCAYER (Canada)
-Sears

As far as Chads goes, I haven’t ordered from them for years so I can’t say what yhe situation is now.
Back when I did order from them, they had some of the better prices on Knipex stuff, and also had some more obscure Knipex stuff that I couldn’t easily find listed if at all elsewhere.
I placed an order, and while some items arrived almost immediately, some of the obscure items where back ordered.
After a while I contacted Chads and they where polite on the phone, and waiting for the back ordered items to come back in stock. There initial communication for the delay and how long it would take to fulfill the rest of the order weren’t great. I don’t know whether the delay was on Chads side because they were waiting to get enough stock needs to make an order, or whether the delay was on the Knipex side.
Chads did fulfill the order, and the prices were great.
I would be willing to make another order from them if needs for appropriate items came up though.
I might call up directly to check stock though if I needed the items immediately.

 

[acer66]

I have not ordered from them in a while but I never had an issue.
https://www.coastaltool.com/index.h...-JIchYgHkEQ-O1MjYgF7jSTbrsNZkqaAaAv8IEALw_wcB

 

[CoogarXR]

I recently ordered from Crawford Tool. Their prices were very good, and their staff even called me before they shipped to ask me about a back ordered item. I got my order timely and it was all correct. I will say that the only negative was that their website looks like something out of 1997 and I was a little afraid to put in my credit card info, lol. But it worked and all went well.

I have also used Amazon and Tooltopia with success. And of course ebay.

 

[NoMoreGreen]

Thanks for the kind words guys! We do indeed have a Garage Journal coupon code.

THANKS2GJ gets you 10% off your entire purchase!

I was just browsing your website, orders coming in the future!

thanks
NMG

 

[NoMoreGreen]

I have good luck with toolsdelivered.com, however I am investing in Williams and bahco at the moment.
NMG

 

[jimmyin3D]

Toollady!
Frankstools! (Had a big order with them and there was a couple mistakes and he corrected right away) also let me keep the mistaken tools

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

Zoro
Snap-on
HJE
Frankstools
Amazon