Toptul

[expatriated]

I've got complete sets of Toptul sockets in 1/4 and 3/8", shallow and deep. My 3/8" set had both 15 and 18 in them, both shallow and deep.

I don't really shop in HF but the few times I've been in there, I've not seen any sockets that rival Toptul in quality. I can't speak for the ratchets. Although I love my Toptul ratchets. I have them in short and long handle and a flex head. As has been mentioned many times before on this board, China and Taiwan aren't the same thing when it comes to manufacturing and quality control. Maybe the HF ratchets are as good as the Toptul.

I really like Toptul. I also have a set of their screwdrivers and wrenches and other stuff I got back when Mike Wren was selling them here. I would really like to see a reasonable and easy way to get Toptul in this country. I don't think this ebay site is it, though.

 

[wild cowboy]

well one thing I can say for ya, you damn near have an exclusive on ebay on Toptul, so that's a big plus!

hard to find a line of well made tools you can have to yourself for any length of time!

 

[SMKS]

SMKS, are you in sales and marketing as it seems to me that you must be.

No, I'm just a human that lives on a planet filled with other humans, so I've learned the tiniest bit about interacting with them.

I'm a scientist, electronics engineer to be exact, and in my business we were expected to say specifically what we mean. If I know that I'm never going to import SAE wrenches why would I say what you stated as it's not true.

Simply pointing out that you could have worded your comments in a much, much better way.

Simply say "I'm not importing any SAE tools right now," rather than sounding confrontational in your first post with comments like this:

As a note I'm not doing any SAE wrenches - it's time for the world to realize that the metric system has arrived. I'm 62 so I know that change is hard to swallow but the world does move on. Get over it.

You're adding value judgements and your opinion in this post, so it goes way beyond your claim of simply being "blunt" or saying what you mean.

What you should have said is simply "I don't have any SAE tools right now and I don't plan to." That's totally accurate.

 

[cwlo]

I also have sets of Toptul sockets, and agree that their quality is definitely above HF. I would love to able to buy more.

 

[expatriated]

Whatever happened to Mike Wren? I used to buy my Toptul from him

 

[wild cowboy]

Simply pointing out that you could have worded your comments in a much, much better way.

Simply say "I'm not importing any SAE tools right now," rather than sounding confrontational in your first post with comments like this:

You're adding value judgements and your opinion in this post, so it goes way beyond your claim of simply being "blunt" or saying what you mean.

What you should have said is simply "I don't have any SAE tools right now and I don't plan to." That's totally accurate.

As a rather blunt person myself, I appreciate bluntness here on GJ, that is what is wrong with the world these days, everyone has become such a chicken-**** to say how they really feel.

I say be yourself, and screw all of the political-correctness! - this is why I love being self-employed, no stress from holding in WHAT I REALLY THINK!

 

[SMKS]

Whatever happened to Mike Wren? I used to buy my Toptul from him

I tried emailing and calling him a while ago and I received no response to either.

Some people claim they've been able to contact him in recent years, but I wasn't able to.

As a rather blunt person myself, I appreciate bluntness here on GJ, that is what is wrong with the world these days, everyone has become such a chicken-**** to say how they really feel.

I say be yourself, and screw all of the political-correctness! - this is why I love being self-employed, no stress from holding in WHAT I REALLY THINK!

Well, I would say the OP wasn't being blunt, he was making verbose posts that added a lot of unnecessary info and opinion and, as is now clear in this thread, that took it off track.

Had he gone more towards being blunt, kept the posts short, simple and to the point, then this thread may have gone a different way.

 

[thesilverone]

I can't believe mods let this guy pimp his ****** side business while insulting members

 

[flyingtpot]

Flyingtpot, You're right they are not Goliath they are in fact Godzilla. Here in Phoenix they have basically put every independent tool store out of business, they will soon put Sears out of business. Walk into any of their stores and there will be a line at each check out. If they continue to improve, as they have been doing and as is recently evidenced by their new "professional" flex head ratchets they will become even stronger.

The price I'm starting at on EBay is as low as it's going to get as that's as low as I can go. There will be no discount. I don't care if you buy or if you don't. It's there if you want it, if you don't pass it by. I made my money making semiconductors this I'm doing for fun.

The Phoenix sun fried you into oblivion. I never had any intention to buy your krap. It was obvious from your first post in this thread you are an eBay troll trying to sell a different flavor of twinkles.

 

[Toyota mechanic]

I have trouble buying from someone who outright says "I don't care if you buy from me or not."

I understand it, but there are people I can give my money to who will enjoy their business relationship with me.

Did a search, Mike Wren? This place had a Toptul guy?

 

[Bull]

Did a search, Mike Wren? This place had a Toptul guy?

Yes, for a while. Then he disappeared, sort of came back for a while, and then really went "****."

 

[Toyota mechanic]

Yes, for a while. Then he disappeared, sort of came back for a while, and then really went "****."

He still has a website, wrenhandtools... I saw an old thread. The 'Snaponites', really beat him up! I just looked to see what Toptul is. Liked the long, long pattern combo wrenches.

 

[BJ42LX]

Here are Steve D's (Ultgar) thoughts on Toptul's penetration into the US market.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125636

At one point I recall Steve saying that Toptul was looking for one big US distributor - someone who was willing to stock several hundred thousand in inventory and take responsibility for distribution, marketing, warranty, etc. I think he also said they were trying to dictate the contents of his orders even when he was placing orders that were $10's of thousands of dollars.

 

[retDAC]

... I brought these tools in from Taiwan for myself and my friends. If I have spares I'll sell them on EBay at a very attractive price. That's what's going on here.

You might consider for GJ members doing what wrenchslinger is doing here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=258228

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Well, that went downhill fast.

I can see where this is headed.

October has been a rough month here on GJ.

 

[monomach]

Whatever happened to Mike Wren? I used to buy my Toptul from him

Flaked out, stopped communicating with people.

 

[monomach]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOPTUL-GPAI...82957580?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item19f4e6ef0c

Mmm. Not a bad price if they're the same quality as the regular Toptul combos I used.

 

[cwlo]

Strange thing with Wren is even after he disappeared, he then adopted the Canadian Toptul website; Toolchest that must have gone out of business. I ordered a bunch of tools from them, and was sorry to see them disappear.

Chris

 

[creativecars]

It kind of sounds like people here would appreciate the opportunity to purchase Toptul tools. I know I would, that is why I was disappointed with the OP's thoughts and sales of these tools.

 

[BJ42LX]

It kind of sounds like people here would appreciate the opportunity to purchase Toptul tools. I know I would, that is why I was disappointed with the OP's thoughts and sales of these tools.

Yes, but ... quoting Ultgar's thread I referenced in post 53:

"Toptul product is so inexpensive, you have to sell in large volumes to generate enough cash flow to justify the time and investment. Others before me (Wren Hand Tools and the original Toptul importer in Charlotte) had strong initial sales but eventually dropped the line or lost interest when the business levelled off. "

 

[SMKS]

It kind of sounds like people here would appreciate the opportunity to purchase Toptul tools. I know I would, that is why I was disappointed with the OP's thoughts and sales of these tools.

Meh...

I've owned some XL wrenches, at least one ratchet and maybe some other things I'm forgetting.

They aren't anything special. They're nice, but there are equally high-quality Taiwanese tools available from other places. And the other brands are easy to get and easier to have serviced, if that matters to you.

Toptul tools aren't special enough to warrant the hassle of buying them, unless you want something unusual your friends don't have. I'm not saying that as a criticism, if you want something unusual, go ahead and get them. But they aren't leaps and bounds better than other brands that are more available.

 

[BK13]

I would have liked to have gotten some 1/4" drive sockets for that very reason. But I'd rather have Hazet, I guess...

 

[crbnfbr]

Yes, for a while. Then he disappeared, sort of came back for a while, and then really went "****."

I spoke with Mike just the other day. He is planning on relaunching his site with the help of his son. He is also waiting on an order he placed for common items, but he told me he'd still be able to special order items for me, and of course he will still offer 20% to garagejournal members.

 

[crbnfbr]

Hello Folks,
An example of this would be socket sets. Also, if you've ever bought a socket set at Harbor Freight you know that the Asians, including TOPTUL, have never heard of 15 and 18 mm sockets or wrenches which are the size bolts that hold together every GM car made in the last 15 years. Most of their socket sets skip these sizes which to me makes them useless.

I don't know what set's you have but I have all 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 socket in every size and that literally includes every single size. I also have a socket set that have 15mm, 18mm an even 20mm.

 

[creativecars]

I spoke with Mike just the other day. He is planning on relaunching his site with the help of his son. He is also waiting on an order he placed for common items, but he told me he'd still be able to special order items for me, and of course he will still offer 20% to garagejournal members.

I would be very interested in his site. Where can this be found?
I hope he will get SAE sizes...

 

[sk farmer]

toptul is a joke.

why? because outside of a couple tool forums nobody knows a thing about them. no internet presence, no ebay presence, no brick and mortar presence. nothing but a couple attempts by a couple people that are doing nothing more than trying to sell them out of the trunk of their car.

the tools may be good or even great but they are and have been doomed by the people trying to push them.

i would think long and hard about investing in something that can and more than likely will again disappear overnight. just as it has done in the past.

like others have said. if you want something that nobody else has they may be ok. i just don't see anything that is vastly superior in quality or price from toptul that cannot be found from more reliable sources and brands.

 

[monomach]

toptul is a joke.

why? because outside of a couple tool forums nobody knows a thing about them. no internet presence, no ebay presence, no brick and mortar presence. nothing but a couple attempts by a couple people that are doing nothing more than trying to sell them out of the trunk of their car.

the tools may be good or even great but they are and have been doomed by the people trying to push them.

i would think long and hard about investing in something that can and more than likely will again disappear overnight. just as it has done in the past.

like others have said. if you want something that nobody else has they may be ok. i just don't see anything that is vastly superior in quality or price from toptul that cannot be found from more reliable sources and brands.

Toptul is not a joke. It's just a brand that so far hasn't tried expanding into English-speaking countries. They do have an internet presence...just not in English.

It's not like they appeared yesterday. They've been around for years. They're pretty much a truck brand in their area.

 

[panknuckshovel]

Here is the website. In 2-3 days items are going to start to appear.

http://wrenhandtools.com/

 

[btbsandman]

Here is the website. In 2-3 days items are going to start to appear.

http://wrenhandtools.com/

That would be great. But it looked like that for the last few months.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I think Toptul makes some nice tools, but if I'm going to buy tools in this price range they might as well be a supported brand in the United States. Similar Taiwan tools can be had from Napa, Gearwrench, etc.

 

[panknuckshovel]

That would be great. But it looked like that for the last few months.

Call the number and ask Mike. Most of the ratchets they offer just appear to be rebadged items from William Tools.

 

[Toyota mechanic]

Yes, for a while. Then he disappeared, sort of came back for a while, and then really went "****."

http://wrenhandtools.com/

 

[Fedwrench]

Toptul as part of the ROTAR group has been around the rest of the world for quite awhile now. They haven't marketed in the US much but, then I don't feel Koken, Nepros, or JTC/KTC try to sell a lot of stuff here either.

Not having a wide distribution network here doesn't make them a joke, they're just not a common brand. There are lots of tools choices available today, as always buy what you like and can afford but remember, just because you may not like someone's choice of brand, that doesn't make their choice wrong.

 

[dnschmidt]

You are correct William tool is the source of most of TOPTUL'S ratchets. Whether this is a bad thing or not is something I can't say. I think William tool makes very nice ratchets. The fact that they are TOPTUL's vendor I don't consider to be either a good or bad thing. Quality tools are quality tools regardless of where they are sourced from.

 

[Olafur]

Actually Toptul is the inverse of "rebadged" and thats one thing I like about them.

A large producer in Taiwan - Rotar group - decided to put forth it's own brand under it's own name. Toptul is therefore transparent brand, they are made in Taiwan and proud of it!

Quite the opposite from the companies who bought up old established tool brands in Europe/USA and then outsourced the production to Asia. And then try to keep up the impression they are still EU/US brands! Selling Taiwan products with huge markup, riding on the past glory of EU/US companies. Thats cheating in my book!

Toptul is among the cheapest brands available in Iceland and amazingly close to the best. Their sockets and wrenches are on par with the best of them.

I have pretty decent collection of Snap On, Stahlwille, Koken, Hazet, facom and other top brands and I work primarily in the diesel mechanic field. So I think my opinion should count.

Honestly it has been pretty frustrating experience for me to admit just how damn good Toptul is. Since I love collecting and using Snap On and the top EU brands.

But I am entitled to my opinions, not my own set of facts.

 

[sk farmer]

i will restate my opinion then. toptul is a joke in north america. one person importing a few select sets of only what they want is is a joke. not having an english website available for north america is a joke. i don't believe they are on the same level as the premium japanese brands as fedwrench mentions and i t has been predicted time and time again that they will be the next greatest thing. mike wren couldn't do it and i am not sure that this guy can either.

ultgar himself said the company was difficult to deal with and he is pretty well respected. whose word will you take? the guy who who makes a living in sales and tried to deal with them? they guy who failed at selling them several times? they guy who wants to sell a few select sets? i go with ultgar

if you have toptul stuff and you like it, great. if you want to try some, great. i am not kicking on the tools but i don't think anything i have said is very far off base. i predict toptul never has an even small foothold in north america because the can't get or won't allow the right people to distribute them.

lose a wrench, break a socket, need a ratchet repair kit? all common things, where are you going to get them??? who will stand behind them????

 

[Olafur]

You are correct William tool is the source of most of TOPTUL'S ratchets. Whether this is a bad thing or not is something I can't say. I think William tool makes very nice ratchets. The fact that they are TOPTUL's vendor I don't consider to be either a good or bad thing. Quality tools are quality tools regardless of where they are sourced from.

I believe Rotar makes every tool they sell under the Toptul brand. So they are the vendor for Williams ratchets - if they are the same-, not vice versa.

Rotar makes wrenches for Facom, Beta, and some less known brands like Sonic and probably many others. Rotar is primarily a producer the Toptul brand is their own brand name. Sourcing tools from others (like Williams) makes no sense to me.

 

[Olafur]

Here is the icelandic dealer for Toptul - divide the prices by 120 to get the dollar value. Keep in mind we have 25,4% VAT (Sales tax)
http://www.sindri.is/toptul

Here is the official Toptul website (in english)
http://www.toptul.com/

I am considering getting this chart from them for the dirty work.
Price for my company is just over $2000.
http://www.toptul.com/style/frame/t...92173&content_set=color_4&rid=57534&id=322795
Nothing over here comes close in price/quality ratio.

 

[dnschmidt]

Olafur, William tool company. Not Williams the company under the Snap-On Umbrella. Here is their website. http://www.wtools.com.tw/

They are the source of TOPTUL's ratchets.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Was "Toptul" meant to mean/translate to/sound like "Top Tool", or was that just a coincidence and "Toptul" actually means "Panda sitting in tree" or something like that?

I'm dead serious.