Is ACME Tools a legit store? I think I've been ripped off.

[Rob Price]

Just seeing if anyone else has had a good experience with ACME tools. I ordered a drum sander during a Black Friday sale. It was listed as out of stock at the time, so I knew I would need to wait a bit, but since December 8th it's been listed as "in stock- ships in 1-2 days" but apparently not for me.

If I call the CS number I get a wait time of 15+minutes. I spoke to someone finally and they said they didn't know when it would be in stock, despite the website showing it in stock.

I also ordered a chuck for the lathe a few days later that has yet to ship. It has said "arriving soon" since I ordered it on the 26th of November.

I tried submitting a negative review of the item and they deleted the review. I'm starting to wonder if I need to call my CC company.

[Greg Parrish]

I get my drum sander and my nova voyager from them. Maybe other stuff too. Had no issues either time but I didn’t order during the holidays. Good luck.

[Frank Pratt]

If you can't get a straight story, or even any story from customer service, then I would call the CC company & cancel. There are plenty of other vendors that will be happy to take your money.

[phil harold]

hmmm
I have had good luck with them
but like they say there is other places too
tool nut being one of them

[Tom M King]

I've never had any problem with them, and have ordered a number of tools from there.

[Rob Price]

Maybe they are legit- I can't get in touch with anyone today. If they can't resolve it Monday I'll probably cancel both orders. It wasn't even a smoking deal on the sander- I should have stuck with Tool Nut and just paid full price, I've never had any issues with those guys.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I've ordered several Festool, Jet, Laguna and Powermatic products from them. All went without a hitch except the Powermatic.

My order was duplicated and two Powermatic machines shipped and charged. Took the best part of a month to rectify. Especially annoying as Powermatic/Jet are located 20 minutes from where I live. I even asked ACME to contact Powermatic to see if I could go pick my machine up, Powermatic refused, but still delivered two machines. They attempted to delivery the duplicate 3 times. Truck kept arriving and I'd just turn the driver around.

I eventually had to contact AMEX and dispute the duplicate charge. AMEX stood by me and about two weeks later I got confirmation from ACME that they had resolved it.

I did speak to several ACME customer service reps during this process, all but one were helpful and concerned. The one that basically said I had to pay delivery and return freight charges on the duplicate, plus a 15% restocking fee, I asked for her supervisor who told me to not worry about it.

I will use them again as I've had more positive than negative experiences and saves quite a bit of money using them.

[Wade Lippman]

I've bought from them twice with no problems, but that was years ago.

If they don't give you a satisfactory answer on Monday you should certainly cancel. If they give you a hard time, try your luck with the credit card company.

[Nick Decker]

Several large purchases here, all good. They aren't the greatest at keeping their web site up to date, but I just accept that and use the phone.

To answer your question, they are a legit store. My guess is there is just a holiday snafu.

[Mike Cutler]

I bought my 60 gallon Rolair Air Compressor from them a few years back, Everything went fine.

[Mike Henderson]

I bought a drum sander from them - no problems. Free shipping, also.

But everything was fine with my order - I don't know how they are when you have problems with an order.

Mike

[scott vroom]

This would give me pause: https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Acme_Tools

[Simon MacGowen]

When something goes wrong in a transaction for me, I don't care what other current or past customers say about that vendor. I rely on my assessment of how the vendor goes about solving the problem I encounter with. If I decide to give the vendor a chance to fix the problem, I will give myself a deadline (e.g. 1 week, etc.) by which if the problem still gets unresolved, I pull the plug and cancel the deal.

Lack of response is worse than a negative response from the vendor. If a vendor allows only positive reviews, I won't buy from it again from then on.

I have banned two vendors (non-woodworking) for life, and have never suffered anything from that decision because their competitors can provide what I need.

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

This would give me pause: https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Acme_Tools

Won't touch this vendor given the fact that over 50% of its past customers gave a rating of 1 (the worst). This comment sums it up, doesn't it?

"Prices were competitive, but customer service is nonexistent."

Good luck to the OP (and if I were him, I would call the CC issuer without one minute of delay after seeing the above reviews).

Simon

[Mike Henderson]

This would give me pause: https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Acme_Tools

I went to that site and looked up Amazon - https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Amazon

50% negative. I know from my own experience and from what others post here about their experiences with Amazon that Amazon is near the top in customer service. That would give me pause when reading the reviews of Acme.

Mike

[Nick Decker]

I went to that site and looked up Amazon - https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Amazon

50% negative. I know from my own experience and from what others post here about their experiences with Amazon that Amazon is near the top in customer service. That would give me pause when reading the reviews of Acme.

Mike

Agreed. How many people do you think go to Resellerratings to leave a positive review?

[Jacob Reverb]

Agreed. How many people do you think go to Resellerratings to leave a positive review?

Hard to believe it's even 50%!

[Prashun Patel]

I ordered some store-branded dynamite and birdseed to end some bird troubles I have been having.

Everything arrived fine, but the dynamite blew up in my face. Customer service said it was my fault but I believe the dynamite was defective.

Despite this, Sisyphus that I am, I am doomed to continue to purchase from them.

W. E. Coyote,
Death Valley

[Simon MacGowen]

I went to that site and looked up Amazon - https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Amazon

50% negative. I know from my own experience and from what others post here about their experiences with Amazon that Amazon is near the top in customer service. That would give me pause when reading the reviews of Acme.

Mike

Thanks. Amazon (along with ACME) added to my "Avoid At All Costs" list, at least for woodworking tools. For the record, never get one single tool from Amazon. Woodworking is my hobby, no reason to add pain to myself by dealing with unreliable vendors. "Customer service first, price second" has always been my shopping motto, serving me well for the past two decades plus.

Simon

[Reinis Kanders]

I have had good experience. Just received some Milwaukee rolling tool cart with broken wheel. They sent the $50 repair kit after a short phone conversation.

[Randy Viellenave]

Acme Tools is legit, but my dog hasn't had very good luck with them...

398837

[Brian W Evans]

I've purchased from Acme in the past with no problems.

Simon, I buy from Amazon ALL THE TIME, and have ordered several smaller power tools from them. I've been a prime member for almost as long as that's been a thing. No problems at all, even with returns and defective products.

I also buy from ToolNut and am currently having a problem an order: I ordered some things that said "in stock" almost two months ago but still haven't been delivered. I'm positive it's a manufacturer problem (checked the manufacturer's web site) - not a ToolNut problem. Sometimes stores can't predict manufacturer issues. They could have done a better job keeping their web site up-to-date and communicating, but I've had enough good interactions that I'm not sweating it.

I would follow Wade's advice and try again to contact them. If that doesn't resolve things satisfactorily, cancel the order.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I posted my experience with ACME above so this is about Amazon and woodworking tools as this thread appears to be heading that way.

I ordered a ShopFox W1812 from Amazon, $1599+tax, to make Plantation Shutters. Got a call about delivery the day before delivery. Got an automated call day of delivery. Item never arrived. Next day, no delivery. Called Amazon, they have a special office in CA that handles large freight items, they ordered another one, gave me a $100 credit, for the inconvenience without any prompting from me.

Second unit arrived at 8:45pm on a rainy Friday night. Driver said the box looked damaged, so we took it off the lift gate and wheeled it into the garage. We could see it had been dropped of knocked over and took the outer cardboard box off. looked like the polystyrene packing had done its job so I took delivery.

I had another project going on so I didn't touch the W1812 for nearly two months. When I finally going it out of the box and assembled, I noticed the cutter shaft pulley was broken and the cutter shaft was pushed in a little in the bearings and would not turn completely.

I called Amazon and they again apologized, organized a free pickup and instantly credited the payment. Next day a truck arrived and took the assembled machine away. Unfortunately, Amazon did not see one available, so I bought one from another vendor.

We use Amazon for the majority of our shopping and have never had an issue with a single purchase that was not resolved with a single call or online.

On a side note: a few months ago, Amazon had a warehouse sale, in my home town, of all the items returned. We got a list of these some 40K items. In the list were 3 SawStop tablesaws and two Shopfox W1812 planer/moulders (probably the ones I ordered). I went along about a week after the sale opened to the public but was not able to find these items. The sale price started at 40% off and was reduced 10% each subsequent week.

[Simon MacGowen]

I've purchased from Acme in the past with no problems.

Simon, I buy from Amazon ALL THE TIME, and have ordered several smaller power tools from them. I've been a prime member for almost as long as that's been a thing. No problems at all, even with returns and defective products.

I also buy from ToolNut and am currently having a problem an order: I ordered some things that said "in stock" almost two months ago but still haven't been delivered. I'm positive it's a manufacturer problem (checked the manufacturer's web site) - not a ToolNut problem. Sometimes stores can't predict manufacturer issues. They could have done a better job keeping their web site up-to-date and communicating, but I've had enough good interactions that I'm not sweating it.

I would follow Wade's advice and try again to contact them. If that doesn't resolve things satisfactorily, cancel the order.

Nothing against Amazon or suggesting people to avoid it. My comfort level in shopping is just different, as the story shared by ChrisA in another post is exactly what I will try to avoid. I am willing to pay a little more in exchange for a hassle-free purchase experience when things go well AND when things go under the water. The latter is very important to me. I know a few friends who got into some serious after-sales issues with furniture or laundry machine vendors after chasing some "great" deals. They admitted after the fact that they were penny-wise. One moved into a new house with no master bedroom furniture for over 4 months while trying to sort out the mess.

ALL my premium woodworking machines and tools were bought through reputable vendors with track records that I am happy with. 50% negative reviews? Thank you very much; I won't take my chances, or risk of becoming a statistic of one of the 50%.

Simon

[Edwin Santos]

Ironically, a lot of Amazon's early growth in the 90s was through acquisitions, and they developed their tool and hardware presence by buying a mail order/early e-commerce outfit called Tool Crib of the North. Anyone remember them?
Second or third generation old fashioned family run operation out of (I think) North Dakota. It was decent sized acquisition for Amazon at the time, $600MM if memory serves me (this would be less than a rounding error for Amazon today).

So they folded into Amazon and exactly 10 years later, the family that sold it re-emerged as Acme Tools, probably the day after their non-compete agreement ran out. I bought my blue Jet table saw from them when they were Tool Crib, and I have bought several tools from them as Acme, and I have also bought plenty of woodworking stuff from Amazon and I have not one bad report about any of these transactions. I hope the OP will keep trying to sort out the CS issue.

It's a buyer's prerogative to blacklist any vendor, but I think Amazon will survive the loss of Simon.

[Simon MacGowen]

It's a buyer's prerogative to blacklist any vendor, but I think Amazon will survive the loss of Simon.

And I will survive the loss of any good deals that any vendor that is on my blacklist may offer.

It is also my prerogative (because it is MY money) to continue to support those reputable vendors that offer great customer service, even though, they, too, will survive the loss of my business if I do it somewhere else. :p

Simply stated, no business is big enough -- not yet -- to influence where I will spend my money.

Simon

[Kory Cassel]

Ironically, a lot of Amazon's early growth in the 90s was through acquisitions, and they developed their tool and hardware presence by buying a mail order/early e-commerce outfit called Tool Crib of the North. Anyone remember them?
Second or third generation old fashioned family run operation out of (I think) North Dakota. It was decent sized acquisition for Amazon at the time, $600MM if memory serves me (this would be less than a rounding error for Amazon today).

So they folded into Amazon and exactly 10 years later, the family that sold it re-emerged as Acme Tools, probably the day after their non-compete agreement ran out. I bought my blue Jet table saw from them when they were Tool Crib, and I have bought several tools from them as Acme, and I have also bought plenty of woodworking stuff from Amazon and I have not one bad report about any of these transactions. I hope the OP will keep trying to sort out the CS issue.

It's a buyer's prerogative to blacklist any vendor, but I think Amazon will survive the loss of Simon.
If the vendor listed the tool as 'in stock' on the website and then refused to be apologetic and bend over backwards when a customer waiting for his paid order called to ask about it, than that vendor is not one I would ever do business with again.

Would you treat your customers that way? Advertise to the world that you have an item in stock and then leave your paying customer in suspense when he calls asking about it? You've got to do better than 'I don't know when they'll be in stock' at that point!

Customer service has long been trending downward despite the convenience of online shopping. Unless folks start showing the vendors that they value it (with where they choose to spend their money) it can still get worse.

I'm another one who has had an Amazon horror story, so I guess they can survive the loss of me as well...and all the others I've seen with similar experiences. I'll pay more and wait longer to avoid going through it again just like Simon.:)

[Frederick Skelly]

I went to that site and looked up Amazon - https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Amazon

50% negative. I know from my own experience and from what others post here about their experiences with Amazon that Amazon is near the top in customer service. That would give me pause when reading the reviews of Acme.

Mike

+1. Good catch Mike.

[Edwin Santos]

And I will survive the loss of any good deals that any vendor that is on my blacklist may offer.

It is also my prerogative (because it is MY money) to continue to support those reputable vendors that offer great customer service, even though, they, too, will survive the loss of my business if I do it somewhere else. :p

Simply stated, no business is big enough -- not yet -- to influence where I will spend my money.

Simon
Valid point Simon. I should have worded it that you and Amazon will each survive the loss of each other. And yes, agreed, it is your absolute prerogative to hold whatever opinion or perception you choose, and patronize a business (or not) as you see fit. And whether others agree with you is, of course, their prerogative.

[Frederick Skelly]

Rob, ACME has a good rep with people I know. But, as someone else said, it's your personal Customer Service story that's all that matters. If you aren't satisfied you should call and cancel the order. No more angst or irritation. BTW, they "shouldnt have" charged your credit card if they haven't shipped, so the issue lies with ACME not your card company. And IIRC, you can put a block on a company to keep from being charged after you cancelled.

Simon: As usual, you make lots of good points. I also pay more to get the Customer Service I want. Lee Valley & Lie Neilsen being great examples, but I do the same with tradesmen, contractors and even (gasp!) car dealers. One screening criteria I use: If they are hard to contact before I ever pay them (when they are "selling"), what will they be like if I have a problem later? (I'd be invoking this one right now in the OP's situation.)

Fred

[Jason Ost]

Never had a problem.

[Tom DiBiasio]

Are you 100% sure your CC has been charged? I have placed several orders with acme for tools listed on back order and they never charged my CC until shipment. They only charged once the item shipped. If your CC has not been charged there is not much the CC company can do to resolve with the vendor, except as priviously mentioned to put a block on future charges from them. When I bought my supermax they were the only vendor offering free shipping that I could find and that machine is HEAVY !!! But the extra paper, casters, and outfeed tables ALL shipped at different times, at lest 5 diff shipments. With them paying all the shipping charges I have no clue how they made any money on that order....

[Ben Rivel]

Nothing but GREAT experiences from AcmeTools. Ive spent thousands through them.

[Simon MacGowen]

Unless folks start showing the vendors that they value it (with where they choose to spend their money) it can still get worse.



So true. Someone should start some kind of #movement on that in the consumer world!;)

Simon

[Zachary Hoyt]

I bought a SuperMax 19-38 and a Rikon 10-305 from Acme back in the spring and had no problems. They had a discount over a certain amount when I bought the saw, and I bought a few blades to get up to the threshold, and they were shipped at different later times but everything came in the end. They have great prices and free shipping, so I am willing to wait a bit to get things from them.
Zach

[Rob Price]

As luck would have it there was an email today from ACME with shipping info for the sander. Still no word in the chuck but a real tool in hand will help. Fingers crossed.

[Van Huskey]

So true. Someone should start some kind of #movement on that in the consumer world!;)

Simon

Remote retailer customer service is magnitudes better than it was 20-30 years ago. At this point, we are simply spoiled with how effortless it is today for the VAST majority of transactions. There is nothing wrong with being spoiled though. It is amazing to me what Amazon has done to the e-tail world. The idea of eBay being a place where most items are shipped the next business day with tracking and having extended periods of time with basically no questions ask returns and refunds which are often free would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. We have probably done easily 1,000 internet purchases over the last 5 years and only had an issue with 3 and they were all handled promptly.

As for Acme I have never had a real issue with them but they are also a seller that I now know not to expect constant communication from.

[Nick Decker]

It's also well known that a good percentage of Amazon reviews are fake. Amazon claims that they try to stop this practice, but many reviews, both good and bad, are from people that are paid to write them. I would guess that Resellerratings is subject to the same nonsense.

[Bill Space]

Well, I had found Acme Tools when looking for a good price on a couple Forrest blades, before this thread began.

I got a 10% off coupon code from them, so I decided to order this evening. After checking to make sure I was ordering 1/8” kerf blades, I ordered a thin kerf by accident! :eek:

Naturally it was a few minutes past customer service telephone hours when I realized my mistake. Sent an email...will report back on how this plays out...

[Bill Space]

Ironically, a lot of Amazon's early growth in the 90s was through acquisitions, and they developed their tool and hardware presence by buying a mail order/early e-commerce outfit called Tool Crib of the North. Anyone remember them?
Second or third generation old fashioned family run operation out of (I think) North Dakota. It was decent sized acquisition for Amazon at the time, $600MM if memory serves me (this would be less than a rounding error for Amazon today).

So they folded into Amazon and exactly 10 years later, the family that sold it re-emerged as Acme Tools, probably the day after their non-compete agreement ran out. I bought my blue Jet table saw from them when they were Tool Crib, and I have bought several tools from them as Acme, and I have also bought plenty of woodworking stuff from Amazon and I have not one bad report about any of these transactions. I hope the OP will keep trying to sort out the CS issue.

It's a buyer's prerogative to blacklist any vendor, but I think Amazon will survive the loss of Simon.

Edwin, are you sure about this? Looks like Acme has been around a lot longer than Amazon. From their website:

Acme Tools was founded by George Kuhlman in 1948 as a small electric motor repair shop in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota. The e was named "ACME" because it represented the highest level or degree attainable - the peak of perfection. The core values back then were simple, offer customers the highest quality products at competitive prices, backed by superior professional service and support. Now two generations and 70 years later, this family owned business has grown to become a major retailer of tools and equipment.

Lot more detail here.

https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/about-acme

edit: I guess It is wise to read to the bottom of what one is referring to. I see now that Acme was the owner of Tool Crib, and sold tool crib to Amazon. But your post implied ACME was a new business... They seem to indicate they continued in business after selling Tool Crib.

I realize now you were probably saying that ACME started internet sales again, after they were in a position to do so again, due to an agreement with Amazon that expired.

[Edwin Santos]

Edwin, are you sure about this? Looks like Acme has been around a lot longer than Amazon. From their website:

Acme Tools was founded by George Kuhlman in 1948 as a small electric motor repair shop in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota. The e was named "ACME" because it represented the highest level or degree attainable - the peak of perfection. The core values back then were simple, offer customers the highest quality products at competitive prices, backed by superior professional service and support. Now two generations and 70 years later, this family owned business has grown to become a major retailer of tools and equipment.

Lot more detail here.

https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/about-acme

edit: I guess It is wise to read to the bottom of what one is referring to. I see now that Acme was the owner of Tool Crib, and sold tool crib to Amazon. But your post implied ACME was a new business... They seem to indicate they continued in business after selling Tool Crib.

I realize now you were probably saying that ACME started internet sales again, after they were in a position to do so again, due to an agreement with Amazon that expired.

Sorry Bill, it looks like I should have been clearer. I think you figured out what I was trying to say.
ACME and the family that owns it has been around since 1948 and maybe we could call the 10 years following the sale of their prior company to Amazon as a hiatus.
The ACME tools print catalogs and the old Tool Crib print catalogs look almost identical in format. This was all meant to say they are not a fly by night operation or a scam, though I don't want to diminish the OP's problem with his order, which I hope works out to his satisfaction in the end.

Speaking for myself only, all my purchases through them have been flawless.

[Clint Baxter]

I’ve done the vast majority of my tool buying through Acme. Ever since they opened a retail location in the city where I live. ��

I’ve also done many internet purchases through them as well, including a recent purchase of the new Nova drill press. Ironically, I will sometimes initiate purchases through the local store, that ship from their main location. Usually when I’m at the local store and they don’t have my desired item in stock. I don’t get any direct communications on these orders, unlike purchases that I complete through their website.

I love the company, and what they’ve been able to provide me over the years, (they opened their local retail store during the mid 80s). All the regulars know me by name and will cheerfully order you any item they don’t have in stock at the local store. You can, however, obtain items quicker by ordering them yourself over the internet, as Acme gives those orders a higher priority than an order placed from one of their retail locations.

[Bill Space]

I called ACME Tools this morning and got a real person in about 30 seconds.

She was very helpful and corrected my mistake and credited the approximately $5 difference back to my PayPal account. The refund appeared on PayPal shortly thereafter.

Positive vibes for ACME at this end...:)

[Chuck Saunders]

I have not ordered recently, but I have had two orders that cemented my opinion of the company. I ordered a unisaw got the tracking number and the saw got delivered to terminal. When I unpacked the saw one of the trunnions was broken along with some other shipping damage. As soon as I had it picked up and got the PRO number, I called and they sent out another one. This saw got to Milwaukee before the Teamsters went on strike. While they told me I could drive up to Milwaukee and cross the strike line and pick up my saw I declined. After the strike continued for another week they agreed to ship another sawto me via an unaffected carrier. It arrived no issue and at that time they had 3 unisaws in the pipeline trying to fill my order.

Another time I ordered a Freud cabinet door router bit set and it arrived without issue. And then it arrived again. I called them and they said they had no record of the second shipment but that would be appreciative if I sent it back. Later I received a travel mug with a thank you note.

You can test Amazon reviews by going to reviewmeta.com
Chuck

[Prashun Patel]

I ordered a lathe extension and received it with no issue.

[Bert McMahan]

I've ordered several things from Acme Tools via their eBay site and had no issues.

Also, beware of reseller ratings. Lee Valley Tools is also sitting at 50%:

https://www.resellerratings.com/store/Lee_Valley_Tools

There are only 4 reviews, but still goes to show you the problem with just looking at numbers. Tool Nut has zero reviews. Home Depot has a 1.2. Walmart is a 1.

Go down this list and look at all of the companies with good reviews:

https://www.resellerratings.com/search?query=tools&category=Hardware

They nearly all say they're a "merchant member". I wouldn't trust the reviews on that site at all.

[Matt Day]

Every vendor on that site has bad ratings. Maybe you shouldn’t order anything online.

And come on Simon, your eliminating Amazon from your list of approved vendors? Do you know who amazon is?

I’ve had good experience with acme tools. Hopefully the OP can get a hold of someone and figure this out.

[Van Huskey]

One thing I meant to address earlier and forgot is this statement:

OP: "I tried submitting a negative review of the item and they deleted the review."

I have zero issues with this as the OP did not submit a review of the ITEM but Acme's CS. It is just like people giving 1-star reviews on Amazon for an item that arrived late, did not arrive, was sat on my the Fedex elephant or thrown from the street to the door by UPS's next Aaron Rodgers wannabe.

[glenn bradley]

I ordered some store-branded dynamite and birdseed to end some bird troubles I have been having.

Everything arrived fine, but the dynamite blew up in my face. Customer service said it was my fault but I believe the dynamite was defective.

Despite this, Sisyphus that I am, I am doomed to continue to purchase from them.

W. E. Coyote,
Death Valley

Prashun's trying to kill me!!! I almost choked on my sandwich when I read this post; hilarious.

As for the value of that review site . . . meh.

[David Masters]

I ordered a Jet Oscillating Edge Sander on Black Friday. It arrived today. It shipped direct from JPW, so doesn't seem to be to be an issue with ACME.