Ordering From Rockler Online

[Doug Walls]

Has anyone had problems with orders place on Rockler's website?

I'm having problems with an order I placed just before Christmas for some Bessey Parallel clamps.
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They were on sale for $159 & they probably sold out quickly, even thou the website showed them in-stock!
In the meantime, I'm getting the run-around on whether or not they will be back in stock soon or if I'll just get my money back?

Doug

[Steve Eure]

Question, did Rockler say they were on backorder? If not, and if they indeed did ship, were they shipped SurePost? If that is the case, it may take a while fpr them to arrive. SurePost is not a priority with the USPS. I've had large items sit on a pallet for over 2 weeks because of this. I had to call my local Post Office to complain and they got to the bottom of it. Clheck with Rockler, then your local P.O.

[Doug Walls]

Question, did Rockler say they were on backorder?
No, they just told me that they were being "Picked" which I assumed meant they would be shipped or at least a shipping # assigned to them?
I could understand if they were backordered or possibly not available any longer, but to not give me any information on their status is concerning.


if they indeed did ship, were they shipped SurePost?
Yeah, that's the confusing part, they're not giving me any information other than they were picked. If they were indeed picked & waiting to be shipped through SurePost wouldn't I at least get a shipping # :confused:

I've checked with UPS "My Choice" & the Post Office "Informed Delivery" and nothing shows up coming from Rockler.

Doug

[Cary Falk]

I made 3 orders before Christmas and all arrived promptly and without issue.

[Patty Hann]

From what I have read/heard and my own experience about Online ordering from Rockler...kind of a crap shoot.
Seems it is not uncommon to order something that appears to be in stock (not flag saying it isn't) but it's out of stock, or at least can't be delivered in a timely manner.
The problem doesn't seem to be related to high demand items that may sell out quickly, especially during a sale.
The order eventually shows up, if one is willing to wait. Or you can cancel the order.
I am seldom in a hurry for an order, so I just wait it out.:rolleyes:

[Richard Coers]

All my Christmas presents ordered on line out of the 20% off catalog coupon sale came quickly.

[Doug Garson]

I think "an order I placed just before Christmas", says it all. Never ordered from Rockler but I don't order anything online less than week before Christmas unless it is an emergency.

[Jim Becker]

Any orders that I've placed with Rockler in the past year or so have come remarkably quickly. Professor Dr. SWMBO ordered the portable drill guide for me about a week before Christmas and it was under the tree. That said, "what" you ordered could be a factor along with where it's shipping from as well as when you ordered. It may be worth launching a call to them during normal business hours to see if it can be tracked down if you continue to not see it shipped.

[Doug Walls]

From what I have read/heard and my own experience about Online ordering from Rockler...kind of a crap shoot.
Seems it is not uncommon to order something that appears to be in stock (not flag saying it isn't) but it's out of stock, or at least can't be delivered in a timely manner.

Well, I finally heard back from Rockler & it looks like they're just going to cancel the order.

From Rockler

Thank you again for your order. We are aware that you have been patiently awaiting the following merchandise which was oversold and not available for immediate shipment. We regret to inform you that we will not be getting this item in, and we will have to cancel the item off of this order. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Doug

[Doug Walls]

I think "an order I placed just before Christmas", says it all.
I was just trying to take advantage of the $20 off of a $100 or more coupon "including sale price items" that expired on Christmas Eve.

Doug

[Patty Hann]

Well, I finally heard back from Rockler & it looks like they're just going to cancel the order.

From Rockler

Thank you again for your order. We are aware that you have been patiently awaiting the following merchandise which was oversold and not available for immediate shipment. We regret to inform you that we will not be getting this item in, and we will have to cancel the item off of this order. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Doug

Forgive my cynicism, but unless Bessey is no longer making those clamps, Rockler's answer should have been: We regret to inform you that we will not be getting this item in anytime in the next [time frame].
They probably oversold it and will lose a substantial profit if they actually follow through on all the outstanding orders.
They will (I'm betting) soon get clamps in stock and you can order them then... at full price.

[Jim Becker]

I was just trying to take advantage of the $20 off of a $100 or more coupon "including sale price items" that expired on Christmas Eve.

Doug
Ask them for consideration as you used their offer in good faith. While they likely had language somewhere about availability, etc., there is no harm in asking them to allow you to use that holiday offer on something else, assuming there is something else you want/need.

[Doug Walls]

They probably oversold it and will lose a substantial profit if they actually follow through on all the outstanding orders.
They will (I'm betting) soon get clamps in stock and you can order them then... at full price.

Yeah, this was a pretty good sale so I can see why they sold out!
It probably didn't help that I waited too long to place the order. :rolleyes:

Rockler probably realized that they were not making a good profit on them & stopped selling the set.

Doug

[Doug Walls]

Ask them for consideration as you used their offer in good faith.
I tried something like that, along with getting 4 of the 18" clamps & two of the 24" clamps. it would have still been a 6-piece set just without the 36" clamps that were in the original set, but they said they couldn't do that.


assuming there is something else you want/need.
There's always something wanted or needed. :D

Doug

[Mike Rambour]

I planned on ordering those, I waited too long, and the website said no longer available. Amazon had them for more money, they arrive tomorrow. I should not have snoozed, but I did and waited too long.

[Doug Walls]

I planned on ordering those, I waited too long, and the website said no longer available.
Yeah, I think I procrastinated too long also! Even though they showed in-stock on the website, they probably had a bunch of orders ahead of mine.

I think I'm just a glutton for punishment, :rolleyes: because I placed an order for the Incra Mast-R-Lift-II-R on the 30th.
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Rockler currently has that on sale for 35% off, and naturally with the offices closed for New Years I won't get an update on my order until Tuesday.
The Incra router lift is even a better deal than the clamps were, so hopefully I got that one in time.

Doug

[Pat Germain]

Someone in the marketing department at Rockler is likely in hot water over that sale. "OK, who decided to put Bessey clamps on sale? Don't these people know woodworkers can NEVER have enough clamps and will patiently wait years for a discount so they can click "Buy" in huge numbers?"

[Bob Jones 5443]

I bought this Bessey set on sale a few years ago, from Woodcraft, I think. It’s great to have. It takes stealth and patience to buy Besseys on sale. Here’s hoping you’ll get your set soon.

Also, the Incra lift is an excellent tool! I opted for the JessEm branded version, and I sing its praises every time I nudge the crank five degrees. I do suspect Incra’s reducing rings may be superior to JessEm’s.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Also, on ordering online from Rockler…

A few weeks ago I was ready to learn more about some Blum cup hinges and Blumotion drawer slides. It’s my first time with these parts. Expecting nothing more that a recording, or worse, a bot, I called Rockler’s customer service line. Sure enough, a recording, but it said to leave a message. I thought, how quaint, and with no expectations I left my name and number and said I had questions about Blum parts. Then I kind of forgot about it and went back to designing my cabinet.

A very well informed lady called me back some time later. Twenty minutes later I had the part numbers specified, along with prices, stock status (in) and a discount code that beat Home Depot. Not only the numbers, but some advice based on experience using the hinges and slides.

She’d been with Rockler for twenty years. I have to say, Rockler just secured my loyalty for the foreseeable future.

In the end, I drove 20 minutes to the local store and bought not just the Blum parts, but also their coping jig and a Freud cope and stick router bit set. Good prices on everything, too, probably because of Christmas. I’d feel a little shifty now if I went price shopping to save ten bucks somewhere else.

I wish Rockler the best in these brutally competitive times.

[Doug Garson]

Also, the Incra lift is an excellent tool! I opted for the JessEm branded version, and I sing its praises every time I nudge the crank five degrees. I do suspect Incra’s reducing rings may be superior to JessEm’s.
Just so you know, JessEm makes the router lifts for Incra.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Just so you know, JessEm makes the router lifts for Incra.

Yes. That’s why I opted for the JessEm a few years ago, thinking the “original” would be somehow better. Since then, I’ve seen there’s a small risk of getting a bump on the table height if I’m not careful wrenching the JessEm’s inserts down. It’s not enough to make me regret the choice, but I might prefer the magnetic plates of the Incra.

[Doug Walls]

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks dealing with Rockler & their shipping department.

After being told that the Bessey clamps were over sold & going through all the hassles of getting a refund!
A week after getting my refund the clamps showed up & I was never rebilled for them. :confused:
Just to make things more confusing, about 5 days later a second set of Bessey's showed up. :eek:


Someone in the marketing department at Rockler is likely in hot water over that sale.
Well, I don't know about the marketing department! But someone in their shipping department probably had a few points against them.

I waited a little over a week to see if any type of billing or charges showed up on my credit card, but nothing showed up! Even on their web site I never seen any order show up for my account.

Technically being that they were sent out without any sort of billing or charges I probably could have just kept them & counted it as a late Christmas gift. :rolleyes:


Don't these people know woodworkers can NEVER have enough clamps

After thinking about the whole ordeal for a while, I figured the best thing (morally) to do was to try & figure out what had happened.

I had to go through two different customer service representatives, but I got everything straightened out & ended up saving an additional 20% off of the second set. So, all together I ended up with a total of 12 Bessey's for $280 & not having a guilty conscience.

[Dan Barber]

Good ending and good on you for doing the right thing. Many these days would not.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks dealing with Rockler & their shipping department.

After being told that the Bessey clamps were over sold & going through all the hassles of getting a refund!
A week after getting my refund the clamps showed up & I was never rebilled for them. :confused:
Just to make things more confusing, about 5 days later a second set of Bessey's showed up. :eek:


Well, I don't know about the marketing department! But someone in their shipping department probably had a few points against them.

I waited a little over a week to see if any type of billing or charges showed up on my credit card, but nothing showed up! Even on their web site I never seen any order show up for my account.

Technically being that they were sent out without any sort of billing or charges I probably could have just kept them & counted it as a late Christmas gift. :rolleyes:



After thinking about the whole ordeal for a while, I figured the best thing (morally) to do was to try & figure out what had happened.

I had to go through two different customer service representatives, but I got everything straightened out & ended up saving an additional 20% off of the second set. So, all together I ended up with a total of 12 Bessey's for $280 & not having a guilty conscience.

Kudos for your integrity! Congratulations on your new clamps!

[Michael Burnside]

Kudos for your integrity! Congratulations on your new clamps!

Couldn't agree more, especially on the integrity. Besides, 280 for 12 clamps is a steal!

[Doug Walls]

Good on you for doing the right thing.


Kudos for your integrity! Congratulations on your new clamps!


Couldn't agree more, especially on the integrity.

Thanks everyone for the votes of confidence!

I drove a semi over the road for about 10 years & I've seen a bunch of shipping problems. Mistakes happen & usually can be corrected.

[Frederick Skelly]

Good ending and good on you for doing the right thing. Many these days would not.

+1. Good call Doug.

[glenn bradley]

I was just trying to take advantage of the $20 off of a $100 or more coupon "including sale price items" that expired on Christmas Eve.

Doug

I took advantage of the same deal. Rockler does seem to ship via the cheapest method for sale or clearance items but two weeks should be the max. Are you just emailing? I would call. I prefer electronic communication but I always call a human when things seem off.

[Doug Walls]

+1. Good call Doug.
Yeah, I thought about it for a little!
But I realize that mistakes happen & my conscious won't haunt me.

[Doug Walls]

Are you just emailing?
No, I called their customer service number.


but two weeks should be the max
It wasn't two weeks! The first package arrived less than a week after they refunded my original order. The second package came about 5-days latter.
I waited almost two weeks to see if someone may catch the mistake. After not getting a bill of any kind & not hearing from them is when I contacted them.


I prefer electronic communication, but I always call a human when things seem off.
I'm the opposite, I prefer to talk to a person.

One thing nice with Rockler is that all their customer service reps. speak clear English!
They're not like some of these on-line service reps. that speak Broken-English & are really hard to understand.

[Doug Walls]

Besides, 280 for 12 clamps is a steal!
These are the newer Revo Jr. Bessey's, not as heavy duty as the original ones.
900lbs. clamping pressure vs the 1700lbs. of the original Bessey's
Probably not really a steal, but still a good deal. The 12 clamps for $280 works out to just over $23 ea. The best price I've seen for the 18" (smallest in the set) is around $35

[Bob Jones 5443]

Doug, you got a deal, and deserved it!

I had a similar pricing glitch work out in my favor at Home Depot a few years ago with some standard K Body clamps. The store was out of product on the shelf, so they pulled a box out of the stock room and sold me two of them.

{2 in a box!}

Who knew? The cashier rang me up as 2 x Qty. 1 unit, using the code on the box.

After discovering my haul, and briefly wrestling with my conscience, I drove back to the store and took the boxes to the customer service desk. They let it pass and said it was my lucky day. I’d gone to buy two 52” clamps and came home with four. And they were on sale to boot (which was why the shelf was empty).

Can’t have too many.

[Alex Zeller]

If they are sending out twice as many as ordered no wonder they sold out. I've never had a problem with Rockler. They often put two 24" and two 50" Bessy K body clamps plus connectors on sale for under $200. It seems like they have a deal with Bessy as they often sell them less than anyone else does.