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

[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!

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.