Today I will be reviewing my first shopping experience at ChadsToolbox. I have mostly heard good things about Chad’s, and figured it was time to check them out for myself. ChadsToolbox specializes in carrying quality European brands, such as Knipex and Wera, and several domestic brands.
Details follow, but for the impatient I’ll cut to the chase – I am quite satisfied with my experience with ChadsToolbox, and will definitely order from them again in the future.
Why ChadsToolbox?
When purchasing new tools, I usually need a very good reason to stray away from my favorite retailers. Shopping around recently, I found that Chad’s had the best prices for a few Wera and Knipex tools that I had been looking to buy. In addition to this, Chad’s also had a much wider selection of less common tools and accessories.
Better selection and lower prices are definitely two great reasons to try out an unfamiliar retailer.
Ordering, Tracking, & Shipping
Ordering was quick and easy, and I received email confirmation. I then received another email confirmation once the order had shipped. I cannot seem to find a tracking number for my order, but since it shipped via USPS Priority, it arrived quite quickly and without incident.
ChadsToolbox charges a flat rate fee of $8.95 for orders under $200, which is somewhat reasonable. When the order arrived, I immediately noticed the care that was put into packing the box. All of the tools were carefully wrapped with packing paper, and the outside of the box was well taped up around the corners. This gave me a great sense of reassurance knowing that Chad’s doesn’t just haphazardly throw loose tools into a flimsy box with a single air bag.
Contacting ChadsToolbox & Backordered Orders
One of the complaints I’ve heard about Chad’s a few times is that they don’t communicate well when one or more parts of an order are backordered. I placed a second order for two backordered items, with an expected late April shipping date.
Well, it’s late April, and my second order had not shipped out yet, so I decided to give Chad’s a call. The automated response said to press 1 for help placing an order, and if I recall correctly 3 for help with existing orders. After pressing the appropriate number, another automated response said to leave a message or contact them via Live Chat.
I opted to contact Live Chat and awaited someone to assist me. After a moment, a message popped up saying that if I didn’t want to wait, I could send my inquiry via email. I chose to stay “on the line” and waited for about 5-6 minutes until a customer service representative joined the chat. In less than two minutes, I was told that my order should be fulfilled by this Thursday.
I have emailed ChadsToolbox in the past during normal business hours, and both times their responses were quick and comprehensive.
Conclusion & Recommendation
Overall, I am very pleased with my experience with ChadsToolbox. They have the lowest prices around for many of their catalog items, and I didn’t even have to take advantage of their ”115% low-price promise.” A wide product selection and helpful customer service team seals the deal for me.
My first order with ChadsToolbox was a very positive experience, and while my second order has not yet arrived, it looks like it will further reinforce this sentiment. Based on this, I would not hesitate to recommend ChadsToolbox.
A half-screen shot of my order at ChadsToolbox with personal information obscured can be viewed here.
I had extremely bad results with my one and only experience with chadstoolbox. I ordered some Knipex pliers. One of the pliers had the wrong handle type. I notified them and they emailed me back telling me to ship it back at my expense and they would reimburse me. Long story short they told me the shipping address on their website is only their corporate headquarters my package would be refused and sent back and then I would have to send it back to them again at my expense. I contacted UPS who of course confirmed the package was delivered and not refused. All of this I relayed to their customer service at which point they stopped responding. I gave up at that point and just contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge. They have nice tools but their customer service is crap.