I was extremely excited about Beta tool cabinets, but that has now changed.
Shown here is the Beta RSC24, a rolling tool cabinet that I’ve been eager to get my hands on for around 5 years. I’ve considered it a few times, but never committed until now – kind of.
I recently ordered 2 Beta tool cabinets, changed my mind (that’s a long story), cancelled the orders, and they arrived anyway. I then settled up with Zoro (they didn’t charge me at first since the orders were cancelled), and ended up paying a little over $1,000 for each cabinet, including freight.
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There are several reasons why I – or rather ToolGuyd – was willing to pay this much.
Most importantly, the shallow drawers are a benefit to me, and rare in rolling tool boxes of this size. Beta Tools supposedly manufactures the cabinets in Italy.
I bought a Beta years ago, and it’s served me well. It has modest specs but reliable performance.
I thought they’d be worth it.
Beta USA had previously sent me a 5-drawer test sample, and while it left me with a positive impression the configuration wasn’t very useful for my needs. Thus, it made sense to buy exactly what I needed.
To start off, there’s no documentation. Installation is straightforward – attach the casters to the bottom – but no parts diagram, no phone number for customer support, nothing. There are some accessories you can buy for these cabinets, but you’ll have to dig around the website or online catalog to find out part numbers and compatibility info.
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That’s just a minor annoyance, but every cheap consumer-grade tool box comes with at least 1 page with info.
I also couldn’t find any manufacturing info or country of origin sticker or label.
I started with the blue cabinet.
The swivel caster were straightforward to install, but the fixed casters took more time since the bolts were less accessible. I got it done.
When raising it back up, THE HANDLE FELL OFF.
Apparently it’s supposed to be bolted to the tool cabinet but wasn’t.
THE HANDLE FELL OFF?!!
Okay, maybe this cabinet was manufactured on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon. It’s not a big deal, I’ll contact Beta Tools somehow – as mentioned there’s no USA website and no support info supplied with the cabinet – and request some screws.
Worst case scenario, I’ll disassemble the other cabinet, take some measurements, and order a box of socket cap screws from McMaster Carr or wherever.
Next problem: the deep drawers are scratchy.
I took a look, and this is what I found:
There are tabs on the sides of the drawers that are scraping the ball bearing slides.
Here’s a closeup of the interaction.
Maybe I can use pliers to bend the tabs away so that they wouldn’t scrape the drawer slide.
There was also a bit of dark grey powder on the sides of the drawer, and inside. I don’t think it’s anything a cleaning wipe couldn’t handle.
I checked the other Beta tool cabinet before installing the casters.
One deep drawer looked alright.
The other will need to be corrected, the same as with the blue cabinet’s deep drawers.
The back panel wobbles a little bit.
Ah – those rear panels have tabs that fit through slots in the sides and are bent to hold them in place; they’re not welded.
This wasn’t a concern before, but for this drawer, it wiggles a little, and so it’s not perfectly secure.
Now, onto the casters. All of the soft wheels have light scratches, which I figured were due to the manufacturing process.
But WHAT’S THIS?!
These cabinets cost me over $1,000 each, and I’m installing a visibly USED AND DIRTY caster.
The casters are boxed up with a bent sheet metal side shelf, suggesting that Beta packed them up like that, rather than their wheel supplier.
All of these issues so far – I’m just waiting to see what I notice next – are fixable.
I bent the drawer tabs so that they don’t scrape the ball bearing slides, cleaned the filthy caster wheel, and will contact Beta about getting some screws to securely attach the side handle.
I will likely keep these cabinets, but I’m extremely disappointed at these issues.
Any of the issues would be forgivable on their own. But with everything combined? My impression of Beta Tools has been shattered.
This is supposed to be a PREMIUM product.
It might sound harsh, but I regret spending money on these cabinets. Ask me right now if I would ever buy Beta Tool storage products again, and the answer would be a definitive NO.
I am 60:40 in favor of keeping them vs sending them back for a refund, based on utility.
Zoro processed my payment the other day – I called them after my order was cancelled but arrived anyway. If I hadn’t gone through all that, I’d be sending these back for a refund.
I regret ordering these in the first place, even more so than when I requested cancellation.
I keep telling myself that it’s not a big deal, and that all of my complaints are fixable, but there are too many Day 1 issues for what’s supposed to be a premium tool storage product.
Maybe it’s an exaggeration to say that I’ll never take a chance with Beta tool boxes or storage products again, but that’s how I feel right now and I’m not happy about it.
I should have saved money and went with a less expensive brand, or spent more on an actually-premium product. But that’s probably my disappointment talking. I’ll follow up in a couple of months, hopefully with good news that my initial complaints were long-forgotten.
As mentioned, I’ve been testing a 5-drawer tool box that was supplied by Beta USA. It’s been good, but I have been on the fence about whether it’s worth the money. This added to my willingness to order two 8-drawer cabinets for ToolGuyd use.
Now, I am firmly in the belief that Beta Tool cabinets are NOT worth it for what you get.
Update: You guys are right – I’ve been stubbornly trying to convince myself they’re worth keeping, but this level of sloppiness is just not acceptable for the money. I’ll be sending them back, and will provide an update once I hear back from Zoro.
Aaron SD
That’s an awful lot of money for used parts. I’d return them for a refund. Toolguyd’s budget and your time can be better spent. Why should you spend your time fixing their sloppy manufacturing?
I didn’t read that the cabinet does something amazing and worth keeping, just that it has been a long time dream. This time, meeting your hero was a disappointment.
At least you got a great article out of it and saved a lot of people their time, money, and effort.
Josephus
I read about the amount of problems (glancing at pics) first, thought that’s to be expected… and then saw the price. Oh hell no.
Stuart
At this point it’s a sunk cost – unless there are more issues, the cabinets are functional (aside from missing handle fasteners), and any other similar cabinets won’t save me much and still be a gamble.
Zoro has a 7-drawer Westward cabinet that would save me a bit of money compared to Beta, but their brand can be hit or miss. It also has 1 less shallow drawer.
I have a fantastic spartan Proto cabinet, but they discontinued the line and replaced it with new larger ones that I don’t like as much. I tested one (Proto set it at my request), but it also wasn’t flawless and the larger size and heavier weight will make it less mobile.
That’s a benefit of smaller cabinets compared to say US General single bay cabinets – I can actually move them around even when loaded.
Peter Welch
Have you thought about it having been counterfeited?
Stuart
It shipped from Beta USA.
Peter Welch
Ooof…
Was trying to give Beta an out. Too bad.
Nathan
Well now we know I guess.
Av
Sadly this seems to happen to me often (usually stuff from Amazon). I always try to call the seller and negotiate a discount. I think the trick is to push for an amount that’s equal to less than their cost for return shipping. All that being said – shame on Beta.
Wayne
Return it, not only is all this not worth it, you had already decided against it and Zoro messed it up. They gotta go!
Stuart
As mentioned in the other post, everyone I communicated with left the company (again), and so maybe they’re just down to warehouse fulfillment staff.
I’m not sure if Zoro or Beta USA messed up; orders shipping after being cancelled seems to be something that happens often enough, as the customer support agent on the phone knew exactly what to do.
Returning them would mean a week of the cabinets sitting in my workspace, the pallets sitting outside, and my having to make arrangements for pickup.
And then I’d have to spend a bunch on new cabinets anyway.
This seems like an “I’ll just deal with it but won’t be happy about that” situation.
Travis
Yeah, if they were $500 or so I might keep them but at $1,000, I would return them. Too many red flags at that price.
MM
In my opinion that is substandard, sloppy, construction. I’ve seen better quality drawers in Harbor Freight or old Craftsman boxes; at least those have the corners bent and spot welded. The casters look cheap even if they weren’t used. This is nowhere near a premium product, though perhaps it’s not too far off premium price?
My two cents: If you want premium then send them back and order Lista.
Harry
Disappointed would be putting mildly. At this price, there should be zero issues and the whole bendable tabs on the large drawer without welding shouldn’t be that way.
I thought Beta produced top notch storage products. Guess I was wrong. Thanks for taking one for the team and letting us know. Sorry for your purchase,
Daniels Den
For me the dirty wheel is indicative of a company not caring. Packaging up a used caster shows that company doesn’t care about their consumer. Even on a less expensive unit that is terrible. Add in the other issues, send it back! What else is hiding that you haven’t found yet, or in spot you can’t see?
Ken
I would not consider keeping them. The way they attach the back with tabs might be acceptable for an economy tool box but you paid premium. Surely there are better options that still fit your needs and budget. If you end of keeping them I think you will always wish you had something with better quality. I think Zoro should pay the return shipping. You already attempted to cancel and they sent you boxes that are partially used and not fully functional. I would consider them defective. Its terrible to find companies sending out product with so many deficiencies and problems even at a lower price point this would be unreasonable. Also, if you send them back with very reasonable cause, you could have another potential post for whatever you do end up getting.
This whole thing reminds me of a story about my grandma. She bought a tea kettle and the whistle did not work right. She returned it and the second one also had a defective whistle. So she wrote to the president of the company and he sent her a good one that lasted decades with the whistle always working! She always said, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Stuart
Okay, I’m convinced. Thank you everyone!
I thought maybe I was being too sensitive about things, or maybe I was clouded by wanting to justify these cabinets for so long.
I’ll be sending them back.
Aaron SD
Great decision. It would bother me every time I looked at them that I spent $2k for used parts.
Maybe they’ll come and offer to replace them for free, but doesn’t seem likely. That might not be worth it…
Andy
Happy to hear that.
If I were in your shoes, even being given a discount / refund wouldn’t erase the perception of poor quality every time I used them, and the constant memory of all the headaches these cabinets have caused would really frustrate me.
KMR
You’ve mentioned on multiple posts that Beta is an Italian company and that these RSC24 cabinets are supposedly made in Italy. I’m going to guess you viewed this as a positive attribute.
I too am a sucker for Italy. I’m a sucker for Italian cars… I presently have two in my collection, including a 500+ hp beast that is quite possibly the best car I’ve ever owned.
German cars look like the panel gaps have been laser cut from a solid model of the vehicle. Italian car panel gaps look like every panel was assigned to a different engineer who didn’t talk to any the other body engineers. Or maybe it was the body tooling guys. 3mm gap here. 6mm gap there. Adjacent panels that share a gap that aren’t in the same plane. Who cares if it was 6 figures. You bought an Italian car to experience “la meccanica delle emozioni.” Anger and disappointment are emozioni too… like when you wait 14 months for a software fix to address an issue that makes your vehicle inoperable.
But the Italians just don’t do perfect. They do “good enough”. 80%(ish). Solid B efforts. Just ask Charles Leclerc, or Seb Vettel before him, or Fernando Alonso before Vettel. Somehow, no one told poor old Lewis before he joined the Scuderia.
I still love Italy, I love Italian cars, I love Italian food. I love visiting Italy, was just there this past May for the Imola GP. I just have had to re-calibrate my expectations.
I’m sure you’ll email Beta about the issues. Do not be surprised to receive a reply that says “We are checking…” and then leave you hanging.
Stuart
To me, products made domestically – or in Europe – can be an indicator that there’s in-house supervision and control.
Quality can be more variable when manufacturing is outsourced, although that really depends on the brand.
Outsourcing production, or sending it overseas even to a company’s own factories, is typically done to cut costs.
I presumed that in-house production in Italy would have resulted in a higher quality product.
As with some USA-made storage products, I can accept compromises in design or construction if it means higher quality or a more premium user experience.
This would be way overpriced if made in Asia, but it seemed (barely) justifiable if made in Europe.
Sky
Beta has garbage products all around. Please focus on hand tools and equipment that is not absolute garbage.
Stuart
I need new storage for hand tools and measurement tools.
Open to suggestions for high storage density 18” deep roller cabinets, as this one seemed like a great choice.
Andy
I’m looking for something similar to you, although I don’t want to spend more than a few hundred. This basically leaves Husky, US General, and Craftsman as my only realistic options.
After looking at the options in person, I am going to buy the Husky 27 inch, 7 drawer tool chest, model H27TR5GRY. The cabinet is 27” W x 18” D x 41” H
It’s $280, which feels right for the quality when I looked at it in store a couple months ago. Unfortunately it’s out of stock right now.
In terms of usable size, the drawers are 23.2” wide by 15.5” deep. The top 2 drawers are 2” deep, the next 4 drawers are 4.2” deep, and the bottom drawer is 7.5” deep. This is the best configuration available from any brand for the hand tools and consumables that I need to store.
Each drawer has a pair of soft-close slides that are rated for 100 lbs, which is plenty for my needs. I won’t be moving it around much, if ever, so the 4 2”x5” fixed/swivel casters are acceptable quality.
I don’t want / have room for a matching top hutch, otherwise the Husky 7 drawer chest and 5 drawer hutch combo is available in stock / in store as model H27CH5TR7GRY-G3 for $400.
fred
Modern manufacturing techniques and advances in both QA processes and technology should result in superior products arriving at our doorsteps. But consumer ever-increasing demands for low price, with business and investor/stockholder expectations to increased profits quarter over quarter all conspire against us. My 60’s and 70’s vintage Kennedy cabinets and chests have none of the modern features of today’s offerings but are built like tanks. Kennedy is still USA made – but I’d have no expectations about them nor any basis for recommending them. Similarly, while I’ve come to appreciate tools from many European firms like Stahlwille – tariffs and shipping make their cabinets pricey and still a gamble regarding fit and finish despite their German origins.
We had Lista for most of our storage in our metal fabrication shop – and somewhat less (in quantity) Vidmar in our wood cabinet shop. Both were good – with my thinking that Lista was a bit better – but those assessments are woefully OOD.
PW
I’m baffled by this trend of imported items without a clear COO marking. I was under the impression that was flatly illegal.
Jim Felt
As was I. But sadly here “we” are…
Catamount
I am glad you are returning those cabinets. They intentionally tried to dump their defective/returned/used/poorly manufactured/poorly designed “product” on you and that is just plain dishonest and deceptive business practice. If they find out who you are, they may try to “fix” the situation to make themselves look better, but I am certain they would not bother with an average Joe like me. I will not ever buy their “products” because I don’t like seeing my friends get screwed over like this. Thank you for presenting the plain, straight facts as they occurred and the pictures that show exactly what you described in your blog entry. There’s no way I could have those cabinets in my garage, even if they replaced them, I would just get reminded of how that company runs their business, and I would get upset every time I saw them. You are doing the right thing by returning them. We must not reward bad behavior by anyone or any business.
Irving
Return them for a full refund, they’re defective. That seemingly minor irritation will magnify over time into a very large irritation that starts affecting nearly everything you, and ToolGuyd, do.
If you keep them every time you pull a drawer open you’ll be reminded of how you got screwed over with poor quality for a high price.
Which, lately, seems to be the default setting for nearly everything. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on the verge of buying something – tools, cabinets, fixtures, you name it, and had second, and third, thoughts about quality issues and canceled. I don’t want someone “who stands behind their product and will fix problems” I want someone who will do it right the first time and not consume my time getting problems fixed.
Time is non-refundable.
Farmerguy
Yes, I have learned to factor in the mental energy of myself thinking about all the little things of a questionable product every time I use it. My realization came when I think about those things over the years of their use. It is no longer worth it to me to have things pop in my head about an item when I am just trying to do a job. True mental irritant sometimes.