Comments on: Reader Question: Who Are Your Favorite Online Vendors?

by: Tracy Allen

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:06:43 +0000

My tool website of choice is www.denlorstools.com they have warehouses throughout the country, so shipment times are fast and prices are good.

by: Fong

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:18:22 +0000

Most of my work tools come from McMaster or Grainger. Both have great sites and fast shipping and between the 2 of them cover everything from the single drill bit to the free-standing hoist.

by: Abe

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:23:51 +0000

www.rockauto.com for car parts. Super speedy ninja shipping and they always seem to have what I need in stock. Shipping to Misouri via ground only takes 2 days-that’s better than some of my local parts dealers can do and rockauto’s prices are much lower.

As the above poster said I love newegg for electronics. Great selection, fast shipping, good prices and customer service that is truly second to none.

www.sears.com I love the buy online and pick up in store otion. I often will see deals for sears on here then order online for store pickup.

Abe

by: Stuey

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 18:51:29 +0000

A tip about amazon - just add whatever item you’re interested in to your cart and then “save for later”. Check your cart regularly and if the price changes, amazon will alert you at the top.

Another thing about Amazon is that they’re one of the most irregular shippers - I sometimes receive an in-stock item in two days, othertimes in three weeks. Also, instead of preventing dissatisfaction, they’ll just throw a refund at you if you send in an email comment/complaint.

by: Aaron

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:14:49 +0000

I second KaiserM715’s comment about tooltopia.com. I have ordered a number of SK torque wrenches from them. They always have the best price and if you order more than $75 you get free shipping.

I also am a big fan of the German made WiHa hand tools. I have a bunch of T-handle Hex wrenches and screwdrivers from www.wihatools.com. Highly recommended.

And of course, Amazon for power tools. Watching the prices yo-yo up and down can get addicting. Make sure to grab a low price when you see it. They don’t stay low for long….

by: John Laur

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:16:03 +0000

Rockler has lots of esoteric stuff that’s hard to find elsewhere and a great presentation on their site with lots of information. They aren’t cheap though.

If you broaden your definition of ‘tools’ somewhat I buy a lot of stuff from Newegg and Provantage.

by: William

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:15:21 +0000

For computer parts or electronics Newegg wins every time. They normally have the best price or are only beat by pennies by some no name. Newegg also has a great return policy. They has have good user reviews.

I also like Amazon for everyday random stuff. Good prices and free shipping a lot, but be careful a lot of stuff is sold through amazon and not by amazon. I prefer sold by amazon.

by: KaiserM715

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:14:16 +0000

www.tooltopia.com They are in Louisiana, so if you are in a neighboring state you get fast standard shipping (I got something the day after it shipped in Houston). They have great prices that I have found hard to beat and a wide selection of automotive and hand tools.

by: james b brauer 66

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:18:11 +0000

McMaster, MSC, Newegg, ThinkGeek

by: David Decker

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:59:51 +0000

I have ordered A LOT of stuff from Enco and have never had a problem. Their import cheapie versions are actually quite good and often on par or better quality than locally available tools such as Craftsman.

by: Bob

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:45:04 +0000

I like Amazon.com a lot. Get a lot of my stuff from them and having Amazon Prime makes it really nice on shipping.

by: clueless

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 04:43:56 +0000

MSC has some great deals on their monthly flyers. The master catalog is fairly easy to navigate. A few times I have called in an order with a specific question about a product. The operator admited that they did not know but got a tech on the phone and answered my question about the product. Sometimes a certain warehouse is out of stock so they split the order without adding extra freight.

Lee Valley Tools and Widget Supply are really great too!

by: eschoendorff

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:12:06 +0000

I have had very good luck with www.thetoolwarehouse.net.

My only complaint is that they are frequently out of stock on many items….

by: Michael W.

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:23:29 +0000

Lee Valley Tools, just good all around and fast shipping

Woodworker.com for certain finish stuff I can’t find locally

Duluth Trading company for work trousers, I have two pair of their Firehose jeans and two mid-weight denim jeans. I like the comfortable fit and they’re tough. Their t-shirts are nice and long. No customer is ever going to be ruded out when I bend over! They have nice specials too, either free shipping or free products.

I really liked the service I got from Wilke Machinery when I bought a mortiser from them. The first one arrived broken (I blame UPS). They immediately sent another one out without waiting for the first one to be returned.

by: joel

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:40:07 +0000

McMaster for hardware, drill bits, taps, raw materials, etc. etc. I need fast (they’re in NJ, overnight to me by UPS ground)– they’re pricey but the stuff is quality. And their web site is awesome.
I recently got an MSC “big book” that has just as much stuff as McMaster but they give you the option of the $45 “import” drill bits (for example) or the $300 “US Made” drill bits. Haven’t tried ordering yet, but they have locations all over so shipping might still be fast.
I like Grizzly for cheap tools (machinery and smaller stuff), but some of the stuff is really cheap and has arrived broken from shipping. The bigger machinery has been fine (9×20 lathe, band saw).
Most of all my local hardware stores… I’ll pay 10% more to support the local guy than go to the big box.