Kudos to Lee Valley

I was probably one of thousands of people who tried to order "seconds" during the recent Lee Valley sale and who learned after a confirmed purchase that the item was no longer available. I sent an email to Lee Valley saying that the sale would have been more fun if the items actually existed. I just figured that they hadn't gotten their act together and thought nothing more of it.


Today I received an email from Lee Valley saying:
We appreciate your patience and we would like to offer you the opportunity to purchase the tools that you were unable to order during the seconds sale at the discounted price of the factory seconds. We are currently out of stock of many of these Veritas tools, so there may be a delay before we can deliver them, but we would be happy to place your back order now and ship the tools as soon as they become available. If you would like to accept this offer, please contact our customer service department at 1-800-267-8735.

I can't say enough good things about Lee Valley. In this time of Covid, with multiple scammers around, we seem to have found an honorable man and an honorable company. I will stick with them for my tool purchases.

They are good folks at Lee Valley. I buy a fair bit (actually way too much) of stuff there & have never had a bad experience. Sometimes the product hasn't been all it should, but they always make it right.

I did manage to get an order for a low angle jack plane in on the seconds sale & it arrived a couple of days later. There is not even the slightest defect that I could find on it. It's a beautiful piece of kit.

Glad it worked out for you. I love those guys.

Someone else recently reported the same great customer service here relative to that situation.

I wish I'd gotten that offer. A few hours of my life I'll never get back. Not the end of the world, but it certainly was annoying.

Lee Valley has never disappointed me with dozens of orders. Their UPS shipments were frequently damaged for a period of time but they always quickly sent replacements.

It is unlikely that you will ever find a company more friendly or a source of better quality tools than Lee Valley. We all benefit from Lee Valley's participation and support as a Sponsor here as well.

I had a shopping cart with a couple things that wouldn't check out, and later went back and checked out with a drawknife that didn't bill and ship.
I can't complain though, I've scored more than my share on previous years sales. Better luck next time.

I don't have the patience for timed deals, and I never bid on eBay: strictly Buy It Now for me. Life's too short to get worked about about a purchase you might not be able to make.

I did take frequent advantage, though, of Lee Valley's free shipping/no minimum at the beginning of the pandemic, so I'm not sale-averse. But when it comes to Lee Valley, I don't really need a sale to get me to buy.

Still, I fully understand why they'd want to have the flash sale with seconds. It builds excitement and brings attention to the brand. That and other seasonal promotions make a lot of sense for a business.

Reading their letter to Ellen was just as good as if they had written that letter to me. They have my loyalty. Too bad for them I have just about every tool I need. For now.

Its pretty shocking how much stuff they are out of right now. I tried to order from them several times in the last few months and had to go elsewhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aaron Liebling

I wish I'd gotten that offer. A few hours of my life I'll never get back. Not the end of the world, but it certainly was annoying.

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Send them an email & ask. That was my plan if my order hadn't gone through.

Lee Valley actually does very little in the way of "sales". They have promos on the odd thing that my be a one time purchase or stuff that's being cleared out. Last leap year they had a deal where if you spend $250, you got a $50 gift card back. The seconds event isn't really a sale, just an annual event where they unload all the manufacturing seconds. And around black Friday they have a gift card sale with discounts ranging from 5 - 15%, depending on how big a card you get.

Last leap year sale, I bought about $1100 worth of stuff, broken down into >$250 orders for a savings of almost 20%. I paid with 15% off gift card for a total savings of almost 35%.

To Those of You Who Didn't Get The "Seconds" during the sale:

Call Lee Valley at 1-800-267-8735. Be prepared to be on hold for a while. The customer service person will find the items you ordered and offer them at the sale prices. The items may not be available for months, but you will get them.