Ordering heavy tools from Amazon?

[AAvK]

"aahhh"... did no' no dat, so solly so sollyyyyyy....

Arex

[Jim Giblin]

I ordered a Jet SuperSaw from Amazon a couple of years ago. The price for the saw (~$1200 saw w/ sliding table) was the same as the local woodworking store but, unlike the local store, Amazon had free shipping and no sales tax (5% in MA). Like others have posted, the product was delivered by FedEx Heavy. FedEx called to schedule the delivery, arrived when they said they would and the driver used a pallet lift to wheel the boxes into my garage.

I didn't have any coupons to reduce the saw price but I figure the free shipping and sales tax was worth a couple of hundred dollars :-).

[Phisherman]

Whenever you order a large or heavy item you need to find out the specifics on how it will be delivered. Many trucks will not deliver to a residential area and in that case you must pick it up at the station. If the truck does deliver to your residential address, find out how the item will be taken off the truck. I've ordered from Amazon with no problems, but I have not ordered any heavy equipment from them. In any event, it is a good idea to have two strong male friends to help you get the equipment into your shop. A hand truck or dolly is handy.

[Silvan]

Second that.

Considering all the bumps and bruises from Chiwan to your door, and especially the miserable life of any piece of freight unfortunate enough to spend any time on a common carrier's truck, no.

(My company has a fleet of trucks because common carriers were delivering

50% of our merchandise mangled beyond recognition. I've seen the back end of plenty of those trucks, and it's no wonder why. They do a crap job of securing their cargo against load shifting, and they really just don't seem to give a rat's ass about the stuff they're handling.)

[Roy Smith]

I've had mixed experiences with this. I've ordered two heavy machines (a jointer and a table saw) from Amazon.

The jointer I ordered from the web site, with free shipping. It came FedEx Ground. The truck had a lift gate and the truck driver had a hydraulic forklift designed for moving palletized cargo. He wheeled it down my driveway and parked it in my garage. Piece of cake.

The table saw I ordered on the phone from ToolCrib (which I guess is now a division of Amazon). The basic shipping was free, but I paid extra for on-the-ground delivery (I don't remember how much extra, but something like $25). Amazingly enough, this didn't go as smoothly.

The truck that pulled up was some generic freight company truck. It did indeed have a lift gate, and there was the same kind of hydraulic forklift in the truck, but the driver insisted he wasn't going to use it! I pointed out to him where it said on the shipping paperwork that I had paid for on-the-ground delivery. He insisted that on-the-ground meant he was going to leave it on the curb (actually, not even that, he was going to unload it onto the street). I pointed out that he had a forklift and it wouldn't be any sweat to just plop it in the garage, and I'd be happy to help him. He said that I hadn't paid for the use of the forklift. Technically, he was correct, but it sure felt like a shakedown to me. Eventually, he relented and agreed to put it in the garage for me.

Based on that experience, if I ever were to order something heavy again, I suspect I'd specify FedEx Ground.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 21:03:03 -0500, Roy Smith calmly ranted:

My mortiser came from Griz via FedEx Express Ground as well, not FedEx Ground, they're 2 different entities and Express is the trucking firm. He had a liftgate on his bobtail truck and rolled it to my door on a pneumatic wheeled hand truck. Good attitude, great service: the way it should always be.

----------------------------------------------------------------

• OPERA: A Latin word * Wondrous Website Design

• meaning * Save your Heirloom Photos

• "death by music" *

[Greg O]

There is Amazon Tool Crib, and there is Acme Electric, Tool Crib of the North, DO NOT confuse the two! Amazon bought Tool Crib's online/catalog portion of the business, other than that they have nothing at all to do with each other! Mention Amazon in a Acme store and you will get informed of that fact!

As for why the shipping went better one time over the other I have no idea, but I have read posts of people's complaints for not getting the delivery they requested from Amazon too. Greg

[Kevin Craig]

I hope the first thing you do in such a situation is take note of the "generic" freight company name and number, from the truck.

Next, I can imagine a conversation like this: "Fine. Keep it on your truck and carry your happy ass back to the depot. Before you get there, I'll have already informed Tool Crib and your boss that you refused to deliver as they promised, but offered to give extra service for some off-the-books cash money."

Best case, he unloads as expected. Worst case, he returns to his warehouse, where he's greeted by an unhappy boss. Even if he doesn't get fired on the spot, it's unlikely that he would be the next driver to attempt delivery to you.

Kevin

[Gary]

it home and unload it myself and pay 5% sales tax. I ordered my 8" jointer and Amazon delivered it for free except I paid $25 for liftgate service. Driver unloaded it and placed it inside my shop. and NO sales tax. I think you'll find most local dealers won't give you any better service than Amazon. I'm certain my unisaw dealer wouldn't do a thing if I had a problem with it other than refer me to a service rep, same as Amazon. At least Amazon delivers. And no sales tax.

Gary

[Chris]

I've bought a lot from them. Usually free delivery, no tax. The only downside with something heavy is someone has to be around to accept delivery. Don't think I ever had a bad experience with them.

Chris

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Of course you are still liable for the Use Tax for out of state purchases and will report it promptly ;)

[patrick conroy]

Right below where I declare my Tips and what we pay the Nanny.

[Hank Gillette]

I recently bought a drill press and a band saw through Amazon. In both cases, the delivery truck driver took the items off the truck and put them in my garage.

[Joe_Stein]

Wanna bet?

[Chase]