Customer ReviewsforHardware and Tools Corp

Ordered a crawl space door that was suppose to come silver unfinished. When it arrived it was sprayed black but there were large areas with no paint and drips everywhere. The top corner of the frame was bent and the packaging was a thin cardboard (no bubble wrap or protection of any kind) with one full side stapled together. The box was tattered which I would expect based off what was used. I tried calling and never got a response back so I emailed the company. Their reply was “ Our Claim’s Department has reviewed the images and wanted to know if you would take a $20.00 credit to keep it and make it work. They advised you should be able to just take a hammer and tap up on the end that is a little bent. The image on our site does show one that appears to aluminum in color however that is the only image our supplier had that is why we state in the description that the item is primed with black corrosion paint.” so basically they wanted me to spray it myself to fix all the paint issues and bend it back into shape. I replied “ And what should I be doing about all the paint issues? There are several large areas where it looks like it wasn’t properly sprayed or it dripped and was removed on top of many scratches as I mentioned in the first email and provided with the pictures. I would assume if there isn’t a good coat on it then over time it will rust. Please advise.” And they replied “ Unfortunately, we receive all of them from the manufacture with paint issues, scratches, and sometimes even a little rust. I guess because they are for the crawl space of the house so since they really can’t be seen, and they are for outdoor use the manufacture will send them with those type of flaws.” my response was “ That’s kind of a ridiculous answer. You get defective products from a manufacturer and then decide to send them anyway to the consumer as is?” Only then did it prompt a call but they stood behind what they said. Don’t buy from this company!!!

Hardware and Tools Co. is incapable of canceling an order, even it it won't ship for several days. They are using antiquated service and supply chain models that apparently involve physical delivery of paperwork to manage drop-ship. I placed an order with this company on a Sunday evening. I hadn't received any communication with shipping details by Friday morning, and so I found an alternate source for my items that could be delivered that day. To cancel my order with Hardware and Tools Co, I had to fill out an online form with my order details, and then a person called me to inform me that my order "was sent to the warehouse yesterday and cannot be canceled" I asked them for shipping information and they said "The item won't be shipped until later today or Monday". I asked "If this item isn't packaged in a box with a shipping label on it, why can it not be canceled?" and I don't think I can quote this part because I don't fully understand the answer, but it sounded to me like they said "The paperwork for this item has already been sent to the warehouse, and by the time the cancellation paperwork gets there, the item will already be shipped". This is puzzling to me, because this is not how any online retail business has operated for at least 10-15 years. Hardware and Tools Co. is not serious about online retail. I recommend their executive management read "The Phoenix Project" by Gene K**.