Rutlands - pricing and reviews?

[gidon]

Rutlands have a very tempting albeit limited range, but I rarely buy from them since there's something very underhand about their website.

None of their reviews are below 4 star - in fact very few are below 5 star. If you check Trustpilot many people complain about their less than good reviews not making it.

And their prices seem to start off instantly with some discount off their supposed previous price. This is against trading standards and a dodgy practice. Couple of recent examples: their bandy clamps reduced from £28.95 to 18.95 (£14 from Rockler themselves!) and their Rigid lookalike oscillating belt and bobbin sander - £169 from £240. Never been £240.

I wonder if anyone from Rutlands ever visits this forum? If so, how do they explain their practices?

It's a real shame since they stock some stuff that I can't get elsewhere. And when I have ordered from them (when I've had no other choice), the order's come quickly with few issues.

If they were more upfront and less faceless - I would order a lot more from them.

Gidon

 

[Selwyn]

The review thing is very ropey and reflects badly

They have some good deals sometimes

 

[paulm]

They didn't publish my review on a Fox morticer some time ago, which is a shame as it contained some relevant info that other purchasers would likely have found useful to know.

They also weren't able to help with questions about the product after I bought it, and promised to have someone call me back once they found out but of course it never happened.

I've not used them since !

Cheers, Paul

 

[doctor Bob]

Never had any issues with them.

 

[banjerbill]

I have used them a few times and had two issues which I have posted in other threads. I now feel there is something rather unsavory about them and will no longer use them. Most of the stuff they sell is available elsewhere from more reputable traders.

Bill

 

[JJ1]

Having read all the negative comments about them over the years I've tended to avoid them and have never used them. I don't like the idea of deliberately filtering out negative reviews, I find that extremely misleading and I wouldn't support a company who chose to do that.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I once bought a 1m steel rule from Rutlands, I soon realised that it was far from straight. I was not expecting an engineers straight edge but it was a good 2 or 3mm different in width along the rule and strayed several mm from straight ( I can't actually remember the amount but I think around 5mm). Well rang them and e mailed them pictures. They said if I posted it back to them they would send me a replacement, however they could not answer my simple question,"is this one faulty or are they all like this?". All they had to do put a set of verniers on another ruler but would not do this. It did not seem like a lot to ask and would have took a couple of minutes. The ruler was not dear (can't remember the price) and if they were all rubbish then c'est la vie but the refusal to tell me what the others were like really annoyed me. In the end I didn't bother sending it back but have not shopped with them since.
Paddy

 

[deserter]

I've had a couple of bad experiences, if you look back on here a couple of years I've mentioned them before. Haven't used them since and have no intention of using them in the future.

 

[Hemsby]

Had no problem posting my 3* rating on the Rutland Bench Morticer with specific adverse comments. In fact my original posting was made with a 4* by mistake I immediately contacted them and asked if I could amend it but was informed that changes could not be made but they would remove it and I could post again, which I did.

Generally I only buy branded products and the few I have bought from Rutlands the price I have paid has always been the cheapest I could find and never experienced any problems with their service including a return.

My most recent purchase from them was a Incra Mitre Gauge 1000 Special Edition, cheapest available.

Their pricing structure may be strange but personally when I decide to make a purchase from any source my concern is with service and the price at that moment if its good I buy if not I go elsewhere.

Obviously I can only speak from personal experience with them over the last couple of years and all has been fine.

 

[Roughcut]

I've only ordered from Rutlands a few times, but have never had a problem with products or delivery.
With regard to reviews, I've had experiences with Amazon and Screwfix in the past that lead me to believe that they also cherry pick the reviews left on their websites.
So if Rutlands are doing this they are not alone!

 

[AJB Temple]

I happened across the Rutland site as I am in the hunt for a decent block plane.

Reviews are marketing! Any web site owner is going to ensure a positive overall balance (or drop the stock line if complaints are high enough). As for prices, surely no one pays any attention to RRP or equivalent fluff that try to show a massive discount? There is such pricing transparency on the internet, that it is easy to see whether we are getting a reasonable deal or not.

Rutland claim to stock 6000 lines. Hence staff will have little idea of many of them and I am unsurprised that they don't bother to check tolerances on things like rules.

I did take a look at the Rutland T&Cs. I was surprised to see a term in there that states that as long as tool function is OK, cosmetic scratches are not grounds for refund. My view is that this blatantly falls foul of Consumer Rights Act 2015 and I suspect a number of retailers need to wake their ideas up in this area.

 

[John15]

I thought that a buyer has the right of a refund to a mail order product simply because it isn't quite what was expected - ie too thick, too thin etc.

John

 

[AJB Temple]

Yes. 7 days. It is in Rutland T&Cs.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I happened across the Rutland site as I am in the hunt for a decent block plane.

Rutland claim to stock 6000 lines. Hence staff will have little idea of many of them and I am unsurprised that they don't bother to check tolerances on things like rules.

Good reason to avoid them and use a dealer who would take the time to do this like Workshop Heaven

Paddy

 

[gidon]

Ah well. It is a slight shame since they seem to secure some exclusive products which are good (some Fastcap products like Kaizen foam). And I have ordered from them over the years when I've had to - and not had any issues that I recall. I really don't understand why they aren't more straightforward and honest.

Cheers

Gidon

 

[dc_ni]

I thought that a buyer has the right of a refund to a mail order product simply because it isn't quite what was expected - ie too thick, too thin etc.

John

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (This replaced the Distance Selling Regulations) you have 30 days to return goods that are of an unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described and get a full refund.

This is the same as with buying from a shop, the only difference being that the right to return starts from the date of delivery and not from the date of purchase.

The rules were changed last year, The Distance Selling Regulations becoming the Consumer Contracts Regulations and from the 1st of October this year the Consumer rights Act came into force which replaced three acts of legislation, one of which was the Sale Of Goods Act.

 

[jamesevenlode]

I won't use Rutlands anymore based on an experience a friend of mine had.

He bought one of their router tables including a motor and when it arrived it was not aligned properly.
This meant it was dangerous to use and basically useless.
Rutlands refused to acknowledge this was a manufacturing fault and basically blamed him for misuse.
Eventually, after much, much argument they took it back but he only got 50% refunded to him and IIRC that was a credit note, not cash.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Ah well. It is a slight shame since they seem to secure some exclusive products which are good (some Fastcap products like Kaizen foam). And I have ordered from them over the years when I've had to - and not had any issues that I recall. I really don't understand why they aren't more straightforward and honest.

Cheers

Gidon

if the product you want is not for sale else where then you've not got much choice. I don't really like tesco but if lidl is shut after work I go there, rather have my dinner than my pride. However my experience with Rutlands and the stories I've heard from others means I would prefer to spend my money elsewhere even when they are a little cheaper than the competition. It's a shame because a decent level of customer service like you get from Axminster or workshop Heaven does not really cost much, in my case just a couple of minutes and no money, I didn't want them to make my ruler straight just whether wanted to know if they were all the same, I could have even done that at my local screwfix (in person, I doubt I would have had much luck on the phone). I doubt anyone from Rutlands reads this stuff but if they do then I would say improve these things and you will make more money. Most of your goods will not have issues, when they do deal with them and it will be worth it for the return customers.
Paddy

 

[stuartpaul]

I used to use Rutlands and generally if it's a 'branded' product I think you're OK. In my experience Dakota stuff is absolute carp!

Bought a small compressor/airbrush for my eldest and it packed up within minutes of use. Returned it and was supplied with a 'brand new' replacement. Unfortunately it was the exact same machine because we'd placed a small ink dot in an inconspicuous position. They swore blind it was a totally different machine!

 

[Knot Competent]

They sent me an e-mail yesterday, advertising a 3D router pantograph, which I'm really interested in! So I went onto their website, and the item is "out of stock". Peculiar!