# Warning eBay Irwin Tools



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

Well I always thought that eBay sales were as good as

advertised. It appears not so with IRWIN tools.

Prior to purchasing any Irwin tool on eBay (New Tools Only)

You must check with Irwin that the seller is a;

*IRWIN Recommended suppliers‏*

How do you find this out?

You simply phone Helen Bloxham 08000686238 (UK)

0r email

[email protected]

Also when purchasing an Irwin Clamp, they may send you

a "Rubbermaid" clamp which is also one of their product lines.

How did I find this out?

I bought 5 Irwin 18" clamps received Rubbermaid clamps 3 of the

five dont work. They dont clamp.

Irwin admited that there are some clamps that are of a softer

metal, but that doesnt matter.

I turned the catches on the three clamps thinking they had just been

assembled wrong. That worked for a few minutes then they got

loose again.

These were brand new with all the labels intact.

So to be safe avoid buying Irwin on eBay

I've bought 50 odd clamps on eBay all Irwin brand and had

no problems.

I was going to write a review, but how can you review a

clamp that is not a clamp?

Jamie


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

This isnt an uncommon practice by many tool manufactures on any website. Usually if the seller isnt an authorized dealer, they wont support the product.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

*"I was going to write a review, but how can you review a clamp that is not a clamp?"*

Give it an appropriately lousy review…


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## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

Sounds to me you got scammed by the ebay seller not Irwin.

-jeremy


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## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

Jeremy

it came in a sealed box of 5 from Irwin

Labeled made in Germany


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

I've seen a lot of the Irwin Quick Clamps on e-bay…. and bid a few auctions, only to see the prices go higher than retail at Home Depot (what was that old saying about a fool and his money?). So I just bought the set I wanted at HD.

I have one older Quick Clamp that broke on me, and I really wanted to repair it, as they don't make that exact model and I wanted to keep a matched pair….

Called Irwin to purchase part to repair…. No Joy… "we don't support that model any more"

Now I understand why the newer large Quick Clamps looke the way they do…. they beefed up the molded housing in exactly the area that mine broke.

After seeing how they're gutting the Marples brand (i.e. "assembled in England from global components") with Chinese steel, I'm turning sour on the entire Irwin brand.

I recently purchased two Marples Split Proof chissels to replace one I lost and round out my set. I had to buy them from an e-bay seller in England, as apparently they don't market anything but the Blue Chips in the U.S. any more. The quality of the machining on the two new chissels is crude and rough when compared to the identical product line purchased 15 years ago.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

I had to laugh about this one Jamie. I checked Ebay and CL Norway and neither of them even have a single tool for sale! Pretty typical for this country. Tools here are only thrown away when they don't work anymore and they are almost never sold (at least none that I've been able to find).


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I also broke an Irwin clamp. I emailed them and they told me to take it back to the store where I got it and they would make it good. I did take it back and the store confirmed this and they gave me the new model. I was happy with the new style clamp.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Have you tried Amazon.com for these clamps. You would have some recourse if you didn't get what you expected, also use PayPal for even further control.


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## WoodSpanker (Feb 10, 2009)

Sometimes you can get good deals on ebay, but not so much anymore… I find that prices for things go much higher than you can get them new at retail down at your local Lowes or Home Depot or whatever. Back in the early 2000's I got a good deal on a block plane, jack plane, and a router. Can't seem to do that anymore. If you must buy online, Try Amazon. You don't have to go through the silly bidding process, and you get a fair price, without the artificial inflation that goes along with ebay these days. Just my 2 cents worth, but now it's in your brain cells and stuck with it.


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## cutworm (Oct 2, 2010)

First place I go is Amazon. They have great customer service and you rarely need to use them. My only experience with Paypal wasn't so good. I didn't receive a package. They looked into it and told me that the seller mailed it and they were closing the dispute. Luckily I got the package in another week. Had a similar problem on Amazon and they were all over it. Ebay seems to be full of undesirable dealers these days.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

May be a counterfeit. Chinese love to copy & export ;-(


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