Lee Valley Tools

I like this store but the customer service is horrible, I was there today and wanted to ask possibly buy about something that was in the catalog but not on the floor, so I took a number and waited for 15 – 20 mins before someone could help me, I’d understand if they were busy and understaffed, but they weren’t, in fact they were just talking to each other & walking around behind the counter completely ignoring the customers.
I’m very disappointed with the staff

Bought a shop heater 2 years ago. Cord broke. Returned yesterday for a brand new replacement, HASSLE FREE.
Thank you to the ladies at Customer service.
I didn’t have to go through a lengthy explanation, cut and dry, the cord broke.

Led to this place from a potluck at a person’s house… where I noticed a beautiful set of glasses… and the host of the party told us they purchased it from here… really? Well I was in for an interesting shopping ride in what they have. I have never been to this place, and my thought was that it was a big store, something like a Home Hardware, or Home Depot… what I saw brought me back to a memory of a place a long time ago. Consumers Distributing. where they have some product, but all of it was handled by putting an order in, and dealing with a person at the front desk, where they go to the back to get the item, show it to you and fulfill the transaction.
This place is where all the big box ‘home’ places are located, United Boulevard is know for all these stores. and I would really recommend you come in here as from walking the isles of the stuff they were showing on display I can tell you that their stuff is not garbage, far from it. quality goods. I saw a small retractable hose wheel with spray that was made in Japan. They had Germany made knee crouching pads, Japanese language oragami books, small incubator’s, some real expensive Japanese kitchen knives, this place has something for really everyone… and if you are a gardener come in here… really… this might be the place you are really looking at. It’s a catalogue system, where you can take one home, and view all the things from the comfort of your own home before you plot on what to buy.
The glasses we bought: Kolsch Beer Glasses (do the search) a dozen for $ 16.50 are beautiful, not the cheap crap you find at Superstore. take a look for yourself in person, made in Poland, great price, great quality, was happy to leave with these.
Not everyone likes this type of shopping so be warned on what to expect, but the end result on what you will find may amaze you. Whether you are in woodworking, gardening, looking for hardware. etc… give it a go… and check out their website. The pictures on the site aren’t as good as what you see in real life… go here, you maybe surprised!

This place is the weirdest hardware store I’ve ever been to. It’s more like a arts and crafts/​cabinet and furniture show room than anything else. Way different than Rona or Home depot. Like Lordco, you gotta go up to the counter to tell them what you want. If nothing else, it’s worth visiting once to see what a hardware store can be outside of the big box model.

Is Lee Valley expensive? If you want a cheap plane to fix a door and see the $ 250+ Lee Valley plane you jaw will drop. Or a $ 80 shovel when a $ 14 will do for you from somewhere else. For disposable tools — and I own a lot of them — go to Home Depot or Canadian Tire when there is a sale. If you recognize and can take care of quality hand tools then you might appreciate Lee Valley for providing something you can’t get many other places.
One the flip side, Lee Valley has huge stock of stuff you would be hard-​pressed to find elsewhere, and often at very good prices. Example: need brass screws? Lee Valley has10x the choice at ½ the price of Home Depot. Need levelling legs for a cabinet? Lee Valley has lots of choice. Rivets, sharpening stones, and a thousand other things that you might find somewhere else if you scrounge hard enough are probably sitting in stock at Lee Valley, and there is a good chance that the price is competitive.
Bottom line: don’t rule them out for bits and pieces (did I mention their selection of strange-​size drill bits is great?), even if you think it is crazy to spend $ 170 for a throwing axe.