Lee Valley Tools Reviews 

I was having problems with a lockbox I bought from them last December. The Laval store told me to call head office because the lockbox came in a white box with nothing to indicate its manufacturer.

While talking to an employee, I discovered the lockbox is made in Taiwan(!) and it's not a great idea to leave it outdoors. Lee Valley's website markets it as something that can be "attached to a pipe, fencepost, hasp staple, or doorknob – just as real estate agents do."

Apparently it's not a great idea to leave it outside. So it froze and a family member forced it to close and now it no longer works. We have to cut it. Fifty-six dollars down the drain.

I used to love Lee Valley Tools. I'm disappointed. I expected better.

One of a very small group of toolmakers that still sells quality products. You can tell exactly how bad the state of the tool industry is the first time you compare a Veritas to some of the "industry standard" garbage from lowes or home depot.

Very poor company culture. Based on my experience and what former employees have shared publicly, there appears to be little respect for staff, past or present. Management seems dismissive of concerns, and the company’s overall reputation raises serious red flags. This is not a business I would trust or support.

Recently had the pleasure of calling on Friday 5 minutes before closing. They were gracious enough to get the latches shipped to me in record time. Great staff. Great quality merchandise sent to me. I would do business with them any day. Had tracking on package right on time. Sincerely Troy McCormick Bay City Michigan

A shell of its former greatness. The company we all knew and loved is no more. They’re now run by a petty nepotistic man child that is hell bent on ruining the lives of his employees, past and present. Spend your money elsewhere.

There is nothing more hypocritical then a company that wraps itself in the Canadian flag to sell stuff but when they need to ship parcels during a postal strike they choose UPS. Fortunately there is nothing I buy from Lee Valley that I can't source from Canadian companies that use Canadian shippers. Good bye Lee Valley.

I bought in november 2024 a dripless caulking gun, i open the plasic bag today, the caulking gun was defective. I went to LEE VALLEY LAVAL for replacement or refund, the andwer was you have 3 month, you are late. Princess Auto ha a better waranty if you are not happy they take it back. I was a client for over 10 years , now looking for another store

Bunch of greedy dirtbags who clearly don't care about their main clientele: the average middle-class trades person. Suing PatLap is despicable and I hope they go bankrupt.

Terrible people, they don't care about their employees, past or present.
I hear they were frequently visiting Epstein Island.

NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS BUSINESS! It’s one thing to run a business. It’s another thing entirely to weaponize the legal system against the very people who helped build it. Watching a company actively pursue legal action against former employees, especially those in the creative or maker communities, is not just disappointing — it’s disgraceful.

Rather than resolving differences through communication or mutual respect, this company has chosen the route of intimidation and financial bullying. Taking someone to court who no longer works for you — particularly when they’re simply trying to make an honest living — sends a clear message: We care more about control than community.

This behavior creates a toxic ripple effect: it erodes trust, stifles collaboration, and makes others in the industry fear speaking up or standing out. A business should lead with integrity, not litigation.

Supporting creators means respecting their independence — not punishing them for it.

If you believe in fairness, creativity, and community over corporate overreach, think twice before supporting a company that sues their own people.

I’d like to say that they made monkeys eat my trousers, but that’s not true. I’d like to say that they are not a bunch of vindictive weasels for litigating against my friend Pat, but that’s not true either.
Pat’s a good guy. Lee Valley vindictive weasels. Go buy tools from somewhere else.

I would never buy tools from this company. Not only do their tools, lack quality, but so does their company as a whole.

Unscrupulous company sues beloved former employee for imaginary infringement. Don’t support them

Like many previous reviewers, Lee Valley offers great selection and usually good quality. However, their payment system is outdated and their customer service needs "tuning up". They do not put through your credit card payment immediately, resulting it to remain "open" and not secured. When contacted about possibly putting the payment through immediately, and - should they not have the product, just to issue a credit on that account, a very dismissive customer service agent said "this process has worked well for us for years". When I suggested it was time to get updated, he said "I will not comment on that" and gave me stone-cold silence. Time to update your payment procedures to protect your customers - or lose them!! By the way "lose" that customer service agent that answers you phone, too!

Don’t buy anything from Lee Valley!! They only offer payment by credit card and their system was recently hacked, and the hackers got all of my credit card information.

I recently purchased a telescopic window cleaner from
Valley tools to clean all my windows on my two story house as we are directly on the coast they needed regular cleaning I have been restricted from climbing ladders so this was an excellent solution being on the ground and having a reach of 7 metres an excellent solution. Customer service excellent, delivery excellent,
Product is sturdy and light over all a great purchase.
Chris M
St Leonards
Victoria

I've shopped at Lee Valley Tools (“LVT”) for over 30 years. Their in-store customer service has always been excellent, no matter which store across the country I have visited. Very knowledgeable staff who tend to go the "extra mile" for their customers. But, apart from the specialty tools they sell (which are generally higher priced for the same, or very similar, tools from other vendors), their prices are very high for the quality of their small-item products. In short, LVT has priced themselves out of the market with many of their products and seem to be relying on their reputation over providing customers with competitive prices. As always, shopping-around before you buy is always a good idea.

A big disappointment was LVT's decision to discontinue their annual paper catalogues. Perhaps I'm old fashioned but for me there was nothing better than turning the pages of the woodworking or hardware catalogues, reading the detailed tool descriptions, and marking the pages of tools for my wish list. The LVT catalogues were one of the main reasons why I discovered the store in the first place and why I continued to shop there.

So, overall, I give LVT 3 out of 5 stars. Their customer service is great, their tools are generally high quality, but many of their products are often overpriced and therefore poor value.

I bought a jet sprayer in Sept. 2023, and there was a manufacturer's warrenty of one year. The sprayer worked this year from April-May, and the motion sensor stopped working in June, despite installing new batteries, cleaning the line, etc. I brought it back to Lee Valley to see if it could be repaired but was informed the unit had to be returned to the manufacturer in UK. As a good will gesture, staff decided to replace my defective unit with a new one. Thankyou Lee Valley staff for going the extra mile in customer service!!

I ordered cold frames and openers and openers did not arrive, no problem getting the order refilled and both people were helpful cheerful and I have never had such great customer service!!!!!

Bought a crocodile machete. They burned the end grinding. The corner is burned off. You get what you pay for