"I have purchased product in the past from Ira Wood as have family and friends based on my recommendation. Not anymore. My friends and family have now been warned about this company. Years ago, you could actually speak with a person if customer service was required . These days, Ira Wood seems to prefer handling everything via email. I guess that it is a lot easier to turn down a customer when you don't actually engage with them as a human being. As a result, I became extremely frustrated with the process. I am not totally blameless in this, and Ira Wood knew from the start that I was partially at fault because I told them so. I did not read their return policy letting me know that toilet seats are not returnable, and then, I ended up choosing the wrong size toilet seat for my Duravit toilet. It took MONTHS for me to receive it and, once I did, I realized that I had ordered the wrong length seat while removing it from the box. I needed an elongated seat and accidentally ordered a standard seat instead. I went on to their site to look for the proper size only to realize that Ira Wood does not adequately describe their Duravit seats in order to pick out the correct one. Hence, why I made my error. I then spoke with a Duravit representative who also had a hard time telling me which seat went with my Starck 3 toilet. After finally receiving the proper model number from her, I then emailed Ira Wood asking if I could exchange it for the proper one. I never received a personal email from anyone at Ira Wood or a phone call to discuss my situation. The few emails I received were automated, and then, while waiting for status on my case, they closed my case without any notification and/or explanation. I had to go on to their site to see that my case had been closed. When I emailed requesting that my case be reopened, I later received an automated email telling me of their no return policy for toilet seats. Still no personal contact.
I used to be in sales. Customer service is key to any good business. If someone had called to discuss this with me, I would have been o.k. with all of this. I may not have been able to return the seat (over $100.00) but at least I would have felt that I mattered. By the way, there are a number of other online retailers that will take back new and unused toilet seats with much shorter lead times and interactions with real live people."

"Like many other reviewers of Ira Woods & Sons, I STRONGLY encourage readers of this site to NEVER, EVER order from this company. I only wish I had done my homework in advance. Instead I was so excited to find a company that sold the discontinued Ronbow vessel sink that I wanted that I immediately placed an order. I started with a chat with James, who then asked me to call him and finalize the order. During that call I confirmed both the part number for my sink (even discussing how pleased I was that they had this discontinued item) and my email address. James assured me that I would receive a confirmation of my order via email. When I had not received an email by the next day, I called back and once again confirmed my email address. However, I was told "not to worry" as the sink had already been shipped. Two days later the sink arrived, the WRONG sink, a sink currently being sold by every distributor who sells Ronbow sinks, and ridiculously, a sink that sells for $100 more than the sink I ordered. Unfortuantely, the sink was rectangular, not round and was too big for my vanity. I immediately called and spoke to Derek who opened a dispute and told me I had to wait until Monday to speak to Customer Service to obtain instructions on how to return the incorrect sink. So I called on Monday and spoke with Kathy Oliver who first tried to tell me I had ordered what I received and then agreed to waive the restocking fee but I had to pay for return shipping. After a considerable time on the phone, Kathy agreed to give me a quote for the correct sink and add a note that I would be reimbursed for shipping once the sink was returned and I emailed them the receipt showing the shipping cost. Despite having proof that the sink was in Ira Woods' possession and emailing a copy of the shipping receipt, I got no response to my emails to Kathy. Finally, I just started calling and selecting the sales department until I finally got ahold of James. He put me on hold to talk with Kathy and said he needed my credit card to ship the new sink. I told him I would give him the card number SOLELY to credit the shipping cost as I had already paid for the sink. He concurred and said he would send me an email confirming our conversation. About an hour later I logged on to find a "test" message from James (nothing more) AND another email saying my credit card had been charged for the sink. Since I had given James a different card #, I now had two credit card companies involved! Two days later, the correct sink arrived (I don't think I could have dealt with another screw up) and I found that my first credit card had FINALLY been credited back the original charge. I then sent Ms. Oliver an email saying now all I needed was the credit for the shipping charge. Her reply was that she didn't charge me shipping. I then sent her the quote with her note saying she would reimburse me for shipping back the incorrect sink. That's been 3 days ago and I have heard nothing from her. I now have an open dispute with Amex over the shipping cost. I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW HOW THIS COMPANY STAYS IN BUSINESS!!!!"

"I found this company while searching the internet for the impossible, trying to find a replacement for my 12 year old American Standard toilet tank that just cracked spontaneously. So I put the model number in and Ira Woods came up stating they had this tank in silver for $29 and $99 shipping. However I needed a white tank but I called anyway. Bill answered and my first question was, why is the shipping so high for just a tank. He offered to prepare a quote to see if shipping could be lowered. Promptly I received a quote that lowered shipping to $50. I then mentioned that I really needed a white tank, not silver and probably should just buy a new toilet. He said they had a lot of American Std from years back and he would check to see if by any chance they did have a white one. Sure enough he called and said, yes they did have a white one, in the box, brand new. Then I asked him if it had the parts inside the tank or just the tank. He said I could probably buy parts if it didn't for not too much. I told him I wasn't too handy but would see if I could buy parts for a 12 yr old tank in case it didn't. He called me shortly and said, he checked and said yes, it has parts. I ordered it immediately, not believing my luck. He told me I would get it within 3 days. I got my order confirmation that my credit card was charged but never got a tracking email, so I sent an email to a Kathy who was listed on my receipt. She didn't respond to me but Bill sent me an email the same day, saying he was checking to see why my order did not go out and found out the problem was the lid was broken. He knew I only needed the tank and said to even things up to make good for lack of a lid, I could choose a gift from their items under $25 page. I started to get a little worried. First Bill found this needle in a haystack item for me that wasn't even inventoried on their site. Then he said the lid was broken so I imagined that the tank was probably damaged in some way also. So I replied to Bill I would take a hair dryer but I also started researching the company and found all these bad reviews. So, after not getting an order shipment confirmation after a couple of days (it was the weekend and Columbus day holiday) I called Bill and told him maybe I better cancel the order and told him I was concerned b/c I saw all these complaints about shipping and damaged goods. He assured me the tank was in good condition, followed up on the order and called me twice to make sure I got the tracking info. I still thought I never would see this white wonder tank (that was waiting for me to buy it for the past 12 years) and expected a silver one to arrive instead or a wrong model or damamged goods. Well, just as Bill said, the toilet arrived by Fed Ex, three days later, today, in excellent condition and it was new. I installed it myself and problem solved. If I had read these reviews before I contacted Bill at Ira Woods, I never would have even contacted this company.I would have just gone out and bought a new toilet rather than deal with the hassles many posters described. But for 80, 29 tank 50 shipping and installing it myself, I save over $200 not having to buy a new tank. I'm sorry others had problems but for me my experience was wonderful, particularly thanks to Bill and all the effort he made to make what is a really small sale. I'm glad he answered my initial call!
"

"BUYER BEWARE!!!! Exact experience as everyone else. This company is either totally corrupt or just really poorly managed!!! STAY AWAY! Do not purhcase from them!!! I purchased over $12K in bathroom products and after they told me the order was delayed (6 weeks later), I asked to cancel. THere web site states 1-2 weeks to ship. They said there would be a penalty of up to 50%!!! Kathy Oliver was manging my orders. No one would answer my calls and email responses, while few, were not addressing the issues. After three months, I sought fraud protection for the remainder of the orders that had not been delivered (half the order). I don't see how Duravit allows them to be a seller!!!!! I will follow up next with Duravit. Irawoods is the worst company I have ever done business with!!!"

"Same story as all the previous reviews. Order is significantly delayed (Over 1 month), cannot get in touch with customer service, won't cancel the order. Stay away from this vendor."

"The worst experience I have ever had.In March I ordered 2 accessories for my Franke sink was promised delivery in 30 days it is now 6mos later no accessories. Cancelled order and was told a refund was processed on 8/18/11 still no credit to my cedit card. Cannot get anyone on he phone and Kathy Oliver will not respond. Anyone that orders anything from this company is crazy. "

"Beware. Stay away. Ordered the item and was told the item will be shipped in less than 2 weeks. Keep on pushing the dates for 2 months and finally cancelled the order. Now no refund of the money. Filed claim with BBB as well as Credit card company. Still no refund from the merchant. Credit card company provided conditional credit as they are investigating."

"I purchased a sump pump on 5/23/2011 and never received anything. After 3 1/2 months of trying to get either a pump or my money back (122.53), I still have not been able to recover anything. I even went through the better business bureau and they even gave up and closed the case as unresolved! Do not buy anything from this company unless you really want to part ways with your money for no benefit to you...."

"Same experience as others.

Did not have any trouble in the past years with them and ordered $4,000 of plumbing stuff. Now same ordeal.

I was lucky to be able to cancel some of the items that were to ship immediately (as agreed in quotes, but shipping dates changed immediately as soon as they got my money) -- I got them the next day from a local supplier. Now, 4 months after order was placed, I am waiting for some stuff with no idea of what's going on -- online chat was a bit more reliable than phone calls (they never return a call, and I assume it's more or less two persons assuming different identities) but now they just disconnect if you ask 'order status?'.

I know that some items have not been ordered but are in stock (I had to call the manufacturers), some other were just ordered (sales slip in the box). The problem is that I cannot reorder some stuff, not knowing if I will get it or a refund.

I filed with the IC3 and BBB -- got a refund for cheap accessories (that I had to order to replace rough in plumbing that was not shipped timely) after the BBB forwarded the matter.

There is probably a loophole in consumer rights that allows them to stay on the fringe of legality. Stay away from them, it's really a waste of time. I am not even sure they have good prices -- I was more interested by their rather large inventory.

Order 4/29. Final refund received 9/27. Money kept for 5 months, half of the items were never ordered."

"Like so many other reviewers here, I have had a very bad online shopping experience with Ira Woods. I ordered a Zoeller pump that was listed as "In Stock" on 30 May 2011. Ira Woods processed my order and immediately debited my PayPal account for the purchase price. For the next two months, Ira Woods strung me along with weekly unfulfilled delivery estimates until I finally lost patience and cancelled the order on 30 Jul 2011. (BTW, it was not a production issue at Zoeller - other e-tailers had the pump I wanted.)

Now the second phase of this frustrating experience began: getting a refund. Calls, voice mails and e-mails to Customer Service were either ignored or unsatisfactorily addressed. CS Rep Kathy Oliver was especially unhelpful. Finally, after a month, they credited my PayPal account with the original purchase price. Why in the world would this have taken so long? Considering the trouble others have endured dealing with Ira Woods, I feel lucky to have come out of this intact financially.

I shop online frequently. As others have said on this and other review sites, this e-tail experience with Ira Woods is the worst I have ever had. I've read good reviews too, so they are capable of providing good service. But it seems as though that is the exception rather the rule. "

"BAD FAMILY BUSINESS

We have ordered several items such as TOTO TOILET which arrived DIRTY! Looked USED. The Villeroy & Boch towel holders NEVER ARRIVED. We try to call them so many times, they never answer the calls and when they do it is because we press option 3(for sales only)they say they can't take care of the issue and transfer for "customer service"which is an annoying music.. they put us on hold until an answer machine hangs up on you. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE-BAD COMPANY. We feel cheated. WE DON'T RECOMMEND IRA WOOD & SONS"

"HORRIBLE, DISASTROUS, are the correct words for this pseudo home improvement company !!!
I had the most excruciatingly aggravating experience with these people -
funny I also dealt with this Mark Messer sales person who NEVER EVER return calls - actually no one there ever return calls - here's the story
so buyers BEWARE : do not buy anything from these people unless you want the worst experience of your life!
I ordered a Grohe shower system on May 13th - as of August 11th, I received the 5th emails delaying the order yet again to 8/19 shipment date - since my entire bathroom project is held up by these jokers, I called and spoke to their so called Customer service supervisor named Kathy who assured me that the order will be cancelled as I requested without fees - this is 1140am on Thursday 8/11.
I then called http://HomeClick.com (who is great btw!) and re-ordered the entire shower system with them. Cheaper and I get all in 3 days!
A few hours later, I receive an email from Irawoods that the order is being sent out AFTER I cancelled it and after being delayed for 3 months - WTF??? I called this Kathy woman back, left many messages, was given the run around by sales people named Nick and then James...
So I refused the order that arrived 8/13 - then I get an email from them threatening to bill me 50% penalty because the shipment was refused ??? This is after trying to reach the sales manager for 3 days without success - THEY DO NOT RETURN CALLS. period.
I will have to fight tooth and nail - as a matter of principle because they really truly are HORRIBLE in every possible way!!!
BUYERS Beware allright!"

"I sent $190.20 to Ira Woods for a sink, waited 2 months, didn't get it, plenty of excuses why they didn't have it. I got it easily at Lowes. Now after nearly 4 months they refuse to give me my money back. They are just going to steal it.
I will have to arrive on their doorstep with a policeman.
Patsy"

"Fraud! Fraud! Fraud!
Anyone with an issue with Ira Woods needs to go to the following websites and log a complaint. The first one is the FBI's Internet Division: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx. The second is the Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/us/.

Someone needs to shut this place down.

Here's my story: I placed an order for a bathtub on 6/21/2011 for a renovation that was starting 7/5/2011. I checked by phone before ordering and was told the tub would ship in about 2 weeks. I called on 7/12/2011 to check status. I was told they would check with the manufacturer. I called one week later and was told they still hadn't heard back from the manufacturer. Frustrated, I called the manufacturer. I was told "We have a bathtub - that make and color - ordered by Ira Woods on June 27. The tub is made and ready to be shipped but I can't ship it and I can't tell you why. You have to call Ira Woods." Hmmmm, what the heck does that mean???!

After confronting Ira Woods customer service with this new information, they offered to refund my money with no fees deducted but they won't put that in writing. The refund has been "processing" for a week now. I get no response to my phone calls or emails. I have decided to escalate it to the FBI and BBB."

"This companies customer service has got to be the worst I have ever had. I have been on the phone trying to get warranty service from them to no avail. Finally abandoned them and am getting service through the manufacturer. If you value yo ur time and your money, DON'T buy from Ira Wood. They are great at taking your money and making it appear that their customer service is wonderful but if there is a warranty issue you are ON YOUR OWN!!!"