Craftsman Tools

[jimw1949]

I have heard that Sears is having some rough times as of late, rough times as in not making any money, or at least not very much money. There are probably many reasons why sales are down, but I suspect one of the reasons is the Craftsman tools. For some reason quite a lot of the tools that Sears sells are now being made in China. I am not saying Chinese tools are good or bad, I am just saying that seems to be what is happening and apparently a lot of people are not overly thrilled with the Chinese tools. I guess if you had purchased a Craftsman wrench many years ago and you somehow managed to break it, when you go to get a free replacement the new one they give you is a Chinese wrench. Quite a lot of people who use their tools on a daily basis don't like that very much.

My gut feeling is that at some point in time Sears will sell off the Craftsman tool line and it will be picked up by some other company. That is just a guess on my part, but I have a feeling it may very well turn out that way. In a way I will feel sad if and when that happens, I always enjoyed shopping at Sears and looking at the tool selection, trying to decide what to buy. But, they say that life is forever changing and I guess this is no different.

[okie]

Hey Jim
I hope they don't stop making the craftsman tools. I have quite a few of them and I like their exchange policy. I haven't broken many of their tools but the last time I took a 1/2" ratchet in to the store, a young lady walked up to me and held out her hand. She tool my ratchet and walked back to the where the ratchets were, picked up a new one and gave it to me and this happened without either of us saying a word. She finally said "what else can I do for you".
That is what I call service soo...............Needless to say to say I don't want the craftsman brand to disappear.

Every since sears got in the same boat with K mart, I began to worry some.

Travis

[jimw1949]

I doubt the Craftsman brand will go away, I tend to think it will be bought by some other company. If the Craftsman brand IS bought by another company, as to what the warranty would be for the tools people already own, I have no idea. The new company may honor the lifetime warranty, or they may not, I don't have a clue. It may depend on the terms of the agreement for buying the Craftsman brand. I am only speculating here as to what will happen. Everything I have said I based upon what I had heard, that Sears is having some really difficult times and part of their problem is no doubt because of the new tools being made in China. Whether Chinese tools are good or bad isn't really the issue, it is the perception by a great many people that Chinese tools suck. Whether that perception is right or wrong doesn't really matter, people who feel that way are not going to buy Craftsman tools. That's why I say the Craftsman tool line may very likely be bought by another company. But again, I am only guessing, my crystal ball needs new batteries.

[bobodu]

Kmart owns Sears so the deal is already done.

[jimw1949]

I am pretty sure most people realize that K-Mart owns Sears. But Craftsman tools have been the Sears “trademark” for many years and they were only sold by Sears. Now you can buy them at many different stores such as Ace Hardware, Menards, etc.

It also used to be that Craftsman tools were one of the best, if not THE best, tools the average homeowner could buy. The Craftsman brand of tools were very good and the words “Craftsman” and “quality” were practically synonymous, or at least in the minds of many people they were. If we would take a poll of the members of this site, I would venture to say nearly all of us have at least some Craftsman tools that we purchased many years ago and we are still using those tools.

All I am saying is now that many of the Craftsman tools are being made in China, it has not gone over very well with the old “diehard” Sears customers. I believe this is one of the main reasons why Sears is having such a difficult time and I also believe it is the reason why the Craftsman brand will be bought by some other company.

[KE4AVB]

I would venture to say nearly all of us have at least some Craftsman tools that we purchased many years ago and we are still using those tools.

I do still have a few Craftsman tools but not as many as I once did. I quit buying them years ago when the local Sears store refused to make-up (replace or repair) the ones that broke; most were rackets that got to slipping. It might have been only the local that did this but at that time it was a lot harder for me travel to other cities.

I have never had a problem with Snap-on, Mac or some of the other major tool vendors replacing my warranty tools. Now HF is a different story; got to dig up the unreadable receipt everytime one needs replacing or they will wiggle out of replacing them. I now photocopy every one the receipts and attach the original to it.

[madmantrapper]

A couple of months ago I took a 3/8 ratchet back to sears in Westminster, MD. The young man goes over to a drawer below the cash register and pulls out a ratchet that seemed 40 years older then the forty year old one I brought back and hands it to me. I said what the heck is this? He replied we don't replace with new any longer, these are reconditioned. I told him where he could put it and left with the slipping one. I went to another sears in Glen Burnie, MD and got it replaced with new, no questions asked.

[creia]

I have heard that Sears is having some rough times as of late, rough times as in not making any money, or at least not very much money.

Jim,
Sears has been having "rough times" for a LONG TIME, going back to at least the early 1990s. One of my clients back then was a buyer for Sears (Supervisory level), and he was pretty candid with me about it.
Michael

[Luffydog]

some of the stores are own by individals. i went in one around here and they said they couldnt replace it and i said i bought it here i should be able to because its the craftsman brand and you sell it here. but they wouldnt so i traveled about 65 miles to a different one and wham no ?'s asked just traded out and said have a day and if you have any more probs just bring it back. all they have to do is trade it out and get reinbursed and they will send them a new one for shelf. just dont want to is the thang. they all should be like wal-mart any where you go u can take it back there at of of the stores. good policy i think and good customer apprecation. at one time craftsman had good tools but i think its time for them to move on out and sell and for someone else to step up and make good lasting tools and to keep them american made. but welcome to the usa today.

[bgsengine]

S-K Tools are an EXCELLENT quality alternative at decent consumer prices and generally available all over (If buying online though, be aware there's lots of fakes and "almost-but-not-quite" S-K brand... as well as unscrupulous sellers that will sell you S-K but swap it out for cheap chinese knock-offs.) - The in-store ones you can often find at many hardware stores, you can usually spot the knock-offs quite easily just by hefting the tool (don't even have to look at the box, if you're experienced with tools.) but S-K - the good stuff, is still USA made, last I knew of. (They do have a partner in France, I believe - FaCom or some such, Ive still got a set of nice screwdrivers on that brand bought through SK dealer that have held up for 20 years plus.)

However, I feel lucky in that we have a really good Snap-On truck owner that comes by Fridays, and can even get our busted Mac, S-K, and Craftsman tools exchanged for us (value added service) - Mainly because a busted tool ain't making no money, so we end up buying a replacement off him anyhow, and then the replaced tool becomes a "backup"