Sears Sold Craftsman Division
- Thread starter TJ4Jim
- Start date
Saw that this morning.
Not sure if it will be good or bad, but I'm thinking it will be good. I have a crap ton of Craftsman tools from the early 2000s and they've never let me down. Craftsman is also great about honoring their no questions asked warranty.
Not sure if it will be good or bad, but I'm thinking it will be good. I have a crap ton of Craftsman tools from the early 2000s and they've never let me down. Craftsman is also great about honoring their no questions asked warranty.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
I have Sears/ Craftsman tools from back in the 40's to the 70's. Belonged to my dad and grandfather. They will make new Snap On look like crap. The new ones are a joke. Stanley probably is a better quality tool. Sears used to stand for quality and there wasnt much they didnt carry. Raised on a farm most everything we had came from them.
OP
Holyyyyy crap. A good comparison to this is Fiat buying most of Chrysler.
I severely hope that Stanley doesn't turn Craftsman into another cookie-cutter-from-china tool company. Like most of their other tools that they sell.
Or, it's like when Irwin bought Vise-Grip.
I severely hope that Stanley doesn't turn Craftsman into another cookie-cutter-from-china tool company. Like most of their other tools that they sell.
Or, it's like when Irwin bought Vise-Grip.
Kmart/Sears Holdings is *veeeeery* broke. They have been in trouble for a long time, but just announced in the last day or so that they are shuttering 150 stores.
Hopefully they got good money for Craftsman! I think it will be a good thing for Craftsman, though - Stanley, at least, has some money behind it.
This is true. My Craftsman tools all say "MADE IN USA" stamped on them, but I probably got some of the last "USA" made ones. I got mine in early 2000, so that stands to reason.
Now they are all made in China. However, I will say that some of my more recent Craftsman tools (the Chinese ones) have never given me issues. The one time I did break one, I just walked right into Sears and they gave me a replacement, no questions asked.
Though I wonder how that will work once Sears goes out of business (which is inevitable).
Yep, I've been following the demise of Sears and Kmart for a long time. I'm just shocked it hasn't happened sooner.
Their primary investor who keeps loaning them money is an idiot in my opinion. He keeps throwing money at a store that really has no chance of recovering if you ask me.
Sears has nothing to offer anymore (same with Kmart). I can go to Lowes, Home Depot, etc., and get tools that are the same quality (or better) than Craftsman. And of course I highly doubt anyone is doing clothes or home shopping at Sears anymore.
The days of department stores are done, that's for sure. Even Macy's is shutting down 150 locations (2 in my state).
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
My wife bought me a new master set a couple of years ago. Im a good size guy and I have broken all the rachets and a few of the sockets. There isnt a rachet in the set I cant destroy with my bare hands. I didnt want them and knew they were junk but I didnt want to hurt her feelings. Sure I take them in and they swap them. But most of the time if I am working on something rusty the job doesn't get finshed if I use them without busting something. The Sears guys just shake their head when they see me coming in the door
Stanley didn't do Mac Tools any favors when they acquired them. Craftsman has gone so far down the tubes I'm not sure anything will help them.
I've had a full set of Craftsman short combination wrenches for about 12 years. I find them very handy. I bought the Craftsman set for about what two Snap On wrenches would cost. I lost the 21mm wrench. When I went to buy a replacement the new wrench looked like a claw on a lobster. The open end was thick, felt clumsy, it was just all wrong. Chinese made. I left the store disappointed and disgusted. Thankful I found the original wrench about two weeks later.
Everybody has Craftsman tools, probably lots of them. How did they screw up that part of the Co. that bad? Greed?
I've had a full set of Craftsman short combination wrenches for about 12 years. I find them very handy. I bought the Craftsman set for about what two Snap On wrenches would cost. I lost the 21mm wrench. When I went to buy a replacement the new wrench looked like a claw on a lobster. The open end was thick, felt clumsy, it was just all wrong. Chinese made. I left the store disappointed and disgusted. Thankful I found the original wrench about two weeks later.
Everybody has Craftsman tools, probably lots of them. How did they screw up that part of the Co. that bad? Greed?
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No kidding... Because once upon a time in my fathers generation (and probably many board members on here as well), Craftsman used to be a damn fine brand with really high quality tools.
Their round head, fine tooth ratchets used to be an excellent choice for the professional, even without factoring in price.
I used the long, flex handle, 1/2 drive every day for years at work and never even had it rebuilt. I had to buy the ratchet separately but it was (is) an excellent product.
I used the long, flex handle, 1/2 drive every day for years at work and never even had it rebuilt. I had to buy the ratchet separately but it was (is) an excellent product.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
This set is supposed to be their best. They have 3 grades. All made in China but they are nice polished finish
Stanley wanted the name "craftsman" more than anything. People know craftsman and will still buy their tools with that name branded on them. I've had the same wrench and socket set from the mid 90's and a drill and impact from 2004. All of their tools have served me well. I have yet to break one (knock on wood). I hope Stanley can keep the craftsman name associated with quality tools at a reasonable price.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
At one time Sears sold everything. We would get baby chicks, incubators, saddles for the horses, guns, honey bees and supplies, gardening equipment. I even bought my first scuba diving setup from them. They stood behind everything they sold. There wasn't much they didn't have. Find a old Sears sales book from the early 1900's to about 1975 and look what they had. Look at the prices over the years. i think most would enjoy it.
Yep, I've got a drawer full of the old round head, find tooth ratchets. I love this things! Do they even make them anymore?
Tell me about it! My Dad tells me stories like this all the time. He'll tell me how you could get almost anything you want at Sears.
Oh how the mighty have fallen...
I've only broken two Craftsman tools in over 17 years of using them. One was a socket, the other was a breaker bar.
The breaker bar had it coming. I was trying to remove a crankshaft pulley on a Honda CR-V and I was putting as much force as humanly possible on that thing when it finally just gave way.
Both socket and breaker bar were replaced, no questions asked.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
I would pay above a resonable price if they would make them the way they did 40 years ago. A friend bought a Snap On rachet with 8 sockets the other day. $925. Not me