Howdy folks, I'm new here
Figured this was the best place for a first post since not only was this a new tool buy but also a great deal and an interesting story...
So, after almost a year of consideration I finally picked up some Chinese Craftsman, aka the Max Axess 30 pc pass thru socket set
While I'm not a huge fan of pass thru sockets, they do have their place, specially when you don't have any ratcheting wrenches. I already own the Crescent X6 spline drive set but I was looking for a 6pt set to keep in my second truck and the CM is the only pass thru set I've found with a real case. Unfortunately, as many of you know, there are no socket rails that fit pass thru sockets and the "keeper" cases some of them come with, like the Crescent, are odddly shaped and only good if kept horizontal and rarely moved, in other words useless.
I finally decided to pull the trigger on the CM set for several reasons, 1- the case. 2- I discovered they are compatible with my Crescent set (thank you, APEX & GJ), and 3- I found them on sale online. Here's where it gets funny though...
I see the set on the Sears website on sale for $26.67 (regular price $49.99). I figure I'll just stop by Sears and pick it up but then I see this is an online only price so I create an account and order online. When I'm (surprisingly) given the option to pay at the store vs inputting all my info and paying online I chose the "pay at store" option. Plus, I figure I'll probably want to pick up something else while I'm there so paying at the store seems like the smarter move. Unfortunately, the lady at the register in the tool dept isn't sure how this works and when I go downstairs to the online pick-up area the computer doesn't recognize my information, even though I have the confirmation email on my phone with an order number and barcode...
So after several failed attempts to punch up my info both downstairs and back at the tool dept, the guy at the counter decides to just price match a set off the shelf, which was fine with me. The funny thing is that while the 30 pc set was on sale for $26.67 online, it was on sale at the store for $45.99, with both the website and the shelf tag showing a $49.99 regular price. So even though I had to deal with all the rigamarole (which shows Sears doesn't have its act together when it comes to online sales/pick-ups), I still managed to save $19 vs the regular price and $15 vs the store sale price. Not too shabby if you ask me, even though the set does feel cheaper and chintzier than the Crescent set, which I didn't think was possible... Hopefully it's doesn't rust as fast as the Crescent...