Craftsman...race to the bottom

[chicane]

I needed a space set of wrenches for the truck and I saw this:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-20-piece-ratcheting-wrench-set-inch-metric/p-00946820000P

Which looked decent and I had a spare $15 in Sears rewards points that I forgot about (want to cash those in before Sears bites the dust) so I was able to get this set for $47 (w/tax). I though it was a good deal until I got it home. I have to say I was shocked by the loss in quality as compared with my USA set (no wonder the USA sets are sky rocketing in value). There were all kinds of manufacturing imperfections in the wrenches from the very minor to the downright egregious. Not to mention the weight and the quality of the ratchet.

My theory is that by "dumbing" down the tool quality they forgo the lifetime warranty because most people in their right mind wouldn't trade in a broken USA C-man tool for a new Chinese C-man tool and the ones who do get one that was made for $.35.

How can Sears not see this affecting their bottom line.....

 

[dale500]

On top of it all you could have got the Grearwrench 20pc set at Sears this week for only $47.99. Nice set for the money

 

[Skin]

People have short memories. The USA sets were never that cheap. The 7 or 8pc sets were $80+ all day every day until they started to eliminate them. Same story with GW quality. Its declined and the wrench has taken on new forms but the price per wrench has also been cut in half. Welcome to America where we want it all but don't want to pay for it.

 

[Infinia]

solution is simple >why don't you take them back and exchange for 20 pcs Gearwrench?
see here http://www.sears.com/gearwrench-20p...ng-wrench-set-sae-mm/p-00935720000P?rrec=true
you buy for ~2 bucks a piece yup they have to make em for 75 cents.
the rule is on big box tools is >you pretty much get what you pay for.

I reckon what you really want is another Sears is **** thread

Thread rating 1 stars

 

[Stevenn1]

Craftsman does have a set of combination wrenches that ratchets on the box AND open end.

 

[mykvr6]

I bought a set of metric ones a few years back before I even knew sears had gone china on most of their stuff. I actually contemplated buying the gearwrench set but I remember thinking, I'll get the USA made set instead of Taiwan. Then I came on here and saw the sears threads and went and checked my wrenches and realized they don't have USA anywhere on them so I guess they are chinese made. Honestly though they have been fine for me. I never use the open end though, and mine seem to be pretty nice, quality looks pretty good, chrome is good and has held up and no real blemishes to speak of. So many they have gotten worse with the QC. Last year I got a set of the Dewalt metric and SAE wratcheting wrenches when they went on clearance for $19 and I love those, they are very nice, high quality but I rarely use them. I usually just reach for the Craftsman since I like the low offset heads on most things.

 

[chicane]

On top of it all you could have got the Grearwrench 20pc set at Sears this week for only $47.99. Nice set for the money

I'm taking these back....

 

[gabeancounter]

I went by Sears Saturday morning while the wife was in Belks. I remember enjoying spending an hour or two in the 90's looking at tools. I was there 15 min and could not stomach it any longer.
Cheap tools, mowers are junk, chainsaws are garbage, tin cans for toolboxes, just sad to see.

 

[Cato]

A couple years ago a set of SAE, USA made ratcheting reversible was on the shelves for like 40% off. Like a dummy I went home to "think about" it. The next day I came back and they were gone - apparently for good.

The USA ones were very good. The loose stock ones are still available but pretty expensive.

 

[Jeremy77]

With the $15 off that you had in points, that set came out to around $2.25 per wrench. I'm pretty sure that they'll perform great compared to their price point.

 

[Loscaldazar]

I'm taking these back....

Craftsman ratcheting wrenches = Gearwrench for the most part

 

[Moparman390]

Considering they are both Apex they probably come off the same production line.

 

[1950mercury]

Buys cheap tools and *******...

 

[Skin]

I'm taking these back....

Check the fine print on your sears rewards dollars. My guess is they're non-refundable. Honestly I think you'd just be wasting gas. Both those wrenches and GW are from Apex. They're either out of the same place or close to it.

 

[chicane]

Buys cheap tools and *******...

Better than being a *****...

 

[visionguru]

There were all kinds of manufacturing imperfections in the wrenches from the very minor to the downright egregious. Not to mention the weight and the quality of the ratchet.

Any pictures? I'm waiting to see "egregious".

 

[Dimitri]

People have short memories. The USA sets were never that cheap. The 7 or 8pc sets were $80+ all day every day until they started to eliminate them.

Don't bring common sense into a discussion. It will hurt people's heads to have to think about things in a realistic manner.

Dimitri

 

[jrockford]

You paid about what they go for at HF everyday.

I own both and their quality, finish ,and durability are identical. I just paid more for the GW's.

 

[Stooge]

With the $15 off that you had in points, that set came out to around $2.25 per wrench....

Yeah why cant you get a quality made wrench with an internal ratcheting mechanism and have it look flawless!....For the same price as a cup of coffee or a box of pasta

 

[visionguru]

I needed a space set of wrenches for the truck and I saw this:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-20-piece-ratcheting-wrench-set-inch-metric/p-00946820000P

Which looked decent and I had a spare $15 in Sears rewards points that I forgot about (want to cash those in before Sears bites the dust) so I was able to get this set for $47 (w/tax). I though it was a good deal until I got it home. I have to say I was shocked by the loss in quality as compared with my USA set (no wonder the USA sets are sky rocketing in value). There were all kinds of manufacturing imperfections in the wrenches from the very minor to the downright egregious. Not to mention the weight and the quality of the ratchet.

My theory is that by "dumbing" down the tool quality they forgo the lifetime warranty because most people in their right mind wouldn't trade in a broken USA C-man tool for a new Chinese C-man tool and the ones who do get one that was made for $.35.

How can Sears not see this affecting their bottom line.....

Without a picture evidence, it's BS.

 

[ilovevocs]

I thought we all pretty much stopped buy craftsman a while ago.