Anyone else feel like gearwrench is getting overpriced?

[hudd1256]

The past few months I’ve been in the market for a new 3/4 ratchet and a longer 1/4 ratchet. I work at a Deere dealer on ag equipment so I looked at snap on but the two combined from the dealer were just shy of $450. Then I looked at brands like Williams, Wright, and Gearwrench for a longer 3/4, I don’t see how GW can even justify getting $150 out of there ratchet when both Williams and Wright are under $200.

On the 1/4 end I was looking at the 120xp and found the individual ratchets to be descently priced but just looking around it seems all there stuffs went up in the past year. I bought a $30 ratcheting wrench st last winter and it was missing the 18mm. The individual was $25 on Amazon. That’s almost as much as the entire set.

Might point being did Amazon raise there prices or GW across the board, what have you guys seen?

 

[ChevyEFI]

Their list pricing is toward the higher end of pricing, given the majority of their stuff is imported. But they're well marketed, and have significant distribution strength.

Your $30 set was a lucky score, sounds like.

 

[hudd1256]

Their list pricing is toward the higher end of pricing, given the majority of their stuff is imported. But they're well marketed, and have significant distribution strength.

Your $30 set was a lucky score, sounds like.

Check your local Carquest around Christmas. I bought three sets gave two out as gifts and one for myself. Reversible metric ratcheting wrenches. 10-19mm but it skips 11,16,18. I didn’t see that when I bought them or I wouldn’t have bought em. The owner said they have that deal every year.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeh gearwrench right pricing is sale and deal prices, other times of year they overpriced for what it truly is .
Plenty equal and better out of taiwan, it a consumers dream if willing put in some search time and adapt your purchase methods a little .

 

[Ton ton]

H.D. supply has 3/4" wright ratchets for $150. Not sure if they are open @ the moment or not.

 

[lardy1]

Gear who?

 

[B_Bimmer]

I have always thought they were overpriced for how easy they break and what a hit and miss pain in the rear their warranty is.

 

[Ton ton]

Buy them off the tool truck to save the warranty hassle.

 

[VolvoRyan]

Just last night I was thinking how *cheap* GearWrench is while putting away the tools.

The 120XP's ratchet handles are proving to be really nice. I got the long handle flex ratchets on sale last Black Friday. Normally, they're a little over $100 for the set, which is still a great price.

Your $30 set was a huge score. I think I paid $60-$70 for 10-16mm flex-head wrenches 10 years ago.

I haven't checked if there's a premium over Tekton, but I've been liking GearWrench a bit more lately (for certain tools, anyway).

-Ryan

 

[demarpaint]

Their prices are creeping up. I shop multiple sources and only buy when I think the price is right.

 

[unslow1]

Advance Auto usually have some really good deals running on Gearwrench stuff. I've never seen a deal I thought was great on their ratchets.

 

[ZRX61]

Buy them off the tool truck to save the warranty hassle.

The GW truck?

 

[toolenthusiast]

The GW truck?

Yes. Or one of the other tool trucks.

 

[Wrench97]

A coworker has this EzRed adjustable > https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021UL1ZK/?tag=atomicindus08-20 uses it almost everyday now for at least 2 years.

 

[hudd1256]

A coworker has this EzRed adjustable > https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021UL1ZK/?tag=atomicindus08-20 uses it almost everyday now for at least 2 years.

That’s the one I will get when the next job I’ll need it comes along. I like the Wright ones the best but the ez red looks pretty handy.

 

[measuredtwice]

Why didn't you Google "Gearwrench 18mm"? Amazon just had a bad price. It's $10 cheaper elsewhere. But it is usually cheapest to buy wrenches in a set rather than individually. And there are often sales on the sets.

In general, the China/Taiwan tools are rising in price. It's not just Gearwrench. There are overpriced China/Taiwan tools from most brands. As China/Taiwan imports destroy American manufacturing, there is less competition and Americans become dependent on China/Taiwan so the prices go up. We're shooting ourselves in the foot.

 

[sweet victory]

The GW truck?

SO has them in their supplemental catalog, so my dealer sells GW. Also...

 

[Professional Tool User]

Gearwrench has always been a bit overpriced for what it is as a made in Taiwan and China brand. For warranty purposes you need to know a local authorized dealer who replaces your broken tools no questions asked. As for the ratchets, which Wright, Williams, and GW ratchets are you comparing? If you are comparing two low tooth count USA made ratchets to a high tooth count made in Taiwan ratchet, it's apples to oranges. There's always other Made in Taiwan options if you find GW to be overpriced.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Buy them off the tool truck to save the warranty hassle.

This thread is about the OP's gripes about pricing. The tool truck is where GW tools are the most overpriced.

 

[hudd1256]

This thread is about the OP's gripes about pricing. The tool truck is where GW tools are the most overpriced.

I try to buy as little off the truck as possible this field doesn’t pay well enough to justify it. Anyways GW only makes one 3/4 36” long ratchet those were the one’s I was comparing to the Wright and Williams ones. For the money EZ Red appears to be the best option at $90 which to me is were the GW one should be priced.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

No.
I have some GW items in my Amazon wish list. Some prices are lower than when I added them. None are higher.
GW is made in Taiwan. Not Snap-On, but not snap-on prices either.

 

[bwringer]

Yeh gearwrench right pricing is sale and deal prices, other times of year they overpriced for what it truly is .
Plenty equal and better out of taiwan, it a consumers dream if willing put in some search time and adapt your purchase methods a little .

Nailed it. Gotta wait for a sale.

They're just... one of those brands that does that. So "normal" pricing is high.


If I were in the OP's shoes. I'd take a good long look at Tekton. Very nice stuff, great pricing, and they support what they sell.

https://www.tekton.com/

And they hang out here on GJ

 

[jimmyin3D]

Have you thought about getting a used 3/4 ratchet? On eBay they are about half the price you just quoted for those new ones. Plenty of SK, Proto, Williams from about $50-$90.

Also like everyone has said already GW is expensive year round except when they have sales. Best bet is to price check between Amazon/Ebay. And getting full sets is almost always cheaper then getting an incomplete one, you always get screwed on the missing wrench.





——————————————————————-
Check out my for sale listing in the classifieds:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438994

 

[theoldwizard1]

Have you seen the pricing on the HF "name brand" stuff ? UNBELIEVABLE !

Some tools, like pliers and cutter, have 4 different tiers. The high priced stuff is more than Craftsman (not that Craftsman is very good these days).

 

[jgromada]

Advance Auto usually have some really good deals running on Gearwrench stuff. I've never seen a deal I thought was great on their ratchets.

Advance Auto is discontinuing carrying Gearwrench. They had some big sales a few months ago to clear it out

 

[Firebrick43]

I have some of every thing but I would not cheap out on a 3/4" ratchet. While I am more of an sk and wright fan I have a 24" 1/2 drive and a 42" 3/4 snap on and would have saved a lot of money if I had bought them both first. In 3/4" drive I literally destroyed in order of weakest to strongest, a craftsman(grenade the head), a sk(bent handle), Mac (grenade the head), cornwell( grenade the head and slight bend of handle) and My snap on has been going strong. Now this was placing a 6' pipe on the handle, a handy man jack under the extension, and bouncing (230) to remove budd wheels, hundreds of them in the field, dozer under carriage bolts and tractor wheels. They snap on has been working for years and I have had to put a couple of kits in it but the handle has not bent, nor the head broke. My 24" dual head flex head I use as a breaker bar for the last 5 years and have hung from it at times, again never even broke the pivot pin for the flex head.

I would probably go with a wright 42" railroad ratchet if I had not gotten the snap on.

 

[Crabman]

Check Harry J. Epstein

https://www.harryepstein.com/

Got an SK and two Wright 3/4 right now

https://www.harryepstein.com/tool-type/ratchets.html?cat=1144

 

[Ton ton]

I have some of every thing but I would not cheap out on a 3/4" ratchet. While I am more of an sk and wright fan I have a 24" 1/2 drive and a 42" 3/4 snap on and would have saved a lot of money if I had bought them both first. In 3/4" drive I literally destroyed in order of weakest to strongest, a craftsman(grenade the head), a sk(bent handle), Mac (grenade the head), cornwell( grenade the head and slight bend of handle) and My snap on has been going strong. Now this was placing a 6' pipe on the handle, a handy man jack under the extension, and bouncing (230) to remove budd wheels, hundreds of them in the field, dozer under carriage bolts and tractor wheels. They snap on has been working for years and I have had to put a couple of kits in it but the handle has not bent, nor the head broke. My 24" dual head flex head I use as a breaker bar for the last 5 years and have hung from it at times, again never even broke the pivot pin for the flex head.

I would probably go with a wright 42" railroad ratchet if I had not gotten the snap on.

One of the most useful reviews I have seen on Garage journal.

 

[Fedwrench]

If Gearwrench is too pricey for you, you could always opt for their Chinese made SATA line.

 

[unslow1]

Advance Auto is discontinuing carrying Gearwrench. They had some big sales a few months ago to clear it out

The local ones are currently running sales. They are doing that running switch to Teq Correct.

 

[p00p]

Gw tries to compete with the other well known brands but all they've done was mimic the pricing. I dont like gw and wont buy there gw marked items. Too delicate and the return process always sucked. If im gifted a gw tool, i use it until it breaks then toss it.

 

[timoboy]

It’s like anything else they spent a ton on marketing, product quality suffered but they figure that awareness of the brand translates into high MSRP. As others have mentioned to add insult to injury if the GW breaks just toss it in the trash. You aren’t getting a warranty. The one tool of theirs I have is the metric set of zero offset XL ratcheting wrenches. Got them for $99 and no one else has anything else on the market even near that price. But I know if I break one I’m screwed since no warranty and they are very spendy individually. Break free with the box non ratchet end only on something you know will loosen etc. If I was in the industry and used daily I’d pay the truck premium for anything that ratchets knowing I’d make it up in the back end with warranty. If you can get a deal on GW and your truck honors warranty go for it otherwise there are better options.

Warranty has gotten tough on everything these days. Craftsman is done, Napa just killed their warranty, USA brands require a receipt usually. I’ve been actually bulking up on HF tools for any job where I think something might break. Tekton is in a league all its own if you are set on imports, warranty is excellent and they care about a superior product. If I was setting myself up today they would get all my money. Heck they should get all of everyone’s non domestic new tool spend.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Tallpilot]

Nailed it. Gotta wait for a sale.

They're just... one of those brands that does that. So "normal" pricing is high.


If I were in the OP's shoes. I'd take a good long look at Tekton. Very nice stuff, great pricing, and they support what they sell.

https://www.tekton.com/

And they hang out here on GJ

The 3/4" ratchet is a great deal with an impressive warranty.

 

[hudd1256]

Well it was a little more money than I wanted to spend but I bought a Wright 42” 3/4 ratchet off Zoro with a 15% off coupon but if it breaks I will be p!ssed cause I have no idea where to get it warrentied other then Zoro.
Also I looked on eBay before making this thread any 3/4 ratchet under 36” in length I am not interested in and seems to me most of the eBay ones are under 24”.
An as for those saying gear wrench is had hard to watery I have several of there tools and have Brocken two items. A Allen key and a deep 13mm socket both were warrentied at my local Carquest.

 

[chrismenke]

So I have an early set of gear wrench ratcheting box end ratchets in my Pick and Pull bag. They ****. A lot.

Every time I try to use the open end, they spread and I bash my knuckles. I've tried to get them replaced to no avail. I've taken them to Gear Wrench stores and a truck, and demonstrated the spread on a sticky nut on my truck. No love.

If they are more expensive than the worst possible HF equivalent, run away. You'll get no love after sale.

 

[impactsocket]

GearWrench 3/4" Drive 43 Tooth Quick Release Ratchet 19-3/4" Catalog Number: 88800

$29.99 + $32.85 Shipping

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Here are more on ebay:

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----------------------------------------------------------------

GearWrench 81400 19-3/4 in. Quick-Release Ratchet Model: kdtn81400

$60.99

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$65.99 + Free Shipping

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$58.07

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[Firebrick43]

Well it was a little more money than I wanted to spend but I bought a Wright 42” 3/4 ratchet off Zoro with a 15% off coupon but if it breaks I will be p!ssed cause I have no idea where to get it warrentied other then Zoro.
Also I looked on eBay before making this thread any 3/4 ratchet under 36” in length I am not interested in and seems to me most of the eBay ones are under 24”.
An as for those saying gear wrench is had hard to watery I have several of there tools and have Brocken two items. A Allen key and a deep 13mm socket both were warrentied at my local Carquest.

I wouldn't fret it, they have a customer service number, 1.800.321.2902.

If its any thing like snap on warranty service over the phone it will be pretty painless. Even with the large amount of wright tools I have I still have not had to warranty a single tool yet, but it is mostly sockets(1/2" and 3/4), some ratchets(long handle 3/8 which I abuse regularly for the past 5 years) and full set of combo wrenches and water pump wrenches.

 

[unslow1]

I really can't say I've had the hard time with warranty that some others have described. I have warrantied them at Sears, Carquest, Advance Auto, Fastenal and Ace Hardware. They weren't all for myself. We have an agreement that whoever is going takes everyone's stuff. Now Proto I have found impossible to get warrantied.

 

[hudd1256]

GearWrench 3/4" Drive 43 Tooth Quick Release Ratchet 19-3/4" Catalog Number: 88800

$29.99 + $32.85 Shipping

https://www.ebay.com/i/123911095041?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=123911095041&targetid=884733315753&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9031948&poi=&campaignid=9423618915&mkgroupid=95235863706&rlsatarget=pla-884733315753&abcId=1141016&merchantid=102012205&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj7v0BRDOARIsAGh37ioPe_BfWVEauD72mDy-mUY92oPpPKMfzBftFt5wc0bnUG9lX6CMPnMaAh1hEALw_wcB

Here are more on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=GearWrench+3%2F4%22+Drive+88800&_sacat=0&_sop=15

----------------------------------------------------------------

GearWrench 81400 19-3/4 in. Quick-Release Ratchet Model: kdtn81400

$60.99

https://www.cpooutlets.com/gearwrench-81400-19-3-4-in.-quick-release-ratchet/kdtn81400.html


$65.99 + Free Shipping

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GearWrench-81400-Quick-Release-Ratchet-19-75/231576748878?hash=item35eb0cc34e:g:qWQAAOSwLEtYkOJZ


$58.07

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I don’t mean to offend but I find all of those ratchets damn near worthless. I have a 36” and 25” long 1/2 ratchet and breaker bar. I have a 20” SK 3/4 with a tapered handle, anything I need a 3/4 for laughs at it. I find the only reason they offer those ratchets is to cheapen them up and than screw you on the warranty claiming you used a cheater pipe. Again not trying to offend.

 

[bcradio]

I have some of every thing but I would not cheap out on a 3/4" ratchet. While I am more of an sk and wright fan I have a 24" 1/2 drive and a 42" 3/4 snap on and would have saved a lot of money if I had bought them both first. In 3/4" drive I literally destroyed in order of weakest to strongest, a craftsman(grenade the head), a sk(bent handle), Mac (grenade the head), cornwell( grenade the head and slight bend of handle) and My snap on has been going strong. Now this was placing a 6' pipe on the handle, a handy man jack under the extension, and bouncing (230) to remove budd wheels, hundreds of them in the field, dozer under carriage bolts and tractor wheels. They snap on has been working for years and I have had to put a couple of kits in it but the handle has not bent, nor the head broke. My 24" dual head flex head I use as a breaker bar for the last 5 years and have hung from it at times, again never even broke the pivot pin for the flex head.

I would probably go with a wright 42" railroad ratchet if I had not gotten the snap on.

Sounds like it's time to upgrade to a 1 inch Drive