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Amazon Basics hand tools

vavet

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It came to my attention today that Amazon Basics has a line of hand tools.
I've had reasonable service from other Amazon Basics branded items, but this is news to me.
Based on the number of reviews, these are not new items.
Anyone here try them?
 
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JradM

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It's weird.

At first AmazonBasics seemed to curate the products they sold under that brand - probably for good reason. No doubt they wanted to make sure they built up a certain degree of positive reputation. At this point Amazon seems to just rebrand or tweak any of the 1000's of no-name straight-to-Amazon products that sell well.

I bet it's highly profitable for them. They get inside knowledge about exactly how well their competitors are doing and can monitor their sales in real time. Not only that, Amazon can advertise it's own competing product right on the competitors sales page.

I suspect the tools aren't horrible - though I admit, I've not tried any. I just doubt Amazon would want to attach their brand to something that would quickly garner bad reviews.

You should note though, the "warranty" might not be what you'd expect from similar tools. E.g. buy a cheap $10 pair of Husky pliers and you can return them for life if something goes wrong. You might try the same with an AmazonBasics tool and find the "warranty" is a year, or even just the 30 day return period.

Here's a couple Toolguyd articles of note:

AmazonBasics Combination Wrenches
AmazonBasics Pliers
 

RTM

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I've been buying Amazon Basics Dog Poop bags for several years now. Buying 900 at a time is nice when you have two big dogs who might poop 2-3 times in a walk. But the quality.... Not unusual to have a few from the 900 with rips along the folds, or completely open seams for several bags.

Would I tolerate that level of inequality for a tool, probably not. In the dog poop world, I look closely before I use them. It is the only thing we buy from that category of products.
 

Bubba Fett

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I'm sure they are made by the lowest bidder, or by same company that makes all those random letter "brands" on Amazon. They might be good for assembling toys and fiber board furniture, but not much else.
 

4xdog

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I've bought several Amazon Basics products over the years. A Lightning charging cord. CR123 batteries. A camera backpack. All of them were perfectly serviceable and completely unremarkable. I'd say the quality was fit for purpose, but not a lot more than that.

Definitely a value line, but decent otherwise.
 

ajchien

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right now, I just bypass the Amazon basics hand tools when they show up on the search list.

For other Amazon basics products, I’ll usually do a comparison with other similar products in the category. If there is an similar product from a more preferable COO or name brand, I’ll usually go for the more preferable COO or name brand. If I’m comparing between Amazon basics and another product with the same COO/no name brand, I’ll consider the Amazon basics product if it’s price comparable.
 

Mallen

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I'm sure they are made by the lowest bidder, or by same company that makes all those random letter "brands" on Amazon. They might be good for assembling toys and fiber board furniture, but not much else.
Well, I am now curious who is making them. The first 145 piece mechanics tool set with the yellow holders on the hex wrenches in the top of the case is Stanley Tools on STMT71653. It goes for $57.99 on Amazon com. According to the Stanley website it carries a full lifetime warranty. (I've never warrantied any Stanley Tools so I don't know how hard they make it)


The second one with the red holders is "Amazon Basics 145 piece mechanics tool set. They want $65.43. I didn't see it in the description, but one of the answers in the Q&A section said it has a 1 year warranty.

So is Stanley getting these low end sets from someone in china or did amazon go to Stanley? Obviously the Stanley set is the better value of the two, both cheaper and has a better warranty.
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BlakeTheCarGuy

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My friend got some of the ratcheting wrenches like that says he believes they are rebranded Gearwrench. Not sure if that is correct but they sure do look like them. Or if not rebranded then made by Apex probably. I personally don’t shop on Amazon so I probably won’t try them and most of the stuff they sell I have tons of like sockets and wrenches lol.
 

Mallen

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Looking at some other tools, there's a 26 piece hex wrench kit that's sold as a tekton, but also under a hundred different pseudo-brands.

Their 201 piece mechanics tool set looks like Stanley 71654.

There a 32 piece electronics repair screwdriver kit that's sold under a bunch of different pseudo brands.

There a 51 piece electronics repair screw driver set that must be sold under 100 different pseudo brands. I recognize it because I had one. I might have got it at Walmart, or maybe in the discount him at the hardware store. It was total junk.

Just mostly random import stuff like you find in the 1-5-10 dollar bin at the hardware store with the colored dots denoting the price. The kits that look.lije Stanley are the odd ones out though. If those are the standard Stanley ratchets, they share the same rebuild kits with the low end craftsman ratchets. While the Craftsmans are sloppy, and not particularly good quality, they are at least usable, in that the head doesn't literally fall apart into pieces like some of the junk toolkit ratchets I've seen. Of course, the Stanley kits cost less, so honestly, I don't see the point. Now, if amazon had a lifetime warranty where you could drop your return at whole foods or kohls and get a new one shipped out prime, or something like that, that would be a selling point.
 
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TailGunner3000

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I'm gonna guess the quality will be all over the board. Having bought many Amazon Basics things over the years, the quality is hit or miss. Unless they change their model to require contracted standards, the things you get are just rebranded products. Some are good, others, not so much.
 

Kscardsfan

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The Amazon targeted ads I get have been pimping SATA at me hard. I wonder if there’s an Amazon-Apex connection out there and they’re using them for contracts.
 

Bubba Fett

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Well, I am now curious who is making them. The first 145 piece mechanics tool set with the yellow holders on the hex wrenches in the top of the case is Stanley Tools on STMT71653. It goes for $57.99 on Amazon com. According to the Stanley website it carries a full lifetime warranty. (I've never warrantied any Stanley Tools so I don't know how hard they make it)


The second one with the red holders is "Amazon Basics 145 piece mechanics tool set. They want $65.43. I didn't see it in the description, but one of the answers in the Q&A section said it has a 1 year warranty.

So is Stanley getting these low end sets from someone in china or did amazon go to Stanley? Obviously the Stanley set is the better value of the two, both cheaper and has a better warranty.
63ce9823-1c8c-4fc9-86c7-8bc91dfb8588_1.1dc7e0780dfdca2ec22394cd3d6e4082.jpeg51fA+SIiRDL._AC_SY1000_.jpg
In this case (no pun intended), there's no reason to even bother with the Amazon brand. Stanley mechanics tools are definitely entry level, but they do work. This would be a great starter set or a set to keep in the truck.

I've bought Amazon basics cell phone chargers, and things like that. Even ordering the same thing more than once got me two different chargers. The first one was great, second one was junk. This kind of put me off the brand.
 

Bubba Fett

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The Amazon targeted ads I get have been pimping SATA at me hard. I wonder if there’s an Amazon-Apex connection out there and they’re using them for contracts.
I've been getting a lot of suggestions for MichaelPro tools, which look like Sata rebrands. Not sure if they are actual rebrands or counterfeits, but the prices are not much different, and in some cases are higher.
 

Raineman

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(I've never warrantied any Stanley Tools so I don't know how hard they make it)
Stanley, Black & Decker warranty process is top notch in my experience. They own several brands and if what you are replacing is no longer available, they will offer you another brand. I called with a broken Stanley ratchet, no longer available, they offered me a Craftsman, I told them I didn't want Craftsman, they offered me several others and I chose Proto and had it in my hand in a few days. Very positive warranty experience. Sorry off topic.
 

dstblj52

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I've been getting a lot of suggestions for MichaelPro tools, which look like Sata rebrands. Not sure if they are actual rebrands or counterfeits, but the prices are not much different, and in some cases are higher.
sata is apex group so maybe michaelpro are also?
 
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