On one hand, they sell them under the same sku #, so that says to me they consider them the same, whether foreign or domestic.
On the other hand, the hang tag on the tools often says "Made in USA" for domestic tools. Swapping them out would mean hanging import tools with packaging that says "USA", which would inevitably result in the sears bashing thread by the guy who got home and realized he had china wrenches in USA packaging, ZOMG! Sears is lying!
I won't make a call as to the right or wrong of it, but I probably wouldn't do it.
i have never seen open stock wrenches with any sort of packaging. they hang by the box end on a rack.
i did swap out a set for the open stocks. but i went in with the plan that if they did not place the wrenches back on the shelf, i was not swapping them. the guy was helpful, and asked why i was swapping them and if they were defective. i told him they are brand new, and should be hung back up on the shelf, nothing wrong with them, other than being chinese. he was totally understanding, and said that they are interchangeable, so no problem whatsoever, and that the only reason he asked was because he was curious.
no packaging swap, i have the chinese packaging, the wrenches i bought were placed back on the shelf in place of the USA pro that i got in exchange. they feel they are identical and cool with it, then so am i.
let the bash begin, i dont see an issue. the wrenches were not broken on purpose to warranty, and the packaging was not swapped. even trade, by the books. the only problem i could see people having is that i got a set of USA pros for $17.99 sears price.
