Craftsman Rare or Not Rare?

[gemnewt]

There is a member in a group I belong to who purchased this set of wrenches ten years ago for $350 and he currently has them listed on eBay.
RARE USA VV CODE Vintage Craftsman 7peice deep offset box end wrench set #944328.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/292307890265?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649
This set is marked with the double VV.
I explained to him those marks indicate they were made by Easco from 1974-1989 or by Danaher from 1990-2011 I might be off by a year or so but I think it's a pretty good range.
Would someone please take a look at them and tell me are these really rare or did pay to much 10 years ago? This member is getting some bad posts so I just want to know so I can help him. Thank you in advance.

 

[Bill C]

Re: Sraftsman Rare or Not Rare?

Cannot comment at all in regards to rarity...
BUT, if you are going to ask an enormous price for something, you should at least spend 5minutes to take some halfway decent pictures. Due to this laziness he won't get a singe bid. Hell even if they were listed at $30, he probably would not get any bids due to the horrible images.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I doubt that ANY Craftsman tools will ever reach that level of "collectability" that they can command that kind of price ! Not in our lifetime.

 

[davethorik]

Agreed those are super ****** pics. Not just your friend, its ebay sellers in general. I would say for $350 he over paid by about $250.

 

[gemnewt]

I will agree with you 100% I'll go back and tell him to take additional photos and add to his listing. Bill I appreciate you chiming in. What was it that General Douglas MacArthur once said, "I Shall Return"

 

[disston]

Is that not a plastic pouch with a snap opening on the other side? I'm afraid he should have to cut the pouch open if he wants to sell them. He can still list them as NOS if he wishes but we should be able to see the condition of the tools. Take better photos.

Many people collect Craftsman but nothing with that name is rare. Some of the older stuff is harder to find than the '60's, '70's stuff but none of it is impossible to find. VV was the marking when I started working on cars. I still have bunches of my VV stuff from those days and it was a good period for Craftsman tools. Durable era. But not even close to rare.

He needs to also list what sizes the wrench set includes. Nice set. If I wanted a set of those I'd go maybe to $100 but that's tops.

 

[3baygarage]

I don't know if I'd call them rare, but harder to find than the typical old raised panel box wrenches that were made for decades.

What makes them even more special is being both a complete set and new in the package.

 

[L.Cheapo]

The only thing associated with Craftsman thats getting rare is Sears stores.

Your friend is asking more than new Snap On prices for those wrenches. Good luck.

 

[DadsTools]

Based on my many travels through yard/estate sales and flea markets, can't say I've seen any CM wrenches without raised panels before from that era, so I'd say they're somewhat uncommon. Now if you had a handful of some of the big vintage tool experts in here stating they've never seen anything like that (and I've posted a couple of things to that effect), then you might say they were rare.

I gave up trying to help guys like that on eBay ages ago. If he's posting something like this for that kind of money, he's already so lost in the sauce that you'd need a deep coal mine lift to get him out. Most winches don't have cables long enough.

But you know what? I've seen some items sell for unbelievable prices on eBay. Maybe he knows something we don't....

 

[d.mcfarland]

Nowhere close to that asking price. Try $50.

 

[Markfothebeast]

He'd be better off just using them. The odds for a buyer are 2 in 7 billion unless the price is dropped deeply and he just takes the cut.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

He will have to seek a buyer from His world of Tool Collectors.
The values in that world are different from this world of Tool Users.

Reminds Me of Lionel Train sales of eBay. I watched an empty cardboard set box for a limited production train go for $6,300.00. 200 of these sets were built for Sears in the 1960's; and a collectible set is not considered complete without that set box.

Being those wrenches don't fit anything on My toy trains; I will pass

 

[apollo11]

650.00?
the guy is nuts

 

[SuperXero]

He is delusional if he thinks they would go for that much. They aren't worth much at all. It's mixed metric and sae, not complete sets of either.

 

[scubadoober]

 

[Jtels85]

They are rare... An educated guess would put them made sometime in the late 80’s by Easco for Craftsman. As for the asking price, he needs to come down about $550. I can see a diehard collector paying $100, but not more than that. The deep offset wrenches that are most desirable are the Craftsman Professional VA stamped wrenches from a decade or so ago. Those can fetch BIG $$$.

 

[Al Borland]

Late 80s, early 90s packaging.
If he spent $350 on them 10 years ago...He got "schlonged" Bigly!

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Rare in that the plastic pouch from the 70's or 80s is still there and intact.

 

[ike]

There is certainly no shortage of delusional Craftsman USA sellers on eBay.

 

[Jtels85]

Late 80s, early 90s packaging.
If he spent $350 on them 10 years ago...He got "schlonged" Bigly!

I’m going to have to use that one. “Schlonged”. Best insult I’ve heard all week. It’s right up there with Douche Biscuit.

 

[dkroth]

Not a hot dog.



.

 

[wrenchr]

I doubt that ANY Craftsman tools will ever reach that level of "collectability" that they can command that kind of price ! Not in our lifetime.

I disagree on that, a 3pc rhft ratchet set just sold for a grand last week.

 

[Jtels85]

I disagree on that, a 3pc rhft ratchet set just sold for a grand last week.

I seen this! That was crazy but somebody wanted them BAD.

There’s no doubt that some Craftsman tools bring a collector premium, especially since production shifted overseas. I’ve made a lot on eBay selling USA Craftsman, also spent some cRaZy money. I’m hoping that prices for a lot of this stuff will go down significantly once SB&D releases the new USA line. If they keep their promise, the tools should be far better quality than the old Danahar/Western Forge stuff. There’s no shortage of Craftsman collectors out there willing to pony up big bucks. It’s like a dark, secret underworld that most people don’t even know about. You’d think the **** was banned.

 

[Jim C.]

I doubt that ANY Craftsman tools will ever reach that level of "collectability" that they can command that kind of price ! Not in our lifetime.

Maybe, maybe not. In the last few years or so, I kinda remember seeing a couple of those early 1970s Cman stainless steel wrench sets in their original boxes go for around $250 - $300.

 

[dale500]

Collectable? Maybe. Worth that kind of money? Not to me. I use my tools and have no desire to have pretty tools just to look at. You could get both the 5 piece metric and 5 piece sae set of USA craftsman pro for less. A lot less if you watch and wait. I glad I bought mine at the store when they still had USA available and used to put them on sale for $39.99 a set. I don't think they are worth much more than that even today but people continue to pay insane prices on eBay for this stuff. I may have to sell off all my "original & collectable" cman USA pro and Industrial sets when the new SBD Craftsman hits the shelves.

 

[r_olson_06]

I doubt that ANY Craftsman tools will ever reach that level of "collectability" that they can command that kind of price ! Not in our lifetime.

Craftsman C series ratchet fetched $900 on eBay this year. I think it is a C-98. I agree they are not worth that even close but Craftsman is often overlooked as being valuable.

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[Fedwrench]

Those wrenches are uncommon but, I wouldn't call them rare. Those are the smooth beam satin finished wrenches that were made in the early to mid 1990's. They only had a short run of 1-2 years, as they were replaced by the full polished US made versions.
This is an example of the EBay craziness that happens occasionally. There's no way that those no frills, basic wrenches are worth the asking price but, for the diehard craftsman collector with more money than sense, they could be reasonably priced.

 

[Jim C.]

A set of four Cman DBE Whitworth wrenches just sold on eBay for $110. Add in $9 to ship them and they’re right around $120 for four raised panel wrenches... $30 per wrench. Like it or not, Cman tools have a huge appeal that spans generations for various reasons. Some tools are unusual, some are scare, and that alone makes them collectible.....and valuable.

Jim C.

 

[r_olson_06]

Dang I should sell my set for that. That is crazy.

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[joe_padavano]

Maybe, maybe not. In the last few years or so, I kinda remember seeing a couple of those early 1970s Cman stainless steel wrench sets in their original boxes go for around $250 - $300.

There are plenty of buyers with way more money than brains.

Just watch Barrett Jackson sometime.

 

[turnthewrench]

For that kind of money you can get 3 sets of Stahlwille shipped from Germany - including the deep offsets - which will be real rare should things keep going the way they are.

 

[Jim C.]

There are plenty of buyers with way more money than brains........

I don’t know Joe, the market for older Cman tools is what it is. If people didn’t want them, or the price was too high, they simply would not sell. Of course the market can drop.....or keep going up. Right now, vintage Cman tools are hot. Nice stuff in collector condition, or even in nice user condition, sells. A non Craftsman collector might not understand that.

Jim C.

 

[Rileysan]

I've never seen a set like that, but that doesn't make em rare. But even if they're uncommon, there are people willing to spend that kind of money to fill holes in their collection.

The seller needs to follow the advice that others have given - take them out of the pouch and take some high quality photos.

Brian

 

[Fretters]

There are plenty of buyers with way more money than brains.

A collector doesn't necessarily consider the price, especially if they are well to do. They collect because they desire, and cost is only part of the equation. With the general sentiment on here, that truly should not be hard for most to understand. Throw a stone, and it will highlight some thread proving the point.

 

[Thru-hika]

A set of 3 Craftsman RHFT ratchets in the plastic pouch just sold for $1000 last week.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vinta...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[t4runner]

A set of 3 Craftsman RHFT ratchets in the plastic pouch just sold for $1000 last week.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vinta...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

My Dad always said there's an *** for every seat.

 

[r_olson_06]

A set of 3 Craftsman RHFT ratchets in the plastic pouch just sold for $1000 last week.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vinta...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

It's back up again must have had buyer's remorse at that price.

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[L.Cheapo]

It's back up again must have had buyer's remorse at that price.

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Or the seller's shill bidder got ahead of himself.

 

[DadsTools]

It's back up again must have had buyer's remorse at that price.

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Likely the buyer wouldn't pay and the second chance offers were all ignored. I've had auctions ruined like this. Sometimes a bidder will enter an exuberant bid figuring nobody's going to bid that high, but never expecting it to actually go that high. Normally a sniper bid. On occasion, another bidder comes up with the same genius move and enters the same number! Usually this ruins the auction, but I did have two fellows do this on a $100 bid and the winner actually ponied up and paid.

 

[acdeucey]

I have that same set, which, if I remember correctly, I purchased sometime in the 90s. The nice thing about this set was that it wasn't too expensive.

The rare thing about this set is I was never able to find any singles of the missing wrenches in this style. As far as I know, these wrenches were it. But then, I rarely used the wrenches anyway so I really didn't care.

Come to think of it, I may still have the plastic pouch stored somewhere. I BE RICH!

Don