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Craftsman Ti Socket Sets on Clearance!

Stuey

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More than just a few Sears are selling 6pt deep socket sets in 3/8" drive w/ a blue Ti coating for $12-$16 a set.

9 piece sets, SAE from 3/8 to 7/8 and metric from 12 to 19, incl. 10mm.

The sockets are titanium plated versions of the following product : Metric.



 
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Stuey

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2008 catalog pg 41:

Created using "physical vapor deposition"... a dual finish of durable titanium over our standard rugged chrome plating process.

In other words, a very thin layer of titanium plating for improved aesthetics and nothing more. Maybe they plated it and then anodized the titanium, although I don't think there's enough of a Ti layer for them to have anodized it to get the blue. If I get the chance I'll compare a Ti socket to a regular socket w/ calipers.
 

davestlouis

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And they discolor almost immediately, and chip, and even in the holder on the shelf, the sockets are not uniform in color. I have some, they work just fine but look awful almost from the start. Thank heaven they were cheap.
 
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Stuey

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I noticed a variation in their shade of blue as well. It was pretty slight though, maybe one or two sockets out of the bunch were a tad bit lighter. Mine haven't chipped (yet) though.

Craftsman's blue Ti products have a disclaimer warning that they won't warranty the finish on the tools or sockets since they could change with usage. In other words, the plating must be VERY thin.

Tools are meant to be used and not look pretty. If they can look pretty if even for a little bit in the process, it's just sprinkles on the icing.
 

NOMAD

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no luck out here. They had them for $21 and up. Not so good a deal for me.
 

eschoendorff

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My gosh, am I the only person who would be embarrassed to use those stupid blue sockets???? And I'm wearing pink slippers fercryinoutloud!

IMG_0729.jpg



(before you ask... my wife had a ton of extra slippers and I'm too cheap to buy my own. Besides, I look good in pink ;) )
 

NOMAD

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better than the HF multicolored ones for the same price...
 

Chris Adams

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Checked the nearest five stores. Closest one has them. 26 bucks a set.
Nobody else has any of the close out stuff. Got one set of the closeout ratchets for 25 bucks.
Oh yeah, the local store has a couple tool boxes, 14 inch deep 'rollaway's going for 40 bucks. That's a 75% markdown.
 

Uncle Buck

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All the 80th anniversary stuff was gone from my local Sears by the time I got there to check it out. That is good though cause I really didn't need any of it anyway! I would have just been wastin money!
 

davestlouis

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I got the 3-pack of 80th Anniversary thin ratchets for $49 last week...don't need another set and could give a hoot about the whole anniversary thing, but the price seemed good, and I like the set I have...They had some of the thin ratchets with the Ti finish on clearance too, I just couldn't bear to do it
 
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Stuey

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If the choice is a blue Ti deep socket set for $15, or a plain chromed set for $20 on sale, maybe $15 once or twice a year during a 50% off sale, which would you guys pick?

Sears may have intended on selling these to gimmick lovers, but since that failed, they've had to price them for lower than chrome sockets. If the blue ratchets and regular socket sets go on clearance too for <$20, I'll probably get those too. Now if they had PINK sockets, I'd get those just on principle!

Then again, I'm not a pro and use my sockets in the privacy of my home/friends' homes. Even in a professional setting, I'd only be embarassed if I paid more for Ti blue colored sockets than regular chrome alternatives.
 
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T56 Impala

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I'd buy everything they had in blue Ti if they had it in stock locally and at a serious discount. Whats the worst that could happen? You guys would make fun on my pretty tools?!? I have 2 sets of the 3/8 Blue sockets. Guess what? They work great! Just like all my other Craftsman tools. If some day I kill one of them, big deal. It will get replaced for free with a pretty new chrome one.

The colour makes no difference to me. Price does.
 

64merc

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All the 80th anniversary stuff was gone from my local Sears by the time I got there to check it out. That is good though cause I really didn't need any of it anyway! I would have just been wastin money!

x2

(I'm still disappointed though)
 
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T56 Impala

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I wish I could find some more!!! I'm going to look at one more store but doubt they will have anything. Do the discounts apply to the web based sales too?
 
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Stuey

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I wish I could find some more!!! I'm going to look at one more store but doubt they will have anything. Do the discounts apply to the web based sales too?
Not as far as I'm aware. The blue Ti sockets that are so heavily clearanced don't even appear online anymore.
 

64merc

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I found a blue 8pc Craftsman ratcheting wrench set yesterday. I was really iffy about it but with a $15 dollar credit for getting a Sears card I got it for $35. Not a great deal but a good deal. They originally listed for $150 - what a joke!!

Even my wife looked at me like I was nuts when she saw the blue wrenches. :)
 
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Stuey

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I found a blue 8pc Craftsman ratcheting wrench set yesterday. I was really iffy about it but with a $15 dollar credit for getting a Sears card I got it for $35. Not a great deal but a good deal. They originally listed for $150 - what a joke!!

Even my wife looked at me like I was nuts when she saw the blue wrenches. :)
If you bought this set, for $50 before coupon, then you got a pretty good deal since the plain chromed set is priced at $100 itself, and probably never gets lower than $50 if there's ever a 50% off sale.

On the receipt, does it say "CLR" to the left of the price?
 

64merc

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If you bought this set, for $50 before coupon, then you got a pretty good deal since the plain chromed set is priced at $100 itself, and probably never gets lower than $50 if there's ever a 50% off sale.

On the receipt, does it say "CLR" to the left of the price?

Yes that is the set I got, except that it is SAE not metric. I don't have the receipt on me but I believe it did say "CLR" on it. It's strange because when I looked at last year's catalog it said that it was a catalog/online exclusive (blue set). Hmm....so maybe I got a better deal than I thought. :)
 
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Stuey

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Well, those wrenches are still featured in the new catalog, but I have a feeling that Sears couldn't unload enough blue Ti products during the winter holidays so they're trying to move quickly them now.
 

MAD

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Still $24.99 at my store.

Make sure you actually scan the item to check the price. The price tags in my local store were not up to date.

I bought a blue Deep socket set for 14.99 with the company credit card for my shop at work. I am hopeful now that I will not have to continue to hunt through the other shop's sockets for my missing ones now that they are easy to identify.

I also like that these are the old style sockets that are engraved. The laser etched ones just seem cheesy to me.
 
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Stuey

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I also like that these are the old style sockets that are engraved. The laser etched ones just seem cheesy to me.
I believe that Craftsman is experimenting with dual identification styles, with what looks to be much better etching as well.
 

64merc

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Yes, always scan any marked down item just in case. The wrenches I bought were still marked at $99 but scanned at $49. I did find one set of blue deep sockets but they were ringing up at around $22 so I passed. I'm still upset that I didn't find any ratchets left, even after searching 4 different stores.
 

5.0vert

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wrenches still $99 here
scored 2 sets of ratchets @ 24.97 each today

It's dangerous being 3 blocks from Sears:bounce:
 

supra129

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MAD, I did scan it and was hoping it was in teens but I guess not. I was also looking to score on the ratchets too but there weren't any. Just looking on eBay a lot of people got in on the ratchets, maybe thats the route I'll have to go. They are $79.99 at the store this week though from the $99.99 regular price.
 
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Stuey

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MAD, I did scan it and was hoping it was in teens but I guess not. I was also looking to score on the ratchets too but there weren't any. Just looking on eBay a lot of people got in on the ratchets, maybe thats the route I'll have to go. They are $79.99 at the store this week though from the $99.99 regular price.
For some reason, the package they sell at the store is listed as $99 regularly, while an equivalent set is always $80 online. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00933442000P

If you REALLY want it, there's a 10% off coupon code at the moment.

I'd recommend hunting around some more, maybe there's a Sears hardware store near you, as opposed to the full-fledged stores?
 
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