Craftsman Ultimate Socket Set - Best price?
- Thread starter gsea
- Start date
BBC71Nova
Well-known member
It could be had for 260ish at some point last year I think. I picked it up for 280ish if I remember correctly.
rob1200
Well-known member
One of the reviews on the Sears site says "84 cents a socket AMAZING". So 84 cents x 299 sockets is $251.16.
rickhigginshtbr
Well-known member
search for coupons, know I had a $10 or $15 off tools coupon in the last week or two.
trout
Well-known member
it does go on sale. plus there are coupons you can search google for.
I have this set and love it, but I ordered it several years ago before it became a chinese set.
I have this set and love it, but I ordered it several years ago before it became a chinese set.
I have every chrome socket craftsman offers in 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2", but that is not enough to eliminate gaps. There are some sizes they don't offer, in each of 6 point, 12 point, shallow, and deep. Some sizes are only available in 12 point, other sizes only available in shallow sockets.
If you just want "every size Craftsman offers", this is a good way to do it, but I've seen this set at a better price than this.
I've got this set and have bought about 4 of them. I got 2 and used that to sort out missing or mispackaged sockets and then returned the incomplete set. much easier to do it this way than to deal with sears. the other 2 I got for friends. one of those friends got a set that had a mistake (2 sets of 6-pt instead of a 6-pt and 12-pt set) and he could never get sears to take care of the problem.
I got these sets when they were down to $239+ tax and free shipping. had to use coupon codes to get that price though.
they are pointless. most of the time I don't get them, but when I do, they show up 3 days too late and the sale is over.
I got these sets when they were down to $239+ tax and free shipping. had to use coupon codes to get that price though.
they are pointless. most of the time I don't get them, but when I do, they show up 3 days too late and the sale is over.
To me, these are the big questions. Will waiting for the better price, which will probably be around the holidays, result in buying a Chinese set of sockets? Has the set already changed over to Chinese made sockets? And the biggest question, is this set currently a mix of Chinese and US sockets? Has anyone purchased this set recently?
Super Sport
Well-known member
You're not supposed to deal with Sears. You need to call the number on the packing slip. That's APEX tools, and they are good about fixing errors.
From what I've seen at Sears, they don't mix COO (except in certain circumstances like the ratcheting wrenches in the 309 set). By the holidays, this set could very well be imported.
wrh3
Well-known member
I have bought this set and some of the other sets and only found a few that errors with sockets- Apex was quick t take care of them though, no talking to Sears India to correct these kinds of issues 
This set is a good set but I think I picked it up last year or the year before around the $250 price point- it is a lot of sockets but as someone mentioned there are gaps on my Hanson trays where they just don't make certain sizes in 6 or 12 point.
This set is a good set but I think I picked it up last year or the year before around the $250 price point- it is a lot of sockets but as someone mentioned there are gaps on my Hanson trays where they just don't make certain sizes in 6 or 12 point.
I have bought this set and some of the other sets and only found a few that errors with sockets- Apex was quick t take care of them though, no talking to Sears India to correct these kinds of issues
This set is a good set but I think I picked it up last year or the year before around the $250 price point- it is a lot of sockets but as someone mentioned there are gaps on my Hanson trays where they just don't make certain sizes in 6 or 12 point.
I was hoping to fill in the Hansen tray gaps as much as possible with this set, but I realize that some sizes Craftsman just doesn't make.
I was going to take the advice earlier about buying 2 sets to combine, but perhaps dealing with APEX won't be so bad. Seems funny that almost everyone has had some missing items with this set. Seems like it shouldn't be that hard to send out complete sets.
I have bought this set and some of the other sets and only found a few that errors with sockets- Apex was quick t take care of them though, no talking to Sears India to correct these kinds of issues
This set is a good set but I think I picked it up last year or the year before around the $250 price point- it is a lot of sockets but as someone mentioned there are gaps on my Hanson trays where they just don't make certain sizes in 6 or 12 point.
I was hoping to fill in the Hansen tray gaps as much as possible with this set, but I realize that some sizes Craftsman just doesn't make.
I was going to take the advice earlier about buying 2 sets to combine, but perhaps dealing with APEX won't be so bad. Seems funny that almost everyone has had some missing items with this set. Seems like it shouldn't be that hard to send out complete sets.
Catamount
Well-known member
I bought the set for $237 shipped in May of last year.
"For that Craftsman 299pc socket set, click following link and go to your cart with another 5% off, price down to $237 with free shipping."
"For that Craftsman 299pc socket set, click following link and go to your cart with another 5% off, price down to $237 with free shipping."
06ramctd
Member
Is there a link to this set? I can't seem to find it online.
I've had good luck with apex when it comes to gearwrench tools. but for craftsman, I'm always told, "you need to take it to your local Sears store and they will take care of you" ... which ultimately turns into the hassle nightmare I try to avoid. might be draw of the luck thing...
Super Sport
Well-known member
Did you have the item number of the set?
The only time I've had a problem was when it was a set that's no longer in production, and all I needed then was a salescheck number.
people have various reasons to buy USA, and I respect that. but having recently (2 days ago) seen the Chinese craftsman sockets and owning this 299pc set made in USA, I have to say the finish on the Chinese ones seem of better quality, probably because they don't have restrictions on their chroming industry. of course, visually pleasing says nothing about strength, but then again, I've never known craftsman sockets to be that strong as I've cracked quite a few USA craftsman sockets over the years...
yes, but as soon as they hear "Craftsman" it's "go to your local Sears"
Not just strength or patriotism. I've taken a look at the Chinese sockets in the stores and the walls on the sockets are noticeably a lot thicker than the USA sockets. That makes the Chinese sockets quite a lot less useful to me.
ilovevocs
Well-known member
Would be interested to hear of someone who split or damaged a chi-com craftsman socket. I know their thinner and I would prefer the USA made units but it would be nice to quantify how the VE design impacts performance.
again, not saying anything about strength, since no one has yet done a comparison of USA vs China craftsman sockets to breaking point and measured the forces involved. but, hypothetically, if they are made to the same specifications strength wise (isn't there some ANSI standard for this?), and the China ones are thin walled, wouldn't that be better? i can think of a handful of situations where i wished i had a socket with thinner walls. now, if thin wall compromises strength (which is unknown at this point) then I'd be concerned. otherwise, thin wall is actually an advantage to me... so, if you're concerned about strength due to thin walls, i share the same concern; but then it's about strength. if you're concerned about thin walls as a physical feature, then i don't get it... i would prefer thin walls.
The USA made sockets are the ones with the thin walls. The Chinese sockets are much thicker and less useful to me.
oh ok, i got that confused then.
but that said, maybe that explains why i've cracked quite a few of the USA craftsman sockets over the years... granted thicker walls makes it harder to get into some places, but they are still useful 80% of the time. and if the thicker walls means they are stronger than the USA thin wall ones, that might not be a bad thing... i'd just have to get thinner wall sockets for the specific applications where i might need them.
but again, it's just speculation about strength.. would be nice to see someone with the right testing jig to compare the USA vs China and see where their breaking point is... i've never been that impressed with USA craftsman sockets... they served their purpose most of the time and they are cheap to own.
Yeah, I guess I could just buy the Chinese Craftsman sockets and then buy another set with nice thin walls. But honestly, why wouldn't I just buy the set with the nice thin walls that works all the time? It's not strength. I have plenty of thin walled sockets and I'm not breaking them very often at all.
i guess it depends on what you do i suppose... i'm just a DIYer weekend mechanic, but i break USA craftsman sockets on suspension fasteners quite frequently. i actually now have duplicates (the 299pc set and my older USA craftsman from 10yrs ago), and i also have impact sockets (which are thick walled anyway) ... so I can usually finish the job without having to go to the store.
Quijote
Well-known member
I bought it earlier this year using all available coupon codes and the best I got was in the low $300's.
I don't think sub-$300 is going to happen again. You never know, but I doubt it.
I bought it in early May and they were all USA made.
I don't think sub-$300 is going to happen again. You never know, but I doubt it.
I bought it in early May and they were all USA made.
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Think of standards as minimums. Most tools don't meet the ANSI spec and stop right there. Most of them exceed the spec, some of them by more than others.
Their E-mail alert system has never once worked for me.
LB-1911
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Craftsman 299-piece Ultimate Easy Read Socket Set
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-299-...p-00935299000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1
PARTS LIST FOR 299 PIECE SOCKET ACCESSORY SET#35299
http://download.sears.com/misc/IL35299.pdf
I used it a couple times last year, and it worked every time.
Of course, I have no way of being certain it didn't miss once or twice.
Then the Sears website gods have smiled upon you then.
I am not a technical idiot by any means , but I have used their e-mail notification probable half a dozen times to let me know when stuff has come back in stock and I got nada from Sears. And yes I did check my spam folder.
I didn't use it for in stock/out of stock purposes.
I used the "follow price" to give notification of sales, and I got an email within the next month when the item I was concerned with went on a sale.
I routinely use it *after* purchasing an item of substantial price. If it goes on sale within 14 days, I submit a price protection claim. It's probably saved me $100 in the last year.
I used the "follow price" to give notification of sales, and I got an email within the next month when the item I was concerned with went on a sale.
I routinely use it *after* purchasing an item of substantial price. If it goes on sale within 14 days, I submit a price protection claim. It's probably saved me $100 in the last year.
I just compared this set to the 309 pc mechanic set I got over the weekend. Below are the differences. List shows what is included in that one, that is not in the other. The number in () is how many pieces in that group.
ULTIMATE SET
3/8" Drive 6pt Deep Set Inch & Metric Sets(22)
3/8" Drive 12pt Std 15/16 & 1", 21 & 22mm.(4)
1/2" Drive 6pt Std Inch and Metric Set(29)
1/2" Drive 8pt Std(6)
1/2" Drive 12pt Std 1-1/16 through 1-1/2 and 23-36mm(15)
1/2" Drive 6pt Deep Inch & Metric Sets(20)
1/2" Drive 12pt Deep 7/16, 15/16 through 1-3/16 and metric 10,11,12, and 20 through 27mm(14)
309 PIECE MECHANIC SET
1/4" Drive 3/16 though 3/8" hex Bit Set(5)
1/4" Drive Extensions(2)
3/8" Drive 5/32 through 5/16 Hex Bit Set(5)
3/8" Drive 4mm though 8mm Hex Bit Set(5)
Quick Release Ratchets, 3/8" is 1" longer than shelf model(3)
3/8" Drive Extensions(3)
3/8" Drive Spark Plug Set(4)
1/2" Drive Extension(1)
Ratcheting Wrench Sets Inch & Metric(16)
Ignition Wrench Sets Inch & Metric(20)
Magnetic Handle 1/4 driver with screwdriver bits and nut driver bits(20)
Hex Key Set Inch and Metric(40)
ULTIMATE SET
3/8" Drive 6pt Deep Set Inch & Metric Sets(22)
3/8" Drive 12pt Std 15/16 & 1", 21 & 22mm.(4)
1/2" Drive 6pt Std Inch and Metric Set(29)
1/2" Drive 8pt Std(6)
1/2" Drive 12pt Std 1-1/16 through 1-1/2 and 23-36mm(15)
1/2" Drive 6pt Deep Inch & Metric Sets(20)
1/2" Drive 12pt Deep 7/16, 15/16 through 1-3/16 and metric 10,11,12, and 20 through 27mm(14)
309 PIECE MECHANIC SET
1/4" Drive 3/16 though 3/8" hex Bit Set(5)
1/4" Drive Extensions(2)
3/8" Drive 5/32 through 5/16 Hex Bit Set(5)
3/8" Drive 4mm though 8mm Hex Bit Set(5)
Quick Release Ratchets, 3/8" is 1" longer than shelf model(3)
3/8" Drive Extensions(3)
3/8" Drive Spark Plug Set(4)
1/2" Drive Extension(1)
Ratcheting Wrench Sets Inch & Metric(16)
Ignition Wrench Sets Inch & Metric(20)
Magnetic Handle 1/4 driver with screwdriver bits and nut driver bits(20)
Hex Key Set Inch and Metric(40)
LB-1911
ALLIANCE MEMBER
How is that "Every socket Craftsman makes?"
Where's the 3/4" stuff? Impacts? etc..
Don't get hung up on semantics.
Craftsman 299-piece Ultimate Easy Read Socket Set
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-299-...p-00935299000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1
PARTS LIST FOR 299 PIECE SOCKET ACCESSORY SET#35299
http://download.sears.com/misc/IL35299.pdf
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WRX/Z28
Well-known member
It may be prettier initially, that doesn't equate to better quality when it comes to rust protection. Talk to me in a couple years of the Chinese sockets sweating in your drawers...
NC-Fordguy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Messages
- 1,391
Just got a brand new set of s&k...ordered it through the local Napa. They already have rust inside of them.
I'll get them greasy and oily soon so it's no big deal
I can't see any china made crafty sockets being any worse