Craftsman USA wrench set with roll
- Thread starter 1982fxr
- Start date
How much did you pay for them? Seach my id, you can see I bought a full set of husky branded wrench for $40.
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Please show a closeup of the other side of one of the wrenches clearly showing what markings are on the raised panel.
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
My dad has the same set he bought it when I was little his has the V^ markings on them I don’t remember what year he got them it was 02 or 03 I believe
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Lesserstore
Well-known member
I will snap a pic of the other side when I get home from work.
I thought the logo in my pics was older like 70's-80's but the roll doesn't seem that old. It's in too good of shape to have been in the desert that long...
I thought the logo in my pics was older like 70's-80's but the roll doesn't seem that old. It's in too good of shape to have been in the desert that long...
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
In my 1997-1998 Craftsman tool catalog, they don't list a 17 piece set with a roll. They don't have any sets in rolls. it lists part number 49661 as being a 17 piece SAE set 1/4 through 1 1/4 for $59.99.
JR 42
Well-known member
I'm not up on the specifics, but the address printed on the roll should help define some kind of date range (for the roll, at least, cause hey it's Sears)- looks like they lost naming rights to Sears Tower entirely in 2009 when Willis Holdings Group assumed them, but hadn't been in the building since the mid 90's and had moved to Hoffman Estates IL. Not sure that helps much, but maybe someone more knowledable will come along and fill in some details.
I have a similar situation with a set of SK Superkrome combination wrenches (3/8 through 1 1/4) and a fake leather roll. I've tried tracking the numbers (520057) and the "Special Edition" online and come up with nothing.
If you put them on eBay, take some attractive photos.
It’s amazing how many sellers make no effort with this. You can double the value of something on eBay with good photos. If your time is worth so much you can’t clean the tools and take nice pictures, why are fooling around with eBay in the first place?
Here’s a little 3/8" drive socket set I got for a song on a local site. This was the disgusting for-sale picture:
And here’s how it looked after a clean, with an uncluttered background, under window light on an overcast day, with the camera held still (tripod in this case, but if you’re using a phone, rest your elbows on something):
(Click for bigger.)
Which would you rather bid on?
A complete set of USA-made Craftsman spanners in good condition might, just, get the dreamers’ attention. But only if it’s well presented.
It’s amazing how many sellers make no effort with this. You can double the value of something on eBay with good photos. If your time is worth so much you can’t clean the tools and take nice pictures, why are fooling around with eBay in the first place?
Here’s a little 3/8" drive socket set I got for a song on a local site. This was the disgusting for-sale picture:
And here’s how it looked after a clean, with an uncluttered background, under window light on an overcast day, with the camera held still (tripod in this case, but if you’re using a phone, rest your elbows on something):
(Click for bigger.)
Which would you rather bid on?
A complete set of USA-made Craftsman spanners in good condition might, just, get the dreamers’ attention. But only if it’s well presented.
While true, it’s a somewhat desirable item. Facom made sockets in France. At some point they went to OGV, equivalent to Snap-on’s Flank Drive. Not long after, they moved production out of France. This set was made in that period in between, so it’s got the OGV goodness and it’s made in France. Some people like that, a bit like some people like Craftsman USA spanners.
And yet that’s your 2535th post on this forum that, unless I’m missing out, pays miserably. Maybe you like posting here. Maybe I like making a filthy set of tools look and perform better by cleaning and lubricating them. Maybe I don’t subscribe to the trite and jejune notion that time is money. Maybe I don’t fret all day about maximising my productivity.
All the same, I take your point about the perverse nature of eBay and have noticed it to some degree. I would add that bad pictures hide flaws and that lets optimistic people imagine they’re bidding on perfection. And eBay is still full of incredibly optimistic buyers taking gambles that I prefer to avoid.
For the record, I paid €40 for this set and sold it on eBay for €105 plus €22 shipping to a guy in the UK … using the photos above. However, I confess I intended to keep the tools forever when I cleaned them. I only sold them because I unexpectedly ended up getting another socket set in a batch and didn’t need both.
Getting back on track.....age and pricing....
Still need to see the back panels of the wrench. If they are a -V- code (not VV or VA) they are worth more.
Condition looks very nice. If they're not worn or freckled, worth more. If pouch is in great shape with no tears or punctures, worth more.
As for age, even though Lesserstore found them in the 1982-83 catalog, I think they're older. Here's why:
1. I learned from doing that big type study on the RHFT ratchets that the the first catalog appearance cannot be always trusted for a start date. Sears sold zillions of tools just through the retail stores. I found examples where a product was confirmed to be for sale two-three years before it appeared in the catalog.
2. Tools might be listed in any one of sales flyers, main Sears catalog, or Craftsman catalog. Some tools are listed in one but not the other (yep, there are Craftsman tools not listed in the Craftsman catalog, but show up in the big Sears catalog).
3. Pouch says "Super-Tuff Steel"--they stopped using that term sometime in the mid-1970s. Cman cat 1975 and before lists Super-tuff on sockets, 1976 and later start using molybdenum alloy steel on sockets.
4. Pouch has that little dotted line oval where retail store could hand-place sticker, so it's before the printed bar codes became common on the packages.
I'd say late 1970s for this.
Price: If the pouch and tools overall are as nice as they look in the photos AND if it's a -V-series, I'd slap that up on the Bay for $99 to $119 + shipping and sit on it. All day long. All year long if necessary. Where are you (or a buyer) going to find another? Trust me on this. You can always lower the price later.
Remember, the collectors with the most spectacular collections of all primo stuff have very deep pockets also, no matter what the collectible category is. This set looks like rare primo. This is not a pedestrian rank-and-file item.
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That VV still a pretty desirable code. Not quite as good as the single V but made during the same period. More desirable than the VA (or VΛ to be exact). The VV still have the brighter colored chrome as the V.
If the pouch and the tools are all as nice looking as the partial photos you provided and have no owner engravings, I'd still shoot for the moon on the pricing like I said above. No hurry to sell. If you keep them indoors in a safe environment and climate, they won't melt, rust, or grow legs and walk off. You don't even have to feed them like a pet. No rush.
Last year I sold a 12pc set without pouch, biggest was 7/8, light usage, some chrome wear, one with owner marks, a little freckling, some flakes of finish loss (nice but obviously used), VV, for about $50 + shipping. And it only took me about a week to sell it. If that's a benchmark, what's your set worth? Oh yeah!
Well, I may have spoke too soon. I think I low-balled you!!!!!
Check this sale out back in May. Bid auction (usually sell lower than fixed price), no pouch, substantial signs of use, owners engravings, and mixed codes V VV and VA. Sold for 128.45 + shipping.
What's YOUR set worth???? $150? I'd try that. Sweet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cr...=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
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Agreed. This is the kind of thing, in good condition, that someone will have to have. You just have to wait for that someone to come along. Don’t auction it, because 10 days isn’t long enough to make sure the right people see it. Put a high BIN price and wait. After six months start dropping the price bit by bit.
Bingo. This item is for that special buyer. It's not the usual Cman fodder.
turbowoodworker
Well-known member
Any body notice that, in typical Sears attention to detail, the Roebuck is misspelled on the tool sleeve? Right above the address of Sears Tower.