Do Tool Brand Names impact your purchasing decisions?

[AEAdam]

The SK Xframe is not designed for fashion . Not sure where that take comes from...

...well, its not designed for strength or utility. I've personally never seen another wrench like it, and that's not a compliment.

Hey - I have none of their tools, no financial interest....With all the talk here about socket skips, don't you think guys would love to have drawers that look like this? (See Hazet's website)

And they have another set that perfectly fits into their toolbox's drawer adjacent to this one. This is where I would go if I were in the tool business. Toptul kinda does this, right?

I mean, how much do you pay for the tape measure? Doesn't matter. How much does the quality of the punches matter? Should you comparison shop? Doesn't matter. You get the Hazets because they fit and they all MATCH. To me, this is the power of this sort of packaging. Pretty sure you can buy the foam and the pieces individually. You can fill up the foam inserts over time perhaps. People love that sort of thing.

 

[Subutai]

As much as I would like to deny it, yes the marketing often works on me, however with high quality tool companies their reputation wasn’t built solely in a board room, Knipex, Snap-On, etc have decades (sometime even 100+ years) of high quality manufacturing, metallurgy, and “battle tested” reliability/quality behind them that elevate them above the competition, as well as with their pricing.

That being said, I have a “buy once, wince once” (I think that is the phrase, correct me if I am wrong) mentality with buying tools, as well as other products that I plan to use for a long time/my whole life. It helped having grandparents who were born in the 1920s who came of age during the golden age of American industry and who were accustomed to buying things once and using them for decades (my paternal grandparents had a Sears toaster that lasted until the mid 2010s and was only replaced because my grandmother wanted a larger toaster… I wish I had grabbed it before it went into the trash). My father also imbued in me a respect for nice tools (he is an electrical engineer and did all his own automotive and household work himself), and the easiest way to ensure quality, especially in the pre internet age, is based off of who the manufacturer is.

One bit of branding that also jumps out at me is that of logos, the other day I saw the Lobtex/Lobster lobster logo and I immediately purchased a pair of needle nose pliers and slip joint pliers of theirs (after a cursory internet/YouTube search to make sure they weren’t junk, saw good things so I added them to the basket). I haven’t received the pliers yet but I have enjoyed using the needle nose pliers at work to grab at and manipulate 10/12/14 gauge wire and I am happy with my purchase. If they didn’t have the cool lobster logo I don’t think I would have purchased them as the company name “Lobtex” sounds like a pharmaceutical brand. Before I did electrical work I always loved the Klein linesman logo and when I got into my line of work was happy I could finally justify buying their electrical tools (again, made better by the fact they are excellent tools by a good company).

On a final note, and I don’t know if this is an actual philosophical stance or a subconscious justification to spend a bunch of money (perhaps a bit of both), but when I purchase a tool from a well established company located in Western Europe, Japan, or the USA I know that their work force is treated well, paid a living wage/benefits, and their facilities are safe working environments. I don’t want to give my hard earned money to abusive employers, so I’m willing to pay more to ensure these industries continue to exist in nations with aforementioned values/working conditions as well as continue to provide the market with the best tools money can buy.

TLDR: I see a nice tool by a nice company, I pull the credit card out

 

[Pinemarten]

I don't find branding important to me. The font the brand uses far less so. The suitability of the tool vs price IS Important to me. A typical cost/benefit analysis. When using my Koken zeal ratchet, I don't think my Snap-on ratchets have a nicer font. I think "I wish my Snap-on ratchets had a nice low backadrag like the Koken".

 

[M635_Guy]

...well, its not designed for strength or utility. I've personally never seen another wrench like it, and that's not a compliment.

Don't you think it's a little strange to judge when you've never used them?

If you think about the forces being applied to a wrench, the design does have some merit - they've done well in most of the tests I've seen. I've got a set, and they've been up to everything I've done with them, and the ratcheting end is awesome.

Hey - I have none of their tools, no financial interest....With all the talk here about socket skips, don't you think guys would love to have drawers that look like this? (See Hazet's website)

And they have another set that perfectly fits into their toolbox's drawer adjacent to this one. This is where I would go if I were in the tool business. Toptul kinda does this, right?

I don't really lust for that kind of drawer setup, especially for the premium. My drawers mostly all look like this:



Tidy-ish, but efficient for me.

I mean, how much do you pay for the tape measure? Doesn't matter. How much does the quality of the punches matter? Should you comparison shop? Doesn't matter. You get the Hazets because they fit and they all MATCH. To me, this is the power of this sort of packaging. Pretty sure you can buy the foam and the pieces individually. You can fill up the foam inserts over time perhaps. People love that sort of thing.

You're going for an an aesthetic thing that I just don't value. I don't have any problem with it for someone else, but personally I'm not locking myself into any single brand or organization system. My drawers have evolved over time.

 

[zendriver]

I gravitate towards the HF brand names, but then I have a store right in town.

 

[Komet]

I don't really care much about brand name itself since no one company makes the best everything. Advance Auto once ran a killer deal on GW reversible ratcheting wrenches, but the package I received was missing a wrench. The only option was to return the entire package, and they didn't have a replacement for me but I saw the TEQ PRO brand ratcheting reversibles there at the store for the same price, clearly a GW rebrand, so I picked those up and it doesn't bother me. They work the same.

If I don't have time to research and I need a tool now, whatever brand I can get from a USA or Taiwan source is just fine for me.

 

[Subutai]

Snap-on probably sounded less cheesy in the distant past when product innovation was usually progress and people hadn’t caught on to the useless nature of most gimmicks. The name reflected the core product (interchangeable sockets on a few handles). Today when we hear the words “snap on” we don’t think of the meaning of the words but instead the meaning of the brand: high quality, expensive

This post reminded me of something, when I was a kid (probably around 2002-2005) my father, an electrical engineer, did some consulting for Snap-On’s diagnostic tool division through a friend of his who worked there. I remember him telling me he was doing consulting work for “Snap-On Tools” and thinking “Snap-On? Sounds like cheap plastic, I bet they aren’t very good.” and for years afterwards storing that in my brain.

You can imagine my shock when I was finally educated about Snap-On and it’s renown for quality.

Which makes me think of another point from the marketing perspective: those “in the know” will regard your company and product as top notch, thus justifying the high prices, as well as your reputation preceding you in spaces such as the automotive industry where your brand has a big footprint. On the other hand, having an “important” sounding name and/or “cool”/aesthetic logo/banding is needed to attract consumers who are outside of those spaces or have their first contact with your brand on the shelf of a store or online shopping. I’m curious as to which companies have the best success in this regards.

 

[zendriver]

1970's I got suckered into Snap On, as my bother was stocking a big box at my Dad's gas station. Felt like a player with a small set of 3/8 ratchet/sockets and some metric and long SAE sockets. A couple of screwdrivers. Was in already for a couple hundred bucks, occasionally dodging the truck driver when the small payment was due.

My family never shopped at Sears (knew nothing of Cman tools) and Dad would never partake in a tool truck (if his life depended on it) getting his meager tool collection from NAPA.

Great tools, still have and use them today. Never purchased another one from them.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Brand name usually impacts my decisions. Some that I trusted in the past I won't buy. Others I equate with a certain level of quality vs cost. If I'm shopping for a precision tool that I plan on using often for years I avoid the HF brands. A hammer that I plan on abusing for 1 job, Pittsburgh is fine.
I consider Snap-on (and truck brands) to be high quality but can rarely justify the cost. Especially since the truck never comes to me and I don't need the credit aspect. I know several people that have to find someone that works in a shop take care of getting their broken tools exchanged. If I want/need high quality I for sure will try to find a Snap-On equivalent.
As far as logos, letter styles for brands I have no experience with simple is better.
I avoid names, slogans that may be considered in poor taste (Sam and Ella's chicken, Morning Wood Company, Master Bait & Tackle, Passmore Gas, Big-***.....). I get the humor with double entendres but it doesn't seem professional.

 

[Meursault74]

Will you ever think of Snap-on the same again after seeing this? Pay special attention to the "S".

 

[threewood]

Yes, but I equate the name with the quality I expect. I don't necessarily buy a tool because of the name, moreover because the name implies quality and craftsmanship.

Snap On, Proto, Knipex, Klein, Williams, Nepros, etc I am more inclined to purchase.

 

[Sumboodie]

I think Snap On is a dumb name for a tool company, let alone the best tool company. It’s undignified. That said, they’ve done a lot with their branding, logo, and I think their reputation is pretty impeccable.

The name came from their first invention, a tool set that involved sockets that could snap on to various types of handles. Seems funny to me to name a company that has been so innovative with their first big invention. Old fashioned.

Family names are good. Starrett, Klein, Hazet, Wright, Bosch, Bonney?

Craftsman is kinda dumb. Icon sounds trendy to me. Koken sounds more legit. It’s japanese company with a Japanese name. Mitutoyo isn’t a name, it’s a phrase, but sounds great to me.

I like to think about brands we think of as exotic because they have foreign names but their translations are pedestrian.
LG. Lucky Gold Star
blaupunkt blue dot
medglio doro gold medal

LG is Lucky Goldstar. A merger of Lucky Chemicals and Goldstar Electronics in the mid 90s.