Finally joined the exclusive club!

[MackMan]

Selling out the name of a Respected company...with a bunch of China stuff.......will the SnapOn Tool Trucks become known to the general public as "Chineese junk wagons"?? My sympathies to the SnapOn Dealers who have to put up with this ****

Well the trucks don't sell the chinese junk... that stuff is sold at retail outlets (I've only seen it at Costco but maybe elsewhere).

As long as the two product lines are clearly separated I don't see too much problem with it. I don't love it but I'm not rushing to throw away my snap-on ratchets and sockets cause they sell cheap flashlights.

Martin Guitars sells guitars made in mexico out of some fiberboard stuff for a couple hundred $$, and also make one-off customs for tens of thousands $$... both with the same Martin logo. So far the "cheap" Martins haven't done anything to tarnish the reputations of the "classic" Martins, but they HAVE brought people into the Martin family at a lower price point.

Of course that's what BluePoint is for with Snap-On but I think there's a clear differentiation between the Costo chinese stuff and the professional grade stuff. Now IF they were to start selling $10 made in china ratchets at Costco with the Snap-On name... I'd be a little concerned.

 

[CNGsaves]

I'll keep my 25 year-old Stanley tape measure to use, back when Stanley meant a good product.

As Jack Olsen describes, this is totally crazy that top-line brand like SnapOn would ***** it out to **** like that. Not much different than me buying bunch of Dollar General toilet paper and slapping a SnapOn name on them (I'd have to jack up price to $1 a roll for TP though . . . . ). Then, I'd have to send "royalty" check back to SO for bastardizing their name on toilet paper !!

It's a shame that you really don't know what you're buying anymore. Could be something good, or total ****.

 

[cburnscrx]

I'll keep my 25 year-old Stanley tape measure to use, back when Stanley meant a good product.

As Jack Olsen describes, this is totally crazy that top-line brand like SnapOn would ***** it out to **** like that. Not much different than me buying bunch of Dollar General toilet paper and slapping a SnapOn name on them (I'd have to jack up price to $1 a roll for TP though . . . . ). Then, I'd have to send "royalty" check back to SO for bastardizing their name on toilet paper !!

It's a shame that you really don't know what you're buying anymore. Could be something good, or total ****.

Welcome to the world of Wall Street! Sad, but it's also reality.

 

[ears]

It's just advertising. All companies do it. Porsche flip flops, duck dynasty band aids, etc. See the thread in tools about the ford racing jack. People buy stuff because they're fans. Why else would you pay $65 for flop flops.
http://shop3.porsche.com/usa/specials/martini/wap89xxxx0d/martini-racing-flip-flops.pdds

Snap-On's target audience knows the difference between real tools and merchandising ****. A lot of them will buy the stuff anyway just for the logo. The guys who think this stuff is high quality aren't Snap-On buyers anyway.

 

[1/2 Cup]

The only thing I have that's has SO is a complimentary stubby holder that come with some SO tools we brought at work.

 

[Zeke]

I don't see where the inside joke is unless someone had the labels printed and put them on a chicom tape along with the packaging. Given the costs to package these and distribute them to K Mart and God knows where else, this is no joke.

 

[Zippercat]

I don't see Rolls Royce putting their name on junk. High end goods are high end for a reason. The consumer expects (and pays for) what the "name" represents. It is bad when Sears whores out Craftsman but whoring out Snap-On seems worse

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MEZU9U/?tag=atomicindus08-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0069S1WCW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Al Bundy]

It's a shame that you really don't know what you're buying anymore. Could be something good, or total ****.

It isn't really that hard for the consumer to know what they're buying. I doubt that many people on this board thought that was a "real" Snap On tape measure.

I agree with Jack. Whoring out your brand on cheap **** is not the way to go. What happens when the clueless consumer buys that tape and it breaks the first time he uses it? Then in his mind Snap On is not a good tool brand. Not the kind of brand recognition I'd be looking for.

And for all the haters, I've broken a pretty fair amount of Craftsman hand tools. I've never broken anything by Snap On. So call me a tool snob or whatever you like. I'll keep buying what's worked best for me.

 

[Zeke]

What's a "real" Snap On tool anyway? Where's their factory?

(meaning where do ALL the tools come from?)

 

[Al Bundy]

What's a "real" Snap On tool anyway? Where's their factory?

(meaning where do ALL the tools come from?)

Elkmont, Alabama
Hand tools

Algona, Iowa
Tool storage units

Natick, Massachusetts
Pneumatic tools

Elizabethton, Tennessee
Hand tools

Johnson City, Tennessee
Hand tools

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hand tools

Not really sure what your getting at. Yes they have production facilities in other parts of the world as well. And yes they do sell some tools that are manufactured by other companies.

 

[kiatech]

Those ratchet straps are good for the money.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Wow, looking at this kind of posts makes you wonder if all if these "quality" tool Snap-On bigots apply the same "quality" argument when buying other products. Surely they don't ever drive GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota cars; they all have Bentleys and Rolls. They never shop at Walmart or Kmart or Sears or JC penny; that is just not high quality enough. Surely they only have Rolexes to tell time; Timex is just Chinese ****. I bet they all married super models. Their kids all go to Harvard and Yale.

Don't look down on people just because their choice of tools. Quit being bigoted towards the Chinese; remember without their help in loaning us money, we would not have roads, an army, social security or Medicare.