Lowes, now sears

[Farmall450]

Craftsman is going to be greatly expanding in Farm & Fleet (who has always carried it through this rough spell, although at heavily reduced levels the last 3 or so years).

I wish these things would stay constant, although we'd never get clearance deals then.

 

[dthor68]

Is everyone here saying that Lowes is doing away with Kobalt? If I break my lietime guarunteed Kobalt they will swap it out with a Craftsman? Or, will they just tell me that they can't help me. Personally, I do not like Craftsman. My first set of tools was Craftsman "Made in the USA" and they were awful. After 4 months they were rusting just from the humidity. All three ratchets broke on me, the 3/8 twice. That set of tools stunk. I would much rather have the Chinese made Kobalts. I have never had a problem with a Kobalt hand tool.

 

[MarvinBerry]

Yes totally confirmed that Kobalt as we know it is kaput.

Few weeks ago I was in my local Lowes, still stocked with Kobalt...not much there on blowout & not much Cman either. Asked the woman at the register when the store might be changing over...said soon but had no idea of an exact date.

What she did offer, which was useful, was that apparently it's corperate who decides when it's time to switch a store over & was based on individual stock levels. Apparently there's a warehouse full of tools in North Carolina they don't want to completely give away...

I'm sure the future of Cman is secure. Don't forget the vast majority of people who buy & use tools from places like lowes & depot aren't pro tradesmen.

Case in point I actually ended up with new Stanley Cman tools last courtesy of momma berry. She never knows what to get me so I said new tools for my box in the GMC to replace stuff that was missing & worn out...

Honestly the stuff is ok. Nothing I'd want to use everyday but totally serviceable. 2 weeks ago I was in that box daily...only on site tools for a production gig that had 4 bands across 3 stages.

And I'd still rather buy new Cman or Husky then anything from horror freight ymmv.

 

[Handyandy23]

Is everyone here saying that Lowes is doing away with Kobalt? If I break my lietime guarunteed Kobalt they will swap it out with a Craftsman? Or, will they just tell me that they can't help me. Personally, I do not like Craftsman. My first set of tools was Craftsman "Made in the USA" and they were awful. After 4 months they were rusting just from the humidity. All three ratchets broke on me, the 3/8 twice. That set of tools stunk. I would much rather have the Chinese made Kobalts. I have never had a problem with a Kobalt hand tool.

I've heard they refer you to a Kobalt company phone number to deal with warranty claims. But I have no first hand experience with that. I'm also not sure what happens when they completely run out of Kobalt stock, because I believe it was Lowe's exclusive, so can't see them producing more just to fill warranty claims.

Other posters on here have had mixed results trying to warranty older Craftsman at Lowe's. Some were told that Lowe's would warranty the older lifetime tools, and others were told at Lowe's stores by customer service that they aren't warranting anything that wasn't purchased new from Lowe's.

Overall it seems like a big mess. Lowe's wants to own the Craftsman name and hopefully get the nostalgic customers, but also doesn't seem to want to honor all the legacy warranties. If they get rid of Kobalt and don't honor those warranties, and also won't honor Craftsman, they basically wipe the slate clean with regards to having to warranty lifetime guaranteed tools.

"Lifetime" warranty is really only good for the lifetime of that product line or company, not your lifetime, it seems.

 

[dthor68]

I've heard they refer you to a Kobalt company phone number to deal with warranty claims. But I have no first hand experience with that. I'm also not sure what happens when they completely run out of Kobalt stock, because I believe it was Lowe's exclusive, so can't see them producing more just to fill warranty claims.

Other posters on here have had mixed results trying to warranty older Craftsman at Lowe's. Some were told that Lowe's would warranty the older lifetime tools, and others were told at Lowe's stores by customer service that they aren't warranting anything that wasn't purchased new from Lowe's.

Overall it seems like a big mess. Lowe's wants to own the Craftsman name and hopefully get the nostalgic customers, but also doesn't seem to want to honor all the legacy warranties. If they get rid of Kobalt and don't honor those warranties, and also won't honor Craftsman, they basically wipe the slate clean with regards to having to warranty lifetime guaranteed tools.

"Lifetime" warranty is really only good for the lifetime of that product line or company, not your lifetime, it seems.

Thanks for that, kind of what I figured. I have only had to use warranty 5 times in 30 years, all Craftsman USA. All the tools today seem to be built better than they were 30 years ago, especially the chrome plating. I plan on dumping my Craftsman/Kobalt stuff for Tekton/Gearwrench.

 

[JRas]

My understanding is Lowes will warranty out your Craftsman product, If they have a comparable product at their disclosure. If you have USA tools, though would you really want to trade it out? I'd rather get my ratchet internals replaced.

I think it was smart of Lowes, besides not waiting for Craftsman factory to be completed in the USA. If they start selling made in USA product, I'll start buying some small stuff. It would be refreshing to see something on the floor not made in China/Taiwan sold locally.

I hate Lowes, and Kolbalt, only good brands I've seen are Lenox, and Bosch (forgot about this one last time I spoke poorly). Who here is a contractor that does the majority of their business from Lowes? crickets

 

[BajaScout]

My understanding is Lowes will warranty out your Craftsman product, If they have a comparable product at their disclosure. If you have USA tools, though would you really want to trade it out? I'd rather get my ratchet internals replaced.

I think it was smart of Lowes, besides not waiting for Craftsman factory to be completed in the USA. If they start selling made in USA product, I'll start buying some small stuff. It would be refreshing to see something on the floor not made in China/Taiwan sold locally.

I hate Lowes, and Kolbalt, only good brands I've seen are Lenox, and Bosch (forgot about this one last time I spoke poorly). Who here is a contractor that does the majority of their business from Lowes? crickets

I will be watching for Made in USA [emoji631]!


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

To answer JRAS question, I am a contractor and I use Lowes. They are always the highest priced, but often empty. So when I need to get in and get out, Lowes is the place to go. Sort of like a super sized Ace Hardware. I doubt many contractors would buy all their gear from Lowes or HD, possibly Menards. To be honest none of the three are really contractor supply houses, just retail. Which makes them different animals. Many times a marginal cost for the item is negligible to the time spent for grabbing materials. And all three have one of everything, even if it is not exactly what you want.

 

[jshillin]

With very few sears remaining, I don't have a problem with it. I haven't bought much Craftsman from Lowe's yet, but I did pickup an LED light a couple weeks back on clearance. It works well. I still have a lot of older US Made craftsman stuff spread across a couple tool boxes to go along with many other brands, but I'm not set on 1 brand.

Hell, I sold my Snap-on roller last year and picked up a blue 44" HF box. Needed more room and can't justify snap-on prices for my home garage. My 26" Craftsman griplatch boxes are now in my shed and still get a lot of use.

 

[KnurledNut]

The biggest issue I see is warranty headaches.

They keep track of returns/exchanges without receipts using your DL number, and after so many, you get flagged and denied.

So HONEST Joe the Mechanic, that is heavily stocked in CM and is hard on mediocre tools, will eventually meet his limit.

Joe is then left standing at the counter, holding his old busted ratchet, as well as a slip with the number to call corporate. The line waiting behind him looking at him like a bad person.

Best wishes with that phone call. You'll need it. Ask me how i know.

 

[Handyandy23]

It'll be interesting to see if / when they start pumping out US made Craftsman tools, if they have nicer, newer designs, or the same old **** designs.

I would definitely be interested in buying US made Craftsman ratchet if it was an updated design with a smaller, sleeker head, and preferably dual pawls. If it's just a factory in the US pumping out the same old raised panel handles and mechanisms that feel like they're full of gravel.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Just came back from Menard's and Cman now has about 4' wide space in the tool display area. I grabbed a 4 pack of screwdrivers and looked at the back, made in Taiwan.

I wonder if Masterforce tools will go the way of Kobalt ?

 

[BMack37]

Lowes is making huge mistake going all in with Craftsman brand. I have stopped shopping there all together now due to the way they screwed over us Kobalt owners. I will shop at Home Depot moving forward for hand tools. Not to mention the Craftsman power tools will never meet the quality of Milwaukee etc.

If Lowe's refused to sell Craftsman they'd be making a huge mistake. Imagine their store without Dewalt, Craftsman, Porter Cable, Black & Decker, Lenox, Stanley, Bostitch, and Irwin. You think they'd want to risk upsetting them at all? SBD can do whatever they want in Lowe's.

 

[Handyandy23]

Lowe's is in pretty tough against HD because now after essentially dumping Kobalt, they're hitting the reset button, while HD goes strong with their store brands like Ridgid, Ryobi, and Husky.

If someone is in the market for a store brand tool I'm not sure what incentive they have right now to go with new Craftsman over the HD offerings. The Craftsman cordless line is another new battery platform that you want consumers to believe will be around for the long haul, while Ryobi has had battery compatibility for forever it seems. And Ridgid has lifetime service agreement.

I also havent seen any kind of price advantage at Lowe's. Couple that with them seeming to have fewer brands overall (no Milwaukee, less quality offerings in a lot of hand tools, etc) not sure how strong their future looks.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you think about it, dumping Kobalt for Cman is smart business sense. People will bring in their Cman stuff in for warranty replacement, at no cost to Lowe's, look around and buy something else while they are there.

Think of it like this, you need half a dozen 2x4s, a tube of caulk and you need to replace a broken ratchet. Are you going to stop by Sears and Home Depot or one trip to Lowe's. Yes the crowd here is a bit different but for the every day DIYer, it's one trip.

 

[Doc995]

Personally, I wish Lowes had simply kept the Kobalt brand. I have quite a few of their products and they've been great. The one time I needed to make a replacement, they did it without issues. I don't see this being the case going forward...

 

[Handyandy23]

If you think about it, dumping Kobalt for Cman is smart business sense. People will bring in their Cman stuff in for warranty replacement, at no cost to Lowe's, look around and buy something else while they are there.

Think of it like this, you need half a dozen 2x4s, a tube of caulk and you need to replace a broken ratchet. Are you going to stop by Sears and Home Depot or one trip to Lowe's. Yes the crowd here is a bit different but for the every day DIYer, it's one trip.

I think that's it, the only customer they're winning over with Craftsman is the old school Craftsman lover with a chest full of old C-man tools. It's better than starting from scratch with a brand new name, but you're still relying on old Craftsman customers to come in.

A lot of those previous customers also have US made Craftsman that they are clinging onto, and won't want to exchange for offshore replacements.

Also seems to be mixed results in even getting Lowe's to warrant older Craftsman. Would be nice if it was an easy process, but there's already been accounts of people being told they don't deal with the older ones or they don't have a direct replacement.

For anyone without legacy Craftsman tools to warranty, I can tell you the tools they have on the pegs currently don't draw me into the store whatsoever. Hopefully that changes whenever they get that new US facility up and running.

 

[Robinson1]

Who here is a contractor that does the majority of their business from Lowes? crickets

I run alot of business through Lowes. I have a love hate relationship with them but at the end of the day they are convenient and have stuff in stock. I've got one lumberyard local that stocks practically nothing and another the next town over that has practically everything but priced higher than Lowes.

 

[dagofast]

We used to really like Lowe's. At the end of 2016 we used them for all the window coverings in our new home and a new water softener. We even bought a new Whirlpool Food Condo (it cost too dang much to be referred to as simply a refrigerator) for the new kitchen as we had bought a few other appliances from them in the past and had been happy. Their customer service was always top notch. When the new Food Condo had an issue at delivery, a Whirlpool Factory approved service company came out and easily fixed the issue. And we were just freaking happy to NOT have to deal with Sears for well known reasons.

A year later we spent another pile of money there on Unistrut, conduit, wire and copper pipe for my shop power and air lines.

Fast forward to today and not only are we seeing Crapsman tools everywhere in the stores but our fancy new Whirlpool Food Condo developed a problem with the ice maker in the door. No problem since we have the extended warranty, right? So we call the Lowe's number and they take down the complaint and everything seems cool.

Until we get a call from Sears Appliance Repair later that day to schedule an appointment. WTF? It seems Sears is who Lowe's is now using. Needless to say, Sears is just as terrible as we remembered. The first repairman showed up without the part I told them we needed. They said they would ship the part to our house. A week later, still no part. Then they would call and make a follow up appointment and within half an hour, I'd get a text saying they had cancelled that appointment and to call their 800 number to re-schedule. They did that twice. They told us the repairman would bring the part. Then they told us, no we are shipping you the part. They finally shipped the part to our house and the second repairman showed up and installed it incorrectly. Luckily, we caught him before he finished his paperwork and left. I watched him do it right on his next attempt.

Lowe's then sent out email survey...I don't think they enjoyed reading that one. I told 'em we quit going to Sears for a reason. And why would I still want to do business with Sears by proxy via Lowe's? If they bother to check our Lowe's card activity, they'll see we haven't been back.

 

[Fialaja]

SBD made a pledge to bring craftsman back to being USA made tools- it’s been almost 2 years and they are still made in China. Lies,lies, lies.
Anther brand ruined just like porter cable, just like Husky, just like Dewalt. Surprised they haven’t ruined Lennox by outsourcing labor there.

 

[Citation]

SBD made a pledge to bring craftsman back to being USA made tools- it’s been almost 2 years and they are still made in China. Lies,lies, lies.
Anther brand ruined just like porter cable, just like Husky, just like Dewalt. Surprised they haven’t ruined Lennox by outsourcing labor there.

Seriously? You are complaining that they haven't done it after just 2 years? They have brought some of the power tools back to the US and I've read they they are setting up a plant to bring more hand tools back. What more do you want? Do you think these transitions happen over night?

 

[JRas]

To answer JRAS question, I am a contractor and I use Lowes. They are always the highest priced, but often empty. So when I need to get in and get out, Lowes is the place to go. Sort of like a super sized Ace Hardware. I doubt many contractors would buy all their gear from Lowes or HD, possibly Menards. To be honest none of the three are really contractor supply houses, just retail. Which makes them different animals. Many times a marginal cost for the item is negligible to the time spent for grabbing materials. And all three have one of everything, even if it is not exactly what you want.

Reason they're empty, even the people buying product there are in over their heads. I can usually get in and out of Depot fairly quick, using the contractor or scan yourself lines. Obviously peak hours and busy locations slow things down

Almost all the builders we work for do business at Depot. We do use electrical suppy stores, but depot beats them for a lot of small stuff.

Take that back, Ace Hardware is the hallmark of what a hardware store should be! haha. I legitimately like that place, and the customer service provided, plus it's usually an older gentleman ex trade worker. Bought entirely too many bolts, washers, and nuts there. Grade 8 section is killer, and metric!

I run alot of business through Lowes. I have a love hate relationship with them but at the end of the day they are convenient and have stuff in stock. I've got one lumberyard local that stocks practically nothing and another the next town over that has practically everything but priced higher than Lowes.

unless a depot isn't close or a lowes is right there... only time I go.

 

[Fialaja]

Seriously? You are complaining that they haven't done it after just 2 years? They have brought some of the power tools back to the US and I've read they they are setting up a plant to bring more hand tools back. What more do you want? Do you think these transitions happen over night?

Considering they already have factories in the USA, Yes I do. Mac, Proto and some Blackhawk are made in USA are they not?

 

[Citation]

Considering they already have factories in the USA, Yes I do. Mac, Proto and some Blackhawk are made in USA are they not?

You are assuming they have excess capacity given the volume of Cman vs the rest. SBD had said they are building a new facility for the task. Clearly they know something you don't.

 

[Handyandy23]

Considering they already have factories in the USA, Yes I do. Mac, Proto and some Blackhawk are made in USA are they not?

Especially at the prices they're currently charging for imported Craftsman. For example this 1/2" flex head ratchet, that's pretty premium pricing, especially considering it has the cookie cutter, clunky 72T mechanism in it for $80:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-1-2-in-Drive-Quick-Release-Flexible-Head-Ratchet/1000772326

Some people are 'guessing' that the high pricing is to reflect what the prices will be when the US Craftsman plant is open, so customers don't get sticker shock when the price is jacked up later. So they expect people to pay premium pricing for cheaper, junkier tools.

Of course the alternative would be they use a current US tool manufacturer to provide them ratchets and then customers actually get the quality they're paying for. But that would eat into Lowe's profit margins a lot more than over-charging for cheap ratchets, so I guess that's why that common sense option wasn't chosen.

 

[Nineeightyone]

Especially at the prices they're currently charging for imported Craftsman. For example this 1/2" flex head ratchet, that's pretty premium pricing, especially considering it has the cookie cutter, clunky 72T mechanism in it for $80:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-1-2-in-Drive-Quick-Release-Flexible-Head-Ratchet/1000772326

Some people are 'guessing' that the high pricing is to reflect what the prices will be when the US Craftsman plant is open, so customers don't get sticker shock when the price is jacked up later. So they expect people to pay premium pricing for cheaper, junkier tools.

Of course the alternative would be they use a current US tool manufacturer to provide them ratchets and then customers actually get the quality they're paying for. But that would eat into Lowe's profit margins a lot more than over-charging for cheap ratchets, so I guess that's why that common sense option wasn't chosen.

Over-charging is the understatement of the year.

For $80 I'll buy a used Snap-On and have far better quality than anything Craftsman is going to put out.

For less than 25% of the price I'll get an imported ratchet from Harbor Freight, where I know the warranty is good.

I don't see a home for Craftsman at that price, they should've waited to roll out the tools until AFTER everything was USA-made, so they might have a leg to stand on.

 

[MuhThugga]

The Craftsman prices at Lowes are insane. My friend went there to get a breaker bar and a socket just to keep in his car for a roadside tire change. The Craftsman bar was $35, made in China, and was 15" in length. Right next to it, the Kobalt breaker bar was $23, made in Taiwain, and was 18" in length. Who in their right mind would buy the Craftsman bar?

The same could be said for the sockets. A 17mm 1/2" drive deep socket from Craftsman was over $8, whereas the Kobalt version on the same shelf next to it was under $5.

 

[Nineeightyone]

The Craftsman prices at Lowes are insane. My friend went there to get a breaker bar and a socket just to keep in his car for a roadside tire change. The Craftsman bar was $35, made in China, and was 15" in length. Right next to it, the Kobalt breaker bar was $23, made in Taiwain, and was 18" in length. Who in their right mind would buy the Craftsman bar?

The same could be said for the sockets. A 17mm 1/2" drive deep socket from Craftsman was over $8, whereas the Kobalt version on the same shelf next to it was under $5.

Paying extra for the convenience of in-store warranty replacement versus Kobalt... that Lowe's killed for Craftsman...

It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

 

[MuhThugga]

Paying extra for the convenience of in-store warranty replacement versus Kobalt... that Lowe's killed for Craftsman...

It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

Given Lowe's documented adversity to warranty replacements, that convenience isn't worth the price of admission for an inferior tool.

 

[Fialaja]

When sbd bought the craftsman name they should have bought the Armstrong Allen plant and machinery as well as the employees who were put out by Bain capital and Apex

 

[kythri]

Went to lowes yesterday. Thought I was in sears. Kept having to remind myself I was in lowes. Really messed up my mind.

Yeah, I got lost in the lingerie section the last time I was at Lowe's, too.

 

[kythri]

When sbd bought the craftsman name they should have bought the Armstrong Allen plant and machinery as well as the employees who were put out by Bain capital and Apex

You realize that the owners of the Craftsman name weren't the owners/employers of the Danaher/Apex plant and staff, yes?

It's not like that was an option that SHC offered SBD.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Considering they already have factories in the USA, Yes I do. Mac, Proto and some Blackhawk are made in USA are they not?

Those factories are for quality grade tools...

The factories for the Craftsman tools will not be the same quality if they are going to be selling them cheaper at the big box stores... Would not make economic sense for the company.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Reason they're empty, even the people buying product there are in over their heads. I can usually get in and out of Depot fairly quick, using the contractor or scan yourself lines. Obviously peak hours and busy locations slow things down

Almost all the builders we work for do business at Depot. We do use electrical suppy stores, but depot beats them for a lot of small stuff.

The biggest issue with Lowes is that they usually have most of what you need but not all of it. It seems like there's always a couple key components they don't carry that Depot does, so you end up making two stops anyway.

 

[jdlong]

Old school USA Cmann quality in Lowes would go over like a lead balloon when you figure inflation. And that's the problem with today's Cmann. They want to compete with the cheap stuff.

 

[zendriver]

Those factories are for quality grade tools...

The factories for the Craftsman tools will not be the same quality if they are going to be selling them cheaper at the big box stores... Would not make economic sense for the company.

So, the plan all along, is for selling crappy American made tools, at Lowes at HF prices?

This charade has been doomed from the get-go.

 

[1982fxr]

I practically have an MBA after reading this thread.

 

[finn]

When sbd bought the craftsman name they should have bought the Armstrong Allen plant and machinery as well as the employees who were put out by Bain capital and Apex

The tooling and processes at the plant that made Armstrong tools was reportedly obsolete, worn out junk. Part of the decision that led to Armstrong and Allen’s demise.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The worn out equipment will be C-canned to a country with even lower wage rates.

 

[EOC_Jason]

So, the plan all along, is for selling crappy American made tools, at Lowes at HF prices?

This charade has been doomed from the get-go.

Well they certainly can't / won't sell Snap-On quality, at Snap-On prices at Lowes... It will collect dust forever...

When has Lowes sold ANYTHING that was "High Quality"??? It's all about brand marketing...

I want the Craftsman line to be good quality, but sadly the bean counters and marketing just want to squeeze the cash cow for the name...