No more Sears in my area.

[JazzBlueRT]

Went to my local Sears to buy a tool kit for my stepson and they were closing. I wanted to get him

https://www.sears.com/kd-tools-tele...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

as his first tool set. Too late to buy online.

Any ideas on a decent quality alternative. I am limited to Northern Tool, Rural King, Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Lowes has craftsman tool sets in stock.

 

[yrly]

Went to my local Sears to buy a tool kit for my stepson and they were closing. I wanted to get him

https://www.sears.com/kd-tools-tele...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

as his first tool set. Too late to buy online.

Any ideas on a decent quality alternative. I am limited to Northern Tool, Rural King, Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply.

Tractor Supply had some nice Dewalt and Crescent sets on clearance around here.

 

[Mikeske]

Sears is dead for a lot of folks. The once proud icon of Americans is no more. In my local area there are no more stores. The closest is 85 miles away and yeah we have a one of the last Kmart and that one never has more then 5 cars in the parking lot and I just assume those are the employees parking. Lowe’s offers Craftsman tools if that is what you want. I figure by this time next year the worlds longest liquidation might finally finish up.

 

[Tynee]

I would consider Tekton. If you order today, it will ship tomorrow. Free standard shipping (with a free account) may still get it to you by Christmas. Otherwise their 2-day shipping isn’t bad. Quality is probably better than the Crafstman set you were planning on. You’ll have a hard tome finding a set that big $150 anywhere else, but Tekton is priced pretty reasonably in my opinion.

 

[metaldad]

in the chicago area, i think there are 2 sears and zero kmarts still open.
tractor supply seems to have a great selection.
the orange box has good options when it comes to power tools

 

[Davefr]

I would consider Tekton. If you order today, it will ship tomorrow. Free standard shipping (with a free account) may still get it to you by Christmas. Otherwise their 2-day shipping isn’t bad. Quality is probably better than the Crafstman set you were planning on. You’ll have a hard tome finding a set that big $150 anywhere else, but Tekton is priced pretty reasonably in my opinion.

Agree. Tekton is without a doubt the best value in high quality tools.

If you want a complete set then get CM at Lowes.

 

[joe_padavano]

Lowes or Ace, if they are in your area. Frankly, I've looked at the new CMan stuff and my local Ace and been underwhelmed. I realize this doesn't meet your immediate needs, but I only buy used US-made CMan tools at swap meets.

 

[zendriver]

Xmas is two days from now, so ordering anything online, even with expedited shipping, seems pretty iffy for on time delivery, IME.

If you want him to have the Cman and can't find it locally, order online and give him a printout of the order.

Unless he is six years l, if he want tools he will appreciated the gift coming a littler later, just fine.

 

[atikovi]

Are you buying the Craftsman for the forever warranty? Will Lowes replace Craftsman not bought at Lowes?

 

[jd_1138]

Xmas is two days from now, so ordering anything online, even with expedited shipping, seems pretty iffy for on time delivery, IME.

If you want him to have the Cman and can't find it locally, order online and give him a printout of the order.

Unless he is six years l, if he want tools he will appreciated the gift coming a littler later, just fine.

Can just go to the store in person -- Home Depot, Tractor Supply, etc.. They all will be open today and Monday.

I needed to buy an Xbox One console for my son and daughter, and they were out of the Minecraft edition at Gamestop last night. Also Wal-Mart was out of all of the S models (only had the pricey X ones). But I went online to Best Buy and bought a Star Wars edition Xbox One S last night for pickup today. I should not have waited so long.

 

[mrjaw14]

I would consider husky over craftsman if it were me and I had to buy locally.

 

[Professional Tool User]

I'll take the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 301 pc set over a made in China Craftsman set any day. IIRC, the sockets in that set are made in Taiwan.

 

[ken w.]

The last Sears store in the Buffalo area is in the process of closing. I don't think there is a Kmart open in the area. If all the tools available now are made in Asia does it really mater what brand ? Harbor Freight seems to be the most convenient place to get tools , if you have one near you. I'm so glad I bought my tools when I was younger. There's not too many things I need anymore.

 

[Robinson1]

Tractor Supply had some nice Dewalt and Crescent sets on clearance around here.

Mine too

I almost bought the dewalt set even though I had literally no use for another set of sockets. $99 was hard to pass up

The Jobsmart Professional sets seem pretty nice too for the money

 

[CJ7VFR]

...If you want him to have the Cman and can't find it locally, order online and give him a printout of the order...

I do this all the time with gifts that I know will not get here by Christmas. I give the person a printout of what I am giving them, and tell them I will call them when it comes in and deliver it to their house.

That Craftsman tool kit you were looking at is about 60 percent off right now. I say go for it. It is a pretty big kit, with the tools most home garage guys would need to work on cars, home projects, lawn equipment and so on.

For the price it is a great deal on a tool kit.

Jim

 

[vssjim]

US Made SK. Wright or Proto, Taiwan made Tekton or NAPA Carlyle all are well made and easy to deal with if you ever have a broken tool. I can't see buying Craftsman anymore until we see what Stanley does with the US production tools made in Fort Worth.

 

[Stuart in MN]

NAPA sells Craftsman tools now as well.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd probably be heading off to either the big box store, blue or orange to find a set of similar size.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

Based on my local Sears store, it should be dead.Tools are down to a couple isles and escalators have not worked in more than a year.

 

[crewchief888]

in the chicago area, i think there are 2 sears and zero kmarts still open.
tractor supply seems to have a great selection.
the orange box has good options when it comes to power tools

haven't seen a sears or kmart that's still open around here either.
last sears store closed this year, all the kmarts have been gone for a while.

the 2 local tractor supply stores have little tool inventory, and I wasn't impressed by what they had.
closest lowes is packed full of CM tools and boxes.

of all the box stores, I usually go to HD for cordless power tools. corded stuff I get what I need, when I need it, and usually price wins out

 

[cdeer001]

We are losing another Sears in our area as well. They are closing the one at Manassas Mall. It is currently in the “Store Closing” phase. We are left with only three Sears stores in the immediate area and all of them have small tool department with limited selections.

 

[atikovi]

5 years ago there were probably half a dozen Sears within a half hour of me. The one 2 miles away at Montgomery Mall closed earlier this year although the auto center closed the year before. The one 8 miles away at Lake Forest Mall just closed. Now the nearest one is about 12 miles away.

 

[rockidr4]

If it was me based on those choices, I'd go to harbor freight and buy their mid level tools, called "Pittsburgh Professional." If you're absolutely deadset on craftsman, you can go to Lowe's, but honestly, their brand equity doesn't match up with their current quality. They've gotten a little better the last couple of years, but the steep drop off that preceded that means that you'd be better served by another house brand tool. I've heard Husky's wrenches are the best, but their ratchets for me leave a bit to be desired, and probably the ratchet(s) will be what your stepson uses the most.

All that said, unless your stepson is a burgeoning auto mechanic, you can probably go for the cheapest locally available tool set, he'll be perfectly happy, and any tools he breaks can be taken in for a warranty claim, and while he or you are in town you can snag an upgraded version of that tool like Harbor Freight Icon or if you can find an industrial supplier near you (and there most certainly is one, they just don't live in the retail centers where most of us shop) a very nice wright, Williams, proto, or sk.

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[JazzBlueRT]

I do this all the time with gifts that I know will not get here by Christmas. I give the person a printout of what I am giving them, and tell them I will call them when it comes in and deliver it to their house.

That Craftsman tool kit you were looking at is about 60 percent off right now. I say go for it. It is a pretty big kit, with the tools most home garage guys would need to work on cars, home projects, lawn equipment and so on.

For the price it is a great deal on a tool kit.

Jim

I went with 320 piece from Sears online. This is a big case for a "portable" toolbox. Tools all look good, nice finish. The plastic box is ****. I was expecting a 1 piece blow-molded case, this was multiple pieces of very thin blow-molded plastic held together by small bolts.

Sears delivered before XMAS. Delivery woman (contractor from UPS) dropped it on the front porch and the case broke. No packing material in box. Another product I ordered was also delivered with no packing material. Never has any order in my life from Sears in the past been shipped like this.

Packing products is basic stuff that Sears should have mastered about 125 years ago.

Not sure if I should return it or buy the kid a better box to put the trays in.

 

[rockidr4]

I went with 320 piece from Sears online. This is a big case for a "portable" toolbox. Tools all look good, nice finish. The plastic box is ****. I was expecting a 1 piece blow-molded case, this was multiple pieces of very thin blow-molded plastic held together by small bolts.



Sears delivered before XMAS. Delivery woman (contractor from UPS) dropped it on the front porch and the case broke. No packing material in box. Another product I ordered was also delivered with no packing material. Never has any order in my life from Sears in the past been shipped like this.



Packing products is basic stuff that Sears should have mastered about 125 years ago.



Not sure if I should return it or buy the kid a better box to put the trays in.

Tools are warrantied for the lifetime of the original purchaser. Packaging they came in are warrantied for however long it takes the package to leave sears' store or warehouse. Such is how it's always been. I don't know how much better you'll do returning this set in favor of another set with another package to deliver them in. If this is a dealbreaker for you, you can go to the local stores in your area and take an appraisel of the cases the tools come in there. It probably wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me, but I've already got tool boxes and tool bags, and a system I've been working on perfecting. Also I'm already cynical that all packaging is **** meant to last just long enough to get the tools to you, so maybe you've got the healthier attitude about this.

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[Shadowdog500]

Looking at the photo from the link in your OP most would think that a box like this would last for years. I bought a similar multi hundred piece socket set from sears 15-20 years ago and expect that the heavy blow molded case with drawers will outlast me. Of course I paid almost twice what you paid 15-20 years ago for made in USA craftsman tools.

The other reviews of your toolbox talk about how well packed it was for shipping. I bet yours was destroyed in transit. I know that the sears by you closed, but if you can arrange to exchange it it may be worth it to take a couple hour drive to the nearest Sears to get another one. I used to have 2 sears within a 30 minute drive, now the nearest one is over an hour away, and I don’t expect there will be any left in a few years.

 

[wafrederick]

Are you buying the Craftsman for the forever warranty? Will Lowes replace Craftsman not bought at Lowes?

Yes,they will.You find the replacement tool,take that broken tool and the replacement tool to the customer service desk to exchange them.I did this with two worn out 3/8 drive deepwell impact sockets.Walked out with replacements hassle free

 

[mowkep]

I don't even know if there is a Sears or Kmart open within 50 miles of me. I have no reason to go to either. It's kind of funny too, wife and I have both got letters in early fall to use our never used Sears cards or they would be closed. I ran across the mailings last week when I was searching for something else. So I decided to see if they actually closed them. Well it turns out they did and my credit score went up a few points???