Thank you sears!

[SignalZero]

I've had 2 ratchets I bought used replaced under warranty. Both times I was attempting to buy a part to fix the ratchet and the company rep. just offered to do the replacement.
The first was a Snap On, as the part I needed wasn't available alone(the screw that holds the flex head on). Lady on the phone asked for my address and told me she would have a new ratchet shipped to me.
The other was a Craftman 1/2" drive I paid $1 for, knowing it was broken. USA-made, so I planned to get a rebuild kit for it. Older guy at the counter says I'd have to go to the parts direct website to get a rebuild kit. He then pulls out a box of old, beat up rebuilt ratchets and let's me pick one. Ended up with an old =v= ratchet they had actually refurbished.

While I don't condone scamming Sears, I also don't like being scammed by them either. You know, like when you take in a USA made tool and they give you back Chinese junk in exchange. Karma is a mofo.

What about a guy unknowingly buying his son a Chinese Craftsman box and raised panel wrench set, because he thinks the quality is just as good as when his dad bought him those things in the '70s.
If it wasn't for GJ, I don't know when I would've realized C-man was switching to Chinese made. I probably would've ended up with a decent amount of the Chinese stuff only to find out after the fact. It's not like Sears was volunteering this information, other than pulling the "Made in USA" logos off the packaging.

 

[jumbojak]

I see a lot of people like to quote the Sears Lifetime Warranty for justification. It's funny though - they never quote the first part.


WARRANTY SERVICE

To obtain the warranty coverage stated below, return the product to the retailer from which it was purchased. Coverage will be fulfilled according to the retailer warranty exchange procedure and may be subject to a limitation on the number of items allowed per exchange.

And just to clarify - the "retailer" would be the person or store where you bought the item

So the set of wrenches that I bought at a Kmart that just went out of business are no longer covered by any warranty? That actually happened to me and I'm not sure if I should feel dirty for having the 8 and 14mm replaced. There aren't any Kmart stores in my area but the Ace I shop at said they could take care of them.

 

[jd_1138]

If you are sticking to your stance earlier in the thread, then you defrauded Sears. You didnt pay for a premium ratchet yet you ended up with one on a warranty exchange. You profited from their warranty policy almost as much as the OP.

Don't be silly. The OP bought a broken tool for a buck and returned it for a $40 gift card.

I bought a brand new set of CM tools and then a few years later brought the wonky ratchet in and exchanged it for another (used, scratched up, albeit a "premium" one that is a piece of junk anyway according to several posts on here) ratchet from a pretty beat up set of used ratchets they kept on hand. I don't see how you'd stick me in the same category as the OP. I didn't receive a new ratchet in return or a gift card.

I then gave the CM tools away to a poor kid.

 

[DSLTRK]

I think op was in his means to EXCHANGE the broken tool.

However, I believe it wasn't ethical to accept the $40 credit knowing the cashier was probably a young kid who didn't know the actual value of the tool and/or not tool savvy.

I'm 99% sure the OP knew the approximate cost of the tool being replaced (he's a Garagejournal regular) and knew it cost nowhere near $40. That's the issue.

 

[sberry]

What about a guy unknowingly buying his son a Chinese Craftsman box and raised panel wrench set, because he thinks the quality is just as good as when his dad bought him those things in the '70s.

You would be correct as they havnt been made since the 70's.

If it wasn't for GJ, I don't know when I would've realized C-man was switching to Chinese made. I probably would've ended up with a decent amount of the Chinese stuff only to find out after the fact. It's not like Sears was volunteering this information

Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could tell.
70's and 80's The China one of today is as good as it has been since they changed. I havnt heard anyone busting the new sockets.

 

[lazer50]

Im not concerned about punctuation.as far as sears policy goes i have taken craftsman tools for replacement to a nearby sears that has a large tool section,and or to my local sears.if the tool for replacement no longer available out of stock whatever.and if i do not have a receipt which the op would not have had either with his yard sale item.they will not give a cash refund and i wouldn't expect them to.they issue a gift card.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

I think op was in his means to EXCHANGE the broken tool.

However, I believe it wasn't ethical to accept the $40 credit knowing the cashier was probably a young kid who didn't know the actual value of the tool and/or not tool savvy.

I'm 99% sure the OP knew the approximate cost of the tool being replaced (he's a Garagejournal regular) and knew it cost nowhere near $40. That's the issue.

I generally agree although I don't know Craftsman's list price on the tool. If the clerk offered $40, I'd suggest $20 and I think that's high. I think that's high but I don't know for certain.

I do not think it's the customer's responsibility to know the price of the tool. The customer is coming in for an exchange, not a refund.

This is one of the few issues at Sears in which they have complete control. They know the prices and they train their clerks.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

As a second point, I think it's entirely possible Sears INTENDS to overcompensate on refunds when they can't exchange. Eddie Lampert has said he wants to keep existing customers and build a larger customer base. They've tried some odd ways of doing it and this may be another one.

 

[sberry]

They cant do it. They have lost their position and trying to compete against giants on the bottom end is pointless. Its a matter of position, there are huge competitors who are doing cheap so much better they can never get the market share to play on that field.
They made the mistake of heading to the bottom, they should have tried to shore up their position and image above Walmart, charged a bit more for their brand vs race to the cheapest. At one point they could have cut in to SK and been 3rd or 4th but they want to price like HF and sell the same thing. Sears/Kmart has the same stuff but they cant out price Walmart and the store is 10% the size if that.
Why does anyone want to go there to spend 90 for a microwave they got 1 display on the shelf and Wally has a pallet of the same model for 60 and got to put up with all their little "sale" signs rigged up to fool about pricing.
Not to mention the Sears ratchet, HF should put a nail in them by trading them out. 35 yrs, same pos, traded 2 a year ago and used them once.
The only thing that makes Sears useful at all is the super sale sets. The rest is ill stocked, out of stock and single sets over priced for competitive shoppers.

 

[sberry]

They already cant make any money so the knob thinks the way to more is to give more **** away free? Replace more stuff free to get people in the store? Last time I took a handful in didn't buy another thing.
If I enjoyed that type of selling and it was worth more than scrap would have been on ebay already.

 

[sberry]

The tools are not in a niche they enjoyed 40 yrs ago competing with dollars from professionals and truck sales. They had a huge price advantage, now you can get it at Menards too.
They should have improved quality instead of lowering pricing.
Look at the screwdriver thread, the reality is they are ok and a deal at that price but they should have propped up a professional line at 3x the cost. HF is going to win this battle again like they did the ratchet.

 

[Al Borland]

Anyone watch the Simpsons?
In one episode, Homer tracked down his long-lost half-brother Herb, owner of Powell Motors.
Herb:"I want to pay you a whole lot of $ to help design my next car"
Homer: "And I want to let you!"
Didn't work out well for Herb, he went belly-up.
Sears did the Herb thing... And is still doing it today

 

[Kevin54]

I have two nephews, one who has his own business, and thousands invested in Snap-On tools. If he finds a trashed screwdriver, sockets, hammer and so on, at garage sales, in cars that he might be scrapping, or even in a customers car that may have a tool stuck on the frame or something, he will grab it up. He has some boxes that he throws the tools in. Craftsman, Mac, Snap-On......and when he has enough tools in the boxes, he will turn them in for a new replacement. I told him that I thought that was ******** because he didn't buy the tool(s). But he tells me that they have a lifetime warranty, so he is replacing them. I told him that the warranty is intended for the original purchaser of the tool. Not one you found in someone else's vehicle, or found along the road, or bought at a garage sale. He said I was wrong in my reasoning, and it doesn't matter where the tool came from, whoever owns it now can replace it for a new one for free. Karma is slowly paying him back.

If I buy a Snap-On ratchet at a garage sale for $5.00, and it would break.....into the trash it goes. No way would I try to warrant it. I feel that doing something like that is theft from the company that they come from.

I've even witnessed my nephew using a standard socket on an impact wrench, chew it up, then argue with the S-O guy until he got a new one. And you could plainly see that the socket was ran on an impact.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

They already cant make any money so the knob thinks the way to more is to give more **** away free? Replace more stuff free to get people in the store? Last time I took a handful in didn't buy another thing.
If I enjoyed that type of selling and it was worth more than scrap would have been on ebay already.

As I understand it, now in the Eddie Lampert era, Sears customers aren't called called customers, they're called "members". Or maybe the only customers who are "members" are "Shop Your Way" members. What I've read is unclear. But they say 75% of the customers are members of "Shop Your Way".

What is clear is Sears is desperate to keep up sales volume. They used to give away alot of free points to SYW members. Free stuff from Sears! Gift cards to returning customers or points to SYW members? I don't see much difference.

They obviously aren't making a profit doing business the way they do. The plan is profits will later, when customers will somehow become so loyal that they won't be so price sensitive. Seems unlikely.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

I have two nephews, one who has his own business, and thousands invested in Snap-On tools. If he finds a trashed screwdriver, sockets, hammer and so on, at garage sales, in cars that he might be scrapping, or even in a customers car that may have a tool stuck on the frame or something, he will grab it up. He has some boxes that he throws the tools in. Craftsman, Mac, Snap-On......and when he has enough tools in the boxes, he will turn them in for a new replacement. I told him that I thought that was ******** because he didn't buy the tool(s). But he tells me that they have a lifetime warranty, so he is replacing them. I told him that the warranty is intended for the original purchaser of the tool. Not one you found in someone else's vehicle, or found along the road, or bought at a garage sale. He said I was wrong in my reasoning, and it doesn't matter where the tool came from, whoever owns it now can replace it for a new one for free. Karma is slowly paying him back.

If I buy a Snap-On ratchet at a garage sale for $5.00, and it would break.....into the trash it goes. No way would I try to warrant it. I feel that doing something like that is theft from the company that they come from.

I've even witnessed my nephew using a standard socket on an impact wrench, chew it up, then argue with the S-O guy until he got a new one. And you could plainly see that the socket was ran on an impact.

Craftsman warranty has no such intention. If the other warranties are limited to the original owner, then he's misrepresenting himself, which is another way of saying ********.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Where has the OP been?

 

[PJNJ]

Where has the OP been?

Maybe he's at Sears getting another gift card?

 

[jd_1138]

I have two nephews, one who has his own business, and thousands invested in Snap-On tools. If he finds a trashed screwdriver, sockets, hammer and so on, at garage sales, in cars that he might be scrapping, or even in a customers car that may have a tool stuck on the frame or something, he will grab it up. He has some boxes that he throws the tools in. Craftsman, Mac, Snap-On......and when he has enough tools in the boxes, he will turn them in for a new replacement. I told him that I thought that was ******** because he didn't buy the tool(s). But he tells me that they have a lifetime warranty, so he is replacing them. I told him that the warranty is intended for the original purchaser of the tool. Not one you found in someone else's vehicle, or found along the road, or bought at a garage sale. He said I was wrong in my reasoning, and it doesn't matter where the tool came from, whoever owns it now can replace it for a new one for free. Karma is slowly paying him back.

If I buy a Snap-On ratchet at a garage sale for $5.00, and it would break.....into the trash it goes. No way would I try to warrant it. I feel that doing something like that is theft from the company that they come from.

I've even witnessed my nephew using a standard socket on an impact wrench, chew it up, then argue with the S-O guy until he got a new one. And you could plainly see that the socket was ran on an impact.

Wow, your nephew sounds like a real douche nozzle. No offense. We all have douche nozzles in our families, though. He's stealing from Snap On, the tool truck guy, and making the rest of us pay for his stupidity.

 

[3baygarage]

If a tool was legit broken, who in the heck cares who goes to warranty it? Whatever brand it may be.

The gift card is a bit extreme, but guess what? Their solution for discontinuing or not stocking an item.

 

[Rodbuster56]

I feel that there is more to the sears warranty than meets the eye. Usually when I go there to exchange a tool, I wind up buying something else also....Hmmm.

 

[jd_1138]

If a tool was legit broken, who in the heck cares who goes to warranty it? Whatever brand it may be.

The gift card is a bit extreme, but guess what? Their solution for discontinuing or not stocking an item.

Well that's the crux -- "legit broken". If you buy a busted tool at a yard sale for a buck, you can't determine how it was broken. Did a manufacturing defect cause it to break under normal use? So that's probably why most of these warranties only are good for the original owner who can walk in and say "hey this tool broke under normal use".

Or was the tool abused? Like Kevin up above mentioning how his nephew uses regular sockets on an impact, and then arguing with the SO dealer to warranty them when they break. Warranty does not cover abuse/misuse.

 

[3baygarage]

Well that's the crux -- "legit broken". If you buy a busted tool at a yard sale for a buck, you can't determine how it was broken. Did a manufacturing defect cause it to break under normal use? So that's probably why most of these warranties only are good for the original owner who can walk in and say "hey this tool broke under normal use".

Or was the tool abused? Like Kevin up above mentioning how his nephew uses regular sockets on an impact, and then arguing with the SO dealer to warranty them when they break. Warranty does not cover abuse/misuse.

True but it's usually clear when a tool broke from abuse. If scarred from hammering,cheater bar, impact peening, screwdriver bent from prying, then no.

If it is just cracked or something it's usually pretty easy to tell.

 

[lazer50]

Most of the opinions since the original post i agree with.that is most men generally dont buy yard sale tools that are broken and expect sears or any other retailer to warranty them.but there's always someone with the who cares attitude or has a sense of entitlement.

 

[SignalZero]

Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could tell.
70's and 80's The China one of today is as good as it has been since they changed. I havnt heard anyone busting the new sockets.

Sure, a blind man could tell the difference by holding the two different wrenches and making a comparison. But would Stevie Wonder be able to go to a Sears, pick up an individual wrench, and tell you which country it was made in? He's a musician; I doubt he turns Craftsman wrenches enough(or ever?) to be that familiar.
Same goes for the teenage guy walking into Sears to start his tool collection. He may have no point of reference, only what he has heard from older generations about Craftsman being decent USA-made tools. Like I said, Sears wasn't advertising the switch to Chinese production of Craftsman tools. I'm sure a lot of people felt deceived after buying tools during the transition. I've seen a few posts here about it.

As others have said, though, "do two wrongs make a right?"
Has Sears actually said the C-man warranty is only for the original purchaser? If they have, where can we find this info? Is it on the front of the packaging in big letters like the old "Made in USA" logos? Or is it in tiny print on the back like the "Made in China" text?

 

[sberry]

Same goes for the teenage guy walking into Sears to start his tool collection. He may have no point of reference, only what he has heard from older generations about Craftsman being decent USA-made tools. Like I said, Sears wasn't advertising the switch to Chinese production of Craftsman tools. I'm sure a lot of people felt deceived after buying tools during the transition. I've seen a few posts here about it.

So, what it is they should do about this?
A kid hears some sheet from someone may not even have a clue wtf they talking about and they need to cater to this? They should go back and sell the same tool they did in the 70's to validate some old farts opinion?

 

[SignalZero]

So, what it is they should do about this?
A kid hears some sheet from someone may not even have a clue wtf they talking about and they need to cater to this? They should go back and sell the same tool they did in the 70's to validate some old farts opinion?

umm...yeah. They shouldn't lower their quality without lowering price point and/or informing customers of the change. The fact that they proudly displayed the "Made in USA" logo on the front then hid the tiny "Made in China" print in the back shows they've attempted to deceive at least some customers. It's not like Craftsman had been previously manufactured overseas. They'd established themselves as an American-made brand for almost 80 years before the big transition. I don't see how you can blame the consumer, when Sears/Craftman never brought much attention to the transition.

But of course we don't expect them to do the right thing when it may negatively affect their bottom line. So are we really surprised that the OP took the gift card?

 

[Musicinabottle]

Ahem. Prepare for a rant.

My father-in-law loves telling these kinds of stories, he thinks people are impressed by how "crafty" he is. Most agree behind his back he's a guy that can't be trusted.

I often hear people say something akin to "it's a big corporation, they can afford it." Was I in a minority that I was raised to believe that taking something you didn't pay for is theft? Yes, Craftsman has a lifetime warranty, but it's clear what the intent of that warranty is by the terms of it: the original purchaser of the tool is entitled to a replacement assuming they didn't abuse the tool. That's it. Anything other than that is sneaky at best, dishonest at worst. Not only that, but when you have a group of people who break every rule they can get away with, we end up with stricter rules, less trust, and a society of thieves who feel they have to compete on the same level if they simply want to stay in the game. This same principle is what now guides Comcast, Bank of America, and every other company that ignores laws they think they can break as long as they make a buck.

I don't have a lot of things that make me mad, but this is one of them. Please don't do this, don't encourage others to do it, and don't ignore it. Let your friends know that it's not cool to take advantage of anyone just because you can, whoever that anyone is.

I'm sorry, Junk-Man, I don't mean to rip you a new one. I'm disappointed that this kind of thing is becoming so commonplace that no one thinks twice about it, and in fact feels the need to brag about it online. It's just awfully discouraging.

Indeed! Absolutely correct.

 

[kctyphoon]

I can't believe this has turned into an 8 page thread..

 

[markl]

There is an older man that sells Craftsman tools at the local flea market for maybe 10% less than store prices. Well I saw the old ******* at Sears one day with a bag of craftsman tools getting replace under warranty to sell, they did refuse a few items because there was absolutely nothing wrong with them, He cruises yard sales buying for next to nothing, replaces them and sells the replacements, really pissed me off when I saw that.

 

[jd_1138]

There is an older man that sells Craftsman tools at the local flea market for maybe 10% less than store prices. Well I saw the old ******* at Sears one day with a bag of craftsman tools getting replace under warranty to sell, they did refuse a few items because there was absolutely nothing wrong with them, He cruises yard sales buying for next to nothing, replaces them and sells the replacements, really pissed me off when I saw that.

What a douche nozzle, he is. Now that is a screaming example of warranty fraud. I bet he argues with the Sears employees -- "this screw driver has scratches on it, so give me a new one!"

He's probably putting in many hours to go around to yard sales looking for old CM tools. So if he takes what he's making selling the new CM tools and subtracts the flea market stall rental fee and then divides the remainder by how many hours he wastes looking for tools, the per hour figure is low. He's essentially just paying for his hobby of going to yard sales. I'd get a better hobby if I were him. lol.

There's an older retired guy at the local flea market who resells new HF tools for a small markup. But he's buying the tools -- not defrauding a co. out of them. And the nearest HF is 20 miles away, so he's sort of providing a cheap local tool source for people who buy HF tools.

 

[Musicinabottle]

I can't believe this has turned into an 8 page thread..

Now 8 1/2!

 

[sberry]

They have lowered the price point,,, to the point they can't make any money.
as to informing customers, thousands of pages point this out, find the old guy doesn't know this and tell him so he doesn't spread bogus info among young kids looking for cheap tools.

 

[sberry]

I don't see a big sign on the Matco truck says its full of China stuff rebadged and marked up.

 

[Zapp Branigan]

I can't believe this has turned into an 8 page thread..

You can change the number of posts per page in your settings. It's only a four page thread for me.

 

[Al Borland]

You can change the number of posts per page in your settings. It's only a four page thread for me.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

HUMMMMMMMMM


Craftsman (or Craftsman Industrial) Hand Tool Full Warranty

If this Craftsman (or Craftsman Industrial) hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, it will be repaired or replaced free of charge.

This is indeed Craftsmans warranty. The OP did nothing wrong! The warranty does not state "original owner" I would love to see what some of the people here do when they are in the real world and not on a computer.