The Official Tekton Tool Thread . . .
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Jerrysends
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- Feb 22, 2024
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Bought a nice selection of tools recently from Tekton, then realized I could get thier ratchets for less through Home Depot. For example a 1/4 90t flex head:
HD- $30
Tekton $40
All of my orders of Tekton products ordered from HD & Tekton were shipped from Grand Rapids.
Why can't Tekton Direct match the HD price?
HD- $30
Tekton $40
All of my orders of Tekton products ordered from HD & Tekton were shipped from Grand Rapids.
Why can't Tekton Direct match the HD price?
sparky 1971
Well-known member
Tekton just raised prices last week, maybe Home Depot hasn't caught up yet.
Ton ton
Well-known member
I believe Rural King has a limited line of Tekton. I wish they had a more complete lineup @ Rural King.
GarageHobbyist
Well-known member
A little insight from a retailer/b2b perspective. At work, one of the questions I ask a potential new vendor is if they sell direct to customer.
If not, we keep talking.
If yes, I look at what prices they are selling at and compare it to my cost.
If I don’t get a large enough discount so I can beat their own price by a decent margin, we don’t go further. I don't want to be in direct competition with the manufacturer or importer. There needs to be an incentive to buy from me instead of direct in order for their items to take up space on my shelves.
Runnings also carries a small selection of TEKTON tools. I bought my 1/4” set their with a $10 off coupon a couple months ago.
Tekton direct gives a bonus rebate on your next order and ships it for free if it's over $30?. You expect them to lose $ to keep up with HD breaking even? I'm pretty sure most of us buy direct.
I'll bite OP. Big fan of tekton. I snagged their master 3/8 set when it was $125. Worth every penny even with the price increase. You won't find a more complete socket set. 10/10.
Attachments
Tekton had a limited release of their new 1/4 Small Engine Kit Socket kit for $90 bucks that sold out in hours . . . 
Is it just me, or does that seem crazy over priced for what your getting?
www.tekton.com
Is it just me, or does that seem crazy over priced for what your getting?
1/4 Inch Drive Small Engine Socket and Bit Set | TEKTON
Prototype release: a compact and portable 1/4 inch drive socket and bit set for maintaining a wide range of yard equipment and powersports machines. EXP00008.
four.cycle
Well-known member
PlanB
Well-known member
They used to have great prices, less so now (especially if you're in Canada and buying on Amazon)
As Tekton replaces items with better made versions and add new items, the prices have gone up. Most are still reasonable and "competitive" but yeah, some prices are too high given the availability of comparable but cheaper alternatives.
four.cycle
Well-known member
They're still at a competitive price point when you consider product quality.
If you compare prices to a Kobalt or Duralast, they're going to see high. Against an S-K or Williams, they're a steal.
There are unquestionably less expensive alternatives.
If you compare prices to a Kobalt or Duralast, they're going to see high. Against an S-K or Williams, they're a steal.
There are unquestionably less expensive alternatives.
Wolfen1086
Member
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- 12
I have one question, where are they made? I don't have any (yet) but my supervisor has a lot of them and they perform pretty good they, never break and they are his go to
Prices have definitely gone up. My 3/8 and 1/2 impact sockets were $475 and now it's $575 for the same sets. While before I would recommend them 100%, now I still recommend them but would suggest shopping around to compare other brands.
I will say though that their warranty is great. I broke a ratchet. Took a photo of it and filled out the online form at 8.59am on a Wednesday. By 9.01 I had a reply, by lunchtime it had shipped and by Friday afternoon it was on my doorstep. And that's shipped from MI to rural BC.
Contrast to the Snap On guy who won't come to our shop because it's 5 minutes off the highway and wants us to meet him in town.
Depends on the tool. Impact sockets Taiwan. Hammers (which I think are rebadged Trusty Cook) USA. Each item it says at the bottom of the page under specs.
Most of Tekton's line is made in Taiwan; some is USA. They are 110% clear on COO, just look at the page for the item you're interested in.
Saying that, GJ is funny. Made in China or India is automatically branded junk, but OTOH, Taiwan tools are too expensive
Saying that, GJ is funny. Made in China or India is automatically branded junk, but OTOH, Taiwan tools are too expensive
About 8 years ago they were carried in the Meijer chain of "Wal-Mart" type stores in Michigan. That was unusual and my first exposure to the brand. I recall seeing them while grocery shopping and thinking ... wow, surprisingly good quality and variety for cheap big-box store tools. But unfortunately, they dropped the line some years back and replaced it with the usual Chinese junk brands. I was hoping Tekton would strike a deal with one of the hardware chains here like Menards since it might fit well there. But I think the only sources now are online.
If you have not been reading news ... prices on all imports and likely domestic stuff (global parts stream) will be going up significantly soon due to tariff increases. Margins are not so large where importers can eat a 32% tariff on Taiwanese production. One can extrapolate that much of Tekton's line should soon increase ~25% in cost (assuming they try to eat part of the increase with reduced profits at first). Even the base 10% uniform tariff imposed will be strongly inflationary. I still doubt it will be possible to rapidly enhance USA productions of these kind of tools at lower prices and the tariffs will impact many raw materials streams for domestic production too. So, unless policies shift back, I suspect companies like Tekton will soon be under a lot of stress. It probably does not bode well for relatively cheap mid-upper quality Taiwanese tool lines.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
The post you quoted is more than a year old, well before the tariffs.
Sorry, was just reading a thread and not looking at the dates. But the comment was intended to be more generic fitting now though.
The situation has certainly evolved fast over the last few months. I suspect that manufacturers and rebranders are now going to be going crazy with all the upheaval in the production and materials streams.
Tynee
Well-known member
Also, the higher prices aren't due to inflation. Adding to the money supply so that people can keep buying while prices go up would be inflationary. In this case, where the money supply is constant, prices may go up, but demand will subside at the same time and things will balance back out. They may balance back out at a higher price on specific goods, but demand will fall on other goods until price comes down to match. Overall, prices on tarriffed goods may go up, but the tarriffs won't be inflationary as a whole.
Come back in 6 months and say if your theory proves correct
The consensus among economists is the inflation impact will be fairly fast. The magnitude will not be one to one with rates levied though and it is expected that limited domestic producers will rise prices too because they can (ask yourself: do people ever refuse opportunities to make profit?). Anyway, I do not want to risk becoming political here. But it is clear upper mid-tier quality import tool businesses with production largely from Taiwan are likely going to be under duress. I would not be surprised if you see pretty rapid price increases of ~20% or more in many lines on top of the significant pandemic and post-pandemic inflation spread out over ~5 years.
I am a Tekton fan but their prices have gone up so much that they are no longer the no-brainer they were a few years ago.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ One of the many reasons they've gained some considerable market share - they're not weasels about where their product is coming from.
four.cycle
Well-known member
Maybe they've chosen to not play the "big box retailer" game, which requires manufacturers to continually offer product at the lowest price point possible, to the point where their margins aren't sustainable.
More to the point: the "big box" outfits are notoriously disloyal to their vendors - they have no problem pulling the rug out from under a vendor without notice, for any reason they see fit.
If I were Tekton, I wouldn't want to deal with those bastards either - let Kobalt and Husky drop their pants for Home Depot and Lowes.
I was sad to see their partnership with Meijer end but I think it's a sign that Amash is determined to keep control of the brands identity and integrity. I don't think that's a bad thing considering they raised the company's reputation from being a marketer of inferior tools, often outright junk, to that of a bona fide and competitive tool company.
Prices have went up all my life (72 years) and people have bitched about it in both good times and bad. This isn't something specific to one tool brand.
Prices have went up all my life (72 years) and people have bitched about it in both good times and bad. This isn't something specific to one tool brand.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ Playing the long game.
If you want to jump into the pen and roll around with the pigs, you're just going to get covered in mud and pig ****.
The pigs will still be fat and happy.
As to the complaining about prices:
Candy bars used to sell for a nickel.
They're $1.50 now.
Welcome to our modern world.
The only constant in the universe is change. Prices never go down.
If you want to jump into the pen and roll around with the pigs, you're just going to get covered in mud and pig ****.
The pigs will still be fat and happy.
As to the complaining about prices:
Candy bars used to sell for a nickel.
They're $1.50 now.
Welcome to our modern world.
The only constant in the universe is change. Prices never go down.
I understand your point and think you are mostly right.
But there is another side. Tekton got a lot of exposure they would not have otherwise by being in Meijer and people grocery shopping etc (tradesmen eat too!) would see the offerings and notice and become potential customers for the crowd wanting something a bit better. But yes, the big box stores buy by the train load and try to squeeze all margins out. Probably not much profit left for Tekton. Maybe worse, if Meijer type stores are selling low it becomes harder for them to charge profit margins on their more extensive online store lines.
If the tariffs stay longer term though I suspect all the big box stores will soon be significantly more expensive. Tools or not. Being upper middle age, I am well past my main tool buying phase of life though. For me the issue is more the parts stream on things that I work on.
One recommendation on tools though: the used market is a great place to expand with if you live in a populated area and have patience. Years ago I would regularly search craigslist and found many pro grade mostly domestic tools in good shape or only needing minor work for pennies on the dollar. These sources were way better value than Tekton at the expense of being harder to find closer to what you want or need. It was easy to justify 2nd hand cost when one use would more than pay for whatever you bought. After a while you get better reading into the ads who might be crazy (and avoid!) and appears reasonable. But unfortunately, there may now be a higher rate of low quality Asian junk on the used tool markets than when I was actively looking. Facebook Marketplace has also taken over relative to Craigslist too ... which is not so thrilling since Facebook links too much making it hard to keep sales and buying segregated from the rest of your life. Plus I try to avoid most social media and do not want my teenage sons getting into it.
Last edited:
kinglukas38
Active member
I'll chime in here too, I generally like my tekton stuff. Bought wrenches, sockets, and ratchets so I didn't have to borrow my boss' snap on stuff.
I did had a small gripe about the quick release flavor of ratchets, that being that the drive ends were a bit of a loose fit (when using on tekton sockets) and the cover plate screws would constantly loosen over time.
I will say new style of angle wrenches are a big improvement over the old, a lot more comfortable with the chamfered edges. I wonder if they'd ever consider making their crows feet in 1/4" drive.
I did had a small gripe about the quick release flavor of ratchets, that being that the drive ends were a bit of a loose fit (when using on tekton sockets) and the cover plate screws would constantly loosen over time.
I will say new style of angle wrenches are a big improvement over the old, a lot more comfortable with the chamfered edges. I wonder if they'd ever consider making their crows feet in 1/4" drive.
I wouldn’t classify Taiwan tools are expensive, but I would say they build things much better than China in most cases.Most of Tekton's line is made in Taiwan; some is USA. They are 110% clear on COO, just look at the page for the item you're interested in.
Saying that, GJ is funny. Made in China or India is automatically branded junk, but OTOH, Taiwan tools are too expensive
This is my over generalized overview on general build quality for something like a spanner wrench. But obviously based on the tool type, this list can shift around quite abit based on what I’m looking to purchase.
1. Made in U.S.
2. Made in Japan
3. Made in Taiwan
4. Made in Europe
5. Made in (insert country here)
6. Made in India
7. Made in China
