we all knew it eventually had to happen to Craftsman...

[MilwaukeeFish]

People aren't going to pay premium brand name prices for Chinese made tools when you can go to Harbor Freight and buy something of the same quality at 1/4 of the price.

Honestly I am glad to see this idiotic cash grab crash and burn.

Some would argue that is precisely what happens on Matco trucks, on a daily basis.

e2a: O.K. let's be honest here: all the other tool trucks too. To one degree or another.

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[icthruu74]

20 plus years ago when I was just starting out, Craftsman was 'The Brand' for homeowner grade tools. They advertised everywhere. They didn't have the competition like they do now either with the big box home improvement stores or a Harbor Freight in every town. I remember Bob Villa doing commercials for them. Almost all my tools are Craftsman USA from that time frame.

I think it's entirely possible that Sears and Crafstman could make a comeback, but they need to find their place or niche and sell to it again. Promote online sales, promote their brands and make sure quality is there.

I was in my local Sears yesterday and it's almost a depressing place to be now. The display tool cabinets were banged up and the drawers didn't work smoothly. The tools were picked over and the loose tools were now locked up so you couldn't pick up a wrench and see how it feels (and someone had gone through and moved the few remaining USA tools to the back of the hooks).

I have a set of China Craftsman sockets and you can feel the difference between them and my 20 year old USA tools.

 

[mikegt4]

I don't think that we will ever see Craftsman go back to it's glory days no matter who buys it. It will just be a brand name stuck on cheap tools like so many other formerly well thought of brands that we still see today. Too bad, I have a lot of CM tools and always found them good tools at a good price until they started bringing in Chicom products.

Eddie Lambert isn't interested and NEVER was interested in "reviving" Sears or any of it's brands. He is interested in wringing every cent out of Sears that he can before selling off the carcass. The hedge fund version of buying a vintage Ferrari and breaking it up for the parts. The guy makes over a $BILLION$ a year, any profit made from improving CM would not even rate as lint in his pocket. He just wanted the real estate holdings (he is a real estate hedge fund manager) but it seems that he was short changed by the real estate crash or Sears would have already have been gone.

 

[Paulkenosha]

I can see apex buying craftsman and just killing it off.

 

[wildbill23c]

No surprise, terrible customer service, terrible tools and equipment the past several years. They did it to themselves they have nobody to blame but themselves.

 

[bonneyman]

Why would a guy want the broken tools?

You're bound to get some classic pieces that can be repaired. So many people these days return ratchets because "they don't work". Many times the gear assembly needs cleaning/lubing, or a rebuild kit. Or you get someone who turns in a tool simply because it's old and he can get a "new" shiny one. I'd love to be the ratchet repair guy picking over all the Moore Drop Forge ratchets that come through the door just looking to mix and match parts to get them back to function.

 

[Mrmontebuilder]

I was at Sears in Langhorne PA yesterday and all the clothes racks and many other things had inventory tags which isn't unusual, however, what seemed strange to me was all the tags had dollar amounts on them. I am wondering if they are preparing for a store liquidation?? They also had a bunch of clearance tools that looked like they found them buried in the back for 20 years covered in dust.

 

[Zexx]

I've worked for sears. Dollar amounts on inventory tags are normal. Inventories also usually bring out the old hidden stuff in the back.

 

[zendriver]

I have a set of China Craftsman sockets and you can feel the difference between them and my 20 year old USA tools.

Maybe, after 60 years, they finally decided to try a different alloy perhaps a lighter weight one, especially since they're now shipping their tools 7000 miles.

Is the new alloy strong, maybe even stronger? Time will tell.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mrmontebuilder]

Zexx I wasn't sure about that with the dollar amounts. Saw inventory tags before but never really took the time to read them very thoroughly before now.

 

[dreamingmuscle]

Atwoods a local farm store around here carries Craftsman.

Someone is going to pick up the Craftsman name at least. It's too valuable/recognizable to let die. Kenmore not so much. I can't remember the last time I've heard some one brag they bought Kenmore appliances. Shoot I bet a large percentage of people don't even know what brand their appliances are.

Glen

Seems Stanley/Black and decker have bought the Craftsman brand. 900 mil seems a little low though.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/...o-buy-craftsman-brand-from-sears-for-900m.htm