What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

[Chris Adams]

This is a bit of a sarcastic reply to all the threads over and over complaining that wrench/socket sets ‘skip’ sizes.


It seems that every thread on this has someone or lots of someone’s complaining about not all sets of wrenches/sockets don’t contain EVERY SINGLE size possible.


Then someone or several someones’s suggest that ‘it’s an evil plot to sell you the missing ones for many times the cost’.

Come on people, either learn at least a TINY bit about economics, or at least get new conspiracy theories as these old ones are boring.


Sets are sold because THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE WANT. Pretty simple really.
The vendor does a study on what the customers actually buy and want to buy.
They find the most profitable way to package just what the buyer wants/needs.

That keeps the price WAY DOWN over selling the slow moving wrenches/sockets.

The more you sell of a given SKU (or thingy, for those not too technical) the lower the per unit price gets.

That means, if you sell a LOT of 14mm wrenches they cost less than if you sell only a couple of 6mm wrenches, even though the 6mm takes less steel.
A limited production run costs many times as much as a mass produced run.

Various places want different wrench/socket sizes. Some countries don’t need SAE, much less some mechanics. Same goes for metric.

Most people don’t want to spend a fortune getting every size, when they will never use most of the sizes.

 

[Mike83]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

So you're the one who came up with the idea!

 

[Jononon]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

all the threads over and over complaining that wrench/socket sets ‘skip’ sizes...THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE WANT.

"We're sick of telling people there's no demand"

 

[xroad]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Hummm, I don't know Chris. I am wondering where the marketing guys do their study to result in a set that includes 16mm and 18mm but skips a few more useful sizes.

I am painting with a broad stroke here, and don't want to insult any marketing type people here ..... I've seen most marketing people at every company I worked at do lots of smoke and mirrors and usually great at spinning a bad situation into a great situation.

I still think there is a plot to take over the world, starting with tool sets, just to get us off balance.

 

[MAD]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

I think that consumer stores (Sears etc) often just try to make the metric set similar to the fractional set- Same #of wrenches, similar sizes, similar packaging, same price.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

My wrench set skipped a few sizes, so i ordered every wrench to fill every gap, i have every size from 5.5mm to 41mm (where possible) with the expection of 33mm. (which i will buy) People ask why i have 20mm and 25mm wrenches, as they've never needed them. Until last week, i'd never used them. replacing the track rod on an original Mini required the 20mm (for the locknut) and the sump drainplug is25mm. Cosworth YB-Series engines also sometimes use 25mm bolts on the cam pulleys. That's pretty much all i'd use them for this side of the pond.

I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[Merkava_4]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

I've got 11mm, 16mm, and 18mm on my Buick; so I'm not complaining.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

My 38mm wrench is the only one i've yet to use.. 34mm gets used a lot for track rods, where they screw into the steering rack. I also have a 1-5/16" Crowfoot that will work witha little filing.

 

[krusty the clown]

i want one of everthing when i buy a set.........i don't care if i don't use it, when i need it, i NEED it. but i'm funny that way............you know, tooljunkie!

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

i want one of everthing when i buy a set.........i don't care if i don't use it, when i need it, i NEED it. but i'm funny that way.

I'm the same, i hate empty spaces and missing sockets. i don't care if they sit in the box for years, unused. When you need them, you need them and nothing else will do. Aside from that, missing sockets... *shudder*

 

[jerk_chicken]

I hate not getting a 6.26mm socket with my 1/4" socket sets.

 

[milkovich]

I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Boy that's the truth.

I'd rather have a metric set with all of them and double coverage on an 11 and 13 than gaps.

 

[Chris Adams]

So you're the one who came up with the idea!

HEH HEH HEH (Evil laugh here)

"We're sick of telling people there's no demand"

I love this response. Don't know what it means, but I do love it.

Hummm, I don't know Chris. I am wondering where the marketing guys do their study to result in a set that includes 16mm and 18mm but skips a few more useful sizes.

I am painting with a broad stroke here, and don't want to insult any marketing type people here ..... I've seen most marketing people at every company I worked at do lots of smoke and mirrors and usually great at spinning a bad situation into a great situation.

I still think there is a plot to take over the world, starting with tool sets, just to get us off balance.

I thought that on the 16 and 18. Then my truck uses them now...

You may be onto the plot, but now they will have to hunt you down and kill you...

snip.

I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Um, I feel that way about handguns...

i want one of everthing when i buy a set.........i don't care if i don't use it, when i need it, i NEED it. but i'm funny that way............you know, tooljunkie!

Me too, but if you target you and me as your base consumer, you will go broke.

I hate not getting a 6.26mm socket with my 1/4" socket sets.

Dang right

 

[krusty the clown]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Me too, but if you target you and me as your base consumer, you will go broke.

i'm not so sure about that. i did my taxes this morning, $9843.05 in tool expenses

 

[Rickster]

Do you think it might be a material cost reduction (MCR)?? Price of set production goes up and to stay comptitive you drop one seldom used size. Production cost drops 10% so you use 5% savings to keep the selling price competitive and use the other 5% savings to give you and your buddies a raise!

 

[jerk_chicken]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

i'm not so sure about that. i did my taxes this morning, $9843.05 in tool expenses

Jeez, do you get it all back?

 

[Frank Elson]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

I'm the same, i hate empty spaces and missing sockets. i don't care if they sit in the box for years, unused. When you need them, you need them and nothing else will do. Aside from that, missing sockets... *shudder*

amen brother (that means I agree)

 

[krusty the clown]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Jeez, do you get it all back?

i guess you have been out of country long enough you forgot the tax code

 

[jerk_chicken]

Well, I figured there would be limitations after a while.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

amen brother (that means I agree)

Ahahaha.. i love the little explaination, i might be a southerner, but what kind of a pleb do you think i am?

 

[janarvae]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Am I the only one who reads all of our English brothers' posts with a British accent?

 

[jerk_chicken]

I put Canadian accents on everyone. Sometimes Watertown NY accents.

 

[garfunkle24]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

i might be a southerner, but what kind of a pleb do you think i am?

Didn't you just answer your own question?

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Didn't you just answer your own question?

Ouch..

You know what us North Londoners are like; we hate everyone south of the river and outside the M25.

And for the record, South > North and day of the week.

 

[Fedwrench]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

Economics, stimulus packages, bonuses for ceo's that should have went down with the company ship, and not having a 13 or 15mm wrench in a wrench set is a crime. Why did the prices go up on individual 13 and 15 mm wrenches more than the other sizes? I'll say it again, I don't know if they're using a dart board or a Juiga board to determine what goes in a set and what gets left out but, it makes no sense to me sometimes.

 

[beelsr]

Re: What’s with sets including sizes I don’t want?

6.35mm ?

I hate not getting a 6.26mm socket with my 1/4" socket sets.

 

[wrenchr]

I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

That is my modo Moose!!!!

 

[wrenchr]

I bought a set from toptul and it did not include an 18 or 15 mm socket and those are very common!