Why I don’t miss Craftsman

[Cope]

Back in the 1970s Sears celebrated October as hardware month and put out a catalog of 1/2 price items, and they did the same thing for Christmas. I told my family to give me cash for birthday and Christmas. I got double the merchandise and was able to pick out exactly what I wanted. I remember an in store sale with open end, combination and box end metric RP wrenches. There were 23 wrenches for $24. They were wrapped in newspaper in a plain cardboard box. I quit shopping at Sears when they discontinued their catalog store. They used to have real tool salesmen, and they were on commission. The last time I was in the hardware department, my son-in-law wanted some accessories for his wood lathe. A young salesman was standing in front of the display wood lathe and we asked where wood lathe accessories were. He said "what's a wood lathe"?

 

[Moose97]

I understand that the plight of Sears may already be set in stone but that doesn't necessarily mean that Craftsman will be gone. Likely Craftsman, Diehard and Kenmore will live on in another store or stores. The name value alone will likely make them desirable to other stores.

 

[PugetDude]

There are certain haters on this forum that love berating Sears, Snap On, HF and others. They repeat their rants any chance they get....get a life!

...usually the same folks who foam and rant ad-nauseum about Walmart and McDonalds corporate welfare, minimum wages, economic justice, blah blah blah, etc. etc.

 

[DanInVA]

I am fairly confident that even if sears goes under, someone will pick up the craftsman name and keep it going. I am kind of disappointed that craftsman has let quality slip and moved a lot of production overseas, but at the end of the day, craftsman is an American tradition to me. For decades, they made affordable tools that people depended on. My brother still has my grandfather's old craftsman circular saw, from back in the day when they came in metal cases. I think it would be awesome if Ideal would pick them up and run then as an American manufactured tool similar to SK. I think Craftsman could earn its customers back, but not with what they are doing right now.

 

[arms1970]

Good analogy. OP, good luck finding US made pullers, etc at Sears prices.

We wont worry about it much longer. More stores closing, sears is doomed.

 

[BirdMobile]

Meh.

Whatever.

 

[Conductor562]

I understand that the plight of Sears may already be set in stone but that doesn't necessarily mean that Craftsman will be gone. Likely Craftsman, Diehard and Kenmore will live on in another store or stores. The name value alone will likely make them desirable to other stores.

All 3 of those brands are owned by a Special Purpose Entity separate and apart from Sears Holding Corp. When Sears fails they will indeed live on upon the shelves of other stores.

 

[gagreen]

You just proved that you have very limited knowledge about tools. And I know you haven't bought any European tools which cost way more sometimes more then truck brands.Especially German tools. Yes more then truck brands. Armstrong and Wright cost much more then Craftsman Professional line which I think are same as Craftsman. Craftsman Chinese line do **** but they offer good tools for a beginner or DIY community. And there are great tools that come out of Taiwan like Blue Point,Williams,Silver Eagle,Harbor Freights Professional line just to name a few. Plus Craftsman warranty is best in the indusry hands down.

Agree until "Craftsman warranty is the best in the indusry" lol no way. A sears in my previous state denied warranty if you showed up with a broken tool in a "mechanics uniform" stating they were not for professional use, etc etc... Craftsman warranty seems to be consistently inconsistent. Tekton crushes them, snap on (when your on the route) crushes them, and so on.

 

[creativecars]

I will miss Craftsman. They have been a part of my life since I was born, my dad made a descent living for all of us starting with Craftsman tools and they are still working today...

I wont miss Sears though, actually I wish the CEO's and management had not destroyed an American tradition. They had a great thing going and through their greed and stupidity they have ruined it, and several others in their wake. I really miss the Western Auto stores that Sears screwed over and closed... That one really pissed me off. Our local Western Auto was a great store and had some good people who worked there and when Sears did that it was over for me. Their POS auto department could not hold a candle to WA. Rant over.

 

[NicksRodz]

I have my share of Craftsman tools. Some I got from my dad and some I picked up about 8 years ago. i have not yet had to return any of my Craftsman tools. Maybe Sears could learn from HF about lifetime warranty returns. At least they should if the keep replacing there tools made overseas. You would think that if the quality of the products has gone down shouldn't they keep their customer care up. Otherwise stick a fork in them they are done. IMO

 

[Davefr]

When Sears fails they will indeed live on upon the shelves of other stores.

I'm having quite a few doubts that CM will live after Sears's throws in the towel. It would take a retailer without an existing name branded lineup that's willing to incur the huge ongoing warranty liability. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to grandfathering in the lifetime CM warranty. I predict CM will just gradually wither away after a few failed attempts to keep it alive.

Agree until "Craftsman warranty is the best in the indusry" lol no way. A sears in my previous state denied warranty if you showed up with a broken tool in a "mechanics uniform" stating they were not for professional use, etc etc... Craftsman warranty seems to be consistently inconsistent. Tekton crushes them, snap on (when your on the route) crushes them, and so on.

That's B.S. For every story where Sear's reneged on a CM tool warranty there are just as many where a SO driver also refused to warranty a tool for various frivolous reasons. The SO warranty is only as good as the integrity of the driver.

 

[finn]

The no warranty if in mechanics uniform BS story sounds like another urban legend.

Every time it is repeated, it is by someone who heard it from their neighbor; never a first person, no excuses documented event..

 

[Cope]

I I really miss the Western Auto stores that Sears screwed over and closed... That one really pissed me off. Our local Western Auto was a great store and had some good people who worked there and when Sears did that it was over for me. Their POS auto department could not hold a candle to WA. Rant over.

I worked with a mechanic who had been with Western Auto for years. He told me the WA management was screwing Sears and got caught. Sears shut them down rather than just fire the guilty parties.

 

[Casey69]

So it was nice to know that I could run to the nearest mall, walk into sears and get a decent, American-made tool at a reasonable price.

and now i can't.

convenience is a huge part of my tool purchases. if i bust a socket, i can run to a nearby sears to warranty it. if i needed a misc handtool, i could run to sears on a sunday & be in & out within a few minutes if i had to.

most of my ratchet & socket sets are us-craftsman. i have a palm sander that was us-craftsman too. also have a craftsman table & miter saw from the 90's, but those were outsourced.

imho, the loss of sears is a huge loss for usa-made hand tools. the convenience is gone & a lot of the competition for usa-sourced tools is gone too. i'd guess that usa-craftsman had 50% of the marketshare of us-sourced tools.

 

[Conductor562]

I'm having quite a few doubts that CM will live after Sears's throws in the towel. It would take a retailer without an existing name branded lineup that's willing to incur the huge ongoing warranty liability. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to grandfathering in the lifetime CM warranty. I predict CM will just gradually wither away after a few failed attempts to keep it alive.

You'll be buying Craftsman at Wal-Mart or some other big box. I'd venture to say it'll be the exact same tools available now, just not at Sears

 

[Davefr]

You'll be buying Craftsman at Wal-Mart or some other big box. I'd venture to say it'll be the exact same tools available now, just not at Sears

What other big box needs CM? Wal-Mart is a maybe but they have Stanley.

 

[Mach5]

My local ACE sells CM. FWIW

 

[Mechanical Noise]

What other big box needs CM? Wal-Mart is a maybe but they have Stanley.

Maybe Menard's? Not that Menard's NEEDS Craftsman but I think it would be good marketing if Menard's goes national.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

:tard:

Could you please hang onto one of those mules for me? I would like to saddle up and have a nice peaceful ride to Sears

 

[NicksRodz]

I did happen to come across a couple of oil filter wrenches at Kmart aalmost two weeks ago and they were on sale for $4.99 each Made in U.S.A. I didn't even think about it but my wife told me after we left that with her reward points I got the wrenches for free.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

The no warranty if in mechanics uniform BS story sounds like another urban legend.

Every time it is repeated, it is by someone who heard it from their neighbor; never a first person, no excuses documented event..

Uniform should be no problem.... Just take it off and hand the lady your broken tool..

 

[Tronyadorable]

Back in the 1970s Sears celebrated October as hardware month and put out a catalog of 1/2 price items, and they did the same thing for Christmas. I told my family to give me cash for birthday and Christmas. I got double the merchandise and was able to pick out exactly what I wanted. I remember an in store sale with open end, combination and box end metric RP wrenches. There were 23 wrenches for $24. They were wrapped in newspaper in a plain cardboard box. I quit shopping at Sears when they discontinued their catalog store. They used to have real tool salesmen, and they were on commission. The last time I was in the hardware department, my son-in-law wanted some accessories for his wood lathe. A young salesman was standing in front of the display wood lathe and we asked where wood lathe accessories were. He said "what's a wood lathe"?

That's because back in the sixties and seventies we all ran power tools at school and the girls all learned to sew, cook, balance a checkbook, do weights and measures and do other normal tasks humans used to do for themselves(and still do outside the US).We had " Industrial arts" and they had "Home Economics".
Now you have......have.....a bunch of idiots who's "expertise" lies on a joystick.
The only joystick we knew anything about involved the longerie section of the Sears catalog and an overstay in the *********
I can speak for the females but my guess is vegetables(maybe home raised) were their version.

 

[Sal Bandini]

I used to love looking at the catalog and also going to Sears to check out the tools. Back then CM was the only option for me for good quality tools. I knew of nothing else besides that or the truck brands, which are realistically not an option for DIYer. However, now with the internet a whole new world is opened up. I can find brands I never heard of before and can read reviews from people that use them every day.

It is nostalgic to think about those days and how it used to be but time moves on, business models change, people's interests change, so I am not too saddened by this. I have more options today than I did years ago. I look at this like any other product. I buy majority of my stuff online: computers and accesories, TVs, books, music, even pet food. In the rare instance where I had problems I returned the items and dealt with it. The same is true with my tool purchases. I might browse the large stores to handle the tool but will most likely buy it online.

I think with cars becoming more sophisticated and more reliable that fewer young people are learning to fix them. They are too busy in their electronics and social media life to bother. To them it is not worth it, but that is ok because that's how the world progresses. Few tasks or skills carry down through generations. My dad could skin and clean animals, my grandfather could make wagon wheels with a draw knife, but I can't do any of those.

For most of us here we probably have many thousands worth of tools so the death spiral of Sears shouldn't affect us much. It's not like we were going to buy any of their massive sets or tool trays anyway.

To the poster above mentioning sewing skills, the other day I was in sewing store buying a new vacuum. My youngest daughter was fascinated by the embroidery machines and now wants to take their summer camp for kids next year. I thought that was cool. I'm still working on my son, though. He is very handy and figures things out by himself but trying to get him excited about helping and learning about car repair and woodworking.

 

[Conductor562]

What other big box needs CM? Wal-Mart is a maybe but they have Stanley.

Target or Cosco maybe? I never shop at Target and we don't have a Cosco, so I'm actually asking.

 

[-Brent-]

Back to the point, I don't really miss Craftsman because I have more of it than I'll ever use. I mean there's a point when you have most of their tool line that interests you and there's nothing left that calls to you.

This. Said perfectly.

I hope, EVENTUALLY, the conversation around GJ shifts toward tools and such that are needed/wanted to expand capabilities. By now 85% of the membership should have their complete fill of ratchets, sockets, screwdrivers, pliers and like items.

Dynasties come and go, folks. The fact that people get their stomach in knots over C-man's current status is really a testament to the marketing prowess and position in the tool world they once had.

 

[-Brent-]

Sal, I love what you wrote and I agree with it. The only thing I don't is the comment about the sophisticated cars and younger folks wrenching...

If anything, the Internet has made the younger wrencher way more savvy than we were. I know a few late 20-somethings that monitor, tune or run diagnostics through iPads/laptops/etc.

Some of the stuff they build is incredible because they design it (or download designs), have it machined and install it... while I'm looking at boxes of old tools wondering, "how the heck?"

I bought Cman because I was a poor car guy. I spent more on speed parts and such. Cman was the answer. The better tools were the ones my dad had, that were passed down to me, eventually. Even then, it was some wrenches and basic stuff.

 

[Davefr]

Target or Cosco maybe? I never shop at Target and we don't have a Cosco, so I'm actually asking.

Costco and Target would have to greatly expand their tool category in order to adequately represent the CM brand.

Costco only likes to carry a few CM SKU's (mostly sets). I can't see them having full aisles filled with individual CM SKU's.

Target has the wrong demographics. It's more of a girls store then a guys store.

 

[mooseracing]

I want somewhere I can walk in and buy good tools that are made in the U.S. I also want somewhere I can do that with the warranty.

Craftsmen had that niche and somehow ruined it. They had a large selection and used to employ relatively knowledgeable people as well. Knowledgeable people seem to be more of a current issue every where though.

 

[woody 73]

Sal, I love what you wrote and I agree with it. The only thing I don't is the comment about the sophisticated cars and younger folks wrenching...

If anything, the Internet has made the younger wrencher way more savvy than we were. I know a few late 20-somethings that monitor, tune or run diagnostics through iPads/laptops/etc.

Some of the stuff they build is incredible because they design it (or download designs), have it machined and install it... while I'm looking at boxes of old tools wondering, "how the heck?"

I bought Cman because I was a poor car guy. I spent more on speed parts and such. Cman was the answer. The better tools were the ones my dad had, that were passed down to me, eventually. Even then, it was some wrenches and basic stuff.

Brent wow I was watching someone run their model trains with their I-phone, that just blows my mind

 

[Moose97]

What other big box needs CM? Wal-Mart is a maybe but they have Stanley.

Walmart is a definite possibility. Target is another option. They have very few tools and the ones they carry are total junk. What you may see is Craftsman in a multitude of places. There are still independent Sears stores that sale nothing but tools, appliances, mowers and the like and they will likely remain in business after Sears is no more. What if Craftsman went to Harbor Freight?

 

[OutsideMachinist]

Target is ''targeted'' towards a female customer base. Don't really see a positive outcome for craftsman though I hope I am proved wrong. I would rather see it die than get even worse.

 

[K13]

As mentioned Target is aimed towards women and I cannot see Costco getting involved with people coming in to replace a single socket or wrench that the broke. Not their business model at all.