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Couple of decades ago when living in Mexico City had a mechanic friend ask me to get a warranty on a "Hecho en Mexico" tool in the US. They do not (at that time) gave any warranty on Snap On tools. A little off on the original topic...just to show there is a difference in quality of tools. Asked a Snap On dealer friend of mine in Calif and he did not know that Snap On was sold in Mexico let alone the poor quality and no warranties. Live and learn.
As to Craftsman tools...it's not Sears but their supplier of tools and source of production is the culprit. I did have a wrench (I'm a retired mechanic) fail on me and the sales person never batted a eyelash but gave me a new one. I originally started out with Craftsman tools in the mid 1950's and upon the advice of my mechanic father changed over to Snap On. During the yrs did buy some Mac tools as both dealers came by my shop every week. They made my living a lot easier over the yrs.
it's not Sears but their supplier of tools and source of production is the culprit.
No - Sears has a part in this too. As the buyer, if you don't like your supplier's product, you find a different supplier. That's no different from consumers purchasing something from a store; if you don't like a particular product's quality, you find a different product instead.
Likewise, if you're telling the supplier that I'm only going to pay X amount for a particular product, then you as the supplier now needs to be able to make that said product for that price. To reduce costs, it's either going to be more efficiency, cheaper/less materials, and/or cheaper labor.
Sears/Craftsman has had it's legal battles-
Craftsman tools came under fire in 2004 in a lawsuit accusing Sears of false advertising and consumer fraud for questionable use of the
"Made in USA" slogan. While most Craftsman hand tools are manufactured in the U.S., many power tools and accessories are manufactured overseas, sometimes with the final assembly taking place in the U.S.
I'd rep you, but I already did. You always bring some actual facts to the table. Thanks.
I've seen some Craftsman (not Evolv or Companion) pliers that are made in China too.
The thing is, when folks look at Craftsman and see "made in China", they wonder why they're paying a premium for them. Harbor Freight's tools have improved in quality (though some are still junk), and with an even more hassle-free lifetime warranty at a quarter of the price, it's no wonder that Sears' once proud tools aren't getting the desirability that they use to garner.
I get a lot of my tools at Harbor Freight or Home Depot. None have broken. I won't pay a premium for Craftsman anymore because their tools are crap. If I am going to have crap tools, I want them cheap.
As far as the lawn products are concerned - I don't think this is a new phenomenon. We had a Sears lawn mower - and it didn't last as long as it should have. I will say that the original "at home" service contract was very convenient for us - and the company was prompt in sending people out for routine maintenance and repairs. But once the mower got too old for this contract (or perhaps the contract just got too expensive - can't remember) - we got a Honda - which has been fine for about 6 years now (just annual routine maintenance).
Note that we've had good experiences with some Craftsman products too. Like the wet/dry shop vac we bought 15 years ago when we were building our house is a real champ. Still running strong. And I bought my husband one of those workbenches/storage units on wheels perhaps 10 years ago - and it looks as good as the day I bought it - except for the mess in the drawers (which is saying something considering the heat/humidity we get a lot of the time).
Perhaps this is an issue with manufacturers of lawn equipment in general - and not Craftsman in particular (we've had problems with some lawn equipment made by other manufacturers). Robyn
Not to get off subject, but as to mowers, many of the brand names that have a good reputation from years ago are now made by MTD.....names like Cub cadet, Yard-man, Bolens, White....names that years ago stood for quality, but now are not.
Cannot speak to the garden tractors but I do not believe the Sears Craftsman hand tools are made in the USA anymore. It's been that way for several years now. I think when they started manufacturing overseas that they also did away with the lifetime warranty on their tools.
They still have some hand tools manufactured in the USA.
I've been in a facility in Pueblo, CO that was making Craftsman branded pliers for them the last time I was there.
The last time I took a broken tool to be warrantied ... about 6 months ago ... they still had their lifetime warranty on the tools. But you do have to buy a "craftsman" branded tool, not one of the other lines they carry. Sears also has had a secondary tool line, "Companion", for many years ... its a lot cheaper than their firstline tools and never has had the lifetime warranty.
<sigh> Was just using my fathers Craftsman radial arm saw he bought in 1971. All original as far as I know and it has been well used.
Haha......I still have mine I bought in 1979. Made better then, with TWO guide rails, not one. It will go to my son....still works great!
Funny story with that. We were young then, and it was a big expense. We planned on doing a lot of remodeling, as we just bought our first house.
My wife said, "Buy it if you can promise me you will use it enough to justify the cost". I did.
Years later I told her the same thing when she asked me about getting a vasectomy..........
Frank
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(which is saying something considering the heat/humidity we get a lot of the time).
