craftsman tools lifetime warranty

[bcp]

I think that a more likely scenario is that Sears goes bankrupt and "Craftsman" becomes just a name that gets sold because some people remember it from its glory days.

Already sold.

Craftsman (tools) - Wikipedia

In March 2017, Stanley Black & Decker acquired the Craftsman brand from Sears Holdings. Sears maintains the right to manufacture and sell tools using existing supply channels under the Craftsman name for 15 years after the deal closed.

Bruce

 

[Ford850]

Craftsman being owned by Stanley doesn't impress me any more than the imported tools from Sears. Stanley owns several tool brands now, and has tools made mostly around the world to import. I will bet the Craftsman tools from Sears were made in the same foreign factories as the Stanley tools, and that will continue. The last couple Stanley tape measures I bought broke in less than a year, and were a poor comparison to their old quality. The best tools they offer are "Made in USA With Global Materials" now. They offer no true "Made in USA" labels anymore. They've been fined more than once for falsely claiming tools were made in USA.
The old Craftsman tools were great. The old HF tools were junk. Both have moved to the middle, with the new HF tools offering some decent quality especially in their "pro" lines. Some of the Craftsman tools are ok yet, but getting them exchanged when damaged is a challenge. The sears stores around me have sparsely stocked shelves so its difficult to find a replacement in stock.

 

[scaredychicken]

Sears closed it's doors in this town in the Spring / early Summer. But it was a pick-up and delivery location, catalogue sales - not a store as such. The closest (temporary) remaining stores are an hour away, and not worth the bother. I tend to buy what I can at garage sales, hope for the best, and see how long they last. Canadian Tire (in town) and Princess Auto (an hour away) are options for some tools. Like everything else, things break - but this cheap stuff breaks quicker.

 

[PILOON]

I often question 'life time', is that life defined as up to when it broke?
eg, U are alive but when U die that is the end of your 'life time'.*
Otherwise stated what exactly is the definition of a tools life?

*LOL. is there a warranty on my life?. OK so I have a few 'replacement parts' now.

 

[tjkubota93]

I often question 'life time', is that life defined as up to when it broke?
eg, U are alive but when U die that is the end of your 'life time'.*
Otherwise stated what exactly is the definition of a tools life?

*LOL. is there a warranty on my life?. OK so I have a few 'replacement parts' now.

In the case of craftsman I think they mean the life of sears!

I have traded inherited tools, is that breaking the rules.

 

[Travelover]

..............I have traded inherited tools, is that breaking the rules.

I've traded garage sale tools. Maybe it was me that made Sears go bust.

 

[goeduck]

I've traded garage sale tools. Maybe it was me that made Sears go bust.

Shame on you . Someone had to do it?

Seriously I wish they could make it but I happened to be near a Sears store in north Seattle last week around lunchtime. I went inside and that store is really on the ropes, vacant floor space, bad floor tiles, etc. etc. My store in Silverdale at least is presentable.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I imagine they'll still replace them, although I haven't tried personally. Unfortunately, in most cases, the replacements will be Chinese made. Harbor freight has the same warranty or better, and they don't seem to be going anywhere. Plus, their ratchets are actually pretty great. For the price, at least.

The 1/2 inch flex head long handle ratchet is my go to tool when things get tough. Check some of the YouTube videos.

 

[two_bit_score]

Craftsman purchased for bargain price of $900 million. OK, the 'bargain price' is my opinion. I think it's cheap.

>>>>>SB&D Buys Craftsman Brand for $900M<<<<
>>>>> Craftsman brand, long associated with Sears, will soon belong to SB&D, the world’s largest tool company. In a deal announced on January 5, SB&D will acquire the Craftsman brand for cash payments, and royalties that will stretch out over 15 years. It’s an unusual arrangement that will allow Sears to continue to source Craftsman tools from its existing supplier base and sell them within its retail channels (Sears, Kmart, and Sears Appliance and Hardware). SB&D will own the brand and have the right to develop, produce, and sell Craftsman-branded products through non-Sears sales channels. This is the second major acquisition by SB&D in the past few months; in October it announced the purchase of Newell Brands’ tool business (Lenox, Irwin, and Hilmor). Pending regulatory approval, both deals are expected to close this year.

To find out what the sale of Craftsman to SB&D might mean for tradespeople, I listened to the webcast of a conference call between SB&D executives and investment analysts from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and the like. It was the usual boring financial-speak interspersed with interesting tidbits for those of us who buy and use tools. What follows are bits and pieces from the conference call plus my comments (in italics).

Currently, about 90% of Craftsman’s sales are through Sears; the remaining 10% are distributed through outside vendors—primarily Ace Hardware stores. Sears Holdings will retain the right to distribute Craftsman products through its channels. SB&D will be able to sell through outside vendors. It hopes to boost sales through existing outside channels as well as its own retail, industrial, online, and mobile channels (which includes MAC Tools).
It seems kind of odd that both Sears and SB&D will be able to develop and produce Craftsman branded tools. I assume there is some fine print in the deal that was not discussed in the call, and that there will be a way to distinguish Sears-developed Craftsman from SB&D-developed Craftsman. It’s also possible SB&D agreed to let Sears continue to develop and source Craftsman tools because it believes that Sears (after decades of decline) will finally go under.

According to Jim Loree, President and CEO of SB&D, the company is in conversation with several large U.S. retailers and says interest is high in distributing its Craftsman-branded product.
The retailers were not specified, but I suspect they include companies such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Amazon—which already sells Craftsman.

 

[Ford850]

Craftsman purchased for bargain price of $900 million. OK, the 'bargain price' is my opinion. I think it's cheap.

>>>>>SB&D Buys Craftsman Brand for $900M<<<<
>>>>> Craftsman brand, long associated with Sears, will soon belong to SB&D, the world’s largest tool company. In a deal announced on January 5, SB&D will acquire the Craftsman brand for cash payments, and royalties that will stretch out over 15 years. It’s an unusual arrangement that will allow Sears to continue to source Craftsman tools from its existing supplier base and sell them within its retail channels (Sears, Kmart, and Sears Appliance and Hardware). SB&D will own the brand and have the right to develop, produce, and sell Craftsman-branded products through non-Sears sales channels. This is the second major acquisition by SB&D in the past few months; in October it announced the purchase of Newell Brands’ tool business (Lenox, Irwin, and Hilmor). Pending regulatory approval, both deals are expected to close this year.

To find out what the sale of Craftsman to SB&D might mean for tradespeople, I listened to the webcast of a conference call between SB&D executives and investment analysts from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and the like. It was the usual boring financial-speak interspersed with interesting tidbits for those of us who buy and use tools. What follows are bits and pieces from the conference call plus my comments (in italics).

Currently, about 90% of Craftsman’s sales are through Sears; the remaining 10% are distributed through outside vendors—primarily Ace Hardware stores. Sears Holdings will retain the right to distribute Craftsman products through its channels. SB&D will be able to sell through outside vendors. It hopes to boost sales through existing outside channels as well as its own retail, industrial, online, and mobile channels (which includes MAC Tools).
It seems kind of odd that both Sears and SB&D will be able to develop and produce Craftsman branded tools. I assume there is some fine print in the deal that was not discussed in the call, and that there will be a way to distinguish Sears-developed Craftsman from SB&D-developed Craftsman. It’s also possible SB&D agreed to let Sears continue to develop and source Craftsman tools because it believes that Sears (after decades of decline) will finally go under.

According to Jim Loree, President and CEO of SB&D, the company is in conversation with several large U.S. retailers and says interest is high in distributing its Craftsman-branded product.
The retailers were not specified, but I suspect they include companies such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Amazon—which already sells Craftsman.

Stanley bought them a year ago (Jan 5th, 2017). The details make it sound even worse than a typical acquisition. This sounds like they are whoring the brand name by allowing multiple companies to use it and sell it everywhere.