Sears sells Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker

I haven't gone to Sears for a Craftsman product in the past 15 years, except once when I needed a speed wrench.

Ace Hardware and Orchard Supply Hardware both carry Craftsman out my way, and they're a lot closer than going to the mall to walk through the Sears graveyard just to deal with some bottom shelf retail worker.

The Sears here sucks, and is miserable. Nobody cares about their job, no morale, it's the worst environment for retail I've ever dealt with. I don't blame them, either. A sinking ship usually isn't as fun as the cruise was.

 

Should only get easier to buy Craftsman stuff. I assume they aren't counting on Sears being around long and will look to expand Craftsman into a lot of other retailers.

 

Agreed on that.

They'd be a more profitable brand if they're not exclusively sold at a handful of merchants.

 

To me, it's Lowes Kobalt which also has a lifetime warranty.

 

I think the answer is going to be Craftsman. I think this is gonna be the best thing to happen to the brand in a long time. Craftsman already sources their stuff from other companies. Stanley seems determined to bring back the former glory of Craftsman.

 

I looked at the Craftsman tool chests around The holidays for a gift. The drawers were very flimsy compared to Kobalt.

The Kobalt tools seem to be holding up well with no issues.

 

Question about that Lifetime warranty, would that be the tools lifetime or owners lifetime

 

I have a feeling if the owners lifetime is shortened, they probably don't care about the tools warranty.

 

Time to start looking for old Craftsman tools at the flea markets.

 

Why is now the time?

 

Almost all my tools were Craftsman bought about 25 years ago. It used to be when the tool broke you got a new one off the rack. Now, like with ratchets you get rebuilt pieces of shit. I have exchanged a 1/4" ratchet 4 times and it's still shit. Wouldn't doubt I have $12,000 in Craftsman hand tools in my arsenal and it's really a shame.

 

Yea, I have the same issue. People seem to think that Stanley buying them is going to make Craftsman shit. The problem is that it is already shit. I don't think people realize that Craftsman doesn't make any of their stuff. They source it from other companies (including Stanley at one point awhile back). Right now they source their mechanics tools from Apex Group (ratchets, sockets, and wrenches) and Western Forge (adjustable wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers). A lot of what Apex makes from them is crap. People forget or just don't know that Stanley Blacker and Decker owns some high end brands: DeWalt, Mac Tools, Proto, Facom to name a few. A lot of their hand tools are being built here in the USA. So, here's to hoping they can revive the former glory of Craftsman.

 

Yeah, the good news is it can't get worse.

 

The Stanley B+D CEO just announced that they will continue to honor the Craftsman warranty. He stated that they bought a respected brand and plan to keep it respect by continuing the warranty that people value.

 

... and honoring the warranty with the newly made bd items with a craftsman name.

 

Would be better than the craftsman crap they have now. You might not know this but craftsman doesn't actually make anything. They source it all from other companies. Many of which kinda suck.

 

And you think bd makes theirs? BD is crap, I haven't bought their crap in years. No warranty on bd cuz they know its crap.

 

BD owns about 9 different brands. Different brands have different warranties. And, yes, BD makes most of their own products. A few are sourced. At one point Stanley BD made all Craftsman hand tools (back when they were still good) and currently they make several of there cordless power tools and outdoor tools.

 

I'm just saying that all of my recent, years, experience with brands owned by BD has been bad. DeWalt for example. Used to be a good name.