I broke my craftsman futility knife and was quite surprised when I brought it back and was told the lifetime warranty on c-man hand tools no longer applied to the knives! Argued with the manager that they were when i bought my old knife, so he said he would exchange it this time… so i grabbed the more expensive tool less blade change model and called it even since when that one broke it would not be replaced!
This also happened to me when I exchanged some of my old c-man stuff for Husky brand when Home Depot was first promoting its husky line. Back then the toools were made in USA, and good quality. The box end wrenches I got are no longer available and the husky line is now made in China!
Although I do not own any Kobalt tools, they went from being made by snap on to being made by Danher, who also makes craftsman!
Oh, yeah- C-man tape measures are no longer warranteed either!
Just another example of poor customer service-The craftsman warranty is legendary. Sears is going to lose alot of customers on this point…
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Does that mean that carpenters are gonna have to start buying more than one tape measure to last their entire career?
if i had sears stock,i'd sell.the only thing sears had to offer was their customer service and they would issue a credit card to anyone breathing.won't be long and they will have blue light specials just like kmart,next will be store closing signs. it's hard for me to imagine kmart bought sears and is going to run it into the ground. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Sears has been closing stores around here for ten years or more. About the same amt of time, they have been denying warrantees.I can remember my brother tellling me that he always used Craftsman tapes because of the warrantee, even tho they were slightly lighter and cheaper than Stanley. Sounded like a good idea to me so I got one and exchanged it 2-3 times. It was a good loss leader for them because I would always buy other stuff as long as I was in the store.Then came the time that the tool guy told me, "Sorry, Dude. We don't make that model tape measure any more, so I can't replace it for you"Only thing I could see different was the label on the new tape model....So I've probably been in a Sears 2-3 times in ten years now
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think it depends on luck of the draw as to who you get when you walk in the door... and it's been years since i darkened the door of a sears store... I guess people still shop there but the ones around here seem large & dark... last i was there i saw little change from 1970...
In HS & before i use to hit carport sales and buy every broken craftsman tool ..screwdrivers that the dog had chewed the handle off ect... i'd sometimes take a bag full at a time... before i was 16 i owned a set of tools most would be happy to have at 40... but even then sometimes i'd get a good sales person sometimes not... seemed they all made up rules as they went... they use to try to give you a repair kit for broken ratchets... i use to just hand the guy the parts and say "u install em" usually to a "i don't know how or can't" that usually got me a new ratchet... with tape measures they use to hand you a new blade to install yourself... the same one they sold as a replacement... never figured out who purchased those replacement blades...
I hate to see sears die but I'm sure they will... unless there is something good i have yet to see
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I bought my first truck when I was 17 .... That and a Montgomery Ward socket set gave me quite an education!!
M-W had the same warranty as Sears. But after I broke the handle pulling the head off that old Ford (7" , 3/8" drive ratchet and a BIG cheater bar, lol) one of the sales guys looked at it and told me nope, I abused it. So I went out, ate a sandwich, and when I saw him leave for his break, I smeared that ol' ratchet with grease and went in to try it again. Pretty li'l thing didn't even want to touch it, asked me to drop it into the return box and grab another one off the shelf!
Here in CT Sears IS closing their stores. And I can't say I'm going to miss them.
Around here, Sears is about th only place that carries a broad range of wrenches, drill bits, and the like. But that's all I ever go there for.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I cant really blame them on the tape measures, too much abuse. My ex bus. partner was....shall I say, lacking in morals. He found a piece of a tape measure in the parking lot and returned it in more pieces for multiple tapes.
Real nice....
People have taken advantage of the warranty and Sears made a good business decision and wised up. I was in Sears about a month ago and there was a box overflowing with tape measures that were abused, and exchanged for new ones... that is not right. Craftmans warranty on knives and tape measures should be stopped... there is no way Sears can make money on those items...