Econ Sears is 'set to sink'

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erkinator 2

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I still remember long ago I used a craftsman socket as a punch working on some u joints. Cracked it down the middle. Took to Sears with obvious hammer marks on it and walked out with new one.
 

Hayata

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When I was a kid looking through the Sears Wishbook was the highlight of the day!

I remember standing in line to play the Atari system they had out at their store.

My dad always bought their brand of shocks because they were warrantied, too (if memory serves).



<----- Old
 
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karlvv

The LEGEND
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When I was a kid looking through the Sears Wishbook was the highlight of the day!

I remember standing in line to play the Atari system they had out at their store.

My dad always bought their brand of shocks because they were warrantied, too (if memory serves).



<----- Old

Not old. Very experienced at life.
 

EugenFJR

An anchor on a ship of fools.
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When I was a kid looking through the Sears Wishbook was the highlight of the day!

I remember standing in line to play the Atari system they had out at their store.

My dad always bought their brand of shocks because they were warrantied, too (if memory serves).



<----- Old


I forgot about the Sears wish book... I wore that sucker slap out, back in the day...
 
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NWS

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I forgot about the Sears wish book... I wore that sucker slap out, back in the day...


Yep. My mom would give my sister and I different colored highlighters and tell us to highlight things we wanted for Christmas .

Probably my fondest Christmas memory . I looked forward to it every year.
 

Willy Leadwell

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When I was a kid looking through the Sears Wishbook was the highlight of the day!

I remember standing in line to play the Atari system they had out at their store.

My dad always bought their brand of shocks because they were warrantied, too (if memory serves).



<----- Old
The year NES came out someone got me an Atari for Christmas. I remember hounding my mom to death until she finally took me to sears to return it so I could have enough money to go to toys r us yo get the Nintendo. When everyone else was rocking the Nintendo sears was still pushing atari. That was 30 years ago and they've been going down hill since.
 
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AtlMedic

Not A Doctor
Mar 25, 2015
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The year NES came out someone got me an Atari for Christmas. I remember hounding my mom to death until she finally took me to sears to return it so I could have enough money to go to toys r us yo get the Nintendo. When everyone else was rocking the Nintendo sears was still pushing atari. That was 30 years ago and they've been going down hill since.
I was in the same boat but I loved the atari. My parents didnt have much money when i was a kid so I got my dads old atari and a black and white TV for christmas (this was in like '91) all my friends loved to come over to play it though since it was like having arcade games in my room.
 
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KGmade

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I bought a 300 something piece mechanics tool set from craftsman in 2007 or so. It was a shame seeing the ratchets with plastic selectors and buttons, a couple missing sockets, and even one socket that was incorrectly manufactured.

They have served me well for how little I paid, but now I don't even consider craftsman when shopping for tools.

The craftsman 20v drill I bought at the same time was worthless. I returned it a few days later and got makita set that has been great.
 
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Willy Leadwell

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I bought a 300 something piece mechanics tool set from craftsman in 2007 or so. It was a shame seeing the ratchets with plastic selectors and buttons, a couple missing sockets, and even one socket that was incorrectly manufactured.

They have served me well for how little I paid, but now I don't even consider craftsman when shopping for tools.

The craftsman 20v drill I bought at the same time was worthless. I returned it a few days later and got makita set that has been great.
The 20volt stuff is pretty much a gimmick. I had all 18volt ryobi stuff for a long time then switched to Milwaukee. I have both 12 and 18 volt Milwaukee tools and The 12 volt Milwaukee stuff will run circles around the 18v ryobi.
 
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Rwjeter

Space Force General Freeze.
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The 20volt stuff is pretty much a gimmick. I had all 18volt ryobi stuff for a long time then switched to Milwaukee. I have both 12 and 18 volt Milwaukee tools and The 12 volt Milwaukee stuff will run circles around the 18v ryobi.
All the tools on our trucks are Milwaukee. We've been running them for about 3 years now. And we're tough on tools. Most have had no problems, the ones that have were from our exceptionally rough and not exceptionally bright employees..... Like the one who says "shit, I don't need a torque wrench. I can tighten that bolt tighter than that torque wrench can...." SMH
 

Rwjeter

Space Force General Freeze.
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I agree though. Sears is on a rocket sled downhill. The wish book we all grew up loving as kids had been replaced by the internet, I can buy my jeans and jackets elsewhere cheaper, their tools aren't that great anymore, their warranty on those tools isn't that great anymore, their prices on those tools isn't as good as Husky or Kobalt.... Hmmm... Crash and burn anybody?
 

Willy Leadwell

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I don't believe that Sears and Craftsman are even the same company anymore. When Sears goes down, I don't think it will affect Craftsman that much as long as other big name stores are willing to continue selling it. I know Ace moves a lot of Craftsman already.
 

dial1911

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I don't believe that Sears and Craftsman are even the same company anymore. When Sears goes down, I don't think it will affect Craftsman that much as long as other big name stores are willing to continue selling it. I know Ace moves a lot of Craftsman already.

I can agree with this, but I'm reminded of when Sears started selling Craftsman tools at K-Mart. Great choice again Sears.
 

Willy Leadwell

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I can agree with this, but I'm reminded of when Sears started selling Craftsman tools at K-Mart. Great choice again Sears.
Shows how much business sense they have. Instead of fixing the problems in their own company they bought another iconic name that was in trouble and promptly finished it off. Sears was the the straw that broke the camel's back for Kmart.
 
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cbh13

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I agree with that for sure- but they've already cheapened the warranty (and brand)... I'll be shopping for Matco or MAC or (insert name cheaper than Snap On) in the future I guess. Sioux and Greenlee are great too, depending on the tool.

cornwell are also good and a bit cheaper than snap on. dad sold tools for all of the big 4 at some point in his life and said between any of them you couldn't go wrong
 
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dial1911

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Stanley Black & Decker has purchased the Craftsman brand.

$900 million


Well, I hope they treat the name with more respect than Kmart/Sears did... I only say that because I have a ton of their hand tools and would like someone to honor the warranty with at least a comparable new product.

That said, I'm pretty happy with the Kobalt hand tool set I won at the wife's Christmas party. The ratchet has pretty fine gears and the fit and finish is pretty dang nice for a "budget" set of tools. I've worn the gears out in the older Craftsman ratchets. Not sure if the Kobalt will last that long, but initial impressions are good.