The "new" Sears policy?

I just took 2 broken 3/8 ratchets back to sears for an exchange. No problem with the exchange, but instead of 2 new ones like they used to do, now you get 2 refurbished ones! when did this policy happen? Boy sears sure has went downhill in the past few years!..t...cr

You're lucky, usually they just pop out the guts on the counter and stick a new set in your old handle.

Every tool I have is Craftsman but they're irking me lately (thanks Kmart). I bought a master rethreading set with the "Forever Warranty" logo on the front, go it home and opened it out of the shrink wrap. On the inside there's a note that says these tools undergo normal wear and tear during use and therefore are not covered by the forever warranty! I e-mailed Sears 3 times over the course of 4 months and I have yet to receive a response.

that happened to me a couple of years ago down here...don't know if/when corporate made that decision...eventually they will go the way of everything else and give excuses as to why they cannot honor their own warranty...

"you used that screwdriver as a chisel-no warranty for you!"

"you used that wrench as a cheater-no warranty for you"

"you put that socket on a rusty ratrod bolt-no warranty for.." BANG! "..that bullet in your chest has no warranty either there bud....."

craftsman stuff is GARBAGE now. they tried that 2nd hand replacement crap on me, i simply took it, shoved a sparkplug socket on it, broke it barehanded and grabbed a new one. not real helpful since the "new" 1 worked about 10 minutes before it grenaded too... its a shame when i reach PAST my craftsman junk to get to my dependable HF tools....

That's a sure fire way to lose the business of millions of dedicated wrenchers. I'll think twice about buying anything from Sears again!

Greaser

I know they were giving you the repair parts for the longest time for you to fix. I used to like Craftsman hand tools but I guess I'll find another decent hand tool supplier with a real lifetime guarantee
By the way, where can I exchange my exploded Stanley dead blow hammer?

they have been giving me parts out the drawer to fix mine for years

You only get a new one if they don't have a refurbished one.

I've never been a fan of craftsman tools, Yeah they have the warranty but that's not much consolation when the socket cracks and you round off a nut in a hard to get at place and then have to drive 20 miles to Sears for a new socket. Plus their tools are bulky and clunky feeling.
I have had a couple rachets over the years and still have them but don't use them. I had to warranty the 3/8 flex head and they didn't have a new one so they put guts in it. I never thought of shooting the employee in the chest.

My problem with the swap is that I didn't originally buy a used tool...but now I have one!

The Sears that exists today is FAR from the one we grew up loving and shopping in. The tools are not the same quality they were and their service is horrible when you have a problem. I have some old Sears tools and they were made well and hard to break, not so with the new ones. The plating sucks and lots of the parts are plastic instead of steel.

I had a go round with them a couple of months ago. My Son Dan bought me their top of line floor jack for my Birthday last July ($ 309.00) Right after that it started to settle down when it was under a load, allowing the car to drop. We only use it occasionally because we have some others but this one was low profile and fits under our dropped axles, so we didn't get around to returning it for a while.

I did take it back about 2 months ago and the first thing they asked for was a receipt. I told them it was a gift and all I wanted was a replacement that didn't drop down. The jack I was returning was pristine, not a scratch on it, so they could see it was almost new. They wouldn't take it back so I asked for the Store Mgr. He was out so the Assistant Mgr told the clerk over the phone to "give me 10% off of a new jack, that is the best he can do!" I don't take no for an answer easily so I asked for the Corporate phone number. Right there in the store I called them and they "opened a case file" which means the Mgr of the store has 48 hours to call me about it.

4 days later, no call, so I call again and ask for a District or Regional Mgr to call me. A few hours later the Store Mgr calls and I tell him I consider this a safety issue and that when I went on Sears website and read the reviews there were 109 of them, mostly saying what a piece of crap this jack was and how it leaks and settles down. He said he would graciously give me 30% off of a new jack and that was the best he could do. So I called Corporate back to complain, and they told me the file was closed because the Mgr had called me back and that was that. They would go no further.

At the end of the conversation the operator said "Thank you for shopping at Sears and have a nice day!" Yeah, I'll have a nice day..........telling everyone I know how lousy Sears takes care of their customers after the sale. I won't go near Sears or KMart because of this, and before this happened we bought a LOT of stuff from them. Wonder how long it will be before we hear about Sears going out of business?

Don

this attitude is like cancer that is spreading to the major tool dealers as well. Matco sold me "gear wrenches" that say tiewan on them. said they wouldn't warrenty them even after I showed them the reciept they that they sold them to me. Funny thing is the parent company that owns Matco owns gear wrench and makes all of their tools.

Snap on 1/4" air ratchet. went 13 months for $225. refused to give me even a rebuild kit so I could do it myself. Old unit went 9 yrs. my 1132 3/8 gun went 11 yrs. had it rebuilt ladted 15 months. wouldn't stand behind it. I believe that the "made in the USA" is more like assembled in the USA with whomevers inferior parts these days. sad sad times. [S

I have a SnapOn 3/8 rachet that I have had for years and love it. One day the SnapOn truck stopped at work and I had some extra money so I went into the truck (big mistake.......it's like Xmas in there ) I bought a new 3/8 drive rachet ($80)because he told me it had finer clicks on it for tight places. But I've found out I still like the old one better and always reach for it first because it is just made better and feels better in your hand.

Give me the old days anytime!


Don

I guess I am just fortunate that I have kept all my Mac and Snap-on stuff together from 25 years ago. If I was starting over, I would buy the Harbour freight stuff and just throw them away or buy new when they wore out/broke.

I`ll have to jump on the sears "banned" wagon too. I have avoided them for about 10 years now, they will not ever get any more of my business regardless of their so called 'sales'. Those peckerwoods sold my credit card account to someone else becuase i wasnt using it often enough for them to make $ on the interest! See ya suckers...you wont seen another dime of my hard earned doe!

I guess the only sears tools I have are really old, because none are broken, but then again, they are in that toolbox I never open.


I updated my homeowners insurance coverages and found that I was only covered for 10 grand in tools, when I said that won't replace the toolboxes today, my broker had me itemize my tool inventory[big chore], and we made a new policy covering everything at todays prices. I now know my tools are insured for 3 times what my 5 car garage is, for a fraction of the cost.[cl

I find that if I'm breaking 3/8" tools I probably should be using the 1/2" instead.[

ace hardware has some nice tools. ive got some odds and ends tools I picked up at the truckstop and parts stores that were cheap and as good as or better than craftsman.
I still have craftsman don't care if got used ones back my broken ones were used too...fair trade. I had several obsolete ratchets they wouldn't do anything about under the old fix it or fail it policy. I took them in again and under the new policy they swapped em for good used ones.

nothing like dad's old s-k and kleins.

I have a bunch of SK and Proto stuff from my Dad. they are good stuff.

jfg455 said:

I have a bunch of SK and Proto stuff from my Dad. they are good stuff.

Click to expand...

Yeah I haven't heard of any complaints about Proto yet (other than the price) maybe that's the way I should go. I won't buy tools any cheaper than Craftsman, you bust a knuckle at full force a couple of times and you'll cough up the cash for better tools in a hurry. And if there's anything I hate worse than paying a lot of money for a tool it's buying a cheap tool 3-4 times and still having a cheap tool.

jfg455 said:

I have a bunch of SK and Proto stuff from my Dad. they are good stuff.

Click to expand...

I still have my first set of sockets, SK 1/2 inch drive that my great uncle gave me when I was 15 in 1968. SK were probably the best tools for the money that I ever owned, I still have some and wish I could find more like them. My favorite 3/8 drive sockets are the SK mid length. Longer than short sockets but only half as long as deep sockets.