Craftsman Hand Tool Guarantee

ultrarunner · Jun 26, 2007

In the late 60's I bought Mom a Craftsman "Sears Best" Lifetime Garden Hose as a Mother's day present.

About every 7 to 8 years, I've exchanged it for a new one... no questions asked.

I always come in with my original receipt from 1967 along with the warranty from the cardboard that the original hose was attached too as well the 4 exchange receipts I've collected over the years. The paperwork is older than the Sears Clerks.

I did notice that my Sears Store removed the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" logo from all there entrances several years ago.

I'm not really good at keeping records so I have a very simple method. When I bought my Sears Best garbage disposal I thumb tacked the warranty and receipt to the inside cabinet wall under the sink.

I thumb tacked the hose warranty and receipts under the laundry sink... up high so it's not in the way...

I would think Sears would have to either go Bankrupt or change it's name to no longer honor their lifetime hand tool warranty...

heymack · Jun 26, 2007

ultrarunner said:
I did notice that my Sears Store removed the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" logo from all there entrances several years ago.

I would think Sears would have to either go Bankrupt or change it's name to no longer honor their lifetime hand tool warranty...

From Sears.com customer service page, first lines:

Sears Policies

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back
Our goal is that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. If for any reason you are not satisfied, simply return your purchase in its original packaging, with your original packing slip and sears.com Order Confirmation E-mail Receipt within 90 days of your purchase, 30 days for Home Electronics and Mattresses for a refund or exchange. If you are not satisfied with your purchase after these time periods, please let us know. Your satisfaction is important to Sears.

Additionally, here's a description for a Craftsman screwdriver from Sears.com:

For removing covers on computers, electronics equipment, woodworking and cabinet making. Guaranteed forever.

FWIW, I've never had a problem exchanging Craftsman hand tools at Sears, although I have noticed that they exchange rebuilt ratchets instead of giving new these days....no problems as the exchanged unit also carries a lifetime guarantee.

Travelover · Jun 26, 2007

ultrarunner said:
I always come in with my original receipt from 1967 along with the warranty from the cardboard that the original hose was attached too as well the 4 exchange receipts I've collected over the years. The paperwork is older than the Sears Clerks.

..

I bought a Craftsman stapler that had a life time warranty. When it broke, I took it in. They gave me one with a 90 day warranty. I protested that I had purchased a lifetime warranty with my stapler and I expected it to continue. They told me tough luck. This was about 10 years ago. Hope they keep honoring your hose warranty.....

Bedlam · Jun 26, 2007

In response to the ratchets, I have a couple that are over 25 years old. No problems. I also have a couple of 'rebuilt' ones from Craftsman, brought them home and upon first use they strip out. I find it funny that I reach for my K Mart one more often. And its held up better. Sears can afford to offer a life time warranty because, some people aren't going to use them every day, and use them hard. That was ok in the old days. But now they skimp on the materials, knowing that people will either not return, or throw them away.I myself would rather pay a few bucks more and have one that doesn't get replaced at least twice a year.(like the old one)
But as WAL-Mart its the bottom line. spend millions on advertising, only to throw it away with poor service.(looks good on paper).

HappyCPE · Jun 28, 2007

I have 2 Sears stores nearby. The first one in Ringoes NJ is a franchise, a privately owned family operation that sells appliances, tools, lawn and garden, etc. When I bought a fridge from them, a guy walked in to exchange a socket. The owner started giving him a hard time. I was taken aback until she said "This is the fourth one this week!" The customer admit he was using a breaker bar and a 6' pipe. So he got socket #4 and promised not to come back... I figure that was a reasonable limit.

The corporate full-service store in Phillipsburg NJ still has "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" on the glass transom. The staff there is pretty helpful. I checked that out after driving to Middletown NJ for a part they said they had in stock but turned out they didn't. I was not a happycpe that day - 120 miles round trip and the clerk and store manager blew me off. Like a lot of places, it is the people that make the difference.

LK3054KIOTI · Jun 28, 2007

I have a lot of Craftsman tools and use them often , breaking some once in a while. only had one problem returning anything and that was a 1/4 drive 1/4 inch deep well socket, some new kid said it didn't bad, I stuck to my guns and finally a older sale clerk came over and asked what the problem was and I told him I wanted to return this socket because it wouldn't hold a screw (I had been using it to take down a barn with screwed on metal,) he said no problem and handed me a new one and said have a nice day, on my way out he was chewing out the new guy as not to argue with the customer , and I have been told a few years back that Home Depot will exchange any Craftsman Hand tools with Husky haven't done that yet but if I have any problem with Sears returns. Home Depot here I come, also I think they said they would take snap-on,and mac, I haven't got to many of the snap on of macs but I did have a snap on ratchet that the snap on man wanted to charge me 20.00 to rebuilt,

what kinda warranty is that ?

DieselPower · Jun 28, 2007

LK3054KIOTI said:
Home Depot here I come, also I think they said they would take snap-on,and mac, I haven't got to many of the snap on of macs but I did have a snap on ratchet that the snap on man wanted to charge me 20.00 to rebuilt, what kinda warranty is that ?

This is not unheard of. Some Snap-On, Mac and Matco dealers will do this if your not one of their regular customers.

Bird · Jun 28, 2007

Yep, when my brother was a Matco Tool distributor, he got to be friends with the Snap-On guy who worked the same area. They would warranty each other's tools even, and then swap out when they met for lunch about once a week. Air ratchets, they both sent to me for repairs, but I know my brother carried the parts and repaired the manual ratchets himself on the truck.

Farmwithjunk · Jun 28, 2007

I have to laugh when I hear anyone slam products because "they're imported". It's as if that automatically pre-determines inferior quality. I realize some low grade JUNK crosses our borders, but like it or not, that's import AND export products, crossing our borders in both directions. Some of the highest quality items in our everyday lives comes from overseas. Like it or NOT.

I'm no different than the rest of the crowd. I'd just as soon see American made products sold in America. I'd just as soon they were all high quality products. But that's just not always the case.

All we need to do is to take a long hard look at the tractors being sold today. There aren't many BUILT here. (Some "assembled" here) Most are built overseas. Some are good, some aren't. Do we lump all of them together as junk because a small minority of them aren't up to our standards?

I'm sure Sears/Craftsman tools aren't what they once were. What is these days. But to slam them based on the fact that they're foriegn made is a bit weak IMHO.

firemanpat2910 · Jun 28, 2007

Only trouble I have had returning any tools here in Tallahassee is the local store having what I need in stock. I think I already saw some one mention they have a whole set but not all individual tools. Depending on who is working decides if you get a tool today or a try again later.
I have no problems with craftsman tools if you use them for what they are, Good quality homeowners,weekend warriors tools. But I dont depend on them like my snapons,macs,matcos or old S&K. but I dont expect too.
I have given craftsman tools to my oldest nephew that were given to me by my great grand father. Thats 5 generations of users, how can you beat that?

cp1969 · Jun 28, 2007

firemanpat2910 said:
I have given craftsman tools to my oldest nephew that were given to me by my great grand father. Thats 5 generations of users, how can you beat that?

Those old tools are the ones they could afford to give lifetime warranty because they did not fail. The new ones are a different story altogether.

MikePA · Jun 29, 2007

HappyCPE said:
The customer admit he was using a breaker bar and a 6' pipe. So he got socket #4 and promised not to come back... I figure that was a reasonable limit.

'Reasonable limit'? I'd call that above and beyond customer service.

digger2 · Jun 29, 2007

About 10 years ago i bought aprox. 6 small "craftsman" "C" clamps.2" clamps
that did not say "craftsman" on them anywhere,but on the cardboard card in
big letters it did say "craftsman" plainly.On the back was the lifetime guarantee.I use these small clamps quite a bit and they do eventually wear
out.
About 5 years ago i took them back,and they did exchange them.But
about a year ago,i took them back again and the Sears salesman said-
"they are not guaranteed,and they never were".
The "craftsman" warranty says:"if any craftsman handtool ever fails to
provide complete satisfaction,return it to any sears store or craftsman outlet
in the U.S. for free repair or replacement"
If these "C" clamps arent hand tools,what is???Its been mentioned that these sales people have "training" as of late to try to turn you away in these tool returns.......I BELEIVE IT.
As far as their power tools...i dont even look at them anymore.
I'll buy Millwaukee power tools everytime if i can.No,Millwaukee tools arent
indestrutable,but compared to the "CRAFTSMAN" power tools ive had,the difference is like day and night. digger2

QRTRHRS · Jun 29, 2007

LK3054KIOTI said:
I have a lot of Craftsman tools and use them often , breaking some once in a while. only had one problem returning anything and that was a 1/4 drive 1/4 inch deep well socket, some new kid said it didn't bad, I stuck to my guns and finally a older sale clerk came over and asked what the problem was and I told him I wanted to return this socket because it wouldn't hold a screw (I had been using it to take down a barn with screwed on metal,) he said no problem and handed me a new one and said have a nice day, on my way out he was chewing out the new guy as not to argue with the customer , and I have been told a few years back that Home Depot will exchange any Craftsman Hand tools with Husky haven't done that yet but if I have any problem with Sears returns. Home Depot here I come, also I think they said they would take snap-on,and mac, I haven't got to many of the snap on of macs but I did have a snap on ratchet that the snap on man wanted to charge me 20.00 to rebuilt, what kinda warranty is that ?

The reality is that this kind of use is pretty tough on a standard chromed socket especially if you were using a drill to unscrew those screws.

There are unchromed nut driver sockets with a shank to easily tighten in a drill chuck readily available. The barn builder I worked for got them in boxes of huge quantities because they are a consumable.

My point is not to dismiss Sears because I too am disappointed with them. What with my time and fuel costs these days, a broken screwdriver may just get turned into an awl.

By the way, I started buying those Husky heavy duty screwdrivers at Home Depot. I like the feel and they seem to be holding up okay.

JRobyn · Jun 29, 2007

So far, every "cheap, imported" HARBOR FREIGHT tool that I've managed to break has been promptly replaced, no questions asked. I'm sure not saying that Craftsman and HF tools are comparable, but it appears that HF's customer service is beginning to exceed Sears!

- Jay

Keith_B · Jul 4, 2007

My brother-in-law had a 12 inch adjustable wrench inside his home when it burned in 1984. He gave me the wrench, which I soaked in some diesel fuel and cleaned up. The thumb adjustment didn't work real smooth on it after being through the fire, so I took it to Sears. They replaced it without question, and I had a nice new shiny wrench.

Some of the Craftsman ratchets aren't a high quality ratchet, and are going to fail if used a lot. I bought my dad and my father-in-law each a set of those $24.99 3/8 drive sets on sale at Chrismas time for $12.49. I've exchanged the ratchets in each set at least once. I figure for $12.49 I'm not going to get a ratchet that is going to last forever.

I've got other Craftsman ratchets that have held up very well to my use and often abuse.

One thing I have learned is that any hand tool can be broken, the handy thing is being able to exchange a broken tool for a good one.

I busted the fiberglass handle on my Craftsman shovel. I took it back and this young kid didn't know what to do with it, he asked an older clerk, and was told "Get him a new one."

Keith_B · Jul 4, 2007

JRobyn said:
So far, every "cheap, imported" HARBOR FREIGHT tool that I've managed to break has been promptly replaced, no questions asked. I'm sure not saying that Craftsman and HF tools are comparable, but it appears that HF's customer service is beginning to exceed Sears!

- Jay

Some of the Harbor Freight hand tools are pretty good, others are not. The Pittsburgh stuff isn't bad, is warranted forever, and it sells for a cheap price (especially when on sale).

Iplayfarmer · Jul 10, 2007

Thanks for all the posts. Now I feel justified for my stubborn rebellion against the Craftsman bandwagon.

Honestly, my favorite ratchet is a craftsman, but it was a gift. I think they're good tools, but I don't think they're as good as Sears thinks they are. They seem to be a high end homeowner/hobbyist quality, not really professional grade. A brand that I've really been impressed with is the Powerbuilt brand that Checker Auto Parts sells. Also a homeowner/hobbyist grade, but less expensive and still with a lifetime warranty.

I had a buddy in college with a whole tool set that he'd acquired by finding craftsman tools off the side of the road or discarded elsewhere. He'd take them in to the store and they'd exchage them, no questions. He had hundreds of dollars worth of craftsman tools and he never paid a penny for them.

BobRip · Jul 10, 2007

Craftsman did warranty power tools for a while and then changed the warranty when it cost them too much. I consider these changes to be marketing bull. They want to keep the Craftsman name and yet change the warranty. If they change the warranty then these tools need to be called Sears, not Craftsman. I had a Craftsman rake that broke every year. Each one I got was lower grade than the previous. I finally gave up and bought a plastic rake, it was much better.