I saw a business book a few years ago,it said: "Find a way to do the same thing for less,and keep the difference". If you stretch your definition of "the same thing", you end up with everything being watered down,and/or manufactured in China,Vietnam,etc. The guy making this brilliant decision gives himself a bonus,and everyone is happy. Right ? --------- I was using some paint this week,one color is 10 years old, dries tack free is less than 2 hours.Very nice. Another color,2 years old,from the same manufacturer,on the same surface,is still tacky 24 hours later. President of the paint company says "Nope,we never changed anything." Yeah,right. There is no product,or brand Name,that a Bean Counter can't water down to "save" of few pennies.Especially if they don't know or care how the product is used.
Eventually,Chinese **** will improve,the same way Japanese **** did. Then it will be too expensive to manufacure stuff there,they start importing parts,and eventually move production somewhere else.The cycle moves a little faster every time. Remember Danny Devito in the movie "Other people's Money" ? "How are you going to feel,when YOUR job,gets sent to some ****hole country,where they don't give a **** about human rights or pollution ?"
Are we forgetting - that the big buyers that buy from China set the Quality Standards of the Manufacturer - Sears and most all other stores in our America could give a damn less about quality. It has just become a, "If it breaks, just throw it away and get another one" society. And your hundred dollar bill spends like a twenty use to. That's my opinion about it.
Me either. Sometimes I wait untill I have a handfull, like a few screwdrivers and or a couple of stripped ratchets (usually 1/4 drive) ...No questions asked. (I've never had to return a box or open end wrench)
Don't blame the Chinese for that, big business and politicians right here in the USA did that to us...
"The deal, announced Wednesday morning, will create the third-largest retailer in the country. The new company, known as Sears Holdings, will be based at Sears headquarters outside Chicago. <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!--var clickExpire = "-1";//--></SCRIPT>While the new company will operate both Sears and Kmart stores, "several hundred" Kmarts will be converted to Sears, Sears Chairman Alan Lacy said at a news conference. The companies currently operate about 3,500 stores combined." <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><!-- CL type: context (narrow) --><!-- CL category: moneynews --> <SCRIPT>if(cnnEnableCL){if(location.hostname.indexOf('.cnn.com')==-1){cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','/.element/ssi/contextual/story.html','origin=money&site=cnn_monnews_dyn_ctxt&category=moneynews&url=http://robots.cnnfn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/index.htm');}else{cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','http://cl.cnn.com/ctxtlink/jsp/money-story.jsp','origin=money&site=cnn_monnews_dyn_ctxt&category=moneynews&url=http://robots.cnnfn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/index.htm');}}</SCRIPT>"Sears has had a very different problem from Kmart," Lacy said. "Our service and products are as good as our compe***ors but they're not where our customers are. This now gives us the opportunity to grow off-mall locations closer to the customer." <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Kmart, founded as S.S. Kresge in Detroit in 1899, has long been strong in clothing and home accessories, and in recent years has added brands such as Thalia Sodi, Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer and Martha Stewart Everyday products. <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Sears, which started selling watches through catalogs in 1886, later became best known for its Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances. And while it's struggled in clothing and other soft lines, it bought Lands' End and developed youth-oriented Apostrophe brand to try to fill those holes..." So K-Mart "buys" Sears but names the merged company "Sears Holdings" and converts "several hundred" K-Mart stores to Sears stores. In SoCal most all K-Marts are either closed or converted to Sears Essentials stores. The fact of the matter is that the property that most K-Marts sits on is worth more than the company...they are only converting the stores long enough to get them on the market and sold. Don't believe it? Take a look around you and see what's happening. Who cares who bought who, the fact of the matter is that Sears is here and K-Mart is almost a memory.
here's my story. ive been a mechanic for 5 years full time. i primarily buy matco tools. i do also have snap-on tools. my snap on guy jacks prices too high so i buy matco tools. never have any problems. all hand tools have lifetime warranty and i own ratchet wrenches that they have to warranty once a month because i break them: no questions asked. i do still have craftsman tools from when i was in high school. they have held up pretty good. i will agree with a few of you and say that i have a few older ratchets that are from an uncle that have far better craftsmanship than the new ****. i like to buy sears tools when they are on sale. i have bought a gearwrench set and my gf just bought me a 3pc prybar set for $19. you cant beat that. i havent experienced any problems with warranty though.
It's already happening. Lots of newer parts are coming out of Vietnam. You think the Chinese stuff is bad, just wait... In my current industry, electronics, we are already moving a lot of manufacturing from China into places like Malaysia. I see Vietnam and its neighbors in the relative near future, too. The Philippines is also big into manufacturing now and the quality is horrendous. IBM set up operations there a while back and spent a fortune to GET OUT because they couldn't manage the quality. I've been in engineering for 17 years, but am new to the electronics thing. I don't like what I see and plan on getting back into my old line of work ASAP. BTW - I head some of the Snap-On stuff now comes from the same manufacturer as a lot of the HF tools. Anyone know if this is true?
I also have a box load of Craftman tools, every time I break one I take it back and never have a problem. no questions asked. although... I knew a guy that worked there and he told me that every time an old ratchet came back, they swaped it out and when the customer left they would fight for it. They would rebuild it and take it home. He had told me the older stuff had a different gear ratio and were much stronger. The newer stuff was junk, and they all knew it. Roach
I've got tools from snap-on, mac, proto, craftsman, stanley and HF, I worked in bodyshops and the trucks came by every week. snap-on 100% limited replacement for certain tools same deal with mac,bought HF electric grinders etc. quit working in that field and broke some mac tools the guy on the truck won't replace them because I don't have an account with "HIM" I said and showed my reciepts didn't matter to him no dice. saw a random snap-on truck in town went on with two broken ratches (snap-on)asked if he could help me out "NO PROBLEM" he says I end up buying a couple sockets to replace lost ones. broke a craftsman ratchet and a wrench that I bent to fit in a tight spot (wasted the wrench) took them back to my local sears and the guy behind the counter said "go get what you need and toss the old ones over there (little barrel next to the register)" He never looked at the tools I turned in
I started this thread to find out if anybody else felt the same way i did. And I,m pleased to say most do. And you are all at, or coming to, the same conclusions we are being taken down the primrose path in this country, things are a changing and we better take note. Its much bigger than a tool issue, its our way of life and also our values that is being affected. I have some craftsman tools from my dad over 50 years old, have a few blunt screwdrivers, [think I,ll sharpen them up now] not much else is bad but I,m glad everyone has clued me in to whats going on now. thanx to the Hamb !!
I still have my grandfathers ( may he rest in peace) compressor from the 50s thats a craftsmen and still works great
I have never had any problems replacing broken, or even cut/ modified tools with sears... I also have a set of Duracraft (Farm & Fleet) combo wrenches, and have beat on them pretty hard (like 3' cheeter bar ) and NEVER have had a problem with them. I only managed to bend one a little bit, but it was a 3/8" and I had two feet of leverage on it, and it did the job... anyone else have any good experences with Farm & Fleet ( or Fleet Farm for other parts) tools? Jordan
Last week I was trying to get the nut off the back of the trans on the towtruck. It is a 2 13/16" socket. It didnt want to budge so I beat on it with a 3/4 impact. Broke the first Craftsman socket, heated with a torch than it came off. Next morning took broken socket and they replaced it with a smile. The only time I have ever had a problem is when 3 of us brought over 40 tools in at once. The salesman asked us to bring in less at once. I live in a large Metro area I think the sales people dont care as much as in a small town. ABUSE them with confidance and return if they break. THANK YOU CRAFTSMAN Ron THANK YOU CRAFTSMAN
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