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Comment by erickhill | Hacker News Reader

Sears was my go-to place for tools for years. Then, at some stage, the quality noticeably changed and it started to feel like a cheap knock-off, like what happened to Stanley Tools ages ago.

But I did very much appreciate their return-tool policy. I used that a few times. It was a great customer loyalty tactic.

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At some point, cheaper Chinese tools became good enough. When I was a kid I remember my dad would curse cheap imported wrenches and tools. Now, he buys 75% of his stuff at Harbor Freight.

Sears ended up going down in quality while trying to keep their brand names and higher prices. Surprising it didn't work out.

At least at Harbor Freight you know what you're getting and it's priced accordingly. Craftsman tools were expensive, at one time deservedly so but by the end the were just riding on the name to put a high price on cheap imported tools.

I'm in the same boat for non-electrical tools. It's hard to buy expensive tools, particularly sockets, that I'll probably misplace or forget somewhere before they actually break.

Craftsman tools has its own story, but over the years they started creating lower quality tool lines and eroded the brand. It used to be a major go-to line of tools especially for entry-level professional mechanics (as I used to be) as they were very good quality US-made tools with a great warranty at a fraction of the price of Snap-on or the like.

Stanley now owns the Craftsman label (along with Porter Cable, Irwin, DeWalt, and others). Recent reports state that it will now be marketing Craftsman tools at Lowe's. When I was building up my tool kit, Craftsman hand tools were all that I'd buy. Other than some sockets, I haven't bought any more tools in years since the one's I own are working as well as the day I bought them.

That's pretty reassuring, if only because that means that the "Srap Tasmaner" reference in Seveneves won't become completely anachronistic.

Home depot eroded at this too, as Husky developed similar return a tool policies.

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