LOWER PRICE 3/3: 154-Piece Craftsman Mechanics Tool Set $71 + Free In-Store Pick Up

Tools made in China?

Yes, Craftsman tools are now made in China. The quality is crap compared to what it once was. About on par with Harbor Freight, at a higher price.

Sears has got to be the most poorly run business I have ever dealt with. This is ridiculous.

So I had mentioned earlier that I purchased the 118 piece tool set last week and wanted to upgrade to this one.

I placed my order at 6:15 PM and didn't get a e-mail until 8:05. This is not because the store was busy, it is because the order didn't reach the store until 8:00 PM. They can't do anything with the order until it comes through.

So I tell them that I want to return the 118 piece and pick up the 154 that I just ordered. They tell me that since I paid with PAYPAL that they can only offer me store credit. The system wouldn't let them offer any type of refund otherwise.

So I call Sears.Com and they say that in order for me to get a refund, I will have to mail the item (on my own dollar) back to the corresponding factory. They did offer to reimburse me the shipping fees, but that is ridiculous. I'm already at the store with the item.

So I ask the cashier, can you give me the gift card and just sell me the 154 off the shelf for $74.99? Take the one that I ordered online and pretend that never happened. He said no, the item cannot be canceled at the store. So I was like what if I don't pick it up for a month? He said then we will keep calling you to pick it up, it never gets canceled. He also said that he can't modify the price of the item to $74.99 because I used coupons on it.

So after much thought, I decided that since I refuse to mail it back, that the only way for me to get this done is to refund it for store credit. I then come home and wait on the phone for 10-15 mins for the operator to come on and cancel my order. She finally does.

I then go back online to purchase the tool set with the gift card, and now they aren't letting me use the EARN10 promotion. Presumably because it is gonna take 24-48 hours for them to cancel my order and I had already used it once.

Lesson: Sears will never survive if this is their policy. I mean, you're going to reimburse me shipping fees on a pretty heavy tool box rather than me just return it to the store.

If you are purchasing from sears, DO NOT USE PAYPAL. Otherwise, you won't be able to get a refund if you end up returning something.

Now I have to wait until my order gets canceled because I want that $10 SYWR credit that I already had. I just hope that my order gets canceled before Thursday on top of having to drive back to the store to get the item. I wanted to get this done today because it's a holiday and there was no traffic.

/end rant

To be fair, not all Craftsman tools are made in China now. This set and the one I purchased prior were both made in the USA, but probably the majority are made in China.

Don't let Home Depot's Husky brand or Stanley off the hook either. If this Craftsman set weren't made in the USA I probably would have went cheap and got Harbor Freight or just bought the Husky brand. I had a Husky ratchet with some nice teeth on it that felt much better in my hand than the Craftsman ratchets in this set that seemed to have larger gaps between the teeth.

I've had this set for probably 10 years or so. The problem isn't when you open the case as there's already a big picture on the up side, it's when you pick it up (yes, while it's closed). The sockets fall out and are all over the place. I use thin pieces of foam to 'seal' the case better and keep the sockets from flopping around when I need to move it from one location to another. This is just a poorly designed case as other sets do not seem to have this problem.

Yes, Craftsman tools are now made in China. The quality is crap compared to what it once was. About on par with Harbor Freight, at a higher price.

I own this set and it is good...just one drawback...the case...when you open it...the tools often fall out of place....its a drag.

Do either of you think it's the quality of the workmanship, quality of the material or both?

Honestly, I don't have as much experience with tools as your average male.