# Sold to Black and Decker....



## pearlfinish (Oct 25, 2016)

Just heard on the news that Sears is selling its Craftsman line to Stanley/Black and Decker....considering how cheaply made their tools are, I'm sure Craftsman snow blowers are doomed to become even cheaper made then they are now.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Sears is 1 step away from total liquidation. They just announced closure of a bunch of Sears and K-Mart stores.


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## JD in NJ (Dec 21, 2016)

It was at least six or seven years ago when I heard an analyst on the radio state that Sears was "a corpse". By now I guess it qualifies as a zombie.

It's sad to see Craftsman go like this, but you can't say nobody saw it coming. They've been backing off on the guarantee for quite some time now... It used to apply to everything and they meant it. Lately it's just been hand tools.


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

Do you/we think B&D et al will offer lifetime warranty on the tools?
Sid


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## JD in NJ (Dec 21, 2016)

I really have no idea what they're going to do. All I know for sure is that the Black and Decker of today is not anything like the company they were when I was growing up.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

jmo...but it wont much matter...mtd made sub par machines now.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

so if B&D buys the craftsmans line will B&D replace free of charge all the tools sold before the buyout


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Knew it was going to happen last summer in a Sears store there were no tools and next to nothing for lawn mowers etc.


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## Blosumsno (Dec 7, 2016)

Shame to hear it. I was at the Sears Outlet near me this past weekend and they had a slew of tractors and a couple zero turns corralled in the former Sears Hardware greenhouse. Two Yard Machines 2 stagers in the store and a number of Craftsman blowers on their website including a recon Husqvarna.

I never bought much from Sears but I did like their tool selection-much better than the box home centers as far as more specialized hand tools goes, I noticed their wrenches are no longer stamped "Made In USA" just "Craftsman" and word is that's mostly made in China. The department store here closed a few years ago leaving the nearest one about a 1/2 hr to 35 minutes away and the nearest Hardware store is about the same in the opposite direction.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

nwcove said:


> jmo...but it wont much matter...mtd made sub par machines now.


Sears are Murray products. Below MTD.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

detdrbuzzard said:


> so if B&D buys the craftsmans line will B&D replace free of charge all the tools sold before the buyout


William, I honestly don't believe b&d will honor anything. They're junk.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

micah68kj said:


> Sears are Murray products. Below MTD.


theres a basement.....under the basement ? :blink:


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## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

They never got me as a customer 40 yrs ago when Sears would not honor any major credit card only their own.

On the few occasions my browser clicked on Sears their website was a total disaster to navigate.


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## tdipaul (Jul 11, 2015)

for at least 2 decades these companies have been milking the brand name for all its worth

Wonder how much farther down B&D will take it


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

A shame what happened to Sears over the years do to poor management and not keeping up with the increased competition from the big boxes. Sears was once the Amazon of its time. There are houses in the county I live in that were ordered from the Sears catalog in a quaint local river town. The local store built in 1969 is now always empty when I go there. In the 90's their auto center had lines out the door for hours, people were buying Die Hard batteries and tires, now you would wait for 2 hours for a tire rotation because there are hardly any employees do to lack of business. 

At the local mall where Sears is they sold their building to Simon properties and now rent from them. An employee there who I have known for years told me they are likely going to start renting out the lower level of the store. Unfortunately they are on their way out. I would hope that the Craftsman hand tool warranty would still be honored by B&D and a minimal fee if any charged for replacement.


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## Blosumsno (Dec 7, 2016)

I think Briggs & Stratton took over Murray, at least the name. I was looking for parts for my old AMF made Dynamark tractor and the part numbers were changed to Murray numbers which I then found crossed referenced to B&S, though my memory could be failing me.


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## Strato (Aug 6, 2016)

*A Step Up*

Personally, I think the sale of Craftsman will be good for the brand.

Sears has been hemorrhaging for years, which has devalued Craftsman. Tool quality has declined, warranty support is weak - unless you buy the extended warranty, and (in my area at least), Sears stores look awful - dirty, poorly-stocked, and run-down.

The B&D buyout will give Craftsman a new lease on life.

B&D doesn't make terrible tools - just cheap ones, with corresponding low quality. But, they also manufacture Bostitch, DeWalt and Husky, among others. They know plenty about tools.

I doubt B&D wants to turn Craftsman into another B&D. Makes no sense. They'll position Craftsman higher in the market, and support that position with better marketing, merchandising, inventory, warranty support and reliability.

Soon, Craftsman's distribution will expand. More volume means lower costs, better margins, and money for re-investment.

Craftsman won't regain the luster of it's glory years. But, it could again become a successful, well-respected brand.


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## JD in NJ (Dec 21, 2016)

Well, Strato, that's an optimistic viewpoint. It would be nice if you're right. I've got a lot of craftsman hand tools I'd like to see supported going forward.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

micah68kj said:


> nwcove said:
> 
> 
> > jmo...but it wont much matter...mtd made sub par machines now.
> ...


I'm sure some Craftsman snowblowers were once made by Murray, but not for a decade at least.
For the past 10 years or so, most of the Craftsman snowblowers sold in US Sears stores are made by MTD, and most Canadian Craftsmans are made by Husquvarna.

Scot


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Just like a lot of you are saying, it is a real shame what has happened to sears and craftsman. craftsman is about all I own. I was fortunate to buy most of them years ago when they were still made in the USA.

Now the only time I buy craftsman tools is from garage sales if they are stamped USA. Recently acguired a boatload of tools and boxes that were 60 and 70 years old. All made in the USA and almost in perfect condition.

Craftsman is just going to degenerate to a glorified Stanley. 

What tools can we get now? I am not a professional and can not justify buying snap on or mac. So what now , brown cow?


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## Eric (Dec 10, 2016)

Availability is what I hope changes.

Craftsman being a Stanley Black and Decker line may improve their availability. Craftsman tools were sold at so few retailers that I'd buy other tools to save the extra trip to Sears. 

If the warranty stays the same I'd rather have Craftsman hand tools than Cobalt, Husky or any of the other readily available consumer grade tools.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

It never made any sense when one dying company bought out the other..... (Sears merge with Kmart). There was nothing to be gained by it other than a bunch of debt accrued under one roof with 2 names. Cross branding things has never panned out for the long term. The only gainers were the big dogs and lawyers doing the merger paper work. Poor management has killed 2 of the greatest companies in one fatal swoop. Sears in particular had a long tradition of great products and excellent customer support - they really went down hill fast. The bigger you get - the harder it is to keep costs under control without rock solid management, and they blew it! Big time. Sad to see them go.......


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## Strato (Aug 6, 2016)

My father was a builder, and swore by Craftsman. Our basement was filled with it.

Craftsman hand-tools still look pretty solid, and the prices are reasonable (for non-pro's).

I recently bought a collection of Husky hand-tools at Home Depot. I can't say if Husky is <> or = to Craftsman.

But, the Husky tools are surprisingly nice - strong, with smooth ratchets, and well-finished metal-work. My guess is that Craftsman, Husky and Cobalt will compete for the same customer.

I wonder how much of the $900 million purchase price of Craftsman reflects hard assets, vs. "good will" of the Craftsman name.


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## AbominableSnowman (Nov 14, 2016)

As with anything, Craftsman is just a brand. Different suppliers and manufacturers produce various brands. I don't think you'll see any change to the Craftsman snowblower products, at least in the short term. Stanley/B&D does not manufacture those any more than Sears did. They will continue to rely on their various supplier and assembly agreements to produce those products, and we consumers won't notice the difference. They just won't be sold at Sears stores (because none will be left).


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Craftsman snowblowers haven't joined the ranks of the 100% Made in China brands..yet.
But Stanley has:

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...scussion/1364-made-usa-versus-made-china.html

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...orum/7586-36-inch-stanley-already-broken.html

Which does not bode well for the Craftsman snowblower line.
I predict only a continuation of the downward trend in quality.

Scot


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## Strato (Aug 6, 2016)

sscotsman said:


> Craftsman snowblowers haven't joined the ranks of the 100% Made in China brands..yet.
> But Stanley has:
> 
> http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...scussion/1364-made-usa-versus-made-china.html
> ...


Intersting. I didn't even know that Stanley offered snowblowers. I'm guessing it's a MTD machine?

Based upon what I've read on this forum, it seems that Craftsman blowers are relatively decent for a mid-priced machine. Aren't they also made by MTD?

As you indicated, neither Sears or B&D manufactures blowers. Provided B&D maintains the current quality and price from MTD, the blowers should be fine. 

Sears is such a "down" experience these days, at least in my region, due to the run-down stores. Just getting Craftsman out of the depressing environment should, I imagine, help the brand profile.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Strato said:


> Intersting. I didn't even know that Stanley offered snowblowers. I'm guessing it's a MTD machine?


No, the Stanley is not a MTD, it is one of the "100% Made in China" brands, new ones appear each year..
here is the latest update from the "Made in the USA" versus "Made in China" link I posted above:




sscotsman said:


> Updated list!
> the Chinese brand names are getting so numerous, I have now put them in alphabetical order!
> Below is copied and pasted from previous posts, with updated names:
> 
> ...


Quote from thread: http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...scussion/1364-made-usa-versus-made-china.html

scot


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Just got an e-mail from the President of Craftsman -

Craftsman remains committed to maintaining the very best aspects of the Craftsman brand. You'll still find the most high quality tools available at the best value, along with our exclusive lifetime warranty on Craftsman hand tools, which has been a hallmark of the brand for generations. 


Sincerely,
Tom Park
President Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

ok, well that says nothing! 
but it was nice of him to write. (or, more accurately, it was nice of him to have his automated email program send a reply for him! 

Scot


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## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

Better stay away from Dewalt tools because B&D own them too.( and Delta and Devilbiss)


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## nastorino (Jan 28, 2016)

Bob Cat said:


> Better stay away from Dewalt tools because B&D own them too.( and Delta and Devilbiss)


Better stay from a lot more than DeWalt if you're not a SBD fan...remember Stanley bought B&D, not the other way around 

DeWalt
Port Cable
Bostitch
Proto


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