Sears is running a new promo, through 8/30/2014, where they’re giving away free 9/16″ Craftsman combination wrenches. There are a few catches, so read carefully.
First, this is technically a trade-in promo, where you exchange any brand of wrench for a Craftsman one.
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Second, Sears stores, but not Sears speciality stores, are participating in the promo. Sears Hometown, Home Appliance Showrooms, Hardware, Parts & Repairs Centers, and Outlet stores are NOT participating in this offer.
Thirdly, this promo is only for Craftsman Club members. Membership is free, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Lastly, regardless of the wrench you trade in, Sears is only giving out free Craftsman wrenches in 9/16″ sizing. The wrench has a retail value of $7.99.
In my opinion, Craftsman should offer the choice between 9/16″ and 13 mm wrenches, or perhaps give away one of each for every trade-in. Then again, I recently received a 1″ stubby combo wrench sample that I will probably never use. Freebies and samples like this one aren’t always practical, but they’re usually good enough for general quality determinations.
I saw notice of this promo in my local newspaper sales flyer, but this is probably a nationwide or at least regional promo.
Hopefully the freebie wrench is of the USA-made raised panel variety, but it could also be one of the newer imported ones. If anyone drops by their local Sears stores and trades in a wrench, please let us know how it goes!
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Josh
Time to go find a random piece of crap wrench and visit Sears, I could use a spare 9/16″
Yadda
Too bad. The nearest Sears store is located in a shopping center I never visit. The next nearest is 30 minutes away. On the other hand I have a Sears hardware less than 5 miles from my house. Oh well, more proof that Sears is no longer where America shops.
Stan
If you have a cheap 9/16 wrench laying around this might be worth the effort, if the wrench in question is American made. If not, definitely not the worth the effort though.
Ross
If they are giving away the American made wrenches, I think it would be interesting to see how many people trade in the imported Craftsman wrenches. Would be very worthwhile feedback to Craftsman, but I’m guessing it would be completely ignored.
Stan
Now I don’t have evidence I can share, but I just was at Sears and I am fairly certain that these are American made -VA- (likely from Danaher) wrenches.
I don’t mess around with country of origin, as that is very important information to me and used to be more important to more people not that long ago. I miss those days…
I’d be interested in knowing if more imported Craftsman wrenches would be traded in, as that is what I’d do. Then again I likely wouldn’t buy a imported Craftsman wrench though personally.
Sledgecrowbar
Because everyone wants a wrench in obsolete fractional sizing from a sellout company. I’m considering moving my SAE stuff to storage, but I somehow still manage to find an air tool coupler or vise swivel base bolt that takes them. Nothing often enough that I couldn’t use a nice locking-adjustable.
Does anyone who this offer would apply to *not* know where Craftsman slots in amongst other brands on quality? Does anyone think a Danaher-made wrench is a good example of what they’ll find at Sears in any possible future, considering they haven’t been making Craftsman wrenches for over a year?
I’m certain this is yet another brilliant idea from the same sellout suits to offload a part number they’re otherwise stuck with too many of, and they’re probably patting themselves on the back for turning it into a marketing idea. A *good* idea would have been to offer a Chinese-made wrench or socket for the skeptical Craftsman-loyal to try, in 10mm. I reach for my 10’s all day long and you could never break them anyway as they’re too small a size to do anything more than snap off a bolt head.
I’m of the idea that if I wanted Chinese hand tools that I could get lifetime free replacement on by dealing with incompetent counterpeople who don’t get paid enough to care, keying in on registers older than they are, I can go to Harbor Freight and buy a set of wrenches for $6. Which I will probably do now that my American-made Craftsman tools that I’ve been loyally collecting for years are irreplaceable, because at least they aren’t charging American tool-prices for the same junk.
Aaron
Wow. A lot of hate in that post. I personally prefer the quality to American made tools over imports and I vote with my wallet every chance I get. That said, I have no complaints about any of the folks at any of the sears stores I have been to in the last few years. They are courteous and helpful and always friendly. My one complaint would be that they are sometimes understaffed.
Craftsman/Sears looking for ways to save money and turn a profit is only good business. Perhaps they are misguided in many of their attempts, but hey, you just said you’ll probably buy your next set of wrenches at Harbor Freight for 6 bucks…
Harbor Freight is part of the problem, not the solution my friend.
And by the way, Sears has been using very modern handheld scanner/register devices a while now, but then again I’m sure you know that as “loyal” as you’ve been
Joey K
And the issues they have had with them will make a list a mile long…
I had seen more Chinese made craftsman ratchets come in for repair in any given day, then the equivalent American made. The “chinese” made was “supposedly” made better too…
jesse
I don’t see SAE tools as being obsolete. Maybe in your particular profession.
Eddie
Got my free wrench today. They gave me a 6-point raised panel version, and made in USA!
No hassles, with a very pleasant and knowledgable salesperson.
jesse
Wow. Actually made in USA. That’s a surprise. I would have thought that the only place to get the USA versions would be through an industrial distributor, and for big money.
Toolfreak
Yeah, pretty dumb to offer a 9/16 wrench in a world where metric has pretty much taken over. That Craftsman still goes SAE-heavy on their tool sets, even for ‘automotive’ machanics’ tool sets where metric has dominated for the past few decades, shows how out of touch they continue to be, and I say this as someone who has mostly Craftsman tools.
If they’re shipping boxes of wrenches to the stores just for the promo, they’re probably the newer Made-in-China ones, unless someone found a few pallets worth of old stock USA ones and this is what they’re doing with them.
Those who do this at stores that haven’t received their shipments of wrenchs for the promo, might wind up getting the last of whatever open stock USA made wrenches are at the store.
Sears recently revised the China-made wrenches so they now have the ‘normal’ sized open ends, not the lobster claws, so they apparently do listen to customer complaints, at least partially. Keep up the pressure on Sears to return the core tools to USA manufacturing and it might still happen.
Jon
I, too, wish everyone and everything would switch to metric. But this promo is still awesome for me because I work for a hardware manufacturer where 9/16 is the ONLY size used on our products. 🙂
Joey K
I went in to my local sears on Sunday and saw the promo after I exchanged out a broken ratcheting wrench. Needless to say, after 6+ years of working for Sears their open stock wrench ( and even socket) selection is less than half of what it used to be.
Mike
I went and did this deal yesterday and I too noticed the tool area had changed dramatically. There’s next to nothing in open stock of anything. Most everything is packaged sets – screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets, everything. But the way everything is now spaced takes up the same amount of room as all the products did before. This makes no sense. The open stock items were all jumbled in a number of bins pushed off to the side but they were not being discounted.
The wrenches being given out were shipped to the stores for the promotion and are USA wrenches. When I got home I peeled off the sticker to find the rollmark reads “FORGED IN U.S.A. -VA- 44696”. And every character that was under the sticker is rusted.