I recently bought more Stanley 25 compartment small parts organizers, and with better-than-before pricing and a holiday discount on Stanley orders, I encouraged you to do the same.
I received my order, and the quality was noticeably lower.
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There were some sharp edges. Sure, it was only the little clear plastic vertical support tabs at the bottom of the organizers, but there were sharp edges where my previously purchased organizers have nice rounded edges.
The internal bins also seem to be of lower quality, with rough and even sharp edges. In one of the organizers, the top parts are smushed a little – who knows how that happened. They just seem to be noticeably less refined compared to the Stanley organizer bins I already own and use.
The colors of the little removable bins are slightly different, which isn’t unexpected when you’re talking about molded plastic parts made years apart. They’re less yellow, and a little more orange, looking a little closer like the color Stanley Black & Decker uses for their Dewalt organizer bins.
I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m disappointed. They organizers still said to be made in Israel, but perhaps the production processes have changed? Something is different.
I don’t exactly regret my purchases, and would still choose these Stanley organizers over Harbor Freight’s cheaper ones. But I’m no longer wholeheartedly fond of this product.
While it seems a little silly to complain about the quality of a $11.75 plastic parts organizer, keep in mind my history with the product. I first wrote about them 6 years ago, and had at that point already been using them for several years.
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I first learned of this product something like a decade ago, and searched for them all over the place, looking to add to my initial stack of 2 organizers. This has been one of my favorite tool-related products for many years.
So when I opened the box from Amazon and found that the quality of my beloved Stanley organizers have dropped, I was not happy.
I still recommend them, but wanted you to know that the Stanley organizers you might buy today are not the superbly awesome ones I enthusiastically recommended in the past. These newer ones are still a great bargain for the price, but are otherwise just okay.
Truth be told, if I bought these organizers for the first time, I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything at all. There were a few differences between the organizers I bought in 2014 and the ones I bought earlier, but they didn’t affect product quality, at least not for the worse.
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Cole
I’ve purchased at least 10 of these organizers within the past year (both 25 and 10 compartment versions) and have noticed a lot of variability in quality between them. As far as I can tell there isn’t much method to the quality variation, the first few I purchased were excellent, while the next couple were as you describe – sharp edges and bowed walls on the bins. The last few that I bought have been better though, closer to the original quality.
All I can guess is that Stanly may be producing these from multiple factories and the differences arise from different lots….
Brian
How are the latches and hinges on these?
I’ve purchased a Shallow and Deep version of the FatMax Pro organizers. They are great but very expensive.
6david
bought the two sizes first time and wasn’t happy but the idea and price (amzn $12) were “good enough”.
i’m using them to sort my bikes’ small parts and bolts…
I would rebuy and recommend these but i would pay $25 for BETTER organizers, I don’t mind investing in better tools.
Acalz
Stuart maybe they are knock offs? who are you buying them from Amazon?
Jim
I’ve purchased some from Meijer.
I’ve also noticed that the ones on the shelf now differ from ones that I’ve purchased years ago. The ones that I’ve seen at Lowes or HD are different than my old ones as well.
The biggest thing I’ve noticed is the color difference. Odd.
I don’t think that it’s a matter of knock offs… At least that’s my theory.
Stuart
Yes, Amazon.
I am 99% certain they are not knockoffs.
jesse
How so?
Stuart
Because other than the slight fit and finish differences, even the most minor aspects are identical.
I’ve seen knockoff designs before. I can’t imagine these being indistinguishable copies.
Joseph
I can’t imagine them being knockoffs — because the differences in color / finish seem to be consistent with what all the retailers have currently.
It’s not like 1-2 retailers are carrying a different one.
julian
Ive got a few of these purchased years ago and the quality was real nice. I will warn you not to try and upgrade to the Dewalt stacking units from HD, I’ve had the clear plastic latches break completely off a couple of those, and they weren’t even in a cold environment, just my conditioned basement.
JT
chris
Yep… I didn’t like the variability in quality I saw in store. I’m upgrading to the Milwaukee Jobsite Organizers. They’re taller, but have deeper cups and I have yet to see anything migrate at all.
Plus, I’ve left them out in the rain, standing sideways even, and have seen no water intrusion.
Stuart
If Milwaukee made new cases that were half the height and with double the number of bins, I would buy 20 of them without hesitation. Well, first I would buy 2-4, and then bring the total to 20.
Milwaukee’s organizers are also made in Israel, possibly under a special arrangement with Keter.
Thanks to Fred, we know that the UPC prefix of 731161 indicates with reasonable certainty that Keter is the OEM. The UPC for these cases is 731161 043826.
David
I’m chiming in with a me too. The local Home Depot can’t keep the full height ones in stock because they’re so popular. If they made a half height, more bins size I’d buy a pile too!
fred
This link for UPC / EAN lookup is sometimes useful:
http://www.gtin.info/gs1.php
chris
Yep. Here is the Keter version: http://www.keter.com/products/10-compartments-organizer
I check their website every day in the hopes I’ll see a new organizer style pop up.
Stuart
Nice find!
That listing is so new that the product description refers to an entirely different product!
Like most Keter products, the Milwaukee version will probably be far easier to find.
Jim Felt
The Israeli manufacturer should easily be able to offer complete consistency to Stanley or any other buyer. Plano and Flambeau, both USA made plastics brands, certainly can and do seem able to provide long term consistency.
Maybe Stanley is pressing them for higher margins and just doesn’t care?
Stuart. Do you have any PR contacts at Stanley to verify or explain the seemingly obvious?
Stuart
I’m fairly certain that Stanley Black & Decker wholly owns the Israeli factory and has a substantial R&D presence there. They acquired Zag Industries years ago.
Dewalt ToughSystem cases and other premium Stanley and Dewalt plastic molded toolboxes and related storage products are also made in Israel.
Garrick
The rough edges on plastic boxes (and even kid’s toys) can be rounded off with heat.
I use a small butane torch. Just passing it along the sharp corner melts it enough to smooth it out. I spend about 2 minutes on an L-boxx for instance.
Lee Valley has them for $C40.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32148&cat=1,43456,43469
There are less expensive ones elsewhere as well.
Albert
Are the bins close enough to be interchangeable?
ktash
Here’s an alternative for under $15 for the large size.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-16-1-2-in-8-Bin-Deep-Pro-Organizer-Black-211102/203329198
I have only one and debated getting these instead of the large size stanley It’s quite sturdy and has a bit more room, though the handle sticks out to make that room. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve made some “drawer units” for the Stanleys and plan to make more. The advantage of both the Huskys and the Stanleys is that they have a smooth rim so that you can just route a channel for the organizers/drawers to slide. The HF version has a rim that doesn’t allow for that.
For my next drawer unit I’m definitely considering getting more Huskys. If they made a slimmer unit like the stanleys I’d get that too. Anyone else use the Husky version?
Jay
Stanley tape measures have dropped in quality as well. Have purchased quite a few Stanley tools over the years and never had to be concerned with quality. Sad to say that things are different now.
Ron
Hi, I’m an A & P, (aircraft mechanic), I bought 4 boxes under the ZAG products name and I’m very happy with them. Those are my oldest, probably 13, 16 years maybe. There was a noticeable difference in fit finish and quality once Stanley started interfering with ZAG’s processes. Of the twenty plus boxes I have purchased over the years, you can see the decline. It’s especially frustrating when the box edges don’t line up and the lid won’t close properly. It’s a great idea, its a shame they had to screw with them.
Eric
Anyone try the HDX organizers? They seem reasonably priced and looked ok last time I was at Home Depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-15-Compartment-Interlocking-Organizer-Black-2-Pack-320034/204515485
Joseph
I have. I was looking for a few cheaper/smaller organizers. At $5/6 an organizer, I figured it was worth a shot so I bought (2) 2 packs.
I like how they attach together.
Quality wise, no complaints.
Frank D
I purchased several of these, some years ago, 6 full height (orange big box store) & 6 half height (red big box store (where they were discontinued). Looking at buying some more, the quality of the new ones is off; still better than the cheap alternatives / knock offs, but not nearly the fit, finish and quality of the originals. Sad manufacturers have to ruin a good thing.