Where can you exchange Craftsman tools now?

With Sears mostly gone, does anyone have a trick to exchange you broken Craftsman tools? I know Lowes carries some, but (here at least) they mostly have sets and not much individual tools. Any suggestions?

Ace Hardware sells them too, but I haven't tried an exchange yet.

I broke a breaker bar. I called Ace and Lowes. They have to have the same model number in stock to to be able to exchange it.  

JoeTR6 (Forum Supporter) said:

Ace Hardware sells them too, but I haven't tried an exchange yet.

Ace will do it, but I have it on fairly good knowledge that aces catalog of Craftsman is dwindling rapidly. 

PMRacing said:

I broke a breaker bar. I called Ace and Lowes. They have to have the same model number in stock to to be able to exchange it.  

That's a Stanley deal. If we want our money back on the exchange, Stanley wants the same tool in return. 

You can call this Craftsman customer service number: 888-331-4569. It will lead you through a long list of "press this number, press this number, press this number" menu but eventually you will talk to a real person. Be prepared with the tool name and model number. They will send you a new tool without return of broken tool at least in my case. I had a Craftsman dead blow hammer that just started to fall apart they said they would replace it but it was on back order. Haven't received it yet and it's been several weeks.

Lowes said they would replace it but they have to have it in stock and has to be same model/part number which could be a problem. Sears community stores which are small have the same policy.

Do any of the Ace store or Lowes sell individual sockets? I probably have a half dozen sockets, screwdrivers, and my favorite pro series flex head offset handle ratchet that I'd like to exchange, but last time I checked Lowes had nothing like that.

16vCorey said:

Do any of the Ace store or Lowes sell individual sockets? I probably have a half dozen sockets, screwdrivers, and my favorite pro series flex head offset handle ratchet that I'd like to exchange, but last time I checked Lowes had nothing like that.

Lowe's I think will be the new outlet for Craftsman tools. Over the last 18 months or so their inventory continues to grow. The Lowe's near me sells individual sockets and some wrench's. I have notice Lowe's inventory of Kobalt tools keeps getting smaller.

16vCorey said:

Do any of the Ace store or Lowes sell individual sockets? I probably have a half dozen sockets, screwdrivers, and my favorite pro series flex head offset handle ratchet that I'd like to exchange, but last time I checked Lowes had nothing like that.

Depending on what is wrong with the ratchet a rebuild kit might be available. If it feels like it's missing a tooth then disassembling it, cleaning and lubing can work wonders as well.

Can the Ace hardware order  tools  to trade ?

and do they get paid back  fully from ACE . 

Most of the Ace stores are private and I hate to see them take a hit and lose money on the trade in deal.

I think It's all over with this deal.  

16vCorey said:

Do any of the Ace store or Lowes sell individual sockets? 

They do, but with one exception.

pirate said:

You can call this Craftsman customer service number: 888-331-4569. It will lead you through a long list of "press this number, press this number, press this number" menu but eventually you will talk to a real person. Be prepared with the tool name and model number. They will send you a new tool without return of broken tool at least in my case. I had a Craftsman dead blow hammer that just started to fall apart they said they would replace it but it was on back order. Haven't received it yet and it's been several weeks.

Lowes said they would replace it but they have to have it in stock and has to be same model/part number which could be a problem. Sears community stores which are small have the same policy.

 

Nice! I'll have to give that a try!

I've taken a few broken Craftsman tools into my local Lowes and walked out with replacements without any issues.  This has been in the last 6 months.

I really hate that Lowes took over Craftsman. I have a whole slew of their Kobalt tools and now they are phasing those out. I have a real serious issue with mixing and matching tools, I don't like it. 

First-world problem.

https://www.craftsman.com/customer-care/warranty-information

There are signs on the wall in Lowes with information. 

mad_machine (Forum Supporter) said:

I really hate that Lowes took over Craftsman. I have a whole slew of their Kobalt tools and now they are phasing those out. I have a real serious issue with mixing and matching tools, I don't like it. 

Wait, they are? Glad I hadn't pulled the trigger on anything. Redoing my auto tools in the garage is on my to-do-list this year, and like you, I like nice matching stuff. 

Fastenall will warranty Craftsman tools, at least they used to...

z31maniac said:

mad_machine (Forum Supporter) said:

I really hate that Lowes took over Craftsman. I have a whole slew of their Kobalt tools and now they are phasing those out. I have a real serious issue with mixing and matching tools, I don't like it. 

Wait, they are? Glad I hadn't pulled the trigger on anything. Redoing my auto tools in the garage is on my to-do-list this year, and like you, I like nice matching stuff. 

it certainly seems that way. My local Lowes has almost no Kobalt handtools left for sale, but lots of Craftsman

16vCorey said:

Do any of the Ace store or Lowes sell individual sockets? I probably have a half dozen sockets, screwdrivers, and my favorite pro series flex head offset handle ratchet that I'd like to exchange, but last time I checked Lowes had nothing like that.

We do. For now. 

z31maniac said:

mad_machine (Forum Supporter) said:

I really hate that Lowes took over Craftsman. I have a whole slew of their Kobalt tools and now they are phasing those out. I have a real serious issue with mixing and matching tools, I don't like it. 

Wait, they are? Glad I hadn't pulled the trigger on anything. Redoing my auto tools in the garage is on my to-do-list this year, and like you, I like nice matching stuff. 

Partially true. Craftsman was sold to Stanley /black and Decker a couple years ago. Prior to that, sears had licensed Craftsman to Ace hardware in an effort to cauterize the bleeding. (spoiler, it didn't work). Once Stanley owned the label, they sold the contract to the highest bidder- in this case Lowe's. Lowe's also carries several other sbd labels, Porter Cable among them. In any event , the existing licensing deal with Ace is either set to expire or has expired- Lowe's holds all the cards now. As Ace continues to burn through existing tools, we will not be replacing them. Most of the Craftsman catalog is no longer available to us- my store has been replacing it with crescent. 

I have a single broken socket too. When I checked the tools at Ace I was very disappointed and not pleased that none of the Craftsman wrenches or sockets were made in the US. The best I could find was a set of sockets made in Taiwan. 

In reply to bigben :

That's actually on Stanleys radar, to bring manufacturing back stateside. 

Mndsm said:

In reply to bigben :

That's actually on Stanleys radar, to bring manufacturing back stateside. 

That would be great! I have rebuilt several of my rachets to various levels if success to keep my "USA" stamped bodies.

I don't mind the Kobalt branded tools, seems decent for imported stuff. Better than the current import Craftsman for sure.