Craftsman now at Lowe’s , Kobalt no future?

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I saw Craftsman starting to show up in Lowe’s and on the website. Is Kobalt going away? I see no reason why they would want to compete with each other. They go after the same market and for a long time we’re in direct competition. Warranty will be a hassle for Kobalt if so. Maybe they will do a Kobalt Craftsman exchange like HD did with Husky.
 
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The tool dept at Sears is both sad and dead. They carry nothing. I'm going to Lowe's for Craftsman warranty exchanges. When I need tools I was debating between GearWrench which is available, Husky at Home Depot, and Kobalt at Lowe's. I settled on GearWrench from internet, Ace, and AAP, and Husky.
 
Fixed the title. Autocorrect got me again. I hope Lowe’s does good things with Craftsman. Sears ran them into the ground. Display is horrible and so is quality on a lot of it.
 
How about Wright Tools? A step up from Craftsman, Husky or Kobalt.

An article said Sears sold the Craftsman brand to Black & Decker for $500m. Sears was selling about $1B worth of Craftsman tools a year. Lowes is coming out with Craftsman tools about 6 months before expected.

The net is Sears got $500M in cash in 2017, but will loose much of a $1B tool sales in 2018 and from now on.

Sears needs to just say uncle and liquidate. Why drag it on until there is one store left and then that needs to close?
 
Stanley is gearing up to return Craftsman to being a mid-tier made in USA brand. I guess they will be similar to SK but with better marketing and shelf space in big box stores.

I can't wait!
 
I don't have much, but the small amount of Kobalt tools I do own have held up really well. I don't get the fuss over the brand on here.
 
Good it will be another place to have tools with a lifetime warranty replaced when Sears goes belly up. Now it will be Lowes and ACE Hardware around here.
 
I also think Kobalt is better than Craftsman

Some relabled US Cman stuff such as the pry bars are absolutely awesome. It'll be interesting to see what happens there. I'll still be sad when Sears is no more..

The Cman warranty means nothing to me though since all they have now is chunkier Chinese stuff. No thanks. (I have 1 Chinese 3/8 breaker bar and a cheap ~160 pc set I bought for $45 for junkyarding, which are expendable.)

I try not to beat on my nice stuff too much as they were a Christmas gift with my name laser etched on them, but as they break, they will be replaced with either Hazet, SK or SO.
 
I agree, I like Kobalt better than Craftsman for some things. I hate both brands screwdrivers handles. Is Lowe’s going to keep and warranty both brands at the same time? If so good. I want Craftsman to improve! I prefer to buy Snap on or blue point for my most often used tools. I wish that could change
 
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Originally Posted By: maxdustington
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Some relabled US Cman stuff such as the pry bars are absolutely awesome. It'll be interesting to see what happens there.


OEM is Mayhew


They make awesome stuff. I was able to get both my sets for around $12 each with local pickup.
 
Jimmie Johnson made his money shilling for Lowes and Kobalt tools...I'm sure he will shed no tear if it goes away.
 
Great. So now when I go to Lowes for an outlet cover or a toilet float I'll spend 45 minutes looking at tools.
 
Over the past few yrs I purchased a Kobalt 1/2" torque wrench and a 3/8" socket set - excellent quality.
 
This is BAD NEWS! Lowes sales practices ZONE PRICING, and Menards are beating the [censored] out of 'em!

Lowe's always jacks the prices to make their contractor discount look good. I shop at Menards.
 
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Isn’t zone pricing difficult when prices are available online? You can check the prices are many stores quickly. I don’t see much variance except clearance obviously.
 
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