I recently posted about Home Depot Black Friday 2017 tool deals, and earlier today I put together a post on Lowes’ Black Friday 2017 tool deals.
Sears’ 2017 Black Friday sales flyer has popped up online, and so I grabbed the tool pages as I have in the past.
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I won’t go into as much detail in describing Sears’ Black Friday deals, but maybe you’ll see something that interests you.
There’s nothing surprising here. The Craftsman mesh creeper caught my attention when I first spotted it on Sears’ website. It looks a lot like other folding mesh creepers that are on the market, but doesn’t seem to be identical – the frame appears to be different steel tubing.
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The 2-drawer mechanics cart might be a good buy, and the pry bar set too, if they’re still made in the USA.
The impact screwdrivers also look interesting, and here you get 2 for the price of just 1 Vessel Impacta driver.
That looks to be a new 20 gallon air compressor.
This year’s Sears Black Friday sales flyer isn’t any smaller than last year’s, or 2015’s – I checked – but it *feels* smaller.
Do any of these Sears deals look appealing to you?
There are 2 or 3 things I would buy – if there was still a Sears store near me, or I was willing to order from their website again.
Aaron Langley
The pry bar set looks to be the Wilde one’s (Made in USA) I just bought a set yesterday in Sears at the same price plus 40% off for Veterans Day. They seem solid.
Jonathan
Wow, went I to Sears last night (Friday after BF). Not been in a store in about 16-18 months.
Wow the store was half empty, floor space and shelf/pegboard facing overly spreadout, and empty.
Few non Craftsman/Evolve brands, DeWalts presence almost non-existent. Gearwrench (pre-marketing facelift).
Hardly any of the Holiday novelty tools, that seem to make the rounds every year.
Seems like Sears is in critical condition, only reason I was in there was an email from SD (site) matching an alert. Basically SYW points worth $126 with purchase (910950) craftsman 260 piece mechanics tool set from kmart, fairly complete socket set with minimal amount of bits and hex wrenches for $169 (and I bought through my biz). Figured if it or points redemption were junk (as the fine print exclusions) I could always return it.
Points actually end being worth $171+ with other promotions, On Cyber monday picked up a 2017 model Samsung 2.1 Sound bar and 6.5 wireless sub, as well as the wireless rear speakers kit making it a 4.1 DTS system, Best buy/Amazon normally sells this unit for $169 and the rears for $99-129, this combo was still at almost $190 everywhere on Cyber Monday (WM, BB, Amzon, Target, as well as Sears before the points) I also got a pair of shoes, I had in my cart. (I found a $25 GC from Sears from 2016, and was looking to use it boots/shoes before BF, (but used it on a 26 SAE Wrench set last night).
Is it any wonder Sears is struggling with this marketing plan? I know there is markup, and loss leaders, but wow.
This included Free S&H for all but the Shoes, the 42# Tool set was sent 3 Day UPS.
Granted the lifetime replacement is mute is they aren’t around in the future.
fred
Nothing catches my eye enough to make a trip to Sears.
For $3.99 the LED pocket lights might be decent stocking stuffers, and the $3.99 and $9.99 toolboxes might be OK as packaging for some craft item gifts.
They do have a couple of oddball (aka gimmick?) items – like their sidewinder tape measure and flex-head hammer.
mikedt
Think of it as your last black friday at sears, because that’s what this will be.
Karl Milhon
I’m afraid you might be right… I worked there in high school and College most of the 70’s. At that point in time, one in five people would work at one point or another in their life for Sears. I remember appliance salesmen retiring “rich.” It was a great vibrant place to work. Then it went to hell and now is slowly ever so slowly circling the drain. I hope they keep producing the 19.2 line when they sell off the Craftsman brand. But it will likely go the way of most things today…including any sense of dignity. I still do not know what Eddie Lampert (sic?) had in mind. He will wear this for the rest of his life and no one will hire him for anything other than to drive companies into the ground.
Tyler
It’s not entirely gospel, but I read some articles about Mr Lampert’s endeavors outside of Sears. He’s positioned himself with other companies (boards and ownership) that will leave him to benefit from the sale of real estate from Sears, even if (especially if, probably) Sears folds. Being hired again is probably not even a concern of his.
Karl Milhon
I think you are probably right. I almost have to wonder if he didn’t have this slow death in mind from the time he took over. He saw this company as a beast he could become a parasite on and slowly suck it dry maximizing his own profit while slowly killing the beast.
mikedt
Think of it as your last Black Friday shopping at Sears, because that’s what this will be.
Jalopy_J
My personal prediction is Sears will have one more Black Friday after this. They will announce closure next fall and close up shop for good after the holiday season.
Also, I have that flex-claw hammer and really like it. Being able the pivot the head comes in handy. It gets into tight places really well. You just have to be thick-skinned to own such a thing. When working, I get made fun of for my “infomercial hammer,” but I don’t care, haha. I like the thing.
Toolfreak
Rumor has it January 2018 is when Eddie declares Sears Bankrupt.
But maybe not.
I sure wouldn’t mind one more year of Craftsman tools and deals.
Maybe it’ll be the 2nd half of 2018 when Sears goes, once Lowe’s takes up Craftsman.
Jalopy_J
The 10″ compact sliding miter saw. It’s not really a NEW deal at $189 as it’s been bouncing around at Sears lately between $199-$219 and Searshometown had it listed at $189 briefly last week, but it’s still a deal. ToolboxBuzz did a big test of sliding miter saws a couple years ago, and they liked it enough that in addition to their normal “best” winners they added a “best affordable” winner to call attention to this saw’s great performance for it’s low price, and that was back when it was new and Sears was selling it for $299. At $189 it’s a huge bargain, and I do like it’s clever slide system that allows to it be pushed up against a wall (hence the “compact” part). It takes up several inches less room than a normal slider.
I was waiting to see if black friday would push it even lower, but it looks like I’ll be in at that $189 price. I was also seeing if Home Depot would further discount its Ryobi model and Lowes its Kobalt one, but the ads show them both discounting small 7 1/4 models and not the 10″. The Craftsman it is.
Also it’s sad to see what is left of the C3 line. I still use my long discontinued tools daily and wish it was being updated. I really hope SBD revives it.
Jalopy_J
Also might see if any of those hard toolboxes are any good. Dad says he’s been wanting a new 18″ box to carry around when we work places, and those are $5-$10 cheaper than the Husky ones on sale right now.
Really, as much as people like to bag on Sears, there’s a lot of good stuff in here.
Jason
The C3 is part of the classic Sears Craftsman made by TTI, The SBD Craftsman at Lowes will be all SBD product. I think the C3 line is on life support just like Sears.
Stuart
Chervon also makes some C3 tools for Sears Craftsman. TTI tends to be the higher priced and better featured models.
James
Don’t forget SBD made/sourced Bolt-On.
Stuart
But those weren’t C3 tools, they were 20V Max. =P
Good reminder, though.
Jalopy_J
I wouldn’t really say the TTI stuff is better. Both is basically the same from what I’ve been able to tell. I haven’t noticed much difference in the TTI and Chervon drills and impact drivers.
Of the non-XCP slim pack lithium batteries, I’ve noticed the Chervon made ones have noticeably more power in my tools than the TTI ones. Chervon packs have essentially the same power as an XCP pack.
Chervon also made the only brushless tool Craftsman ever had: the brushless drill kit. Great, great drill that has an all-metal Jacobs ratcheter that’s the best chuck I’ve used on any drill. The charger that came in the kit though has a ridiculously noisy fan though. No TTI charger ever had a fan on it. I used it one time and said never again. I also thought it funny that Chervon made the ill-fated 12v nextec line (I’ve never used it, I use Milwaukee M12), but only TTI made chargers that could accept both C3 and Nextec batteries.
Chervon also made the very rare XCP 2.0ah slim pack, and without going into details, the finish and detail on it are better than the 1.5ah and 4.0ah TTI ones, although Chervon for some reason did not put on the battery gauge for the C3 window located on the tool itself; it just has the one on the battery.
Chervon made the worthless auto-hammer and max axess ratchet.
I recently bought the Chervon-made angle-grinder because I wanted more power than the TTI made one I had. The Chervon one is rated more RPM, but I can tell no difference in power between them, although the Chervon one is considerably smaller. That was kind of a waste of money.
jec6613
Those prybars – they’re made in the USA and really quite good.
Jalopy_J
I bought them and hate them. I had 4 of the older ones without the striking end that I use basically every day at work. I saw these new ones and bought them a few months ago. I thought, “USA made, affordable, and a striking end, What wasn’t to like?” In reality they sucked compared to the old ones. That middle sized one (18″ or so), is thin and weak. It’s a worthless, flexy thing. Also, the old ones had a smooth handle with a tough gloss finish. After 10 years of using (abusing?)them at work, they still look great. These new ones have a textured plastic that absorbs any grease that contacts them. They looked like hell after a couple uses. Worse than my 10 year old ones. And lastly, THE STRIKING END IS FAKE. They call it a cap, because that’s all it is. A thin cap stuck on the end of the bar. On REAL striking pry bars, the shaft goes all the way through the handle to the striking face on the end, and you really cannot break them. I quickly realized I would break these immediately, especially with the crappier plastic on the handle compared to the old ones (which I’ve wailed on tons with a hammer like I’m not supposed to do and never broken one). I scrubbed them down to get the grease mess off the handles and I use them as a home set. Still using the old models professionally.
jec6613
Didn’t realize they had changed them … good to know.
Toolfreak
Yeah, if you want good Craftsman pry bars, get the Professional ones (Made by Mayhew) when they’re on sale before they’re gone.
Toolfreak
The weird thing about Sears is, their Friends & Family prices the week or two BEFORE Black Friday gives you an extra 10% off the Black Friday prices.
The “sale” prices are the same all month/week as they are on Black Friday, so there’s no point in going to Sears when the limited-time deals are elsewhere.
The last time Sears had stuff worth bothering with on Black Friday was many years ago, when they had $10 gift cards for the first ~100 customers or so and coupons for the first few hours of the sales. It was downhill after that.
Mike
Just ordered the Craftsman 26 Inch 6 Drawer Heavy-Duty Top Chest in “classic” Red for $71 including sales tax. On sale for $79.99 with free shipping. Sears added a freecash promo of $12.
Had looked at entry-level Husky and Kobalt 4 drawer top chests – both were $10-$30 more and was not really impressed with the build of the Kobalt.
Don’t usually check Sears anymore. Glad I did this time.
Garrick
It might be wise to note that Sears Canada is closing it’s stores and will no longer honour it’s warranties, or pension obligations.
Tyler
I was hoping to see the good deal on Gladiator Cabinets again. I bought some last year and I’d like to buy a few more at the $99 they’ve been at for the last few years.
PatrickD
Assuming Sears makes it to Black Friday. 🙂
franck b.
The new 45-tooth Craftsman ratchets were produced starting in July, so I guess Sears was planning on being around a little longer. They’re available in the large tool set in the ad as well as one of the 230-piece sets (the sets are 99xxx, so the older 230-piece set is 50230).
When I take on apart I’ll see who the OEM is, 45 tooth can be SBD or the cheaper Gearwrench models (similar to what is in the Evolv line).
Thom
They closed all my local Sears stores so…
TimD
If not already said here, Stanley Black and Decker purchased all of the Craftsman trademarks, brands and patents from Sears January 2017. I recently purchased two Craftsman socket wrench sets now sold through Ace Hardware Stores. The two sets show originating from the SBD warehouse. BTW, Black and Decker quality has excelled since Stanley took over and in fact some of the best cordless tools out there now come from B&D. It very similar to what De Walt has accomplished with the improvement of Porter Cable tools since taking over as well as the quality of Ryobi going up since Milwaukee took over that company.
frank
As a young man I always went to sears for all tools. Now the place is a joke. Customer service is horrible. I’m happy sbd bought craftsman… time will tell.
if the brand will survive.
Louella. Adams
I am looking for a jump starter for my boyfriend for Christmas. Can you help me?
Karl Milhon
Try harbor freight.
Karl Milhon
Something not in the ads is an online 99 buck impact driver and drill driver (nice ones) 2-1.5 ah LI batts, charger and bag for 99 bucks, 109 in store. Best deal this year imho.