Receipts and handtool warranties

[ugly_90]

It's probably been the case for many years now. It appears the day of quickly exchanging a broken mechanics handtool is largely behind us for most users.

Unless you have an account, most of the distributors and supply houses out there require original reciept for your "lifetime warranty". If you deal directly with a tool truck and salesman at your work, he'll probably give you easy exchange service, as long as your company's purchase volumes are kept up.

I bought some new sockets lately at NAPA. It was a lifetime warranty, as long as I kept my reciept the rest of my life too! Even though it was bought under my phone number, they're not letting anything by. Same with KMS Tools, Proto at Gregg's Distributors, and even Snap-On now. You can forget about Canadian Tire or Princess Auto for old-dated breakage without reciept

For me, I keep a big file folder in the garage for all these reciepts. I plan to scan them all to PDF at years end, cataloguing them by year on an external harddrive in per-year folder. This is a simmilar way as some large companies do expense reports.

It's a hassle, but a bit of squirreling away paperwork makes things easier when a tool goes and breaks on you.

...unless you buy all your tools at Costco, and exchange is easy! Keep in mind the Snap-On licensed flashlight, garage shelving, ratchet straps and matching underwear are not tool-truck supported..

[Matt H]

Never had an issue with Canadian Tire or Craftsman tools warranty? In fact if anything I've found it easier than tool truck returns.

Despite earning my livelihood with Mechanics tools I've never been able to justify the cost of high dollar Mac or Snap-on tools. They are really nice and I do own some name brand specialty stuff but for regular wrenches, sockets, ratchets etc I've always gone for department store brands. Most of my wrenching these days are based out of a mobile service truck anyway so expensive tools are a bit of a  liability.

Been a while since I've had to warranty anything though so perhaps things have changed?

[ugly_90]

I would say a few things seem to have changed lately. It seems, with Snap-On alone, there may have been a few shady dealers in the US and customers getting the better of them in returning vise-damaged tools they didn't sell, reselling the new ones, etc.

For some of the smaller competitors, there seems to me that there's far less profit in the market than there once may have been.The cost of a good socket set forty or fifty years ago in real terms, is probably much less today. I don't think there's the profit anymore to honor warranty returns they don't need to.

Sears is gone, I have quite a few Craftsman tools that seem to still be supported if you want to mail them to Stanley, who have taken the name over for Lowes, Rona.

There are other options than paying for big names, even if you want the same quality and you know what you're buying.

[Green Hornet 88]

In 1965 I bought a rifle scope with a lifetime warranty, in 2017, the cross hair fell over! I contacted the the company and they advised they no longer have lifetime warranty, but only 20 years now. They said I could send in the scope for inspection/repairs. I sent it in and was told it was beyond repair and don't make the model anymore. They would not replace without original receipt.
The challenge was laid down on a receipt hoarder! Buried in my toy hauler storage, in a file I found a yellowed receipt dated Nov 1965 for $75 for a scope with a lifetime warranty! I sent this to the company in the USA and to their credit, they sent me a new scope....with a 20 yr warranty! Haha
They also said that they normally return the scopes they can't repair,  but instead asked me if they could keep the scope to display  in their business museum!
I don't know if being a receipt hoarder is a good thing or not? But my kids don't bug me anymore about keeping receipts!  I like the idea of scanning them and putting in a electronic file....but 50 years back! Haha
Cheers!

[Red90]

$75!! You must have saved for that in 65.