Sears Kreg Experience

[Fins59]

Visited the local Sears store the other night here in Wausau, Wisconsin to see what they had in Kreg accessories.  It's a fairly large store.

Turned out they had nothing.  Talked to 3 employees in the tool department.  None of them ever heard of the Kreg Jig.  In fact one of them said "I've been here 20 years and I've never heard of a Kreg Jig".   One of them said maybe I'd have to go to a special woodworking store to get one.  ( I told him that I already have the jig but was looking for accessories).

All the local home improvement stores here have the Kreg but not too much in accessories.

Mistakenly, I thought Sears would be the place for these.  Maybe a Kreg Sales Rep should start hitting on these guys.

Anyway, that was my "Sears Experience".   

[Frank Gardecki]

Yes I use to buy only Sears  power tools but no more they are not what they use to be since K mart bought them. I get my Kreg supplies from my local Lowes .

[Fins59]

Yeah, I'll have to check out my local Ace store.

  Someone told me Lowe's in Plover charges around $32 for the Kreg screw kit,  where at Menards it's $22.

Dennis - your name sounds familiar.  Do you have an old (classic) car and show it at local car shows?

Dennis Swearingen said:

Hey Fins59, I live in Wisconsin Rapids and our local Ace Hardware has the Master Jig kit, screws etc.  Any of the other stuff I go to the web.

[Ray Romero]

My local Home Depot does carry my most used commodity. Kreg pocket hole screws and tips. I have to order online or travel to Las Vegas 60 miles away to Woodworkers Emporium if I need anything else. I'll have to check Lowes my next trip into the BIG city. My little town doesn't even have a Pizza Hut.

[Kenneth Kaletta]

The Sears in Fort Wayne in has a few Kreg items.  But Lowe's and Menard's has a better selection

[Tom Santopietro]

I believe K-Mart purchased Sears a few years ago. If this is true, that should tell us something. Don't get me wrong K-Mart is okay for a department store but they don't exactly specialize in high end merchandise like Kreg. Plus Kreg is made in the USA, if you look around K-mart or Sears that would indicate a disadvantage.   

 

 

 

 

 

Ralph Sarc said:

I had a similar experience at my local Home Depot. Three of their associates looked at me as if I was an alien that had just beamed into their store when I asked for the location of their Kreg Jigs and its accessories. I finally after several minutes found a very small display in the hand tool section!

I was delighted while visiting Lowes the same day that their staff knew about the Kreg Jig and was pleased to direct me to their large Kreg and pockets joinery section!

[Tom Santopietro]

I guess Ramon has a point. Sears sells mechanic tools, yard tools etc. Rockler and Woodcraft have woodworking tools. You can't expect Sears to have a full line of woodworking tools with a knowledgeable staff just on woodworking. Their old band saw, radial saws and table saws were much better but then again so were Porter Cable, Dewalt, Delta. What changed? Oh yes they are now made in China.     

Ramon Alicea said:

I work at Sears in Loss Prevention.  When I go browse the tool dept and ask the associates about woodworking tools they tell me we don't carry it.  I then correct them and take them to the computer to Sears.com.  Sears sells a lot of woodworking tools on through their web site.  The Kreg jig is usually my example to use with the associate.  They look at me with a surprised look.  The store is small and can't carry everything.  However if you want the item can usually be shipped to you ro to the store for you to pick up.  Sears.com has Jet, Powermatic, Kreg, Woodpecker, Triton and other brnads.  Check it out.

[Fins59]

Our Sear's store has the largest selection of woodworking tools in the area.   They have Jointers, planers, wood lathes, huge selection of routers, zillions of miter saws, table saws, radial arm saws, scroll saws, drill press, band saws, sanders, biscuit tools, mortise machines, and all the stuff that goes with these tools.  But of course no Kreg line.  Lucky we have a Menards close by.

Tom Santopietro said:

I guess Ramon has a point. Sears sells mechanic tools, yard tools etc. Rockler and Woodcraft have woodworking tools. You can't expect Sears to have a full line of woodworking tools with a knowledgeable staff just on woodworking. Their old band saw, radial saws and table saws were much better but then again so were Porter Cable, Dewalt, Delta. What changed? Oh yes they are now made in China.     

Ramon Alicea said:

I work at Sears in Loss Prevention.  When I go browse the tool dept and ask the associates about woodworking tools they tell me we don't carry it.  I then correct them and take them to the computer to Sears.com.  Sears sells a lot of woodworking tools on through their web site.  The Kreg jig is usually my example to use with the associate.  They look at me with a surprised look.  The store is small and can't carry everything.  However if you want the item can usually be shipped to you ro to the store for you to pick up.  Sears.com has Jet, Powermatic, Kreg, Woodpecker, Triton and other brnads.  Check it out.

[John Schaben]

Being made in China is only half the problem, the other half is our Harvard trained MBA's have pencil whipped the quality out of everything to maximize profits.  JMHO

Tom Santopietro said:

I guess Ramon has a point. Sears sells mechanic tools, yard tools etc. Rockler and Woodcraft have woodworking tools. You can't expect Sears to have a full line of woodworking tools with a knowledgeable staff just on woodworking. Their old band saw, radial saws and table saws were much better but then again so were Porter Cable, Dewalt, Delta. What changed? Oh yes they are now made in China.     

Ramon Alicea said:

I work at Sears in Loss Prevention.  When I go browse the tool dept and ask the associates about woodworking tools they tell me we don't carry it.  I then correct them and take them to the computer to Sears.com.  Sears sells a lot of woodworking tools on through their web site.  The Kreg jig is usually my example to use with the associate.  They look at me with a surprised look.  The store is small and can't carry everything.  However if you want the item can usually be shipped to you ro to the store for you to pick up.  Sears.com has Jet, Powermatic, Kreg, Woodpecker, Triton and other brnads.  Check it out.

[Frank Gardecki]

I never heard of Woodpecker  except for a friend that had a accident but thats another story ,I won't bore you.

.

[Tom Santopietro]

Good point John, I suppose the two go together.

[Alex Sykes]

I was pleasantly suprised to find a fair assortment of kreg supplies at my local Lowes.  Mostly suprised because my local Lowes is aweful and rarely has anything

[Steve M. Reynolds]

My local Home depot only has the general brand screws and plugs which will work but i had rather have the Kreg ones.

It doesn't have any Kreg tools. Sears quality has gone down since the Kmart buyout. I bought a bandsaw from them a couple years ago and both latches are plastic and broken.

I have to order my supplies and shipping is high so I try to wait for a free shipping sale then load up on the most used Kreg items.