Howdy and welcome to another installment from the opinionated Tool guy on Ebay.  You may have linked to this from some of my other guides on buying hand tools or on scan tools or automobile module programming devices, but Im going into another direction here.  With the bad economy and the cost of quality tools, I wanted to share my experiences with new tool buying.  Obviously, if we could all afford new stuff, we would not be on Ebay looking for used stuff.  Every once and a while we need to buy new.  While doing so, we need to really look at how our tool suppliers treat us and keep them honest and accountable.  They shouldn t have to kiss our a$$es, but they should give us very good service and zero arrogance. 

I wanted to delthe into the very complicated world of corporate models and how some tools become more expensive than others even though they may be exactly the same.  I will use Snap-On as an example primarily because I know their stuff the best.  I know my Snap-On corporate guy real good and get a lot of information from him about Snap-On products.  I have to buy very shrewdly because my budget for the tech school I teach in is  very tight. I also wanted to express my views about what you should be looking for in buying on sites like Ebay or Craigs List when it comes to used tools.  Although stuff like Snap-On does have a lifetime warranty, keep in mind, it only applies to hand tools.  Also, consider that if the tools you try to return are no longer sold by companies like Snap-on, Mac or Matco, you may not be too happy with the alternatives your tool company gives you.

My government/corporate Snap-On guy knows this and keeps me honest so I can get the best bang for the buck! This is why I buy Snap-On as much as I can, because MY Tool guy who supplies my school is honest, and looks out for me.  I can't say as much for some of the tool truck guys who show up to my shops and sell to my employees.

First and foremost, I want to say that without a doubt, as a whole, Snap-on's corporate model is very good!  Great tools with a lifetime guarantee is a very good business model!  Lets not confuse how thier agents treat you with how Snap-On expects them to treat you.  Here in the Detroit area, we have some great tool truck guys, and we have some HORRIBLE tool truck guys! I would like to share my views and stories with you.  Lets take, for instance the Snap-On guys I do business with (or at least USED to).

The guy who sells tools to me at one of the schools I work at, lets call him Bill.  Bill sells for Snap-On's government and education program.  Bill never whines about exchanging broken tools. He never complains that some years I exchange more tools than I buy and that often times, I have to wait for things to go on special to buy them simply because I cant afford them at our regular price. He knows that students are going to abuse tools and doesnt complain when a screw driver tip was broker from opening a paint can or prying off a cylinder head.  When there are promotional things offered (banners, jackets, shirts, hats, ect) he offered them to me because he knows we are tool junkies!  He would have every single one of my kids wearing a Snap-On T shirt if he could!  He extends the "corporate specials" to my students to encourage them to buy (and get them addicted to snap-on tools).  Now this guy knows how to PUSH THE PRODUCT!  I asked him one month about the very nice Snap-On button up shirt he was wearing one day, the next visit, he had two of them for me.  They are in my weekly rotation and now, for at least two days a week, I am a walking advertisment in front of hundreds of students. Sometimes Bill comes over just to pass out shirts, gloves or hats or key chains.

The old "government and school" guy, lets call him John, used to always gripe because everytime I called him, I didnt have a thousand dollar tool order so he greatly ignored me for much of the time.  I was forced to buy Snap-On over the internet for many years because I didnt like his attitude. I could not get as much as a baseball cap out of him.  He told me that he wont give out promotional stuff for customers who dont buy a minimum of a hundred grand a year.  I only spent, on the average, about 10 or 12 grand.  I guess I simply didnt rate with him.  He fought and battled over every single broken tool I exchanged saying that "they were abused or misused."  Well DUAH!  Its a school, thats what new technicians do!  Thats how they learn! I used to have to take broken school tools and ask my tool truck guy at my shop to exchange them because I didnt want to hear the whining from my school rep.   

At the other school I used to work at, we have a different government/education rep from Snap-on.  Lets call him Kurt.  Kurt sold us over 150 grand worth of equipment and tools. Kurt could not see his way clear to call us when stuff went on special, couldn t extend specials to our students, and would not get up off as much as a T shirt without hitting you for some $$$. I want the boss over there, otherwise I would have sent him packing!

This year I got a fifty thousand dollar grant to buy hand tools so who do you think I bought from?  Thats right!  Bill.

Now lets go out into the real world and meet the two tool truck guys I deal with.  The first one, lets call him Bruce, is the guy who acts like when you try to return a tool, its coming out of his own pocket or something.  He is forever whining and complaining and looking for any excuse to say you broke your tools from abusing them.   One day, I was driving down Telegraph road and saw his truck in another shop.  I just happened to have a 3/8 drive standard length ratchet with a  broken square drive from trying to take a differential fill plug out.  I swung into the lot, parked my truck, waited until all the guys from the shop he was at were off the truck and walked up to the door.  I asked him if he could repair my ratchet sense I just happened to see him on the street.  He acted like he didnt know me and told me that if I didnt buy from him, he want going to warranty the tool.  He than looked at my ratchet and said it was "abused" and that even if I were his customer, he wouldn t warranty the broken tool.  My calm and polite response was, "ill see you next tuesday" (the day he comes to my shop). He looked a little puzzled and closed his door and drove away.

When he came to my shop on that next Tuesday, I was waiting for him along with the other 3 mechanics who work for me.  Collectively, we owed him a little over 5 thousand dollars and had bought over fifty grand worth of tools over the previous two years.  He slid his door open, saw me and said "howdy partner, what can I sell you guys today?" I told him to leave and never to return to my shop!  I than told him that I was going to call Snap-On corporate and request a new tool truck be assigned to my shop. You see, when you do that, the new tool truck guy will get the account, and the commission on the payments. If there was no other tool truck guy in that area, we would simply mail the payments in to Snap-On until they found us another rep.  He acted shocked, like he had no idea why I was doing this.  I told him that I was the guy who walked into his truck a few days earlier and his response was "that was you?"  "If I would have know that was you, I would have given you whatever you wanted!" This guy doesnt know or give a $hit about me and unless I walked up with a hand full of greenbacks, he could not give a damn about me or my shop, and I wont do business with this idiot.

Our other shop has another driver named, oh lets call him Matt.  Matt ever argues with my guys, exchanges our tools no questions asked, always level us satisfied and knows all of our names.  He does "walk on's" all the time.  He told me that, when it comes to returning broken tools "its not like its coming out of my own pocket, right?"  Now Matt does both of our shops and guess what, over the following two years, has sold us an alignment rack, a hoist, a tire machine and tons of tools and boxes.  Over a hundred grand worth of stuff!  When my guys want to upgrade to newer tools, Matt gives them a very fair exchange rate, and when he has promotional stuff, he gives it out freely and gladly!

Finally, what about the other guys?  Matco and Mac?  First of all, when Mac became part of Stanley Works, their quality and service fell off the map!  Other than warranty returns and purchase of an occasional special here and there, we only see the Mac guy once a month if that.

With Matco, we either have the most forgetful tool truck guy, or their in such poor financial shape that we cant get tools replaced or non stocking items purchased without waiting weeks and sometimes months for our tools to arrive.  They make good stuff, just seems like they are the Chrysler Corporation of the big 3 tool companies, they just cant seem to get it just right!  I asked for a roll of tool box liner material and its been two months and every time he shows up, its another story! 

These are only my opinions and experiences.  Yours may be different, but many of yours are the same.  Remember, the point here is that you should expect MORE From your tool suppliers as you are buying tools for 10X what Sears or SK charges.  You should expect 10X the service and if you arnt getting it, kick them to the curb and start buying on line! Better yet, START BUYING FROM EBAY!  If your tool truck guy is squaring about exchanging tools, tell him to either put up or shut up! 

The most painful part of all of this is how we get 30 to 40% off buying for the school and I cant buy my own tools through the school, I have to pay the full freight from the tool truck guy.  A lot of people say to me "how would the school guy know your buying it for yourself?"  Well, for the most part, he wouldn!  But that is taking food off the table of my tool truck guy, and he takes very good care of us at the shops, I wont jeopardize that for my employees! He has to make a living too!  Nothing in this country gets better until we start thinking about the other guy once and a while.  I also have to be an example to my employees and my students alike.  Having integrity is the first rule of life after God and Family, without that, your nothing!  Only when you operate above the board and with regard for others can you demand and expect others to treat you the same way. 

Here on Ebay, I continue to be astonished at how stupid some sellers think buyers truly are!  First off, any tool posted used on Ebay or any other site should be 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a new tool minimum. Things like air tools and power tools even less.  The reason air and power tools are less is because they do not have a lifetime warranty.  If your air tools are of an older version than what is offered by the tool company now, your going to lose your tool for several weeks to get it repaired and pay through the nose.  Snap on Air tools and power tools should be going for 1/2 to 2/3 the price of new and only if they are in 80% or better condition.  This rule of thumb should be observed for any tools from any company.  Also, if you buy an older set of tools from a company like Snap-On, Mac, Matco, SK or anyone else, the new replacements will not look anything like the originals.  Also, if the tools are not in production any more, it could be a total loss!  Take for instance a set of Snap-On Clutch head drivers. Snap-On no longer makes them so if you break one, for the most part, the whole set is worthless as you cant get it replaced.  My tool truck guy offered to give me 60 bucks for the remaining set.  Problem is, I paid 75 for them on Ebay making them all but worthless if I see another set.  Keep this in mind when your buying used tools and factor in what your willing to pay for them.  Always check the tool makers web site to see what a tool costs new before over bidding on Ebay.  I have seen a lot of people buying tools on Ebay for more than what they could get them new for!

Please feel free to share your tool truck stories with me, good or bad.  Ill post them if they are good reading and please dont use any real names.