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I’ve bought Stanley 25′ tapes for YEARS, and always bought the ones in the chrome cases that run about $7-8. Sometimes I refill the tape when it wears out, usually I just chuck the whole thing and pick up a couple of new ones.
So I’m at HomefreakingDepot one day, getting ready to buy my next couple, when the tool elf …..I’m not kidding, little short, bald on top and pointy ears…put this guy in a red suit and you’d swear he was Santa’s main man……..anyway, the tool elf says “Hey….get this Max Steel one in the yellow case….lifetime warranty…ANYTHING goes wrong with them, we replace ’em free !” So, I pick up some of the overpriced things ( $12.97), and yeah, they might have a little thicker tape steel, but they wear out just like the chrome jobs do…
So today, I trot in with 3 of them to replace…..and the guy at the returns desk pulls out a sheet from Stanley and says none of them qualify for warranty…..one the riveted end popped off, tape flew up in case, the other two just have had enough water, dirt and subfloor glue that they won’t go back in the case for nothing……and NONE of which I’ve ever returned the chrome jobs for,…… BUT, I told the guy…THE TOOL ELF told me “lifetime warranty…no questions” Return guy throws up his hands, and I go off to see the Tool Elf….find his sorry A$$ back in the tool bin, and he goes “Sorry…they changed the rules..!” So I get loud, start thinking about making an Elf pancake, and fortunately the Stanley rep is there stocking….comes up and says Since the HD Guy told you that, I’ll replace them and was REAL nice about it….
I left with 3 new tapes and a resolve to buy the cheap ones in the future…just like I always had.
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Lifetime Guarantee, but who's lifetime are they talking about. I tend to think its the lifetime of guarantee which means its only good until they change it. Store rep - "Yep, by george, that guarantee died two weeks ago, we got our selves a new one now.. They call it the lifetime guarantee. Only problem is you bought yours under the old guarantee and its dead now. Sorry. Wanna buy a new one under the new lifetime guarantee. Can't guarantee the guarantee though"........ LOL
* Ralph27 "Favorite Tape Measure" 1/11/02 7:16pmI feel your pain. This link, if it worked, will take you to an older discussion of tape measures if you have not read it already. I just recently found a new Stanley Leverlock 25' that was black. One of my favorite tapes. The sucker broke the 4th time I measured with it. While retracting(from about 5'), the tip caught on a nail head and the tape snapped, a defect in the tape. I took it back, and the guy gave me a hard time. He said Stanley doesn't cover tape breakage because people let the tape retract too fast. What the %&$^$%#%^#$%!!! If it is not supposed to retract that fast, why is the spring that strong???!!! I had spent well over $5000 in lumber and tools in the last 6 months there. After another employee tells this guy, who wasn't going to give me a new one, that the policy sucks since my tool was new and obviously not abused, he desides to give me a new one, no refund no in store credit, just another LEVERlock. I used to like Stanley tapes, I will never buy one again. I doubt I will shop at that store again either. I understand if the tool has been abused, but a defect is a defect. I guess I'll try some others. Any suggestions?
*I saw a stainless steel Stanley yesterday. 25 feet, and it seemed to extend as far as the regular 1 inch Stanleys. It was 25 bucks or something. The spring is stainless too.
*Whatta ya want for $15.00 bucks? 1.a full tank of gas?2.lunch for two?3.case of beer?4.movie for two?5.case of Pop?6.four bags of potatoe chips?7.a saw blade? None of this stuff lasts very long. Suck it up and call it an expendable item and start bragging about how long your plastic lunchbox has lasted.I don't know about yours, but my Coleman lunch box has lasted over 20 years.I finally gave it to my son.I was actually wishing it would break so I could get a new one.Maybe it ought to have some kind of guarantee.Come to think of it, I think I only paid $15.00 bucks for it.Bob
*This is exactly the reason I bought Craftsman tape measures. I have 3 of them, and have replaced each of them at least a couple of times. No questions asked, and no hassles. Just get a new one off the shelf, go to the checkout, and leave with the new tape. Rusted blades, broken blades, broken cases, etc... they replace with no questions. Stanley has signs up at all the local lumberyards and home centers saying they will not replace a tape measure for broken or rusted blades. Since that is the most common problem with a tape measure, they aren't offering much of a warranty. I originally picked the Craftsman tapes because they were the only 30' tapes available at the time (around here). Now, it is hard to find them, and when replacing the tape measures, I just get a 25 footer and leave happy.James DuHamel
*Some of ya are missing my point...I know Stanley doesn't warranty the stuff I was taking the tapes back for.....and I've never even tried to return them before...BUT THE DADGUM HOME DEPOT TOOL GUY says.... "WE ( meaning HD ) will replace them with no questions"....and then when I go back with the old ones, the SAME DADGUM GUY starts in with excuses.....and the only reason I bought the yellow ones at twice the price is because the TOOL GUY said that originally.....THAT was my beef...I wasn't ranting at Stanley.....On another story with the stuff HD does:I had a couple of Werner fiberglass ladders. One blew over one day when I had it up on some slick gutter, and broke the little plastic "flippy" that mounts on the locking swing, and that allows you to let the upper section down with engaging the lock swing on the way down. Just a little plastic pc, and TOTALLY my fault for not securing the ladder better.So, I call HD cause they were carring Werners at that time ( now they've gone to a "Louisville" house brand here ) and inquired about buying that part. Was told you can't buy parts for Werner ladders...they are warrantied for life, we'll give you a new ladder.I said "no...you don't understand buddy, this was my fault..not a defect...and I could probably make a pc like it out of plywood, but I'd like to have the original." HD guys says " Bring it in, we'll give you a new one"So, I take it out there....go to the return desk, stand this 10 year old, funky, caulk/painted up 24'ladder up against the wall, and the girl just says go get you another one.....and I did. Unbelievable.
*Andy- Whoa, man! Yeah, bet they don't do that very often. The tape measure thing, well, HD has a few idiots on the payroll........By the way, Louisville is not a house brand, very nice esp. the heavy rated. Got my eye on a 6ft. Type IA fiberglass tripod- will be awhile cause it's $200! -Ken
*Ken:I don't know....when the HD first opened here, they were a lot more liberal ( sorry for the curse word ) about things, but they have tightened up some...Just go on and get that ladder.....I decided a long time ago that >I
*Lee Valley has some very good tapes for very reasonable prices. I picked one up when my Stanley crashed. Took the Stanley back to the local big box and they replaced it, after scouring the book for a reason not to. But it obviously had been barely used and not abused. It was a warrantable item. The return spring had split.Only problem with Lee Valleys tape is it doesn't have the diamonds. Although it claims to be a carpenters tape.Scott
*I have NEVER had a problem with Stanley tapes, usually use the 25ft. Maxsteel. I don't know why everybody's fussin' so much. Tape measure is probably THE most abused tool on the job. If you're dragging it through subfloor glue then you need to clean the friggin' glue off or it's just gonna die, period. If I'm working in the rain and mud, at the end of the day I pull the tape out and clean it off, then lube with TriFlow. I can make my tapes last 4-6 months of hard everyday use. That's when the blade usually splits. If you're letting the tape retract full speed till it stops, then you're killing it, too........Of course a new tape shouldn't break, and I'd ask for another- but let's face it, tape is an expendable/consumed item. Just MHO. -Ken
*Ken,I guess I should have titled the thread "Home Depot Rant".... because I agree with everything you've said....my point was and is, the HD toolelf said "NO MATTER WHAT".....and I was there to test those words.....which he was trying to weasel out of, after selling me on the vitures of the higher priced tape in a yellow case.Comprende ??
*Andy- Yes.....I do. Right on, bro! Stupid tool elf, or who ever told him to say it. A foolhardy guarantee, esp. on a tape measure............Senco has an interesting guarantee- fix or replace in case of natural disaster. -Ken
*Yeah, that Senco warranty is the ticket ! Like I tell 'em when I work on a house: My warranty is good until my truck clears your driveway or you check clears the bank....whichever comes first :)Duofast has always been good to deal with. The guy comes around in a service truck and will fix any problem you have with their guns no charge, and leave you a loaner if he can't fix it on the spot..THAT'S service !!