Klarinet Archive - Posting 000958.txt from 1998/09

From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Sears anecdote
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 14:29:37 -0400

Ed Lacy wrote:

<snip>

Craftsman is the brand name for some of the highest quality and most
strongly guaranteed tools and equipment in the world. Sears does not own
any factories, but they impose their own quality standards and
specifications on merchandise which is made for them for sale under the
Craftsman brand. If you buy a Craftsman tool, it is guaranteed for life.
If it breaks or is defective, it will be replaced free of charge. I don't
know of any musical instrument manufacturer who will do that.
<endsnip>

My grandfather had a pocketknife that he bought out of the Sears catalog (in
about 1925?). I broke it--while a fine knife, it was a poor crowbar.

You can guess the rest of the story. Pawpaw and I want to Sears and they
replaced it, half a century later, no questions asked. They did note that
the particular model had not been made in quite a while, and were sorry that
we had to choose a slightly different model.

The practice of rebranding instruments is not new--Selmer started as a music
store in New York selling "stenciled" saxophones, mostly Conn and Martin.

kjf

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