[Shop-talk] SK breaker bar Saga (the final update)

[old dirtbeard]

My guess is that they look to fill the specs (e.g., caster wheel rated at X
lbs.) and procure based upon price. I wrote a lengthy, factual assessment
comparing the previous "made in USA lift" to the current "assembled in USA
lift" detailing where the newer one fell short.

I did like the ramp and wheel chock design on the newer one better, and I
told them that as well.

We will see if they respond.


On Sat, Jan 6, 2024 at 9:20 AM <alfuller194 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yes, it IS sad to see well respected brands decline in quality!
>
>
>
> Re: “Although the core Backyard Buddy lift is still made in the US of US
> steel, many of the ancillary components now are imported and it only says
> "assembled in USA" instead of "made in USA." The substituted imported parts
> are not up to the quality of the Backyard sold by Steel City. “
>
>
>
> I have to assume the domestic companies ARE getting what they are ordering
> from the foreign suppliers, raising the question of why are they either [1]
> specifying lower quality, or [2] specifying higher quality but accepting
> lesser goods?
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> All the best,
>
>
>
> Al Fuller
>
>
>
> *From:* Shop-talk <shop-talk-bounces at autox.team.net> *On Behalf Of *old
> dirtbeard
> *Sent:* Thursday, January 4, 2024 4:27 PM
> *To:* eric at megageek.com
> *Cc:* Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> *Subject:* Re: [Shop-talk] SK breaker bar Saga (the final update)
>
>
>
> I am very sorry to hear this, Moose. I too have been a loyal SK customer
> for over 50 years. I have a very larage collection of tools from them.
>
>
>
> I know that they were purchased in 2021 by Hangzhou GreatStar Industrial,
> a Chinese conglomerate.  I believe that some/most of the manufacturing is
> still done here, but it is no longer an American company.
>
>
>
> For new purchases I believe Proto and Wright still are US-made and owned,
> but things changs.
>
>
>
> I bought a Backyard Buddy 4-post automotive lift in 2019 that was
> wonderful. It was made by Steel Valley Lifts. I ordered another one last
> month, but now it is owned by Advantage Lifts which sells imported lifts as
> well.
>
>
>
> Although the core Backyard Buddy lift is still made in the US of US steel,
> many of the ancillary components now are imported and it only says
> "assembled in USA" instead of "made in USA." The substituted imported parts
> are not up to the quality of the Backyard sold by Steel City.
>
>
>
> I truly hate to see this degradation of quality happen to really good
> American tool companies. I guess I am just glad that I have most of the
> tools now that I will ever need.
>
>
>
> best,
>
>
>
> doug
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 2:16 PM <eric at megageek.com> wrote:
>
> Well, in Oct, my SK breaker bar broke.
> I couldn't find any phone numbers or anything, just a website to fill out
> some info.
>
> After putting in a claim for the "breaker bar repair kit", I waited almost
> a month, nothing.  Then I posted here and others expressed their
> dissatisfaction with SK as well.
>
> I finally found an email and sent them one asking if they received my
> claim.  They stated that they did not have it.
>
> I resubmitted it, waited 2 days and emailed again.  Again, they said they
> didn't have it.
>
> Then about a day later, they sent me an email stated they DID have it, but
> they didn't see it because the email address (I have no idea what that
> meant.)
>
> But they also said that I would have to send them the broken tool in for a
> replacement, since the kit wasn't available.
>
> So I spend about $12 sending it in (with all the postal tracking and such.)
>
> About 2 weeks AFTER I confirmed they received it, I sent another email.
> Nothing.
>
> Then, I get an invoice for the shipping of the new tool to me for $8 about
> 4 days later.  I pay it within an hour of getting it.
>
> About a week later, I get a message saying they received my payment and
> will be shipping out the replacement.  Now, this was about mid Dec.  So I
> hoped they would get it in the mail sooner before the holidays.
>
> Nope, they waited until the new year to ship it.  Since the place is only
> about 4 hours away from me in PA, it only took 2 days to get it.  So I now
> have my new SK breaker bar.
>
> Note, in all my emails to them I expressed how much I loved SK tools, and
> how I relied on my breaker bar and how I would have to buy a cheap one to
> use in the meantime if it was going to take a while to replace.
>
> In the end, I am not at all happy.  American tool companies used to be
> worth the extra price.  However, I know that if I had a cheap Home Depot
> Rigid one and walked into a store with it broken, I would walk out with a
> new one.
>
> The other thing is that I had to pay the shipping BOTH WAYS.  Really?  If
> they didn't like the photos I sent, they could have paid for the shipping
> one way at least!  I mean, $20 isn't going to break me, but it is a drop in
> the bucket for a company that charges a MAJOR premium for tools.  And to
> have me without a tool for over 3 months!  I mean if I was making my living
> with their tools, I would have been starving.
>
> I will NO LONGER buy SK tools.    I hope they are happy.  If any of them
> break, I'm headed to a local Lowes and replacing them with their house
> brands (they used to do that in the past at least.)
>
> Anyway, just wanted to let all of you know what happened with the bar.
>
> Moose _______________________________________________
>
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