Craftsman Premium Grade Ratchets MIA!!

[kxxr]

  Does anyone else find it more than just a little bit odd that these ratchets seem to have fallen off the face of the earth? I know they can be had through the mail (at least they are still listed) but our local Sears had one set back in October and no sign of them since.
  How strange is it that not a single one, I mean not even one, is listed on Ebay right now ... and no sets either. What would you have bet, 15 months or so ago ( or whenever these finally came out) that there wouldn't be any available on Ebay today. It's Craftsman after all. I would have guessed there'd be, at the very least, dozens of singles and sets in all price ranges. But no, not one.
  The first mention of them I can find on GJ is October 2010. Stuey got a set for review and wrote about them in January 2011. It sounded like he got them sent to him "no strings attached" which, to me, translates to a serious effort to promote them by Sears. And now, nothing. Is it possible that people just aren't that intersted? That seems like the least likely answer. Could there be an unspoken boycott? Not likely either.
  There is a set, just one, listed in the completed listings, but that's it. What gives?? I'd like to know the true story on that. Short of the true story, I'll settle for expert opinions ... What do you all think?

[crankshaftdan II]

MIA from all of our local Sear's stores-don't know what happened??  I thought that they seemed to be a really Heavy ratchet from what I saw.  Maybe sear's thought that it would sell just on the tooth count and H.D. construction alone?  I felt from just handling a 1/2" in the store that it was not balanced good-to much weight in the head.  Just my two cent's worth as I haven't ran into any yet on the secondary market.......Cranky

[kxxr]

I have heard that balance/bulk issue from others too, but only about the 1/2 drive. I don't recall anyone saying that about the other 2. I'll see if I can take a few measurements later to see if there is an actual difference in the proportions of the 3 compared to each other. Interesting design decision if true. I'll report back here.

[fflintstone]

I bought the 3/8 and ¼ on sale and online discount in April of last year. I am not that impressed with them, and there were a lot of post on the journal about them locking up. There are far better 30 year old ratchets out there.

[kxxr]

I followed the QC problem threads on GJ also and know that some users reported serious problems early on. The "G" in GJ stands for 'grain of salt', imo, though.
Specifically the 3/8" drive had a "production flaw" that, according to Stuey the ToolGuyd, has been corrected. As of his most recent review, January 2011, he gives them a "highly recommended" rating.
Still, problems or no, the puzzler to me is Sears' apparent abandonment of any and all marketing efforts. Very strange. I guess they are busy trying to keep the ship afloat.

[Lewill2]

Maybe Kmart has all of them.