Comments on: Craftsman Professional Powered Lawn Equipment

By: Dave Wittmann

Dave Wittmann — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:06:01 +0000

As the owner of a company that does lawn maintenance, I looked very carefully at this line of products. I decided to pass. The primary reason was the engine choice one, that being Briggs & Stratton. Another reason is the warranty, pretty much void for commercial users. Quite frankly, in that price range, there are already a number of established choices to be found at established commercial dealers. Plus, those dealers have service departments on site. And down time is an issue with commercial lawn equipment.

Just my two cents

By: Kevin Pace

Kevin Pace — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:47:22 +0000

I’ll be honest, when these first came out a year ago I was very skeptical about selling them. I didn’t think they’d find a good market. Commercial people really don’t see Sears as a good pro-grade supplier, we mostly cater to homeowners. And Homeowners generally don’t want to pay that much of a markup for better quality.

But, both of those markets seemed to have opened up recently. In March, I outfitted a brand new startup lawn business with the full line: trimmers, mowers, tractor, blowers, and pressure washer. 2 months later and they still love it, haven’t had a problem at all. The walk behind caster mower is also very popular with homeowners here in Florida because the 360 degree casters and the higher deck cutting height move through our St. Augustine grass easier.

So, despite my earlier skepticism, this line seems to be finding its niche. There are plans to expand it out even further next year.

By: Brau

Brau — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:55:22 +0000

I don’t know a single gardening pro who uses Craftsman. Honda, Snapper, Huskvarna, and John Deere, yes. Craftsman? No. It’s just a badge to offer the perception of a premium model to home buyers.

By: fred

fred — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:32:33 +0000

Back in the 1970’s they used to distinguish their better power tools by calling them “Craftsman Commercial”. My experience were that these were a mixed bag - some very good long lasting tools made by American manufacturers like Black and Decker (who did produce professional quaility tools under their brand) - but others were made by companies like Wen - and sported features that looked nice - but did not always deliver the goods.