I don't think they're going to sell a lot of those 10 piece sets.

I dunno. Maybe there's something we don't know about that 10-piece set. I'll have to stare at Home Depot's handy price comparison page for a while to come to a verdict.

Product Comparison [Home Depot]

Mint founder Aaron Patzer, who is now the new vice president and general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, told TechCrunch, "Over the next 6 to 9 months we will end-of-life Quicken Online and their customer's data will be migrated over to Mint." Patzer also talked a little about what Mint might look like in the future, as Intuit weaves products like Turbo Tax into the service:

Patzer has other ideas for connecting Mint and TurboTax as well: "What I want to do is to take your stock transactions and everything you've tagged in Mint as a medical expense or business expense and push that over to see if you should itemize deductions. If we pull in your 1099s and deductions, we have done half your taxes for you. We could reduce the time it takes you to do your taxes to 20 minutes or less."

"Mint's Aaron Patzer: "We Will End-Of-Life Quicken Online" In Six to Nine Months" [TechCrunch]

Their reasoning is simple: if you have an easy way to constantly jot down notes on things like prices or items you want to buy, you'll have higher quality information to make purchasing decisions. Some uses from The Simple Dollar:

• Write down sale prices so you can research their true value.
• Do warehouse price club comparisons.
• Write down recipes or other food ideas.
• Make a simple price book that focuses on the staples. (Real price books require a near-obsessive level of dedication, so I like this idea best of all.)
• Record great gift ideas.
• Keep a master list of "preferred brands" and their average prices.

Lifehacker's Jason Fitzpatrick noted that recording gift ideas lets him come up with great gifts cheaply:

A perfect example of this in action: I was having dinner with a friend some months ago. When the wine was decanted, the particular funnel that the sommelier used caught my friend's eye-it was quite an interesting one. When we were leaving the restaurant I quickly scribbled a few notes about the style of the funnel. A little Google-fu later and I found that it wasn't a particularly pricey item, but it would be much appreciated by my friend and show that I notice things that matter to him.

The problem, of course, is determining which "easy way to constantly jot down notes" works for you. The Simple Dollar recommends a pocket-sized reporter's notebook, which you can buy at any drugstore for around $1. One of the readers over there suggests you avoid clutter in your notebook by keeping temporary items on a removable page:

I keep a loose page in my journal for the "To Do" and "Shopping" lists. I can move that page along the current page so it's easily found, and cleanly remove it when completed.

Lifehacker takes the hardcore (and expensive) Getting Things Done route by suggesting a "notetaker wallet" that carries cards.

Using your phone may be more convenient for some people, and it also gives you the flexibility of snapping photos. It can also be a lot slower to use if you don't have a good note-taking solution. Evernote is a good free option, and it's available for everything but the Android platform (although they're working on that, and in the meantime you can use their mobile site).

"14 Ways a Notebook in Your Pocket Can Save You Money" [The Simple Dollar via Lifehacker]
(Photo: theilr)

We started the game dreading the inevitable edu-boringness that these sorts of things always deliver, but actually it's not that bad. At crucial points in the match, you have to answer a question to determine what happens next. Answer correctly, and your team will successfully make the kick/tackle/snitch-grab (I really don't know soccer). Prove you're a financial idiot and your team will lose. To make it more interesting, the really valuable shots can only be completed if you answer harder questions.

Financial Soccer via Kansas City Star

If you do have symptoms of the H1N1 flu, the website says to call and tell your doctor you might be "very sick" with the flu, and ask if you "need to be seen right now." (We originally posted that you should physically go to the doctor, but that was an overstatement that our reader floraposte brought to our attention.)

And if you don't have H1N1 symptoms, this is a cheap way to put your mind at ease so you can get some rest

You should also check out these myths about H1N1 from Consumer Reports.

"Could I have H1N1 flu (swine flu)?" [H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Response Center via "Health Data Management"]
(Photo: iLoveButter)

Idaho Personal Finance [University of Idaho Extension via Idaho Business Review]

Ask Deals/Coupon Search [via Reuters]

medtipster

"23 Powerful Tips and Tools to Eliminate Debt" [Dough Roller] (Photo: mskogly)

Sample Complaint Letters [Gotcha Capitalism] (Photo: Andrea_F)

All supermarket scenarios aside, Ginger Skinner at the Consumer Reports Health Blog sums up how the app can benefit you:

Bottom line: My Medication Tracker can help you take control of your medication and health history, and will also improve your communication with your doctor. At your next doctor's appointment, bring a printout of your medications and ask your doctor, "Do I really need to take all these medications?" It's likely your doctor is unaware of all the medications you're taking-especially if you're seeing several doctors and specialists. Your doctor may even recommend you stop taking unnecessary or duplicate medications or dosages-which can not only help cut costs, but can also keep you healthy and prevent potential drug interactions.

My Medication Tracker requires a password to access your data, and doesn't report anything back to the Consumer Reports mothership or leave any cookies or hidden tracking software on your computer. Yeah, CR looks out for regular people like that. That's why we like them.

"My Medication Tracker" [Consumer Reports]

FoodSafety.gov

"Baby Soda Bottles" [CoolTools]

The biggest tip-off, of course, is that there's not a 100% clear disclosure of the group's beginnings and location. The Center for Media and Democracy says you should look for physical addresses, and cross-reference them on their astroturfing wiki, SourceWatch.org. (If the address is in D.C., alarms should be going off.) Real grassroots will usually prominently list their chief personnel (but cross-reference those, too) and source of funding.

Other signs can be found in the name and language they use. For example, front groups often seem to be making arguments about a topic completely unrelated to some other issue, and yet they eventually focus on that "secondary" issue. (Their example: "casting the secondhand smoke [issue] as an issue of property rights.") Front groups will also frequently use "feel-good" names that, upon closer inspection, seem to be diametrically opposed to their cause:

...such as the National Wetlands Coalition, which opposed policies to protect U.S. wetlands, or Citizens for a Free Kuwait, which purported to represent U.S. citizens but was actually funded almost entirely by the royal family of Kuwait. Sometimes the name of a front group might seem to suggest academic or political neutrality ("Consumers' Research," "American Policy Center"), while in fact it consistently turns out opinions, research, surveys, reports, polls and other declarations that benefit the interests of a company, industry or political candidate.

Most important, if you discover something about a front group you should share it on the SourceWatch wiki where it can be verified and indexed with other info, so that consumers have a reference guide they can use to unmask corporations.

"Attack of the Living Front Groups: PRWatch Offers Help to Unmask Corporate Tricksters" [PR Watch / Center for Media and Democracy via MichiganTelephone]
"Astroturf: Exposing the Fake Grassroots" [Free Press]
RELATED
SourceWatch.org
(Photo: Free Press)

"Use Firefox to Fix the Web's Biggest Annoyances" [Lifehacker]

Hello Consumerist,

Your post has created a great deal of traffic on our Consumer Information Site (CIS) and unfortunately the demand generated seems to have crashed our system, several times today. Please share our sincerest apologies to your readers and invite them to try again later if they are unable to get the data they seek.

In addition we can address some of the comments:

Extremely large or small complaint ratios can occur for a number of reasons, all very technical, all very boring. However, the CIS does include actual complaint counts along with reports on complaint codes which provide information about complaints by type. The CIS also provides financial and licensing information about the company, and allows users to check ratios for any state.

In addition: If you are an insurance consumer and have a complaint, please contact your state insurance department (www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm) and file it.

Complaints can also be filed through CIS (when the system is working). The complaint filing process provides important information to state regulators. They may be able to assist you directly and use the information to determine whether further market conduct examination is warranted.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reminds all consumers to shop around and contact their state insurance departments to be sure that they are dealing with licensed carriers and producers.

For insurance tips and information we invite consumers to check out: insureUonline.org.

RELATED
"Find Out How Much Your Insurer Sucks"
(Photo: gumuz)

When you're shopping for an insurance company, check the insurer's complaint record — especially if it's a small insurer that's offering a good rate, but you haven't heard much about its reputation. Saving a few dollars per year in premiums can backfire if the insurer hassles you at claim time.

To access this information, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Consumer Information Source. Type in the name of the company, the state where you live and the type of insurance. (Under "statement type" and "business type," click on "property/casualty" for home and auto insurance or "life, accident and health.") The site then provides the insurer's national complaint statistics.

We tested it with a sample health insurer:

Ohh, you got busted United HealthCare! Hmm... somehow that doesn't actually make me feel triumphant.

"How to Check an Insurer's Complaint Record" [Kiplinger]
NAIC Consumer Information Source
(Photo of cat: Pink Sherbet Photography)

"How healthy are your finances?" [Money] (Thanks to jscott73!)

It emails related postings that you are looking for on an hourly basis. It can even text the postings (although I don't use texting). I've managed excellent deals getting video games that I wanted. I also have job postings (for me keyword "tutor") constantly emailed to me as I'm looking for a part-time job as well.

Note, however, that the "privacy policy" page is blank as of August 18th 2009, so be aware of that if you decide to register.

Jpodbuild first called his local Sears, and was referred to another number. At the second number he was told to go to the website www.managemyhome.com. There, he searched for an answer to his problem but found nothing, so he called the number on the site. They referred him back to the second number he'd called. Someone at that number had him call a third number, where a person verified his account information and had him call the second number again.

That's when he took the sander with him to his local Sears and asked the employee there to do something about it. He doesn't say how much time passed, but eventually the employee came back, grabbed a new sander off the shelf, and traded for it.

When I asked why I was receiving a new sander instead of some tech help, [the employee] told me that the manager of my local Sears had just made the same convoluted sequence of phone calls. Sears seems to have an internal problem. Eventually she shouted out a colorful metaphor into the phone at the last person she was talking with and then told Baby-face to just give me a new sander and tell me to go home. So… I went home and sanded into the night.

Thanks, Sears?

"Craftsman but not Techmen" [jpodbuild] (Thanks to Dan and Loy!)

1. A Budget: Yeah yeah, you've already read one of our numerous guides and written a budget, but a baby requires a wholesale re-write. Figure out how you're going to pay for day-to-day necessities like diapers, while starting to save for long-term budget-busters like college.

2. Life and Disability Insurance: If something happens, you're not going to be the only one to suffer. Take out life insurance worth four to eight times your annual salary, and consider disability insurance that can covers your whole salary in case of an accident.

3. Health Insurance: Make sure you have health insurance and don't forget to add your new child to your policy! Check your spouse's policy and see whose will best accommodate your new baby. Without insurance, delivering a baby can cost more than a semester at college.

4. A Will: Even if you have life, disability, and health insurance, you're still going to die. Hopefully it won't happen anytime soon, but if it does, you don't want a court deciding who's going to raise your kid. Hire a lawyer and name a guardian to raise your kids and manage your estate.

Crib? Check. Toys? Check. Don't Forget a Budget, A Will and Insurance. [Kiplinger]
(Photo: darabidduckie)

From the E-Commerce Times:

The site will compare old and new policies side by side and highlight changes. With about two dozen sites covered already, TOSBack.org plans to add more agreements, from credit card, bank, cable TV and other companies.

The site makes note of each instance when the TOS are updated, but you can also drill down to side-by-side comparisons of pre- and post-update versions to see what exactly has changed, as you can see in the example below. We think it's definitely the kind of site you should add to your RSS reader, for instant notification when something changes at one of the sites you probably use daily.

TOSBack.org [EFF via E-Commerce Times] (Thanks to DK!)

The U.S. Treasury Department has a site called TreasuryDirect where you can enter a person's SSN and see if there's any record of unredeemed bonds issued since 1974 under that name.

If you don't want to go that route, check out this page for deatils on when each series matured.

TreasuryDirect [U.S. Treasury Department]
(Photo: tao_zyhn)

[Former La-Z-Boy factory employee] Christensen and his former colleagues are facing a central irony of the U.S. market. Unable to afford American goods, they end up buying foreign — in effect, paying the very workers who took over their jobs.

In a 2004 Associated Press poll, 93 percent said they prefer to buy American if the prices are the same; 54 percent said they'd prefer to buy American even if it cost more. How much more was not specified.

ABC had the best results shopping for tools at Lowe's, finding most of the items on their list made in the U.S. - though often from foreign components.

Made in the U.S.A.; Sold ... Nowhere? [ABC News]

(Photo: fauxpress)

[SugarStacks.com via BoingBoing]

I work at Sears Holdings to develop and promote Craftsman tools. I am sorry to hear that we did not get it right the first time Brian visited his Sears store for a Warranty exchange on Craftsman tools. Unfortunately, we do not always get 100% execution from all our associates on our warranty exchanges, although we are always striving towards it.

In response to your column, I have worked internally to be explicit on the issues pointed out to make sure we do not disappoint again. Craftsman tools have a heritage of performance and trust. I want to assure you and your readers we stand behind the warranty – complete satisfaction – period. Though disappointed with Brian's experience, I'm grateful that I could learn of it and take steps to prevent a similar mistake in our stores for the next customer. An excerpt from the internal communication to our store associates is below.

Subject: Craftsman Hand Tool Lifetime Warranty

There have been several news articles and emails regarding customers being denied Craftsman Hand Tool exchanges for reasons that are not part of the warranty. We've had specific complaints of denied exchanges based on:

- Tools having rust on them

- A 3 Piece per day limit on exchanges

These are NOT valid reasons for denying our customers their right to exchange their Craftsman Tools under the Lifetime Warranty.

The warranty states: "If for any reason your Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it to any Sears store or other Craftsman outlet in the United States for free repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state."

Our Craftsman Hand Tool Lifetime Warranty is one of the most important competitive advantages we have in the market. It is crucial that we ensure all of our sales associates are trained to understand all the hand tools that are covered under this warranty.

While Brian was looking for warranty information online, he came across this email from a Sears rep in 2005 who states that "The guarantee is not limited to the original owner." This is not what Judy, the woman he spoke with last week, told him.

One of the many times I was on the phone with Sears, I was told the reasoning behind their policy on rust. They said that customers were buying Craftsman tools at flea markets and returning them for new ones, which isn't allowed. They told me that the warranty was not transferable (this was Judy).

So now we have conflicting information on two different topics: whether or not rust invalidates the warranty, and whether or not the warranty extends beyond the original owner. In both cases, the more consumer-friendly version is from the past, which may indicate that Sears has decided to retroactively change the terms of its "lifetime warranty" without announcing it officially.

On Saturday, Brian says he received an email from Sears that told him "to clean the rust off of the sockets, and then they will be acceptable under the warranty." He did that, and brought them back to Sears later that day, and it worked:

There are a lot of factors to consider: I was dressed nicer, I got a different associate named Bill, I had cleaned off some rust, they were busy, or it could have been a corporate memo defining "Lifetime," but regardless, today I successfully exchanged 5 of the 9 sockets for new replacements. Bill didn't even bat an eye, even considering there was still rust on the inside of the sockets. No mention of the three per day limit either. Could it be I just got the Sears version of Adolf the first time around? Either way, I still think I'll stick with another brand next time I need a tool.

RELATED
"Sears Can't Get Its Story Straight Regarding Rust And Craftsman Tools"
"Craftsman's 'Lifetime Warranty' Depends On Tool Associate's Mood"

First, here's what's cool about the service. It makes comparing the "real" value of a sale price easy. It has an uncluttered layout (fig. 1), and the ratings badges are simple and clear. The "Price Trending" data is a terrific way to quickly see whether or not the store is really offering a good deal. You can filter results by score, by date, and by store, to help make searching more useful.

Now here's what needs work.

The search interface is far too simplified for some of the categories. Check out your filtering options when you type "pc" in the product box (fig. 2). As you can see, there's no way to set up categories for operating systems, processor speeds, hard drives, or any other specs that matter to someone shopping for a PC. We're optimistic that this will be improved as the site grows, based on the detailed filtering they offer in some categories (LCD TVs, for example), but currently it casts too wide a net for some searches.

While you can filter searches by manufacturer if you set up a custom product category, you have to do it using the interface shown in fig. 2. In other words, you can't filter out manufacturers once the search results are displayed.

It looks like, as of now, they're only pulling data from 14 stores, but that list includes the big players such as Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Buy.com, Newegg, Geeks.com, and J&R. We want more stores. We want every store. We know this is unlikely to happen but it's what we want. And it would be nice to see shipping included in the total price, a la DealRam. (We also want more product categories, but Gazaro says it's already addressing that.)

Finally, Gazaro focuses solely on comparing the current price to past prices, so the deal it ranks highest may be for a subpar device that no savvy shopper would touch. In the Digital Picture Frame search, for example, the frame that ranks a 9.7 score (almost perfect) is an off-brand, low-rez frame with a mediocre rating from Amazon customers.

Update: Gazaro notes that "the deal score (e.g. 9.7) factors in a bunch [of] market-oriented indicators as well," not just pricing history.

Bottom line: You'll still have to do your own research on quality and usability, but Gazaro is a good way to provide more insight into the price.

Gazaro.com

Brian's first email to Sears (we reprinted it earlier today) triggered a meaningless auto-response, so he tried calling. Here's what happened, according to a second email he sent to Sears and copied to us:

I doubt this will do any good, considering the last detailed email I sent was replied to with what looks like an auto-reply message, but here goes. I called the number you provided, and spoke to a charming girl in India or Pakistan or somewhere, who did not understand my concern. I was then transfered to another girl from the same country who once again didn't understand. She just kept repeating that they would not replace a tool with rust on it. She even went on to tell me that I should just throw away the sockets in question. I have a problem throwing away anything that came with a lifetime warranty, so I'm pretty sure I won't be doing that. She finally gave me a number to a different customer service line (800-549-4505) and told me to try them. I called and spoke to Judy who was very friendly and knowledgeable. She reiterated that Craftsman excludes all tools that have rust on them. Alright, fine. I give up. What about my Craftsman tool box which leaked causing my tools to rust? She stated that it wouldn't be covered under the lifetime warranty either. It appears Craftsman just won't budge on this issue.

I averaged out my tool purchases and came to the conclusion that I have spent about about $300 on Sears tools, per year, since I was 15. That means that thus far I have spent $3,000 on Craftsman products int he last 10 years. If you figure that I will live until I'm 80, that would mean future purchases of approximately $16,500. A new car in other words. Now with the economy the way it is, customer loyalty is very important to companies, but by treating your loyal customers this way, you won't make it through the next 5 years. I'm just one voice and I know that the decision makers and CEO of Sears will probably never hear my story, but I have to try. I was a customer who was buying Craftsman partly because of tradition, and partly because of a lifetime warranty. Little did I know that "unlimited lifetime warranty" had exceptions. It is sad that I am now one of the exceptions. This process has left me with a feeling of alienation by a company and brand I trusted. By replacing 9 sockets that would probably cost you $5 to make, you would have kept a lifetime customer. Now I'm afraid that the warranty on my lawnmower won't be good because it has grass clippings on it.

My next emails will be going to every other tool company that offers a lifetime warranty. Perhaps one of them will value their customers more.

Thank you for the last 10 years, and good luck surviving in this economy.

Now here's our problem: in March 2007, our own Ben Popken contacted Sears about this exact issue, and he received the following response:

Craftsman hand tools come with a life-time warranty against product defects. If a Craftsman hand tool ever fail due to a defect in the product, simply return the item to the nearest Sears store. Some exclusions does apply which would void or do not apply to the life-time warranty, which include but is not limited to:

• The item being altered in any way.
• Lost, stolen or damaged by an act of God (such as fire, flood, etc.)
• If the item is used for any other reason than its intended purpose, including neglect.
• Rust that does not prohibits the performance of the item (most rust is strictly cosmetic and does not justify being classified as broken)
• Precision hand tools that includes a mechanism (such as calipers, micrometers, most torque wrenches, etc).

Clearly, then, Sears means that you cannot simply trade in an otherwise functional tool with rust on it and receive a rust-free one. Rust is not grounds for replacement.

Again, just so we're all clear (please let some Sears C-level type be reading this): Brian, a lifelong Craftsman customer, tried to replace sockets that were no longer functional. The rust is a non issue. He is not trying to return sockets because they are rusty.

So when did you change your policy, Sears? We're having a hell of a time tracking down the official lifetime guarantee wording anywhere on the Craftsman or Sears site, but we'd love to get a look at the official language, and find out from Sears exactly when the policy changed for the worse.

What's sad (for Sears/Craftsman) is that once again an overzealous employee has ruined the brand experience for a good customer—someone who actually connects Craftsman to his family history. Check out the letter he sent to Sears after being turned away:

Hello. My name is Brian and I have been an avid proponent of Craftsman tools since my teenage years. My grandfather was a mill worker who used only Craftsman. My father was an electrical engineer who swore by Craftsman. I am an IT professional who prefers Craftsman over any other tool brand. When my grandfather passed away, the one thing I wanted was his Craftsman tools. I have a vast collection of your tools, from sockets to Allen wrenches. Ratchets and wrenches. Screwdrivers and power tools. All said, I own more than 1000 individual Craftsman pieces. There are three reasons for this:

• It is a family tradition to use Craftsman tools. It was instilled into me at an early age.
• Craftsman (for the most part) is made in the USA.
• Craftsman has a lifetime warranty on their hand tools, or so I thought.

My dilemma begins a few months ago when I relocated to San Antonio Texas from Huntsville Alabama. When I moved, I took all of my Craftsman tools, placed them into my Craftsman tool box, and loaded them into my U-Haul. I drove 16 hours straight to San Antonio, and unloaded my U-Haul the day after arriving. During my trip, it rained and the U-Haul leaked. Fast forward to last week. I had a problem with my Jeep Wrangler and decided to take an afternoon and repair it. I found my Craftsman Tool box, pulled it out, opened it up, and found that my tools, mainly the sockets, had rusted. No problem. I simply brought out some rust remover and a wire brush, and set about cleaning my tools.

Through the last 10 years of using Craftsman, I have always had a special box for damaged Craftsman tools. If a socket slips or is rounded, I place it in the box. If a ratchet breaks, I place it in the box. So on and so forth. Now, I kept that box in the Craftsman tool box that I kept my other products in. So when my Craftsman tool box leaked, the damaged tools rusted right along with all the others.

Today I was organizing my tools in preparation for a new project on the Jeep, and ran across my box of damaged Craftsman products. I decided that today was the day I would take them to my closest Sears store and get them replaced. I searched Google and found the closest store, and then also searched to find a copy of the warranty. I couldn't find a copy of the warranty, but I ran across an article on Consumerist.com about rust and Craftsman tools. I am an avid reader of The Consumerist, and put a lot of credence into what they say. They advised that rust was considered a cosmetic defect, and therefore rust was not grounds to have a tool replaced. Fair enough, as long as the tool works, who cares what it looks like. With that in mind, I went through the entire batch of damaged tools, and pulled out the ones I felt didn't meet this criteria. I was left with about 9 12pt sockets that were rounded, a screwdriver with a broken tip, and a pair of vice grips that wouldn't stay gripped. I placed those items into a bag and drove to Sears.

When I approached the counter, I explained to the girl that I had some Craftsman products I needed replaced. She took a look and paged a Tool Associate to the counter. She went and got my replacement screwdriver and we waited for the Tool Associate to show up. When he did, he took a look at my damaged tools and told me that they did not replace sockets because of rust. [This is true. -Ed.] I explained to him that this was fine, as that there were mechanical defects with the sockets. They were rounded and therefore were not usable. He then proceeded to tell me that they could only replace 3 tools per day per customer. That seemed a little odd to me, but once again, I understood. Next he told me that he wouldn't replace the sockets because it was "obvious" that I "didn't take care of them". I felt that came off as borderline offensive. I explained to him that the sockets were in a Craftsman tool box that leaked. He again reiterated that he couldn't replace the sockets because of rust. Tired of arguing, I said that was fine and asked if I could just get the screwdriver and vice grips replaced. He said yes and went and got the vice grips, rang me out, and sent me on my way.

When I left the store, I noticed that above the entrance, in large letters, was written "Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Back!" I had myself a snickering laugh and headed home to write this email. I am writing you to ask what I should do? Does my toolbox qualify for replacement under the lifetime warranty because it leaks? What should I do with the 9 sockets which are rounded and of no use to me?

I am a reasonable man. I've worked in retail and I understand the reasons you have your "Rust" policy. But I find it a bit misleading to offer a "Full Unlimited Warranty" or to say "If any Craftsman Hand Tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it to any Sears store," if doing just what your package says, only results in a denial and an insult. Is there anyway you can help me with my dilemma? Or if not, can you recommend a company for me to buy my tools from in the future?

We like Brian's approach: if Sears doesn't want to treat its customers like, you know, customers, then just tell us where to shop and we'll go there instead. That way everyone is happy, especially the Gollum-like Tool Associate ("Mine! MINE!") and his horde of Craftsman products.

Update: Brian was able to speak to three CSRs at Sears and has been told something quite different than what Sears told us regarding Craftsman warranties.

(Photo: Diego Cupolo)

Calculate Your Financial Comeback [NYT]

M-Lab [Google]