Each guide covers one brand: how to read its part numbers, what the warranty actually means for a second owner, what wears out and what to inspect, which models get counterfeited, and where the real value is on the used market — with current eBay listings pulled in.
The tool-truck brand that holds its value better than almost anything else in a mechanic's box — which is exactly why the used market is so active, and why it attracts fakes.
Same truck model, same lifetime-warranty tradition, same pro build — but with a smaller fan base than Snap-on, which is exactly why used Mac often costs less for equivalent tools.
The third tool-truck brand, with a numbering system that's actually logical once you see it — and a used market where the tools trade closer to Mac prices than Snap-on prices.
Proto sells through industrial distributors, not tool trucks — so it never had a dealer network inflating prices, and the used market reflects that. Same forgings, same US plants, less money.
The brand with the complicated history and the uncomplicated verdict: pre-2010 US-made SK is truck-grade quality at hardware-store prices, if you know how to spot it.
The most-listed cordless brand on eBay, which means the best selection and the most fakes. The model number tells you almost everything — if you can read it.
Red tools hold their value better than any other cordless brand on eBay. That's good if you're selling and something to be aware of if you're buying: the discount for used is smaller than you'd expect.
Three battery platforms that look alike and don't interchange. Get that right and Makita is one of the most reliable used cordless buys there is.
The brand that's two brands. Professional blue Bosch is superb and trades well used; consumer green Bosch is a different product line entirely and shouldn't be priced like it.
The plumber's RIDGID and the Home Depot RIDGID are made by different companies. One has a warranty that follows the tool forever. The other has one that dies the moment it's resold.
Direct-sales brand with a fleet-rental model, which means the used market is full of ex-fleet tools — and, unfortunately, stolen ones. Check the serial before anything else.
Festool is the rare tool brand where "used" barely discounts the price, because the tools are made to be rebuilt rather than replaced. Know the generations and you'll know what you're paying for.
Lowe's house brand, made by whoever won the contract that year. Some of it is unremarkable. Some of it — the early US-made hand tools — is truck-grade steel at box-store prices.
Two brands wearing one name. The Sears-era, US-forged Craftsman is a genuine used-tool bargain. The current Stanley Black & Decker Craftsman is a competent budget line. Know which one the listing is.
The electrician's brand since 1857, still family-owned, still mostly forged in the US. Most of it is a great used buy. One category isn't, and it's the one that can hurt you.
Every Knipex plier is made in Wuppertal, Germany, and every part number is a complete description of the tool. That makes them easy to buy used — and easy to fake.
German tool company with a design-first streak — the ergonomic handles, the green-and-black, the lasertip. Screwdrivers that people actively search for used, which is unusual for screwdrivers.
The other German screwdriver brand. Where Wera is design-forward, Wiha is quietly precise — and its precision drivers are the ones electronics techs reach for.
The meter that electricians and techs trust with their lives, which is why it's the most-faked test instrument on eBay. A genuine used Fluke is a great buy. Verifying "genuine" is the whole job.
The air-tool brand that built the category. Used IR is a strong buy because air tools are rebuildable — vanes, bearings, hammer mechanisms — and IR parts are everywhere.