I was curious about this a while back, so I did an internet search and found this
site . I cannot speak to the validity, but it is interesting reading.
I am a fan of Craftsman tools, but I have had rachets go bad. I bought one of the "boxed" sets of Craftsman tools around December of 1992, and I've had to have both the 3/8" and 1/4" ratchets replaced because they would sometimes not "catch" as you were trying to loosen bolts. However, the ones that I got as replacements seem to have better internal mechanisms in them. I kinda agree with the folks who say "you get what you pay for". Most of the "boxed" sets like I have are the cheaper of the Craftsman line and are not as good as the higher dollar ones, but they work fine for the general mechanic type work that I do. I have been extremely impressed with the Craftsman reversible ratcheting wrenches I have. I've put some serious strain on them with a cheater pipe and have yet to mess one up. Of course, they weren't cheap either.
Anyway, that's my .02.
Mike