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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:32:56 AM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Local Sears has/had been stuck in the mid 1990s. Stale inventory, stale/dated looking stores etc. Once Craftsman went downhill, I had no reason to set foot in one. What do they have left of value? A bunch of overvalued real estate in dying malls? |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:32:58 AM EDT
[#2]
When Sears went down here their liquidation sale was a total joke.
Prices were marked up 20% and then discounted 10%. The sale ended early as soon as the word got out, customers stayed away. The didn't sell much, if anything at all. Fuck 'em. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:34:13 AM EDT
[#3]
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Went to the SEARS Tower this summer. A sweet chunk of real estate. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:34:27 AM EDT
[#4]
Meh.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:39:24 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Up until the 2000s they were fine As a kid, they were the place to go. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Bye Sears. You sucked. As a kid, they were the place to go. Sad to see them go, soon you will have your choice of Amazon or Walmart 
All the Amazon fanboys should look around, I rarely find anything on Amazon that is not available elsewhere for less. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:39:30 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I went to one and was less than impressed. Half were returns and clearly used. 1/3 of those looked like they were dropped off a cliff. They were barely discounted over a new one. . . Then the manager/employees could care less if people were there. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted: Which is exactly why my local Sears Appliance franchise has and will continue to survive the failure of Sears corporate (apparently their franchise lets them continue on even if big Sears fails). They have a good selection of high quality appliances and lawn equipment at decent prices, available to load in your truck immediately. I've bought multiple fridges, freezers, dishwashers, etc... from them. Half were returns and clearly used. 1/3 of those looked like they were dropped off a cliff. They were barely discounted over a new one. . . Then the manager/employees could care less if people were there. This is a way older Sears Appliance franchise. New stuff only, mainly large appliances and lawn equipment, with some tools. Independently (locally) owned, Sears branded. Just did some digging - Sears Hometown & Outlets is a totally separate entity from Sears corporate, spun off from the main corporation. "“We currently operate stores under various brand names including Sears Hometown, Sears Appliance & Hardware, Sears Home Appliance Showroom, Sears Outlet and Buddy’s Home Furnishings franchise." The local one I like and was referring to is a Sears Appliance & Hardware franchise. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:44:24 AM EDT
[#7]
Wow, lots of hate here for Sears.
Why did Craftsman go downhill? Because we wouldn’t pay the extra $2 for a better product. Going to Harbor Freight saved you a few bucks but in the long run that piece of shit tool will have to be replaced two or three times. So quit your bitchin - you did this... |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:45:15 AM EDT
[#8]
Does anyone else think maybe this Lampert guy ran Sears into the ground just so he could pick it up for pennies on the dollar?
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:48:02 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Sears' market base, the middle class has been shrinking. There has been no economic recovery since 2007/8 but perception management is great! So many people including members here mistake the stock market with the strength of the economy. Back to the thread topic. I am sad to see Sears go away but I am sure Eddie Lampert is getting paid no matter what happens to Sears. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:51:10 AM EDT
[#10]
Screw Lampert. Sears was killed by the half-assed bean counters that had never worked retail anywhere .
No vision for the future . Unable to deal with reality . Same for JCP and all the other retail stores going belly-up . Lampert has had a few success stories but basically no real ideas of how to fix companies he broke. gd |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:51:59 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The Sears lingerie section was my go to for mastubatory stimulation in my misspent youth. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 11:52:06 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bye Sears. You sucked. They had a great model but failed to see the rise of online shopping and the effect on brick and mortar stores. If they had a competent management team in 1996-2000 to incorporate online commerce into their business model they could be king right now. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:00:34 PM EDT
[#13]
Sears Canada closed a year or two ago... There was lots of sentimental whaaaa whaaaa, but... Zero fucks given.
The large "department store" is a relic. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:02:16 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Step one - Sell guns again. Step two - Sell tools that don't suck. When harbor freight sells better quality tools at half the price your shit is fucked. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:09:09 PM EDT
[#15]
Sears was doing OK until they sold to K-Mart back in 2004.
Ever wonder why for the past 10+ years, that the inside of a Sears reminded you of a K-Mart? Jay |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:11:28 PM EDT
[#16]
Harbor Freight's current tool offerings are solid for what they are. Even the best of the USA craftsman tools, were rough, cheap junk - there was not a huge drop off of them going to China. Tools are not what made or broke Sears.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:19:21 PM EDT
[#17]
I have memories of being in Sears as a kid with my father getting popcorn and an ICEE while looking around at the tools. Even in my early twenties, I have a memory of my father and I standing next to a drill press on sale eyeing it and then we looked at each other and said "What do we need this for again?"
Sad to see them go like Montgomery Wards, Foleys, etc. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:25:25 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Harbor Freight's current tool offerings are solid for what they are. Even the best of the USA craftsman tools, were rough, cheap junk - there was not a huge drop off of them going to China. Tools are not what made or broke Sears. I Have my Dad's old Craftsman tools he bought, I am still using them 65+ years later. They have been used hard, been through a garage fire, and while smaller ratchets have broke [many years ago] the replacements were still quality and the 1/2 drive stuff soldiers on. The smaller ratchets that broke were abused WAY past what they should have, when you're a kid you don't think ''gee, I have a 2 foot piece of pipe on the end of this thing, maybe I should get out the 1/2 breaker bar.'' The sockets are all still in good shape, I use an impact socket set for big stuff now, probably the only reason I didn't when I was a kid was that we didn't have an impact gun.  I've grabbed HF stuff occasionally, I can break that stuff with ease in a month or two. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:31:07 PM EDT
[#19]
It makes me sad , Sears was the place as a kid you see all Christmas toys and train sets on display .
You could walk around with popcorn and order stuff to be picked up later . We bought tools , shoes ,lawnmowers and other clothes . I got my First Communion Suit there .
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:31:35 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Wow, lots of hate here for Sears. Why did Craftsman go downhill? Because we wouldn’t pay the extra $2 for a better product. Going to Harbor Freight saved you a few bucks but in the long run that piece of shit tool will have to be replaced two or three times. So quit your bitchin - you did this... Capitalism always works. Every single time. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:31:53 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Went to the SEARS Tower this summer. A sweet chunk of real estate.  Now called the "Willis" tower. 
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:32:31 PM EDT
[#22]
And for everyone say, Fuck ‘em, you don’t get it. All the large retailers are buying everything from China.
That sucks on so many levels. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:33:50 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have memories of being in Sears as a kid with my father getting popcorn and an ICEE while looking around at the tools. Even in my early twenties, I have a memory of my father and I standing next to a drill press on sale eyeing it and then we looked at each other and said "What do we need this for again?"
Sad to see them go like Montgomery Wards, Foleys, etc. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:40:03 PM EDT
[#24]
I'm not sure there's a single Sears left in this state.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:42:20 PM EDT
[#25]
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:42:46 PM EDT
[#26]
good. i get tired of people telling me about sears im like their going out of business who cares what their warranty is lol
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:45:50 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote History |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:50:28 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
And for everyone say, Fuck ‘em, you don’t get it. All the large retailers are buying everything from China. That sucks on so many levels. Like one of the biggest milestones in human development in a long time... the internet. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:56:07 PM EDT
[#29]
No more jerking off to the lingerie and VHS tape deck's from the Sears catalog. I expelled so many gallons of my fap juice to the back of the catalog that included the CB radios.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:57:54 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No more jerking off to the lingerie and VHS tape deck's from the Sears catalog. I expelled so many gallons of my fap juice to the back of the catalog that included the CB radios. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 12:59:05 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You can find the old catalogs on the net Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
No more jerking off to the lingerie and VHS tape deck's from the Sears catalog. I expelled so many gallons of my fap juice to the back of the catalog that included the CB radios. 
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:00:28 PM EDT
[#32]
I'll add another reason Sears failed. Sears used to have their own store card and they owned the bank that issued the card. You could only use a Sears card or a Discover card at Sears stores. The Sears card was the most profitable part of the business (because of 21% interest rates and no merchant fees paid to third parties). Sears sold off the bank that issued the card because "The Stock Market undervalued the asset." I think that happened about 15-20 years ago.
Sears cards were like the gold standard of good credit. You had to have good credit to get one. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:01:54 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All the Amazon fanboys should look around, I rarely find anything on Amazon that is not available elsewhere for less. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:02:55 PM EDT
[#34]
Department stores in general harken back to an earlier time in America, before there was an Amazon or a Walmart or Wayfair, or even a Home Depot.
Sears made the mistake of not keeping up with the changing shopping habits of Americans, but to be fair, there wasn't much it could have done to survive. I think we'll see the same thing happening to Macy's, Dillard's, Nordstrom's and others in the next few years. People just don't shop at department stores like they did years ago. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:03:34 PM EDT
[#35]
Is it against the CoC to post pictures of inside Sears corporate or the stores? I see all these post, yet wonder how many have some pictures.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:06:22 PM EDT
[#36]
I find their demise to be quite sad. They were a pioneer in 'online sales' with their famous catalog that enabled people everywhere to have access to products not available where they lived. It is quite unfortunate that they were unable or unwilling to adapt to changes in the retail and online sales market. I grew up perusing the Sears catalog, from toys to tools and, of course, the women's lingerie section.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:08:34 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This, quality tools, guns, other good stuff. Sad to see them go, soon you will have your choice of Amazon or Walmart
All the Amazon fanboys should look around, I rarely find anything on Amazon that is not available elsewhere for less. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:08:56 PM EDT
[#38]
I went into the store on the 23rd to swap out a bad 1/2" ratchet, an old one with the flat head screws holding the retainer plate on, and it was DEAD.
I also was taking back an ancient US made ratchet for replacement, that admittedly failed with a 3' cheater on it, and I was handed a cheap new-style chingchong one, that had a "Refurbished" tag stuck on it. I didn't see a dozen people in there the whole time, including the help at the tools registers, nor even up the aisle towards the front of the store, the whole time I was in there. I did buy a red Craftsman 9" torpedo level for $4.99, because the normal black one was $12, and got 15% off, too. I found it morbidly interesting that as ALWAYS was the case before, I was not asked for my discount ID info. There were only young people at the counter, guessing the older people have already ran. One of my earliest memories was going to see Santa Claus there when I was like 3. Sad. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:17:31 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Department stores in general harken back to an earlier time in America, before there was an Amazon or a Walmart or Wayfair, or even a Home Depot. Sears made the mistake of not keeping up with the changing shopping habits of Americans, but to be fair, there wasn't much it could have done to survive. I think we'll see the same thing happening to Macy's, Dillard's, Nordstrom's and others in the next few years. People just don't shop at department stores like they did years ago. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:18:39 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think that has had nothing to do with Sears other than the name for decades. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:26:21 PM EDT
[#41]
One of my co-workers was a hardlines manager at Sears several years ago.
He is surprised they made it this long. Montgomery Ward, JM Fields, Woolworth and Short Circuit City have a freshly dug grave next to them in the great retailer boneyard. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:36:00 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Wow, lots of hate here for Sears. Why did Craftsman go downhill? Because we wouldn’t pay the extra $2 for a better product. Going to Harbor Freight saved you a few bucks but in the long run that piece of shit tool will have to be replaced two or three times. So quit your bitchin - you did this... |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:42:18 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Department stores in general harken back to an earlier time in America, before there was an Amazon or a Walmart or Wayfair, or even a Home Depot. Sears made the mistake of not keeping up with the changing shopping habits of Americans, but to be fair, there wasn't much it could have done to survive. I think we'll see the same thing happening to Macy's, Dillard's, Nordstrom's and others in the next few years. People just don't shop at department stores like they did years ago. I'm no business guru, but management values, in hindsight, seemed to be: 1) We must continue to do business as we've done it the past 50 years. We have too much to lose by trying audacious and risky new ideas. (Never mind the fact that they had plenty of capital to do so) After all, they may become a threat to our own core business. (Never mind that someone else will eventually try it) 2) Instead of recognizing our unique quality brands and improving quality and investing in them, let's prostitute them by making them more cheaply, charging the same, and pocketing the difference. After all, Joe Sixpack and Suzie Cupcake won't know the difference. (Never mind that competitors can sell cheap shit too) 3) Make a bunch of ill-advised, high visibility divestitures to please Wall Street, leaving yourself only the the low margin retail business threatened on the low end by Wal-Mart and on the high end by specialty retailers. 4) Make a bunch of high visibility brand acquisitions to please Wall Street, (Land's End, etc.) only to squander their customer goodwill by doing nothing with them, as the brands died an ignoble death on the dusty shelves of empty stores. 5) Squeeze our service businesses (auto, appliance repair) to drive costs down and maximize profitability, which results in high customer dissatisfaction. 6) Milk our customers for personal data for sale and marketing, and take the opportunity at the checkout counter to try to sell them 8 more Sears services. This makes it so unbelievably annoying to shop there that everyone soon stops bothering. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:42:33 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I went into the store on the 23rd to swap out a bad 1/2" ratchet, an old one with the flat head screws holding the retainer plate on, and it was DEAD. I also was taking back an ancient US made ratchet for replacement, that admittedly failed with a 3' cheater on it, and I was handed a cheap new-style chingchong one, that had a "Refurbished" tag stuck on it. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:55:50 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
No more jerking off to the lingerie and VHS tape deck's from the Sears catalog. I expelled so many gallons of my fap juice to the back of the catalog that included the CB radios. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 1:58:45 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Makes you wonder what Amazon's fall will look like... Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Amazon is the 21st century Sears |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 2:00:25 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Same. I don't understand the appeal of overpaying for items to be delivered a day or three later, when I can buy the same (or better) for less money and have it in-hand right now. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted: This, quality tools, guns, other good stuff. Sad to see them go, soon you will have your choice of Amazon or Walmart
All the Amazon fanboys should look around, I rarely find anything on Amazon that is not available elsewhere for less. If you live in an urban area where lots of specialty retailers are available then maybe going to a brick and mortar makes sense for you. I hate shopping in general so I’ll just keep clicking online. |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 2:04:41 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Star Trek style replicators in every house. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Amazon is the 21st century Sears |
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Posted: 12/28/2018 2:07:53 PM EDT
[#49]
I am 28 and have never been inside of a Sears. I kind of want to find one just to go check it out.
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Posted: 12/28/2018 2:11:45 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Wow, lots of hate here for Sears. Why did Craftsman go downhill? Because we wouldn’t pay the extra $2 for a better product. Going to Harbor Freight saved you a few bucks but in the long run that piece of shit tool will have to be replaced two or three times. So quit your bitchin - you did this... When they moved production to China, it eliminated every reason to buy Craftsman. |
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