Goodbye Forever Sears!

[softailrider]

Like most others, I'm not really going to miss Sears too much. I don't think I've been in one of their stores for about a decade.

[13606Cedargrove]

I worked with a woman back in the early 90's whose husband made an excellent living selling furniture at Sears on commission. Then the commission program was abruptly stopped. Her husband was given the choice: hourly wage or out the door. He chose to stay to preserve his benefits and retirement, but the move caused that family hardship. I had little taste for Sears after that. My Mother retired from JL Hudson with a good pension and a good employment experience. I knew this was wrong.

Another issue with Sears was their credit card. Consumers who found errors or erroneous reporting to credit agencies could not get corrections in a reasonable amount of time, if at all. Their reputation for this was so extremely bad to the point that it was common advice to avoid the Sears credit card altogether to preserve one's credit rating.

[jcole]

And then they invented the Discover Card

I worked with a woman back in the early 90's whose husband made an excellent living selling furniture at Sears on commission. Then the commission program was abruptly stopped. Her husband was given the choice: hourly wage or out the door. He chose to stay to preserve his benefits and retirement, but the move caused that family hardship. I had little taste for Sears after that. My Mother retired from JL Hudson with a good pension and a good employment experience. I knew this was wrong.

Another issue with Sears was their credit card. Consumers who found errors or erroneous reporting to credit agencies could not get corrections in a reasonable amount of time, if at all. Their reputation for this was so extremely bad to the point that it was common advice to avoid the Sears credit card altogether to preserve one's credit rating.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Like most others, I'm not really going to miss Sears too much. I don't think I've been in one of their stores for about a decade.

The only thing I ever bought from them were they're Craftsman Tools. They were considered the best at one time. Now I believe ACE Hardware took over ownership and sells them.

[Richard]

The only thing I ever bought from them were they're Craftsman Tools. They were considered the best at one time. Now I believe ACE Hardware took over ownership and sells them.

I still use 50 year old craftsman tools.

For that matter my kitchen appliances,tub and toilet are all 60 years or older,never have to replace them because you can fix them.

But the newer craftsman are nothing like the older ones,but things in general were made to last back then,nobody had much money so it was better to buy quality once instead of constantly replacing cheap junk which is more expensive long term.

My parents bought a big RCA console model color tv when I was born in 1960 they used that thing up until 1989,they changed the picture tube one time when it broke while moving.

Now you see people changing out their TV just because,they say it is cheap enough to just throw away and buy another,not so when you are doing that every year.4 years that is $1200 + just in TVs.

NAPA also sells craftsman but not with the lifetime exchanges,I think Lowe’s does exchange them as they sell them also.

You mentioned ACE Hardware- I think they are one of the very few places left that put customers at the top,every time I go in there they ask if I need help and will walk me to what I need.

Outside of a couple of glass shops that get pissed off when asked, ACE is the only one left that cuts window glass to size,and that’s in a city of over 3 million.

Not to many that operate old school like that left.

Stanley Black and Decker bought craftsman out,they also own DeWalt,Porter Cable,Bostich,Lenox,Mac Tools,Irwin,Stanley,Black and Decker well heck here are 11 pages of companies they own.

https://www.stanleyblackanddecker.co...ack_decker.pdf

Here is a chart that lists who owns what brands now.

Companies like porter cable had also been around over 100 years,started out as porter wire and cable,making wire rope.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/news/...ns-them/43632/

[Honky Tonk]

Tale Of Two Breaker Bars

My Dad and his cronies always bought Sears tools back in the day. As I got older, I followed suite. I was working on my old hooptie and needed to get a big bolt off of a pulley. I put the correct Sears socket on the breaker bar, and the end of the breaker bar, broke off. A friend lent me his Husky breaker bar and I broke that one as well. Wanting to make things right, I first took my breaker bar to Sears. The woman looked at it, wrote up a slip for it, walked me over to the showcase, and handed me a new breaker bar. I then went to Home Depot. After talking to the tool sales person, I then talked to the tool manager, and finally the store manager. After that, I had to fill out paperwork, swear under oath I didn't neglect or molest the Husky breaker bar, and finally, reluctantly, I was given a replacement breaker bar. I still own a two piece roll-around tool cabinet. The bottom part is an old Sears six drawer chest, the top is a Husky. The sears still works perfectly. Drawers are smooth, open and close easily. The Husky, after a couple of years, is now sloppy, drawers stick, hang cock-eyed, and have to be jimmied open and shut. I guess it's true, they don't make them like they used to.

[Pat001]

Sears used to be a place where people could earn a decent living and retire with a defined-benefit pension. You didn't need a four year college degree, either.

Today when I think of Sears, I think of Sears Craftsman tools and Johnny Miller polyester leisure suits.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Sears used to be a place where people could earn a decent living and retire with a defined-benefit pension. You didn't need a four year college degree, either.

Today when I think of Sears, I think of Sears Craftsman tools and Johnny Miller polyester leisure suits.

So very true. Now some people who don't have a college degree have to cobble together 2-3 jobs to make ends meet, and it's still not enough. Damn shame. I remember those leisure suits too, LOL.

[Richard]

I think the biggest thing is,is old folks know the difference and lived in a time where quality mattered,but with the younger generation cheap crap is all they know and understand and it is just normal to buy something,use it until it breaks and throw it away and fill up the landfills.

Cheap crap is what is driving this country into the gutter and we still support it.

Interesting enough with the inflation driven prices of today,if those prices became the normal it would actually be cost effective to manufacture those items in this country so people could make a decent living.

But as it stands we are now paying prices for cheap crap that we should be paying for quality.

I remember when K Mart was the place for cheap crap,made in Japan junk,Target was the economical off shoot of Dayton’s but even at that one could make a decent living working at Kmart.

Look at harbor freight tools,even if one uses the stance of use it one time then throw it away,but they are so cheaply made you cannot even use them one time anymore,but yet people still flock there.

[Scottathew]

with the younger generation cheap crap is all they know and understand and it is just normal to buy something,use it until it breaks and throw it away and fill up the landfills.

I don't buy the whole "blame the younger generation" argument. American consumers have been craving cheap Chinese goods since technology and shipping innovations opened up our shelves to their labor market. This transcends age groups.

[Onthe405]

Whenever a thread like this comes up, I browse [what's left of] the Sears/KMart websites and get reminded of how little they have to offer any more.

When you attempt to locate a product on their websites, you are redirected to another online subcontract retailer. For a couple years now, the few stores remaining have been slow-motion liquidation outlets, consequently they have no handle on exactly what actual Sears/Kmart inventory is available and where it is.

[Onthe405]

This is another sad blow for Westland Mall. They lost Macy's a few year ago.

Having visited the Westland Macy's shortly before it closed, it was an incredibly depressing place. It was obvious neither Dayton-Hudson, Target, nor Macy's had invested one red cent in the place. The 1970s finally called and wanted their store back.

[Richard]

I don't buy the whole "blame the younger generation" argument. American consumers have been craving cheap Chinese goods since technology and shipping innovations opened up our shelves to their labor market. This transcends age groups.

It was not a situation of blaming the younger generation,I simply wrote that if they were only raised in cheap crap it will be the only thing they know because of their age they will not have experienced the transition from quality to cheap crap being the norm,but they do suffer the consequences by having to work two jobs in order to pay the bills.

In the 70s it was Japan dominating the cheap crap market,now it is China,but even the cheap crap that came out of Japan was not that bad when compared to what we have now.

When it comes to imported stuff in relation to automotive,Taiwan actually makes some pretty good stuff,if I cannot find American made that is my next choice.

[Scottathew]

It was not a situation of blaming the younger generation,I simply wrote that if they were only raised in cheap crap it will be the only thing they know because of their age they will not have experienced the transition from quality to cheap crap being the norm,but they do suffer the consequences by having to work two jobs in order to pay the bills.

That makes sense, thanks for explaining.

[old guy]

I’ll always fondly remember Sears as the first place I was allowed as a child to stand on a wooden clad X Ray machine to view my feet when getting a new pair of shoes.
What, me worry?

[Richard]

^ I wonder if they used the same technology that was in the X-ray glasses that you could order in the comic books?

I was always torn between ordering those or the submarine but never ordered neither.

[Pat001]

I’ll always fondly remember Sears as the first place I was allowed as a child to stand on a wooden clad X Ray machine to view my feet when getting a new pair of shoes.
What, me worry?

Funny how stores used to make buying a pair of shoes seem like a complicated process that required the expertise of a trained shoe sales person and an x-ray machine.

[Honky Tonk]

^ I wonder if they used the same technology that was in the X-ray glasses that you could order in the comic books?

I was always torn between ordering those or the submarine but never ordered neither.

I had a submarine that came free in a box of cereal. It had a tiny compartment where you put some of Mom's baking soda, then filled the bathroom sink with water and dropped it in. As the soda bubbled, the submarine rose. When the bubble popped out of the compartment, the submarine dove. Fascinating stuff for a young geek. Great ads by the way!

[Meddle]

Those shoe gizmos worked out well ....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-f...ealth_concerns