And so it begins, the end of Sears

mhardy6647

joecoulson wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Todays no different Doc. You pick out your stuff and wait for it to be delivered.....by Amazon.

So true
I do miss showrooms though. Nothing in the middle anymore. Either stupid high end where you almost need a ticket to enter the showroom (electronics) or big box which is the worst way to showcase that type of gear.

The new Amazon stores are probably (OK, possibly ) the vanguard of the 21st century version of the showroom. There are also these pop-up stores that are showrooms with no "cash and carry" products -- just augmented internet purchasing. This may become a thing... we'll see.

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/10/04/wayfair-pop-up-shop-natick-mall-store/

heiney9

Someone will pick up the rights to sell Crafstman repair parts. It's too lucrative for it to just fall by the wayside. I bought most of my outdoor products from Sears as well as indoor appliances. At the time, with the discounts and incentives, they had the best prices on Kenmore/Craftsman products. This was before they sold off the brand.

My lawn mower is a Craftsman w/Honda engine. It was a 25% less of the cost of the full Honda mower and it's been going strong for 6 years.

I will be sorry to see them go. But I will say, I bought all my recent stuff on-line and either had it delivered or I went and picked it up. Prices, incentives, etc are better on-line than in the showroom.

H9

Mikey081057

Lowes already has Craftsman tools

heiney9

One thing I will miss, is the Sears at our Mall has a small engine repair shop. Lowes, Home Depot, etc all send their stuff out for repair. The Sears here actually gets the parts and repairs on site.

Sure, there are independent's in town that do small engine repair.

H9

Mikey081057

If you know a manufacturer's part number for virtually any lawn/garden tool or appliance you can enter it in the search on Amazon and if it's available just 1 click and it's on it's way.

Find , copy , paste, click, done.

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Find , copy , paste, click, done.

Probably also how you'll choose a mate in the near future.

Mikey081057

That will also require an UNDO button!

[Deleted User]

Sears was once known for having a good mix of quality merchandise. They basically screwed that up in the early 90's by switching to extremely cheap, low quality stuff, but with a lifetime warranty. A warranty doesn't ensure you're getting a good deal so I and many others stayed away from Sears. Other outlets like Lowes and Home Depot started eating their lunch with better products. Sears, unfortunately, caught on too late.

The seeds of Sears demise were planted decades ago.

Viking64

We had a Sears and a Service Merchandise in the same shopping center. Now there's a T.J. Maxx where Service Merchandise was, a grocery store where Sears was, and a Buffalo Wilds Wings where the Sears Automotive Center was.

Coincidentally, Tony, the salesman at Creative Sound that sold me my 2.3TLs in 1992, left and got a job at that same Sears Automotive Center a few years later.

I got my first job 2 weeks after I turned 16 and I bought a set of Craftsman tools with my first paycheck. I think it was $19.99 and it had 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" ratchets and sockets, extensions, universals, combination wrenches, allen wrenches, ignition wrenches (remember those?), and quite a few other bits and pieces. I bought a screwdriver set to go with it within a month or so. Metric? That was something someone mentioned in school a few times.

Viking64

tonyb wrote: »

Probably also how you'll choose a mate in the near future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdSqLfuRN18

Mikey081057

Deleted

motorhead43026

deleted

tonyb

Man Mikey, dump some booze in that coffee or somethin'.

pitdogg2

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Lowes already has Craftsman tools

As well as Farm & Fleet and many many more stores. No more lifetime guarantee on them from what i hear.

mhardy6647

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Lowes already has Craftsman tools

https://www.businessinsider.com/sears-sells-craftsman-brand-for-900-million-2017-1

Sears sold the brand to Stanley Black & Decker in early 2017.

afterburnt

My Sears had a candy counter. I just remebered that. My mom used to buy candy everytime we went there. She would get some nasty carp that no one would eat but her. All this time I thought that I hated Sears...

sucks2beme

I remember the Montgomery Ward Xmas book real well.
We didn't get the Sears one until I was older. All the stuff
you'd never see in person out in the boonies.
When I started working and had a bit of money, the 1st thing I did was buy
one of those Craftsman tool sets. I was sick of busted knuckles from cheap
tools breaking. The old man had nothing but the cheap stuff.
I still have those tools today. I've added to it from Craftsman,
Snap-on, and MAC, but the bulk of it is still Craftsman.
The only stuff I ever broke was stuff I was abusing. Broken screwdriver tips,
1/4 rachets, and a couple 1/4 sockets with a mini breaker bar and a pipe for
those tight places. I've lost more than I've broken by far.
There were a few pawn shops in Dallas with cheap socket bins.
I used replace lost ones and bought a few spares of popular sizes
for 25-50 cents apiece. Those places are few and far between now.
God, I hate Amazon. I go out of my way to order stuff direct from
other websites.

mdaudioguy

In the 80s, I worked at a local small business that sold power equipment and parts. The parts business was very popular, as it was the only place around that stocked a lot of items. We had cross reference charts on microfiche for most any brand you could think of, including Craftsman. Our stuff just had the OEM part number, instead of Sears.

verb

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

mlistens03

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

My dad bought his first tool set at Sears as well. I’m not sure if he still has it, I’d have to ask him.

Tony M

I still have my Craftsman socket set, toolbox and a multitude of mini sets of screwdrivers and other drill bit sets. Pliers and adjustable wrench sets too. Wet Vacs too. Saws from hand saw to saws-all. Angled drills and reg. corded ones too. table saw, ( I had a Craftsman band saw but sold it after I bought a great older beautiful Delta band saw ). I still have my old miter saw too. But I also have a Porter Cable and 12" Dewalt miter saws now also.

Craftsman levels and hammers too. They were made very well for years.

I love Craftsman tools! Can you tell?

mlistens03

mlistens03 wrote: »

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

My dad bought his first tool set at Sears as well. I’m not sure if he still has it, I’d have to ask him.

He does still have it, although he doesn’t know where it is. If he finds it, I’ll post pics.

verb

mlistens03 wrote: »

mlistens03 wrote: »

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

verb wrote: »

Very cool about how many of us young men at the time purchased a Craftsman tool set. As many of you do, I still have mine! Stock photo.

My dad bought his first tool set at Sears as well. I’m not sure if he still has it, I’d have to ask him.

He does still have it, although he doesn’t know where it is. If he finds it, I’ll post pics.

Cool! They'll be yours someday!

nooshinjohn

@rooftop59 ... I replied to your posts through the PM format, and was wondering when I can stop holding my breath waiting for your response.

aprazer402

Had an Ardan's store in early 70's, then came Service Merchandise. Wards closed long ago. Still have an open J.C. Penney's, Sears, Dillard's, Von Maur, K-Mart, Target, Shopko, Kohl's, Wal-Mart. I worked at a W.T. Grant Co. store in 1970, they paid you every Friday, in cash!

Viking64

aprazer402 wrote: »

Had an Ardan's store in early 70's, then came Service Merchandise. Wards closed long ago. Still have an open J.C. Penney's, Sears, Dillard's, Von Maur, K-Mart, Target, Shopko, Kohl's, Wal-Mart. I worked at a W.T. Grant Co. store in 1970, they paid you every Friday, in cash!

Shopko? Are you from Wisconsin? We used to go there when we spent Christmases around Neenah/Menasha.

We had a Grants that closed around 1975 and became a Service Merchandise. We had a Mammoth Mart that closed around the same time and became a K-Mart, which closed 3 or 4 years ago.

We had a Zayre that sat all by itself until 1978 when an indoor mall was built around it. Zayre eventually closed and was replaced by Ames, which was then replaced by a JCPenney. We had a Giant store that became an Ames and now it is Lowe's.

Our Sears was closed and moved to the same mall as Zayre and JCPenney. I just heard on the way to the grocery store that this Sears has once again avoided the chopping block and will stay open for now. (142 Sears/K-Mart closings were announced yesterday.)

aprazer402

Viking64 wrote: »

aprazer402 wrote: »

Had an Ardan's store in early 70's, then came Service Merchandise. Wards closed long ago. Still have an open J.C. Penney's, Sears, Dillard's, Von Maur, K-Mart, Target, Shopko, Kohl's, Wal-Mart. I worked at a W.T. Grant Co. store in 1970, they paid you every Friday, in cash!

Shopko? Are you from Wisconsin?

We've had Shopko's in Nebr. for maybe 25 years. One of two stores in Omaha closed this summer. Times were tough for them too. The closed store's final sale days when most items were 40% off, several people notice they changed the original prices upward, sometimes over 20%, then reduced them 40%. Not cool!

Viking64

aprazer402 wrote: »

We've had Shopko's in Nebr. for maybe 25 years. One of two stores in Omaha closed this summer. Times were tough for them too. The closed store's final sale days when most items were 40% off, several people notice they changed the original prices upward, sometimes over 20%, then reduced them 40%. Not cool!

There is a grocery store here that does that every week with their "buy one, get one free" items. Although it is hard to notice because everything is jacked-up to begin with.

tonyp063

My dad, rest his soul, was a carpenter/cabinetmaker.

I remember, back in the early 70's, him getting this saw. (pic from the web).
Mom fussed at the cost, but the things he made....man.

the boy scouts got new tables at camp.
Father got the church pews repaired as a craftsman would do it.

My high school players got a set of circular stairs for Mame to come down, that were so good they got scarffed by somebody after the play. Rat Bastiges

His grandkids got rocking horses that they will pass on to their childer.
Mom got a set of hand-made kitchen cabinets.

I still have a gathering table he made for me.

And that saw in my shop.

Tony M

I have that exact saw too.