For God's sake, just put it out of its misery already...

[K Frame]

Sears is closing its last store in Illinois, where the company was founded and thrived for a century...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/16/sears-is-shutting-its-last-store-in-illinois-its-home-state.html


How may Sears are actually left, you might wonder?

As of yesterday, 25, and 7 of those will be closing soon.

https://www.howmanysearsstores.com/#:~:text=Current%20Sears%20Locations%20-%20Last%20Updated%3A%20Friday%2C%20May,%20%20909-646-8000%20%2024%20more%20rows%20

No Sears remain open in Virginia. All of the Sears that I shopped at when I lived in Pennsylvania have closed.

What a sad state of affairs.

[Ben]

There is (or was) a little Sears in Ontario,OR. It's been a month since the last time I recall seeing it there. I will need to look the next time I'm in the area. Pretty run down building and no bigger than your average small town Dollar Store.

I still remember as a kid, going to a three story (with escalators!) Sears with my parents and them letting me wander the toy, sports, and tool sections on my own. It was almost like going on a family outing, like the department store in A Christmas Story. What a difference 50 years makes.

[K Frame]

"What a difference 50 years makes."

Boy you're not kidding.

I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s (graduated high school in 1983), and Sears was the anchor store at the two major malls in the Harrisburg, PA, area. And they were HUGE stores. I think one of them was a 3 decker, as well, but the one I went to the most was a 2 decker, IIRC.

And christ, the malls themselves. It was impossible to move in them on a Friday or Saturday they were so mobbed.

[Ben]

And christ, the malls themselves. It was impossible to move in them on a Friday or Saturday they were so mobbed.

And from Black Friday through 24DEC it was practically like a giant sardine can. My parents would have to circle circle the parking lot forever, waiting for a spot to open up.

Progress and Amazon are progress and Amazon, and certainly buying most anything you can think of from home with next day delivery is super convenient, but there is something I miss about the well-stocked brick and mortar stores of old.

[Kingcreek]

I remember saving up money so I could build my own tool collection as a teenager in the 1970’s. I bought craftsman tools at Sears. My grandfather was a loyal Sears consumer.
They’ve been sinking for years. Quality went down and few things even made in USA. Nothing like the old Sears.

[French G.]

My favorite store in the 80s. Empty hole in the mall now.

[Ron]

And from Black Friday through 24DEC it was practically like a giant sardine can. My parents would have to circle circle the parking lot forever, waiting for a spot to open up.

Progress and Amazon are progress and Amazon, and certainly buying most anything you can think of from home with next day delivery is super convenient, but there is something I miss about the well-stocked brick and mortar stores of old.

I question whether it is really progress.

Our retail economy across the whole spectrum is now more "efficient" but has now become much more fragile. A shock someplace across the world is now felt locally.

We save dollars and get immediate satisfaction, globalists make billions while putting the whole economy at risk.

The USA doesn't make many of the essential goods that were considered essential for national security any longer and there is little redundancy to fall back on during disruptions.

We believed the globalists and sold out our country for cheap crap from China/overseas. 

I've repented of my support for libertarian free trade global markets and open borders, a little late as the horse left the barn already.

Turns out Pat Buchannan was right on those issues all along.

The Sears where I grew up had a counter where they sold nuts that were under heat lamps, man I loved the smell and buying warm cashews!   

[K Frame]

I remember saving up money so I could build my own tool collection as a teenager in the 1970’s. I bought craftsman tools at Sears. My grandfather was a loyal Sears consumer.
They’ve been sinking for years. Quality went down and few things even made in USA. Nothing like the old Sears.

Yes. Same here. I have a bunch of my Dad's, my Grandfather's and my Great Grandfather's tools, and many of them are Craftsman. Nothing says nostalgic fun like using your Great Grandfather's 1920s era Craftsman ratchet.

When I got out of college in 1987 I did the same thing... I started buying Craftsman tools and building my toolkit. It was almost a rite of passage.

[K Frame]

"And from Black Friday through 24DEC it was practically like a giant sardine can."

Last time I went to a mall (or shopping anywhere brick and mortar, really) on Black Friday was probably 1986. It was absolutely INSANE how many people were in that mall. Every store we went in had lines 10 and 12 or more people deep waiting to check out.

[RoadKingLarry]

Our first Christmas after we were married (1982) my wife bought me  good sized set of Craftsman tools. I've lost a few over the years (I'm pretty sure the kids helped with that, a lot) but I don't think I've broken any, might have worn out a screwdriver or two, still use them on at least a weekly basis.

[Unisaw]

I still remember as a kid, going to a three story (with escalators!) Sears with my parents and them letting me wander the toy, sports, and tool sections on my own. It was almost like going on a family outing, like the department store in A Christmas Story. What a difference 50 years makes.

My brother and I had the exact same experience growing up.  The whole family even dressed up a bit to go to Sears.  Those were the days when Sears sold Ted Williams-branded firearms. 

[K Frame]

Over the years I broke a couple of sockets and screwdrivers. It was great being able to walk into a Sears store and replace it with another one, no muss, no fuss, no crap.

Does Craftsman still have that policy now that they're owned by Black and Decker?

OK, they still do. I just pulled this off the Craftsman tools website.

"Full Lifetime Warranty
If the product fails to perform for any reason, we will replace it.

Hammers & Demolition Tools
Finishing Tools
Hex Key
Knives & Multi-tools
Nut Drivers
Pliers
Ratchet & Sockets
Screwdrivers
Wrenches & Wrench Sets

Note: Same warranty for all new CRAFTSMAN models (Model # starting with “CMHT”) and older models (Model # starting with “9”)

No proof of purchase required. Return damaged product to a stocking Retail Partner or contact Customer Care for details."



Now that I know that the tools carry the same warranty as the old Craftsman line sold by Sears I'm not so loath to purchase Craftsman hand tools anymore. I really haven't purchased much in the way of hand tools for a number of years, as I've got a LOT, and what I have been purchasing has generally been Kobalt from Lowes, but I may start buying Craftsman again.

[Ron]

Speaking of the Craftsman tools, the tool aisles at Sears had a distinctive smell also!

Funny how smells and memories are linked.

The Craftsman tool aisles were on the bottom floor, had to take the escalator down to get there. The nuts were at the bottom of the escalator on the way to the tools. Good times as a kid.

[Ben]

I started buying Craftsman tools and building my toolkit. It was almost a rite of passage.

For all of us, I think. I got my first car at 17, and my dad bought me a Craftsman tool kit that Christmas. I'd had Craftsman and other tools before that, but this was my first "real" tool kit - one of their however many hundred piece kits in a nice toolbox. 

That was a real father to son gift, and I was infuriated when some years later the kit was stolen from me when I was working in the oil patch.

[Ben]

The USA doesn't make many of the essential goods that were considered essential for national security any longer and there is little redundancy to fall back on during disruptions.

This is the worst of it, IMO. Especially now in the age of covid, people might see that we would be way better off paying 15-20% more for many goods and services, but have the manufacture and distribution of those goods on our own soil. Especially critical goods like pharmaceuticals and computer chips.

[Hawkmoon]

Like many of you, I built up my hand tool collection from Sears. I have two rolling mechanic's tool chests in the garage, and just about all the sockets, ratchets, breaker bars, nut drivers, etc. are Craftsman. When my wife was alive, any time we went to the mall she would leave me in the Sears hardware department while she would do her thing, and we'd agree to meet in food court a half hour or an hour later.

The Sears in both malls within range of home have been closed for several years. There were also two Sears Hardware stores within range, and they both folded several years ago.

Even before the end, things were clearly going downhill. The size of the tools and hardware department was constantly shrinking within the stores. When I was young, if you managed to break a Craftsman ratchet they replaced it with a new one from stock. Toward the end, they maintained a cache of (poorly) repaired, used ones under the counter, so if you returned one they replaced it with a rebuilt. Which offered about a 50/50 chance of being any better than you one you were turning in.

[K Frame]

"The nuts were at the bottom of the escalator on the way to the tools."

So you could get warm nuts at Sears, but you had to eat the washers cold.

Weird. 



"Speaking of the Craftsman tools, the tool aisles at Sears had a distinctive smell also!"

Yep, I always figured it was a combination of the rust proofing oil that they coated the tools with AND the smell of the plastic on the screwdriver handles.

[K Frame]

"That was a real father to son gift, and I was infuriated when some years later the kit was stolen from me when I was working in the oil patch."

A few years before my Mom died I was doing some work at her house. I left one of my Dad's toolboxes on the back porch overnight. It had a bunch of his Craftsman hand tools in it.

The next morning it was gone.

Some *expletive deleted*ing low life, probably a local druggie, hopped the fence and stole it.

I would have gladly beaten the thief with any of the various heavy-duty tools that were in that box. That still pisses me off that because I got lazy I now don't have half of my Dad's tools that he left to me in his will.

[HankB]

. . . I still remember as a kid, going to a three story (with escalators!) Sears with my parents and them letting me wander the toy, sports, and tool sections on my own. It was almost like going on a family outing, like the department store in A Christmas Story. What a difference 50 years makes.

I remember much the same - going to a multi-story Sears store in Chicago. They had big toy, tool, and sporting goods sections, and even a rack full of GUNS. This was probably pre-GCA '68 so the guns - though locked up - were in a regular store rack and not behind a counter. I was too young to REALLY know what I was looking at, but it seemed pretty cool to me. Tucked under one of the stairwells was a hot dog stand run by "Peggy Kellog" - they had GREAT chili dogs. When walking through the store you'd hear little "plink" chimes from time to time - messages directed toward specific employees or departments rather than voice pages over the PA. And I kind of remember vacuum tube systems moving things (money?) from the cash registers to (presumably) the accounting department, just like the drive up tellers at banks today. Craftsman and Kenmore were - quite rightly - highly respected brands back then. Heck, in addition to "vintage" Craftsman hand tools, I still use a Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner that must be 40 years old or so.

And of course, nearly everything was Made In USA, and people usually used cash - sometimes checks - rather than credit cards.

All that is gone now. And the thing is, with their established mail and phone order business, Sears was positioned to take advantage of the Internet - they COULD have been Amazon. But a long line of management blunders (as well as ethically suspect actions later on by the top brass) ultimately killed the store.

[WLJ]

All that is gone now. And the thing is, with their established mail and phone order business, Sears was positioned to take advantage of the Internet - they COULD have been Amazon. But a long line of management blunders (as well as ethically suspect actions later on by the top brass) ultimately killed the store.

I was working there when that happened, to say it was a cluster * is an understatement. Upper management just couldn't wrap their brains around on why would people would order something over that soon to be gone fad thing called the internet when they could drive to Sears and happily pay more. When they started to see the writing on the wall they couldn't get pass viewing Sear's own attempt at an online store as merely something to draw people into the stores and nothing more. Sears management was struck in the 1950s. They couldn't understand Walmart let alone the internet.

[Ben]

I was working there when that happened, to say it was a cluster * is an understatement. Upper management just couldn't wrap their brains around on why would people would order something over that soon to be gone fad thing called the internet when they could drive to Sears and happily pay more. When they started to see the writing on the wall they couldn't get pass viewing Sear's own attempt at an online store as merely something to draw people into the stores and nothing more. Sears management was struck in the 1950s. They couldn't understand Walmart let alone the internet.

I would imagine that the Kmart takeover and their management didn't help things?

[WLJ]

I would imagine that the Kmart takeover and their management didn't help things?

I was out by that time.
Combining KM and Sears resulted in something similar to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Cimarron

[Brad Johnson]

Eddie Lampert's Folly, though I think he ultimately got exactly what he wanted. What little I can find indicates he's quietly buying up the real property holdings at pennies on the dollar.

Brad

[MillCreek]

^^^I think Sears leadership carefully planned this to enrich themselves personally, by selling off the brick and mortar assets and profiting off the real estate assets.

[Boomhauer]

I remember much the same - going to a multi-story Sears store in Chicago. They had big toy, tool, and sporting goods sections, and even a rack full of GUNS. This was probably pre-GCA '68 so the guns - though locked up - were in a regular store rack and not behind a counter. I was too young to REALLY know what I was looking at, but it seemed pretty cool to me. Tucked under one of the stairwells was a hot dog stand run by "Peggy Kellog" - they had GREAT chili dogs. When walking through the store you'd hear little "plink" chimes from time to time - messages directed toward specific employees or departments rather than voice pages over the PA. And I kind of remember vacuum tube systems moving things (money?) from the cash registers to (presumably) the accounting department, just like the drive up tellers at banks today. Craftsman and Kenmore were - quite rightly - highly respected brands back then. Heck, in addition to "vintage" Craftsman hand tools, I still use a Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner that must be 40 years old or so.

And of course, nearly everything was Made In USA, and people usually used cash - sometimes checks - rather than credit cards.

All that is gone now. And the thing is, with their established mail and phone order business, Sears was positioned to take advantage of the Internet - they COULD have been Amazon. But a long line of management blunders (as well as ethically suspect actions later on by the top brass) ultimately killed the store.

Up until the 1980s if you found it in the Sears catalog it was quality you could put your money into and expect to last.

When my parents built their house in the mid 80s they picked out Kenmore appliances because they were the best value for the dollar both money and quality wise. The stove and dishwasher lasted 20 years, refrigerator 30 years (and was only replaced because Mom redid the kitchen). Dad bought Craftsman tools up until the 2000s, because they were the cheapest wrenches and sockets that didn’t slip or break.

I remember the big Sears catalogs but sadly that all stopped in early 90s. After that it was pretty much all downhill.