Sears? Heads Up

IMO, spinning off Lands End would be a good move. I didn't notice a change in Lands End quality when Sears bought them, but have since KMart bought Sears. LL Bean is now getting more of my business. Hopefully if they spin off Lands End, it can return to its former level of quality.

In terms of Sears, it is indeed sad. As with others, my first CC was a Sears card. I have relatives that worked most of their lives at Sears. My house is filled with Kenmore appliances. My toolbox is filled with Craftsman tools (especially the sockets and socket wrenches, adjustable wrenches, and the like - never cared for their power tools though). I used to always buy tires at Sears Auto Centers, but stopped after discovering they're now woefully under-staffed. My trailer uses DieHard GC2 6V batteries, now 5 years old and still going strong.

IMO, the Sears-KMart merger was a really bad move.

Yeah, you can still find FIVE and DIME stores

But

Instead of Jefferson and Roosevelt (on the money)

You'll need

Abraham Lincoln and Hamilton

even our Small town in Indiana had a Woolworth "DIME" store
but we had to go to a neighboring town 'about 10 miles' to visit a Sears & Roebuck
or a Western Auto
i remember when the first Kmart opened nearby, in the 60's

The lunch counter in Woolworth's after a Craftsman buying bout at Sears.

Or GLOBE UNION car batteries. They manufactured Sears, Interstate, and other relabeled brands long before Johnson Controls came on the scene.

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Anyone remember WT Grants ? That was another retail chain similar to Sears and Montgomery Wards that went the way of the dinosaur. I worked at a Grants when I was a teen, some crazy times were had there ! We sold everything from pools to garden equipment to appliances, clothes you name it. And who could forget the in house restaurant ? Talk about greasy spoon it made Waffle House look like a 4 star restaurant !!! Ah the good old days.........

I have a few Craftsman wrench sets that say in small print
MADE IN CHINA

I still use my Sears corded electric drill, which is 40 years old, as it seems my cordless always has dead batteries. I think you can still find topnotch Craftsman tools -- in among the junky ones Sears stocks now. People just don't want to pay fifty bucks for a set of 6-8 wrenches any more.

I figured Sears was a dead duck when the Craftsman brand started showing up in ACE stores a few years ago.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:


I have a Sears electric 1/2" impact gun that is stronger than 3/4ths of the tire shop air guns down here. Even when the guns are oiled and connected to 120 psi air. Purchased the gun in 1988 in Tucson.

We're still using the Kenmore microwave that we bought new in 1985!!!!!

Salvo I'll bet that saw was made in the USA or Japan. Sears handled some pretty unique tools. But the price for Craftsman did not mirror the trend of migration away from USA, Japan and Korea.

My parents had a coldspot Sears chest freezer that was plugged in for 47 years and never shut off. Never needed service. It went with the sale of the house.

I have a Sears electric 1/2" impact gun that is stronger than 3/4ths of the tire shop air guns down here. Even when the guns are oiled and connected to 120 psi air. Purchased the gun in 1988 in Tucson.