Never got bored at Sears!!

[revolver59]

I have not been to our local mall with my wife since Sears shut down that location a couple of years ago. My wife keeps asking me why I don't go to the mall with her anymore, I tell her honey I never went to the mall with you, I went to sears while you shopped at the mall, I used to spend hours sometimes without getting bored, of course I was in the tool department the whole time, till my wife was done shopping, and came to meet me at Sears so we can leave together!! Now that Sears is not there, I have no reason to go to the mall anymore .

 

[soFlaNative]

I can relate. When I was a kid I'd ditch my Mom and head for the toy dept.
I did the same thing with my wife and the tool aisles. That was the only time I've actually shopped, not just gone in and bought. Just like a broad I didn't know I needed something until I saw it!

 

[retiredbadge8091]

I loved Sears too. The tool department, the garden department and the sporting goods department were all excellent and I'm ashamed to say an impulse buy happened there a time or two.

But even though I loved Sears, I love my wife more and I still accompany her to the mall to carry her bags and to provide a sense of security when the crowds are a little rougher.

Hanging out with the wife gives us a chance to walk and talk and occasionally (ok, almost always) we'll get something for the grandkids and I get to share the credit.

Time at the mall is what you make it, surprise the wife and be a good sport, maybe even buy her a frou-frou coffee. You'll be amazed at what that does for your relationship.

 

[dave holl]

Fond memories. Dad and I went to the Cleveland,Ohio Sears for something and would always wind up in the tool and sporting goods section. I still remember those small motor scooters/cycles. One was shaped like a Lambretta, and the other was more utilitarian..........red, if I'm remembering correctly. I wanted one. Instead, we'd buy 1/4 lb of cashews for the ride home, along with a small bag of chocolate non-pareils for Mom.
Dave

 

[chief38]

Funny - I was in Sears yesterday for the first time in 5 years! I went there to buy a new filter for my Craftsman Shop Vac. For sure Sears is NOT what it used to be - and not in a good way. The store was empty, antiquated, and I can't think of one single item I saw in the Tool Dept. that was not made in China. As much as it pains me to say this, the current line of Craftsman tools (including their once famous tool boxes) are not any better than the current line of Harbor Freight stuff. In fact the current HF tool boxes are actually better than the Craftsman is today. Glad I bought mine 30+ years ago.

Sears was the place I went with my parents years ago to buy almost anything for the house, shop or garage. I distinctly remember buying my very first Sears branded Shotgun Cleaning Kit which I STILL have to this day. Today (sadly) they are just a shadow of their former selves and from what I saw today - they are flying on fumes. I blame the CEO's over the last few decades for not keeping up with the times, not re-inventing themselves and for relying on their past reputation to take them into this new Century. They also joined the ranks of Company's that are now just offshore importers and have let their customer service departments fall by the wayside.

 

[soFlaNative]

Craftsman tools were the best I could afford, people kept their Kenmore appliances for 20 - 30 years and I think Sear's credit card back in the day was a tough one to acquire.

 

[JSR III]

I got my first job at a Sears catalog store while in high school in the 60's. Was a loyal customer in the 70's buying a radial arm saw, a jointer planner and numerous sanders, routers etc.

I read recently that Sears and subsidiary K Mart are in big trouble and may be OOB very soon. In an effort to stem the tide they are closing 78 stores. Very sad to see an icon like Sears bite the bullet.

Not sure what to do in the outhouse in Maine now that the Sears catalog won't be around.

 

[Roadtrash]

I got my first job at a Sears catalog store while in high school in the 60's. Was a loyal customer in the 70's buying a radial arm saw, a jointer planner and numerous sanders, routers etc.

I read recently that Sears and subsidiary K Mart are in big trouble and may be OOB very soon. In an effort to stem the tide they are closing 78 stores. Very sad to see an icon like Sears bite the bullet.

Not sure what to do in the outhouse in Maine now that the Sears catalog won't be around.

Back to the old corn cobs I guess.

 

[Marshwheeling]

My first contact with Sears was through the catalog. For a very short while, the mysteries of the ladies' lingerie so section held my attention. Soon that segued into the motorcycle and scooter ads. I drooled over the Vespa motor scooters, the 100 and 124cc Gilera motorcycles, and especially the Puch motorcycles, from the 50cc Sabre, the 100cc Compact, to the 175 and 250cc road models.

Once I actually got to visit a store, the Craftsman tools held the main attraction, as they did for many of us. But second best was the catalog sales department. At the St. Paul store, you had to go out back and into a separate entrance to order catalog-only items over the counter. The best part of the catalog desk was, up until the mid-80s, you could still order parts for the discontinued motorbikes they had sold in the 50s and 60s.

I used the catalog desk to resuscitate a number of old Vespas, and managed to keep a 1966 Sabre (a 50cc fan-cooled 2-stroke) on the road for a number of years. Even after it was stolen and retrieved with a number of missing parts, I was able to buy enough bits to get it back on the road. Unfortunately, by that time, many parts were NLA, so I had to fabricate or bodge a few.

Finally the parts supplies ran out, but for a while you could still get the wonderfully detailed parts and service manuals for many of the old bikes.

Yep, Sears used to be a treasure trove. The last time I want into one of their stores a few years ago was pretty depressing.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

Back in the 70's I bought a Remington Nylon 66 .22LR rifle from our local Sears & Roebuck store. They also sold shotguns. They also sold ammo for the rifles and shotguns they sold. I always bought my Craftsman tools from them as well because I knew they were the best and had a great warranty. Now Craftsman tools are made in China and aren't any better than tools sold by Lowe's or Home Depot. My tool box is still filled with real Craftsman tools that will probably outlast me and will be going to my grandson. When my father-in-law died I got a lot of his tools that I still use today. The big, heavy vise I inherited still works like new and is over 100 years old. Today Sears is on it's last legs......

 

[Bozz10mm]

Back in the 70s, Sears had it all. But their automotive department was a big ripoff.

 

[LedFowl]

As a kid, Sears was where we did our school-clothes shopping, but we also bought most everything there. Ours was a big, multi-floor standalone store. I vividly remember my dad taking me up to their big cafeteria (I suppose it was mostly for their employees) and having a piece of pie.

It's too bad that Sears got out of the mail order business just before the internet made it the preferred way to shop.

 

[loknload]

It's a shame what happened to Sears, it use to be the go to store and they had good stuff! Use to purchase a lot of clothes there myself.
The majority of my tools are Craftsman and they were great tools back in the day! Most of mine are from the good days, nothing from China! Still have them and they're all in good shape.
They have Craftsman up for sale, hate to see what's going to happen to them next?,especially if Black and Decker buys them! Never liked Black and Decker junk!

 

[hardcase60]

Back in the day Sears Roebuck was the only place my parents shopped for anything. School clothes, appliances, sporting goods, shoes, furniture, you get the idea. Had an aunt that retired from Sears (apparently their profit sharing was awesome). I still have a J C Higgins, 4", 9 shot, .22 cal revolver that she bought back in the '60's. In high school I got my first real job in the Sears automotive department then worked in the customer service department . Spent many hours lusting after the fine hand tools and still have some of the ones I bought back then. All the major stores had candy counters and a coffee shop. Then there was the annual catalog that we just couldn't wait to get our hands on. Thanks for the memories............ hardcase60

 

[retiredbadge8091]

Reading these posts flooded me with memories. As I recall the big stand alone Sears store was two storied and had the first escalator I ever rode on. The smaller J. C. Penney store had a double wide staircase that wound up to the second floor.

While you clomped up the stairs at Penney's, you glided up the shiny escalator to the second floor at Sears. Mom would invariably tell us kids some story about how a kid was "ground up" riding just such an escalator and we always jumped for our lives when we hit the top.

 

[tops]

In the late 50s I bought a tooled saddle and bridle from Sears. I was told that Bona Allen made their saddles. A few years ago we were in Sheridan and went in Kings and they had a Bona Allen like the one I bought at Sears. I have saw many changes in my life and I don't Sears has been a good change. Larry

 

[NYlakesider]

Sears is not far from joining the club Montgomery Wards is in.

Penny's will also be a member of that not so exclusive club soon.

 

[Mainsail]

The only store that pisses me off more than Sears lately is the BX/Pxs on base. Like the OP I would pour over the tools for great lengths of time, and the tool catalog was one of my favorite periodicals to read.....back in the day.

About two years ago I went in to look for some additional tool storage options. Their poor quality and high prices had led me to buy my last toolbox from Montezuma and I wanted to get a side-box for extra storage. The sign on the toolbox said "up to 30% off" so I asked the price. OK, I should tell you that product without a price just boils my blood. After dragging a clerk over he tells me *that* toolbox isn't included in the sale. Of course not.

I take it to twitter and @searscares contacts me. They contact the manager to take down the bait-&-switch sign. We have many back & forths about it. Two months later I post another picture with the same sign on the same toolbox that is still not included in the sale. A month or more later I post up a picture with the same sign on the same toolbox only now they're using it as a place to hang shirts.

As long as someone picks up the Craftsman line so I have some place to warranty return my broken hand tools, I would be just fine with Sears going out of business. The store is depressing to walk through and the entire staff from the managers down to the clerks don't seem to care if Sears goes out of business altogether.

EDIT to add: That side box is STILL in the store almost three years later. Like it was back when I first looked at it, it's locked and nobody has the key. The misleading sign is gone, but now it sits alone. It's still overpriced at $370, so I expect it'll be there until they shutter the doors.

 

[shouldazagged]

Nobody is very successfully competing with Wally World, the biggest retailer on earth. But like Penney's, Sears has suffered from some terrible decisions by top management over the years.

 

[gman51]

I seldom go into the malls or Sears. Last thing I bought at Sears was a pair of blue jeans which were some off brand and still higher priced than WM jeans.
I buy most online now like most people do which is why the big retailers like Sears, Penny's, and Mays are going under. I don't spend the gas to get to the malls, fight the traffic or pay the mall higher prices anymore.

I keep seeing more reports that Sears shelves are poorly stocked any more. I think Sears is probably hiring new college grads for cheap to save money. It appears that isn't working out to well for Sears. I also heard Sears changed their employee pay plans and many employees left because their paychecks got way smaller. Supposedly they have cut way back on number of employees.
Look what happened when Sears bought K Mart. K Mart stores got shut down right and left. Surprise to Sears I think that they didn't get more business buying out and cutting off their competition. I don't even know where there is a K Mart now in Houston area.
I am surprised Sears isn't OOB already. I think they soon will be.