How can Sears stay in business?

[aircooled]

Bring a craftsman tool back and they replace it with no questions. I've stripped out many 12 point sockets and they have always replaced them. no receipt, just need to see the craftsman name on the tool.

 

[alkemyst]

What I think is proven is perhaps not everyone does a lot of shopping at Sears, but everyone does at least some If you have anything in this country that at least everyone uses even once, you'd be a very rich man.

I am sure Sears tools and lawn equipment is a big profit center....their clothing probably second....jewelry maybe last as far as volume.....however offering even 'centers' were you lose money on, adds to the store becoming chosen....I have used Sears to buy things I may have gotten cheaper at Best Buy or WalMart,etc because I needed to pick up a tool from Sears anyway. Rather than make two trips I could make one and for me wasting an hour with travel to and from another store is not worth it, I have less time than money now I am working on a solution to that though.

 

[flyfish]

I buy have bought tools, movers, appliances and electronics there because of price, service and helpful, knowledgeable salespeople. CC is a joke. BB are a bunch of lame HS kids.
Sears stays in business by filing bankruptcy every 10 yrs. or so.

 

[optimistic]

My last TV purchase was at Sears. Only a 20inch Flat Apex with DVD combo for $200 though.

I still see a bunch of people browing through my Sears though.

 

[Yossarian451]

Originally posted by: Ornery

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Originally posted by: Codewiz

You do know that they've almost completely phased out all commission sales positions. You know full time positions are few and far between.

When did that happen? I quit working there this past January? Pretty much everyone there was still commission.

Maybe he is talking about CC or BB?

Nope, Sears. The only commission positions left are electronics and lawn & garden. They even took shoes off commission recently!

They've been phasing out full time since I left there 25 years ago.

Shoes are still comission, or at least at the start of this school year. I had the option of going children or comission shoes, I opted not to go comission. The kids programs keep a lot of loyal customers, some pretty good prices too on clothing. Also they have a very relazed finaincing program which is why many people buy appliances from them, and used to be that the sears card was extremely good. And the pricematching is insanely good, they will not try to shaft you, it made me really happy when they were training me and said, pricematch is for anything that is legitamate. Too bad they have very little as far as computer equiptment goes.

 

[Red Dawn]

Do they still have Ted Williams Branded Sports Equipment?

 

[Ornery]

I don't know about the Sears near you, but ours has a 'Sporting Goods' department that consists of several treadmills and a few cheap dart boards. They threw a few pathetic toys in the seasonal items department for Christmas. They don't even try to compete in certain areas, and sporting goods and toys are two of them.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: IGBT
You'd think sears and other legacy stores would dominate..what ever happened to F&W Woolworth??

They left the '5 and 10' market mostly due to WalMart. Woolworth is the owner of Foot Locker and Champs (and I think a some other things too).

 

[plik]

A few weeks ago I decided it was time to buy a washer and dryer... only place I even thought of looking was Sears. Everybody I know has Kenmore appliances, and they all seem pretty good, so that's where I went. The store seemed pretty busy when I stopped by.

 

[Netopia]

I just dropped about $1,200 buck on a new refridgerator and dishwasher. Bought from Sears!

Joe

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Does anyone you know ever even go to Sears anymore?
No one I have ever known has ever bought anything from Sears. It's just one of those arcane institutions of modern society that is a relic from years past. And yet, I never read about Sears closing down, etc.....

....how can they stay in business versus Wal-Marts and Best Buys?

Craftsman.

ZV

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: sxr7171

Originally posted by: Ornery
What a bunch of clowns! Sears going out of business

That is one behemoth that can change with the times... quickly. You do know that they've almost completely phased out all commission sales positions. You know full time positions are few and far between. You don't? No wonder we're hearing these asinine predictions of doom! I don't hesitate to buy from Sears. They'll price match everything, and I can return stuff VERY easily. They have MUCH bigger selections than Target, Walmart, Kmart and whoever else you care to go to. That's the first place I'll check for electronics. If they don't happen to carry what I want, who cares? If they do, I get it price matched, so where's the problem?

I don't buy stuff there since I usually never go there, but the one time I went in I saw much better quality electronics than found at Best Buy. Best Buy usually carries bottom of the line stuff, while Sears actually carries better models and better lines. I thought it was interesting.

That's true. You can actually get some Denon audio gear at Sears. Best Buy doesn't sell Denon.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: aircooled
Bring a craftsman tool back and they replace it with no questions. I've stripped out many 12 point sockets and they have always replaced them. no receipt, just need to see the craftsman name on the tool.

I was trying to remove a 10mm bolt and the only 10mm socket I had was for a 1/8-inch drive rachet. Put a cheater bar on the rachet and ended up torquing off the little nub on the rachet that holds the socket. I'm sure that you'll all agree that this is a huge case of user error. Sears gave me a brand-new 1/8 drive rachet without any complaint.

ZV

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: aircooled
Bring a craftsman tool back and they replace it with no questions. I've stripped out many 12 point sockets and they have always replaced them. no receipt, just need to see the craftsman name on the tool.

I was trying to remove a 10mm bolt and the only 10mm socket I had was for a 1/8-inch drive rachet. Put a cheater bar on the rachet and ended up torquing off the little nub on the rachet that holds the socket. I'm sure that you'll all agree that this is a huge case of user error. Sears gave me a brand-new 1/8 drive rachet without any complaint.

ZV

Yeah they rock, they understand tools sometimes get abused in a crunch, but let it slide.

The only problem I have had is occasionally they change the design of a tool or discontinue it. It's rare, but my father had a really nice 4 angle slotted offset screwdriver (weighed about 1 pound it seemed)...they only make a cheapy ratcheting one now , the old man at the counter didn't like it either, but supposedly they got comments why didn't they have a ratcheting one.

I just wish the tool warranty covered power tools , I have burned through 3 buffers now on the boat (only 2 were craftsman). I guess the combination of running 6 hours straight + 100 degree days does it

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: aircooled
Bring a craftsman tool back and they replace it with no questions. I've stripped out many 12 point sockets and they have always replaced them. no receipt, just need to see the craftsman name on the tool.

I was trying to remove a 10mm bolt and the only 10mm socket I had was for a 1/8-inch drive rachet. Put a cheater bar on the rachet and ended up torquing off the little nub on the rachet that holds the socket. I'm sure that you'll all agree that this is a huge case of user error. Sears gave me a brand-new 1/8 drive rachet without any complaint.

ZV

We have a craftsman 1/2" ratchet that's been around for over 20 years. We use that one when we really need a heavy duty ratchet that won't break. We've broken countless ratchets, but that one has lasted all this time and works better than any of the new ones.

 

[beer]

Needless to say, this thread has changed my opinions of sears considerably!

 

[dfi]

Sears also owns "the great indoor". In case you've never heard of it, it's a store that sells all thing related to the interior of your house. The couple of times I've visited, I've seen a good number of customers.

dfi

 

[azazyel]

How liberal is their price match policy? I am looking at getting a new HDTV and from they way they go on at the AVS Forums it seems like they will honor any price from any website. But the verbiage on the site mentions local retailers.

Any thoughts?

Trying to be a nice guy by reviving an old thread. Will probably have to start a new one to get this question answered.

 

[IshmaelLeaver]

Originally posted by: ApacheXMD
it's a reliable place to go for tools when you need em

-patchy

Kinda like ATOT.