Where has my SEARS gone ?

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by Foolardi, Oct 24, 2017.

  1. JakeStarkey

    JakeStarkey Well-Known Member

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    Support the coverage and the costs will go down. The electorate will not blame the Dems next year at election time on this; it will go after the GOP who have opposed it.
     
  2. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What if I want to see firsthand the product I intend on buying.
    That would most definitely be the case for fine Jewelry and
    personal items such as a new car.Also shoes and clothes.
    Where the fit is crucial.
     
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  3. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    To my mind, Sears's big mistake was discontinuing their catalogue sales instead of moving it to the internet. Catalogue sales were what made Sears a big hit in the first place, the Amazon of mail order, if you like. In the early days, you could order anything from Sears, up to and including a house (in pieces, of course). (http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/1908-1914.htm) Last time I ordered anything from a Sears catalog (a camera lens filter), they sent me a dozen socks instead. It was shortly after that they did away with the catalogs altogether. As for K-Mart, I agree with one of the other posters, they had multiple issues, a) they stopped being the low price leader when Walmart came along, b) they never got the price from the shelf right at the register, c) they had LOUSY help, on the floor and at the registers, and d) they had lousy management, with dirty floors, out of stock merchandise, boxes left on the floor, and in general, just bad decisions. I was a big fan of K-Mart as a kid, so I'm sorry to see them go. Sears, meh, I loved Craftsman tools, and I loved their Christmas displays, but I almost never bought anything there as an adult. JCPenney is also on the way out, I understand, which is a problem for me because it's the only place I know that carries my dress shirt and suit size in stock, they don't have to special order them. (I have long arms.)
     
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  4. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes that makes perfect sense.To prove that point I use the Hi-Fi
    site - Music Direct -. I have been using them for months on audio gear.
    The first thing I purchased almost a year ago was a high end turntable.
    They mailed along with it their big catalog.That catalog was the impetus for me
    staying in touch and involved with - Music Direct -.
    If not for that big and very nice catalog,I would not have been interested
    in purchasing as much Audio gear.I am a former Audiophile.
    Those Sears catalog from the 60's were a must in every bathroom.
    The best place to browse a great catalog is on the crapper.
    However I bet Sears felt it was just to costly to hand out catalogs
    no matter the purchase.A good catalog like a Sears or Montgomery Ward
    cost more than a few bucks to put together and print.
    The Internet is no replacement for a good catalog.Don't kid yerself.
    Just like a good magazine as in - Vanity Fair - and really good articles
    like the ones Dominick Dunne featured.
     
  5. Hoosier8

    Hoosier8 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Kenmore never made anything. The fridges were Westinghouse I think. Westinghouse had plastic interior shells and GE had steel interior shells.
     
  6. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    70s & 80s for me... the Christmas catalog was priceless. And I fell in love with Cheryl Tiegs, who graced many a Sears catalog cover. (******mit, she's 70 now!) And at the end, Sears had started charging for the catalog, $5, I think, but you got a coupon for $5 off if you bought anything.
     
  7. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Just goes to show how time flies and also how people tend to
    forget.I should know about Sears eventually feeling compelled { like in
    - The Exorcist - } to charge for their big Catalogs.
    But then taking it off with a purchase.
    I think the basic problem is Millennials.They don't shop or think or
    browse like today's seniors.Millennials don't seem interested much in
    thrift or quality or name brand recognition.The key elements of your
    standard,run-of-the-mill Sears diehard customer.
    Then again back in the day one's old man was either a Chevy or
    Ford man.Maybe a Chrysler or a Caddilac.Heaven forbid an AMC
    Man or Rambler.Or worse yet an Edsel guy.My older brothers
    best friend bought an Edsel in the 60's.He also drove around in
    a Big Fat Old Red Ambulance car that seemed more like a converted
    hearse.That was supposed to be really Kool back in the 60's.
    Like Big Daddy Kool in Kalifornia.
     
  8. reallybigjohnson

    reallybigjohnson Banned

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    It's been decades since you went to Sears for any serious hardware. Id go to Home Depot before I went to Sears for tools.

    There was nothing stopping Sears from increasing its online presence but they haven't updated their website since the early 2000s and frankly their stores look like they are stuck in the 1980s. If you walk and talk like a dinosaur then you will end up like them....extinct.

    The other issue is that almost all the Sears in my area are located in shopping malls and absolutely no one enjoys shopping at a mall anymore. Even women that I know that use to love doing it when they are younger say that the malls in the city are overrun with thugs and annoying high school and grade school kids and after you do online shopping a few times you quickly learn that its a lot less of a hassle that driving to the mall and wandering around hoping they have what you want in stock.

    If I owned a business I would simply pay Amazon a fee to sell my stuff on their website, assuming they don't have something like that already.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2017
  9. Nightmare515

    Nightmare515 Ragin' Cajun Staff Member Past Donor

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    Sears is just a casualty of the online market as are so many other brick and mortar chains. Convenience is paramount to many Americans. About 90% of the things I need I can buy on Amazon and with my Prime membership they will arrive at my front door in 2 days. Some even on a Saturday now. Pretty soon Sunday shipping will be available im sure. Same price as the store if not less. Even if its a few bucks more that's made up by the fact that it will get brought to my house rather than me having to go get it.

    So unless it's something that I need at this very moment I just order it online. I go to Sears for Craftsman tools simply because of the lifetime warranty and I get a nice discount there. I enjoy the no questions asked warranty service on tools from Sears though. I could take a torch and bend my wrench into a figure 8 and bring it in and they'll just replace it without even asking what happened.

    The only issue with buying online is being unable to test out a product first. When it comes to electronics or something that I want to see in person I'll usually just head to the local Best Buy and try it out then go home and order it online if it's cheaper.

    For me personally I love it. It's just my personality I am admittedly not a very patient person. I never go "shopping" I go and get what I need and get out. I hate standing in line waiting to checkout and I do get quite impatient and frustrated when I'm in the grocery store stuck behind folks who are just casually browsing around. I'm never outwardly rude or anything like that, I'm always very polite to others but as I slide past you in the grocery store and smile and say "excuse me" I am in my head screaming "Get the hell out of the damn way!!!" Plus I am always, and I mean always, stuck behind the person in checkout with the encyclopedia coupon book.

    The last time I went grocery shopping I got stuck behind the guy who didn't have the "store card" and asked the cashier to use theirs. The cashier of course didn't have it so they ran around for about 10 mins trying to find the manager to use theirs. They finally get back and swipe the card and say "Alright sir here you go, you saved 30 cents with the store card".

    I saw red.....

    Whenever online stores start delivering groceries at a reasonable price I will be ordering food online as well.
     
  10. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Sears is getting like that. They are scared silly to lose even one customer
    a day.Which benefits really fussy customers who demand a salesperson
    spending inordinate time just explaining silly stuff.
     
  11. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    You sound a lot like me. You won't find me ordering food online, though, I'll pick out my own, thank you very much. I made that mistake once when I ordered my used textbooks from the college bookstore online... they gave me the sorriest, beat up, pieces of crap books they had in their inventory. Not doing that with food. Potato chips? "Here's your bag of 1 mm size crumbs." Pork chops? "Here's some fat with a bone in it." Barq's Root Beer? "We found the oldest bottle in the warehouse so it'll be sure to be flat." Nunh unh.
     
  12. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Sears is still a great bet to spend one's hard earned cash on.
    Sears is not around to cater to flighty purchasers.Sears does not
    supply trendy wares.Sears may be a dying breed but they are
    All-American.That has to mean something.
    Sears is like the American Hamburger and Hot dog.
    Take Sears off the map and a hamburger and hot dog may also
    seem unwanted.
     
  13. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    Embrace the change! Shop at Amazon and have a drone deliver the package. Trade in that hot dog for a spinach and kale salad. Reject that hamburger for a nice big piece of roasted tofu. Lose the map. You have GPS now.

    Every day is a brave new world. Enjoy the chaos. Change is the spice of life. ;)

    I have to keep up in order to remain competitive in the business world. I don't have a choice. I can't justify driving for an hour when I can have something ordered online in 10 minutes. And many stores now have a much larger selection of products that are not found on the local shelves. You can order the item online and pick it up at the local store so as to avoid shipping costs. This eliminates the need for stores to stock every item they wish to sell, at every store. And for items with high shipping costs, it makes online purchases price competitive. It's a win win.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2017
    tecoyah likes this.
  14. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    Amazon never hurt me, but enough is enough. Drive to a local store and buy there. Otherwise we'll all be working for Amazon.
     
  15. tecoyah

    tecoyah Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Kinda like we all eat Big Macs and work at Micky D's?

    Oh....wait.
     
  16. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    I don't, no, but too many of us do. Check the mall closure rate.
     
  17. tecoyah

    tecoyah Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Progress is inevitable and sought in free societies, the key is to flow with it instead of fighting the current.
     
  18. gamewell45

    gamewell45 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Poor marketing decisions by company executive did in those chain stores.
     
  19. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    WHAT Poor marketing decisions ?
     
  20. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    The cologne I use sells for about $100 at Macy's. I now buy it online from Amazon for a little over $40.

    As for Blockbuster. Who rents videos anymore? I stream everything online.
     
  21. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Video Stores demise was imminent.Due entirely to new technology.
    Similar if not exactly what happened to the Betamax format then
    VHS format.
    I guess one could surmise the same for TV's. But they are still
    part of Video.Just like Audio is also here to stay.
    SEARS is another animal of a different flavor.Like Fish
    that tastes like both chicken and pork.
     
  22. jay runner

    jay runner Banned

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    Sears used to be a store the Duck Commander would use. You could get small jon boats, small outboards, fuel mix, hunting clothes, fishing poles, waders, tackle boxes, canoes, paddles, rifles, shotguns, ammo, decoys, traps, bank line, camping equipment and tents, bicycles and parts, auto and truck accessories (a truck was a truck then), some tractor accessories and farm supplies, garden tools, sports supplies and equipment, house repair items, good tools with a great warranty, on and on. Pretty much everything except a big Merc outboard that took two or more to tote. The salespeople in the main used the products themselves and could provide sound advice, and many were experts. I loved the smell of bicycle tires and fresh-oiled canvas.

    It was the antithesis of Saks. But then it became de-masculinized and suburbanized.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
  23. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I gotta tell ya.I though I was being sinful when 4 years ago I
    splurged and bought a men's $ 45 cologne.
    My Lagerfeld { Eau De Toilette } was getting really low.It was
    around 15 years old.Very pretty Copper-pinkish orange.
    So I bought at Macy's a Dolce & Gabbana { The One }
    about 4 years ago.I am checking the price as of today.
    Just checked ... at Macy's ... $ 72- $ 127
    Unbelievable mark up in just one decade.Many are over $ 100.
    I might have paid between $ 50-60 for that Gabbana Cologne.
    But never more.
     
  24. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Sears is much more than a mere Outdoorsman store.
    In fact,Sears does not even have a hunting or fishing section.No Guns
    whatsoever.I guess that's what their Online store is for.
    Yer forgetting their biggest attraction. Craftsman lawn equipment and
    Appliances.
     
  25. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I spoke too soon.I check my mail after supper and the dishes.
    I saw a little hard cardboard SEARS reminder in the mail.
    Holiday BLOWOUT 10-50% off EVERYTHING.
    I bought a new Sears lawnmover in July.A Pro series.Saved
    around 20% { with all the discounts } off the advertised list price.
    It's the 4th Sears riding lawndmover since I moved into my Home.
    That's since the early 80's. My First mower lasted until I sold it for a
    song to my neighbor around 20 years ago.The Mower I got to replace it
    was always a headache.Never started on the first crank.So I dumped it
    around 7-8 years ago.The one that replaced it was working fine but also
    didn't want to crank on the first twist of the starter.So when my Mom died in
    Late June and I was getting a little bit of an Inheritance I decided to why
    not.I practically gave it to my neighbor across the street since that's his
    hobby.He collects lawn mowers and repairs and/or fixes them up.
    I let him have My riding lawnmover which cost me around $ 1200
    7-8 years ago for $ 300. He jumped on it.
    I wonder what stuff Sears has for 50% off.I know they offer that a lot'
    with their clothes line.Which is a nice line.Pretty much what J.C.Penny
    has.The Discount ONLY applies to one store in the adjacent town to mine.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017

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