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Sears

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37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
Looks like Sears is on the way out. Mom ordered our school clothes from the Sears catalog. It was always fun getting a package from sears. There's a house in our town still standing that was ordered from the Sears catalog. Sears was the store to go to for a lot of things. I still have my sears top tool box. Craftsman tools were a fairly good tool, until China got involved. My JC Higgins bike has been gone for years. There is still an Allstate Moped I have kept all these years from Sears.I am sure a lot of you have shopped at sears in the past. Stan
 
When I was growing up back in 1940's - 50's Sears & Roebuck and "Monkey Ward" were the malls, shopping centers, and WalMarts of the day
 
In my opinion, Sears started on a downhill slide about 20 or so years ago when they closed all their stores in small towns. Those stores along with the order pickups at them generated more business and customer loyalty than Sears realized.
 
What a tragedy.

I've long been a loyal Sears shopper, as was my Father.

I remember drooling over the Sears Christmas catalog when small.

Dean
 
Yup, i spent many hours as a child dreaming and studying all the things you could buy in the catalogs.
 
There's still a house here from Sears & Roebuck. Came in on the train and was moved about 150 yards up the hill.
 
Ever since Hurricane Allen hit Sears has been going down hill. There Allstate insurance company took a big hit and sears had expanded to much and left to little to paid up so that started the fall of sears.

Back when I was around 8 or so years old I got a sears bolt action repeater 22cal rifle for Christmas. Sort of still have it but it is at my moms house. Like many other stores they are not keeping up with the times so they are falling by the way side
 
Was your moped a Puch? 2 speed, a decompression valve needed to start it.
My moped was totalled when I rammed into the back of my brother who was on a 250 cc MC from sears. I bent the front forks and twisted the frame. No damage to brothers. I was 13. Only accident I've had. Guess you could say the accident was a painful way to learn to pay attention while driving.
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:50 10/15/18) In my opinion, Sears started on a downhill slide about 20 or so years ago when they closed all their stores in small towns. Those stores along with the order pickups at them generated more business and customer loyalty than Sears realized.
Click to expand...

Actually what killed Sears wasn't closing the small stores. Sears failed to attract younger shoppers. They even ran an ad in the 80's about women who shopped at Sears were happy to be able to get modest one piece bathing suits. Problem with older customers is they get old and die. If the young ones don't replace them your business is dead. That's the biggest thing that happened to Sears. And by the time the people running Sears had figured out what went wrong it was too late. The younger folks had found other places that provided for their needs. And no, not all went to Walmart. Many shopped higher end stores.

They closed the small stores cause they were losing money at them.

Had Sears continually courted younger people along with keeping the older ones happy, and had they jumped on internet marketing maybe they would still be here.

Good example is Walmart (I don't really like Walmart). About 20 years ago they realized that many of their loyal customers were getting old and dying off. The heads at Walmart were really concerned. They decided to revamp some of what they were carrying and to remodel stores so as to attract the younger crowd. Worked too. Now if they could just catch up to Amazon......

Rick
 
Last time I was in a Sears store was about 25 years ago. Wife and I had over $200. at counter and they tried to charge us, like $3.00 to cash a LOCAL Reynolds Aluminum payroll check.
We left the items and walked out!
Went to another local clothing--not Sears, and they were glad to cash check.
 
What killed them for me was lousy service. I went in to buy some tools. Couldn't find anyone at the checkout counter. Waited for ten
minutes and left. Never went back. I remember as a kid waiting on the two wish books to come in. Spent hours looking through them.

I have a long list of stores that will never see my money again. Home Depot,Mc Donalds,Outback,Colters and the list goes on.
 
Had the same thing happen at the tool counter. There were four people
in line and no cashier.
I saw a friends sister and asked her to help us.
She started to wait on the customers in line and a manager comes up and
starts to chew her out for not being in her dept.
He got his but chewed by everyone in the line.
It's been down hill ever since.
 
Had the same experience also. When we first got married, bought some appliances there. Then got sick of early 20s sales staff that didn't know the product and didn't care if you bought it or not. It got the same way in the tool and lawn departments, nobody would help you, and if they did, they didn't know what they were getting paid to try and sell.
 
When we first got married and built a new home we bought everything from Sears, tools, appliances, well pump, it's too bad to see them go, but it's a trend. The paper mill I retired from used to make the paper for the catalogs, Monkey Wards and Penneys too. That mill is gone, cut up for scrap.
 
37chief, I posted a picture of the cover a couple yrs ago. You brought up the houses so here another couple of pictures. The catalog is a 1929. I've had people at tractor shows who picked out there house from it.
a282757.jpg

a282759.jpg
 
I never understood the rlaltionship between outdated catalogs and the privy. Seems to me the pages were way too slick to amount to anything.............
 
Earlier catalogs had some sections on the slick high gloss paper for color pictures, and some sections on absorbent newsprint. Can you guess which sections were used up first?
 
I have a Sears kit house on my place. Probably 40 years since anyone lived in it besides 4 legged varmints. Another one in town. Someone lives in it. The next town down had a kit barn until storm took it down about 20 years ago.
I agree when the new catalog came out us kids fought over reading it. Especially the Christmas catalog.
 
I saw pictures years ago of a team of horses pulling a complete house from Sears in Chicago. The picture was taken ON Lake Michigan. When the big lake froze up they pulled this 3 story house up to Ludington, then onto the beach and then down the main avenue to its present location. It was on runners like skis. Just imagine trying to get all the permits to try pull this off today. You cant even build or move a bird house without a years worth of paper work. sears used to sell almost everything. Al
 
If they had set up a website and combined it with their catalog sales department in 1994 Sears would be Amazon and Amazon wouldn't be ****. Instead they dropped the mail order catalog department completely a year before Amazon set up shop.
 
Like most old companies, Sears was badly damaged by legacy costs vis a vis newer competition.

Dean
 
I think that a major reason for their downfall was they did not want to take the bitter pill of not needing many of their brick and mortar locations. Also, the quality of many of their product lines sagged greatly.
 
they sure had good quality products back in the day! Just 2 months ago I replaced the gas clothes dryer that I bought in 1969 and still have my circular saw I received in 1961 for my 16th birthday and have built 8 houses with it. A 10 inch table saw I bought in 1968 when I built mu first house.
 
Things sure have changed, in 1953 or 54 I rode my bicycle into town 1/1/2 miles to get money order and mail order to Sears for a new JC Higgins 22 rifle $9.33 on sale. When it came the mail man delivered it to the house while I was at school, that could not happen in todays world.
 
Today I noticed that my water heater has Montgomery Wards Label.
Our Sears store will sell you everything they can, but you have go somewhere else for even the simplest repair or replace situation.
SDE
 
I am sure many a young fella studied and dreamed about a certain clothing section of the catalog.
I carry a craftsman 4inch adjustable in my pocket to work everyday over 32 years now.
 
Yesterday I removed the Homart window exhaust fan bought by my Father before my memory, probably in 1952 or 1953.

It's an annual Spring and Fall ritual, install sometime in April or May and remove sometime in October. Easy to do.

The two speed 4/8 pole motor was rewound in 1963, the fanshaft bearing was replaced sometime in the mid 1960s, and I replace the belt about every five years or so.

Though I have 4 Sears window AC units in my old two story farm house, which I also install/remove annually (easy) but like the exhaust fan better. Open the windows about 2" and turn the exhaust fan on in the evening before turning in and turn fan off and close windows around dawn. Usually do not need ACs before 1:00 if at all except on the hottest days.

Dean
 
Sears had high costs of benefits for their retirees, there profits if they had any could not keep up . Sears seemed to start to decline as Walmarts and K-marts became more common. And of course there is Amazon. WM's price's undercut Sears,but Sears had better quality.
 
I posted 2 years ago about the trubble Sears was in - overpaid top end jerks raping the co. Nice to see I was correct. Too bad, bought a lot of merchandise from them - still have some catalogues.
 
Geez, a lot of you guys should have volunteered to work only for a percentage of increased profits.
You could have saved Sears and made millions too, why are you all here?
 
Was looking at chainsaws on display there one day about 10 years ago. Sales guy came running over and admonished me for handling the chainsaws and pulling them through with the rope. I guess their saws are fragile or something.

Needless to say I realized I was wasting my time there. I quit buying tools there when they went to China. Why pay for a legacy name when I can buy Chinese tools elsewhere for a lot less.
 
Think of craftsman tools often,as I have a 4"inch craftsman adjustable that has gone to work with me for over 32 years in pocket or on the key ring.
Of course many a young fella studied and dreamed over a certain clothing section also.
 
My om also ordered all of our school clothes from Sears. I can remember vividly the time I spent going through that 2" thick catalog. It was great. The first house my wife and I bought 40 years ago was a Sears home. It was and still is (as far as I know) a great house. It had a nice size bath, kitchen, back and front porch, a formal dining room, a den, living room, and 3 bedrooms upstairs If I could move that house with me every time we moved, I would still be living in it.
 
when i built my house I installed a 3ft dia exhaust fan in the ceiling in the hallway--i think it is 1200 cfm. it sucks air in thru the windows and screen doors and exhausts it into the attic, so it cools the house off and cools the attic down at the same time--have to make sure you have some windows open when you turn it on, sometimes all the doors in the house slam shut if not enough open windows--its a sears unit and still runs fine today after 49 years
 
My Dad ordered all the baby chicks and ready to lay pulleys and poultry supplies from Sears plus work clothes, boots and much other stuff.
 
I remember when I started college I went to sears and spent about 900$ on tools back when they were USA made they were good tools except the ratchets that came in the tool sets the ones I bought separate were good
 
Hate to see it, but it's just another sign o' the times. Only thing that's constant is change.

I liked Sears and they had some good products. My 2 Craftsman wet/dry vacs are the best I've ever used, best suction and quietest as well.

But this is a good example because how many of something good like these vacs does a guy buy? I've got one in the shop and one in the garage and they may still be there in 20 years. Not exactly gonna keep sears in business replacing my vacs.

I guess I'm kind of part of the problem. I LIKE Sears, but I don't actually go and BUY all that dang much. I'll miss them more for what they represent because pretty much everything I got there, I can get somewhere else if and when I might finally neeed it.

Grouse
 
I have used Sears on a regular basis for years. Mostly for clothing. I like to try on pants before buying. The service has been slow over the last ten or so years. Being retired Iam never really in a hurry.
 
Wife and I shopped Sears for years. Kinda quit when I started having issues with the tools.

Mom bought from them through the end of the 90's when she passed.

My father in law dumped them about the time Sears got caught scamming people on alignments and shocks when they bought tires. He had just gotten new tires from Sears and they told him he needed shocks so he bought those at the same time........he always wondered if they took him on the shocks and never went back. I

So they kinda did this to themselves.

Rick
 
All our appliances and paint came from Sears. Microwave went bad within warrenty and they said "you didn't buy the extended warrenty we can't help you". Told the person on the phone that will be the last Sears appliance we will ever own and he could of cared less. Liked the Weatherbeater paint for out buildings. Went in to get some paint one night and the smartass person at the counter could of cared less if they sold me paint or not, bought what I needed and left. Next time I went in to get some paint was told rudely (we quit selling paint a while back) last time I walked into a Sears store. Will not walk in even for their going out of buissnes sale and will not buy any Craftsman tools at Ace hardware either.
 
Every empire rises and falls. Sears was dead 30 years ago. Walmart has peaked. Even Amazon will fall someday.

Older customers don't like change. Younger customers don't like old things. How do you balance that? I don't think a large chain store like Sears has ever been successful navigating generational turnovers in the long term.
 
Enjoyed the "colorful" replies.

I only had the "privilege" of placing my watoosie on the seat of the outdoor privy on a couple of occasions. That was enough.

Currently running Reality TV has real estate sales in Alaska programs......interesting watching the responses of the "potential customers????" when the realtor gets to the "taking care of the needs" part....an outdoor privy......in Alaska.....for folks accustomed to city conveniences.........I remember in another program elsewhere which was about a plumber in Alaska, made calls via bush plane and all.....problem was clogged drain. Between the house and the "onsite, above ground, storage" was a long pipe, exposed to the weather and you guessed it.....if froze up.

They couldn't pay that guy enough!!!!!!
 
One thing that turned me off was the pricing games they played.

Wait long enough and most any item in the store would eventually be on sale for 50% 60% or 70% off.

50% off they were probably still making money on the sale so to me that said see how bad we are screwing everyone over that pays full retail.

Only kidding themselves advertising a box spring and mattress for $2500.00 when the same set anywhere else was less than $1000.

Maybe there were a few fools that paid those prices, clearly not enough to keep them in business.

At one point in time you could walk into a Sears store and feel comfortable that most any item you were going to buy was good quality and value then they started importing low quality items and thought they could get people to pay the same price for garbage just because they had the Sears name put on the box.
 
(quoted from post at 11:58:25 10/16/18) All our appliances and paint came from Sears. Microwave went bad within warrenty and they said "you didn't buy the extended warrenty we can't help you". Told the person on the phone that will be the last Sears appliance we will ever own and [b:2cb4ac98ec]he could of cared less[/b:2cb4ac98ec]. Liked the Weatherbeater paint for out buildings. Went in to get some paint one night and the smartass person at the counter [b:2cb4ac98ec]could of cared less[/b:2cb4ac98ec] if they sold me paint or not, bought what I needed and left. Next time I went in to get some paint was told rudely (we quit selling paint a while back) last time I walked into a Sears store. Will not walk in even for their going out of buissnes sale and will not buy any Craftsman tools at Ace hardware either.
Click to expand...

If he could of cared less, he probably would have. ;)
 
So right..good insights. I think past successes make changing to meet ever shifting new consumer preferences even more
difficult. So many in the staff say "no that is not the way we do it here", the waves of internal resistance make even
the slightest changes to meet competition very difficult. I know...I've been there and was only marginally successful
at getting our old elephant to learn a new dance.
 

IMO what killed Sears was getting rid of the catalogs. If they had waiting a few more years they'd have been into the internet age and they may well have been what Amazon is today. They also thought malls were the wave of the future forever. They thought being an anchor store in a mall was the answer. Nope, malls are dying out now. It's on'y been what? 35-40 years since malls came on the scene?
 
On the Texas Gulf Coast that's all we had before air conditioning. We called them Attic Fans. When I built my house, where I currently live, in 1979, I installed a 30" also. Over the years I have replaced one fan belt and lubed the motor 2 or 3 times. Didn't get it from Sears however. Gets used in spring and fall when you don't need AC or heat.

Course having a gabled end roof with large vents is pretty much a requirement. Have to have an exit path from the roof for the air.
 
Actually with Sears it was turning their back on their loyal customer base when they quit selling firearms,good quality lawn and garden equipment,their own brand appliances,no farm catalog, etc that
started their downfall.They reinvented themselves to be just like every other retail store nothing unique anymore.
 
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