Posted on 12/03/2015 7:21:55 PM PST by EveningStar
Modern Craftsman tools don’t seem to be that good any more. I look on Ebay for 70s and 80s era hand tools.
I’ll pass on Craftsman power tools in the modern era too.
DieHard Batteries used to be the best.
I suspect that the "Suits" have squandered the franchise.
I feel your pain. I was in the military and not good enough to ‘deserve’ one of their credit cards. From my memory Sears made everybody jump through hoops to be blessed by their piece of plastic and high interest rate.
I’m happy to see their last store closed. In my area there are a couple of them boarded up.
Chinaman tools? Yeah. Right.
Just imagine where Sears could be had they recognized the internet revolution early on.
We have had good luck with Sears washers and dryers, and with their maintenance and insurance coverage. Not sure what we’ll do if they go belly up.
I like sears.com for kids clothes. Sad to see them go.
Sears was the AMAZON of its day.
All the neighborhood kids wore Roebucks jeans.
And Christmas wouldn’t have been Christmas without the Sears And Roebuck Catalog to pore over for a month or two.
So I guess a lifetime warranty is only good until the company dies. Oh well.
ACE hardware is carrying Craftsman tools.
That said, I find pawn shops sell Proto stuff cheap and they are better tools.
Sears doesn’t make the stuff anyway. Until recently, Danaher was contracted to manufacture them and now Apex does since the merger of Danaher and Cooper’s tool divisions. I could easily see Apex — which isn’t a small company — picking up the brand and running with it.
Back in the early to mid 1980's when I was working my way through college, I ran the Maintenance Agreement call center in Melrose Park, IL that made those phone calls.
HI! We've missed you! LOL!!!!!
My Kenmore washer, dryer and dishwasher have never failed me since 1993.
CEO Eddie Lampert killed Sears....he’s just riding it out now.
But I must say our local K-Mart is going strong. ...I know one of the mangers and this store is one of the top in the district.
The building, printing presses, catalog distribution center, and everything that went with it still exists on the South Side of Chicago. It's a HUGE facility. Been dormant now for years.
Yes, Sears WAS the Amazon back in their day. Right along with Montgomery Wards and JC Penny (who's printing facilities also still exist on the South Side of Chicago.)
One thing I noticed about clothing in the Sears catalogs back in the 1970s...a waist size of 32 was considered XL.
You once were actually able to buy a house from the Sears catalog. Some assembly required.
sears has been in existence for over 100 years. It is a part of American history. It spawned many copycat companies, a few of which are still in existence. Because of its early history and historical innovation, I think of Sears in a category by itself. I have many craftsman tools and I imagine I would buy more if I were in the market for new tools. They may not be bulletproof but the quality seemed reasonable to me for the price paid. When I was growing up, I would notice that almost everyone had sears hand tools in their toolbox. I recall one competitor, Ward’s, not taking my check for a sleeping bag while Sears did. This was before I had any credit cards and maybe even at a time when I had no job at all. I never went back to Ward’s.
One reason why Sears might be on the ropes is because of Obamacare and minimum wage increases.
In California, I have noticed over the years that many Sears stores closed and the real estate sold to become condominiums. I suspect that Sears has been able to hang on because of the selling of its real estate holdings over the years. This may be true of other department store companies as well (Mervyn’s is fresh in mind).
How about the Sears catalog from the early 1900’s where you could look under “vet supplies” and buy cocaine by the pound!
No kidding.
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