Back in the mid 1990s a guy came into a gun shop I hung aroud and tried to sell a Sears 30-06 rifle. The owner who I knew well was not interested. I asked him if it was OK if I bought it and he said OK so I paid $140 for an excellent commercial FN Mauser with a simple but nice walnut stock.
It was not marked J.C. Higgins or Ted Williams. It simply said “Sears”. I did not get to use it much as I sold it at a gun show a few weeks later. I more than doubled my money and the purchaser still got a good deal.
Yes, I recall seeing some of the ones marked “Sears” on display in a nearby store - probably mid to late ‘70s. I think the J.C. Higgins and Ted Williams marketing had been discontinued by that point. I briefly had a Sears marked Model 3T .22 semi-auto rifle, new in the box (’70s Winchester 190).