A picture worth a 1000 words, HF/Craftsman guys Come check it out..

[Reality Sucks]

Doesnt get any closer than this, Most of the sears locations in my area closed about 6 months ago. On my way to work the other day I saw this and stopped to get a pic. Nothing amazing here, just thought some of you guys would like a good laugh. Enjoy/discuss..I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the meeting when this locaton was picked. HF has been in this location for about 4-5 years now. Sears just moved right on in..

 

[wedge40]

sarcasm.. Did K-Mart sell Sears to HF?

Wedge

 

[blackz26]

So since sears did a research and found people prefer cheap price over coo, why would they think moving next to tell would help? I for one would go to harbor freight for most hand tools like ratchets sockets and wrenches. A lot of people a lot of people only care about warranty any way. Wonder how that location will handle HF always having a "sale" and the "20% off"

Also curious to see how they tool box sales would compare. That said, I give that sears 2 years max and they move out.

 

[jeremy v]

Seems like a pretty smart business move to me, haha. I think it has been their crafty plan all along. Harbor Freight slowly raising prices to eventually match Sears, Sears slowly switching to China made tools so they have the same COO as Harbor Freight.

Now they are in that perfect spot where if they wanted, Sears and Harbor freight can partner together and combine their import ordering power and in turn get lower prices from their suppliers. Being right next to each other means they can also split the transport costs for the goods they sell. They can have one big shipping container a day show up at a communal loading dock and half goes to Sears and the other half to Harbor Freight. Voila, no more wasted money on half empty cargo containers. They already have an easy way to sort the cargo. Everything red goes to Sears, and everything Green, yellow, or orange goes to Harbor Freight.

A side benefit occurs as a result of also having a shared parking lot. Sears rarely has any customers parked outside anymore (they mostly shop online now), so that leaves plenty of available parking spaces for the tri-weekly Harbor Freight parking lot sales without affecting either customer base.

Or maybe it is the theory of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Sears is so financially clueless at the top of the ladder that their last remaining option is to secretly try to copy Harbor Freight. First they have to figure out how they are doing so well financially (without credit income) while also selling what are largely (as of late) the same tools for less money. The problem is that Harbor Freight often uses antiquated pre-internet cash registers that put disappearing ink on the receipts, so Sears needs secret access to the HF tills on a weekly basis. How do they pull off a sting operation like that? Think "hidden door in the adjoining wall after hours".

Another option is that Sears is thinking their issues couldn't possibly be related to bad management (say whaaa?), so the success of Harbor Freight in comparison must rely on the only key aspect that differentiates the two businesses. This difference is often touted by real estate agents as if it is a divine revelation of amazing wisdom to all who hear it (instead of it just being the obvious common sense that it is) "location,location,location."

 

[G_P]

I wonder if that sears will start accepting the 20% off coupons.

It still pisses me off that sears moved craftsman production to china. Thankfully US made craftsman is still plentiful and cheap at garage sales. Just ***** to have to warranty a tool and trade US made for Chinese junk.

 

[justanengineer]

Maybe I missed it, but whats the point? Having a location right next to your competitor is a very common strategy today. Every time I see HD, Lowe's is within sight. Every time I see Denny's, Bob Evans, Waffle House, or IHOP is nearby....etc etc.

 

[gagreen]

What percentage of a sears store is tool sales?? Majority of sears profits come from appliances which hf does not offer. It's easy to think the world rotates around ourselves and our own interests, but every time I go into a sears there is only a small few sometimes only me in the tools while majority of the shoppers are looking at fridges/mowers/treadmills.

 

[NC-Fordguy]

That's a dealer store or better known as Sears Hometown. They are "typical" mom and pop set-ups.

As far as locations the ultimate decision is with the franchisee, not Sears Holdings.

Gee some of you guys are dense

Puff of smoke from the shady knoll at work again

 

[ATC]

****...that's nice! Sears and HF are on opposite ends of town for me!

 

[jeremy v]

That's a dealer store or better known as Sears Hometown. They are "typical" mom and pop set-ups.

As far as locations the ultimate decision is with the franchisee, not Sears Holdings.

Gee some of you guys are dense

Puff of smoke from the shady knoll at work again

Do you honestly think my post and some of the others here were serious? Do I and others honestly have to say "tongue in cheek", "sarcastic", "just having a little fun in the middle of the night", etc. after every statement for people to tell that I and others are just playing around with a somewhat uncommon picture and a harmless subject? It seemed to me like the OP posted the picture because he was looking for some possibly funny banter, not to make a serious political, business, or social statement. Maybe we're not actually dense at all.

Maybe I am just being too sensitive, but I really don't like the way some on this site occasionally make blanket put downs towards others on this site. It detracts from the quality, friendliness, and integrity of the forum as a whole. If someone has a view that you find inferior to yours, post about your view (and the reasons for it) in the best way you can. If there is wisdom behind your perspective you might just convert a few to your way of thinking and help raise the bar of knowledge and understanding for all of us. Even if it is only a little bit, every little bit helps.

It scares me to think of the day someone posts a picture of a Harbor Freight right next to a Sears with a guy in a Ford baseball cap walking out to his Chevy truck in the parking lot, right next to a SnapOn truck driver that is using a Mac ratchet to help a Pepsi delivery truck fix a flat tire while sipping on a Coke. It is going to cause endless arguments, hurt feelings, member bannings, etc. It could be the explosive end of this forum altogether. All because of the hurtful words and elitism that are bound to ensue over the fact that some will say the SnapOn driver is abusing the Mac ratchet by not using a breaker bar first to pop loose the lug nuts, while others will venomously defend the use of the ratchet alone for the entire task.

Seacrest out. (Just to let everyone know, I am not actually Ryan Seacrest. I was just trying to be funny for the enjoyment of others. I am actually a French model, Bonjour)

 

[NoNN37]

My nearest HF is across the street from sears.
The next closest one is up the street from Kmart.
and the third one is around the corner of another sears.

 

[dwp99]

Photoshop Busted, what gave it away is the slanted black section.

 

[Alchymist]

Photoshop Busted, what gave it away is the slanted black section.

Wow- Snap-On lawn tractors - whoda thunk?

 

[maddawg1952]

Wonder if I can give them a price to knock down the partition wall and end the slow death Sears is heading for ?

 

[eljefino]

Noone else noticed the cars parked around the corner, probably HF's main entrance, and Sears looking oh so lonely?

 

[619DioFan]

Photoshop Busted, what gave it away is the slanted black section.

Sweet ! wonder if snap-on will take my 20% off coupon and give me a free pair of scissors to boot ? LOL.

 

[mmack66]

Noone else noticed the cars parked around the corner, probably HF's main entrance, and Sears looking oh so lonely?

The OP said he was on his way to work. Maybe the Sears hadn't opened yet.

 

[Reality Sucks]

This is not Photoshopped in any way, the HF entrance is behind the slant. Ill video me going in both stores if you want, I have no reason to Lie or waste my time Photoshopping a pic for a discussion thread. The sears location actually used to be a Winn-Dixie grocery store. And yes I was on my way to work at 7:30 in the morning, and I actually took the pic about a week ago. The sears at that time hadn't open yet, however, they are in full swing now. I will also say this, that this store only sells tools,lawn/garden,Washers,dryers, and electronics. No clothes or jewelery of any sort. Ill Gladly video and post me walking in both stores in you want.

 

[rsanter]

sarcasm.. Did K-Mart sell Sears to HF?

Wedge

Harbor freight owning them could be an improvement

Bob

 

[Kracin]

This is not Photoshopped in any way, the HF entrance is behind the slant. Ill video me going in both stores if you want, I have no reason to Lie or waste my time Photoshopping a pic for a discussion thread. The sears location actually used to be a Winn-Dixie grocery store. And yes I was on my way to work at 7:30 in the morning, and I actually took the pic about a week ago. The sears at that time hadn't open yet, however, they are in full swing now. I will also say this, that this store only sells tools,lawn/garden,Washers,dryers, and electronics. No clothes or jewelery of any sort. Ill Gladly video and post me walking in both stores in you want.

yeah the sears "hometown" stores... they aren't literally a sears, they are just licensed to sell sears stuff and use the name etc, kind of annoying because theres one close to me, and i still go to sears for quite a few things. but then you walk in and they have 30% of what a real sears has and what they carry is what the owner thought they should carry.

 

[jeremy v]

Yes; if you're going to be sarcastic and you communicatively lack the ability to properly convey your attempts at witlessness, by all means, use one of the small animated graphics available. .

Thanks for the help. I usually do use them, but I guess in this instance I just assumed that when I mentioned things like secret doors between the stores so Sears can spy on Harbor Freight till receipts, communal loading docks to save on shipping with products differentiated by color, etc. that it would be so obvious I wasn't being serious they weren't necessary. I guess I was wrong, so I will go back to using them.

Adios Amigos. I am now off to buy a manual nail unbender, because spending money on tools helps me to deal with the emotional toll and severe depression that comes as a result of realizing I am communicatively lacking in my attempts at witlessness.

 

[jeremy v]

yeah the sears "hometown" stores... they aren't literally a sears, they are just licensed to sell sears stuff and use the name etc, kind of annoying because theres one close to me, and i still go to sears for quite a few things. but then you walk in and they have 30% of what a real sears has and what they carry is what the owner thought they should carry.

Just wondering, but does the fact that the "hometown" Sears sign is written in all lowercase letters designate it is a hometown store if you didn't know? All the regular Sears I have seen have all capitals in the name and sometimes also a larger first S.

 

[RCStocker]

Craftsman tools are still much better quality than Harbor freight. They are miles apart in quality. I like the HF impact sockets. I have several of their newer designed ratchets and like them. For most hand tools C man blows them out of the water.

 

[Gabastone]

I think Sears is going to be in for a wake-up call. Nobody is going to buy expensive Chinese junk when cheap Chinese junk next door.

 

[blackz26]

I think Sears is going to be in for a wake-up call. Nobody is going to buy expensive Chinese junk when cheap Chinese junk next door.

People like you upset people like me. And them people who use the tools who in fact use them and like them and know they're not junk. Then debates get started and the thread gets locked. If you don't like them don't comment on them.

 

[blackz26]

Not the thread to discuss this

 

[jd_1138]

A friend of mine works at one of these Sears hardware type stores in another state (they sell tools, appliances, hardware, lawn care equipment, etc.) -- basically everything except clothing and electronics/TV's. They are privately owned and franchised. Some say "Sears Hardware" while others don't. I wonder if that's a geographical thing?

There is a Sears Hardware near here. It's next to a Wal-Mart. If I need some hardware or lawn equipment consumables, I will go to Sears Hardware first -- before Wal-Mart. Prices are about the same, and Sears has better products than Wal-Mart and has more clerks to assist you if you need to find something or have a question.

 

[the1nonlyjl]

Photoshop Busted, what gave it away is the slanted black section.

No exaggeration here... I did spot snap on truck pulling into harbor freight store yesterday. It got me wondering what went on over there. It was in Danbury CT. I couldn't turn around to sneak in as I headed to Costco for food shopping..big sale on St. Louis Ribs. Yummy.

 

[Hiball]

A friend of mine works at one of these Sears hardware type stores in another state (they sell tools, appliances, hardware, lawn care equipment, etc.) -- basically everything except clothing and electronics/TV's. They are privately owned and franchised. Some say "Sears Hardware" while others don't. I wonder if that's a geographical thing?

There is a Sears Hardware near here. It's next to a Wal-Mart. If I need some hardware or lawn equipment consumables, I will go to Sears Hardware first -- before Wal-Mart. Prices are about the same, and Sears has better products than Wal-Mart and has more clerks to assist you if you need to find something or have a question.

A lot of them here in the Midwest, our local Sears is a hometown, whenever I buy anything from sears I generally buy online (coupon codes) and then just choose the "pickup at store" option. They are extremely picky about warranty, they will do it.. But it has to be a open stock item. And on occasion, there "in store" prices won't jive with the main Sears ads which is another reason I like to buy online and pick up at the store as I had the manager get kinda nasty when I went to buy a washing machine a few years ago and the hometown store price was about $100 bucks more.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

I pretty much as of late get bitched at every time I start a post.

Do you honestly think my post and some of the others here were serious? Do I and others honestly have to say "tongue in cheek", "sarcastic", "just having a little fun in the middle of the night", etc. after every statement for people to tell that I and others are just playing around with a somewhat uncommon picture and a harmless subject? It seemed to me like the OP posted the picture because he was looking for some possibly funny banter, not to make a serious political, business, or social statement. Maybe we're not actually dense at all.

Maybe I am just being too sensitive, but I really don't like the way some on this site occasionally make blanket put downs towards others on this site. It detracts from the quality, friendliness, and integrity of the forum as a whole. If someone has a view that you find inferior to yours, post about your view (and the reasons for it) in the best way you can. If there is wisdom behind your perspective you might just convert a few to your way of thinking and help raise the bar of knowledge and understanding for all of us. Even if it is only a little bit, every little bit helps.

It scares me to think of the day someone posts a picture of a Harbor Freight right next to a Sears with a guy in a Ford baseball cap walking out to his Chevy truck in the parking lot, right next to a SnapOn truck driver that is using a Mac ratchet to help a Pepsi delivery truck fix a flat tire while sipping on a Coke. It is going to cause endless arguments, hurt feelings, member bannings, etc. It could be the explosive end of this forum altogether. All because of the hurtful words and elitism that are bound to ensue over the fact that some will say the SnapOn driver is abusing the Mac ratchet by not using a breaker bar first to pop loose the lug nuts, while others will venomously defend the use of the ratchet alone for the entire task.

Seacrest out. (Just to let everyone know, I am not actually Ryan Seacrest. I was just trying to be funny for the enjoyment of others. I am actually a French model, Bonjour)

 

[hefty lefty]

Sears Roebuck would do much better to find a ninety year old former Sears executive who still has all his marbles and tell him that we want to do it just exactly like we did it in 1963. Go back to quality domestic made merch, charge a price that is more than Wal-Mart but make the store pleasant to shop at, warrant the merch unconditionally. I used to buy stuff at Sears just because I went in there for hot nuts....cashews, that is. The store smelled great with the candy counter and the lunch room with better-than-McDonalds burgers.

 

[a1z2s3x4]

I saw this in Lynchburg, VA last week. It is on Timberlake Rd...

All that to say, pretty sure that was a real picture (and I know the Snap-On Outlet was just people having some fun...)

Chris

 

[PugetDude]

Seems like a pretty smart business move to me, haha. I think it has been their crafty plan all along. Harbor Freight slowly raising prices to eventually match Sears, Sears slowly switching to China made tools so they have the same COO as Harbor Freight.

Now they are in that perfect spot where if they wanted, Sears and Harbor freight can partner together and combine their import ordering power and in turn get lower prices from their suppliers. Being right next to each other means they can also split the transport costs for the goods they sell. They can have one big shipping container a day show up at a communal loading dock and half goes to Sears and the other half to Harbor Freight. Voila, no more wasted money on half empty cargo containers. They already have an easy way to sort the cargo. Everything red goes to Sears, and everything Green, yellow, or orange goes to Harbor Freight.

A side benefit occurs as a result of also having a shared parking lot. Sears rarely has any customers parked outside anymore (they mostly shop online now), so that leaves plenty of available parking spaces for the tri-weekly Harbor Freight parking lot sales without affecting either customer base.

Or maybe it is the theory of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Sears is so financially clueless at the top of the ladder that their last remaining option is to secretly try to copy Harbor Freight. First they have to figure out how they are doing so well financially (without credit income) while also selling what are largely (as of late) the same tools for less money. The problem is that Harbor Freight often uses antiquated pre-internet cash registers that put disappearing ink on the receipts, so Sears needs secret access to the HF tills on a weekly basis. How do they pull off a sting operation like that? Think "hidden door in the adjoining wall after hours".

Another option is that Sears is thinking their issues couldn't possibly be related to bad management (say whaaa?), so the success of Harbor Freight in comparison must rely on the only key aspect that differentiates the two businesses. This difference is often touted by real estate agents as if it is a divine revelation of amazing wisdom to all who hear it (instead of it just being the obvious common sense that it is) "location,location,location."

Great Post, Jeremy... Satire, done well!


As for the snarky comments regarding your well-written essay, remember, there are always going to be dimbulbs who don't recognize, understand, or appreciate tongue-in-cheek humor and conspiracy theorists who think Bigfoot was sprited away by a black UN helicopter to be buried in Jimmy Hoffa's grave at Roswell next to D.B. Cooper that are compelled to inject their paranoia every time they post... ignore 'em!

Keep up the good work, posts like yours are one of the reasons I joined GJ in the first place....(well, that and the fact that I can post anonymously to protect my identy in the Witnes Protection Program...)

 

[jd_1138]

Sears Roebuck would do much better to find a ninety year old former Sears executive who still has all his marbles and tell him that we want to do it just exactly like we did it in 1963. Go back to quality domestic made merch, charge a price that is more than Wal-Mart but make the store pleasant to shop at, warrant the merch unconditionally. I used to buy stuff at Sears just because I went in there for hot nuts....cashews, that is. The store smelled great with the candy counter and the lunch room with better-than-McDonalds burgers.

I remember those candy counters! I think it was at a Sears that I remember seeing those back in the 1970's when I was a kid. Those were more civilized times -- at least in retail anyway. Even K-Mart stores had a little cafeteria in the back where you could kill 2 birds with 1 stone -- shop and grab some lunch. They had hamburgers, salsbury steak, tune casserole, etc. and tons of jello.

 

[HaroRider]

One truck for both stores, I guess they can save on shipping cost.

 

[Ign]

What percentage of a sears store is tool sales?? Majority of sears profits come from appliances which hf does not offer. It's easy to think the world rotates around ourselves and our own interests, but every time I go into a sears there is only a small few sometimes only me in the tools while majority of the shoppers are looking at fridges/mowers/treadmills.

This. My hometown Sears expanded a few years ago and I was thrilled, until I realized they weren't going to touch the tool section. They took over the whole space next to them and just added a lot more appliances.

This is also why most heavily advertised sales are on appliances (or gimmicky 300-in-1 tools for events like Father's Day) and the whole "Blue Crew" thing or whatever they call it focuses mostly on appliances.

After appliances I bet their next biggest sales are mowers/lawn care, then electronics (TV's) then tools last. I'm excluding soft goods because most hometown stores don't have those.

Survey every person that walks into a Sears and I bet less than 5% know the difference between a box end and open end wrench. They also don't care about COO as long as they think they're still getting the lifetime warranty on Craftsman tools. And most Sears consumers will pick the Evolv stuff if given a choice, simply because of price.

 

[Ign]

A lot of them here in the Midwest, our local Sears is a hometown, whenever I buy anything from sears I generally buy online (coupon codes) and then just choose the "pickup at store" option. They are extremely picky about warranty, they will do it.. But it has to be a open stock item. And on occasion, there "in store" prices won't jive with the main Sears ads which is another reason I like to buy online and pick up at the store as I had the manager get kinda nasty when I went to buy a washing machine a few years ago and the hometown store price was about $100 bucks more.

This too. My local homtown personnel are either rude, ignorant or argumentative. Even with the recent Nextec right angle driver sale they were just sure I only ordered ONE and the fact that the data transmitted to them said THREE just must be a typo Yep, anytime it doesn't make sense to you just set aside as many as YOU would buy and ignore the customer's pre-paid order.

 

[Farmall450]

What percentage of a sears store is tool sales?? Majority of sears profits come from appliances which hf does not offer. It's easy to think the world rotates around ourselves and our own interests, but every time I go into a sears there is only a small few sometimes only me in the tools while majority of the shoppers are looking at fridges/mowers/treadmills.

That's very true.

My "local" tool section is always devoid of life except the occasional old timer.

 

[mmack66]

Sears Roebuck would do much better to find a ninety year old former Sears executive who still has all his marbles and tell him that we want to do it just exactly like we did it in 1963. Go back to quality domestic made merch, charge a price that is more than Wal-Mart but make the store pleasant to shop at, warrant the merch unconditionally. I used to buy stuff at Sears just because I went in there for hot nuts....cashews, that is. The store smelled great with the candy counter and the lunch room with better-than-McDonalds burgers.

That all sounds great, but someone like that wouldn't last a week, and those ideals would be impossible to implement today.

 

[jd_1138]

And most Sears consumers will pick the Evolv stuff if given a choice, simply because of price.

And the pretty logo. I bought 4 unopened packs (2 metric, 2 standard) of Evolv sockets at a yard sale for $15. There are 9 sockets in each pack. They are packaged the same way a lot of the Chinese sockets are packaged -- only difference is a sticker that says Evolv rather than Stanley, Kobalt, etc.. I haven't even opened them yet. I am putting together a 3rd box for my car so I will pop those in the 3rd box.