A Note about Sears

[bajones238]

I understand the old retailer is having financial difficulties. I hope they recover, and stay in business forever.

We just finished our move from Atlanta, GA to Aiken, SC. Lots of cars, furniture, etc., plus a shop full of equipment. Movers handled the job very well. The only downside was a bit of damage to my antique Craftsman Commercial (Atlas) metal lathe - cross feed crank was broken and feed screw was bent.

The mover owned up to the damage and offered to pay replacement cost - but where on earth was I going to find parts for a 60+ year old lathe? I checked Ebay - lots of lathe parts but none of what I needed. Feeling I had nothing to lose, I checked with Sears to see if parts were still available for this relic. To my surprise, both parts I needed were shown as available and in stock.

I was sure this was a mistake, but placed the order (with my credit card) anyway. A day after the order went in I got an email sating the parts were in fact available and would be shipped within three business days.

One week later, the parts arrived. Original, Made-in-USA parts for my old lathe. My lathe lives again!

Sears, you are the greatest.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I agree, I hate to see them in trouble as they are where I got my first tools starting in 1970 and they sold good products. ....

 

[BillK]

I know there is a lot of dislike for Sears for some reason, but I like shopping there. We are getting ready to buy a mattress and that is where we will get it. Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist but I want to do my part in helping an old American company !

By the way, the lathe parts probably came from Clausing who I think bought the rights to the Atlas line years ago. I have a old (1959) 12 x 36 at the shop and have been able to get any part I have needed.

 

[justanengineer]

Sears carries parts for dam near anything ever made with a Cman badge on it, they take a ton of pride in the warranty and support behind the brand still to this day. For my various restorations and projects Ive gotten things like decals and special parts that you'd swear wouldn't exist, but they're in stock and at the customer service desk 3 days later.

 

[CJM8515]

I wish the tools and whatnot had the quality from 30+ years ago, Id buy them up in a heart beat. But todays stuff is ****..

funny you should mention they had those parts for such an obscure item. All I wanted a month ago was a deck height adjuster for a ride on CMan mower-I found the correct P/N online from websites who told you how to replace said part they cheaped out on and didnt use on the one side of the deck. Nope, no longer carried. But I managed to find a similar but 2x as much cost one they now carry..

 

[zendriver]

It's becoming an American sport to attack the weak, which may be part of the problem with Sears. Go with the winner, LOL.

Personally I have had way more good experiences with Sears purchase/services, than bad.

They are struggling, so people simply want to leave them behind, similar to what wild animals will do.

 

[zendriver]

I wish the tools and whatnot had the quality from 30+ years ago, Id buy them up in a heart beat. But todays stuff is ****..

Does anybody make or sell any products, with the same quality, as they did 30 years ago?

Not really.

For example, I received a warranty replacement (my first) of a Snap On socket , where the finish and size stamping, look more like something from Harbor Freight, than the fine workmanship of the rest of the vintage SO set, I had purchased (at great cost) in 1976.

 

[justanengineer]

Does anybody make or sell any products, with the same quality, as they did 30 years ago?

Not really.

Agreed. Way back when you could walk into most Sears, Wards, and other retailers and buy in-stock machines that required 2-3 strong guys with furniture dollies to move - cabinet saws, 17"+ drills, engine lathes, etc. Today its rare you can even order anything similar, unless you want a cheapie homeowner/hobbyist aluminum&pot-metal machine you need to visit Rockler or other specialty house.

To be fair tho to Sears, many of the hand tools haven't changed in decades nor have the suppliers. I've got screwdrivers, hammers, and pliers that I bought 20 years ago that are the same as sold today, and a few things like punches that my father bought long before and passed along are the same as well. Personally, I suspect for some things they also have multiple quality lines as we've seen with toolboxes. When I lived in a wealthy part of Indiana still our local Sears was pretty large and mostly made in USA, they still carried USA RP wrenches and regularly reordered them in. Our local store here in a comparatively poor area of NY is vastly different - smaller and mostly Chinese.

 

[RibsBrisket4me]

I'm a Sears tool owner. Emerson era table saw, nice jointer, compound sliding miter saw, and a whole bunch of hand tools.

I also remember when having Kenmore appliances was a big deal.

I too hope they get back on track.

 

[Cato]

they take a ton of pride in the warranty and support behind the brand still to this day.

I still shop at Sears and love the place.

What upsets me are all the jerks making a scene about some product they broke or wore out, and trying to get the manager to fix it when it's out of warranty.

Not too long ago there was this woman trying to get a free replacement to a rusted out grill that was covered in grease and long out of warranty.

I saw another guy trying to get a big discount on tires that didn't apply to his situation. He got loud and cried racism (he was Asian) and the employees were stressed out. He looked at me and winked just to let me know he was pushing it.

Maybe Sears' service is just too good for America. Maybe folks just deserve to shop at Walmart and HF for tools; or get jerked around by holier than thou Snap On.

 

[yamaha0343]

I have a love/hate relationship with Sears sometimes, but I'd really hate to see them (at least the hardware/L&G side) gone.

 

[barks]

Does anybody make or sell any products, with the same quality, as they did 30 years ago?

Not really.

For example, I received a warranty replacement (my first) of a Snap On socket , where the finish and size stamping, look more like something from Harbor Freight, than the fine workmanship of the rest of the vintage SO set, I had purchased (at great cost) in 1976.

Well, the vehicles and tires of today seem to last 3-4 times longer than 30-40 years ago.

 

[Tim Kennedy]

bajones238: Nothing to do with Sears --- just post what Aiken, SC is like --- my parents left there when I was about 4 months old --- a long time ago --- May 1954 & I have never been back --- my father was a steamfitter on the Savannah River nuke plant.

 

[lakeroadster]

I worked at Sears, selling Craftsman Tools, back in the late 1970's. I saw first hand the effect that Kmart had on them... and how they started selling "Made in Japan" tools alongside their Craftsman tools... because that's what the buying public wanted.

Even the Sears merchandising approach started to morph into that of Kmart. Overcrowded aisleways and lesser quality products in all departments, alongside the good quality.

Since then it's been more and more competition.

And when the majority of folks just buy the ****... the good stuff eventually is phased out.

But the die has been cast, you see it everywhere, even here on GJ.

There was a time when people bought quality, and expected quality. They wouldn't buy product from a store that sold poorly made product, product that they had to modify in order to make it better.

Now people seem ok with it.. and even post how to threads here on the GJ about modifying Harbor Freight ****, and similar **** from other folks, to make it usable for the task at hand.

 

[rburke65]

I used to buy Craftsman tools, but the last purchase was an aluminium floor Jack that lasted 3 USS and the O rings went away. Made in China on the box.....I still had the box! I'm done.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Once upon a time in America all people wanted was a few good things. They worked and saved and paid for most things with cash. The items they bought lasted a lifetime and beyond.

Then we got credit cards. Suddenly people could have anything they wanted and value was replaced with trendy. People no longer wanted a few things. They wanted to be up to date. So the market place adapted and now we consume junk designed to last no longer than the life of the fad that motivated the purchase.

I know people who celebrated their first credit card by taking a night on the town. Today, many years later, they are still paying interest on that steak and bottle of Gallo Burgundy.

In durable goods we are no longer buyers, we are consumers, manipulated from now and forever to me and today.

I have a lot of Craftsman tools. These days I get them at yard sales and pawn shops. Antiquated hold overs from the days when things were made in America and that really meant something.

 

[bczygan]

When I was coming up, Sears Craftsman was just the standard for homeowner tools, hand and woodworking.

At some point I discovered that they were designed to a price point, and were not the most robust tools made, nor the most elegantly engineered. And their hand tool sets were designed with a lot of fluff. That was the era of Lafayette Electronics and Heathkit radio kits. This was designed for homeowners, not industry.

It was a post WWII and post depression era society, where we still had a need to make things for ourselves, and had the war machinery and technology available. And it was a technology you could take home. You could use it and build things and tinker.

At some point we gradually gave that up in exchange for consumer products to just use.

It was also a time when nations had trade barriers, so foreign stuff wasn't available for reasonable cost.

Times have changed, and the whole situation has changed. I have way more choices. But some of the old choices have gone away or changed fundamentally.

I miss some of those old choices, but all in all, today is much better than yesterday.

Bill

 

[zendriver]

Well, the vehicles and tires of today seem to last 3-4 times longer than 30-40 years ago.

Good point, but I was referring more to mass-produced, lower profit margin consumer items, where companies even like Snap On are forced to compete




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[pmiranda]

Once upon a time in America all people wanted was a few good things. They worked and saved and paid for most things with cash. The items they bought lasted a lifetime and beyond.

I'm still that way. I have credit cards because so much of what I buy is online now, but when I buy something in person it's usually with cash, and the cards get paid off every month. I have a loan on my house because the interest is tax deductible and the rate is less than I can make on a good mutual fund. We have a loan on our newest car because the rate is barely more than we make in our savings account.
Most of my tools are Craftsman and always will be until they go out of business.

 

[IA Monsterbuck]

I know people who celebrated their first credit card by taking a night on the town. Today, many years later, they are still paying interest on that steak and bottle of Gallo Burgundy.

That's one expensive restaurant! !

 

[48fordnut]

I have lots of CM tools ,Kenmore appliances. Will probably buy more if I need them.

I have made a very good living in aviation, and restored cars with these tools.

Not a tool collector. I use mine. Just my opinion.

 

[jedeyeben]

The last time I was in Sears was tool related, and I felt that the events summed up what has effectively sealed their fate as to what most of you have already said with them no longer making quality and replaced it with "consumer" trash.
I had a "new " drill combo set I had gotten during the holidays, first use it fell off my ladder, as too did my 10yr old one, from the same height. Both hit the floor at the same time, the new one shattered... The old one, which had seen many a drop, hey it happens, bounced and continued to work.
Anyway you know how these return trips cause you to clear out your in waiting for return stash of sockets and what not, well I had an old craftsman tape measure( probably 20 years old) that needed switched out too. I walk in, flag down someone after a few minutes, "they don't work in this department" ...[emoji35] finally get someone who does after awhile longer. I explain the drill situation, have the box and all receipt info, still it becomes a but what do we do crisis for the kid working... Well genius, you switch it out for the one on the shelf next to you... But I wait for them to work it out and they did eventually, so great problem solved. Now on to the kicker, I break out the other tools and the tape measure, one socket no problem, twisted straight screw driver no longer sold in that size ?[emoji848] ok what ever but then I get to the tape and "oh craftsman no longer makes a tape measure but we can one time exchange it for a Stanley". Wtf?! You no longer make a tape measure...? One of the simplest and most used tool of the trades? It's bad enough that when I am left with returning an American made wrench or socket or something of the like it is only replaceable with cheap imported junk but you also no longer even produce the most basic tools because someone has efficiently imported even more cheaper junk and forced you out of the market??? It's truly a sad day for such an iconic brand and home garage standard of tools.


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[rayra]

Get what you need from sears while you can. I've read on auto forums that they've ceased their long-term auto battery warranties. That seems to indicate they won't be around to service them.
They closed 50 more stores this past February
http://fortune.com/2016/02/09/sears-stores/

 

[redmondjp]

. . . ok what ever but then I get to the tape and "oh craftsman no longer makes a tape measure but we can one time exchange it for a Stanley". Wtf?! You no longer make a tape measure...? One of the simplest and most used tool of the trades? It's bad enough that when I am left with returning an American made wrench or socket or something of the like it is only replaceable with cheap imported junk but you also no longer even produce the most basic tools because someone has efficiently imported even more cheaper junk and forced you out of the market??? It's truly a sad day for such an iconic brand and home garage standard of tools.

I'm with you on this - I used to pick up used Craftsman tape measures at yard sales and Sears would give me a free replacement tape to put into it.

But from their perspective, a tape measure is essentially a consumable tool these days when used on a daily basis. The would lose their shirt giving people free replacement tape measures. Same as if they offered a lifetime warranty on saw blades, or cordless tool batteries, and what not.

 

[jedeyeben]

I'm with you on this - I used to pick up used Craftsman tape measures at yard sales and Sears would give me a free replacement tape to put into it.

But from their perspective, a tape measure is essentially a consumable tool these days when used on a daily basis. The would lose their shirt giving people free replacement tape measures. Same as if they offered a lifetime warranty on saw blades, or cordless tool batteries, and what not.

Oh I agree, but just the simple fact that they don't even make one any longer let alone offer a replacement says a lot in its self. A dying brand is sad to witness.


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