Sears.com hot deals and clearance thread

[Hexen]

We all know Sears has raised the 'regular' prices on many items in the past year, but I just noticed what might be one of the most galling increases... the exact same small wet/dry vac I got as part of last year's Black Friday sale for $17.99 (before points), regular price at the time was $29.99... This year for Black Friday weekend, the *sale* price is $29.99 and the regular price is now $44.99.

 

[bds1984]

Today is probably the last day before the November-announced closing stores go into full liquidation mode. Based on what I'd heard during earlier closure rounds, I've been expecting that my store would immediately drop out of the online ordering system tomorrow. But if that's not right and it keeps accepting orders longer, I'd have more chances at better selection and better prices.

Does anyone who's been through recent full-line Sears closures remember how far along your store was in the process when it stopped being available as a pickup location on the website?

When the Portage, MI, store began liquidation this year the day the sale began the option to pick up in store was immediately dropped. That may have been before the massive layoffs at the corporate level. I wouldn't expect any regularity for a cut-off date for picking up in store. As of today, I can select store pick-up for the Lansing, MI, store and that store was on the most recent round of store closure announcements.

 

[bds1984]

We all know Sears has raised the 'regular' prices on many items in the past year, but I just noticed what might be one of the most galling increases... the exact same small wet/dry vac I got as part of last year's Black Friday sale for $17.99 (before points), regular price at the time was $29.99... This year for Black Friday weekend, the *sale* price is $29.99 and the regular price is now $44.99.

I have noticed the random price hikes like that across both brands on the most random items. My Kmart has nearly an entire aisle that one side is all shop-vacs and many of them are the one you just referenced above but are usually $24.99 with frequent sales that are $17-19.99.

 

[yrly]

We all know Sears has raised the 'regular' prices on many items in the past year, but I just noticed what might be one of the most galling increases... the exact same small wet/dry vac I got as part of last year's Black Friday sale for $17.99 (before points), regular price at the time was $29.99... This year for Black Friday weekend, the *sale* price is $29.99 and the regular price is now $44.99.

Well to be fair they probably sell the most of these during this time of year as gifts. Sell it at $19 in the middle of summer when a few people buy them to vacuum their car or sell them at $29 when people are gifting them and they sell a bundle. I could never understand the appear of these small shop vacs they don’t seem to hold enough to be useful.

I got one of these for my garage when Ollie’s (northeast/Midwest closeout store) had them https://www.bissell.com/garage-pro-wetdry-vac-18p03 of course Ollie’s only wanted like $89 for it.

My only gripe is it’s somewhat lower on suction and I cracked a plastic wand.

 

[Hexen]

... I could never understand the appear of these small shop vacs they don’t seem to hold enough to be useful. ...

My reasoning for buying it was:
a) it was cheap enough for me to get it for free with points
b) it has a blower mode, which even some of the larger / more expensive models omit
c) it has lots of good reviews
d) I have limited storage space (which I've been filling up with tools from Sears, lol) - if this situation ever improves I may add a larger model in the future, but Sears probably won't still exist by the time that happens

Having to empty it more often is just about the only downside.

 

[7avalon7]

My reasoning for buying it was:

a) it was cheap enough for me to get it for free with points

b) it has a blower mode, which even some of the larger / more expensive models omit

c) it has lots of good reviews

d) I have limited storage space (which I've been filling up with tools from Sears, lol) - if this situation ever improves I may add a larger model in the future, but Sears probably won't still exist by the time that happens



Having to empty it more often is just about the only downside.

For me, limited storage is big deal for me. This replaces an old regular home vacuum, which creates more space for moreover free tools lol It is pretty good for its size.



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[Hexen]

Okay, got in my 'possibly last store pickup order'. Had to pay about $4 OOP since I couldn't keep accumulating points for more days, but was able to get a couple of small things I'd been wanting that my store had already sold out of (verified in person last week that there wasn't even one last one left on the shelf) - shipped to store, with pickup dates in 1-2 weeks. I ordered both in one order to use a FC, but they're expected to arrive on different dates, so I'll hopefully be able to pick up the first one before the second item arrives.

 

[giants]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like if today isn't the last day for ship to store on this round of stores, it will definitely not last much longer unless they change their procedures significantly.

Hexen, my Sears is scheduled for liquidation as of tomorrow morning. I just checked my cart and I AM, in fact, still able to request a ship to that store.

Hope that helps and will keep the bulletin board updated.

 

[yrly]

I have points hitting at midnight central time and am going to try and place a pickup order to a liquidating store that the other store doesn’t sell. So we will see what happens sometime after midnight central.

 

[Hexen]

Hexen, my Sears is scheduled for liquidation as of tomorrow morning. I just checked my cart and I AM, in fact, still able to request a ship to that store.

Hope that helps and will keep the bulletin board updated.

It's supposed to still be fine tonight, it's tomorrow that's in question.

yrly, you might have luck for a short time after midnight CT if it shuts off a bit later in the morning.

 

[yrly]

It's supposed to still be fine tonight, it's tomorrow that's in question.

yrly, you might have luck for a short time after midnight CT if it shuts off a bit later in the morning.

Didn’t do it until like a half an hour ago. It still worked. Also randomly got $5 in points after the order but can’t figure out why.

 

[Hexen]

The fine print on the ongoing $100 back on $100 deal says it runs 11/3-12/7/19, but I just noticed that it is currently programmed in on the website as "Expires on 12/01/2019". Not sure if they will be fixing/extending that date tomorrow, but if they don't, just a heads-up for anyone still thinking about doing that deal, it might end earlier than expected.

This looks like an interesting way to get the $100 back on $100 if you haven't already gotten most of these tools separately:

Craftsman 31 pc. Extreme Grip Tool Set
https://www.sears.com/craftsman-31-pc-extreme-grip-set/p-00942026000P
$100.00 Hot Buy sale, $199.99 regularly
available for free home shipping, and ship-to-store

Looks like they DID fix the $100 back on $100 date this morning, it's now saying "Expires on 12/07/2019" correctly.

And it's now 7:30am CT and my store is still showing up as an available pickup location. (Not sure if this location was even supposed to switch to liquidation mode on the same day as the rest of them, though, since it wasn't part of the official Nov list that had been announced for Dec 2. I was never able to find out a different date for it so I had to assume the earliest-case scenario.) I'll check again later today.

 

[captain14]

I checked a couple of hours ago and I was able to get an item sent to my local Kmart which was on the November closing list. The liquidator started last Monday which was earlier than posted. They even honored some of the BF deals.

What’s funny is they had all the registers open and lots of employees I’ve never seen before.
I’m sure lots of product was directed to these stores. Shelves are packed now unlike the past 18-24 months. But no prices on the shelf or hooks.

 

[Hexen]

I checked a couple of hours ago and I was able to get an item sent to my local Kmart which was on the November closing list. The liquidator started last Monday which was earlier than posted. They even honored some of the BF deals.

What’s funny is they had all the registers open and lots of employees I’ve never seen before.
I’m sure lots of product was directed to these stores. Shelves are packed now unlike the past 18-24 months. But no prices on the shelf or hooks.

Are you sure that was actually the liquidator last week? The way it worked at my Sears, they were doing a pre-liquidation 'looks like liquidation but still being run by Sears' mode starting a week before Thanksgiving. Sears has figured out that their sales skyrocket despite higher price points once the 'looks like liquidation' signs go up. The outside liquidation companies don't honor any normal sales, while Sears/Kmart keeping control till after Thanksgiving/BF weekend let them still participate in the BF ad sales. It may be hard to tell when it actually switches over, other than by the store disappearing from the website, and fixture pricing being posted in the store.

 

[Jesrf]

Looks like they DID fix the $100 back on $100 date this morning, it's now saying "Expires on 12/07/2019" correctly.



And it's now 7:30am CT and my store is still showing up as an available pickup location. (Not sure if this location was even supposed to switch to liquidation mode on the same day as the rest of them, though, since it wasn't part of the official Nov list that had been announced for Dec 2. I was never able to find out a different date for it so I had to assume the earliest-case scenario.) I'll check again later today.

Here’s the thing, each day is a “new” $100 back deal, so if you look at the offer terms on an item that’s over $100 it will always say today’s date as ending for that particular days deal. I think that’s where some of the confusion came up.

Honestly tho, I can’t find much else to buy. Either they are closing soon or they’re switching tool vendors and clearing out existing stock.

Some notable unavailable items include:

Most impact sets.
84t ratchet set
1/2 digiclick torque wrenches

These are all staple items for craftsman, how do you run out on Black Friday weekend ??
Last December the 84t ran out just before Christmas but were available to order with a delivery date in January. I’ve never seen them run out of digiclick’s except for a day here or there and then right back in stock the next day(maybe inventory control issues in the past, idk)

We know the c3 line is dead I did notice they added a full line of Einhell cordless yesterday. The website says these were added in 2010 but I’ve never seen them on sears.com before. I suspect they make the 20v tool line for sears but I’m not sure.

Eddie supposedly poured in $250million for inventory. What did he buy? Appliances? Did it all go to the closing stores? I mean that’s a million dollars per remaining store at wholesale prices, wouldn’t you load up on your biggest sellers?

Even if they were going to close all the remaining stores you need inventory. Something doesn’t jibe here. Maybe their cutting a deal with SBD and will carry all the SBD craftsman after the new year and are just closing out the old.


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[captain14]

Are you sure that was actually the liquidator last week? The way it worked at my Sears, they were doing a pre-liquidation 'looks like liquidation but still being run by Sears' mode starting a week before Thanksgiving. Sears has figured out that their sales skyrocket despite higher price points once the 'looks like liquidation' signs go up. The outside liquidation companies don't honor any normal sales, while Sears/Kmart keeping control till after Thanksgiving/BF weekend let them still participate in the BF ad sales. It may be hard to tell when it actually switches over, other than by the store disappearing from the website, and fixture pricing being posted in the store.

Who actually knows anymore. When I returned something last Tuesday the signs were up and the person at the service desk said they started on Monday. I asked how long she had been with Kmart since she had “personnel” on her name tag. She had 43 years but was unsure of her future after this. She could retire but the what if possibility was out there. She did handle the return quickly without any issues surprisingly.

 

[Hexen]

Here’s the thing, each day is a “new” $100 back deal, so if you look at the offer terms on an item that’s over $100 it will always say today’s date as ending for that particular days deal. I think that’s where some of the confusion came up.

It is an ongoing deal that allows one use per day as part of its terms, not a new deal per day. As I said this morning, the website now says it ends 12/7, so yesterday saying 12/1 was a mistake/temporary situation, or it would say 12/2 today.

Honestly tho, I can’t find much else to buy. Either they are closing soon or they’re switching tool vendors and clearing out existing stock.

Some notable unavailable items include:

Most impact sets.
84t ratchet set
1/2 digiclick torque wrenches

These are all staple items for craftsman, how do you run out on Black Friday weekend ??
Last December the 84t ran out just before Christmas but were available to order with a delivery date in January. I’ve never seen them run out of digiclick’s except for a day here or there and then right back in stock the next day(maybe inventory control issues in the past, idk)

We know the c3 line is dead I did notice they added a full line of Einhell cordless yesterday. The website says these were added in 2010 but I’ve never seen them on sears.com before. I suspect they make the 20v tool line for sears but I’m not sure.

Eddie supposedly poured in $250million for inventory. What did he buy? Appliances? Did it all go to the closing stores? I mean that’s a million dollars per remaining store at wholesale prices, wouldn’t you load up on your biggest sellers?

Even if they were going to close all the remaining stores you need inventory. Something doesn’t jibe here. Maybe their cutting a deal with SBD and will carry all the SBD craftsman after the new year and are just closing out the old.

I posted a couple weeks ago about how Sears corporate HQ laid off all of the people who add new products to the website except for a skeleton crew of incompetent people in India, and also laid a lot off the 'buyers' who negotiate with manufacturers to bring in new products or new inventory of existing products. I think that is a very bad sign for the near future, not just the usual 'lose a few suppliers, find a few different suppliers' situations.

I don't know exactly where the new money went, but they've been losing money hand-over-fist for years (something like half a billion dollars per quarter, before they stopped having to report it publicly) - they've probably already burned through that $250M one way or another.

As for appliances, I was just reading an employee comment here that Sears is no longer even trying to keep non-Kenmore appliances in stock. When a customer orders one from a non-Kenmore brand, Sears will only then ask the manufacturer to send one. So the appliance manufacturers no longer trust Sears to pay for a bulk shipment by the normal PO system 1-3 months later, and Sears is no longer able to pay them up-front until they have a customer's money to pay out of.

Oh, and as for the product-add dates stated in the website product descriptions, I've noticed a lot of those that are completely wrong lately. Used to be they were more reliable, but don't pay any attention to those dates anymore. I think they're copying-and-pasting from previous product pages and then don't bother to update the dates.

And Einhell is definitely something I haven't seen before, but they aren't a manufacturer of any of the existing Craftsman power tool lines (edit: I forgot about the new "20V Max" they just added last year, haven't been able to find the manufacturer of that yet). Initial search made them look like a German manufacturer, but turns out their manufacturing is actually in China (unsurprisingly). They are known for making cheap power tools for sale in German discount grocery store chains. There's also some speculation that Harbor Freight's new Bauer line of cordless power tools is coming out of the same factory as Einhell.

 

[yrly]

Here’s the thing, each day is a “new” $100 back deal, so if you look at the offer terms on an item that’s over $100 it will always say today’s date as ending for that particular days deal. I think that’s where some of the confusion came up.

Honestly tho, I can’t find much else to buy. Either they are closing soon or they’re switching tool vendors and clearing out existing stock.

Some notable unavailable items include:

Most impact sets.
84t ratchet set
1/2 digiclick torque wrenches

These are all staple items for craftsman, how do you run out on Black Friday weekend ??
Last December the 84t ran out just before Christmas but were available to order with a delivery date in January. I’ve never seen them run out of digiclick’s except for a day here or there and then right back in stock the next day(maybe inventory control issues in the past, idk)

We know the c3 line is dead I did notice they added a full line of Einhell cordless yesterday. The website says these were added in 2010 but I’ve never seen them on sears.com before. I suspect they make the 20v tool line for sears but I’m not sure.

Eddie supposedly poured in $250million for inventory. What did he buy? Appliances? Did it all go to the closing stores? I mean that’s a million dollars per remaining store at wholesale prices, wouldn’t you load up on your biggest sellers?

Even if they were going to close all the remaining stores you need inventory. Something doesn’t jibe here. Maybe their cutting a deal with SBD and will carry all the SBD craftsman after the new year and are just closing out the old.


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Any $250 million in inventory wouldn’t hit until spring.

The Ultimate Collection craftsman is a different vendor so I suppose they may phase out the 84t ratchets in favor of 90t ones. One employee told me they plan on switching to Diehard branded lawn and garden in the spring.

Not sure about the torque wrenches, they had plenty of non digital ones the other day.

 

[m6z]

There were lots of torque wrenches, ratchet wrenches and General International table saws tagged as door busters on Saturday at my local store.

 

[Hexen]

Any $250 million in inventory wouldn’t hit until spring.

The Ultimate Collection craftsman is a different vendor so I suppose they may phase out the 84t ratchets in favor of 90t ones. One employee told me they plan on switching to Diehard branded lawn and garden in the spring.

Not sure about the torque wrenches, they had plenty of non digital ones the other day.

Someone in another thread pointed out that the name "Ultimate" has two different interpretations/meanings... Sears presumably was going for "best", but it also can mean "last"/"final", ironically.

Also, there's a reason Apex/Danaher had millions of dollars of invoices to file in the Sears bankruptcy proceedings - they are (or at least were until late 2018) still manufacturing a whole lot of stuff for Sears, just switched from Apex's US factories to their Chinese factories years ago. I found a comment pointing out that the Ultimate Collection items strongly resemble Crescent tools, which are made by Apex.

 

[Poe34]

This was probably covered, and I apologize for asking on the hot deals page, but Hexen, you probably know the answer. What happens when you purchase a "lifetime warranty" tool at Sears, that isn't sold at Lowes, Ace... and it breaks? I was thinking about getting that ratcheting screwdriver set, but it isn't sold anywhere else, and quite a few people have said they have broken. My local Ace is getting out of the Craftsman game, they said Sears is not reimbursing them for exchanged tools!

 

[Jesrf]

Someone in another thread pointed out that the name "Ultimate" has two different interpretations/meanings... Sears presumably was going for "best", but it also can mean "last"/"final", ironically.

Also, there's a reason Apex/Danaher had millions of dollars of invoices to file in the Sears bankruptcy proceedings - they are (or at least were until late 2018) still manufacturing a whole lot of stuff for Sears, just switched from Apex's US factories to their Chinese factories years ago. I found a comment pointing out that the Ultimate Collection items strongly resemble Crescent tools, which are made by Apex.

Hexen,

Here’s the language I’m referring too which I just cut and pasted from sears:

“Members get $100 CASHBACK in points total in 4 installments when you spend $100+ at Sears. 1st set issued next day, then after previous installment expires. Pts valid for 14 days. Max 1 per day.Valid through December 02, 2019 11:59 PM CST”

This language changes under the individual items every day, which is why I explained it as maybe coding in the website like a new deal everyday, even tho it’s going on until 12/7.

Presumably on 12/8 they’ll roll out something new (maybe spend 150 get 150, who knows.)

The only torque wrench being out of stock is the 1/2 digiclick - the thing is, it’s one of their biggest sellers.

The $250M was supposedly pumped in in October 2019 to obtain holiday inventory. I saw that over at the lay-off site and there are numerous stories about it online from mid October to early November. Most of the employees at their HQ are gone and the remaining stores are supposedly good ones (and we know the liquidating ones make money) so where did the money go or where is the inventory? I know the lost a fortune before but that was when they still had over 1000 locations, 182 stores - supposedly the best ones, can’t be losing near that much if anything.

I know with sears things rarely make sense but still, why have a store with no inventory?? Why not just buy craftsman from SBD ? Lowes had exclusivity for one year (I think) now it’s everywhere so why not just buy it there and stock the stores? He still gets the royalties...




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[Jesrf]

Other tools that are gone I suspect for good would be the Max Axess line, they have individual pieces but all the sets are sold out.

If anyone wants a 108 piece mechanic tool set (the kind in the black hard case) those are almost gone for online anyway. Decent set with mostly sockets not hex bits:


https://www.sears.com/craftsman-108-pc-mechanics-tools-set/p-00938108000P

They are at 44.99 but no free shipping
You can add one to your cart but if u add two it will say oos or in store only.

Another decent deal I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere yet are the wobble extensions :

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-4pc-wobble-extension-bar-set-3-8-inch/p-00944284000P

Available at $7.94 with free shipping.



All but the cheapest multimeter’s are also gone (sub $10 model and a $12 “kit” only now) I found a few of the pro ones in store on thanksgiving but they’ve all been scrubbed from the site.

Lastly I’ve noticed some long oos items (like the square breaker bar set) came back into stock briefly, I got a few. I can only guess they found some in a warehouse somewhere, so keep an eye out for things to reappear if you’re really eyeing something and maybe have it in your save for later list. I also got a few of the old made in USA half hatchets that had been gone from the website for a year.

Edited to add, 10% off right now on a lot of tools with sears card.


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[Hexen]

This was probably covered, and I apologize for asking on the hot deals page, but Hexen, you probably know the answer. What happens when you purchase a "lifetime warranty" tool at Sears, that isn't sold at Lowes, Ace... and it breaks? I was thinking about getting that ratcheting screwdriver set, but it isn't sold anywhere else, and quite a few people have said they have broken. My local Ace is getting out of the Craftsman game, they said Sears is not reimbursing them for exchanged tools!

Theoretically, it's supposed to be possible to get a refund if a replacement isn't available. You would probably need to call SBD Craftsman's 1-800 number and plead your case to them. Part of their deal when they bought the Craftsman name was SBD is supposed to continue to be responsible for SearsCraftsman items' warranties when Sears is gone, if I understand correctly.


I'm going through some more of the bankruptcy filing invoices today for manufacturer info, looking at some from SBD right now. Turns out they were already making a few of the SearsCraftsman hand tools for years, such as the no-trigger locking pliers I liked. I guess SBD either agreed with Sears to, or decided on their own to, start from scratch on new product designs for everything instead of keeping any of the designs they had already been manufacturing.


Jesrf - Nice score on those hatchets. That's one of the Vaughan-made items I missed out on.

 

[Doohickey]

-------

Lastly I’ve noticed some long oos items (like the square breaker bar set) came back into stock briefly, I got a few. I can only guess they found some in a warehouse somewhere, so keep an eye out for things to reappear if you’re really eyeing something and maybe have it in your save for later list. I also got a few of the old made in USA half hatchets that had been gone from the website for a year.

Edited to add, 10% off right now on a lot of tools with sears card.

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For USA with wood handles, I saw the Craftsman hatchets and 16oz claw hammers at the local store. They also had a lot of Vaughan 23oz framing hammers.

Plus a variety of USA nail pullers.

 

[Hexen]

For USA with wood handles, I saw the Craftsman hatchets and 16oz claw hammers at the local store. They also had a lot of Vaughan 23oz framing hammers.

Plus a variety of USA nail pullers.

Is this store a Hometown? My full-line Sears ran out of everything from Vaughan around a year ago.

 

[Doohickey]

This was probably covered, and I apologize for asking on the hot deals page, but Hexen, you probably know the answer. What happens when you purchase a "lifetime warranty" tool at Sears, that isn't sold at Lowes, Ace... and it breaks? I was thinking about getting that ratcheting screwdriver set, but it isn't sold anywhere else, and quite a few people have said they have broken. My local Ace is getting out of the Craftsman game, they said Sears is not reimbursing them for exchanged tools!

You can get stuck in a warranty limbo: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8199699#post8199699

A Sears store can issue a gift card as a refund for a discontinued tool, but I doubt that Lowe's or other retailers will do that for Sears merchandise in the future.

 

[Doohickey]

Is this store a Hometown? My full-line Sears ran out of everything from Vaughan around a year ago.

Full-line. The Vaughan hammers looked great. Not like old stock that has been banged up from being shipped around from other stores.

 

[Doohickey]

Someone in another thread pointed out that the name "Ultimate" has two different interpretations/meanings... Sears presumably was going for "best", but it also can mean "last"/"final", ironically.

Also, there's a reason Apex/Danaher had millions of dollars of invoices to file in the Sears bankruptcy proceedings - they are (or at least were until late 2018) still manufacturing a whole lot of stuff for Sears, just switched from Apex's US factories to their Chinese factories years ago. I found a comment pointing out that the Ultimate Collection items strongly resemble Crescent tools, which are made by Apex.

Considering how long they've been making Craftsman ratchets and sockets, Apex Tool Group should be the prime suspect for the Ultimate collection.

While the Craftsman breaker bars released last year are similar to the Crescent versions, I didn't see a similar Apex item for the Ultimate ratchets. I've wondered if those were something unique created for the Ultimate Collection?

 

[Doohickey]

There were lots of torque wrenches, ratchet wrenches and General International table saws tagged as door busters on Saturday at my local store.

I think I also saw a Rikon saw. I was in hurry, but it appeared like Sears is no longer able to obtain bench equipment in their own Craftsman flavor.

 

[Doohickey]

Maybe I missed it, but doesn't look like Sears is offering any new tool deals for Cyber Monday.

 

[bds1984]

p=8203616&postcount=13257]aren't a manufacturer of any of the existing Craftsman power tool lines[/url] (edit: I forgot about the new "20V Max" they just added last year, haven't been able to find the manufacturer of that yet). Initial search made them look like a German manufacturer, but turns out their manufacturing is actually in China (unsurprisingly). They are known for making cheap power tools for sale in German discount grocery store chains. There's also some speculation that Harbor Freight's new Bauer line of cordless power tools is coming out of the same factory as Einhell.

That series of 20V MAX tools is made by Cleva Industries; they manufacture their shop vacs that begin with the part number 125.xxxxxx. I had the complete set of 20V MAX tools (Drill, impact, hammer drill, circular saw, recip saw, and LED light with fast charger and a bunch of batteries) until a month ago when someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse; I bought them mostly as a curiosity and used them in the wood shop classes I teach with zero issues. They really weren't a bad set for the money as my only complaints were the only battery offering was 1.5 amp/hrs and a very limited selection of tools (I believe there were six). An option for a 4 amp battery, radio, vacuum, blower, and string trimmer would have been nice but then I am just sticking to my tried and true C3 collection; I JUST got a brand new brushless drill and it is AWESOME.

It will be interesting to see if the remaining Sears and Kmart stores will see these new tools on the shelves. If so, and I have any decent amount of points, I am curious enough to purchase one to see what they're about. It would be hilarious to see if these really are made in the same factory as the Bauer tools and are nothing more than a label change. On the flip side, these tools could be a stop-gap until the rumored Die-Hard brand of tools releases soon. Time will tell...

 

[yrly]

I’m not 100% sure the Ultimate Collection stuff are exactly crescent copies even if it is from Apex. My dad picked up a Crescent set somewhere just recently on clearance to keep in his car so I can check that when I go over to his house.

The speed handles are not the same as the individual ones they sell separately which I’d assume were Apex sourced unless they’ve changed the design and the ones the store had were somewhat different. They’re slightly different shape and feel heavier, the finish on the handle is somewhat better.

I mean I suppose the thing could be comprised of part from different companies then packaged but that seems like unnecessary effort.

The ratchets seems unique to these though it looks like they tried to do a knockoff of a Mac/Snap on design but the handle is flattened offset than typical.

The wrenches look like whoever they were using as a better Companion source in that other set I have.

Later this evening when I’m home I’ll take a few pics of the individual sockets, ratchet and maybe a side by side of the speed handle.

On other notes those USA Vaughan hatchets are nice I got one late last year when they were on clearance. I bought the wobble extensions during the blowout but I think they’re only a few bucks lower than they used to run them on sale for.

I mean as far as warranty individual sockets shouldn’t be too hard to get warranted, my guess is the biggest hassle would be weird stuff like the Ultimate a Collection ratchets, odd gimmick tools etc.

 

[atlm]

I stopped in a Sears store on Friday, and was informed at checkout that they no longer price adjust to match Sears.com. (item was $9 on website and $19.99 in store)

Every Sears store I've visited in the past, including this one, used to match website prices, but I haven't been in a store in many months.

Is that a new change, or have I just been lucky in the past, or was this store-specific?

 

[giants]

I stopped in a Sears store on Friday, and was informed at checkout that they no longer price adjust to match Sears.com. (item was $9 on website and $19.99 in store)

Every Sears store I've visited in the past, including this one, used to match website prices, but I haven't been in a store in many months.

Is that a new change, or have I just been lucky in the past, or was this store-specific?

Did you ask the manager to confirm?

I had the opposite problem. I decided not to do a ship-to-store on one item. I went to a Sears not on the closure list and saw a tool set $5 cheaper than the same part number on-line price; that was the ad price and confirmed with an employee, scanner in hand. Go figure.

 

[atlm]

Did you ask the manager to confirm?

Yes, the manager was standing by the registers and said my only option to get the online price through the store was to order the item for store pickup.

He said I could do it right from my phone, meet the merchandise pickup person when they came down to get the item, and walk back with them. (which I already knew, but never have had to do)

He was very friendly about it, but wouldn't budge about the policy.

 

[Hexen]

That series of 20V MAX tools is made by Cleva Industries; they manufacture their shop vacs that begin with the part number 125.xxxxxx. I had the complete set of 20V MAX tools (Drill, impact, hammer drill, circular saw, recip saw, and LED light with fast charger and a bunch of batteries) until a month ago when someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse; I bought them mostly as a curiosity and used them in the wood shop classes I teach with zero issues. They really weren't a bad set for the money as my only complaints were the only battery offering was 1.5 amp/hrs and a very limited selection of tools (I believe there were six). ...

Thanks for the info, added to my manufacturers list. Also finished adding a couple other companies I remembered hearing about making Craftsman stuff in the past few years, and more info from the invoices for some of the ones already listed. I think that just about exhausts what I can find, unless someone else has any more company suggestions.

 

[tabs]

my kmart isn't available as an option for the 3 items in my cart--but it was as of yesterday

 

[Hexen]

I stopped in a Sears store on Friday, and was informed at checkout that they no longer price adjust to match Sears.com. (item was $9 on website and $19.99 in store)

Every Sears store I've visited in the past, including this one, used to match website prices, but I haven't been in a store in many months.

Is that a new change, or have I just been lucky in the past, or was this store-specific?

Price-matching is specifically banned "Thanksgiving Day through the Wednesday after Thanksgiving". Another possible problem on top of that is that they have stopped matching online prices in-store that have the little "Online Only" tag.

But I don't think that blanket-sounding statement is correct. The policy posted on the website, which is applicable to the full-line Sears stores in addition to the website, was last updated in Aug 2019 and does not reflect that.

The other thing is that once a liquidator takes over, there's definitely no more price-matching of any kind at that particular location.

 

[giants]

Yes, the manager was standing by the registers and said my only option to get the online price through the store was to order the item for store pickup.

He said I could do it right from my phone, meet the merchandise pickup person when they came down to get the item, and walk back with them. (which I already knew, but never have had to do)

He was very friendly about it, but wouldn't budge about the policy.

I print the policy that Hexen cited. In the store, I would call/chat with Sears.com and ask them if this is a new store-wide policy. If not, sears.com can tell the manager that s/he needs to comply with store policy and price match.