I keep hoping some of that old stock will turn up at my closing store, but no, the tools department just keeps getting emptier and emptier. They only just hit 30% off today, but it's mighty slim pickings already except for open-stock sockets.
I've been hunting all over the store for small Sears/SYW memorabilia/souvenir things to acquire (considered part of 'fixtures', but no big shelves for me). They periodically open up rooms I hadn't had access to before, where I can find more stuff. I know there's still a lot of space I haven't been able to look in yet, though.
They only have about a month left, and except for tools, there's still a lot of unsold stuff left. The liquidation manager at my store does not seem to be trying very hard - I haven't even managed to catch him at the store at all except once during the first week he arrived, despite going back on a variety of days/times. I did see an electronic billboard ad for the Sears closing sale today, at least.
For anybody else looking for this kind of stuff during liquidation, check inside every desk/cabinet drawer/door that you can. And a couple of nice branded items I actually found in a small open box/bin that appeared to be being used as a trash can.

Looked like an employee quit and tossed his stuff on his way out.
Most of the small items have been $1 or less, and they let me have some things for free, such as the empty gift cards. The wood crates are $10. My store only had 1 crate accessible when liquidation started, so I jumped on it, but they have recently found a second one with a different logo (it's in worse shape than the one I got, so I decided it's not worth trying to make room for a second one, I'll let someone else have that one). I think each Sears store originally had at least a dozen of these crates with each
logo (1994-2004 and 2004-2010); these
were used to display Christmas tool promo items before they switched to the red cardboard bins. Unfortunately most of them were long gone before liquidation.
Stuff I've been able to get so far (a few things were from my previous store closure about a year ago):
1994-2004 Sears logo wood crate
2010-2019 Sears logo MDF sign formerly attached to some kind of small shelving unit (the veneer was coming up in a few places, but I repaired it after taking this photo)
2019+ Sears logo reusable bag
empty gift cards - 3 with different versions of the 2010-2019 Sears logo, & 3 with different Craftsman tools artwork
Shop Your Way / Craftsman employee apron
3 half-sheet-size binders (from 2001, 2002, & 2005), with the 2005 one still full of appliance-related paperwork; 2004-2010 Sears logo lanyard; Shop Your Way credit card lanyard; Shop Your Way pinback button missing its pin; 3 different goofy employee motivational bracelets; Sears Portrait Studio ink pen; Sears Blue Electronics Crew tape measure; 2 training video DVDs and an unused physical SYW membership card, from around when
Shop Your Way launched on Nov 8, 2009
and a Pratt-Read Craftsman screwdriver from the back of a desk drawer (apparently the PR acetate-handle screwdrivers are better than the WF versions, less tendency to develop the infamous smell)
https://imgur.com/a/v6BHSZT
Stuff I saw but didn't buy:
2004-2010 Sears logo wood crate (the one I bought has one side that's a little warped and doesn't quite line up at the corners; this one that I passed on had worse warping, though still usable)
red-enamel Craftsman wire rack for hanging on pegboards - I don't know what type of product this was originally designed to hold, but it was in beautiful condition, I was tempted but needed to figure out if I could make room for it somewhere, but then someone else bought it
rolling metal carts with pegboard backs and organizing racks - one with Craftsman Versatrack branding, one with just Craftsman - these would probably be great for storing pieces of lumber/pipes vertically, for someone with more room than me
a Shop Your Way credit card tablecloth for a small round table
a big (~2ft x ~4ft) Sears Hearing Aid Centers sign
Goodyear Tires inflatable blimps - apparently these inflate to about 32" long - the auto dept received them for some past promotion
auto dept break-room informational/motivational banners (one example of 4)
a couple
wheel weight hammers (similar to that one but unbranded) - these were tools used by the auto dept, not normally sold (I might see about getting one of these later if they're still around and cheap enough, don't have any particular need for it but I like unusual hammers)
a beat-up old unbranded hammer with an odd claw on the end that's a single surface without the usual center split for grabbing nails (might see about this one too if it's still around later and cheap enough)
a very beat-up old Craftsman hammer (I've got plenty of better-looking Craftsman hammers already, probably won't get this one; it was a very plain-looking model even before all the years of use, beige handle)
2010-2019 Sears logo water bottles - there were several of these hiding in a box under some unbranded tablecloths (might get one later)
there's a couple 6ft-long power strips in the exercise equipment area, unpriced so far but I'm tempted if they're cheap, should probably bring an outlet tester to check them out before potentially buying later
I'm also still hoping to get a couple of the small signs from outside the pickup area, but they are glued to the bricks instead of screwed, and I'm not sure if it'll be possible to pry the signs off without damaging them. The elusive manager hasn't been available to talk about this yet.
Stuff other people have found:
At Sears:
1994-2004 logo crates:
1,
2 (this one ended up in a residential estate auction later),
3 (this person got 3 and made a bookcase out of them);
4 (big pile of them got auctioned off in a 2012 store closure),
5,
6 (the video is dead, but the person who bought 2 crates there is making them into a nightstand),
7,
8,
9 (if you find one that nobody else buys till the very last day, you might be able to get it for as little as $3),
10 (a rare Sears Hardware Stores version);
2004-2010 logo crates:
1 (part of a Christmas display at someone's home),
2 (made into kind of a table),
3,
4 (plus a couple 94-04s);
1994-2004 logo rectangular tablecloth;
"a loss prevention vest, a whole box of giftcards, the walkie set, 15 pins and lanyards ..." (no photos);
a phone and a clipboard;
another phone; a
1980s plastic shopping bag; a
2018 '125 Years' plastic shopping bag; this
photo tour of a closing Sears a year ago included 125 Years anniversary signage and several 1994-2004 crates, plus a Sears Craftsman Christmas-village tool truck that I failed to spot last year; a
tour of another closing Sears a few months ago included a different 125 Years sign and one of each crate (1994-2004 & 2004-2010).
At Kmarts: a
store policies binder from the 1990s; a
15th anniversary pin/certificate that never got awarded to an employee; various vests/aprons/lanyards; an
Employee Welcome Party DVD; an
I Heart K pinback button;the
famous Blue Light; and
a Blue Light Christmas ornament.
They did at the time and a lot of batteries too. I think a lot of them were things they used to assmemble tools or patio furniture or for testing warranty claims etc. Those sold fairly cheaply compared to the typical store closing full price less 10%. I believe the store managers can set the price on that and anything non-inventory wise however they want. Most were $10-$20 or less if they were beat up. File cabinets were cheap (and probably 40 years old) for example. There was a large mix of lighting ballasts and ceiling tiles and ceiling tile spray paint. I did get some very nice industrial stainless steel cleaner too. Those are all cash or charge items no points. I also got a two pack of those strap wrenches they sell, but these were so old (they must’ve found them when cleaning the store room) they were made in England instead of China.
Thruout the whole closing everyone I saw was a sears employee, I never saw anyone from a “liquidator” but maybe they ran the show from the back somewhere.
...
From what I've heard of the current/recent procedures: There is only one liquidation manager at each closing store, a traveling consultant sent out by Abacus Advisors (as a 1099 subcontractor getting paid directly by Transformco, with weeks/months of delay). All other people working at a closing store are the normal employees being given more hours than usual, plus additional temp local hires just for the closing months. The liquidation manager sets the prices for the fixtures, and I've heard that person personally gets to keep either the entire amount or some significant commission amount on fixture sales, which is why you can't use points on that stuff.
So I attached the photos, hopefully they show up ok. Lots of cool stuff in a closing store. ... [2004-2010 crate & Craftsman sign]
When my local store closed last month, I got these for pennies. [2019+ Sears sign, Craftsman sign, & 1994-2004 crate]