Sears Corporate VS. Sears Franchise

[mayday0017]

So we all know of the super deal on the 3/4" craftsman sockets that are pretty much sold out across the Nation. Well in an attempt to get these sockets the store by me happens to be a Franchise Store. I found out that Franchise Stores do not honor any Sears pricing Online or the brick and mortor store up the road that is Corporate owned.

Thought I came up with a good idea after talking to sears 800# to see if they would help me out in any way. They explained the return policy to me saying I can return it to any store with in X days (think it was 30) for a full refund with no restocking. So I bought the sockets from Franchise store and drove 15 miles to Corporate store. The girl there tried to process my return as I wanted to rebuy it at the lower price. In her attempt she was having problems with the reciept not processing. A manager was close by and saw her struggle and came over to help. After looking at the reciept she says "Oh this was purchased at a franchise store, you can only make returns at that exact store it isn't really a Sears".

So what are everyone thoughts? Should a customer be able to tell the difference between a franchise owned store and a corporate owned store? I would think Sears would be smart enough to set things up so the two would work seamlessly. Is Sears really that bad at business that if the franchise follows it's business model they will go out of business?

Dunno was really disapointed to see they function like I am shopping at Johnny's hardware and Sears expecting them both to do the same. I think if franchise is different then they should not be able to advertise themself as "Sears" they should be required to identify themself another way because they are not "Sears" as they do not follow any of their policy's and the two have almost nothing to do with each other.

Well rant over.....

 

[bdamico]

I think if franchise is different then they should not be able to advertise themself as "Sears" they should be required to identify themself another way because they are not "Sears" as they do not follow any of their policy's and the two have almost nothing to do with each other.

Well rant over.....

But you knew before you tried to pull an arbitrage. Say it worked, would you still come out ahead with the cost of gas etc?

 

[AZ Pete]

I agree, when Sears decided to sell Craftsman tools through franchise stores, they should have required the same terms of service that makes Craftsman tools desirable to their customers. I'd take them back to the franchise and tell them thanks, but no thanks.

 

[mayday0017]

Nope, I knew one was franchise and one was corporate but the girl one the phone at the 800# told me I could do exactly what I did. She said there is no issue with that and you are following our return policy. Guess even she didn't know that Corporate would not accept returns from Franchise.

Also I'm not really "Upset" this didn't work out, I knew it was a long shot but worth a try... I am upset however that 99.9% of the customers that walk in the Franchise do not realize they are over paying for products in the store, and that if they buy and item and it doesn't work they can ONLY go back to that EXACT same store. Seems Shady to me....

 

[bdamico]

Unfortunately there are a lot of big retailers out there that have different pricing for online and stores regardless of franchise situations.

 

[mmack66]

Never knew there were different types of Sears store ownership, but if the store says Sears on it, they should be forced to take returns from either type.

I hate when online and in-store prices are different and they won't price-match between the two.

 

[bdamico]

I never go to best buy but I understand that have or used to have two different websites -- one that is accessed from inside the store and one from the outside -- which made it easier for them to maintain a two-tier pricing structure.

 

[mayday0017]

Never knew there were different types of Sears store ownership, but if the store says Sears on it, they should be forced to take returns from either type.

Couldn't agree more... It's basically false advertisement to me because it is not what it says it is and doesn't follow any of the same guidelines and procedures.

I hate when online and in-store prices are different and they won't price-match between the two.

What gets me is if you ask them to match online price they tell you they won't do it, you say "well I can go online an click pick up in store huh?" They will tell you yes you can do that if you want to get that price but they won't match it otherwise.... sounds like a good way to complicate things so your customer won't buy the item in hand...

 

[Falcon67]

A Sears corporate store typically won't "honor" their online web price if it says in small print "online only". But you can buy it at the kiosk and pick it up there in the store. Did that with my chain saw, saved $40. Counter guy said it's a nutso policy, but what the hey. Rather than buy and carry out, I bought using my Sears account at the kiosk in Lawn & Garden, watched the guy come over from Customer Pickup with a two wheeler, then walked over the Pickup and scored the saw.

The grocery store across the street from work put in an Ace Hardware section and they carry several Craftsman items. Probably all out of date like their milk and cheese (not your top of the line grocery).

 

[cheechi]

Franchise stores can choose whether they want to participate in corporate promotions and pricing. If you're from an area like the northeast where there are a lot of both, it's easier to keep track but still frustrating. Happens mostly with chain restaurants there, not sure I've ever seen a retail store have anything like that. If you really like McD's coffee that much you'll stop by even if you know they won't have the sale price on Neg McNothins.

Seems like it would be too hard to be in business as a Sears anyway, without the (relative) benefits that the corporate stores seem to have over them.

 

[allinon72]

Another reason to avoid Sears altogether.

 

[LumpyMusic]

I frequently find prices on Craftsman tools at Summit Racing that are lower than even Sears.


Lumpy

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