Sears Craftsman ... any compelling buys at liquidation prices

[Finance Guy]

With Sears announcing more store closures, potentially offering clearance or liquidation sales, I am curious which tools GJers would deem to be compelling buys at discounted prices. I’m mostly interested in opinions of Craftsman and Lisle products.

Obvious (not the main point of this thread)
Prybars & Crowbars OEM: Wilde and Mayhew
Pliers & Adj Wrenches OEM: Western Forge
Cobra Rebrands OEM: Knipex
Hammers OEM: Vaughan

Less Obvious
Impact Screwdrivers OEM: Vessel
Impact Driver OEM: Lisle
Tap and Die Set, Master Rethreader OEM: Kastar/Lang
Bolt-Out Set OEM: Irwin Hansen
Impact Grade Bolt-Out Set OEM: Irwin Hansen
Sealer Puller OEM: Lisle
DBE Reversible Ratcheting Wrenches OEM: ? (Made in USA)

What about…
Lisle Impact Sockets?
Combination reversible ratcheting wrenches?
Serpentine Belt Tool?
Plethora of automotive tools made in Taiwan – any notable suggestions?
Creepers?
Benchtop tools – Craftsman Professional 8” grinder? Any others?
Accessories – Craftsman Professional drill bits? Sawzall bi-metal blades?
Gearwrench products?

 

[Chromdome35]

Our local Sears just closed down, I didn't see any deals...they marked stuff up above what it sold for normally. The public ate it up, by the time they got to the real discounts, there was nothing left of value.

 

[cdeer001]

I doubt you will see any real discount prices. I believe they jack up the prices pre-liquidation so that all the discounted prices during the liquidation are equal to normal sale prices.

I know there have been a few threads here on how a Sears store closure goes.

 

[tjpavlov]

My store closed last year. Prices were all marked up and there were no real deals.

There were, however, some interesting things that got shipped to the store for the sale (or perhaps just found in the back). There were some NOS wrenches and hundreds of the Vessel/craftsman ball grip drivers.

Worth a look but also go before the liquidators come in.

 

[gdpolk]

I checked out one a couple towns over. There were no deals worth considering on tools. I did however snag a few thermal shirts for a whopping $2 each. That was worth picking up.

 

[Moparman390]

Our local Sears just closed down, I didn't see any deals...they marked stuff up above what it sold for normally. The public ate it up, by the time they got to the real discounts, there was nothing left of value.

Yes, this is what always happens. A liquidator owned the merchandise now at a closed store, they start back at retail and start marking down from there. ChromeDome is right. The real liquidation sale has been going on for several years in all the Sears stores every day. When you use SWY points, plus their surprise/bonus points, and their sales you can get most things for less than half retail all the time. They have been trying to boost sales with desperation pricing for a while if you play their game. For example you can frequently get a USA pry bar set for $19.99, that's pretty good, but there's people here who have gotten that set for like $6 after using other discounts, fome free even. Don't even bother with the liquidation sales.

 

[Mikeske]

They are no better then any China importer anymore and they are no better then others and truthfully I think they are actually worse. Now there are no more Sears stores within 50 miles of my home. I just shop the pawn shops for anything in the Craftsman line which goes for pennies on the dollar on USA made Craftsman tools. I only buy replacements of broke USA Craftsman sockets. Their ratchets, screwdrivers and other tools were crude even 30 years ago and worked but there were better tools that I bought years ago.

The China made stuff I can get is virtually the same stuff at Harbor Freight and it is local to me so I will never waste my time going almost a hour to that store and I have not been in over 5 years.

The sad thing is Sears was what I grew up with when I was kid and everything in parents home was Sears as my father was a manager for Sears for over 30 years. Those days are gone forever and it is sad and I do not like it but it is what it is.

 

[Finance Guy]

They are no better then any China importer anymore and they are no better then others and truthfully I think they are actually worse.

The China made stuff I can get is virtually the same stuff at Harbor Freight

I don't think the products I identified in the open thread are Chinese imports.

 

[Finance Guy]

I did preface my comments by offering a premise that there could be “liquidation sales” resulting from Sears closures However, my question really isn’t “will Sears offer discounted pricing”.

Rather, I’m interested in opinions about which tools (Craftsman and Lisle and particular) still reflect outstanding quality.

The Master Rethreading Kit is already a good price (at $60) compared to the equivalent Kastar set … any further discount could make this a rather compelling buy.

Conversely, the Bolt Extraction sets (at $80) would need to be discounted by more than 50% to offer any value.

 

[ozyborn]

Our local Sears jacked up prices, then discounted them down to normal while placing signs says 50% off or more. No deals, all sales final. Now we have a Sears outlet. They do not honor sears discounts. Plus all they carry is China junk.

 

[timdgsr]

The China made stuff I can get is virtually the same stuff at Harbor Freight

This is true about a lot of their products, especially socket sets. However, they still had a decent amount of USA made products that they contracted other manufacturers the produce for them.

Either way, local clearance sales at Sears will be very hard to find good deals. You’d have better luck with the Sears thread in the Hot Deals forum on GJ.

 

[erty67]

When the sears closed locally, same thing happened. Prices were full retail and the markdowns didn't even take the prices below sale prices. Store fixtures were prices very high. The only deal I got was a couple shirts for the kids.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[D45]

I had two local Sears Hardware shops close down over the past 3 years

I stocked up on a ton of maint items for my riding mower, including filters and blades.....most were 70% off

I alos bought a new high end garbage disposal for when I install a new sink in the kitchen this year.........it was $69 from $209

I also bought a decent amount of batteries, that were CHEAP

Tools went fast and did not seem to be highly discounted

I did buy an absurd amount of filters for the furnace

 

[xin]

Lowes is goin to be selling them Craftsman in 2018.

 

[Laz45]

Sears Liquidation Sales is a joke. My local Sears closed down last year and I thought I was going to get some good deals and I was horrified! Everything was Marked up. I had bought a Torx/Ratchet set for about $25 a couple of weeks before they went into Liquidation and they had it for $70 HUGE BLOW OUT discounted price..........

 

[yjWrangler]

Was planning on going to the local closing Sears. Rethinking that just a bit