They are closing the last Sears in town...

[Thundarstick]

Good riddance! Sears burned me in the early 80s when I found it nearly impossible to get parts for any IC engine on any Sears product. I swore off any product with an IC engine, Craftsman tools where OK, but lots of better ones to be had. The last wager I bought from them was Kenmore/ LG- made in Korea! The stores where only a front to display items, then you had to wait for an order to come in! I needed an air compressor, went to Sears, I'll take that one, O, it will be in in two days. I gave the manager a piece of my mind, told him Amazon was quicker, then went to Tractor Supply and bought the same one on the spot!
They can't shutter the last ones quick enough, if you ask me!

[sparkyv]

Sears? What's a Sears?

[JBinMN]

I find it sad.

Those who have been so taken with internet sales may end up regretting the loss of stores, both "Ma & Pa" types as well as the bigger name stores like Sears some day.

I live in a small rural town and like to try to shop & help support the local small businesses. Many times though, it is , "We don't have that in stock, ( or "we don't carry it in the store") , but we can certainly order it for you & likely have it here for you next week.". Leaving me with the thinking that I can likely order it & have it here next week on my own. Sometimes though, in the spirit of that support I mentioned, have them order it anyway if it is not too "out of hand" for cost. It depends on the amount they charge usually as compared to my going on a trip to a larger town( time & fuel, etc.), easier/less expensive to just do it myself, or not.

Alas, those larger stores ( & "brick and mortar" stores) are disappearing and it is harder to find one close enough. Let alone the fun that can be had going to on a trip to look things over before buying ( shopping around), or taking youngsters to actually see what something is that is for sale, rather than looking at a computer screen & then, once the item arrives, if it is purchased & it is not what you expected, like seeing it first hand in a store and "know" what you will be buying is what you wanted...

I have more I could say on the demise of Sears & other "old school" type businesses, but I would be "preaching to the choir". ("Drive in" theaters come to mind around here, BTW.)

I also have fond memories of catalog wishing & shopping from the time of my youth until a short time back.
I even remember the use of the torn out pages of old catalogs in the outhouse on occasion, back in those times, although telephone books were a bit easier on a person for that sort of use, if one did not have store bought TP, of course. Better than some other things I can think of, for the same use that has been used on occasion.

Anyway, for me , my missus. & others I know, it is truly sad to see them go... Sometimes, change is not always "for the better"... Can't tell that to those who will never know, though... Truly sad to me...

[mattw]

They closed our Sears in Champaign years ago, really miss the tool section. When I was a kid the catalog was a huge wish list, then when I got older and could not afford SnapOn tools, they were my wish list again. Not sure why they never went back to their roots of mail order business, I think if they had embraced the internet earlier they would still be around. Went to the closing in Terre Haute last week and picked up a display table, built like a tank! May just about finish off the Honey Creek mall as it was the largest anchor store there. But, it is time for malls to go... they charge so much for front line space and back space that prices have to be inflated to the point that I don't hardly ever buy anything.

Back to the table... already have it full! It is made from 1.5" square tube!

table by Matt Ward, on Flickr

[Hogtamer]

They quit publishing their catalog avout the same time Amazon came on the scene. With forward thinking management Sears could have been king of on line retailers. They snoozed and Amazon forged ahead to transform the industry.

[blackthorn]

Sears closed here in Kamloops last year. For several years prior selection deteriorated and service became almost non-existent. You could buy a vacuum cleaner but when you needed a new part you were told to contact the manufacturer. This after I drove for 25 minutes to "shop local". After several such experiences, I quit driving and started surfing! Get what I want, it is delivered to my door, and is usually cheaper.

[Thin Man]

At age 21 I bought a Craftsman tool kit and box from Sears for $77, the most of my tax refund for that year. Even though they occasionally offered this same kit on sale for $44 I was happy to finally have a fairly complete kit for small repairs. I was drawn to these tools by the free lifetime replacement guarantee they offered, which I used frequently.

At age 24 I went to Sears to get a replacement for a broken ignition wrench from the kit named above. The open end of one of these odd sized wrenches was perfect to fit the lock nut on my Jeep's clutch cable, also it was small enough to reach into the very tight space to make that adjustment The wrench failed and I desperately needed a replacement. The clerk looked at the wrench and claimed they did not sell or offer single wrenches, and took the issue to the store manager. After about 10 minutes the clerk handed me a check for about $1.14 as their replacement for the wrench. That was the equivalent of the ignition wrench kit's price, divided by the number of wrenches in the kit, to determine the value of one wrench. I explained that I could not move the clutch cable nut with a piece of paper and needed the wrench. They refused to offer anything more. In hindsight I should have brought them the entire wrench kit, told them all of these needed replacement and traded for a complete kit but that opportunity passed by me.

Later came the Craftsman chain saw I bought used. It soon developed carburetor issues and none of the local saw or mechanical shops could make the adjustments it required. That was when I learned Sears bought these saws from a manufacturer who built them to Sears specifications. This meant the carbs (and other parts) required special tools to make corrections, thus the customer had to return to Sears for service on the tools. I quickly discarded that saw and never bought another Sears power tool.

As I got older it seemed that every time I bought anything from their store I got hammered by their clerks to sign up for their credit card, or to buy an extended warranty, or other similar pressure sales. One time I was in a hurry to get back to a project but the cashier kept coming up with more "offers." I stopped her pitches by claiming that if she could not complete the sale immediately I would leave their store without making that one simple purchase, would find what I needed somewhere else. That got her busy with the cash register. As time passed and I found other vendors for what I needed I all but forgot about Sears. Not going to miss them.

[BigAlofPa.]

Our one sears in Frackville pa closed. The K mart did too in the same mall. Today the mall is no more. They tore it down and put a warehouse in. One of the last stores to hold out at the mall was a Dunham's Sports. They closed shortly after Christmas of 2017.

[Iowa Fox]

The Sears in Des Moines is also an anchor store to Merle Hay mall and closing. I always liked there tools and appliances.

Who was Merle Hay? Google the name for a great history lesson, with a sad ending.

That as a good history lesson pressman. I did not know that.

[Walkingwolf]

My dad predicted 50 years ago their demise when they stopped being a farmers store, and turned into a hip store moving into malls.

[troyboy]

I've done more then my share to keep Sears in business. Made it a point to buy, Kenmore appliances,Craftsman lawn and garden, and of course hand tools.This has been coming for a long time. My America is heading towards the same fate.......

[Maineboy]

When I was a kid, mom bought just about every stitch of the family's clothes through mail order, mostly from Sears. She always ordered shirts, pants, and jackets for us kids one size bigger than we needed and we wore them until they were one size too small. My brothers, sister, and I fought over the Christmas Wish Book and we marked each toy we wanted with our name. I believe most of those gifts from Santa came from Sears, but delivered to my grandmothers house. My first gun was a "Sears" .410 bolt action shotgun with a detachable 3 shot magazine, that I bought with money I earned picking potatoes and it came in the mail. That was one of the longest waits of my life. When my wife and I were first married, we bought many of our appliances at Sears retail stores and many of my tools are Craftsman. As years went by, we shopped less and less at Sears and their last retail store in our area closed several years ago. Now we shop online for clothes and Christmas gifts and they get delivered a lot quicker than when mom ordered stuff by mail.

[lightman]

Its truly sad to see. I have a shop full of Craftsman tools, from back when they were made in the USA. We also used Sears appliances when we built our house in 1992, some of which are still working. I played ball with Sears sports equipment, hunted with Sears hunting gear, kept a yard up with Sears equipment, ect ect! A lot of these old landmark businesses are closing. My Wife exchanged a Christmas gift at Dillards yesterday and this huge store was nearly vacant. I doubt it will be here much longer. Kmart is a thing of the past. So many more. I don't hate Walmart but I do wish they would disconnect from China, at least a little bit.

[jonp]

Stopped at Lowes yesterday and they had Craftsmen tool boxes for sale.

Slim

Selling off the Craftsman name was one of the things that was done to generate cash and try to stave off bankruptcy. I noticed Lowes starting to carry Craftsman. Hard to miss all of that red. It seemed to me that they were replacing the Kobalt tools with Craftsman.

I had thought all Craftsman tools were made in China now although they still have a lifetime warranty. The tape measure I got on sale yesterday says "Made In America with global parts" so at least it's assembled here. The handsaws were made in Denmark for some reason.

[Winger Ed.]

I hate to see them go. It seems they didn't miss several opportunities over the years, I think they threw them away.

I've been carrying a 3/8 ratchet handle that skipped when ya bore down on it in the truck for about 5 years.
I heard they were closing and finally traded it in. Went to town yesterday, and their building has a 'for lease' sign in the window.

[wgr]

I have one of their catalogs were you could still buy exploves

[mold maker]

They once sold houses in kit form.

[Winger Ed.]

They once sold houses in kit form.

I'd forgotten about that. At Pres. Nixon's funeral it was mentioned that his father had built their house from a Sear's kit.
I'd heard they also sold kits to assemble your own horse drawn wagon too.

[Bad Water Bill]

When I started at Sears there was a dress code.

The last time I visited a Sears you could not tell an employee from a panhandler standing on the street corner.

When the old timers retired from the board of directors the bean counters took over and RADICAL changes happened instantly.

Store managers were directed to FIRE all personelle with less than 5 years service.

My store manager refused and was instantly fired after 40 years of service.

I could go on and on about how the new folks ruined a once great company,now all I can do is trash my discount card.

[crankycalico]

Sears changed with the times. They were THE name for outfitting a camping expedition or a wagon train west in the 1800s. Once the "strip mall" happened in the 1950s they gave up being the one stop shopping experience to become trendy for the fashionable crowd.