Does anyone still shop at Sears?

[Deleted]

It's been in the news--for a couple of years now--that Sears is failing. I think there was an article last week about how many stores they were closing.  This weekend their ShopYourWay program sent me 20,000 points worth $20.00. So I went to the mall to spend it since I also needed gas from Costco.

There really wasn't anything to buy.  A lot of the clothing stuff was old merchandise that had been clearanced. Obviously, I didn't check out their appliance dept. with my $20.00. I noticed they did have the Christmas stuff up but no toy dept. yet.

It just surprised me.  I haven't been in a Sears stores for a long time.  I bought a washing machine a few years ago. But thirty years ago, most of my kids' stuff came from Sears. We bought their cribs, high chairs, etc. there. We bought furniture there. We bought some (not a lot) of our clothes. We bought tires.  And, of course, we bought a lot of appliances there.

Anyway, Sears gave me a free pair of Isotoner slippers and a couple of other freebies. 

[Deleted]

I bought something online from Lands End I wanted to return, so went to Sears. It had been years. Daughter bought a sweater she will never wear and a hoodie on clearance while we were there, but I also didn't see much. 

[spartan7886]

I hit up the local Sears hardware pretty frequently, because it's closer than Home Depot or Lowes, but their department stores? I've bought one thing I think in the past five years.

[Shooby]

I just bought my new washer and dryer from Sears. LOVE them. I have to say though, that when I was in Sears, the service people were literally tripping all over themselves to give good customer service. They were smiling, polite, helpful. I mean it was a hug difference from times past and many other stores. Probably too little too late for them.

[milee]

Oct 27, 2014 6:13:03 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I have to say though, that when I was in Sears, the service people were literally tripping all over themselves to give good customer service. They were smiling, polite, helpful. I mean it was a hug difference from times past and many other stores. Probably too little too late for them.

That's been my experience at Bank of America for the last 6 months as well.    Like Sears, BofA's reputation may be too far gone to save, but they're trying. 

Back to the OP - no I haven't shopped at Sears in a long, long time.  They and Kmart are both dead men walking.  But then again, IMHO it's been that way since the 90s, so they've held on a lot longer than I would have predicted.  I remember in the 90s reading a business article (WSJ, Forbes, some similar publication) that detailed all the changes Sears was making to be relevant again; they'd just discovered that their average shopper was a 43 year old woman with an income below the poverty line.  Not sure what their average shopper profile is now.  It may skew more towards men because their tools and some appliances are probably their most popular product lines. 

[Deleted]

Oh, I think my husband may still get work boots there!

[TheHaitian]

Not in a really long while, at least 6 years.

[midjd]

Our local Sears closed last year, along with Kmart. Both spaces were quickly reoccupied, so I don't think it's an economy thing.

The last time we were in Sears before it closed, I think we were there to get new blades for the lawnmower, probably two summers ago.

Oh, and DH bought his Craftsman tool chest there when he started his current job, but I think that was ordered online and just shipped to the local store. That would have been three years ago.

[Deleted]

My ex FIL owns two Sears stores, one in my hometown so I get really good deals.  I bought my snowblower there last year for dirt cheap.  Someone had returned it and had already put gas in it so he had to sell it for like half the price, plus he gives me the "family discount" on top of that.  I was thinking of getting my next washer and dryer there, but haven't really started shopping for one yet.

[mollyanna58]

Oct 27, 2014 7:37:33 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

My ex FIL owns two Sears stores, one in my hometown so I get really good deals.  I bought my snowblower there last year for dirt cheap.  Someone had returned it and had already put gas in it so he had to sell it for like half the price, plus he gives me the "family discount" on top of that.  I was thinking of getting my next washer and dryer there, but haven't really started shopping for one yet.

How does he own Sears stores?  Doesn't Sears own them?

[michelyn8]

I go in when I'm in the mall and looking for something I think they "might" have or just browsing.  In the past six months I've purchased a few things there - sweater for me and two pair of work pants for DD2.  Its not my "go to" store but I've found some things that were of decent quality for a good price over the years.  I purchased my washer online from Sears two years ago and while I have issues with it, its a brand/model thing, not because its from Sears.  I just happened to get it from there because it was the best price for the brand/model I decided on.

ETA: I still browse K-Mart now and then when I'm looking for something but its very rare I ever purchase anything.  I found a mirror in there a month or so back that was something DD2 liked so I loaned her the money to buy it.  Otherwise, I generally avoid that store and honestly don't know why I bother looking in there for anything.  K-Marts around here have had a ghetto feel for close to 20 years now and I often wonder how its still open but they appear to do a decent business.

[Deleted]

Oct 27, 2014 7:41:12 GMT -5 mollyanna58 said:

Oct 27, 2014 7:37:33 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

My ex FIL owns two Sears stores, one in my hometown so I get really good deals.  I bought my snowblower there last year for dirt cheap.  Someone had returned it and had already put gas in it so he had to sell it for like half the price, plus he gives me the "family discount" on top of that.  I was thinking of getting my next washer and dryer there, but haven't really started shopping for one yet.

How does he own Sears stores?  Doesn't Sears own them?

You can be an authorized retailer and not a franchise.  All the Sears branding, but not dictated by Sears.  My FIL doesn't always have the same sales that are advertised nationally which sometimes pisses people off.

Kind of like this guy.

www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/westfield_man_opens_his_own_se.html

[zibazinski]

Get tools there and I just bought DF an electric mattress pad.

[alabamagal]

I haven't bought anything for years.  Used to buy appliances from them way back when, and maybe yard stuff.  Now we get appliances from Lowes and have a lawn service.

There is a KMart near us but it is really awful.

[Deleted]

I bought my Bosch dishwasher from Sears about 3 years ago. It went on sale there for a lower price than I'd seen anywhere else. I bought a vacuum cleaner from there a couple years ago. I needed one with a couple of specific features and they had a Kenmore that fit the bill and it just happened to be on sale at the time.

I found those 2 items on the internet, then went into the store to look at/buy them. I didn't browse the store while I was there. I've never bought clothing or anything there.

Oh, I have used their automotive department to get my tires rotated and balanced. But I still don't go inside the store.

I've never shopped at K-Mart. I just never liked that store for some reason.

[Formerly SK]

I go there a couple times a year if I want to try on a Lands End item before buying it (like swimsuits).  Our two local Sears stores look like Goodwill - tons of clearance clothes thrown around.  DH and I wandered through Sears the other night killing time and even the power tool section looked bad (dusty, lots of empty space on shelves, etc).  I don't know how they can afford to stay open.

[yogiii]

I do ship-to-store for DS's sneakers.  He wears a wide or extra wide toddler/youth shoe and they often have new balance sneakers in wide sizes for $25, which is a bargain.  That's about all I buy there.

[Nazgul Girl]

   We've bought appliances from Sears off and on for years.   We buy reconditioned appliances for our rentals at this point.   They seem to last as long as the new appliances and cost a third of buying new.   So far, only one complaint, and it cost $ 220 to fix.   Sears has good prices on appliances if you get them on sale, but not much different than Lowes on sale.   We got our Dyson and our refrigerator from Sears last year during the Black Friday sales, come to think of it.  They had great deals.   Our Sears looks very nice inside, though.

[thyme4change]

All retail is cyclical - it is just the cycles are very long.  Sears had a huge problem - they did EVERYTHING.  Jack of all trades, master of none.  I think they would have been better off if they focused on appliances and tools and tried to compete with Home Depot.  They could have dumped their low quality housewares and clothing - or, spin off a different named store for those items (like Robucks!)  Now, they could compete with Wal-Mart, but they don't have the right feel.  Around here, all the Sears are a department store, with a tool department.  Even good department stores are suffering.  They could have gone free-standing and put groceries in to compete with Wal-Mart and Target.  I think that was what they were trying to do with K-Mart, but they couldn't execute, and I'm not sure why.  Unfortunately, I think their name is unsalvageable.  No young person wants to shop there.  It is only a matter of time before they go the way of Montgomery Wards and Woolworth's.  

[Chocolate Lover]

I probably haven't been inside a Sears in a decade or more. Step son was little last time I stepped into a Kmart and it was awful. I wouldn't have been there if I hadn't been meeting the step son's grandpa to follow him out to his house. 

[Tiny]

Sears has been slowly dying for a decade.

I purchased washers and a dryer there a couple years ago. Before they closed the store across from my workplace I use to browse thru the clothes every month or so. They had a good selection of 'business casual' clothes at a reasonable price. The clothes weren't cutting edge fashion, but then I didn't really want cutting edge fashion to wear to work.

I ran into Sears last week for a ratchet socket thingamabob... was replacing the shower faucets and we needed a bigger socket than we had. It was closer and faster than Home Depot (I hate that store).

I don't think Sears will recover they seem to have no long term vision for the stores. they haven't had a long term vision in atleast a decade or two.

JCP will most likely recover. I suspect BoA will recover too. Sears not so much.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

The local Sears store closed over a year ago, and was replaced by a smaller appliance/tool store that was in a stand alone store.  They really did fall all over themselves to help out.

Earlier this year, we went in to buy a new set of drip pans for the stove (stove is Kenmore).  Not sure which set we needed, we bought 2 different ones intending on returning the set that did not fit.  We went to return the unused set and the salesperson credited us with returning both sets!  TD mentioned this to her and she said her manager is not around, she can't fix it. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Speech transcript


www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/10/20/full-transcript-monica-lewinsky-speaks-out-on-ending-online-abuse/

[Opti]

Yes. Not that often and mostly for Land's End stuff, but I have some nice

sheets because I wanted to use up a Great Indoors gift card.

I think if they didn't spend so much emphasis on their appliances and

perhaps did research on what else works, things would work out better.

There are other department stores which cover many things, like Macy's,

but perhaps their management is better at taking a multi-pronged approach.

Macy's sells furniture and mattresses for example, but it isn't the mainstay

of their business. I hope they can get it together. Sears has more things I

like than JCP and they have more stores that are convenient for me to visit.

Kmart should have tried to imitate Target or Kohl's. I don't think they will

recover and I don't know of any open stores anymore.

[amishgal]

Oct 27, 2014 6:11:01 GMT -5 spartan7886 said:

I hit up the local Sears hardware pretty frequently, because it's closer than Home Depot or Lowes, but their department stores? I've bought one thing I think in the past five years.

DH was at Sears Hardware at least 3 times over the weekend, it's close to our house and easier to get in and out of than one of the bigger stores. The only time I ever go to the Sears Dept store at the mall is to return something I got at Lands End online.

[Deleted]

I used to go for glasses at the eye department 20-something years ago and vacuum cleaners. That's it. Oh, and replacement filters for my shop vac. Got smart and bought 2 last time so won't need new ones anytime soon.

I do like the Lands End shop and the one at the mall around here is pretty decent. I have no idea what the rest of the store actually looks like. Don't pay attention.

I remember from waaaaaaay back when, Sears used to have an awesome catalog. Every Christmas I would be making my big old Christmas list from it. I used to live in way northern NH so malls were not particularly accessible for us. Closest one was hour and a half away in North Conway.

[busymom]

I probably only stop in at Sears about once a year. And it's usually to check out what they've got in Land's End.

[Bonny]

We bought all of our kitchen appliances there almost two years ago.

Bought some decent clothes to go to Hawaii about a year ago with the points.

Stopped in about a month and half ago to buy some Lands End jeans. No jeans! Went to order jeans from the catalogue and they wanted $60! Another Bought my jeans from LL Bean for less than $30 plus some kind of discount and a coupon and with free shipping.

[cronewitch]

I have been mad at Sears since Valentines day 1983, I can hold a grudge. I bought my ex a vacuum cleaner for Valentine's day and they said I should have a credit card for ID to cash checks, I didn't have a credit card but they claimed I could get one with a zero limit so I applied. They sent me one with a 200 limit but I never used it. Then I left my ex and didn't take my purse so called to cancel the card. They wanted the card number and I explained I didn't have the card so they said well they couldn't look it up because they had millions of cards. So later I got my purse and wanted to know if my card was canceled or not. They said try it and see so I bought a catalog with the card then went and paid the bill a minute later. Later I decided to use the card and they declined me saying my card was canceled for exceeding my credit limit.

[muttleynfelix]

DH has gone there for tools. But their on-line shopping set up stinks for clothes and other items. So I don't shop there very often.