['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by codyyy

I’m not sure, the website still works. If that goes under I may really be SOL. Then again I usually just buy used stuff so I’ll just need to replace it. Maybe go to Proto, Stanley doesn’t look like it is going under but it’s anyone’s guess.

This has been going through my mind for a while now though: if Sears does go under, where does the hobbyist go for tools other than Harbor Freight or Home Depot and Lowes? I’m not meaning to knock quality but actually with regards to specialty tools that those stores may not carry. I don't think I can hunt down the Snap On truck. I could order such tools online but it is easier to be able to look at the tool in person and if a warranty needed to be made it would be easy as well. Just thinking about how or if that would change my tool shopping habits.

Preface this, use hand tools nearly everyday. In a jamb missing a certain hand tool, If it's not to specialized, will shop Lowes, have bought a few Kobalt ratchets & sockets over the last two years to supplement Craftsman, SK sockets & Snappy ratchets. I shop Ace Hardware several times a month for home & lawn stuff, unfortunately just not much that Ace offers in Craftsman that appeals to me & the no more lifetime warranty with moving parts is a deal killer. Fortunately (very fortunately) have two buddy's that stop in big pawnshops quite a bit, will often get a call, if one runs across broken up sets or really sweet top line hand tools, usually picture texts as well.. Will also text with each other what we're looking for. All 3 of us will occasionally hit the local flea market & if i have time, estate sales. For close to top quality handtools, have been having much better luck at large home suburban estate sales than big auctions.

[Chief of the 60's]

Sorry, I will never walk into a Lowes.

When I walk into a place I don't want to feel like I walked into another country. Walk into a Lowes and there are signs hanging all over the place with huge lettering in another language. This is the US dammit, learn our language. It shouldn't be the other way around.

['ol Pinion head]

Not sure what the demographics are in your area. In the Heartland, lot of Hispanics, most very very hardworking. If English & Spanish are in text somewhere, it does not bother me. In an overheard conversation, Id rather miss out on understanding every word of Spanish, than having to try & decipher the ramblings of waste case druggies & Ebonic babbling. Rogelio

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by Roadking88

Ron White has a funny bit about Sears Auto service.

Ours has a distinction of sucking for the past 20 years. I've heard cases of loose lug nuts/wheels leaving the car, terrible alignments, massive oil loss from loose oil filters or filter O rings left on, a shock falling off, etc.
I'm thinking it's where all of the techs fired from real shops go to retire.

[shawn e.]

Sears left our area years ago.............

[64speed]

We still have a Sears in the two malls closest to me. All my tools with the exception of some pliers etc are craftsman. I have always gotten good service out of my tools and when a ratchet did break they always replaced it no question asked. The last time I had one break I went to my closest sears and the 19 year old kid behind the counter “rebuilt” mine with a parts kit they kept unders the register. Disheartening but it did fix the ratchet so I can’t really complain. I hope they don’t go totally out of business cause I can’t afford Mac or Snap on for everything. Guess I’ll be buying more and more from amazon.

[ssj71]

My mom worked at Sears from 1966 through 1988 when she retired. I remember going to her Penn Center (Pittsburgh) store frequently as a kid, and they even had a restaurant in the back of that store where I'd wait for her to get off duty and buy me something to eat.

She used to work in a downstairs office with a dozen other women taking catalog orders over the phone.

Used to be a great place to shop, hang out, get auto parts etc. Store was shuttered in 2012.

[NeighborsComplaint]

My last straw with Sears was the purchase of a pancake air compressor through Sears online delivered to a nearby store. It was a Craftsman brand which I was unhappy with the quality. I returned it to the store where I picked it up and was charged a 20% re-stocking charge as it was an online purchase and not a "retail store stock" item. I have never set foot in a Sears store again.

[dataway]

I remember when Sears was pretty much a guarantee of quality and US made. That was in the early 70's. Good people, good company, good products, good memories.

But ... they were criminally slow to change ... that owned the catalog market 40 years ago ... but they neglected to Segway it into the internet days. So sad, they could have been a rea contender.

[green66gto]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

Same here. I was a mechanic at Sears Auto Center back in the 80's. They use to be one of the best places to work.

Sears techically was the originator to "on line" shopping. People couldn't wait for the newest Sears catalog. Some would have family gatherings over it. Hell, you could never buy a car or a house from WalMart. You could from Sears.

Sears going down the tubes unfortunately is by their own greedy hand and poor corporate management.

I live in a Sears house, at least that is what I was told by members of the historical society.

[Jeff Hamlin]

Originally Posted by green66gto

I live in a Sears house, at least that is what I was told by members of the historical society.

Very Cool, very popular. Before my time but have been in the trade for 37 years and love the historic stuff.
http://www.arts-crafts.com/archive/k...earskits.shtml

There is one of the later "Modern" Metal Tile houses local, same line of building like the gas stations of the day.
http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/...l-tile-houses/

When I was growing up I remember the kit/plans you could buy from 84 Lumber.

I haven't shopped Sears for over a decade due to the tool policy changes. They are still here in the Hampton roads area but almost ghost-towns most of the time.

[77 Canamman]

Since their amendment to their "lifetime" tool replacement policy, I refuse to shop there. I have had better luck with the Home Despot tools, than the Crapsman. Anymore, I strive to purchase Snap On, but they are difficult to get replaced in my area.

[Chief of the 60's]

Amendment??? What amendment?

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by green66gto

I live in a Sears house, at least that is what I was told by members of the historical society.

There are a few Sears homes in my area. Funny thing is, I was BS'ing with a guy the other day that said he lives in a Sears home.

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

Amendment??? What amendment?

It's an unwritten amendment. Since around 2010, they have changed their "no questions asked" policy, especially on their ratchets, to interrogate the customer, and then get a used "rebuilt" ratchet unless you're such a flaming a-hole, then you might get a new ratchet.

I'm done with their shady business practices.

[mgarblik]

You rarely hear me throw up the white flag and beg for help from the younger generation, especially the millinials. But SEARS really needed them and did nothing. The old codgers in the board room were busy staring at the walls while a retail empire was given away to internet sales. By the time Sears finally had a real internet presence, they were at least 10 years too late. Plus, they must have had nothing but computer science rejects set up their web site. It's the worst of the worst. A 3 year old could have done a better job. Never had a problem with the SEARS branded products, Craftsman, Kenmore, and the others. They were a good value with good warranty. It's a real shame. Kind of like Pontiac, the world will go on without them.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

It's an unwritten amendment. Since around 2010, they have changed their "no questions asked" policy, especially on their ratchets, to interrogate the customer, and then get a used "rebuilt" ratchet unless you're such a flaming a-hole, then you might get a new ratchet.

I'm done with their shady business practices.

They have been trying that to me for years. Problem for them is that I use to work for Sears and I would recite the warranty back to them. Part of that warranty reads "if not completely satisfied". Then I go on to tell the clerk that I have a 6 foot tall tool box filled with Craftsman tools that I'm not feeling "completely satisfied" about right now. At that point, they just warrantee the tool. LOL, does that qualify as a "flaming-a-hole"? LMAO

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

Since their amendment to their "lifetime" tool replacement policy, I refuse to shop there. I have had better luck with the Home Despot tools, than the Crapsman. Anymore, I strive to purchase Snap On, but they are difficult to get replaced in my area.

That's one problem with Snap On, ya gotta chase the tool truck down. Then I ran into an A-Hole dealer, who wouldn't replace any broken Snap On tool, unless you had a receipt, or could prove you were the original purchaser.

[burd]

I bought lifetime shocks for my bird, they don't do it anymore, huge fight in automotive, also some hand tools I got I got screwed on, lifetime isn't lifetime, I don't shop there. The lifetime is all good till you try to exchange it. Just got into it again on a lifetime garden hose last year. They suck. I was done there years ago, they did it to themselves.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by burd

I bought lifetime shocks for my bird, they don't do it anymore, huge fight in automotive, also some hand tools I got I got screwed on, lifetime isn't lifetime, I don't shop there. The lifetime is all good till you try to exchange it. Just got into it again on a lifetime garden hose last year. They suck. I was done there years ago, they did it to themselves.

When I heard they broke their 100 year contract with Whirlpool I figured the end was near. So I've had a Craftsman garden hose that was leaking at the fitting for awhile now and figured I better take it in to warrantee it. They exchanged it with no questions asked. Which is another sign that the end is near.