We went inside a Sears and saw why the company is dying

[EC]

That's why we don't Christmas shop.  ^-^

90% of the gifts we are giving are tucked away, already wrapped, in the loft by mid August. Since all our grandkids have birthdays from Jan - March (and all our kids bar 1 for that matter) any so called "Christmas must have" toy becomes a birthday present or a Befana present, since we celebrate that too.

[Applewood]

@libertybele
@EC

EC has the right idea.   You really shouldn't do Christmas shopping too close to Christmas.  After Thanksgiving up till Christmas is the prime time for things to go wrong.  Yes, I know many people take advantage of Cyber Monday because that's when there are good deals. But I have found some equally good or even better deals in October.

Some companies are extremely efficient when it comes to online ordering.  They can even get your gift to the recipient on Christmas Day, if need be.  But the vast majority of these companies are not that efficient.  Many of them hire seasonal employees who have little or no experience and these seasonal employees only get a bare minimum of training, if that.   In addition, many of these seasonal employees are college kids who would rather be out partying with their friends.  They do only the bare minimum of work, maybe  They are just there to collect a check. 

If you order your gifts before the seasonal help arrives, you have a much better chance of your purchases being correct and delivered on time. 

UPS, FedX and the Post Office also hire seasonal help.  They aren't any better than the ones hired by the stores.  But to be fair, these delivery services have a tougher job.  Not only are they deluged with Christmas gifts, they also have to make their usual deliveries.  I try not to order my usual  things like my prescription meds till after the holidays.  These delivery services have enough on their plates. 

If you are going to order close to Christmas, splurge for express delivery (2 day maybe?), if it's offered.  That way you are more likely to get your order on time and you will have time to make things right if something goes wrong.  Most companies have cutoff dates for the normal (often free) delivery.  After that date, you have no choice and must order express or overnight delivery.

You also want to be sure you order from a company with good customer service when things go wrong.  In my experience, Amazon bends over backwards to solve a problem and makes things right.  Some companies, you get someone who can't speak or understand English (and I'm not talking about immigrants -- these are people born and educated in this country.)   They have no comprehension of what your problem is, they make you go through hoops to return the merchandise and it's like pulling teeth to get your account credited.  I once ordered something from Amazon and it was all wrong.  Amazon allows you to print a return label and have the mailman or UPS come to the house to pick it up.  Only...I don't have a printer.  Called Amazon and explained my dilemma.  The customer service person said, don't bother returning it.  Give it to someone else if you like.  That's what I did.  And Amazon issued a credit without the return. 

[Oceander]

When Sears gave into the mob and dropped Ivanka Trumps line they pissed off most of their customer base. Sears is done.

Seriously?   Sears would lose more customers if Trumps xenophobia were given free rein than they did because they chose not to showcase her junk. 

[sneakypete]

Sears killed it's future when it abandoned and ended it's catalog sales in 1993.  They should have brought the Sears catalog back at the advent of internet sales - and perhaps they may have reclaimed it's title of retailer king instead of Amazon.  But they refused and bought Kmart instead and sealed their fate.

@INVAR

Yup! What could have been a more natural progression that going from a bulk catalog to a catalog on a web page? How he HELL did they miss that? They could have hired delivery drivers and been right back on top.

The only Sears store within 3 hours of here is closing in April, but it has been a shell and an empty depressing place for years.  Only their hardware department had any life in it.  Parking lot at the end of the mall where they are anchored has been chronically empty for years.  Even during the holidays.

Which brings up another issue no one wants to mention in polite company. Many people,especially senior citizens who have been shopping at Sears for multiple decades no longer want to go shopping at a mall where they will be harassed,insulted,and maybe even assaulted and robbed by the "urban teen" (code name for you know who) thugs that hang around in them all day for no reason other than to cause someone trouble.

And that ain't even mentioning the dangerous walk out in the parking lot to try to find their car before they are robbed and murdered.

This is probably the prime reason malls are shutting down all over America.

[sneakypete]

The catalog business was really a novel idea and I agree it could have morphed into it being internet sales king.

I recall my dad dreaming about owning an Allstate, a car made by Kaiser and sold in the Sears catalog in the early 50s.


A neighbor of mine owns a house that was sold by Sears in the 40s similar to below.  It came in a kit and was assembled on site.

@IsailedawayfromFR

I didn't know it was made by Kaiser. I do know it was nothing more than a Henry J with an Allstate name tag because Allstate was the trade name for Sears batteries and car parts. Every one I have ever seen came with a flathead 4 cylinder engine,but I have been told a few were made with flathead 6 engines.

Last one I remember seeing was in a junkyard about 10 years ago. No engine or trans,but a fairly straight and solid body. Somebody bought it to build into a gasser.

BTW,I know of several Sears houses still standing and looking good.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@sneakypete

Well, my dad had 11 of us kids, so he had to start somewhere basic.

He never was able to get a new car, and I guess this was a dream to get one.

People used to dream over those catalogs.

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete

Well, my dad had 11 of us kids, so he had to start somewhere basic.

Ok,now I understand why he wanted to buy a car that only allowed 3 passengers.

People used to dream over those catalogs.

People who have grown up in the last 40  years in the "land of time and plenty" what a milestone it was for most Americans born prior to the 1950's to buy a new car. It meant you had "arrived" as a hard-working successful adult. Nowadays high school kids get new sports cars as gifts on their 16th birthday,but it wasn't that way for previous generations.

[Applewood]

People who have grown up in the last 40  years in the "land of time and plenty" what a milestone it was for most Americans born prior to the 1950's to buy a new car. It meant you had "arrived" as a hard-working successful adult. Nowadays high school kids get new sports cars as gifts on their 16th birthday, but it wasn't that way for previous generations.

Amen.  I grew up in the 50s and 60s.  I remember Dad drove second-hand cars for most of his adult life. Couldn't afford new.  It wasn't until after he retired and his children were grown and paying their own way that he bought his first new car -- a Ford Gran Torino.  After he wore that out, he bought a new Pontiac Bonneville.  That Bonneville was still in good condition years later when he passed on..  A relative inherited that car and drove it for several more years until it died altogether. 

I never learned to drive, but my Dad did not buy my brother a car on his 16th birthday as parents do now.  My brother worked till he saved enough to buy his own car.  Dad taught us responsibility -- an old fashioned value the spoiled snowflakes today don't learn because their paren't don't teach it. 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I never learned to drive, but my Dad did not buy my brother a car on his 16th birthday as parents do now.  My brother worked till he saved enough to buy his own car.  Dad taught us responsibility -- an old fashioned value the spoiled snowflakes today don't learn because their paren't don't teach it.

Amen to that.  I had to pay for my first car, a '52 Buick that my dad brought home that cost $35.  Even though it did not cost much, I took care of it.

For my son's 16th birthday, I gave him a '86 Ford Stepside 4 speed stickshift with 165,000 miles. 

My wife forced me to on that one, for her daddy gave her a new car on her 16th.

[bigheadfred]

Amen to that.  I had to pay for my first car, a '52 Buick that my dad brought home that cost $35.  Even though it did not cost much, I took care of it.

For my son's 16th birthday, I gave him a '86 Ford Stepside 4 speed stickshift with 165,000 miles. 

My wife forced me to on that one, for her daddy gave her a new car on her 16th.

My dad made me buy my first vehicle. A '65 dodge pickup the forest service auctioned off. $135. And then he taught me some basic mechanics.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

My dad made me buy my first vehicle. A '65 dodge pickup the forest service auctioned off. $135. And then he taught me some basic mechanics.

The way my dad taught me mechanics was the first time I had to change the oil.  He told me to be sure to change the filter too.

I spent 30 minutes trying to find it only to find him finally laughing and told me it was optional on the '52.

[sneakypete]

The way my dad taught me mechanics was the first time I had to change the oil.  He told me to be sure to change the filter too.

I spent 30 minutes trying to find it only to find him finally laughing and told me it was optional on the '52.

@IsailedawayfromFR   @bigheadfred @Applewood

You guys all had it too easy. My father hated old cars,and I loved them. He sold the first two cars I bought with my own money earned working during summers to people who stopped by while I was in school,and wanted to buy them. He even kept the money for himself. "My yard,my cars,my money". The first one was when I was 13. A 1938 Chrysler I bought for 20 bucks. He wouldn't even tow it home for me. Had to get a cousin to do that and to help me get it running. Damn thing ran better than his new Ford. Even the radio played. My plan was to work summers to get the money to have it fixed up nice so I'd have something to drive when I turned 16.

The next summer it was a 40 Ford tudor sedan. Had a friend give me a rebuilt Mercury flathead to put in that one. He sold it to the junkman while I was at school.

Bought a 57 Ford tudor hardtop with a 312 after I joined the army. When I was transferred to Okinawa 2 years later I had to leave it at home because I had nowhere else. When I came back home again 2 years later,it was sitting upside down in the back yard. Somebody came by and wanted to buy the 312 engine,so he sold it to them and pulled the engine by unbolting everything and turning it upside down in the back yard to get it to drop out on the ground. That was the last one he did that with. I was pissed and told him after that if he ever pulled that crap again I would cripple him for life. Sometimes you just can't reason with people,so you have to scare them.

When I got back home from VN a couple of years later,my 60 Ford tudor was not only sitting inside the garage,the battery was still charged and the tires were holding air.

Which proves some people ARE teachable with the proper incentives.

[rodamala]

Sounds like a place where men do the grocery shopping... bread, milk, bolt cutter, pork chops, potato chips, fence post-hole digger....

@IsailedawayfromFR
@geronl

And the kicker is all of those things would be purchased and loaded in the car in 10 minutes.

[Oceander]

The catalog business was really a novel idea and I agree it could have morphed into it being internet sales king.

I recall my dad dreaming about owning an Allstate, a car made by Kaiser and sold in the Sears catalog in the early 50s.


A neighbor of mine owns a house that was sold by Sears in the 40s similar to below.  It came in a kit and was assembled on site.

Sears homes are gems.  There are still quite a few of them around.  The smaller ones have probably been mostly knocked down or renovated to the point where they're unrecognizable, but the bigger ones still survive.  Some of the other catalog companies also sold kit houses.