Seem to remember Sears Auto centers getting spanked hard by the Feds for committing fraud while balancing (or Not balancing) tires. When it's all about customer service, fraud is like a screw in the coffin.
Half of the hand tools in my rollaways are old Craftsman USA. A big part of the reason for my investment in Craftsman was the warranty. I've had replacements issued for quite a few broken Craftsman tools over the decades. My son made the same investment, based upon my advice regarding Craftsman: "Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty. Snap On has a lifetime warranty. Craftsman costs far less than Snap On. The difference is, Snap On doesn't break. Craftsman breaks, but they replace the broken tools for free." Virtually ALL Craftsman tools are now made in China. They do not offer free replacement for Craftsman China. They still offer free replacements for Craftsman USA....but now.....when you turn in a broken Craftsman USA tool for warranty replacement.....you get Craftsman China. I didn't mean to hijack this thread...but that whole Craftsman deal is still stuck in my craw...
There is area in a county about 80 miles from me that they used to use oil barrels for mail boxes because the people in that area ordered almost everything they got out of the Sears or Wards catalogs only going to "town" once every couple of weeks The local JC Penny store that most of my school clothes came from when I was real young was between one of the top go to mens clothing stores in Central WA and one if not the top go to Western store in the area for years but seemed to get the second rate clothes rather than the top of the line stuff. Second rate never sells good in small towns no matter what you sell. I know every time I went shopping for a shirt in town I would go to one store, look, walk past Pennys and stick my nose in and glance around and walk out and go to the other store. The little Sears store that was akin to the catalog stores they had in the 60's an 70's closed last month even though they seemed to sell a lot of lawn mowers and appliances. Now we can't buy a new washer, dryer, stove or refrigerator in town and have to drive 20 miles to get one. A hardship on folks who could actually walk to the store, buy the appliance and have it delivered that day.
We saw the Sears here in Anderson,South Carolina close in September, I remember working there when I was in high school and at that time Sears,Roebuck & Co. was a great place to work & shop. HRP
Enjoying all the stories, good and bad, seems like Sears days are numbers. I haven't added anything to my collection and the other things I have are not HAMB friendly
You are so right! This would be like WalMart buying Snap On tools. The entire Sears issue pisses me off to no end and at the same time breaks my heart. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When Sears finally started selling chrome wheels & hubcaps, they looked more like polished metal than plating. They had some version of a Rader (?) with a center of cast aluminum & a "chrome" rim, held together with bolts, I think. But … a LOT of my favorite tools are Craftsman, bought new and used. They feel better in my hands that shiny ones that cost too much back then. And in the '60s -'70s, Sears HD shocks were always $6.99 and made by Columbus or other major maker. RIP, Sears …. in the '50s growing up, coming into town on weekends always meant Sears.
Their auto service was a pretty good deal for things like shocks, tires, batteries, and alignments, stuff like that. Quick and not too expensive, and they didn't care if you watched. They pissed me off about 1997 when they refused to install shocks not purchased from them (oddball, special order that they didn't have in stock) and I never shopped there again. For anything.
In the late sixties many of my dates (generally to a movie) began with a trip to the J.C. Penney auto center at the Ford City shopping center in Chicago. I'd stop in to check out the Scat Trac tires, Cragars, Mickey Thompson Super Scavenger Headers and other classic names. While Penney's was in the mall, the auto center was a free standing building. I always felt my '66 Nova should have been displayed in the store to attract gearhead customers. How's that for feeling self assured? How I miss the Warshawsky store on Chicago's south side. It was a madhouse on the weekends and they had every bizarre little item you could want. I wish I had just one of the many catalogs they sent. It's amazing how a giant like Sears, Roebuck & Company could be brought to it's knees. We grew up and lived with Craftsman and Kenmore. Sears had us covered. Progress is not always what it's cracked up to be. This isn't a Warshawsky ad but it very well could be:
That's the truth. Our little burg had both Sears and Montgomery Ward catalog stores, and a J.C. Penney with a catalog desk at the back of the store. They all did plenty of business too. Here's something you might have ordered from the Sears catalog - (Shameless plug - I have it listed in the classifieds... )
Yeah, that had a store or two in Tuscaloosa. I bought my first new riding lawn mower from them around 1980. Never did buy any auto stuff from them though.
My mom gave me money for two new rear tires from Monkey Wards for my 65 Mustang back in the spring of 1968. I think they were the second tier Riverside brand, not the top of the line. When they had no tread left by early fall, I explained that they wore fast because they were the lower grade tire. She actually believed me.
About ten years ago I bought a cool old pair of Penney's slicks at the Turlock swap meet. They are nearly NOS............cost me a whole $40. The guy told me he was sick of carting them around and if they didn't sell that day he was going to mount them on his Chevelle and roast them until they popped.
I worked for Sears in the early-80s. Worked in the warehouse under a retail store, lots of good stories from those days, we had a blast. They were a good company to work for back then. All the Canadian stores closed in 2017. Shareholders and management pushing for higher profits/dividends instead of investing in keeping the company competitive, drove the company out of business. Funny how that works. They all got nice golden parachutes, at the expense of the employees pension fund.
Yep.Seems like the home office big wigs get the mine and the little guy gets the shaft. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
When I was a kid in Altus, OK we had a McCrory-Otasco. My understanding was that they later split into McCrory’s and Otasco. I have my dad’s old JC Penney toolbox and his Montgomery Wards stick welder. My mom worked at a Penney’s with the standalone auto center when I was a teen. She let me know when they were liquidating everything before it closed, and I stocked up on motor oil and filters at 75% off, or something ridiculous like that. I think that building is a Firestone now. Slonaker
Here’s a old Sears and Roebuck Model A timing gear still in the box I got when I bought an estate (all parts,no cars! ) from a old school local hot rodder that passed away recently here in N.C...I was a shipping/rec manager at Sears from 2003-07..it sucked what they did to that company...I could see the quality slipping on tools etc in the few years I worked there..all power tools were Chinese parts “assembled in the USA”...the ratchet rebuilds were done by high school age cashiers when they were not busy...smh
my first set of hand tools was JC Penny Powercraft brand. still have them, and the two drawer box. sockets ratchets, extensions, combination wrenches ballpeen hammer, screw drivers pliers, needle nose, and diagonal cutters, also bought a 3/8 variable speed drill, with drill index, jig saw, circular saw. and torque wrench. Bought them in 1969. Got them after we got married with gift money. So it seems we will be celebrating 50 years of use along with 50 years of marriage in a week.
Hope not all of the sears stores have closed. I found these old vouchers, thought I would try to use them up before it's to late. Hell with that ,I just saw some on Eb for $5.99 and higher. So they must be actually worth maybe aaaahh 2-3 cents Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I forgot that my Dad's '40 has a Sears under dash A/C. You can hang meat in that thing when we use it. I haven't really been looking for anything Sears lately, I have been on a vinyl LP kick these past few months.
Ah yes , them old round flat things that had music on them. I still have all my old Beach Boys , Jan & Dean, Dick Dale, and around 200 others ..just got a new turntable so I can start playing them again. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Jalopy Journal
