Sears will go bankrupt by the end of 2018

cool.

>Source? Where'd you hear this?
Do you know anything about the retail market right now?

>haven't seen a new video from CompanyMan talking about it so I wouldn't know
You're a retard. Go to a Sears, go look up sears in google. You're a fucking retard

Fuck, craftsman was so good too im sad its turning into cheap shit

How much you think my original good craftsman tools will be worth in a few year's?

Kobalt is also breddy gud so if they have craftsman as a step up it should be awesome.

No I don't invest or shop there very much.

>>also not being able to get a free replacement anymore when it breaks

this, half of the reason you should buy Craftsman tools is the lifetime warranty, and that goes out the window if Sears goes under.

just go to Home Depot and buy Husky tools instead; they are all made in the same factories in China for Stanley Black and Decker then they throw different labels on at the end. at least we know Home Depot wont be going under anytime soon and they will always replace Husky tools no questions asked.

>Kobalt is also breddy gud
LOL

They've been closing down k-marts and sears stores for years. I came across one that was actually still open the other month and it was like a ghost town inside. Kind of strange being in a gigantic warehouse with a yuge empty parking lot stuffed to the gills with merchandise and not thronged with people like most other such stores would be.

I don't know what they did wrong exactly.

Feltprettygoodman those few times I walked into an arbitrary Sears with something I broke and walked back out a few minutes later with a new replacement no questions asked.

Even better the good stuff really does take some abuse. I have some bits and pieces I inherited from my grandfather that date back to maybe the 50s or something like that and they're made like tanks.

Maybe the property can be bought by online sales shops for warehouses then

So short Sears stock then. You'll get burned like all the others who have been saying exactly that same thing for years now when the CEO pulls some crazy bullshit to prop the company up for another few quarters. Look up Eddie Lampert and his antics with Sears.

>yuge
hallmark of a retard talking out of of his ass.

>kobalt
I have quite a few screwdrivers with broken tips

I suspect the buildings might be too old to be worth renovating to bring them up to property code and whatever else. I see them sitting vacant with new construction going up right near by.

Do you have some kind of disease that makes you repeat the same phrase at the beginning and end of your sentences?

There seems to be something of a market for renting the yuge parking lots, whether it's for a fair or a staging area for construction, or a place to stash storage containers. They're generally in convenient locations with good traffic access.

>tfw no more favorite dorifo parking lot

Lowes is supposedly taking on the sears warranty

theres been a lot of speculation over what Sears did wrong. some say the prices were too high, some say the prices/quality were too low, some say it was because they completely failed to get on the online sales bandwagon to compete with Amazon in the early days.

a lot of it just came down to management, in the early 2000s when they needed to change their business models they were stuck in the 1970s and by the time they realized what needed to be done it was too late.

right now the company's biggest asset is the real estate the stores are sitting on and the brands themselves like Kenmore and Whirlpool. in time they will be sold off to other conglomerates and and stores themselves will be liquidated over time to keep the others afloat. the company knows its dying and is just doing what it can to keep from completely collapsing and hurting everyone involved.

>Husky tools are all made in the same factories in China for Stanley, Black and Decker
this also applies to Pittsburg

i dont know about Lowes but Ace Hardware and amazon still sell a good quantity of craftsman stuff. ive heard a lot of people taking broken tools back to Sears and they just replace it with a refurbished one or send it to the back for some kid to take it apart and see if they can fix it with some spare parts. id rather just get a new one and be done with it.

There's a huge red craftmans toolchest at my grandmas with a ton of 70s and 80s craftman shit. That stuff feels solid, just needs to be cleaned up and derusted a bit

Maybe if you didn't use your tools incorrectly they wouldn't be broken.

Sears decline is due to the steep decline in mall retail sales overall. So a better questions is, what went wrong with the American mall?

Thing is though, I can go to like a Target or a Wal*Mart and it's busy as you'd like. Although I guess of course these companies didn't have as much baggage being typical mall anchors and that whole scene going kaput.

It really doesn't fucking matter. The appeal of Craftsman tools was low prices with decent quality with a lifetime warranty and guess what, now everyone does that.

Harbor Freight is the new Craftsman. Their Pittsburgh Pro lineup is all of good quality, it's cheap, and guess what, it all has a no-hassle lifetime warranty!
You should either be buying Harbor Freight stuff if you're a home DIY guy or Snap-on or Gearwrench stuff if you're a professional.
Kobalt is decent, but it's more expensive than the stuff from Harbor Freight, has the same warranty, and is honestly indistinguishable levels of quality.

kind of, god knows where Harbor Freight actually sources their tools from but the better quality Home Depot tools like the Husky Pro line or the 100-position ratchets are pretty clearly manufactured at a higher level of quality than the standard chrome plated Chinese pot metal you get at Harbor Freight. for a lot of tools the full lifetime warranty from Husky is worth the price different and they wont break the bank like Snap On or Mac Tools.

>Target or a Wal*Mart and it's busy
Those are mostly stand-alone stores so mall security isn't an issue.

I haven't dealt with either brand recently, but I would say that I've been somewhat impressed with the Husky line via a friend who bought a whole bunch of their stuff.

Harbor Freight not as much - you kind of have to look for what's good for getting that one thing you won't use very often on the cheap and what's not so good. I got a 1x30" belt sander from them once and wound up having to cut out the adjustment further because some 30" belts wouldn't fit on it. Still good enough for that odd time I need to use it, though.

one thing i will give Pittsburgh props for is the multi-colored sockets, its so much easier finding the right socket that i need by looking for the right colors rather than digging through a drawer full of dozens of shiny metal things 1mm different from each other.

Heh, that's pretty clever actually.

People want a one-stop-shop. Hence why amazon, walmart, etc are so popular now
Just like how mostly people only use 10 internet sites these days instead of the dozens from 15 years ago

S O C K E T
O R G A N I Z E R S

Tbh I love this idea but I can't get myself to buy rainbow sockets. The part of my brain that has a little OCD says "EVERYTHING MUST BE CHROME OR BLACK, NO EXCEPTIONS".

This is literally Harbor Frieght. Besides the hand tools and air impacts which I stand behind, a lot.of their stuff should only be bought if you only plan to use it a couple of times a year. They normally take more maintinence, more fiddling, and more time to get good results with.

as long as you are ok with having an LGBTQQTBP++ pride parade in your tool chest the multi-colored sockets are a godsend and ive yet to break one.

Probably a big part of it is that they're a ghost town. Only time I've gone in my local Sears or Ace I basically got harassed by the employees and couldn't just look around.

Uhm, actualy, uhm, I think you mean the LGBTQQTBRAAAP community. Yeah thanks sweetie.

>going all in with home depot
*leans into mic*
W R O N G

if you’re going to future proof go with lowes since it’s owned by Walmart and that fucker isn’t going anywhere unless some plague wipes out the south

>marginalizing the ++ community

its the current year what is wrong with you? go back to your NRA convention you rapist.

I've had a thing for Craftsman tools since childhood.
after seeing their tool manufacturing being done in China I started buying up whatever "Made in USA" Craftsman tool sets I could find that I thought I would actually use.
So now I'm pretty well stocked on USA made Craftsman tools. I bought sets off of Amazon and Ebay. you can get good deals occasionally if you watch for them.
also bought a big set of the current stock made in china tools, that i use first. saving the USA built ones in reserve.

I believe the Craftsman Industrial line of tools is still made in USA though

yes, i saw some YT documentary on this. apparently, Sears/Kmart failed to stay updated and with current trends while Walmart and Amazon slowly took over everything.

They fell behind and failed to adapt to changing market trends in consumer behavior. alot of factors involved though. they are not the only ones to have suffered this fate.

I too prefer Kazaa K++ Lite edition

I honestly couldnt even tell you what clothing brands Sears had, though I swear they had a clothing department last time I was there like 8 years ago

That's awesome. would be like discovering an ancient Inca temple full of ancient artifacts and treasures.
and the nostalgia of your father and grandfather having used those tools down through the span of their lifetimes is worth its weight in gold

yeah, i bought clothes from a Sears store at some point back in 2016. Few shoppers though, I could tell they were severely lacking business. It was one of their super stores that had every dept., clothing, automotive service, appliances, tools, home & garden, everything.
the automotive service dept. i took my vehicle to occasionally.
last time i called for auto service it seemed that dept. had already been shut down.
but it was one of those Sears that was in a giant mall and the entire mall was slowly dying.

>but it was one of those Sears that was in a giant mall and the entire mall was slowly dying.

its funny because every major mall ive been to in the Seattle area is thriving. new stores, packed parking lots, lots of people every time. last mall i went to was so crowded on the weekend that we had to leave early because it was so difficult to walk around between stores.

it helps that most immigrants (especially Asians) are still used to flocking to malls for their shopping, even if its just window shopping then ordering online later.

My mall in eastern Ohio is so dead that the anchors can barely keep it up. You walk down one of the main walkways in the mall and 70% are empty except for the food court, victoria secret, and a handful of others

>lowes since it’s owned by Walmart
No it isn't

Sears is selling craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million

Old Craftsman tools were good? My dad has some old Craftsman ratchet that is probably 20 years old that feels like shit to use. The ratchet is really cranky and takes a lot of force to rotate back. Much worse than the newish chinesium craftsman and kobalt ones I have used.

i have both USA made and China made Craftsman tools. the ratchets all work fine.
probably your dads old rather has just seen alot of use and maybe should have been rebuilt by now

They were good for the time and price
Snap on:
>100 dollar ratchet
>umpteen teeth
>guy will deliver the fucker to you if you break it
Craftsman
>10 dollar ratchet
>26 large teeth
>drive to store to replace
Nowadays you have harbor freight, sunex, gearwrench, etc

The only craftsman tools I've ever broken:
>1/2" drive ratchet with a 24" handle, was using cheater bar
>3/8" drive breaker bar, was using cheater bar
Both of those tools were older than I was, and I didn't warrantee them because I have morals.

This. Sears is circling the drain and selling off assets in order to postpone their imminent demise. They sold the Craftsman brand recently. Kenmore too, iirc. Sears will go the way of Studebaker soon, but Craftsman will live on.

Not like I really care, I buy all my shit off of Craigslist.

What's your guys opinions on Duralast tools from AutoZone? I've been buying a lot of their stuff recently because it's cheap, good quality, and has an amazing warranty. If it breaks just drive to the nearest AutoZone and you get a new one for free. If I break a Snap-On tool have to wait for the truck to come and replace my shit but I pass an AutoZone every day on my way to work and back. I'm sure everyone has one within 5 miles of their house. Got a deep and shallow 3/8ths socket set in Metric and SAE for $50. The same sockets from the Snap-on Catalog was over $1500.

Damn. The only Craftsman anything I've broken was the ride on lawn mower, and that was just because some mice nested up in the air intake.

Let me tell you, that engine couldn't handle flaming newborn mice.

>AutoZone

might as well buy your tools at a gas station.

Well I used to break the shop's OEM tools lug nut sockets once a month so I started using duralast ones since they would replace them for free instead of making the shop order more and I have yet to break one after 6 months of hard use.

How much and where did you buy them?

I'm usually pretty agnostic about who makes the stuff I buy, but there's something about buying Chinese tools that makes me feel bad. I'll only do it if I can't find a used alternative and new US made is crazy expensive, like MAC/Snap-On tool chests. Or, a tool that I need to use once in a blue moon like the one 46mm socket I have for taking off my Ducati's rear wheel. Individual US made socket was like $150 or something stupid like that, and the Horror Fright set was like $30. So I bought the set and tossed the crap I didn't need.

Still, feels bad, man. Every time I use it I feel guilty. IDK why.

never heard of this brand

Is Gearwrench a solid brand?

hit or miss from what i understand. depends on who you ask. people that use nothing but snap on tools will obviously say gear wrench is trash.
like most smaller brands, they'll make good stuff and some garbage.
look into ezred tools. they're a little more affordable than snap on but apparently covered by the same warranty

Most empty big box/shopping centers are just too costly for one business to lease. The ones that are successfully flipped are usually divided up into smaller subunits and leased as cheap office space.
The old shopping center near my sister's place is now full of financial services and satellite offices for state/county agencies.
And a fitness club.

I like Gearwrench, the quality is good enough, but like a lot of other cheaper tools the design is never quite right, swivels are too loose, handles too short, etc. If you don't mind modifying them they sit in the not quite Matco range

meh. theyre shit kinda sucks

Gearwrench makes Craftsman
Source: I work there

Definitely this. I worked at Sears for a few years in college and it was apparent it was on a downward slope. Since leaving I've been a few times and it looks exactly the same as when I left over 3 years ago.

I think the management is shit and it starts from the CEO down. I read somewhere he bought the company just before the recession and had plans to sell the real estate at a profit until the recession hit. He got stuck with the company and here we are.

A little taste of my autism concerning HB:
A lot of people kinda shit on Harbor Freight, but it really depends on what you buy there.
Dont buy anything with moving parts unless you're only planning on using them very lightly. Personally, i buy sockets, extensions, screwdrivers, hammers and miscellaneous shit there when i can because theyll replace it and its harder to strip a socket than a bolt.
Avoid the crappy combination wrenches, ratchets, power tools, and air tools and youll be fine. Ive shredded pittsburgh ratchets and wrenches like butter but their sockets have held up nicely and even come organized by color. If it doesn't have bearings, moving parts, and it isnt just a hunk of super thin cast steel its usually an okay purchase.

On craftsman: if its American era craftsman buy it. Its almost invincible and its probably used and therefore cheap. Personally i do think Husky is going to replace Craftsman because the price and overall quality are pretty similar. Husky isnt great but its durable. Ive shredded pittsburgh, craftsman, nobrand, evercraft, stanley, and craftsman ratchets of all sizes but i swear my Husky 1/2 in ratchet is made out of fucking vibranium or something. I hope Lowes/Walmart pick up craftsman because walmarts hypertough and Stanley brand shit is just abominable and Kobalt, though relatively durable, just doesnt feel like a great quality brand to me when i use it and it feels like a weekend warrior product as opposed to a working class, working man product. If craftsman is a 90s Ford or Chevy truck then Kobalt is a honda ridgeline. Sure it does the same job but it just doesnt feel like it does.

I wouldn't say solid, but plan on them lasting more than a year. Dont trust their ratchets but their ratcheting wrenches make you feel like your Gohan and Gearwrench is Goku right before they do the double Kamehameha at the end of the cell games. Weird i know. I worked at napa and for the deal i got on gearwrench shit it was totally worth the purchase as long as it wasnt anything that could be flimsy (scrapers, chisels, small screwdrivers, cheap 1/2 ratchets and impact drivers, anything plastic)

When it goes on sale retard.

Stahlwille is kind of like the German Snap-On. They capitalize on a reputation of being "the best" by pushing prices to an unreasonable level ($300 for a small ratchet set containing maybe 20 pieces) despite not being THAT much better.

Its no snappy but my hand tools have been absolutely fine.

I mean I would be against it but then I look a few feet away at my miata and realize the damage is done.

Have u used the earthquake XT air impact? I just got a half inch one haven't tried it yet.

>ITT people dont realize that all hand tools have the exact same quality and will last exactly the same but still drop massive amounts of cash because one piece of metal has a brand name on it

>Either Harbor Freight or Snap On
Only a sith deals in absolutes

Duralast is alright quality. I used to work at AutoZone and they'll one for one swap hand tools in store no questions asked so that's nice if you live near one. I bought a set of OEM/Greatneck Saw tools they have in their catalog and I love it

I bought wrenches from autozone and one of them snapped off

Don't buy anything from Sears unless you like horrible customer service

I have not, but I've heard great things from mechanics and diyers alike around me. I'm still a student in an apartment with no garage so having an air compressor and air impact is out of the question for now.

I like the reference, I was just giving an example. I don't see the market for the middle tier tools.
If you're a professional, you should probably buy top tier tools like Snap-On and Matco and the like.
If you're a diyer, you should probably buy cheap tools with good warranties like Harbor Freight.
Kobalt, Husky, and Craftsman may very well be slightly higher quality than HF (although I don't think so) but the substantially higher cost isn't warranted in my opinion. Every HF hand tools I've used has been great and the only took I've ever broken was. Kobalt ratchet.

If you haven't used a Snap-On or other prograde took before, then you can't talk. They are definitely a little better than store bought stuff. I can understand why someone using a ratchet for 40 hours a week would want every aspect of it to be perfect. They are better, even if only by a little bit.

Your first two replies are both to me, I agree with u though all my tools are AutoZone and harbor freight minus my first tool set which was from Amazon. It's good enough for my purposes i swapped my transmission out supercharged my car did suspension work etc etc. I don't get paid to do it though so I can take my time driving to the store for shit

>Lowes is getting the Craftsman brand
Craftsman brand was purchased by Stanley Black&Decker in January 2017. The new owner said that it would honor the lifetime warranty for hand tools. Because it's owned by SB&D, you should be able to see Craftsman products in other stores such as ACE and Lowes since buying Craftsman isn't really supporting that damn hedge fund that bought Sears.

>I don't know what they did wrong exactly.
Sears was bought by a hedge fund manager many years ago. Unlike a lot of other department stores, Sears often owned the land it was on. In some cases, the mall that was around Sears might have its land owned by a holding corporation affiliated with the Sears conglomerate. That made Sears an attraactive takeover target because even if it went bankrupt, the real estate would defray the cost of purchase. To hedge fund managers that think pessimistically in "how much is that thing worth if it dies?", that made sears worth more dead than if alive. Of course, alive is good too as there is a revenue stream. But if you are an old man managing hedge, continuing for decades is bad because you want to cash it out now.

History matters. T. Boone Pickens with Mesa Partners specialized in hunting corporations that were worth more dead than alive. He would buy up controlling interest and then destroy the company and made billions selling pieces off to competitors or just selling the assets off period. As a result, many corps created "poison pill" packages not allowing divestiture after takeovers until many years such as 10 years have passed.

Eddie Lampert hasn't personally lost money. He makes money. What he does is use his management authority to technically legally waste someone elses money and those people take the loss instead of him. To avoid poison pill, Lampert injects money as a loan and then extracts the money out as land or assets from Sears. He's made quite a bit of profit.