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Sears is closing stores...

We have a sears Kind of close to us at the Oakland mall witch in in Troy MI....The arab and black folks keep that place alive....Dont get me wrong its a great place to shop for "sears" stuff and I have never had a "people" problem there but it is what it is....they still have the auto repair shop...tires, shocks, breaks ,battery,....you name it. Watch repair...yup...need a ring sized...yup..6 months out of the year you can buy a mini bike there...in the winter they have had a shoe shine guy there.. They still seem to keep the old school sears alive....I still buy shoes and some winter wear there as its priced good.
My kids like the store because they know that that is pretty much the last of a kind.
 
flypaper said:
the internet will take out even more
brick and mortar stores as time goes on..
Click to expand...
What I find interesting is it appears we may well be on the way to setting the clock back 40 years or so. :)

First we had small, Mom & Pop, bricks & mortar, stores that specialized in what they sold. Then these stores were largely closed down by one-stop-shop megastores. Now the internet is taking more and more business away from the megastores and they are either closing or starting to become unprofitable, which will ultimately lead to their demise.

The problem with internet shopping is delivery. Yes, prices are lower, but so is convenience. If you need something now, you don't want to wait 3-5 days for it. I remember when the first 7-11 opened in our area, and my Dad predicted it would never last because it was so expensive, but the power of convenience was underestimated. People will pay more to avoid having to drive to a big store, do a lot of walking, etc. They want to run in, get it fast, and get out, and they will pay more for that option.

So I suspect that as the big box stores close due to internet competition, we're going to see a return to the small Mom & Pops stores, which will be frequented by the folks who need something now and don't want to wait, or pay, for shipping.
 
I agree with the convenience idea. I also like to buy local if the item is something not conveniently returned due to size or weight.
 
There's also a lot of talk about Amazon putting grocery stores out of business by selling/delivering food items, but I don't see that happening. Most people want to select what they buy for food themselves, especially meats and produce, and that's not going to change.
 
Oklahoma also added internet sales tax taking away online buying incentive for high dollar items.
 
Sears is it's own worst enemy. Just try to call your local sears store to speak to a department. You get routed to someone working for sears that wants to sell you the product, and then have it picked up at the local Sears store. So They are in direct competition with their own stores!
One guy got argumentative with me when I said I simply wanted to speak with the salesman in the store.He was a friend of mine in the appliance dept, and I wanted to buy directly from him. You would think I was asking for this phone salesman's pint of blood! he never did, so I called my friends wife, and got his direct line. he says it happens all the time, which is contributing to the demise of the stores themselves.
 
I've used the same "high-tech" digital Sears brand alarm clock I got for Christmas back in the early 70's. It's the only alarm clock I've ever owned and I'm still using it today. My wife has bought me a couple of new ones over the years that I never even plugged them in. I did replace all the electrolytic capacitors about 10 years ago. It's only about 45 years old and still works like new.
 
The Sears in my town is at a mall. There are no sales registers or cashiers near the exits. They are all toward the center of the store. I picked up something once, and absent mindedly carried it out into the mall. I realized what I had done 5 minutes later, and hurried back before I got arrested for shop lifting. No one had even noticed. The last time I was there, I was going to buy a tool box they had on sale. However, with no checkout at the door, I decided it wasn't worth the extra effort to lug the 30 lb. box all the way to the other end of the store. And then back to the exit near my car. And for some "brilliant" reason, they do NOT have shopping carts. Left without the box....
 
tumblr_ob1t7prtoh1sn9lzco1_500.jpg


I miss these stores...​
 
Bruzilla said:
There's also a lot of talk about Amazon putting grocery stores out of business by selling/delivering food items, but I don't see that happening. Most people want to select what they buy for food themselves, especially meats and produce, and that's not going to change.
Click to expand...
Last I knew you here were 40 million people receiving SNAP (food stamps). They are now talking about sending these folks food boxes. This is going to impact a lot of the neighborhood grocery stores and I am guessing Amazon will end up with a piece of the action.
Amazon delivers on Sunday in my neighborhood and is starting it's own shopping business to take on UPS an FedEx. FedEx ground is amazingly quick these days. UPS, on the other hand, has gotten pretty inconsistent.
Costco seems to be cutting into the Walmart and Sam's Club markets while at the same time paying employees a decent wage. They are cutting into local grocery business as well. Winn Dixie and Bi-Lo are about to go under. Publix, Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Trader Joe's are all 10 minutes from me and are competing for he same customer.
Things are rapidly changing, but the days of the mom and pop stores being able to compete are gone.
As a person who hates to shop, Amazon is amazing. This is particularly so if you live in rural America, where options are limited.
I love Rock Auto, Summit and Jegs who can get me about everything they sell next day or in two days. The people at the local auto parts counters know nothing, and are not even good at using their own computer lookup. God help you if a part has been changed from original in the 50 years since it left the factory.
 
themechanic said:
Oklahoma also added internet sales tax taking away online buying incentive for high dollar items.
Click to expand...
It is Amazing that every state has not done this. They are undermining their local brick and motor stores and losing sales tax revenue's. If all vendors had to collect sales tax to the shipping address state, the internet sellers would have to sell at a shipped price equal to local brick and mortar establishments. It would make a much more level playing field.
 
67GTX440 said:
Last I knew you here were 40 million people receiving SNAP (food stamps). They are now talking about sending these folks food boxes.
Click to expand...
not to hijack the thread - but - if there is any truth to food boxes sent out, instead of stamps/coupons/credits/money/checks, whatever, i'm fully behind it. it hopefully will end the games the recipients play at the register.
 
We all know that welfare is being abused an I personally, I feel that if you're collecting welfare, you should get your food at the government cheese & bread store.
 
My Sears is closing, was able to get s new Maytag fridge for a good deal, but.......they wanted $598 for a 5 year extended warranty! Needless to say we passed on that.
 
67GTX440 said:
It is Amazing that every state has not done this. They are undermining their local brick and motor stores and losing sales tax revenue's. If all vendors had to collect sales tax to the shipping address state, the internet sellers would have to sell at a shipped price equal to local brick and mortar establishments. It would make a much more level playing field.
Click to expand...
That was tried years ago tax to the ship address.
Can you imagine a business separating out taxes for 50 states and also not all 50 have a state tax. Then the problem of what items are taxed in what states. In some states food is not taxed.
Do you pay taxes in your state on goods bought and brought home from another state?
 
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