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Blueman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 243 Washington, PA
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2004-11-17          100456

Everyone better get their old, almost broken, Craftsman tools into Sears for new ones soon...Kmart is buying Sears, and, even if they keep the lifetime warranty, they will probably run Sears into the ground further than it is!

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-11-17          100458

I'm hoping the opposite to be true. If they cross-sell their brands they may have a chance for survival. I still refuse to shop at Wally world. ....

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Blueman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 243 Washington, PA
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2004-11-17          100461

Well, Yooper, you are to be commended. Everyone wants to bitch about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the USA, but those same people will flock to Wallyworld next Friday morning to buy $5 toasters made in the Far East. Unfortunately, and I'm sure my town is like thousands of others, Wallyworld is, more or less, the only game in town for many items now. Would you really buy Craftsman tools at K-mart, though? ....

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-11-17          100463

If available, I definitely would buy Craftsman tools at K-mart and Martha Stewart at Sears depending upon my location. In a small town in Northern Michigan we have a K-mart that is 5 minutes from my condo. A new Wally world is coming at another town about 20 miles away. That town also has a very small Sears branch. I know Wal-mart is trying to kill both of them along with several hardware and grocery stores in both towns. I refuse to even enter a Wal-mart store.

I try to buy American whenever possible and do pay extra. Guess, I'm a dumbo but still keep waiving the stars and stripes. ....

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Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma
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2004-11-17          100465

I'm with you Pete. I do my best to stay away from Wally World.

I also have two toolboxes full of Craftsman tools. ....

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Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma
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2004-11-17          100466

I'd like to add something else. If Sears would start selling groceries, I think they'd kick Wal Mart's ass! ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2004-11-18          100485

I too have toolboxes full of craftsman hand tools, they've allways been good quality and have never refused a warranty replacement for me. Their power tools on the other hand seem to have followed the "Build it cheap as possible" route over the past several years and are hardly worth taking home anymore. I used to buy my work clothes and shoes at Sears, decent quality, priced right, but the last two or three times I've been to the Sears store it's been like a ghost town, no customers, not a clerk to be found, so I've just kinda drifted away but NOT to Walmart. The county seat town in our adjoining county has not had it's downtown business district destroyed by a Walmart yet, and I pray it never happens. What a treat it is to be served by a business that is owned by the people behind the counter who are truly interested in you being happy with your purchase. This past summer I was in serious need of updating my dress up type clothes so I went to the family owned clothing store in that town, I just could'nt stand another mall type clothing store. I'd never been in the store before, but they were very helpfull and VERY busy, wanted me to be happy with my purchase, plus their quality was top notch. I'm sure I could have saved a few bucks at some chain type place, but no thanks, I'll go back there next time I need clothes. Frank. ....

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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2004-11-18          100487

When I heard this announcement I thought to myself there goes Sears in the toilet! I buy Craftsman hand tools also because of the warranty and yes they have a good price.

I do not make a living with my tools and these do the job for me. I have been extreamly disapointed with sears parts and if you buy something from sears you have to go to them for the very expensive parts.

As Frank said, I will not go into K-mart. I probably do Wallyworld once a year because I have to.

I have found most of the local main street vendors have the top quality for just a little more money. Hand tools and pneumatic tools come from a small mom & pop auto supply that is very competitive. They have the S-K tools and the import lines and they warrant the import lines also.

All most all (my wife does embroidery and has a top line of shirts and jackets all hi quality) of my work clothes and boots are local purchase. I used to buy Danner boots exclusively but they have moved to China also with much of their line so work boots is a shop for comfort and durability.

Harvey ....

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kubotachick
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 116 illinois/wisconsin
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2004-11-18          100514

this is pertaining to something said a while ago...but still in this forum...sears selling groceries...some of them do. There is one at gurnee mills that sells some dry goods and frozen stuff...like turkeys (and of course all the goods to fry, bake, grill, whatever you do with them is your business.) ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2004-11-19          100568

Everyone talks about Sears going down with being bought by Kmart. Anyone who knows the industry knows Sears was doing a fine job of running themselves down all by themselves! What was their record for quarters in a row of decling sales? Was it 22 or 24? I can't remember.

Sears Craftsman tools line is contracted out like every one of their brands. I've had a Craftsman cordless drill that has been incredible for me. It's 8 years old and still performs better than most new ones. Their tools are not Porter Cable level. But pretty good for the cost. Definitely not Black and Decker or Makita (don't get me started those turds).

The deal may be good for them both. Sears had been experimenting with a jumbo store format as KubotaChick mentioned. So it may be a good match. Only time will tell.

I also avoid Wal-Mart like many of those here. Wal-Mart alone is responsible for more than 10% of all goods imported into the US from China. They have been responsible for driving the costs so low that many factories have gone overseas. Wal-Mart doesn't force you to do that, but they dictate the price so you have the choice to go overseas ad sell to Wal-mart or not sell to Wal-mart. Wal-art doesn't care. If you won't sell to the at that price, so what? They'll buy some cheap chinese knock-off and put you out of business. ....

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beagle
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1333 Michigan
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2004-11-19          100570

I would like to start a "Made in the USA" megastore, but not sure I could find enough product to stock the shelves, or enough customers to fill the aisles. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2004-11-20          100614

Know what ya mean Beagle. The local UAW is all about shouting about keeping jobs in the US. It's hard to take them serious when their foreign made cars are in the Wal-Mart parking lot with their "Solidarity Forever" stickers and their shopping carts are full of Chinese made goods. ....

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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2004-11-20          100616

Iowafun: YOU NAILED THAT LID DOWN PURTY GOOD! The vast majority of union members are only there for the pay check and to see how loud they can whine when they loose a benifit.

GO FIGURE!!! ....

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kubotachick
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 116 illinois/wisconsin
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2004-11-20          100621

come on now, no need to rip on the unions...i mean, its great if you're in one (or married to someone who is) but i'm not to sure about all these wal mart and grocery store unions, i think it should be limited to just the trades, ie:plumbing, electricians (plus the local ibew really knows how to party) ....

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grinder
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 677 central Maine
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2004-11-20          100628

A little tool info. ....


Link:   

Click Here


 
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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2004-11-22          100723

KubotaChick, the unions certainly had their place in history and really have done much for improving the quality of life for workers and their work conditions. The sad reality is they've gotten out of control and are now costing their members jobs.

Local factory has to keep an extra 50 workers on staff because absenteism runs around 10% which is 5x that of typical non-union plants. Great for the workers, but the they whine when jobs get shifted to Mexico or China to get costs under control. How hard is it to just show up for work?

Anybody can watch a small minority of the Union workers walk across the street to drink their lunch from a brown paper bag. An activity that would never be allowed in a non-union plant or a mexican plant or a chinese plant. It's only a small minority that do it, but it makes them all look bad. Hard to show off your plant to visiting customers and say how great it is when they look out the window and see that going on.

To me, it's just sad. There is so much that could be done to keep factories here and jobs here if it weren't for union rules. Heck, just policing their own employees in regards to absenteism and alcohol would be a big improvement. Kind of hard to focus on quality after chugging a 40 oz for lunch. Anyone who's watched plant management struggle to find bodies to keep all the production lines running because people decided not to show up for work knows what I'm talking about. ....

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kubotaguy
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 360 Shepherdstown, WV
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2004-11-23          100785

I bought a set of Craftsman wrenches a couple of years back and it clearly stated "Made in China".
On another note, I'm curious to see how this affects Lands End which Sears bought earlier. I just can't picture K-Mart selling a Lands End Jacket.
And as far as Unions they are pretty much a joke now days. My uncle was in the painter's union and they have screwed him over so many times its not funny. When he retired, they jacked his insurance way up. Unions had their time and place and it is not now. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2004-11-23          100791

Unions seem to be going the same way as the Democrat Party. ....

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echo10mp
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 32 Arkansas
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2004-11-23          100795

Guys I just have to drop my two cents in since I have far more knowledge of Wal-Mart than most of you. I call on Wal-mart for a living. I used to think they were all the things you guys are saying. What I have found out is that if it was not for Wal-Mart you would be paying alot more for everything than you are. I have sold product to all of the Home Centers, Mass Merchants, Grocerys and Misc. over the last 25 years. If you offered them a deal most of them would keep the additional profit and get fat. Wal-Mart says give me your best deal and I'll pass it on to the customers. They are for real trust me. They will not allow me to buy the buyers a coke or lunch. All other customers want lavish meals and clubs plus other perks. When it comes to honesty there is no one like Wal-Mart. They have never closed a competitive store in their history. The customers choose where they buy product. I can tell you they do not buy at better prices. They just sell at lower prices. They have the best logistics in the world and are very efficient. If you saw the headquarters you would laugh. It looks like a 1950s school building. This is the largest company in the world... As far as imported products go, you better check your labels. Most products are imported or have imported parts. Those Craftsman power tools are all imports. Trust me I know. Look at your clothes tags from anywhere. Imported. Do you know why? Because the American work force won't work cheap enough for prices to be competitive. Look at our tractors. Did Wal-Mart make those go overseas? I can go on and on but I'll shut up.

Wal-Mart saves you money so you can have more money to spend on your family. They are good folks. If you want to spend more money go ahead. If you called on these folks you would understand they are not big city guys. They are very down home yet smart.

John ....

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Blueman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 243 Washington, PA
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2004-11-23          100796

Here's my 1 1/2 cents...can't afford 2 cents. I was a buyer for a large sporting goods store. When Walmart's started moving in to our markets, they changed everything for us, we had to go upscale in many of our departments, and had to decrease the # of categories we carried, since Walmart effectively "killed" the category. They would sell a $200 retail item that we made 10% on, for $1 less than our store, with our ad prominently displayed. Sure, we probably pay less for many of the goods we buy since the Walmarts, Depots, etc. have come in to prominence, but, when is the last time you got the same level of service, quality, knowledge, etc. at Wally-world as you used to in our small businesses? When everything comes down to price, service and quality will suffer. I started this thread to discuss what may happen when K-mart and Sears begin to follow this trend. I hope they can differentiate themselves enough to offer us a choice, and possibly a higher quality and higher service level than what we have come to expect at Walmart, etc. I wonder if K-mart chairman Edward Lampert reads Tractor Point? ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-11-23          100806

"Unions seem to be going the same way as the Democrat Party."

OH NO, you mean the Unions AND the Democrats are moving to Canada now?

Honey, start packing, we're leaving.......

Best of luck (we'll need it). ....

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echo10mp
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 32 Arkansas
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2004-11-23          100815

Personally I hope all stores and restaurants and service places in general would give personalized service. It does not take that much extra effort to be nice and care about what someone says. I did not mean to get on a soap box but it is easy to look for negatives but there are also many positives. We live in a global society. Very few things will be 100% American. I remember laughing at Japanese products and now they are the best quality. Anybody think a GE TV or VCR is made by General Electric? How about RCA. Nope they make none of them. It is owned by Thompson Electronics of FRANCE and made in China. What irritates me is they use US brand names but they are not even the companies they pretend to be. It should be outlawed.

John ....

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DennoAce
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 105 usa
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2004-11-24          100937

I guess people who "boycott" Wal-Mart do not understand that they started just like everyone else did, as a small store with one location/idea, just like Microsoft did.
The fact that KMart and other former retail giants (Sears usued to be the biggest retailer...what happened??) did not wake up and smell the coffee when Wal-Mart had say...100 stores and growing is their own problem.
And let's not forget this is the American way as well as the law of nature. The one with the cheaper product who just does business better all the way around will prosper. The weak will die and the strong will survive, and eat the weak one if needed. If Sears/Kmart/others could have crushed Wal-Mart and drove them out when they were still small, you know damn well they would have with no regrets. If Joe sells beans for $1 a can and Larry moves in and sells a similar can for .98 with a free can opener, Joe better do something, right?
Do I want mom and pop to go under? No. Do I want to import even one item from anywhere? No. But it is impossible at this point in the world not to and due to our own greed as a collective people that has made it this way. If none of this stuff was imported, we would be paying $150 for that toaster made 100% in the USA because GE or whoever would have to pay for Joe Six-pack's $25/hr salary/insurance/bonus/401k/health/dental/sick days/vacation/back injury/workman's comp/etc/etc/etc

The bottom line is this..our system is the best on earth, but it does have flaws. One of those flaws is that the big fish will always get bigger..until a stronger fish brings them down. If you don't like that idea then move to a communist country where everybody is equal - equally forced to be the same (except of course for the leaders who prosper)

ps Please dont hit me with the import thing...retailers have been getting goods from wherever they could get them cheapest since before any of us were born. Would they do this if people didn't want cheaper stuff regardless of quality? No.

pps If we had leaders with backbone there would be a tariff on every imported good to bring it equal to our goods. Then it would be who makes things better, not cheaper and I think we a would all benefit.

just my 2 cents..sorry so long :) ....

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JAZAK5
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 276 coxsackie,ny
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2004-11-26          101119

MAYBE K-MART IS DROPPING,STANLEY,BLACK&DECKER,SKIL,DEXTER TO CARRY CRAFTSMAN EXCLUSIVLY, HOWEVER THE IDEA OF A 200 THREAD COUNT ,COLOR MATCHING FENDER COVER IS A LITTLE MUCH ;{ ....

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lucerne
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 192 Lucerne Maine
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2004-11-26          101120

I don't shop Wally World or Home Depot. Materials in the long run are cheaper at my local building supply, they have people that know something and material comes on a boom truck when and where you want it. The prices of toasters, coffee pots, car parts or what ever, would be the same if they where made in the US, it's all proffit margin to please the share holders. When Nikes where made in New Hampshire they where sneakers that lasted a year with everyday use at a fair price. Now that they are made by kids in sweat shops at 35 cents a pair, they cost three times as much and last 1/10 the time. All profit margin.$165.00 a pair for sneakers and people pay it!!!!!!! ....

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ncrunch32
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 762 Kingston, NY
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2004-11-27          101170

I agree with echo10mp. We are a world economy, its too late to turn back. Its democracy and capitalism at work. Its what our country stands for and what makes us the most powerful nation in the world. At IBM the world market is not big enough for us. We sell 60% of our systems overseas. We are waiting for business from China and Eastern Europe to grow. After that we will be looking for other planets.

I like the unique selections we get at our small local businesses. I am not sure service or quality are any better at our small businesses than they are at the super stores. You can always return an item at a superstore and you can research what you need on the internet. If they don't have unique products you can't get at a superstore - then they have nothing else to offer me.

....

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kubotachick
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 116 illinois/wisconsin
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2004-11-27          101172

boy howdy, try to feed and you'll be bitten. Sometimes you get the made in the usa sticker on a product and take it home patriotically...and then you have to patriotically call a company to do it for you when you figure you can't pull it off with that equipment, and you know, the company is using that same piece of equipment that you didn't buy becuase it isn't american ....

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