Buzz Kill ==> Sears is really WalMart marked up 100%

[Land_Owner]

The letter below is from my Sister in Law...so it is No Hoax.  Perhaps they should have shopped around.  Still, gouging is gouging is gouging...better that you too should know.

Dear Sear,

You have lost a customer of 41 years.  My family has used Sears for refrigerators, washers, other appliances, lawn mowers, craftsman power tools, clothes and many other miscellaneous items. 

Recently we purchased baby items from your baby registry for our daughter-in-law who is expecting twin boys.  Our purchase of twin crib bumper pads, quilt and mobile from the Precious Planet collection came to the total amount of $425.98.  You can imagine our surprise when the items were delivered in a large Walmart box!  Enclosed inside the box with the items was a Walmart shipment receipt totaling $159.38! 

The precious planet mobiles arrived a few days later in an Amazon Box.  There was no receipt inside this box.  However, we found the same precious planet mobiles on line for the price of $29.95 each.  So,  $159.38  + 29.95  + 29.95  = $219.28 . 

We could have saved over $200.00 by buying directly from Walmart, which is where it apparently came from anyway.  If we could return the items and reorder at the more reasonable price we would do this. I know that the $200.00 we could have saved would be able to buy our new baby twin boys diapers for several months.
 
We understand that stores are in business to make a profit, but this type of mark up is really ridiculous price gouging.  Our daughter in law has removed her baby registry items from Sears, and we have shared this experience with our other family members.

Signed,  Not sad to be leaving Sears after 41 years.
Robert & Cindy Young
[address redacted]

PS:  I’ll be sharing this on facebook.

[mcbammer]

Sadly   the   100%   markup  is  on   imports   from   china.  Actual   markup    is   probably   higher.

[powderman]

LAND_OWNER. That is unreal, I'd be ticked too. Sears biggest prob is that they are overpriced on most everything. If it wasn't someone you knew personally I'd be wary. Post it everywhere. POWDERMAN. 

[oldandslow]

I've been trading with Sears well over 41 years and have never had them refuse a return. I also check prices at other places before purchasing from them so I know what kind of deal I'm getting.

I purchase mostly appliances , tools, lawn care equipment, things along that line. My riding mower and self propelled mower came from them because they had the best price for what I wanted. The last major purchase was a new washer & dryer this year. The price was right in line with the other retailers in the area. I asked if they were fixing to be put on sale and was told they had no way of knowing because they received the sale flyers the same day they appeared in advertising. They also told me that if they did go sale to come back and they would redo the purchase at the sale price. Sure enough when the next sale flyer appeared the two items were on sale. I went back and they stuck to their deal. Also by putting the purchase on my card and waiting 30 days to pay for them I saved an additional 10% over the sale price. This amounted to several hundred dollars. As long as I'm getting a deals like this I will stay with them.

[30-30man]

I quit doing business with them years ago.  I had really piss poor service at our local Sears in the automotive department.  The first was when they bent a rim on my wife's car and claimed the car was out of alignment. I was buying four new tires.  After the alignment, the car still wobbled all over the road.  I took it to another shop to confirm the bent rim and never got Sears to own up to it. This was after several calls to the district manager.  I never did business with the tire department again.  I don't do business with folks I can't trust.
 
The second was when I was charged twice on my check card for some antifreeze I bought from them. I had to bring in my bank statement to get them to give me my money back.  They claimed they could not tell on their end even when I had the date and time the purchase was made. My wife saw it immediately as she was working at the bank at the time. They would not take a print out of my account from the bank.  They wanted an official bank statement all for about $12 in refund.  That was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I think it is the same all over anything Sears owns.   It's just the way they do business.
 
As far as their tools, I use to love Craftsman tools but a lot of them are coming from China now. The quality has gone in the toliet.  Have you felt a new Craftsman rachet lately?  I can buy the same thing at Lowes and Home Depot with the same warranty and better quality.  Lawnmowers etc are just rebadged anyway and their appliances have been rebadged Whirlpool for years, so you really don't save anything.  When they do have a sale, my Sears will hide the items in the back and you have to ask for them.  They do this to limit sale items. I don't even go anymore and throw their sales papers in the trash.  It's the same thing with Kmart.  Anytime they have a store close, they mark things up and then claim 50-70% off.  Sears will not be here much longer.  For many decades Sears did great business and had good customer service. The poor management and customer service will take it's toll.

[kennyd]

K mart quality at Sears prices.  I have no use for either store any more.  The last Craftsman tools the boss brought in bent.  As for China, I look, and it is nearly impossible to avoid at any price.

[turk762]

I bought a Craftsman snowblower from Sears only to find out later it was a MTD, not a Craftsman and Walmart had the same exact blower for $200 cheaper, Minus the Craftsman stickers. Apparently those are some expensive stickers!!! Been a POS since day 1.

[tunnug]

K mart quality at Sears prices.  I have no use for either store any more.  The last Craftsman tools the boss brought in bent.  As for China, I look, and it is nearly impossible to avoid at any price.

K-Mart bought Sears, they are the people to complain to for any problems.
(not that I think that it will do any good.)

[Boomer68]

Seems like everything now comes from China. Hard to avoid even here in Canada. Pretty sad when I can buy the same stuff in Dollarama that some stores sell for 3-4x the price.

[oldandslow]

The last 1/2" drive Craftsman ratchet I owned was in 1968. They repaired it once and I broke it again as soon as I used it and in the trash it went. I was young and dumb but not quite dumb enough to mess with it any more.  I bought a Proto and still have it to this day. On the other hand I bought a 1/4" drive socket set about that time and still use it with the only thing being replaced is a couple of sockets that went missing. Other than the ratchet I've had good luck with the Craftsman wrenches I own.

The self propelled mover I mentioned was purchased year before last and on it's third use it wouldn't start. Sears said bring it back and they would fix it and they did---quickly. Something in the safety linkage was out of adjustment. It's been fine every since.

Turk, I purchased a Craftsman riding mover in 1992. Later I was in the local John Deere dealer. There was my mower except it was green and yellow with deer stickers on the sides. I mean it was identical except for the paint job and the price. In this case the Deere's cost was twice what I gave for the Craftsman. Guess it works both ways. By the way, the son-in-law still uses that mower because it will go through his narrow yard gate. It's had a few spark plugs and blades and he ran over something and ruined a rear tire. It uses a little oil now but not much. Been a good piece of equipment for what it cost.

[guzzijohn]

A dear aunt of mine bought us a new Sears riding mower a few years ago with a 20 hp B&S engine. What a POS! The mower belt would throw off on a regular basis. The engine used oil and smoked from the first season on. At least the smoke kept the bugs away. It used a quarter to half a quart of oil per tank of gas. Neither Sears or B&S would do anything about the motor claiming that the oil use was in spec. At the beginning of the third season it bent a pushrod. At that point I just gave the mower away and paid about a $1,000 more for a used JD with a Kaw motor. What a great mower. The difference was like going from a Yugo to a nice Ford PU.
GuzziJohn

[OldSchoolRanger]

I bought a Craftsman snowblower from Sears only to find out later it was a MTD, not a Craftsman and Walmart had the same exact blower for $200 cheaper, Minus the Craftsman stickers. Apparently those are some expensive stickers!!! Been a POS since day 1.

turk762 - There is no such thing as a real "Sears" or "Craftsman", item.  Even their washers, dryers, TV's, fans, etc. which have Craftsman or Sears brands.  All store branded items are made by major manufacturers.   Sears puts their name on the item and sells them at a little lower price for a bigger profit margin, and the manufacturer (MTD in your case), makes a profit.  So it's a win/win for the retailer and manufacturer.  Gun companies also do the same thing.  You have to do your research before you buy.

I have a 1996 Craftsman riding tractor/mower, and with a little annual maintenance (tuneup, oil change, air filter, blades), it's still running.  The only thing I had to replace was the carburetor.