Does your local Sears have a basement or Dungeon? Also, Retail Archaeology and Rotting Acres Mall apparel and merchandise is now available: teespring.com/stores/retail-archaeology
Retail Archaeology geez. Some of that office equipment looked totally old and beat up-from the 70s or 80s maybe. Why bother selling it but I guess any money they can make is better than nothing.
I worked at a Sears in the 80s. • Those desks are from that store. Every department had a department manager and each had their own desk. They also had an office area where they did cash management, performed HR functions, and had an office for the store manager, etc. • Each store had their own workshop to build custom displays, they had a stock of wood, plastic, and metal, foam, etc. to work with. That's what the foam and pillows were for.
I always feel a bit of melancholy when I see these videos of a particular Sears getting ready to close for good. It makes me think back as a kid and how Sears was always the store we shopped at as a family. I can't tell you how many Saturday's I spent with my mother as she shopped while I browsed the toy section in late 70's and early 80's or when she should we take me there for back to school shopping. I always remember going there when my father finally decided to get our first color TV. They're just so many memories of the Sears I grew up with, which actually closed years ago when they opened up their new store in a mall in the next town over. I'm sure that many of the toys, Atari, games, ect. I got for Christmas and birthday's were from Sears.
I should add the Sears location I alluded to above is now slated to close per the latest list of closures that came out a couple weeks ago, which means the closest Sears is to me now is well over 30 miles away now. I think the end is near for all of them very soon. It's such sad ending to a once mammoth retail franchise.
after the 98 remodel, which turned the basement into a sales floor, hardware, electronics, and appliances were down there. previously it was offices, HR, stock rooms, employee areas, training rooms, etc. those were shrunk dramatically when it became a sales floor. also, that random drawer... those were below each register. for credit card applications and all kinds of other misc paperwork. seeing that Luby's number sure brought back memories. it was were I'd eat almost every day.
About the old PoS equipment: Part of Sears/ K-Mart's problem, aside from a CEO actively working to drive the whole company into a bankruptcy-induced total shutdown so he can further line his pockets as his other company handles the liquidation sales, is that they failed to invest in their customers by updating their brick and mortar locations with newer, better equipment, including PoS equipment. When a business, any business actually, fails to put the customer first, the bottom line suffers. Customers stop coming in to spend money because they're taking their cash elsewhere. Another retail youtuber named The Company Man went into great depth on that subject in his K-Mart focused video.
V. Sigma, that's what I mean by failing to invest in their customers. If the customers come in and feel like their in a grungy place, and the equipment bogs the checkout lines down due to being too old compared to somewhere else (Walmart, Kohl's, Target, online shopping are some examples), where do you think the customers would rather shop? A grungy K-Mart, or somewhere cleaner, with better equipment, where they can get in, buy something, get out in anywhere between ten minutes to an hour depending on what they plan on buying?
Oh believe me, I knew all too well. On Sundays and some weekdays we would have no customers after 6:30pm, just us 5 or so employees wandering the empty aisles while crappy pop music played.
I know exactly what you’re talking about. My local Sears used the same PoS equipment that was in this video. By the time the store closed for good, it was in really rough shape. I was there on one of the final days and picked up some cookware for 90% off. Ended up waiting in line at the cashier for over an hour. Easily 2/3 of the PoS terminals weren’t working, leading to long lines at the few working ones. To make matters worse, they weren’t even programmed properly. The cashier would scan your item and it would come up at full price; then they would have to scan a barcode on a piece of paper taped next to the terminal to get a partial discount, then scan another barcode to give an additional discount to work out to 90% off. At one point the barcode scanner started acting up so the cashier had to manually enter each discount through the PoS menu. If it hadn’t been such a good deal, I would have just set my items down and walked out.
Most of those desks I guarantee you came from the back offices. At one time Sears had a huge staff in each of the stores including store buyers and interior decorators before the early 1990s bankruptcy which caused most stores to rely on centralized type Staffing and also with computers and automation the stores no longer needed store managers and a pool of secretaries and receptionist. My mom worked for Sears for over 20 years as the PBX operator. There were four store telephone operators that set an alarm office working the switchboards that went constantly. To get to her office there was a sea of desk manned by receptionist's, store buyers, and other people. Being cute as hell they all used to give me candy and you never knew what color my mouth would be by the time I finally reached my mother in her office.
Kip Paseo: Great personal insight into an era when working for a big name dept.store was a real career with regular hours and good wages,benefits as well as a lifetime job if you wanted to.Now retail for the most part a crap part time dead end job.I found that out in early 2000s was happy to quit it when the economy slowly improved📈B4 it collapsed again in late 2006.📉
Yes, that is correct. I was visiting the office of the Sear in Los Arcos and they did have a lot of desks. Those desks looks like they were moved to a workshop and were used to build the displays and maybe repair shelving. The office areas behind the scenes at Los Arcos were actually quite nice and the office furniture was modern and attractive. Possibly the offices were centralized at another site and these desks were actually used as workbenches.
I asked My former Store Manager here in Denver who also had the sealed off lower level , and in His case the 3rd level in the oversized store and He stated both the long gone Northglenn Mall (Denver ) and Metro Centre Sears basmement were regional credit centers . New accounts, filing charge slip that were actually imprinted that were paper and had to be saved for years . Intreresting fact They rooms were full on rows of file cabinets ( Were talking 100 s upon 100s that You touched on in the video ) (( They were the tall wooden things with all the drawers )) They had according to Him 1 person to 5 cabinets. The old metal desks were in addition to each dept having either an offfice or desk in stockroom , were used for the many supervisors / underwriters in credit center. He also seemed to think that Metro Centre served as a district / regional office. Also stated He thought Metro Centre Sears had a sit down resturant as did most here in Denver pre 1985 On a side note would love to see if You can sneak into the lower level of Metros Dillards and go behind the walls of empty stockrooms on lower level . Rumor has it Diamonds Dept Stores original colors and wall treatments are still on the walls. This General Manager is a very nice man and might let You if You ask. RE Paradise Valley Sears there are so many Diamonds features still used that deserve a video
Current employee, can confirm the POSes are still actively being used. IT security will not let them be sold, as they still have software that’s still in use. My bet is parts will be scavenged when other stores need them. I am also pretty sure all of those desks came from the store. The desk with all the locks probably came from the loss prevention office. The bricks are used every year for the Christmas display.
Those desks probably will end up in Goodwill. But by putting them up for sale, tagged with stated prices, gives them the documents for the eventual tax writeoffs.
Dr Demento I worked at a sears that closed. The remaining fixtures that did not sell were just scrapped. Thought it was a waste since many desks were in decent condition.
Went into a closing Sears a few days ago. Their phone systems in use listed the store’s phone number with an area code that was changed 25 years ago, so that tells you how Sears never updates anything.
Me and dad went there one day when I was a kid, and the electronics section was in one corner of that dungeon. I wandered over to the TVs and marveled at the new boxed TV sets with flat, non bubbled screens. Turns out the news was on and I watched live coverage of the Columbine Massacre for like near an hour. Weird memory. Bye Metrocenter Sears.
Pv mall Sears doesn't have enough merchandise for the two floors they have. Nobody seems to actually shop there, It seems like elderly people just use Sears as a landmark so they don't get lost while mall walking.
All the years I went to Metro as a kid and as an adult, we parked at the north end of Sears no matter where we were going in the mall. Easy way to find your car.
A lot of people walk in a store and don't even look at the fixtures and think about how much the fixtures cost the store to buy. I worked a large department store chain and helped to open a brand new store and the price for fixtures and art was around 5 million dollars. The store was a high end department stores so things were nice. I am sure that Sears stores would be in the 1 to 1.5 million for fixtures. Now going out of business they are selling fixtures for 10 dollars and up. A small fraction of the cost when new.
I think that accountants are making the decisions and are trying to sell everything no mater how ridiculous or how cheap - accountants are not merchandisers. It IS embarrassing, sort of like airing dirty sheets. (Well I guess they are airing dirty sheets.)
The big Sears stores in Florida eliminated their big video game demo areas after Adam Walsh was abducted from the parking lot of the Hollywood, FL Sears 35+ years ago. Adam and another kid got into an argument over a game, and security kicked each of them out of the store via separate exits. Adam Walsh was the unlucky one.
My old HR office is down there by the elevator. That desk with all the locks was up inside by the merchandise pick-up area in the HUB office (I also worked there a few months), there was deposit checks, keys and financial records (store sales) etc.
Had a family member that worked at a sears years ago and that's pretty much it. Management was shitty according to them and didn't seem to trust employees
That old beat up metal desk looks just like one my Dad had in his trucking office in the 70s and 80s. I got a good laugh that they would attempt to sell that. Love that dungeon.
My city's first mall was anchored by Simpsons-Sears in 1958, renamed Sears by 1973, running until the end, earlier this year in 2018. North Hill Centre in Calgary. Building still stands, and you can faintly see letters stained in the cement from the old Simpsons-Sears sign. Check it out on street view!
Those old cash registers are so burnt into my mind when I think of any big box retail stores in America. For some odd reason I want one of those old ones because they make so nostalgic for them.
From 1992 till 1997 I worked at SEARS, LOST ARCOS MALL in Scottsdale. Yes, the Los Arcos Mall SEARS did have a Fixture Dungeon for real. I was the Visual Display Manager and spent a lot of time in the Dungeon ! Those brick edge pavers were used for displays. The Christmas Shop we would outline an area with those pavers and fill the inside area with fake snow. Set up and decorate Christmas Trees. The stores that had Lawn & Garden would use them in displays as well. The metal desks with the rounded edges are STEEL CASE, built like TANKS. Those are probably from some of the older locations as they are 1960's vintage. They are actually good quality. I have seen them on Military Bases, I come from a Military family. Yes, those POS systems are Antiques, they were in the 1990's when we were USING them.
Yes, those desks don't look like they fit the time to have been at this Sears and I agree they are solid. I bought two from a used office furniture place in the 70's and I still have one and it is as solid as a boxcar. By the way, I loved the Sears in Los Arcos and spent sooo much money there. Good work on the displays.
Yes, Sears will defiantly reuse those IBM systems. That normally how stores get updated equipment. For example my store (which has now since closed a year ago) was able to get a digital video camera system (which or old system was VHS based has 2 busted cameras and one that would cut out if you turned it to a specific angle) from a sears store they shut down in our same state like this. We had desks like that at our location as well then again our store opened in around 1972. As for that unfinished dry wall section, it makes me wonder if that was covered by shelves or if that was unfinished from the 2000's remodeling. I know at our location the company decided at the last min to not hire a painting crew and we were responsible for repainting brand Central (appliances, electronics, vacuums). I remember those Plan-o-grams all to well. Great memories.
I remember Lubys in the mall. My friend and I were weird because we used to get the fried chicken breast meal whenever we went to the mall for the day.
6:10 of course the expected abandoned drink cup at the liquidation event! Gesh people. Gross. The Sears here in Tucson just shut down the other day. They took down the giant lettering and everything. (And yes ours had that dank smell.) Never did like the basement our's had. It housed the kids clothes, bedding, luggage, and some home items like pillows and rugs. There was an abandoned photography studio down there too. Wish I had filmed it before it was all gone.
Man I'd love that old TV you found...mainly cause I need one for my older video game systems, and I don't really see those kind of TVs anymore even in thrift stores.
The basement at metrocenter sears used to be where they had their lawn&garden, tools/hardware and then a small area for parts. I bought a whole bunch of tools and parts from that location when I lived in the Phoenix area. (1990~2015).
Lol I use to work at sears! Orland Park Illinois! The bricks were decorative for Christmas and a lot of those desk were lead or manger desks we had like 7 of those at our location. Also when we closed we got so much from dicks sporting goods (sears bought dicks sports goods clearance) and so much from the limited. It also only started to pick up in the last two months of closing. Because a lot of people knew that out closing sale wasn’t good at all in the first few months, the closing sale in the beginning was more than a regular sale at Sears if that makes sense. Also sears had no control of prices it was the third party that was closing us down.
Basically if it's not bolted down it's for sale. From personal experience with Sears Canada where I lived they didn't have a dungeon area. Fixtures where placed in certain parts of the store. Southcentre location in Calgary was a three story store but the upper level was closed off towards the end of the liquidation when the merchandise was condensed. Places out of place and of course half drank beverages strown about.
The dungeon reminds me of the Macy’s at fiesta mall. The space always had the third floor and only used it as storage, until Macy’s came in and wanted to use it as a regular floor. My sister worked there in 96.
6:12 Don't forget the (obligatory) clearance sale decoration of the half-drank drink cup! (Does Metrocenter have a Cinnabon, because that's where it looks like the cup came from...)
With all this talk of Sears closing it makes me wonder about the state of the one in the Kitsap Mall. The mall itself looks like it's doing really well but the Sears anchor is practically a shell. I wouldn't be surprised if it closed but getting a new anchor would be interesting.
Assuming the building survives for some time after it and the mall completely close, think how creepy-cool it would be exploring that basement, say, three, five, ten years post-closing, post-power being shut off, post-maintenance.
I'm glad you also thought of game boy games when you saw those watch racks. If I lived there those and the CRT would absolutely be mine now haha - maybe the DVD rack if it wasn't like $50 and I had a space right by the TV for it
Oh wow cool video. Looks like many of the Sears stores in Mall and what not are set up the same. The last time i went to the Sears in my area there weren't many shoppers in the store. I rarely shopped at Sears 18 years ago due to prices of their clothes being higher than other places. I believe the POS equipment they have to wipe the hard drives and they send those to a company that does that. I use to work for a company that would wipe computer HDD's and recycle computer and printer parts. I think that was a Sony Trinitron CRT. Those are great for watching DVD's,VHS and retro video game consoles. They still put out a very good clear picture.
at first I thought the sign said $75 a brick, and I was like whaaaat?! okay. but 75 cents seems far more reasonable. but man how depressing seeing the sears like that all the random crap they're trying to liquidate.... but thanks all the same for the upload! also, those retro sega Japanese ads are too cool!
I worked for a Kmart going out of business. And you would be amazed by how old the equipment and fixtures were in this store. Sears holding company would not update anything. I was front lead and in charge of packing up all the registers and equipment. It was shocking that all of it had to be sent back to coropotate. I was tempted to throw them all in the trash. It was pretty sad.
Just did a quick search of that phone number and came across an ad from the Arizona Republic "This way to your new cafeteria" from Sept 17, 1993 Metrocenter Mall-North Entrance
Yeah, the Bergner's (a Bon Ton store) I went to is starting to bring in junk that people won't buy. All the good stuff was gone. My advice is to try everything on before you buy, because I tried on a pair of 40 jeans and they didn't go all the way around my waste. They must have been mislabeled and it was a brand that Bergner's didn't sell originally.
It's so interesting how they try and sell all the fixtures and what not. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of Bon Ton or Younkers or Herberger's or any of the other store brands in that line owned by Bon Ton, but Younker's was an upscale department store founded in Des Moines, a really neat part of Iowa history. Unfortunately, Bon Ton is supposed to be done liquidating all of their stores by September. The Younkers I visit is in the town where I go to college. When I get back to school next month, I'll have to hit up the mall and see if Younkers is still open. If they are, I gotta go in and see if it's become a fixtures dungeon. This video was really neat, as all your videos are. I love your dead mall/dead store videos. Keep it up, man! Cheers!
Our local Sears is a ghost town. Very few customers, not many employees, and will be closed by next year most likely. By the way, all K-Marts have been closed here for years.
My local Macy's turned its lower floor into a "Fixture Showroom" (that's what the sign advertised) when it liquidated and I think they shipped in stuff from other stores. The store was on a hillside with entrances on both floors, so I couldn't call it a dungeon. Not so for Sears - it was a single floor
@3:45 there was most likely a safety deposit box or some other form of cash box in that desk, the only other option I could think is maybe employee/accounting files.
I worked in a Sears during a liquidation and those are the same registers we had and used. It was a lot smaller store but we had a massive amount of spray paint and used cleaners. the billard balls we had some of those as well. All those desk where likely there to start with. The bricks seem to be at every sears and same with the shark cage.
8:30 The security monitors will never be for sale. I worked at the Sears in Columbia MO through its liquidation sale, and it turns out those belong to Loss Prevention and will go back with them at the close of the sale.
Now, I will have to go and see if the shirt & the wood crate is still there. What day was this recorded? GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS. I will make sure I am home in time to see Rotting Acres Mall tomorrow. Then off to Starfighters Arcade, & a visit to the Bashas’ #50 @ Cooper Village (Banner Baywood’s Graveyard) this weekend.
Told a friend about this video and she said she'd pay me back if I'd bring her a couple of buckets of those Christmas decorations, so I stopped by around noon on Friday. At this point, all the mannequins with heads are now gone. Also mentioned the video to the floor manager and he said he's familiar with your channel (he had some lingering resentment over one you did at a K-Mart he worked at some time in the past).
Late to the party but just found it hilarious at the end when you said you were trying to be discrete recording and didn't want to make noise taking stuff out of the sears labeled crate and then the video ends! LOL. Even if it was edited that way, after recording was done, you could have gone and grabbed it.
Wow just found this channel will be watching everything I love this kind of stuff. And a Sears I used to go to just shut down and I was at the liquidation sale, sadly there was no basement for me to rummage through.
Go ahead and try to pry Sears Holdings from Fast Eddie’s COLD, money grubbing hands. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Fast Eddie also runs the liquidation company, and the Real Estate Company who handles the Sears & Kmart properties.
Wish all you like, it won't happen as long as Fast Eddie is still alive. He's Sears/ K-Mart's CEO, and owns both the real estate company handling the Sears and K-Mart properties, and the company that runs the Sears and K-Mart liquidation sales. He's making money hand over fist for every Sears and K-Mart that shuts it's doors for good.
The sears i work at is in liquidation, our busiest days are the weekends. I am clearing out the basement of the store and i see a bit of the fixtures in this video that i didn't know what to do with, on the floor for sale so thank you lol I always found it weird that they never upgraded the POS. Also im sure a Merchandise Pick up associate could get that tv to your car.
NICE! I walked through my Sears in Hicksville, NY a couple months ago when they were selling the fixtures, looks very similar to your video. In my Sears they confined all the fixtures to one corner, but no one was stopping you from walking around the whole store. Now I have to figure out what program to use to make a good video. There has to be something better than the Linux OpenShot I have been using, and I want to do some minimal voice-over to describe where I am walking.
Its sad to see these places coming to a end. Especially after going to them when they was full of people shopping back in the day. Oh and the bricks are landscaping blocks. Goes around your flower or garden area or you can even use to make sidewalks run you between 4 and 5 bucks a block at lowes or walmart. So was a killer deal.
Another great video. I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern with these Sears closings. It seems like the especially large Sears stores are closing. My Sears is very small compared to most, isn’t closing and is surprisingly busy. Stores the size of Metro Center Sears are WAY too big for today’s retail standards. I️ guess it makes sense that Sears Holdings is closing the larger stores first.
The Sears in Mexico is surprisingly more upscale than the Sears here. I went to a Sears in Mexico with my cousin one time and he bought a Michael Kors suit there. It’s almost like Macy’s over there with the designer clothes
Yeah... Sears is doing pretty well in Mexico... Its so weird to see! Im from Wisconsin and the one I. My hometown has closed. I study in Puebla in México and the Sears here is still going strong!! Hehe
Here is a little info on Metrocenter Mall. When I first moved to Phoenix in 1990 I was told it was the largest mall in the US when it was built, I was never able to confirm that but at the time it was pretty big. The mall originally had an ice skating rink on the lower level and you could watch people skating on the level blow from the food court. In Phoenix there were two major locations for cruising, Central Ave, and Metrocenter. On the west side of the mall on the street that circles the mall you will see a white barricade that can be swung out to close off the road. There is a sign on it that says NO CRUISING Three times past a location in 1 hour is considered cruising. They used to block off the road on Friday nights at 9:00 to stop people from doing laps around the mall. I feel bad that Sears is closing, it's my fault for returning broken wrenches and sockets that I used a breaker bar on.
You are correct about the skating rink and the cruising. I don't think it was the largest mall in the US, but it was the largest in Arizona and ranked very high on the top largest malls. It was a lovely place when it opened. Also, what is not remembered are all of the large stores and businesses that were not in t he mall but surrounded the mall, had they been considered part of the mall, then it would have been the largest in the US for sure. So many stores and events circles the mall, restaurants, amusements parks, banks, etc.
Sears- Products from Goodwill like conditions at Goodwill prices without the knowledge of you giving your money to a worthy cause. Also, here's a sign of a dead mall about to happen- 2 anchors, one a Younker's (Bon-Ton), one Sears. Sounds solid
FYI Macys / Broadway building at Biltmore has a sealed off basement that there was talk of expanding and opening pre Macys merger. This came from the then Receiving manager at Broadway Southwest
The Sears I used to work at could have used a few of those fixtures, but believe it or not other stores have to pay for any of that equipment, which cuts into their overall profitability, which is how they decide which stores to close. That includes the registers, which look newer than the ones at my old store. And yes, the bricks were used for Christmas tree displays.
rwdplz1 dude you can’t give these things away. i see them by the curb in the trash all the time, and most municipalities won’t take CRT screens so you have to pay to properly dispose of them.
If you are into vintage gaming, that Sony CRT would have been a major score. NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Gensis, PS1 type of consoles look like crap on newer flat screen TV's and can sometimes lag.
Where the POS equipment was, next to the restrooms, is where the tool department used to be before they closed the lower level. You know, it really hurts seeing Sears die - I had such great memories of buying DECENT tools here, all the way back to when I was a little kid. True shame...anyone have a time machine I can borrow for a bit?
Does your local Sears have a basement or Dungeon?
Also, Retail Archaeology and Rotting Acres Mall apparel and merchandise is now available: teespring.com/stores/retail-archaeology
Retail Archaeology was those tables for sale? If so try to clean that thing that was a huge wooden table
Retail Archaeology geez. Some of that office equipment looked totally old and beat up-from the 70s or 80s maybe. Why bother selling it but I guess any money they can make is better than nothing.
Two of my local sears had basements. Both closed down in January since sears pulled out of Canada
Retail Archaeology idk how my sears is open cause on a saturday theres only like 3 people in the store
Sadly, neither so far.
I worked at a Sears in the 80s.
• Those desks are from that store. Every department had a department manager and each had their own desk. They also had an office area where they did cash management, performed HR functions, and had an office for the store manager, etc.
• Each store had their own workshop to build custom displays, they had a stock of wood, plastic, and metal, foam, etc. to work with. That's what the foam and pillows were for.
Do you think that TV could come from a break room or something
I always feel a bit of melancholy when I see these videos of a particular Sears getting ready to close for good. It makes me think back as a kid and how Sears was always the store we shopped at as a family. I can't tell you how many Saturday's I spent with my mother as she shopped while I browsed the toy section in late 70's and early 80's or when she should we take me there for back to school shopping. I always remember going there when my father finally decided to get our first color TV. They're just so many memories of the Sears I grew up with, which actually closed years ago when they opened up their new store in a mall in the next town over. I'm sure that many of the toys, Atari, games, ect. I got for Christmas and birthday's were from Sears.
I should add the Sears location I alluded to above is now slated to close per the latest list of closures that came out a couple weeks ago, which means the closest Sears is to me now is well over 30 miles away now. I think the end is near for all of them very soon. It's such sad ending to a once mammoth retail franchise.
after the 98 remodel, which turned the basement into a sales floor, hardware, electronics, and appliances were down there. previously it was offices, HR, stock rooms, employee areas, training rooms, etc. those were shrunk dramatically when it became a sales floor. also, that random drawer... those were below each register. for credit card applications and all kinds of other misc paperwork. seeing that Luby's number sure brought back memories. it was were I'd eat almost every day.
About the old PoS equipment: Part of Sears/ K-Mart's problem, aside from a CEO actively working to drive the whole company into a bankruptcy-induced total shutdown so he can further line his pockets as his other company handles the liquidation sales, is that they failed to invest in their customers by updating their brick and mortar locations with newer, better equipment, including PoS equipment. When a business, any business actually, fails to put the customer first, the bottom line suffers. Customers stop coming in to spend money because they're taking their cash elsewhere. Another retail youtuber named The Company Man went into great depth on that subject in his K-Mart focused video.
HerpyDerpyDoo11
Indeed, they don't call him "Fast Eddie" for nothing.
Those terminals are IBM items from the early 90s.
I worked at Kmart from 2013 to 2015 and our POS terminals ran software from 1998, the terminals themselves might have been older than that...
V. Sigma, that's what I mean by failing to invest in their customers. If the customers come in and feel like their in a grungy place, and the equipment bogs the checkout lines down due to being too old compared to somewhere else (Walmart, Kohl's, Target, online shopping are some examples), where do you think the customers would rather shop? A grungy K-Mart, or somewhere cleaner, with better equipment, where they can get in, buy something, get out in anywhere between ten minutes to an hour depending on what they plan on buying?
Oh believe me, I knew all too well. On Sundays and some weekdays we would have no customers after 6:30pm, just us 5 or so employees wandering the empty aisles while crappy pop music played.
I know exactly what you’re talking about. My local Sears used the same PoS equipment that was in this video. By the time the store closed for good, it was in really rough shape. I was there on one of the final days and picked up some cookware for 90% off. Ended up waiting in line at the cashier for over an hour. Easily 2/3 of the PoS terminals weren’t working, leading to long lines at the few working ones. To make matters worse, they weren’t even programmed properly. The cashier would scan your item and it would come up at full price; then they would have to scan a barcode on a piece of paper taped next to the terminal to get a partial discount, then scan another barcode to give an additional discount to work out to 90% off. At one point the barcode scanner started acting up so the cashier had to manually enter each discount through the PoS menu. If it hadn’t been such a good deal, I would have just set my items down and walked out.
Most of those desks I guarantee you came from the back offices. At one time Sears had a huge staff in each of the stores including store buyers and interior decorators before the early 1990s bankruptcy which caused most stores to rely on centralized type Staffing and also with computers and automation the stores no longer needed store managers and a pool of secretaries and receptionist. My mom worked for Sears for over 20 years as the PBX operator. There were four store telephone operators that set an alarm office working the switchboards that went constantly. To get to her office there was a sea of desk manned by receptionist's, store buyers, and other people. Being cute as hell they all used to give me candy and you never knew what color my mouth would be by the time I finally reached my mother in her office.
Kip Paseo: Great personal insight into an era when working for a big name dept.store was a real career with regular hours and good wages,benefits as well as a lifetime job if you wanted to.Now retail for the most part a crap part time dead end job.I found that out in early 2000s was happy to quit it when the economy slowly improved📈B4 it collapsed again in late 2006.📉
What a fascinating story. I knew department stores used to be elaborate, but I didn’t realize it lasted that long.
Thanks for this.
The locking desk was most likely to secure employee files or other sensitive information in an office or room that was otherwise not secure.
Yes, that is correct. I was visiting the office of the Sear in Los Arcos and they did have a lot of desks. Those desks looks like they were moved to a workshop and were used to build the displays and maybe repair shelving. The office areas behind the scenes at Los Arcos were actually quite nice and the office furniture was modern and attractive. Possibly the offices were centralized at another site and these desks were actually used as workbenches.
I asked My former Store Manager here in Denver who also had the sealed off lower level , and in His case the 3rd level in the oversized store and He stated both the long gone Northglenn Mall (Denver ) and Metro Centre Sears basmement were regional credit centers . New accounts, filing charge slip that were actually imprinted that were paper and had to be saved for years . Intreresting fact They rooms were full on rows of file cabinets ( Were talking 100 s upon 100s that You touched on in the video ) (( They were the tall wooden things with all the drawers )) They had according to Him 1 person to 5 cabinets. The old metal desks were in addition to each dept having either an offfice or desk in stockroom , were used for the many supervisors / underwriters in credit center. He also seemed to think that Metro Centre served as a district / regional office. Also stated He thought Metro Centre Sears had a sit down resturant as did most here in Denver pre 1985
On a side note would love to see if You can sneak into the lower level of Metros Dillards and go behind the walls of empty stockrooms on lower level . Rumor has it Diamonds Dept Stores original colors and wall treatments are still on the walls. This General Manager is a very nice man and might let You if You ask. RE Paradise Valley Sears there are so many Diamonds features still used that deserve a video
Current employee, can confirm the POSes are still actively being used. IT security will not let them be sold, as they still have software that’s still in use. My bet is parts will be scavenged when other stores need them. I am also pretty sure all of those desks came from the store. The desk with all the locks probably came from the loss prevention office. The bricks are used every year for the Christmas display.
Those desks probably will end up in Goodwill. But by putting them up for sale, tagged with stated prices, gives them the documents for the eventual tax writeoffs.
Dr Demento I worked at a sears that closed. The remaining fixtures that did not sell were just scrapped. Thought it was a waste since many desks were in decent condition.
Went into a closing Sears a few days ago. Their phone systems in use listed the store’s phone number with an area code that was changed 25 years ago, so that tells you how Sears never updates anything.
Me and dad went there one day when I was a kid, and the electronics section was in one corner of that dungeon. I wandered over to the TVs and marveled at the new boxed TV sets with flat, non bubbled screens. Turns out the news was on and I watched live coverage of the Columbine Massacre for like near an hour. Weird memory. Bye Metrocenter Sears.
I watched the TVs there too. So sad to see it is all over.
They used the bricks for there Christmas tree displays to keep everything in one spot and to make sure no one took anything out
Also for the water fountains depending on the store. I one I used to work at used those bricks for fountains and x-mas trees
Basically they were used for seasonal displays.
Even as recently as 2019.
I would have snagged that Lee sign for $3
Me too.
Pv mall Sears doesn't have enough merchandise for the two floors they have. Nobody seems to actually shop there, It seems like elderly people just use Sears as a landmark so they don't get lost while mall walking.
All the years I went to Metro as a kid and as an adult, we parked at the north end of Sears no matter where we were going in the mall. Easy way to find your car.
Yeah, that Sears wooden box at the end was cool. Looks useful plus history.
I would have grabbed it after I finished the filming.
1:40 if Rick Serra was there he would check that mattress for Bedbugs.
While slapping people with condoms😂
gmcnewlook 🤣
A lot of people walk in a store and don't even look at the fixtures and think about how much the fixtures cost the store to buy. I worked a large department store chain and helped to open a brand new store and the price for fixtures and art was around 5 million dollars. The store was a high end department stores so things were nice. I am sure that Sears stores would be in the 1 to 1.5 million for fixtures. Now going out of business they are selling fixtures for 10 dollars and up. A small fraction of the cost when new.
A lot of people don't understand how old and outdated these fixtures are. Half of them aren't worth any where near the original price.
I think that accountants are making the decisions and are trying to sell everything no mater how ridiculous or how cheap - accountants are not merchandisers. It IS embarrassing, sort of like airing dirty sheets. (Well I guess they are airing dirty sheets.)
The big Sears stores in Florida eliminated their big video game demo areas after Adam Walsh was abducted from the parking lot of the Hollywood, FL Sears 35+ years ago. Adam and another kid got into an argument over a game, and security kicked each of them out of the store via separate exits. Adam Walsh was the unlucky one.
My old HR office is down there by the elevator. That desk with all the locks was up inside by the merchandise pick-up area in the HUB office (I also worked there a few months), there was deposit checks, keys and financial records (store sales) etc.
Makes you wonder why that desk was so heavily locked, they must really not trust their employees
It was probably from a key holding manager’s office, or from the bookkeeper’s office.
Between that locked desk and the sign in my previous video it looks like Sears has zero trust in its employees.
Well hello, you! ♥♥
Had a family member that worked at a sears years ago and that's pretty much it. Management was shitty according to them and didn't seem to trust employees
Probably the security managers desk where they kept internal investigation files.
That old beat up metal desk looks just like one my Dad had in his trucking office in the 70s and 80s. I got a good laugh that they would attempt to sell that. Love that dungeon.
My city's first mall was anchored by Simpsons-Sears in 1958, renamed Sears by 1973, running until the end, earlier this year in 2018. North Hill Centre in Calgary. Building still stands, and you can faintly see letters stained in the cement from the old Simpsons-Sears sign. Check it out on street view!
The Phantasy Start dungeon theme gave me a chuckle.
That Lee sign was cool! I am a huge fan of old merchandise signs.
The red bricks were used to build displays during holiday season. They were used to decorate around the Xmas trees. It gave it a tree lot look.
Those old cash registers are so burnt into my mind when I think of any big box retail stores in America. For some odd reason I want one of those old ones because they make so nostalgic for them.
From 1992 till 1997 I worked at SEARS, LOST ARCOS MALL in Scottsdale. Yes, the Los Arcos Mall SEARS did have a Fixture Dungeon for real. I was the Visual Display Manager and spent a lot of time in the Dungeon ! Those brick edge pavers were used for displays. The Christmas Shop we would outline an area with those pavers and fill the inside area with fake snow. Set up and decorate Christmas Trees. The stores that had Lawn & Garden would use them in displays as well. The metal desks with the rounded edges are STEEL CASE, built like TANKS. Those are probably from some of the older locations as they are 1960's vintage. They are actually good quality. I have seen them on Military Bases, I come from a Military family. Yes, those POS systems are Antiques, they were in the 1990's when we were USING them.
Yes, those desks don't look like they fit the time to have been at this Sears and I agree they are solid. I bought two from a used office furniture place in the 70's and I still have one and it is as solid as a boxcar. By the way, I loved the Sears in Los Arcos and spent sooo much money there. Good work on the displays.
Thank You. Yeah, Lost Arcos was special to me as well. This was my First Job when I moved to Arizona.
That shirt was old, the tag says “Made In USA”.
That shirt was tempting to buy. I would have ran it through the washing machine with very hot water, then again it wasn't in my size either.
This is most clever 😂
Yes, Sears will defiantly reuse those IBM systems. That normally how stores get updated equipment. For example my store (which has now since closed a year ago) was able to get a digital video camera system (which or old system was VHS based has 2 busted cameras and one that would cut out if you turned it to a specific angle) from a sears store they shut down in our same state like this. We had desks like that at our location as well then again our store opened in around 1972. As for that unfinished dry wall section, it makes me wonder if that was covered by shelves or if that was unfinished from the 2000's remodeling. I know at our location the company decided at the last min to not hire a painting crew and we were responsible for repainting brand Central (appliances, electronics, vacuums). I remember those Plan-o-grams all to well. Great memories.
I remember Lubys in the mall. My friend and I were weird because we used to get the fried chicken breast meal whenever we went to the mall for the day.
6:10 of course the expected abandoned drink cup at the liquidation event!
Gesh people. Gross.
The Sears here in Tucson just shut down the other day. They took down the giant lettering and everything. (And yes ours had that dank smell.) Never did like the basement our's had. It housed the kids clothes, bedding, luggage, and some home items like pillows and rugs. There was an abandoned photography studio down there too. Wish I had filmed it before it was all gone.
Another one at 7:38
I’ve been in functioning non closing stores with abandoned drinks on shelf’s people are pigs.... (difference is the staff will attend to it )
I was doing inventory at one today, found an entire abandoned Chinese takeout meal in the lawnmower section :')
Man I'd love that old TV you found...mainly cause I need one for my older video game systems, and I don't really see those kind of TVs anymore even in thrift stores.
I don't think they're allowed to sell them anymore. Your best bet is to look on Craigslist, FB marketplace, or LetGo.
The mannequin with the nipples
.. 😂😂
The basement at metrocenter sears used to be where they had their lawn&garden, tools/hardware and then a small area for parts.
I bought a whole bunch of tools and parts from that location when I lived in the Phoenix area. (1990~2015).
Lol I use to work at sears! Orland Park Illinois! The bricks were decorative for Christmas and a lot of those desk were lead or manger desks we had like 7 of those at our location. Also when we closed we got so much from dicks sporting goods (sears bought dicks sports goods clearance) and so much from the limited. It also only started to pick up in the last two months of closing. Because a lot of people knew that out closing sale wasn’t good at all in the first few months, the closing sale in the beginning was more than a regular sale at Sears if that makes sense. Also sears had no control of prices it was the third party that was closing us down.
I love how the music used for this video matches up so well with the era when these fixtures were brand new.
The bricks were holiday decorations, we use to border the christmas trees with those bricks and "snow" in between
11:10 I saw one of those Sears Holdings papers too just lying around when I was walking around the Warren Ohio Super Kmart on April 7th
Basically if it's not bolted down it's for sale. From personal experience with Sears Canada where I lived they didn't have a dungeon area. Fixtures where placed in certain parts of the store. Southcentre location in Calgary was a three story store but the upper level was closed off towards the end of the liquidation when the merchandise was condensed. Places out of place and of course half drank beverages strown about.
The dungeon reminds me of the Macy’s at fiesta mall. The space always had the third floor and only used it as storage, until Macy’s came in and wanted to use it as a regular floor. My sister worked there in 96.
The bricks are from the lawn and garden display. They usually put those down as a border around astroturf setup for the mowers.
I hear Phantasy Star music 😍
Music that plays when you're crawling in a dungeon...nice touch 😎
My childhood, pretty much gone.
Thanks for the tour, I'll have to watch the first part, also.
There definitely was a Luby's cafeteria there. My family went there quite a bit when I was a kid.
Alan Kinnaman My family ate at the Metrocenter Luby's too, because kids ate free on Tuesdays I think.
6:12 that drink on the desk at all sears liquidation :)))))
6:12 Don't forget the (obligatory) clearance sale decoration of the half-drank drink cup! (Does Metrocenter have a Cinnabon, because that's where it looks like the cup came from...)
With all this talk of Sears closing it makes me wonder about the state of the one in the Kitsap Mall. The mall itself looks like it's doing really well but the Sears anchor is practically a shell. I wouldn't be surprised if it closed but getting a new anchor would be interesting.
Assuming the building survives for some time after it and the mall completely close, think how creepy-cool it would be exploring that basement, say, three, five, ten years post-closing, post-power being shut off, post-maintenance.
My local Sears doesn't have a dungeon, but judging from this video, it's scary and full of stuff almost nobody wants.
I'm glad you also thought of game boy games when you saw those watch racks. If I lived there those and the CRT would absolutely be mine now haha - maybe the DVD rack if it wasn't like $50 and I had a space right by the TV for it
Oh wow cool video. Looks like many of the Sears stores in Mall and what not are set up the same. The last time i went to the Sears in my area there weren't many shoppers in the store. I rarely shopped at Sears 18 years ago due to prices of their clothes being higher than other places. I believe the POS equipment they have to wipe the hard drives and they send those to a company that does that. I use to work for a company that would wipe computer HDD's and recycle computer and printer parts.
I think that was a Sony Trinitron CRT. Those are great for watching DVD's,VHS and retro video game consoles. They still put out a very good clear picture.
at first I thought the sign said $75 a brick, and I was like whaaaat?! okay. but 75 cents seems far more reasonable. but man how depressing seeing the sears like that all the random crap they're trying to liquidate.... but thanks all the same for the upload!
also, those retro sega Japanese ads are too cool!
Yes Luby's Cafeteria was almost next door! I believe their gone as well.
Maybe the dirty motels dan bell has filmed buys its mattresses and pillow from closing down sears 😂
I'm also looking for a FunTronics Sign too!! I got a ton of posters and displays for my collection back in the '90s from Sears!!
I worked for a Kmart going out of business. And you would be amazed by how old the equipment and fixtures were in this store. Sears holding company would not update anything. I was front lead and in charge of packing up all the registers and equipment. It was shocking that all of it had to be sent back to coropotate. I was tempted to throw them all in the trash. It was pretty sad.
Just did a quick search of that phone number and came across an ad from the Arizona Republic "This way to your new cafeteria" from Sept 17, 1993 Metrocenter Mall-North Entrance
Sometimes liquidation companies bring in leftover junk from previous liquidation sales that wasn’t even sold at the store before.
Yeah, the Bergner's (a Bon Ton store) I went to is starting to bring in junk that people won't buy. All the good stuff was gone. My advice is to try everything on before you buy, because I tried on a pair of 40 jeans and they didn't go all the way around my waste. They must have been mislabeled and it was a brand that Bergner's didn't sell originally.
It's so interesting how they try and sell all the fixtures and what not. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of Bon Ton or Younkers or Herberger's or any of the other store brands in that line owned by Bon Ton, but Younker's was an upscale department store founded in Des Moines, a really neat part of Iowa history. Unfortunately, Bon Ton is supposed to be done liquidating all of their stores by September. The Younkers I visit is in the town where I go to college. When I get back to school next month, I'll have to hit up the mall and see if Younkers is still open. If they are, I gotta go in and see if it's become a fixtures dungeon. This video was really neat, as all your videos are. I love your dead mall/dead store videos. Keep it up, man! Cheers!
As a Master System kid, I really appreciated the commercials at the end! :)
Our local Sears is a ghost town. Very few customers, not many employees, and will be closed by next year most likely. By the way, all K-Marts have been closed here for years.
Interesting video. Thanks for filming.
My sears closed last Sunday in Chicago. The last one in the city
Irving and Cicero, six corners?
BILL AICHAST yeah the one in portage park
That's a shame. Shopped there for decades. Out of Chicago now. Don't miss it.
My local Macy's turned its lower floor into a "Fixture Showroom" (that's what the sign advertised) when it liquidated and I think they shipped in stuff from other stores. The store was on a hillside with entrances on both floors, so I couldn't call it a dungeon. Not so for Sears - it was a single floor
@3:45 there was most likely a safety deposit box or some other form of cash box in that desk, the only other option I could think is maybe employee/accounting files.
I bought a box of Blockbuster shirts when they closed. I use them in the yard or working on the cars. Shirt reminded me of that.
I worked in a Sears during a liquidation and those are the same registers we had and used. It was a lot smaller store but we had a massive amount of spray paint and used cleaners. the billard balls we had some of those as well. All those desk where likely there to start with. The bricks seem to be at every sears and same with the shark cage.
I should also note the white and yellow plastic displays yellowed quickly and backroom employees would paint them white.
The POS systems are valuable for replacement parts.
8:30 The security monitors will never be for sale. I worked at the Sears in Columbia MO through its liquidation sale, and it turns out those belong to Loss Prevention and will go back with them at the close of the sale.
Now, I will have to go and see if the shirt & the wood crate is still there. What day was this recorded? GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS. I will make sure I am home in time to see Rotting Acres Mall tomorrow. Then off to Starfighters Arcade, & a visit to the Bashas’ #50 @ Cooper Village (Banner Baywood’s Graveyard) this weekend.
Told a friend about this video and she said she'd pay me back if I'd bring her a couple of buckets of those Christmas decorations, so I stopped by around noon on Friday. At this point, all the mannequins with heads are now gone. Also mentioned the video to the floor manager and he said he's familiar with your channel (he had some lingering resentment over one you did at a K-Mart he worked at some time in the past).
My friend worked at Sears this past summer and she said she was asked multiple times every single day whether Sears was actually closing.
Late to the party but just found it hilarious at the end when you said you were trying to be discrete recording and didn't want to make noise taking stuff out of the sears labeled crate and then the video ends! LOL. Even if it was edited that way, after recording was done, you could have gone and grabbed it.
Nice. That was a Sony Trinitron from the late 90's. I've still got mine and it works great. It is a heavy beast though.
Considering I'm into retail history/filming and retro gaming, the Mark 3 adverts at the end were awesome.
Wow just found this channel will be watching everything I love this kind of stuff. And a Sears I used to go to just shut down and I was at the liquidation sale, sadly there was no basement for me to rummage through.
I wished someone would buy Sears Holdings, though that may not be a good decision.
Go ahead and try to pry Sears Holdings from Fast Eddie’s COLD, money grubbing hands. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Fast Eddie also runs the liquidation company, and the Real Estate Company who handles the Sears & Kmart properties.
dennisscipio not gonna happen
Wish all you like, it won't happen as long as Fast Eddie is still alive. He's Sears/ K-Mart's CEO, and owns both the real estate company handling the Sears and K-Mart properties, and the company that runs the Sears and K-Mart liquidation sales. He's making money hand over fist for every Sears and K-Mart that shuts it's doors for good.
Pinball 541 I did not know that, Good point.
HerpyDerpyDoo11 what a piece of shit.
So far, my local Sears has not appeared on any lists of store closings. I don't know how they manage to remain solvent.
My Sears has an appliance and tool section. Men's clothing floor 2
Woman's clothing floor 3
(Hackensack, NJ) BTW
The sears i work at is in liquidation, our busiest days are the weekends. I am clearing out the basement of the store and i see a bit of the fixtures in this video that i didn't know what to do with, on the floor for sale so thank you lol I always found it weird that they never upgraded the POS. Also im sure a Merchandise Pick up associate could get that tv to your car.
That Casio display case is cool, I would buy that. I would also buy a Timex one too if they had it.
NICE! I walked through my Sears in Hicksville, NY a couple months ago when they were selling the fixtures, looks very similar to your video. In my Sears they confined all the fixtures to one corner, but no one was stopping you from walking around the whole store. Now I have to figure out what program to use to make a good video. There has to be something better than the Linux OpenShot I have been using, and I want to do some minimal voice-over to describe where I am walking.
I remember when the fixture dungeon used to be where they sold the appliances and tools. I have nostalgia for the basement.
Its sad to see these places coming to a end. Especially after going to them when they was full of people shopping back in the day. Oh and the bricks are landscaping blocks. Goes around your flower or garden area or you can even use to make sidewalks run you between 4 and 5 bucks a block at lowes or walmart. So was a killer deal.
Another great video. I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern with these Sears closings. It seems like the especially large Sears stores are closing. My Sears is very small compared to most, isn’t closing and is surprisingly busy. Stores the size of Metro Center Sears are WAY too big for today’s retail standards. I️ guess it makes sense that Sears Holdings is closing the larger stores first.
Retail Ruins: And yet Wal-Mart Supercenters are replacing smaller 80s & 90s Wal-Mart's everywhere.One floor with huge grocery.
I can't believe what they are asking for some of that stuff. Especially the scummy and broken stuff.
Accountants making the decisions, they should just donate them and avoid the embarrassment.
I find it really funny that in Mexico they’re still building Sears. In my town there’s 2 sears ffs
delta543 those are owned by a company that licensed the sears brand they aren’t related to sears in the USA, much like target stores in Australia....
The Sears in Mexico is surprisingly more upscale than the Sears here. I went to a Sears in Mexico with my cousin one time and he bought a Michael Kors suit there. It’s almost like Macy’s over there with the designer clothes
Yeah... Sears is doing pretty well in Mexico... Its so weird to see! Im from Wisconsin and the one I. My hometown has closed. I study in Puebla in México and the Sears here is still going strong!! Hehe
I miss shopping at metro-center
I always loved going to sears during Christmas time. Made me sad to see that stuff on sale.
Here is a little info on Metrocenter Mall. When I first moved to Phoenix in 1990 I was told it was the largest mall in the US when it was built, I was never able to confirm that but at the time it was pretty big. The mall originally had an ice skating rink on the lower level and you could watch people skating on the level blow from the food court. In Phoenix there were two major locations for cruising, Central Ave, and Metrocenter. On the west side of the mall on the street that circles the mall you will see a white barricade that can be swung out to close off the road. There is a sign on it that says NO CRUISING Three times past a location in 1 hour is considered cruising. They used to block off the road on Friday nights at 9:00 to stop people from doing laps around the mall. I feel bad that Sears is closing, it's my fault for returning broken wrenches and sockets that I used a breaker bar on.
You are correct about the skating rink and the cruising. I don't think it was the largest mall in the US, but it was the largest in Arizona and ranked very high on the top largest malls. It was a lovely place when it opened. Also, what is not remembered are all of the large stores and businesses that were not in t he mall but surrounded the mall, had they been considered part of the mall, then it would have been the largest in the US for sure. So many stores and events circles the mall, restaurants, amusements parks, banks, etc.
Sears-
Products from Goodwill like conditions at Goodwill prices without the knowledge of you giving your money to a worthy cause.
Also, here's a sign of a dead mall about to happen- 2 anchors, one a Younker's (Bon-Ton), one Sears. Sounds solid
FYI Macys / Broadway building at Biltmore has a sealed off basement that there was talk of expanding and opening pre Macys merger. This came from the then Receiving manager at Broadway Southwest
Look at the times......all the stores of my childhood almost gone......
I share your sadness.
The Sears I used to work at could have used a few of those fixtures, but believe it or not other stores have to pay for any of that equipment, which cuts into their overall profitability, which is how they decide which stores to close. That includes the registers, which look newer than the ones at my old store. And yes, the bricks were used for Christmas tree displays.
$10 for a nice Sony CRT? Tell them you'll pay $20 if they'll haul it out to the car.
rwdplz1 dude you can’t give these things away. i see them by the curb in the trash all the time, and most municipalities won’t take CRT screens so you have to pay to properly dispose of them.
If you are into vintage gaming, that Sony CRT would have been a major score. NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Gensis, PS1 type of consoles look like crap on newer flat screen TV's and can sometimes lag.
If it has a controller then i would buy it but i am not using any shit Universal remotes.
Similar vintage Sony remotes off eBay will work
Awesome video, as usual.
The bench with the AAA stickers on it is a watchmaker's bench. It was probably left behind in the jewelry repair center that used to be there.
They probably can’t sell the POS equipment because of privacy issues so it will probably just get destroyed.
Boo.
Brandi A yeah it's not old at all
Your Channel reminds me of Dan Bell, awesome video
Where the POS equipment was, next to the restrooms, is where the tool department used to be before they closed the lower level. You know, it really hurts seeing Sears die - I had such great memories of buying DECENT tools here, all the way back to when I was a little kid. True shame...anyone have a time machine I can borrow for a bit?
I am with you there.