# How long before Sears goes bankrupt? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758 "2015-09-19T12:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/21 "2015-09-19T20:12:05Z")
It seems like the real estate is good for selling (which is a one time cash inflow), renting (which they don’t seem to be doing) or collateral on a loan (with nearly 2 billion in cash, they don’t need right now). Why do people keep bringing up the real estate thing? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/22 "2015-09-19T20:24:04Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I would say more like 30 years. 50 years. IMHO. Our family has had atrocious service there since the mid 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/23 "2015-09-19T20:48:12Z")
Under decent management, it might hold out for as long as 10 years. And I’m going to win the lottery this time, for sure. It seems that the model is to drain the company of anything worthwhile and walk away from the burning mess. So 2-4 years. OTOH, why the hell is KMart still in business at all??? Sure it went bankrupt and got taken over by these jerks, but the stores are still open for some reason. Why hasn’t it been completely dissolved? The “management” seems able to keep disasters afloat for longer than one would think. So, I think Sears might stave off bankruptcy for something like 5-7 years. The brand itself will survive for a long time. Someone bought the Montgomery-Ward brand and started up a retail web site that’s still alive, barely. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/24 "2015-09-19T20:58:54Z")
Craftsman used to be a great American made tool with a warranty to back it up. Now it’s a bare step above Harbor Freight. Their Chinese made chrome tools are utter crap. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/25 "2015-09-19T21:23:04Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Craftsman used to be a great American made tool with a warranty to back it up. > > Now it’s a bare step above Harbor Freight. Their Chinese made chrome tools are utter crap. The new U.S.-made Craftsman tools look and feel the same as my old ones, and they have the full lifetime warranty. Perhaps you are thinking of the Chinese-made ones as being a bare step above Harbor Freight, and not the U.S.-made ones. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/26 "2015-09-19T22:25:30Z")
I have a Sears brand video game console of all things. They used to put their brand on anything back in the day.But really I rarely shop there so I don’t care if they go broke or not. There is no shortage of such stores in my area. This reminds me, I also have an old Sears catalogue from 1900 or around that era. Been meaning to scan it all and upload it but never did. It’s amusing to see the kinds of things they sold and the costs. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/27 "2015-09-19T23:19:14Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > No idea, but their CS is horrible! They make it very difficult to want to spend money there. I gave up spending money there. It used to be if I wanted something quick I’d stop in and buy what I needed and be on my way. Now to buy a screwdriver I feel like it’s a job interview at the register. 'No I don’t have a sears card. No I don’t want a sears card. I don’t care what the promotion is I still don’t want a sears card. No I don’t want an extended warranty, it’s a screw driver with a lifetime warranty why is that even an option? I’m definitely not interested in doing a survey. Can you please just take my money? Combined with the number of aging customers that also have to go through this interogation, if anyone is in line its faster to leave the store and drive somewhere else to make the purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/28 "2015-09-19T23:35:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The new U.S.-made Craftsman tools look and feel the same as my old ones, and they have the full lifetime warranty. > > Perhaps you are thinking of the Chinese-made ones as being a bare step above Harbor Freight, and not the U.S.-made ones. Craftsman hand tools are made by Apex Tools, which is now owned by Bain Capital (remember Mr. Romney?). Apex makes a shitload of different brand lines (like Lufkin, Allen, and Crescent) that can be seen [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_Tool_Group). ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/29 "2015-09-20T00:15:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I grew up with Craftsman tools. They’re almost the only tools dad bought. I have some old Craftsman tools and new ones, and they seem about the same to me. > > Note that Sears has different lines of tools. Some are made in the U.S.A. and have a lifetime warranty, and some are made in China and I don’t know if they have a lifetime warranty. Mine are all domestically made. I have not compared the domestic ones to imports. Lifetime was always just for non-electrical hand tools. The real warranty change is now something has to actually be physically broken; the old standard was failing to satisfy due to wear or damage. How fussy a store is about that varies from place to place and sometimes day to day. Another change I’ve noticed is that in the old days if you broke say a screwdriver and the only way the store could exchange it was to break a set, they broke the set. Now if they don’t have a single to make a replacement the solution is giving you a computer code and address to mail the tool to. I don’t really blame them for the changes. The old system had become almost a scam. Some people would haunt the yard sales and such buying all the old rusty Craftsmen stuff they could for next to nothing and then exchanging it for new - because the rust displeased them. Then taking the new out and selling it for 50% at flea markets and places like that. As for makers/places of manufacture, it isn’t the big deal it was. Some serious quality stuff is coming out of China these days. For a while some Craftsmen tools were coming off the same machines as Snap-On and other premium products with a slightly different finish and design; it was one of the reasons a lot of pro shops used them. Now I would say all bets are off on just where a particular piece was made. PS – Don’t confuse Craftsmen tools and Sears Brand tools. Sears Brand was always a cheaper product, more household in quality, with a lower warranty. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/30 "2015-09-20T00:30:36Z")
I give them three years. They have no more significant assets. They never owned the KMart real estate AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/31 "2015-09-20T00:37:17Z")
One reason Sears is such a mess is the organization structure that Eddie Lampert set up. [This article](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-07-11/at-sears-eddie-lamperts-warring-divisions-model-adds-to-the-troubles) is a couple of years old, so things may have changed, but it describes how he divided the company into more that thirty business units (e.g., apparel, tools, appliances, HR, IT, e-commerce, real estate, etc) and made them compete. So you might have the apparel division competing with the Kenmore appliance division for money to improve their products. Or they might be competing against the HR division. It seems a crazy idea to me. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/32 "2015-09-20T01:08:54Z")
> **[Kmart's sales have fallen off a gigantic cliff](https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/08/investing/kmart-sales-decline-sears-eddie-lampert/)** > > Kmart's sales have decreased by $25 billion -- 67% -- since 2000. Sears and K Mart merge together and if Sears goes so will K Mart . We have a K Mart in my city and it’s going really poor . People can go to Wal mart buy anything they need. I hope Sears won’t go bankrupt b/c I hate Wal Mart ! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/33 "2015-09-20T01:37:58Z")
I’m still pissed about the lawnmower. Screw 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/34 "2015-09-20T01:41:56Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > OTOH, why the hell is KMart still in business at all??? Sure it went bankrupt and got taken over by these jerks, but the stores are still open for some reason. I wish the one less than a mile from me was still open! I went there in preference to Wal\*Mart since it was much closer and not as annoying due to lack of people. Now of course it’s immaterial because there’s now a close by Target, although I still would have gone to K-Mart for clothes. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/35 "2015-09-20T01:48:37Z")
Ace Hardware is now selling Craftsman tools. I have always trusted Ace for just about everything. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/36 "2015-09-20T02:00:35Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Can’t be soon enough for me. I just spent half a day waiting for a Kenmore “repairman” who didn’t show up and then lied about it to the dispatcher. It wasn’t the first time either. Repair service is generally contracted out to a local company – they don’t have Sears employees doing repairs. Still their fault if the people they contract to don’t provide quality service. But it was a local appliance repair company – meaning that had you just called from the yellow pages, you probably would have been dealing with the same repairman. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/37 "2015-09-20T02:11:09Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But it was a local appliance repair company – meaning that had you just called from the yellow pages, you probably would have been dealing with the same repairman. No, Sears repairs take all their time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/38 "2015-09-20T03:00:26Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > Ace Hardware is now selling Craftsman tools. I have always trusted Ace for just about everything. > > Bob So does Menard’s diy stores, and I wouldn’t trust them for fuck-all. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/39 "2015-09-20T03:34:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > One reason Sears is such a mess is the organization structure that Eddie Lampert set up. [This article](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-07-11/at-sears-eddie-lamperts-warring-divisions-model-adds-to-the-troubles) is a couple of years old, so things may have changed, but it describes how he divided the company into more that thirty business units (e.g., apparel, tools, appliances, HR, IT, e-commerce, real estate, etc) and made them compete. So you might have the apparel division competing with the Kenmore appliance division for money to improve their products. Or they might be competing against the HR division. It seems a crazy idea to me. You know who _else_ made his Ministries compete ? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758/40 "2015-09-20T04:35:15Z")
This is too bad because years ago one could work for Sears and have a well paid career say selling vacuum cleaners. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-sears-goes-bankrupt/731758.md?page=3)