New Sears Outlet Store

[whirlcool]

Recently a new Sears outlet store opened near us. So today we took a trip over there to see what was to be had. I had never been in one before.

The store was an old grocery store that closed a number of years ago, an Albertson's to be exact. When we walked in there were plenty of things to look at.

There were a few handfuls of stoves, maybe 25 dishwashers and get this, literally hundreds of refrigerators. That's right, aisles and aisles of refrigerators of all brands and models. They had them arranged according to color, these aisles are SS, these aisles are Bisque, etc. Then they had them sub-catagorized, French door, two door, bottom freezer, etc. I even saw a few Fisher-Paykel refrigerators of which I really liked the design. Do they get this many refrigerators returned? Some looked fine, some looked like that had a head on collision with an 18 wheeler and everything in between.
As I was looking, each unit had a "additional 5 year warranty available for $500-600.00! That's outrageous!

Then there were tons of FL washers and TL washers, FL's mainly. There were tons of Kenmore and Bosch and Amana. And also some Electrolux machines that were in some of the most hideous colors I had ever seen, like electric split pea soup colors or marigold yellow.

And the prices in the place were not that good. There were three KitchenAid refrigerators with deep dents on the front panels for 25% off. These were still going for $1600-$1800.00. Who would buy such damaged items?

The salesman told me that everything in the store has been repaired and is working, and comes with a full factory warranty. I don't know about that...

Is this what most of these Sears Outlets are like?

 

[retropia]

In my experience with our local Sears Outlets, I don't think the prices are that much better than what you can get from a regular Sears store on sale. Sometimes they will get a large batch of new overstock or discontinued models, and those can be reasonably priced. Also, if an item has been there awhile, they will continue marking down the price until it sells.

As an example, I found a Kenmore dishwasher that was the same model as ours at a Sears Outlet. It was a customer return, and it was priced $20 less than what I'd paid for a new one on sale at a regular Sears store.

I believe the Outlets are franchised, so it is possible pricing policies may differ from store to store.

 

[petek]

Sounds about right. There's a Sears Outlet closest to us in London Ontario and you're correct.. scads of fridges far outnumbering the stoves and washer/dryer, dishwashers.
As for prices some good some not good.. but you don't have to wait long for a clearance sale, they have lots of those and then prices really drop plus they drop significantly more if you charge it on your Sears card.

Probably the best deals I ever see in there are on area rugs.

 

[whirlcool]

That's what I thought too when I saw the prices, you can get brand new unblemished fridges when Sears has a sale for the near the same price as one of those bashed in models.

And the entire time the salesperson was pushing the Sears card on us with "convenient terms" if we needed them. Ha! We used to have a Sears card years and years ago and we never used it, so we cancelled the account and moved on.

 

[alr2903]

Sometimes the Covington Tn. ( semi rural) Sears outlet runs ads on the Memphis Craigslist ads.   The one in NOLA was right across from Ochsner Hospital i know it closed at some point, but Sears service headquarters was still there last time i was down that way. alr

 

[oldskool]

They're Not the Same

Probably 10-12 years ago the Sears Outlet Store in Kansas City was fantastic - prices were ridiculously low. We bought many appliances as my work involved Residential Living for the disabled population - we saved big $. In my recent trips to the Sears Outlet, I noticed as another member said "rows of refrigerators", lots of front loaders with prices similar to retail stores, etc.... I can't see an advantage over a good sale at the regular Sears store now.
In the KC area, Nebraska Furniture Mart has a scratch/dent room that cannot be beat. Although smaller, and you may have to go back several times to find what you want, it's well worth it. Crazy low prices - worth the drive - no I don't work there.
In my opinion, after Sears ended the Catalog Division, things changed company wide, some for the good but mostly for the bad.

 

[henry200]

I'm not absolutely certain but I don't think there are any Sears outlet stores here anymore unless they're in far corners of the metro area where I never go.  I haven't seen one in many years at least.  We have lots of Appliancemarts around town though and they carry a wide range at fairly decent but no "deal of the century" prices.

 

[franksdad]

There is a Sears outlet in Greenville on Woodruff Rd.  It is in an old Computer Warehouse store.  Sounds just like the ones above- returns, scratch and dents, some discontinued stuff.  Prices are not that good, and in fact better at the retail store when they have a sale.  They also carry tons of old Sears detergent in faded and beaten up boxes.  I went in there back in June thinking I'd pick up a couple of boxes "cheap".  They wanted $23.00 for the 180 load box.  I left there and went on over to the Sears store at Haywood Mall and bought 2 new boxes for $11.99 each (on sale).  Won't be going back to the outlet store again.   

 

[whirlcool]

What is very interesting about the location of this Sears Outlet is that it is directly next door to a Conn's, a major retailer of appliances. And Conn's usually has very good prices to boot.
So there could be a situation where someone sees a KitchenAid refrigerator that is scratched up and pay more for it at the Sears Outlet then they would just going next door to Conn's and buy it brand new for less.

 

[paulg]

Chicago

We have a Sears outlet store here too. Prices are not good here either.
I saw a refrigerator that had fallen so hard the entire unit was rippled. The discount was not nearly enough. Actually I thought the unit was unsaleable. When I asked teenybopper why the unit is being sold at a rather high price his pat answer was "it has all the latest features!"
They had a U-LINE undercounter fridge where the chassis was bent so badly that it rocked backward at a steep angle. The price was ridiculously high. I advised the guy I'd take it at a deep discount as it would have to be nearly rebuilt. The teenybopper salesman shrugged his shoulders and couldn't do anything. Never went back (never want to).

 

[yogitunes]

I have been to the one in Delaware, back in 2003, bought a 60" Sony Wega TV for half price....and all the other items seemed at a nice discount.....not to mention no sales tax....

returned in 2007 for a washer and dryer......Sale prices at the store for brand new was cheaper........shopped around the store and everything seemed that way....
now if your from out of state they charge you YOUR states sales tax...not worth the drive anymore.......I get better discounts at the MOM and POP downtown stores, but even their getting scarce....

 

[sudsmaster]

When I was shopping for a new dishwasher about ten years ago, I found the offerings at the local Sears Outlet not so good.

So I went to a retail Sears store, and lo and behold they had a Bosch customer return, for about 60% of the original price. It looked fine to me, so I got it. It's worked fine ever since.

But yeah, the prices at the local Sears Outlet aren't all that great, and I think one can do better shopping the retail sales (or box stores like Costco, Sam's Club, or Lowes Depot) esp if there are state energy or water rebates to be had.

Oh, and a big reason why there are so many returns is that Sears delivery staff are perhaps the most incompetent in the world. They routinely drop appliances and damage them. The stories of customers noticing delivery damage on receipt are legion. And even if you decide to pick up the appliance yourself, there's no guarantee that the buffoons manning the Sears loading dock won't drop it when transporting it 20 feet, out of sheer habit.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Mark-Downs, Nail-Downs,--maybe even a potential for a "Bait & Switch"...!

A reason outlet stores are to be avoided, especially if buying at the original retailer offers a better deal--if not for merely avoiding external damage (& possible internal damage) and cosmetic flaws!

If, however, you're not fussy & can thoroughly inspect what you're buying & see to it the slackers in charge of moving & handling the goods do as if it were their own (or if they care deeply about what's in THEIR house & what they cook with/clean with/store food in) and can get it at a fair price, then Go For It!

-- Dave

 

[polkanut]

In 1988 when my great-aunt & uncle were building a new home here in Wausau, they bought all of their appliances at a scratch & dent place in Oak Creek, WI.  Don't recall the name of the store, but they got some awesome deals on what they bought.  IIRC, the store carried mainly GE products.  I do remember that the GE gas stove they bought had a big dent on the right side, but you didn't know it or see it once it was slid into place.  The fridge, washer, and dryer all had minor scratches on the sides.  When they sold the house in 2007 to move to assisted living, all appliances were still alive & well, and had no service issues while Uncle Wally & Aunt Bertie owned them. 

 

Don't know if any warranties were included with the sale or not.  But, knowing how penny-pinching the great-aunt & uncle were, I'm sure there was some sort of warranty on what they bought.

[this post was last edited: 9/4/2011-11:39]

 

[yogitunes]

Shop for Savings.......look around, even check the scratch and dent inside the regular stores......Lowes and HomeDepot have sections for this.....although I think Lowes marks down a higher amount.......I just got a stove from them, and unless you look close, you can't see the tiny ding on the right side, marked down 50%.....so I got a 1500.00 stove for 750.00, warranty and free delivery/install....I really like this stove alot!

 

[whirlcool]

There are quite a few scratch & dent furniture store locations here. They can offer good deals from time to time. Sometimes it's just items that wouldn't sell in the first place and are damage free.

I remember when I was a kid my Aunt & Uncle went to the Alden's scratch & dent center. Mostly clothes, but they also had appliances and furniture there too. The prices were greatly reduced and most items were good deals.

 

[firedome]

Consider the alternative: buy a vintage stove etc that is better made and probably will outlast the new one! I love my 1956 Chambers.