sears stores cheaper in working class areas?

[The motor guy]

I've noticed in the lower income cities where their are more blue collar type workers who actually use tools have cheaper pricing and much of the stuff is still made in usa at these stores. Like for example a tool chest is 1499 at our local mall and in another area where it's just a sears outlet store it's $1099 for the same tool chest and much more of a tool selection. The one at my local mall is a joke when it comes to having any kind of tool selection.

 

[Blueskies123]

Most stores have some control over local pricing, especially if the store was build a long time ago or is a low rent district. You should expect to pay more in Manhattan vs somewhere in Iowa.

 

[pbm]

I thought that prices were higher in poor areas to offset 'loss'....

 

[Chris142]

Thats why we must put in a zip code when looking at stuff online.they vary the price as needed to suite the local economy

 

[Donald]

The outlet Sears is not exactly the same as a regular Sears store. For a normal undamaged item, the local store management has no options to alter the price on the price tag. That is the local manager cannot put out price tags that are less just for his store. The price is what the computer says it is. Any associate can alter the price for an individual item during the sale (with reason). The corporation could price things differently in different geographical areas. I would doubt a Sears in a bad area has different prices than one in a good area assuming the same geographical area.

(former employee, until I bought all the Craftsman tools I needed).

 

[HerrStig]

No question Amazon does this. My home zip code is considered prime for higher prices. I use my office address. I've heard they'll raise prices on snow shovels in a blizzard, based on the forecast.

 

[eljefino]

Amazon fiddled a while back with pricing depending on the browser/ operating system you used, charging Mac users more and Linux the least.

I would not be surprised for Sears to try shenanigans. Their foray into web sales with confusing shopyourway rewards at least lets the buyer think they won one over on "the man".

 

[Toto]

I believe your observation to be true growing up my Father always told me the same story.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Sears is, and has been for a couple of years, about three months away from Chapter 11, and they are liable to try anything.

They are making progress, but the question is whether it's too little, too late or not.

 

[bdcardinal]

When I worked at Sears in the Auto Center, tire prices were different at different stores depending on location. Also technicians were paid accordingly. Techs in Santa Barbara, my store, made more than techs in stores in the LA area. This was confirmed when we compared paychecks at training classes.

 

[eljefino]

How can this work today on the internet? Someone posts on slickdeals that there's some sort of sale and a local guy feels left out and skips the deal out of spite and never shops Sears again.

But they could make an extra $3 of that sucker that day.

It's like if your favorite sit-down restaurant jacks up the menu prices. Yeah, you'll eat there once more, then never return.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Sears is, and has been for a couple of years, about three months away from Chapter 11, and they are liable to try anything.

They are making progress, but the question is whether it's too little, too late or not.


I thought they've filed for it in the past?

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
How can this work today on the internet? Someone posts on slickdeals that there's some sort of sale and a local guy feels left out and skips the deal out of spite and never shops Sears again.

But they could make an extra $3 of that sucker that day.

It's like if your favorite sit-down restaurant jacks up the menu prices. Yeah, you'll eat there once more, then never return.


Sears still has their head in the sand trying to pretend the internet doesn't exist. They want it to be the 70s again where they can get away with whatever they want.

 

[KD0AXS]

You're talking about a Sears OUTLET vs a regular Sears store. Just about everything is cheaper at a Sears Outlet than the regular Sears stores. The merchandise at the outlet stores is mostly scratch and dent, open box, returned, discontinued, clearance, etc.

We bought both our stove microwave at a Sears Outlet. The stove has one tiny dent that you don't even notice unless you're looking for it. The microwave was missing the wall mounting bracket, which cost $8 at the appliance parts store that was right next door. Both were nearly half off the price at the regular Sears store.

 

[bmwjohn]

I think stores with high loss profiles are less likely to be selling tools then booze or things that are easy to steal and sell although tools are a popular demand item.