I have always loved Target. The second Target store was in my hometown of Duluth. They had a machine that you could watch make donuts that was a kid magnet. It is long gone, but the store is still there.

That was when it was division of Dayton Hudson Department Stores in Minneapolis. It grew to the point that, in essence, it took over the parent.

Great service and for a discount chain, a great sense of style.

I am a dedicated Target customer. And it's things like, "would you pay $1.50 for it" that get me every time. I too used to be a Sears shopper, but it's been years since I shopped at Sears regularly. I honestly can't tell you the last time I was in a Sears store.

I actually try to shop at Sears. My little part to keep them going. I also like how they are linked to Lands End. I generally handle Lands End returns at Sears. The day I was trying to deal with Sears they were busy and had few clerks/managers available. I was there 30 minutes trying to return/exchange the water filter. I might have gotten something done if I had been willing to be there longer but I was not willing.

I never understood why it was the bankrupt K-mart that took over Sears, and not the other way around?

As to K-mart, though, I noticed for years and years prior to their bankruptcy that there was virtually no coorelation between their shelf prices and the price at which a given item scanned on their registers.

I had a problem in this regard on every, literally every, visit I made to a K-mart. Sometimes the disconnect was in my favor (item scanned for too little) and sometimes it was in the store's favor (item scanned for too much). In either event, though, it caused me to wonder at the reliability of K-mart's financial recordkeeping more generally--as in, did this retailer have any idea whether they were making any money???

I quite shopping at K-mart and Sears* both years ago.

*(Okay, bought a new Craftsman mulching mower there last year. Last purchase prior was a Craftsman riding mower, 14 years ago.)

Some background:

Sears as Lampert's 'Mismanaged Asset'

A Tough Sell at Sears

Sears-Kmart Merger

Yeah, metalj, you're right about the internet/catalog connection. In small town Tennessee, we had a Sears catalog store that was readily used. When I moved out on my own most of my home goods came from there -- cookware set for $19, flatware for an equally cheap amount. But somewhere along the way that stopped.

I never was a K-Mart shopper. Just never developed that habit.

had a bad experience with walmart this season. received as a gift a set of sheets in full size. needed queen size, so i brought them to the nearest w-m for an exchange. after driving 5 miles and waiting in line for 15 minutes, the 'customer service' clerk said that store didn't stock the item in that particular color so i couldn't exchange it. i returned home, called 'corporate' and he said they should have exchanged it. i'd receive a call from one of the store managers. which i did. she asked me to bring the item back, wait on line again, and they would exchange it for similar. which they did -- and threw in a $10 gift card. all of which was IMO unnecessary. that's one reason i don't buy at walmart.

We still buy applicances from Sears. That's pretty much it.

And yeah, I shop Target when I need discount big box. Which is as infrequently as I can manage.

As for Land's End, usually I can order essentially the same stuff from Bean - and they ship free.

Lands End has a great cheap all weather moccasin that I like. I despise the fact that I could heat my house with all the catalogs they stuff into my mailbox though.

Latest twist:

Lampert To Assume CEO Role At Sears

Final nail.

For several years, I was in charge of the Lost & Found at our elementary school. The job is as simple as the name implies. Twice a year, I donated the mountains of unclaimed jackets to Ladies of Charity. In the beginning, the jackets were primarily North Face and Lands End. Last year, the jackets were primarily Old Navy.

Tried getting appliance service from Sears lately?

Here's my nightmare with Sears customer service: I purchased a 25HP Craftsman 48" ZTR Pro series mower with a 3-year extended service warranty. This was a not-inexpensive proposition, but it is for a home out in the country. Routine service is a crapshoot out here, and my wife and I wanted to be sure that we could have someone come out to service it if we ran into issues. And with a large zero-turn radius lawnmower out in the country, there's a better than good chance of running into issues.

First year of the contract, we had a thrown belt that actually cut through one of the control arms for one of the transmission links, so we had to have someone out to look at that. It took three weeks to resolve. First week was to pinpoint the issue, 2nd week was the guy coming out without the right part, third week was after I went to the local depot to get the right part and go out to meet the guy.

Second year: routine stuff, only needed to call them once on a defective PTO switch. That got fixed pretty quick.

Third year: Nothing until the very end of the contract year, but when I did call them with an issue, they told me that it would be two weeks before I could get a tech out. OK, I go to meet the tech, the tech didn't show. Called in, they said it would be another six weeks before I could even get a technician out to look at it, and oh by the way my service agreement ran out a month ago, so I needed to re-up. One of the pulleys had gone bent, which caused the belt to throw, which really tore a lot of stuff loose, so it wouldn't even run. I wound up having to rent a truck, trailer, and winch to move the unit to another mower place closer to home, plus had to hire out someone to cut my grass for 2 months while dickering with executive escalations with Sears corporate. They were supposed to reimburse me for that service, but owing to a "misunderstanding," they wouldn't accept my receipts for the work done, nor for the tow, nor for the 3rd party service, partially because they were issued to my home address (in Tennessee) and not my service address (in Kentucky), even though the service area for both addresses is out of the same service center (dispatched out of Nashville). You go figure that one out.

I was 4th generation faithful to the Sears/Craftsman brand (my family is from Chicago area originally), now I wouldn't buy anything from them on a bet.