The rich are destroying our country

[pearljam724]

Wonder why we have no jobs here and we make absolutely nothing ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHIktR-3Ci4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jabcb]

They should start selling that wrench at Home Depot & Lowes.
I would expect them to actually sell more that way.

[pearljam724]

They should start selling that wrench at Home Depot & Lowes.
I would expect them to actually sell more that way.

That would makes sense. However, Sears and the gentleman made an agreement not to. I'm sure Sears has legal documents stating he already agreed not to. That's corrupt as it gets.

[CBWELLS]

I seem to recall a similar situation from the '60s involving SEARS and the inventor of the rachet wrench. I don't have a great memory, but I believe the inventor eventually won his case. Just sayin"!

[jabcb]

They should start selling that wrench at Home Depot & Lowes.
I would expect them to actually sell more that way.

That would makes sense. However, Sears and the gentleman made an agreement not to. I'm sure Sears has legal documents stating he already agreed not to. That's corrupt as it gets.

You need expensive lawyers when you sign contacts with big companies like Sears.

If the contract was properly written, then Sears breach of the contract allows him to sell the tools via Home Depot & Lowes. That gives Sears a reason to stick to the terms & sell his wrench.

[tz375]

I am not an attorney so this is worth every penny you pay for it, but it seems to me that if Sears are selling a competitive product and not selling his they are already in breach of contract and he can sell to whoever he wants.

If Sears argues that the contract doesn't force them to buy any product then they cannot rely on that same contract to force him to not sell his product. They cannot restrict his ability to trade with other companies if they are not currently purchasing from him.

As for whether he has a reasonable claim or not comes down to the terms of the purchasing agreement. He should certainly get a professional legal opinion.

[Madbuffalo]

"We have 264,000 jobs here. Sears believes in America"

As a past Sears employee I have a real issue with that statement. During my 5 years there I watched sadly as our benefits slowly disappeared. They terminated the tuition reimbursement program for college students, cut the number of full-time employees to avoid benefits, played with scheduled hours to minimize federally required breaks, let countless experienced managers go in place of new hires to avoid raises, on and on. These cost cuts were all in the years prior to the great recession when we were posting record profits, and done all in the name of staying competitive. Sears is only interested in short term gains to please shareholders with a complete disregard for the long term sustainability of the brand. I jumped the fence years ago and don't even shop there anymore.

[pearljam724]

Yeah, Sears wasn't worth a damn when they started charging for warranties. China, specifically Walmart put a hurt on them. But, lets be honest. That's the rich corporations and our faults combined. Everyone's own greed has killed this country. It starts at the top, trickles down to the working class. Then onto the poor. Everyone knows that to be true. But, no one does a damn thing about it. Starting with crooked ass, thieving politicians and the elite rich. That forces the working class and the poor to be greedy to a large degree also. Watch all of those Ferguson, Missouri videos. I'd be willing to bet, very few of those people protesting, etc. have a job. But, they're all carrying a few hundred dollar cell phone. Lol ! The poor are greedy to a small degree also. Very few people in this country live by honest principles anymore.

[jabcb]

Sears is one of the many companies that hasn't figured out how to compete. JCPenney is another.
I used to buy a lot of stuff at Sears (like my mower & snow blower) & a lot of clothes at JCPenney.
I hardly ever go to either store now.

Sears owns a lot of real-estate -- if it weren't for that they might already be gone.
Haven't looked into it, but those record profits Madbuffalo mentioned might have been due to other aspects of the company & not due to their poorly performing stores.

[Madbuffalo]

Thanks jabcb, I wasn't aware Sears owns that much real estate. I have heard numerous times over the years that Sears makes more money from their credit card interest than from all store sales combined, although I can't back that up. That seems to fit though since employees at that time (myself included ) were issuing cards at 17-24% interest.

Pearl, That "hard time" I served at Sears gave me a slightly different perspective. It was that term "remain profitable" uttered by the store manager as he announced our subsequent benefit cuts. Profitable to who? The Sears family sold their majority share years ago. Then it's the CEO, CFO, COO and the board, sure, but who are they accountable to? The shareholders. You and me; anyone who has a 401K, an IRA, or mutual funds that hold some small percentage of their funds in Sears stock. If that portion in Sears stock doesn't do well the funds are moved to Walmart or wherever they will be more profitable. So it is in the board's best interest to delegate down to the store managers and so on to maximize profitability. That's the nature of the beast and something almost every working class family has some responsibility for through their retirement savings.

I don't mean to start an argument but just wanted to offer my opinion and hopefully learn something. I'm enjoying the conversation.