the vynsane asylum

I went to a K-Mart yesterday. I rarely do, though the one here is the closest department store to me. They've just gotten so expensive.

Case in point: the GIJoe DVD packs. They've still got all the #1's and #2's from last year (I think spring). They've never gotten more, since they never sold any. They started out at $22, vs the $20 everywhere else. I was a bit shocked to find they'd marked them up considerably; they're now $32 vs the $20 everywhere else.

The GIJoe comic packs are on clearance, though. (Again, they never got beyond the first batch, though they have sold some.) They're down to $10, what Target has them for. They actually started at $10, but the clearance tag says they're marked down from $16, which is what the Star Wars comic packs are. Star Wars and GIJoe basic figures, by the way, are $9.99.

Isn't that insane?

This would be minor if it were just the toys. But the entire store is overpriced and understocked like that. I never see other customers anymore on my rare ventures inside. And the customer service blows.

It still boggles my mind that K-Mart and Sears merged and thought the best thing to do was combine the shittiness of both stores rather than go for the few things each was doing right.

If K-Mart/Sears lasts through the summer, especially with giants like Circuit City closing up shop in just over a week, I will eat my hat. If they're still here this time next year, I'll get a gorilla drunk and let him bugger me for an entire day while singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in my best Dan Rather voice.

It is fuckin beyond me. Old people shop there. Although this past Christmas I did get alot of stuff there. They had a new tree I liked on sale for like 60% off and I used lay-a-way for some of the kids stuff. Other than that, I never really see people in there, even the old people who say they love it so much

The Kmart that was closest to my house closed like seven years ago; I honestly don't think I ever saw more than five people there at any given time. The other one around here is a little busier but not by much. I don't think I've bought anything there since they got the first few TAC figures around this time two years ago. Shit, that doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

The one by me (I forgot to mention this as to how pathetic they are) still has most of their Christmas CDs out... at full price!

They also had a GameCube game on clearance for $10 two full years ago (Viewtiful Joe 2). I looked this time at it, as they still have the same number of copies, and I figured it would probably be much less by now, as the point of clearance is usually to clear stuff out. They still had clearance tags, but somehow the clearance price had gone up to $17.

I will admit I've gotten a few deals in the past year. I got a GIJoe logo shirt and a The Transformers: The Movie ('86) poster shirt on clearance, and they were the only place to mark down the Speed Racer TV DVDs shortly before the movie came out. But considering how often I go out looking for toys and other junk I don't need, that's a pretty bad track record.

the ceo is a hot chick and she's blowing the dude who's handing out the bailout money.

I just found this thread by accident when searching for something else.

This shit was about four years ago.

Four years.

That piece of shit K-Mart, by the way, decided to compete against the 24-hour Walmart that opened across the street... by cutting back their hours so that they close at 7 most days. The store is actually in a pretty good area, so it's not an issue with crime.

I hardly ever go there except for the rare occasion there's an exclusive. Or after holidays, since no one buys shit there. Half the lights are burned out, and the sound system blows goats (it literally sound like everything is being made from a mouthful of goat jizz). The garden center door is always closed due to a temporary "inclemint [sic] weather" sign that's been there for years. It's really a depressing place.

Oddly, when K-Mart closed several stores about a year ago, this one was not on the list, but one in San Diego that was always nice and busy did. (I guess the execs got the memo that there was a location that didn't suck.)

anarky wrote: If K-Mart/Sears lasts through the summer, especially with giants like Circuit City closing up shop in just over a week, I will eat my hat. If they're still here this time next year, I'll get a gorilla drunk and let him bugger me for an entire day while singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in my best Dan Rather voice.

Any updates on this?

jjreason wrote:

anarky wrote: If K-Mart/Sears lasts through the summer, especially with giants like Circuit City closing up shop in just over a week, I will eat my hat. If they're still here this time next year, I'll get a gorilla drunk and let him bugger me for an entire day while singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in my best Dan Rather voice.

Any updates on this?

HA! Touché.

My butt was sore for a week. I had a film crew recording, but they used an old VHS camcorder and it didn't work.