DEAD MALL SERIES REMASTERED : Sears Liquidation : Sneaking In Closed Store (Eastpoint Mall)

[@MaskedZoo]

Former sears employee here. I worked a store in its last years and can shed some light on this. There are a few possible reasons why all the merchandise was left there. There might be a truck coming later on to take it to a different sears somewhere else, the rent for the lot mightve been due and sears didnt want to pay it to continue liquidate as the value of rent is more valuable than the merchandise, or maybe management decided the time it took to sell the remainder of the stock wasnt worth the wages to keep employees on site. I remember my store manager telling us that any clearanced clothing that didnt sell would be sent back to the distributory and each piece of clothing only gave back galf a cent credit so it was better to sell it in store for $1.97. I helped in the liquidation of one store by receiving unsold merchandise at my store as well as any useful fixtures they had. Mannequins, fitting room mirrors (which broke in the trailer on the way since stuff was piled on them), half oval display tables, and those crazy huge pyramid clothes shelves. The signs would absolutely be the first to go. Each sears has a room full of them so other stores hardly need extras of those. I remember waking up early on mornings to change signs on treadmills, I remember those funny freight elevators that broke down every week. I remember we had 2 industrial a/c's but one of thems been broken years. And dan, I remember the broken clothing rack conveyor belt that went from the loading bay to the second floor storeroom where they kept the dickeys and craftsman work clothes. Good times. I miss them, even if every day was stuffy and hot as hell- even in the jeans storeroom.

[@LarryTezekjian]

Great job. It’s sad as a 64 year old male to see all of the things I grew up with dying off to big tech. Malls even in populated areas like Dadeland Mall in SW Miami are thinned out with customers from when I went there in the 80’s and that area is massive! I live in a small town in NC now called Whiteville and there’s no malls here at all. Watching your videos/documentaries are a nice watch. Thank you.

[@paulamcdonough5406]

I love your comment

[@virginiaconnor8350]

I've just discovered tgat that one of my favourite malls is dying. I thought it was ok-like Perimeter Mall, another mall I liked in Dekalb Co.in Ga.-but it's about dead. I think it's because there's more crime in thar part of the neighbourhood than that of the Perimeter Mall. It's not just the Internet that doomed the malls-though it helped. My parents bought stuff from catalogs from Sears and Penny's as we grew up, but we still shopped in the malls. Now, the malls, including Lenox Sq. and Phipp's Plaza are getting dangerous to shop on as people are getting robbed; carjacking, even shot at as they return to their cars and stores are ransacked by thieves and flash-looters after cell phones, jeans, shoes, or hair products, you name it. I worked at a bookstore at Lenox Sq.in the early '90s while I was in college and shoplifting was the usual crime-besides homeless folks and teenager kids fighting in the food court or movie theatre. I moved out to Cobb Co.(near Town Centre) and it might've gone under too. Maybe dying malls could be turned into homeless shelters-to get them out of inclement weather, provide jobs cleaning the places up, and getting them off the streets, and providing services there for families. Just an idea instead of tearing them down and building expensive apartments, hotels, etc.in their places.

[@anavailablehandle]

your channel is so very criminally underrated

[@Dana-kb5mk]

I'm so glad you got this footage Dan. Thank you. I miss Sears terribly and what EastPoint Mall used to be. BTW, I'd consider you at the very least a documentarian. And a damn fine one too my friend ❤️

[@z400b]

Wow can't believe there's only 24 Sears stores left, thanks Dan

[@kristoferluck7095]

Another great video Dan! Great documenting the closing of that Sears store. They closed the last Sears store here in Illinois at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. Woodfield has now lost 2 of their anchor stores (the other being Lord & Taylor). I love that you just casually blended in with what was going on there. Thank you Dan for the great videos and the re-mastering. Always fun to watch.

[@HamburgerAmy]

one of dan's boldest moves yet xD

[@groovymovie3213]

This is so eerie and surreal. Love your content!

[@travisburgjr]

Officially addicted to you're channel come to New York we have some dead malls here.

[@matthewfarmer6830]

Glade to see another one Dan, Dead Mall you make them like no others your edit is much better then some others on you tube, really.👍👍😊📹 Thanks for sharing take care.

[@wolfiethedog76]

I would love to you come to Dearborn, Michigan to visit a mall called Fairlane Town Center. The mall is nearly finished off as well.

[@Quiparounddreams1999]

Might I suggest that you tour the "Park Plaza" mall in little Rock Arkansas?

[@BizKwikTwist]

I'm obsessed with abandoned large buildings, it's sad but also like relaxing. Idk an odd feeling but it's cool!

[@Elios0000]

amazingly the laser tag place is still there at East Point wonder if they have plan if the mall closes on them.

[@thesaexplorer]

Thank you, Daniel Bell

[@devonboulden2496]

The filter was probably a dehumidifier. They found mold. For the most part, the employees boxing stuff up were probably temps. If so, you don't have a lot to worry about from them because they don't know much of anyone. Only a supervisor would be a problem and even they might not know all of the temps on site.

[@paulamcdonough5406]

I love your comment Devon boulden

[@LadyLakeMusic]

Sad to see Sears gone and malls are going as well. We had some great ones around Baltimore.

[@CoolCatProductions-365]

Great video Dan!

[@no1ukno929]

Wow. For a Sears to close up for good without even completing its liquidation sales is definitely a fail amongst other fails of what was once a favorite brand of mine. Makes me wonder what circumstances led to that happening--especially when it makes other Sears locations look successful by completing their liquidation sales before shutting down for good. Amazing work as always.

[@largol33t1]

I guess Grinch Lampert suddenly decided to stiff the staff by closing up early. This ensure he can cut back on employee hours.

[@fracturedsporks]

I worked at a Sears in Calgary, AB durning liquidation, our last week of discounts we put out a huge supply of what I can only describe as old lady pants in every color imaginable. 😂 i don’t know where they all came from

[@nealwhaley63]

At least one of those people saw you - they didn’t care. If you had been walking around with merchandise under your arm, somebody would’ve stopped you.

[@vinvoltron3672]

Hey, I'm freaking working here......lol Dan you are a legend 👏

[@kennelson3848]

Manoman best dam mall show around!

[@adamrichards3174]

24 Sears and 6... SIX Kmarts left in the USA.

[@LindaFromSeaAtTull]

Soon to be 4 Kmart stores after the Miami and Hamilton stores close in March.

[@TitanOf_Earth]

Plot Twist: those weren't workers clearing the store, they were people just like you trying to get free stuff in disguise 😆

[@wil7228]

The HEPA filtration unit is probably running to keep particulate matter and mold to a minimum.

[@catinthechat01]

A comment no one will read, but it's important. Even in 2023, no one seems to understand the real reason Sears and 20 other major retailers (Payless, The Limited, RadioShack, Toys R Us to name a few) declared bankruptcy in 2017. In the case of Sears, a real estate hedge-fund owned by Eddie Lampert, a former Yale roommate of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, specifically targeted Sears and spent a decade dismantling the company for his own benefit. Sears owned a lot of real estate. New management (he became CEO) bought Kmart, another company that owned a lot of real estate, dramatically increasing debt. Part of that debt was owned by Lambert personally (he was worth $8B then $2B after the loan, eyeroll) so he was making money on the interest from the debt he caused. Meanwhile "management" decided to use $6B (interesting number) for a stock buyback and increased the dividend, driving the price of the stock up, both benefiting the majority stockholder (his company). He put the real estate in it's own division so the core company ended up paying $200M a year in rent basically to itself in a convoluted scheme, money which serviced the debt (primarily owned by him) in interest payments. In a year when Sears actually saw some profit, the whole thing collapsed. Lampert claimed he did his best to save a company started in 1897 and run successfully for 110 years before he came along. The massive debt he created by expanding the business too quickly drove Sears/Kmart into the ground resulting in the sale of all that real estate for pennies on the dollar to... guess who. Because they are in the pockets of politicians, nothing will ever change. Politicians on both sides of the isle get insider information from corporations and industry to enrich their personal portfolios and pay for access under the table. Remember, they regulate themselves in addition to controlling their salaries and tax breaks, and that cash cow will never die. I am in finance/majored in economics and have the background to understand this stuff. As usual, corporations and government count on it being too complex for the average person. Maybe we should be talking about the fact that a few people became outrageously wealthy while 175,000 people lost their jobs at Sears/Kmart alone. That's the kind of perspective everyone can understand but it's never presented in that way on purpose. If you got this far, thank you for reading to the end.

[@paulamcdonough5406]

Sears at Eastport mall closed 4 years ago in January of 2018

[@paulamcdonough5406]

Thank you everyone

[@comervwithus2788]

When did Eastpoint bowling alley closed?

[@Olderbutstillalwaysdrowsy]

BLESS

[@paulamcdonough5406]

Original date is January 5 2018

[@paulamcdonough5406]

Thank you everyone

[@billp4]

If they would have called it Eastpointe (with the e) they would have been OK.

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

Eastpoint Mall... Terrible area. Lol Like, whoa.

[@METALMAN4Wii]

You should of dressed up as s zombie and scare the shit of if people by the gate?

[@juststopit9533]

I am kinda glad that sears has collapsed. Bunch of hostile employees. The store couldn't get a dryer delivered in ten tries because of one issue or another, capped off by "why don't you get a truck and pick it up yourself?" hmmm... I thought that is what I paid a delivery fee for? got my money back and went to Best Buy... had it installed the very next day.

[@10percent4DaBigGuy]

maybe if america produced all the products and off shored them to other countries america would be truly wealthy and stores like this wouldn't be shutting down! but when society off shores all the work to countries like china this happens with every store in the end! this only hurts the american people in the end! america has suffered since it when from manufacture to strictly supplier see if america returns to its roots! it would be able to pay off all its debts and return to the top where it once stood!