Since Brookstone seems to keep losing money, this should be a great hire for Sears.

I thought Brookstone went bankrupt years ago. I haven't seen one of their stores in forever.

Brookstone, Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer, and SkyMall: Shopping for people who never got past the "I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" phase of development.

Pocket Ninja: I thought Brookstone went bankrupt years ago. I haven't seen one of their stores in forever.

They are primarily in malls.

Does anyone buy anything at Brookstones? Every time I go past the store, it seems like it's occupied by a few very lonely looking salesmen and women playing with toy helicopters or demonstrating a massage chair that nobody would possibly purchase.

BKITU: Brookstone, Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer, and SkyMall: Shopping for people who never got past the "I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" phase of development.

Christ I never hope I leave that stage. Toys are farking awesome, and as you get older and earn money you can buy cooler shiat.

mitchcumstein1: BKITU: Brookstone, Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer, and SkyMall: Shopping for people who never got past the "I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" phase of development.

Christ I never hope I leave that stage. Toys are farking awesome, and as you get older and earn money you can buy cooler shiat.

Liking toys isn't the issue. Everybody likes toys. I just bought smart phones for the wife and me primarily for the fun of playing with them. We don't really need the upgrade.

"I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" is when toys are all you care about, much like a three-year-old. Those companies target people in that particular mindset. It's one thing to like toys, it's another entirely to think, "Yeah, spending $35k on a personalized Whack-A-Mole game is totally worth it!"

If someone wants to spend that much money on such an item, more power to them, but I will definitely question their mental state.

BKITU: mitchcumstein1: BKITU: Brookstone, Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer, and SkyMall: Shopping for people who never got past the "I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" phase of development.

Christ I never hope I leave that stage. Toys are farking awesome, and as you get older and earn money you can buy cooler shiat.

Liking toys isn't the issue. Everybody likes toys. I just bought smart phones for the wife and me primarily for the fun of playing with them. We don't really need the upgrade.

"I want to stay in the toy department, Mommy!" is when toys are all you care about, much like a three-year-old. Those companies target people in that particular mindset. It's one thing to like toys, it's another entirely to think, "Yeah, spending $35k on a personalized Whack-A-Mole game is totally worth it!"

If someone wants to spend that much money on such an item, more power to them, but I will definitely question their mental state.

They target rich people. If I'm a multimillionaire and my kid wants a whack-a-mole, $35K ain't shiat.

mitchcumstein1: They target rich people. If I'm a multimillionaire and my kid wants a whack-a-mole, $35K ain't shiat.

And if you're uber-rich, you just have one constructed and staff it with illegal immigrants wearing mole costumes!

markie_farkie: mitchcumstein1: They target rich people. If I'm a multimillionaire and my kid wants a whack-a-mole, $35K ain't shiat.

And if you're uber-rich, you just have one constructed and staff it with illegal immigrants wearing mole costumes!

I think I saw that on Silver Spoons.

RexTalionis: Does anyone buy anything at Brookstones? Every time I go past the store, it seems like it's occupied by a few very lonely looking salesmen and women playing with toy helicopters or demonstrating a massage chair that nobody would possibly purchase.

They sell these (new window) at Brookstone, though I've yet to pull the trigger.

My great grandparents bought their house from Sears. They used to sell blueprints.

They also sold whole, modular houses.

Walmart and Target kick the shiat out of Kmart/Sears in the baby department. Diapers, formula, wipes, etc. as far as price and selection.

When a family needs to make a Walmart/Target run every month for baby supplies, that's when they get all the other shiat they need, too. Shampoo, razors, shaving cream, sweetener, socks and Tshirts yadda yadda.

That's where I'd start. Get the young moms in there.

Diogenes: My great grandparents bought their house from Sears. They used to sell blueprints.

They also sold whole, modular houses.

I live in a 1926 Sears Hathaway (new window), albeit one that has been extensively remodeled.

Prefers SkyMall.

Sears would do well to ditch KMart and let them die, then reducing all Sears stores to just hardware, lawn/garden, appliances and automotive.

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Sears would do well to ditch KMart and let them die, then reducing all Sears stores to just hardware, lawn/garden, appliances and automotive.

That, and Toughskins. Those farking things would probably outlast an atomic apocalypse!

We were poor as kids, got cheapie jeans, invariably ending up with iron-on knee patches after a long summer riding bikes, building forts, poking shiat with sticks, etc. Back-to-school time was brutal.

What pisses me off about Brookstone, Sharper Image, etc., isn't the novelty items, which mostly suck, but the quality of most of the items. Everything = plastic, poor quality at high cost. When I think of Brookstone or Sharper image, I think of that dad from Gremlins. Cheap, shiatty novelty inventions manufactured at the lowest cost possible which fall apart within a year.

It would be nice if they had a few, really high quality items that are designed well. But instead going into a Brookstone is a trainwreck. At first it's kind of novel but within 5 seconds I don't even know why I'm there, everything is a cheap piece of shiat, there's no name brand stuff, and the name brand stuff they have is poorly made knockoff-quality off-brands.

In the end, I shop for stuff on Amazon. Much easier to order at home and have it delivered.

davidphogan: I may need a nose-hair trimmer. Now that I think about it, that is something I worry about daily. What my nasal canal grows so much hair I can't handle it with scissors?

Maybe it's not a bad investment.

Welcome to middle adulthood.

Wait until you start getting earlobe pubes..

Now excuse me while I go yank those farkers out while inspecting my work in a lighted, magnified mirror.