Sears Layaway
Sears, Roebuck and Co., which owns Kmart, also offers layaway at its stores, promoting the plan as “Shop Now, Pay Later.”
The company announced that starting Nov. 14, 2008, it would be bringing back its layaway program due to customer demand and the current economic climate, as well as the “tremendous” response to Kmart’s layaway plan. The down payment at Sears is $15 or 20 percent of the purchase price, whichever is greater.
The return of layaway was initially promoted for Christmas shopping, but on Jan. 15, 2009, Sears announced that due to the popularity of layaway during the 2008 holiday season (customers told them the program “saved Christmas”), it would be reinstating its layaway program year-round. Items must be picked up within 90 days.
Excluded are: home electronics, home appliances, cell phones, personal computers, gift cards, magazines, live plants, photo studio portraits, “Doorbuster” and early-open sale items, chemicals and anything flammable. During the holiday season, items must be picked up by Dec. 23. There’s a cancellation fee of $10. The nonrefundable service fee is $5, except in Maryland, where it’s $1. (Summer 2010 update: Sears’ rules apparently no longer exclude personal computers. Shoppers are advised to look online and see if the product they want has a little “layaway” icon next to it.)
A press release stated: “Merchandise from a wide selection of Craftsman tools and storage, lawn & garden equipment, and patio furniture for spring and summer, as well as the well-respected Lands’ End and Ty Pennington lines, along with jewelry and fitness equipment to fit every need are eligible for layaway.”
The program is available in Sears Full Line, Sears Hardware, Sears Grands and Sears Essential Stores, but not Automotive, Dealer, Outlet Stores, or on Sears.com.
Since 1989, only a few Sears stores had accepted items for layaway, and only on fine jewelry, reported the Associated Press. The existing fine jewelry layaway program, which has terms of six to 12 months, will remain in place.
Good Afternoon,
I’m looking to buy some exercise equipment and would like to know if I can do that using layaway.
Hi. Most Sears offer layaway, and that should include exercise equipment. However, you could call your local Sears to be sure.
Does Sears have game consoles, like Playstation 3? And if so, are they available for layaway?
Most Sears locations carry Playstation, Xbox, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles. They should be able to be placed on layaway, because Sears doesn’t list them among the “unauthorized merchandise” that can’t be put on layaway, such as: clearance, automotive, Doorbusters, optical center products, alcohol, flammable products, food, plants, chemicals, photos, magazines and cell phones.
Am I reading correct on that no computers can be put on lay-away, including laptops? What about tvs? Is this the same for kmart as well?
Thanks!
While Sears listed personal computers among the excluded items in its press release in the 2009 holiday season, the current Sears information sheet about layaway exclusions doesn’t mention computers. You should be able to shop online and see if the product you want has the little “layaway” icon next to it. Here’s a link to Sears’ layaway factsheet: http://c.sears.com/ue/home/SearsFastFacts_v2.pdf And it looks like Kmart’s rules are almost exactly the same: http://c.kmart.com/ue/home/KmartLayawayQuickFacts_v2.pdf
Actually, I see now that Kmart lists personal computers among the excluded items. TVs and many other electronics should be fine, though. I searched for a bit on both the Sears and Kmart sites and didn’t find any laptop or desktop computers listed as “eligible for layaway.” I did see the Wii on there, though. You might just need to call your local store, or the toll-free number.