Sears - Citadel Mall

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In order to have the parts when I needed them, I purchased a sealed, Sears bag containing two replacement agitator belts for a Kennmore vacuum cleaner from a Sears service center on Savannah Highway in Charleston that was going out of business.   Upon needing one of the replacement belts today to replace an older belt, it immediately broke after about 5 minutes of use.  Assuming the second belt in the newly opened bag may also be defective I took both belts to the Citadel Mall Sears store expecting to get an exchange for newer belts that would, hopefully, not, also be defective.
Upon hearing my story the sales clerk said that because the unused belts were more than 30 days old they could not take them in exchange.  I got the same story from a store manager who I asked to speak with, pointing out that there was no way I could predict how soon I would need to use a replacement belt from the time of purchase and that they were still in their unopened plastic bags.  I was then told that because the parts were bought at the Sears service center and not their store that "they were not compatible in their computer system" and could not be exchanged even if it had been less than 30 days since their purchase.  I found this astounding, since the package clearly read: Kenmore Replacement Belts for Sears Upright Vacs. Sears Part No. 205275.
Realizing that the store manager was not going to budge from his position, I relented to buy the belt I needed, and went back to the store rack containing replacement belts to get the right part number to purchase, only to find they did not have this part in stock.  When I approached a second sales clerk about ordering the part she told me that I would need to go on line , and gave me a Sears web address.  Gee, why didn't I think of that in the first place.; what a waste of my time and energy in this store.

See above.  No service was required except for an exchange or credit for a faulty Christmas tree, which we did not get.