Sears Killed Its Catalog a Year Before Amazon

In January 1993 Sears announced the end of the Big Book, the catalog that had sold Americans almost everything for a hundred years. The last phone orders came in that May, and Amazon was founded the next year. And Sears already owned half of an online service where you could shop from home. From a box of watches in 1886 to the bankruptcy of 2018: the catalog, the stores, Prodigy and the lawsuit that followed. A Rise & Ruin story. CHAPTERS 00:00 Sears Killed Its Catalog a Year Before Amazon 01:49 The Big Book 06:20 One in Every Forty Dollars 09:42 Online in 1988 14:04 The Long Shrink 17:31 Who Sold the Future? 19:43 Who Sold the Future, Answered IMAGE CREDITS "Amazon's founding site in Bellevue, Washington - exterior" by SounderBruce (https://w.wiki/Y$TX), CC BY-SA 4.0. "Amazon's founding site in Bellevue, Washington - garage" by SounderBruce (https://w.wiki/Y$Tb), CC BY-SA 4.0. "BIG K-Mart store closing (47385497582)" by daveynin from United States (https://w.wiki/Y$Tp), CC BY 2.0. "Sears Coral Gables FL January 2023" by Phillip Pessar (https://w.wiki/Y$Tw), CC BY 2.0. "Craftsman at Sears Ridgedale (32576636494)" by m01229 from USA (https://w.wiki/Y$UK), CC BY-SA 2.0. "Sears Westland Mall - Craftsman Tools" by Phillip Pessar (https://w.wiki/Y$Ur), CC BY 2.0. "Minneapolis and St. Louis Depot in Fairfax" by McGhiever (https://w.wiki/Y$VG), CC BY-SA 3.0. "Sears Dover Mall closing sale" by Dough4872 (https://w.wiki/Y$Vv), CC BY-SA 3.0. "Former Kmart in Putnam, Connecticut 01" by JJBers Public (https://w.wiki/Y$WN), CC BY 4.0. "Train Shed and Shipping Rooms - Sears Roebuck Chicago ILL 1906 (6043968718)" by Richard from USA (https://w.wiki/Y$WZ), CC BY 2.0, cropped. "Sears, Roebuck and Company, Pressroom, circa 1920 - Advertising Postcard (4542190078)" by Steve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA (https://w.wiki/Y$bE), CC BY 2.0. "Sears Store Closing Sale Westland Mall Hialeah (49525992311)" by Phillip Pessar from Miami, USA (https://w.wiki/Y$bM), CC BY 2.0. "Kmart New Orleans 1978" by Phillip Pessar (https://w.wiki/Y$ba), CC BY 2.0. "Kmart (Closing) - Tabb, VA (49067714262)" by Virginia Retail from Virginia, USA (https://w.wiki/Y$bo), CC BY 2.0. "Lloyd Center Sears store from SE in 2017" by Steve Morgan (https://w.wiki/Y$cS), CC BY-SA 4.0. "Lloyd Center Sears from south - Portland Ore (2017)" by Steve Morgan (https://w.wiki/Y$cg), CC BY-SA 4.0. "Sears Store Closing Westland Mall Hialeah - Lonely Mannequin" by Phillip Pessar (https://w.wiki/Y$cy), CC BY 2.0. "Sears Miami Auto Center Closing (51671023965)" by Phillip Pessar (https://w.wiki/Y$dM), CC BY 2.0. "Sears Court; Florence Mall; Florence KY" by Larry Hachucka (https://w.wiki/Y$dh), CC BY-SA 4.0. "Willis Tower Sears Tower, Chicago 1978" by Acabashi (https://w.wiki/Y$hf), CC BY-SA 4.0. "1973-A057014 (3561772162)" by Joe+Jeanette Archie (https://w.wiki/Y$hp), CC BY 2.0. "Sears - Woodfield Mall (last day)" by Harobouri (https://w.wiki/Y$i8), CC BY-SA 4.0. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Courtesy of the Internet Archive. Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives. All images are framed. Licenses: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... · CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... · CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... · CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... · CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Illustrations were generated with AI (Canva) in the channel's paper-cut style. Narration is a synthetic voice (ElevenLabs). Music from the YouTube Audio Library: "A Face in a Cloud" by Nathan Moore, "Last Sunrise" by Adam MacDougall, "Kayak" by The Grey Room / Density & Time, "Paulseante" by Schwartzy, "Nightmares Inn" by RKVC. Gilded & Broke is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sears, Transformco, Amazon or any company mentioned in this video. The lawsuit described was settled without any admission of liability. #Sears #BusinessHistory #Amazon