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One of five well-worn Sears Roebuck catalogs, including this 1926 Spring/Summer edition, sold as a group for $60 in a JMW Auction Service sale held Feb. 28, 2009. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and JMW Auction Service.

Vintage Sears Roebuck Christmas catalogs find buyers online

One of five well-worn Sears Roebuck catalogs, including this 1926 Spring/Summer edition, sold as a group for $60 in a JMW Auction Service sale held Feb. 28, 2009. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and JMW Auction Service.
One of five well-worn Sears Roebuck catalogs, including this 1926 Spring/Summer edition, sold as a group for $60 in a JMW Auction Service sale held Feb. 28, 2009. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and JMW Auction Service.

OREM, Utah – The eBay market research company HammerTap looked into sales of holiday-theme books sold on eBay this month and found that the clear winners were vintage Sears Roebuck Christmas catalogs from the 1950s and 1960s.

In a 30-day period, 153 of these catalogs were offered on eBay, with 73% of them selling successfully. The average selling price was $45 for each catalog, but other were high fliers. A 176-page Wish List Sears catalog from 1943 sold for $305 and a 439-page catalog from 1952 sold for $255.

“We definitely found a few gems in these catalogs,” said HammerTap spokesperson Jen Cano. “Our research into last year’s listings of the same item showed an equal trend. This likely indicates that we will see sales for these books remain steady during the holiday season for years to come.”

In-depth research into the catalogs showed that listings that included the word “Roebuck” increased the average selling price from $45 to $96. In addition, 100% of listings with the word “Roebuck” culminated in a sale.

Cano advises vintage book sellers to keep an eye out for Sears catalogs throughout the coming year as a sure profit-maker online during the 2010 holiday season.

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