It used to be when you needed something, anything, you went to the Sears catalog. The draw of it was that no matter what you needed (bicycle, sink, light bulbs, a car, or even a house) you only had to go to one place to find it, order it, and have it appear at your doorstep. The ubiquity of these catalogs created a world-wide following for Sears products and the Sears name, and the company prospered into the twentieth century. Eventually, they opened retail locations in suburban areas, and later, with the advent of shopping malls, department stores attached to larger shopping centers. Expanding their reach both through their catalog service and brick and mortar stores throughout the twentieth century, Sears entered the dotcom era in the early 1990s, eventually ending their long catalog run more than one hundred years after the first issue. With the redesign of the Sears logo, a newly refined website and the Sears Marketplace site, which sells brands under third-party suppliers much like Amazon, Sears has endeavored to remain relevant and competitive in the burgeoning age of digital media.

In 1886, Richard Warren Sears began selling watches to his fellow railroad station employees in North Redwood, Minnesota. On a fluke of shipping, the railroad station had been the recipient of a surplus of timepieces from a Chicago manufacturer the local jewelry store had no need for. Sears purchased the watches in bulk, and turned a hefty profit reselling them to his co-workers. Shortly after his initial success, Sears founded the infamous mail order catalog, moved to Chicago, and partnered with Alvah C. Roebuck. In 1893, Sears, Roebuck and Co. was officially incorporated. Although the catalog had been operating since 1888, this incorporation fundamentally transformed the company, and in 1894, the catalog had grown to over 300 pages; in 1895, the catalog was 532 pages.

The innovation of this catalog service came in three significant ways. First, it was the first consolidation of products and prices of such a massive undertaking that the catalog eventually became known as the “Consumer’s Bible” and was essential for consumers to stay abreast of the market. Secondly, the catalog serviced rural families and became a staple piece of literature for those who had no regular access to information about changing prices, availability, or even awareness of certain products. It was, in some ways, more valuable than the newspaper because it allowed consumers in difficult-to-reach places access to information previously only garnered from a trip into the city, or worse and less reliably, word of mouth. Finally, because it was a mail-order catalog, it removed the necessity of farmers expending additional resources to go into town to buy what they needed. Sears shipped it to their door, wherever it was, whatever the purchase was.

That business ethic of convenience and availability was the incentive for establishing the retail locations in the mid-1920s and for the eventual transition towards online retail in lieu of a printed catalog in the mid-1990s. Over the course of the twentieth century, Sears has established major national bands like Kenmore appliances, Craftsman tools, and DieHard car batteries. More recently Sears bought out Kmart to save it from going bankrupt, and has entered into an exclusive partnership with Lands’ End to sell their apparel in stores. In recent years, Sears has moved away from a traditional department store layout and in 2010 spent $441 million modernizing its over 2000 stores world wide. Online, Sears has also retooled its format, creating Sears Marketplace where, like Amazon, customers can list products and sell privately online through Sears’ website. Effectively, this allows exclusive Sears savings because third-party sellers are selling their own products independent of Sears’ pricing, giving you, the buyer, a distinct advantage over competition. As a seller, you also reap the rewards of the Sears Holdings Corporation, because you can list your products and services on the family of the company’s websites, including The Great Indoors, Lands’ End, Kmart, Sears, and Sears Outlet.

As a customer, there are great ways to find Sears promotions and discounts, whether through the Sears Marketplace, or Sears.com itself. One of the primary ways to find Sears discounts is through the Sears Outlet store, which specializes in all the same brands and categories as Sears, but at discounted rates. So whether you’re looking for refrigerators, washers and dryers, electronics, or sporting goods, Sears Outlet is a great page to visit online. Off of the Sears home page, you can also browse through the clearance section to find great rates on items you maybe hadn’t even considered before. What’s most important about Sears today is still their range of products, and your ability to search for alternatives on their website. There are literally hundreds of dishwashers, but Sears allows you to compare multiple at once, putting the control in your hands without having to settle for some over-priced piece you didn’t need.

Since the late 1990s, Sears has moved toward a more personalized customer service ethic, both online and in stores. In 2009, Sears permanently reintroduced its layaway program to ease the burden on customers making big purchases. Originally introduced by Sears during the Great Depression, they brought it back as a way of preserving the low prices during peak seasons, and removing the push for immediacy in purchasing. This way, customers can continue to pay for larger items over a course of several weeks in manageable chunks, but also pay the original price and have the item guaranteed to them at the end of the finance period. Whatever you’re looking for, check it out on layaway if you haven’t got the finances to buy it in full immediately. It can be well worth it, especially to preserve that sale price.

During the 1990s, Sears as a fixture of super malls waned, but through a course towards better customer satisfaction and continued quality of service and diversity of services, Sears continues to maintain its relevancy. For the best Sears coupons and the best Sears savings deals, check out our list below and get the most from an American icon that endeavors to support you.