Today we're comparing the new Amazon prefabricated houses in the headlines with the original Sears mail-order houses. What's the same and different when it comes to size and pricing. And why comparing these two is an impossible task.

My patreon:   / kendragaylord  
My podcast: https://someonelivedhere.com/

0:00 Intro
0:58 Sears Catalog
2:45 Amazon house
5:54 Building codes
7:56 Are reviews right?
8:48 Price comparison
9:58 Sears house owners
11:34 What took Sears houses down?
14:08 Impossible comparison
15:52 Conclusion

Previous title: The Amazon house has a really old competitor

Sources:
Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company by H. Ward Jandl and Katherine Cole Stevenson

The Amazon house I used for reference:
https://www.amazon.com/Zolyndo-Portab...

Sears Catalogs:
1922 Sears Catalog
https://archive.org/details/SearsRoeb...
1936 Modern Homes Sears Catalog
https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/fil...

Sears Modern Homes 1927
https://archive.org/details/SearsMode...

1926 Honor-bill modern homes
https://archive.org/details/SearsRoeb...

Honor bilt modern homes - Carlinville, IL:
https://archive.org/details/HonorBilt...

1908 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue

Sears House Seeker on The Fairy house:
https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2015...

Sears Sunlight in Cincinatti, Ohio:
https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2016...

Sears Elsmore in Kirkwood, Missouri:
https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2019...

Sears Elmwood in Normal, Illinois:
https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2017...

How lumber was labeled:
http://www.sears-homes.com/2018/05/do...

Numbers of found Sears Houses:
https://kithousehunters.blogspot.com/...

Elsmore through the years:
https://archive.org/details/SearsMode...
https://archive.org/details/SearsRoeb...
https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2019...

Amazon house customers:
   • I Bought a House on Amazon - EXTENDED  

https://www.tiktok.com/@hittaa_jeff/v...

Amazon business practice articles:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/15/tech/c...

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/01/amazo...

https://www.wired.com/story/fake-amaz...

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/1...

On redlining:
Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Underwriting Manual 1936:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...

Random:
My fake connections game: https://connections.swellgarfo.com/ga...

US history of building codes: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2023...

Memories of the Chicago Fire of 1871 by Julia Lemos https://collections.carli.illinois.ed...

Carlinville Sears Homes:
https://www.carlinville.com/sears-homes