Product Niche - Sears Merry Mushroom

My first encounter with the Sears Merry Mushroom collection was at the Goodwill.  I was shopping for resale items and saw a soup tureen with mushrooms on it.   I turned it over and it said Sears Roebuck & Co and the year (sometime in the 70's).  I put it back not thinking that it was anything collectible.  I returned home with a bunch of stuff and started researching when I remembered the soup tureen.  At the time, I had no idea that it was a collection and highly popular.  I searched for something along the lines of "Sears Mushroom Soup".  Up came a few items and most of them were marked "rare".  The prices were pretty high and I was so excited!  I looked at the completed listings and most of the soup tureens sold between $50 -$70.  I rushed back to the Goodwill (thankfully it's right around the corner) and paid $3 for it!  The only bummer was that I had found crack in it when I got it home.  I listed it anyway and it still for $24.60.  But now I knew I was on to something and I had found a niche.  As of the moment of this posting, there are 197 active listings for Sears Merry Mushroom on eBay.  You can check them out here. 

This is the soup tureen.  It's missing the ladle which is great to have in the listing and would have pushed the price up some more.  It was very dirty but I washed it and it looks great!

This is a cast iron hotplate that I got for $1 and sold for $20.34 including shipping.  These are not as rare but I pocketed $7.65 after all costs!

I just found this hanging planter recently.  I haven't listed it yet but it is ready to go.

These are some ended sales on eBay.  (Click to see enlarged)  These are definitely uncommon and rare items but they can still be found.  The most expensive items are the coffee grinders, coaster sets, spice racks and light fixtures which I have seen sell for between $100 and $200!  More common items that do sell very well but are less expensive are mugs, cookie jars, clocks and glasses along with my finds above!  This pattern was so popular they made every imaginable piece including curtains, casseroles, napkin holders, salt and pepper shakers and dinnerware.

I did a Terapeak search on the broad category "Sears Merry Mushroom"  and here is the data for 30 and 90 day history.  As you can see, at a 50% sell through rate, Sears Merry Mushroom is a collection to keep your eye out for!  Happy thrifting!