Well you see, by the late 1800s, railroads carried goods just about everywhere, from coast to coast. In rural areas, horse-drawn carriages could still be seen, and some salesmen (they were most always men back then) used this method of transportation. But mostly, Sears (which was then called Sears Roebuck) became known for their successful mail order business. People would receive the Sears catalog, choose what they wanted, write to Sears to let the company know, and the merchandise would be mailed to them.