There were once hundreds of such stores in Canada. Just 49 remain. Mr. Vickers and the other owners are neither employees nor franchise holders. Instead they earn a living from relatively small commissions on the merchandise that moves through their shops.

Mr. Vickers and the other catalog shop owners will soon lose that income. What’s more, Mr. Vickers also holds the lease on the shop’s space in a strip mall. It has about 18 months remaining.

Unlike Sears in the United States, Sears Canada never quit the business of producing and sending out mail-order catalogs. But the turmoil of the past year has meant that the 2016 Wish Book has become the final catalog.

“Six months ago, I could see that it was getting to the end,” Mr. Vickers told me. “It’s really hard to see a company that was such an icon for so many years slip away.”

Did you long for the Christmas catalogs, too? Do you have any stories about buying by mail from Eaton’s and Sears? What did you buy? Please share the answers with us: nytcanada@nytimes.com.