Did Sears Roebuck bid against Elvis for Graceland?

Answer 1

Yes. When Graceland was up for sale there were 3 serious bidders.

One was the Church.

One was Sears.

One was Elvis Presley

A compromise was presented to Sears and the Church whereby the land would be subdivided and the Church receiving a smaller piece of the Estate and Sears getting the remainder. The Church also wanted a "pass through" so that they could access what is now Elvis Presley Boulevard.

Sears wanted this land and did extensive projections about Whitehaven, the area in which Graceland sits, and Sears knew the area was growing and this location had a lot of traffic and growing every year.

When Sears gave its answer of NO Elvis' Mother was called and Vernon was handed the phone and wrote down, and understood, the terms/conditions. They would have to allow the Church to own a small part of the land and provide access to Elvis Presley Boulevard. When Vernon called Elvis to tell him Elvis was very excited and say "why having a Church next door would be fine" and "we would love to have them as neighbors"

Vernon called the Owner back and a contract was drawn up and a good faith deposit was given and a few weeks later Elvis owned Graceland and was so very excited to have this beautiful home with lots of land and his parents being able to live in comfort and enjoy the rewards of Elvis talents.