A new catalog came today . . . .

[lowell holmes]

from Highland Woodworking. I always enjoy the catalog. While passing through Atlanta many years ago, I visited their
store. Today, looking through the catalog, I was surprised at how many of my tools in the shop came from them.
I am an old dog and had forgotten where the tools came from. Veritas straight edge, double square, Starrett combination
square, the list goes on.

It was a blast going there, if you ever are close to them, you might go by. If you do, have some cash so you can enjoy the
trip.

[Andrew Hughes]

I don’t know why they keep sending that catalog. I already have all the cool stuff in there and they sold it to me.
Now they are wasting paper.

[Simon MacGowen]

I don’t know why they keep sending that catalog. I already have all the cool stuff in there and they sold it to me.
Now they are wasting paper.

Some customers (mostly over 40 years of age, I say) still prefer to browse through a catalog (outdated even if is a new one received a day ago, because of printing time). Who else still fills out an order form and mails it to get something (as we did with the Sears catalog in the old days)? Does Amazon publish a catalog for its customers?

Sooner or later, all paper catalogs (including IKEA), like print newspapers, will disappear, both because of cost considerations and environmental concerns (from customers), in addition changing customer shopping habits. A merchant can sell more online which is also updated with new products unlike a catalog printed 3 if not 7 months ago.

50 years from now, I would be surprised (if I am still around) if a future woodworker needs to find or order something he or she needs from a paper catalog.

Do you still have Yellow Pages distributed in your area?

Simon

[Bruce Wrenn]

Several times in the last twenty years, while attending IWF in Atlanta, we have gone to Highland. Every time I go in, there is an employee that keeps following me around, both downstairs and up. Maybe they think I am shop lifting. Then I realized he had a mop cleaning up the trail of DROOL I was leaving.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Some customers (mostly over 40 years of age, I say) still prefer to browse through a catalog (outdated even if is a new one received a day ago, because of printing time). Who else still fills out an order form and mail it to get something (as we did with the Sears catalog in the old days)? Does Amazon publish a catalog for its customers?

Sooner or later, all paper catalogs (including IKEA), like print newspapers, will disappear, both because of cost considerations and environmental concerns (from customers), in addition changing customer shopping habits. A merchant can sell more online which is also updated with new products unlike a catalog printed 3 if not 7 months ago.

50 years from now, I would be surprised (if I am still around) if a future woodworker needs to find or order something he or she needs from a paper catalog.

Do you still have Yellow Pages distributed in your area?

Simon

Several years back, Grainger tried publishing catalogue on CD. Sales fell, as guys couldn't take computer and CD to shop floor to compare specs. Smart phones may change this though. Seems everyone but me has one.

[Van Huskey]

HWW is right off the interstate on the drive between our two homes so I stop in 4-5 times a year, it is my favorite WWing brick and mortar. They have a great selection of quality handtools. I am not a fan of their catalog I prefer glitzy ones like Lee Valley. While I use websites for the majority of my shopping the Lee Valley catalogs have sold me much more stuff in the past than their website simply because on a website you need to know what you want, browsing through a catalog I see things I didn't know existed and therefore would have never searched for on their site. Lee Valley does do a good job of updating their "new" item pages which I check frequently.

[Simon MacGowen]

Several years back, Grainger tried publishing catalogue on CD. Sales fell, as guys couldn't take computer and CD to shop floor to compare specs. Smart phones may change this though. Seems everyone but me has one.

The smart phones are changing not only how we shop with a particular merchant, but also how we shop across merchants, meaning we compare prices on the same items which won't be possible with catalogs unless you have all of them.

CDs vs catalogs? Whoever came up with the CD idea started on the wrong foot. If you are going to re=engineer something, do it right. Provide touch-screen monitors for customers to use at the very least.

I think my generation of woodworkers still enjoys catalogs, and I know some even collect and keep them. But catalogs can only be found in a museum sometime in the distant future. (Many organizations, including schools, have stopped mailing newsletters, saving costs, putting most communications in a digital format. When was the last you actually went through the fliers found in your mail? I spend less than 10 seconds on any pile before the whole pile lands in my recycle bin. What a waste, and what a shame.)

Simon

[Van Huskey]

If you are going to re=engineer something, do it right. Provide touch-screen monitors for customers to use at the very least.

Cheaper than dirt Andriod tablets.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I enjoy looking at catalogs but they are costly to the retailer. I so wish that Rockler and Woodcraft would quit sending monthly catalogs and spend the savings on lowering prices or shipping costs. A monthly sales flyer I understand and appreciate but catalogs that are virtually the same as the previous month's is wasting resources IMO. Perhaps a bimonthly or quarterly mailing such as Highlander does would suffice.

[Van Huskey]

I enjoy looking at catalogs but they are costly to the retailer. I so wish that Rockler and Woodcraft would quit sending monthly catalogs and spend the savings on lowering prices or shipping costs.

One would assume companies the size of Rockler and Woodcraft would closely scrutinize how much sales are generated by the monthly catalogs and once they no longer increase profits through the monthly catalog mailings they would discontinue or modify them. Point being if they are indeed driving extra sales discontinuing them could result in INCREASED prices to maintain the same profit level.

[Bernie Kopfer]

One would assume companies the size of Rockler and Woodcraft would closely scrutinize how much sales are generated by the monthly catalogs and once they no longer increase profits through the monthly catalog mailings they would discontinue or modify them. Point being if they are indeed driving extra sales discontinuing them could result in INCREASED prices to maintain the same profit level.

You are probably right in your analysis of why they send so many. What do they care about trees anyway....

[Van Huskey]

You are probably right in your analysis of why they send so many. What do they care about trees anyway....

We all butcher up trees as a hobby...

While I have never looked into it the pulp industry with its managed forests and fast-growing trees locks up a lot of carbon and returns it to the ground via paper in landfills. There is all that nasty bleching etc but as far as the environment goes paper is low on my concern level, whether it should be is lost in my ignorance.

[Andrew Hughes]

I like they way Lie Nielsen send out a small postcard notification. Maybe just a hint of something new, mostly they let me know hey where are going to be here on this date at this time.
Just a small postcard.
Very classy

[Gary Ragatz]

One would assume companies the size of Rockler and Woodcraft would closely scrutinize how much sales are generated by the monthly catalogs and once they no longer increase profits through the monthly catalog mailings they would discontinue or modify them.

This may be easier said than done. If a customer sees something in the catalog and then orders on-line, unless they have to enter a catalog code to get a special price, the seller may have no idea what prompted the purchase.

For folks who have been at this for a while, the catalogs may not have all that much value. I'm relatively new to woodworking, and am in the process of outfitting a small shop. I have a Rockler catalog that came with a merchandise shipment a few weeks ago, and I find it fascinating - there are all kinds of products out there that I didn't know exist! I'm not going crazy with it, but just yesterday, I ordered about $200 worth of items to solve a storage problem I'd been puzzling over for several weeks. I thought it was going to have to be a DIY solution that I really wasn't looking forward to (I have other things I want to work on).

Probably in a year or two, I won't find much new/interesting in the catalogs. But for now, they're great.

[Van Huskey]

This may be easier said than done. If a customer sees something in the catalog and then orders on-line, unless they have to enter a catalog code to get a special price, the seller may have no idea what prompted the purchase.

For folks who have been at this for a while, the catalogs may not have all that much value. I

I have no idea how deeply Rockler and Woodcraft delve into the sales metrics or how much data they collect but the trends can certainly be tracked and plotted and most big retailers do this at levels we wouldn't expect. They are looking for trends not what an individual does BUT even without using a catalog code they can cross-reference your name and address. For example, if they could easily see if they get bumps in orders from people who recently received a catalog or did they get bumps in orders for items prominently displayed in a flyer or catalog shortly after it was sent out, they could also tell if that item is getting more web traffic. None of this reaches the level of the scientific method but with enough of the correct data, they can determine t what extent the mailings impact sales. They can also see trends for in-store sales since both collect your information at the POS.

I have been woodworking at varied levels for over 25 years and still love a good catalog since new products come out all the time. While someone new to WWing might devour every page someone like me might scan a lot of the pages looking for whats different than last time. While the internet is a good source for whats new some of the smaller/cheaper (but often more useful) new items never rise about the signal to noise ratio of the net at large.

While I enjoy a good catalog (the paper Lee Valley catalogs are/were a treat) they are far less useful to retailers than in the past, however, they haven't reached useless yet fr many.