Anyone want to share memories of shopping from a printed catalog?

[bcla]

I guess the topic on the downfall of Sears mentioned their catalog. Their closest competitors were JC Penney and Montgomery Wards, which also had catalog sales. I guess Neiman-Marcus still has a catalog, but I thought that was more a promotional ad than anything else.

In my youth I remember all those catalogs, including Spiegel. There were the catalog-only retailers like Consumers Distributing, Best, and Service Merchandise. CD was very different. The only way to purchase was at store, but via their yearly catalog (with some mid-year updates). The vast majority of their items were in the back, and as a customer I would fill out a form with the items requested and wait to see if they had it in stock. This was back before there was relatively inexpensive inventory control, so they had to manually check for the item. Best was a little different in that they had more items on display, but they still had quite a few things where the customer would need to wait for it to be retrieved from the back room.

I used to get a ton of catalogs for electronics, like Dak or Crutchfield. I guess The Sharper Image was in that vein too, although they had a lot more than just electronics. Their catalog was extremely expensive to produce, and I think they probably had far more sales at their stores, with the catalog making for a wish list. Also - I liked to collect stamps, and the USPS always had a great catalog.

I'm wondering how it all worked with pricing. These days pricing is far more dynamic and changes with supply and demand. A catalog could either charge a premium for the convenience, or they could try to go for low price where they might have some part of an order unfulfilled because of a price change.

There are still specialty catalogs out there, but I'm not sure how many people still yank out the order form and write down the order.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I've shopped from the Venus catalog although I also remember filling out the form and then either phoning in the order or doing it online much more quickly because we could just pull up all the items by number.

 

[Toolulu22]

I remember that Spiegel catalog! I still get a bunch of catalogs, smaller scale- and use them to flip through but order online. They offer discount codes, which is nice. I do most of my cloths shopping online from the same companies, so I guess that’s why I get their catalogs.

I do miss Victoria’s Secret catalog and clothing/beachwear. They had the same items in every catalog month after month, year after year. Same exact picture. It was funny.

You order first choice color on those old mail in forms and hope you get it! When things were sold out, you wouldn’t know until you got your order.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I remember the good old Sears WishBook the most. It is funny this thread came along because the other day I was looking at the website wishbookweb.com. It has old Sears stuff, some JC Penny etc...

 

[PollyannaMom]

I used to do a lot of catalog shopping before things went to on-line, and I still get lots of smaller retailers' catalogs in the mail - Current, Bits & Pieces, What on Earth...

I have fond memories over the years of curling up with a cup of coffee and shopping, finding just the right unusual gift for people.

But the volume is getting a little ridiculous. This year I decided to keep them in a basket and see how many came. - So far I'm up to 8 pounds!

 

[RedAngie]

My favorite was the Sears Christmas Wish Book that was filled with things I could only fantasize about receiving. Sears also had a summer items catalog with swing sets and above ground swimming pools.

My mother received Montgomery Ward and Speigel catalogs too, plus those that featured low-priced items of dubious quality and value, such as Harriet Carter and Lillian Vernon.

 

[ronandannette]

My favorite was the Sears Christmas Wish Book that was filled with things I could only fantasize about receiving. Sears also had a summer items catalog with swing sets and above ground swimming pools.

My mother received Montgomery Ward and Speigel catalogs too, plus those that featured low-priced items of dubious quality and value, such as Harriet Carter and Lillian Vernon.

During my childhood Sears sent 3 catalogues a year Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter and the wonderful Wish Book. Living in a fairly remote location with limited access to what we now call “bricks-and-mortar” retailers, practically everything we (and our neighbours) owned came from the catelogues. It was always fun when school began each year to see who all in my class ordered the same new clothes as I did.

And thanks for the memories @bcla - my engagement ring came from Consumers Distributing 25 years ago. My DH says he remembers being super-nervous while the clerk was in the back, waiting to see if it was in-stock and actually looked like the picture.

 

[tvguy]

Still do for my classic car.
National Parts Depot
JC Whitney
CJ Pony parts.

My mailbox the past week has been filled with smaller catalogs, not the phone book sized ones, the 50-100 pages ones. Ulta, Sees Candy, Lands End, Omaha Steaks, Lands End and LL Bean among them.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

I remember sitting on the hole in the outhouse shopping for a soft page to tear out and use. The shiny ones were the worst.

 

[bcla]

And thanks for the memories @bcla - my engagement ring came from Consumers Distributing 25 years ago. My DH says he remembers being super-nervous while the clerk was in the back, waiting to see if it in-stock and actually looked like the picture.

I used to pore over the CD catalog as a kid. There was stuff I probably wasn't going to get like jewelry or even gold bullion. These days I wonder how they dealt with the volatility in supply prices, unless those prices were jacked up and they had a lot of margin to work with. I'd look over the bicycles and toys, but what I finally wanted to get was a telescope, which my parents finally told me I could have.

Our closest Consumers Distributing was in Hayward, California. So we got there, filled the order sheet myself, and waited to see what it looked like. There was nothing more than a photo and a barebones description. When it finally got to the counter I saw that it was a cheap plastic tube and my parents said no way. I think that year I got an Atari Touch Me (kind of like Simon) game. They added stores, so we didn't necessarily have to drive 25 miles to the closest store. The stuff I remember getting included a microscope kit and a scientific calculator. The calculator still works, although I'm thinking it's in a drawer somewhere in my house.

 

[Neesy228]

This was a fun walk down memory lane!

I was also a big fan of the Sears Wish Book. I used to study that thing and circle my wishes in crayon for Christmas each year. I’m fairly certain I got very little of what I circled, but dreaming about all of those cool toys was so fun.

My mother still shops from Current and Lillian Vernon, but I’m not sure if they still print catalogs? I also remember Service Merchandise. Always thought that place was odd.

I get a lot of smaller sale booklets, like Lands End for instance, that I guess I don’t really consider catalogs along the same lines as the Sears/Penney’s catalogs back in the day. Those things were huge, bound print editions! It must have cost a fortune to send out all those catalogs each season...

 

[PollyannaMom]

My mother still shops from Current and Lillian Vernon, but I’m not sure if they still print catalogs?

I don't remember seeing Lillian Vernon lately, but I definitely got more than one from Current.

 

[Kitty 34]

When my sons were young we would let them circle 10 items in the Wishbook and put their name next to it. Definitely helped us know what they wanted for Christmas. Now mind you we very seldom got all 10 things they circled and they knew that beforehand.

 

[pattyw]

I remember going through the JC Penney catalog as a kid- always wanted the canopy bedroom set with pink bedding!!

 

[design_mom]

We used to also make our christmas lists for Santa from the Sears and Penney's wish books. And I apparently thought that what was in the catalogues is what Santa could provide. One year, I had something in mind to ask for from Santa (I don't remember what it was now), but apparently when I finished making my list it wasn't on the final draft of the list. My mom says that she asked me about it since she knew I really wanted whatever-it-was. She said I sadly replied, "I looked through both books and it's not there, so I guess Santa can't bring that!" I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Santa found a way.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I too loved looking at the Sears wishbook at Christmastime and also the comparable JCPenney catalog. I also remember my parents occasionally getting things from Montgomery Ward, which unlike the other two, had no brick and mortar store in our area. My Dad called it “Monkey Ward’s”. As an adult, I’ve ordered a few times from JCP, mostly household items.

Back in the day (60’s and early 70’s), we also used to get trading stamps from the grocery store and gas stations. We collected Plaid stamps, Blue stamps and S&H Green stamps. My sibs and I would have fun pasting them into the booklets. You would pick out items from the catalog, then go to the redemption center once you had the amount of stamps/books needed.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I too loved looking at the Sears wishbook at Christmastime and also the comparable JCPenney catalog. I also remember my parents occasionally getting things from Montgomery Ward, which unlike the other two, had no brick and mortar store in our area. My Dad called it “Monkey Ward’s”.

So did my parents.

Back in the day (60’s and early 70’s), we also used to get trading stamps from the grocery store and gas stations. We collected Plaid stamps, Blue stamps and S&H Green stamps. My sibs and I would have fun pasting them into the booklets. You would pick out items from the catalog, then go to the redemption center once you had the amount of stamps/books needed.

I don't remember them myself, but I do remember the classic Brady Bunch episode!

 

[pattyw]

I don't remember them myself, but I do remember the classic Brady Bunch episode!

Love that episode!

We collected S and H green stamps!

 

[rlk]

Back in the day (60’s and early 70’s), we also used to get trading stamps from the grocery store and gas stations. We collected Plaid stamps, Blue stamps and S&H Green stamps. My sibs and I would have fun pasting them into the booklets. You would pick out items from the catalog, then go to the redemption center once you had the amount of stamps/books needed.

I remember collecting S&H Green stamps and debating with my siblings what we were going to get when we redeemed them.

 

[bcla]

I remember collecting S&H Green stamps and debating with my siblings what we were going to get when we redeemed them.

I think Blue Chip was dominant in my area. The last time I saw any reference to S&H was a slot machine.