> It is the last push. Here's what fell out
> this morning (and this on top of yesterday's
> 20 or so catalogs).

> Charles Keath
> sundance
> HORCHOW COLLECTION
> holdeverything
> Harry and David
> Orvis
> RoadRunner Sports
> The Paragon
> J. Crew
> Crossing Pointe
> Ross-Simons
> Heavenly Treasures
> Marshall Field's Video
> Sierra Outdoors
> Sierra Woman
> Land's End Home
> Frontgate
> Coldwater Creek

> These companies are making one last effort
> to get me to buy for the Holidays.

> Why do I think of these as a College
> Education?

> The copy used to describe the items were
> written by pros.

> The photographs were taken by pros.

> The layout was done by pros.

> As a student of Remote Direct Marketing, I
> put my hands on as many things as I can. I
> like to buy from the catalogs and see what
> the follow up is.

> Where does my name go (I "code"
> each name so I can keep track of how many
> times it gets rented and to whom)?

> Some very interesting products and since we
> have been officially in a Recession since
> last week, I'm keen to see how these
> companies do...my guess is JUST FINE.

> I've got to hide these now from my kids, or
> else ol Santas goin get another list...

> and at Horchow prices... I'll just hide my
> COLLEGE studies until after the Holidays.

> Don't throw away your JUNK mail, it could be
> worth more to you than a marketing degree
> from an Ivy League school.

> Look at the techniques of PERSUASION. See
> how they try to entice you. It is a good
> study for you students of REMOTE HYPNOSIS.

> And if you are unfamilar with the Psychology
> behind these things, NOW would be a good
> time to get a copy of REMOTE HYPNOSIS,

> www.sowpub.com/rh.shtml and collect those
> catalogs.

> Gordon Alexander

> PS. THANKS to those of you that sent
> POSTCARDS, we have quite a collection of
> successful postcards from around the
> country. Maybe we'll do a study of them
> here, eh?

Terrific post there Gordon. Right on the money.

A couple points here.

#1. I'm amazed how much merchandise these people (the catalogers) is for the most part...isn't earth-shattering different. But it (the merchandise) still sells. From my experience (and from what others have told me from within the industry) 1/3 the merchandise in any catalog is a hot seller, 1/3 is an average seller and 1/3 is a poor seller. For people that say they can't find anything to sell, just take a look at some of the products these people sell and see how you could change it slightly. Make it smaller. Make it larger. Change the color. Make it cheaper. Strip off some useless accessories. I took one idea from a space ad-right from Ben Suarez himself, where his company was giving away free state quarters. I changed it a little, and applied it to another collectibles company. By doing so I was able to cut their cost per reply by 50%.

#2) It doesn't cost a lot to test these products.
Run a two-step classified ad. Put together an inexpensive web site. Place a 1/4 page newspaper ad in a newspaper. Heck, right now I'm getting 30,000 circulation papers for about $150. How can you go wrong? The fact is the greatest risk is definitely not taking one.

Take care,

Mike Winicki