When was the last time you ordered something from a catalog? I hadn’t really given that question much thought until I ran across an NPR article asking if glossy paged catalogs were becoming a thing of the past. {According to the article, they are not on the way out and they still appeal to a pretty large audience.} I remember when I was younger, everyone ordered from catalogs…it was like the internet, only glossy. I used to flip through my Grandma’s J.C. Penney catalog every time I went to visit her. That thing was a monster–it was about the size of a phone book, only it had Barbies, clothes, and bras. It really was hours of entertainment. BUT, then, more than now, people were shopping for things they needed, because the options were more limited at the brick and mortar stores {if there were any at all in smaller towns}. I feel like the catalogs now are trying to sell you an idea of yourself. Like you too can be smiling in your cashmere sweater, covered by a pristine apron, while you serve your family and friends picture perfect meals {and of course, the snow is gently falling outside}.
Aside from a few of my favorites, I toss catalogs directly into the recycle bin without even looking through them. Mostly because one, I don’t want the temptation, and two, I just don’t need anything else. I actually feel a bit guilty even getting them {even though most of them I’ve never requested}, because they seem like a colossal waste of paper and resources.
I know lots of people flip through them and dream about the way life appears in the catalogs, I really do get that, but that’s what I have Pinterest for. So, I decided to do a little research on how to stop unsolicited mailings. Turns out, the Federal Trade Commission has the how-to all lined out. There are websites, addresses, etc. that tell you how to opt out of just about everything. {Click HERE if you are interested.}
I’m curious, do you love to thumb through catalogs, or do they go directly into the recycle bin?
~Mavis
Carol says
I always look, then remove my name and address (which get shredded) and then recycle the catalogs.
A couple of times a year I will actually order from a few of them, but that is mostly from the Vermont Country Store when they have their maple syrup cookies for sale….O.M.G. they are so good!
All this is in exception to my love affair with a mail order bookseller. Those catalogs get picked over carefully and are often purchased from. All the books you want to order for only $3.50 shipping. What’s not to love?
Hugs!
Julie says
All the books you want to order for only $3.50 shipping? Where is this book seller? Do tell!
Carol says
Hi Julie!
The name of the bookseller is: Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company, P.O. Box 15, Falls Village, CT 06031-5000.
They have a ton of books and are always updating. You can order online, but it is a bit more expensive. Generally, I rather send off my order with a check and then wait for delivery….old fashion, but I like it! I hope you have as great an experience with them as I do. I could sing their praises further, but you get the idea!
Julie says
Thanks Carol! I have heard of them from a friend that sells books, but hadn’t checked them out yet. I definitely will now.
Sue says
Don’t forget catalogchoice.org! That is a FREE way to request no more paper catalogs or mailings from a great many companies.
My dad was a hoarder who never even threw *away* his junk mail, not to mention asking to be taken off the mailing list. And you know what happens when you stay on a mailing list, right? They (often) share names and addresses with *other* companies, so you start getting more and more junk mail. After my dad passed away, I couldn’t believe how much junk mail he got. Catalogs, solicitations, you name it. I slowly but surely started adding those companies to a catalogchoice.org account — and it worked! Within a few months the mail was down to just occasional junk, and now (3 years later) I only get perhaps one piece of junk every few months addressed to him.
I also like to return the smaller junk mail pieces stuffed back into their own postage-paid envelope, when they include one. I put a note inside asking to be removed from the list. A few companies are *way* too persistent (you hear me, Harriet Carter?) but most of them will respond to these kinds of requests.
Carol says
Thanks, Sue for the info on catalogchoice.org
Brooke says
I LOVE my seed catalogs! They are the only ones I enjoy getting, and looking/reading through, which I actually did yesterday! The only other one I get is Victoria Secret, which I usually just recycle, since I don’t need anything from there
Coleen says
I love to look at catalogs! I do order from some of them and the rest get recycled…..after I take my address off the catalog….
Ranee says
Many years ago – 1995, maybe, my husband and I came home from a trip to Alaska. We were gone for two weeks and had the Post Office hold our mail. When we went to pick it up, they gave us a white tote full of mail!! They were even shocked at how much mail there was from just 2 weeks. Yep, you guessed it – 90% was catalogs. After we got settled back home, I contacted every company and asked them to remove me from their mailing lists. Some by snail mail and some by email. I’n not sure if there was a way to do it easier back then, but I did it the only way I knew how. I felt like I had independently help save the environment. Now the internet is my catalog.
Lisa says
Perry Como’s song, Temptation, is going thru my head. I toss them when I’m still at the post office, I don’t want to even glance something I didn’t even know existed but now all of the sudden I must get at any cost! : )
I’m going to try getting off the lists. I’ve been told that it doesn’t work but glad to hear here that others have had success.
Cheryl says
I think the only ones I shop from are the seed/garden catalogs. I am old fashioned enough to enjoy flipping through the catalogs and it’s the only way to share something with the older folks that have no access to the internet. Most of my shopping is done online.
Pam says
I’m with Cheryl and Brooke – I LOVE my seed catalogs! Otherwise, unless it’s something really unusual, I don’t even open it up – it goes straight to the bin.
Danielle says
I LOVE looking through catalogs! I jump on every catalog that appears in my mail box. I usually order a few things here and there. I recycle them after, or my co-worker’s church collects catalogs and magazines and the youth cut out the pictures and make postcards to sell. I’m told they sell like crazy. Over 1000 a month! So they often get recycled that way.
Amanda S. says
I use an app called PaperKarma to remove myself from catalog mailings. The former owner of my house used to get a ton of catalogs (those don’t get forwarded when you move) and all you have to do is take a picture of the front of the catalog, type in the name and address it was sent to, and PaperKarma contacts the company to remove you from the mailings. I’ve had to do some a few times but I’m mostly unsubscribed from everything now.