The next thing you guys will want is an old crank telephone. When you pickup the phone, just ask Maybell down at the exchange for Speedway Motors in Lincoln Nebraska. Just remember to call after 7:00 PM, it will be cheaper.
We can't deny the fact that the internet has made mail order obsolete. But, the working class has also paid a fairly hefty price because of it, and so has the Economy. Without the tax dollars generated by the workers doing the updates, logistics of printing and shipping, etc. because their jobs have been terminated, unemployment goes up, inflation goes up, the belts start to tighten, and the spending goes down. This is not just for catalogs, this is across the board. If more people have less money to spend on the products a company sells, how can they justify NOT printing a catalog that costs a measly dollar to print, (hypotheticly, of course) when they could easily sell them for $5, and people would be glad to pay it, just for the satisfaction of having something to physically hold in their greasy paw's, and find what they were looking for, and then in good faith, have the price of the catalog refunded to them on the first order? They're STILL making money, because some people will never order a damn thing, they just want to flip through the catalog and Daydream!!! At that point the company isn't losing a damn thing, there's more profit in the part's anyway! Instead, we've been reduced to college drop-outs handling tech questions, that have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, because the older, higher paid staff that knew what they were talking about, were let go because of technological and streamlining measures, so the shareholder's could see a higher return on their investment. I'm not saying that I'm not guilty of using the instant gratification of the internet, because I am, 100% Guilty as charged! But 9 times out of 10, I was flipping through the catalog FIRST, before going online and placing the order. It seems to spark the imagination, so to speak. Call me what you will... I can handle it, I'm sure I've been called worse! This is Just My Opinion. Rant Over.
I still sometimes spend half a day going around to local stores looking for widgets. Usually they don't have it so I go home and order it from Amazon, Summit, or ebaY.
We live in a strange world Hitching posts but no catalogs he he ha ha. How the hell are the Amish going to order performance parts for their buggies Dan
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. Removing the catalogue allows to pivot those employees elsewhere in the company (or to other companies). Yes, the print industry has been shrinking for years. However, since the industrial revolution, industries have died and new industries have formed or existing industries have grown larger, shifted, and changed. Change is a constant of life. Speedway killing a catalogue won't have a major impact on the tax base, but it could have a positive impact on the business as a whole if they use the freed personnel/funds to improve other areas of the business. Progress can be good or bad, depending on how you frame it. I found some interesting data for the US. In the last 33 years, the labor force has essentially grown every year. And while yes, unemployment cycles up and down, it is neither as high as it has ever been nor does it track with labour force size. The number of full time employees does seem to trend with unemployment, though. We're arguably more invested in online commerce and technology than ever, yet unemployment is the lowest it has been in 33 years, according to this data. Industries shift, employees go where the work is. It's change, but it isn't always as bad as we may think.
All catalogs are soon gone, and I hate it, remember when you find a new catalog in the mailbox, and time spending going thru the pages and discovering stuff you didnt know they had, or even existed. For myself im pretty sure I buy less stuff due to the no catalog, i got no problem going thru a catalog with 3000 pages but if i open a webbshop and discover i got 3000 pages to scroll i just cant stand it, and then ill end up just search for the item i need.
I only read real books. Never I-pad ones. There is something comforting about holding it in your hand and as you say, I tend to buy much more from a catalog than from as web site. And you are probably all more web-savvy than me, but I find many if not most search engines virtually unusable. Type in a part description and the engine brings up pages of unrelated stuff.
Even a low tech guy like me can find parts faster through the online catalog than I ever did with their hard copy. I fine without a hard paper copy myself.
Go on the internet. Wrote down the part numbers you need. Mail those part numbers to the vendor with a check. Wait a month or two. lust like the good ole days, almost
When I don't look at the tool flyers that come to my house weekly, I find myself "needing" less stuff, and I spend a lot less money. The same with a catalogue. If I go online looking for what I need, I find it and buy it, and not a bunch extra. With a catalogue, I tend to "need" a lot more. A lot of places publish an online catalogue now if you need to see all that they have to offer. I just got a part from Limeworks, and it came with a small really nicely put together catalogue of their parts. I must admit that I didn't even know they sold a bunch of the stuff they do because their website is a bit cumbersome.
The Jalopy Journal
