Quilting and fabric catalogs

It might be a normal length of time depending on the catalog company.
Some catalog stores put out a catalog only 4X/year. They maintain a
mailing list. When you call, they put you on the list. They send you a
catalog the next time one comes out which could be 3 months away.
Personally, I think that's a stupid way to do business. It would make
more sense, when a customer calls practically begging to do business
with you, MANUALLY to send out the last issue of the catalog and then
put the customer on the automated list for future catalogs. That means
they send out a few catalogs at full postage without getting the bulk
rate, and it means an employee has to handle a few catalogs individually
instead of assembly line fashion, but you'd think it would be worth the
slight expense. On the other hand, I'm not in that business. Maybe
they know more about their business than I do, and the expense isn't
that slight and doesn't justify sales generated. You might call them
back and ask specifically for the last that came out.


Now let's see if we can all supply you with the names of companies that
mail out catalogs:

Quilts and Other Comforts
Keepsake Quilting
Clothilde
Hancock's

Who else?

--Lia


dogsnus wrote:
Many of you have posted some very good URL's of places to
buy fabrics and other good quilting catalogs. I happily
went to some of them and got the 800 #'s and called to
request catalogs. This was @ 5 weeks ago, and...
still no catalogs.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down which
companies I called, so I couldn't tell you the names
of them now.
I know I can see them online, but I like having
the paper in my hand to read whenever I feel like browsing
or laying it down.
Is this a normal length of time to wait for a catalog,
or am I just impatient?

Terri

From: Julia Altshuler

Now let's see if we can all supply you with the names of companies that
mail out catalogs:

Quilts and Other Comforts
Keepsake Quilting
Clothilde
Hancock's

Here is the info for the above 4 and a 5th :-)). I just happen to have all but
one of the astalogues sitting right here next to me !! CiaoMeow ^;;^

Connecting Threads 1-800-574-6454
http://www.connectingthreads.com

Quilts & Other Comforts 1-800-881-6624
http://www.quiltsonline.com

Clotilde 1-800-772-2891
http://www.clotilde.com

Keepsake Quilting 1-800-525-8086
http://www.keepsakequilting.com

Hancock's of Paducah 1-800-845-8723
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

Howdy!
Why call them? Why not ask on-line for the catalogs?
Just wondering....

Connecting Threads sent out a catalog the day after I requested one;
Keepsake took a couple of months. Hancock's of Paducah
took more than a year--should have read that as a sign G;
they often don't have the stock before the catalog is printed, many
times sold out before an order can be placed (now you've been
warned); same for Quilts & Other Comforts, not worth bothering
with; they're often out of stock before an order can be placed;
love the Quilters Newsletter Magazine, skip that catalog.

Why not call again and speak to a real, live person, ask
"Where's my catalog?"?

http://www.connectingthreads.com/ct/default.asp
-- I really like their on-line catalog and their service, what's in
the paper catalog is what's on-line, good coverage; just washed
the latest fabric from there, so they're on my mind. ;-D

Ragmop/Sandy

"dogsnus" wrote in message
...
Many of you have posted some very good URL's of places to
buy fabrics and other good quilting catalogs. I happily
went to some of them and got the 800 #'s and called to
request catalogs. This was @ 5 weeks ago, and...
still no catalogs.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down which
companies I called, so I couldn't tell you the names
of them now.
I know I can see them online, but I like having
the paper in my hand to read whenever I feel like browsing
or laying it down.
Is this a normal length of time to wait for a catalog,
or am I just impatient?

Terri

A lot of companies that have catalogs work something like this:

1) you can be put on the mailing list for the next issue, which will come
whenever that ships

2) if you order something from them, even something small, they'll tuck a
catalog in with the order.

You may have noticed that some companies have a price printed on their
catalog. (I can't think of any quilting ones in this bracket, but outside
quilting, I do see it.) Those are generally companies who will mail you a
catalog, first class, any time----for the cover price ($2? $3?) which covers
their printing and first class mail costs. Same companies will provide it
free once you actually *buy* something. (Most will deduct the cost of the
catalog from your order if you turn around and order something from it.)

Partly that's because of the cost of first class mail; it's also partly
because *most* people who want catalogs but aren't customers aren't actually
ever going to buy something from you---they will use your catalog as a
reference book, as a "gee, let's see what they're making these days"---and
then go to their local stores and look for the same stuff when it's time to
buy, if they ever buy the product. So catalogs for non-customers get a
reputation among business owners as a money pit. (Of course some of those
folks are exceptions and will buy stuff----but you can't tell which ones.)
And many companies, even if you do buy something, will only keep sending you
catalogs for a year or two if you don't buy anything else.

I know it's tempting to think "how much can one catalog and postage cost"
but that presumes you're the only person requesting one. If the answer is
"a dollar", and they've got 50 people a month asking--that's $600 a year,
which can be a big number for a small business, which most quilting places
are. (Big businesses, of course, have more requests, so that it adds up to
a much larger slice of cash.) The difference in price between first class
and bulk mail on catalogs really does add up.

--pig

On 2/07/04 07:02, opined:

Many of you have posted some very good URL's of places to
buy fabrics and other good quilting catalogs. I happily
went to some of them and got the 800 #'s and called to
request catalogs. This was @ 5 weeks ago, and...
still no catalogs.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down which
companies I called, so I couldn't tell you the names
of them now.
I know I can see them online, but I like having
the paper in my hand to read whenever I feel like browsing
or laying it down.
Is this a normal length of time to wait for a catalog,
or am I just impatient?

Terri

Connecting Threads has a good catalog! I think you can sign up for it on
their website www.connectingthreads.com

Helen in MN


"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
news:JS5Vb.241910$xy6.1269474@attbi_s02...
It might be a normal length of time depending on the catalog company.
Some catalog stores put out a catalog only 4X/year. They maintain a
mailing list. When you call, they put you on the list. They send you a

"Piglet" wrote in message
...


I know it's tempting to think "how much can one catalog and postage cost"
but that presumes you're the only person requesting one. If the answer is
"a dollar", and they've got 50 people a month asking--that's $600 a year,
which can be a big number for a small business,

And having dealt with printing and mailing advertising and newsletters, I
can tell you that a nice color catalog will probably cost much more than a
dollar by the time you include printing, handling, and mailing. Just a 4
page newsletter, no color, cost our store about 40 cents a piece just for
printing and bulk mail, without including the labor to actually mail it out.
Color would have more than tripled that figure, and that was only 4 pages...

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

Nancy's Notions

Maureen

Julia Altshuler wrote:
It might be a normal length of time depending on the catalog company.
Some catalog stores put out a catalog only 4X/year. They maintain a
mailing list. When you call, they put you on the list. They send you a
catalog the next time one comes out which could be 3 months away.
Personally, I think that's a stupid way to do business. It would make
more sense, when a customer calls practically begging to do business
with you, MANUALLY to send out the last issue of the catalog and then
put the customer on the automated list for future catalogs. That means
they send out a few catalogs at full postage without getting the bulk
rate, and it means an employee has to handle a few catalogs individually
instead of assembly line fashion, but you'd think it would be worth the
slight expense. On the other hand, I'm not in that business. Maybe
they know more about their business than I do, and the expense isn't
that slight and doesn't justify sales generated. You might call them
back and ask specifically for the last that came out.


Now let's see if we can all supply you with the names of companies that
mail out catalogs:

Quilts and Other Comforts
Keepsake Quilting
Clothilde
Hancock's

Who else?

--Lia


dogsnus wrote:

Many of you have posted some very good URL's of places to
buy fabrics and other good quilting catalogs. I happily
went to some of them and got the 800 #'s and called to
request catalogs. This was @ 5 weeks ago, and... still no catalogs.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down which
companies I called, so I couldn't tell you the names
of them now.
I know I can see them online, but I like having
the paper in my hand to read whenever I feel like browsing
or laying it down.
Is this a normal length of time to wait for a catalog,
or am I just impatient?

Terri