Printed vs. Online Catalogs

I got a nice 4x4 catalog in the mail today. Normally I would just toss it but today was different. I spent a good part of my morning replacing the starter in the Jeep Cherokee that my oldest son drives. It was a fairly simple and painless task. More importantly, we both felt a huge sense of accomplishment once we were done and the vehicle started right up. After working on the Jeep, it was kind of fun to sit on the couch and just look through the catalog seeing what modifications we can make.

This got me thinking about paper or printed catalogs vs. online shopping sites. The last thing I wanted to do this afternoon was to log onto my computer and browse 4x4 websites. Sitting on the couch doing basically the same thing seemed like an excellent idea though. I had 10 minutes while I was waiting for something and reading the catalog was fun. Ok, I didn't really read the catalog, I just looked at the pictures and pointed out things to my wife that I might want for Christmas.

My 10 minutes with the catalog were up and it was time to head off to my next task for the day and I tossed the catalog in the recycling bin. Why? Well the store that sent me the catalog has an online store. They also have a physical store here in Salt Lake as well as in other cities across the country. If I know what I want to buy, I will just go to the website and order it. If I need something immediately, I will just go to the store and pick it up.

So the question that needs to be answered is if the printed catalog was useful? Yes it was. I now know what products are offered as well as the relative price. Without the paper catalog I would never have known I could get a simple product that turns my trailer hitch into a useful step. Now that is a sweet stocking stuffer. Oh yea, Christmas is coming so be prepared for the annual deluge of paper shopping catalogs.