<<< Continued from previous page

Until you get online and try it. Let's face it; it just isn't the same. In some cases it isn't even fun. Example: I don't know about you, but hitting the backspace button on my keyboard is something I've never liked doing. I don't know what it is exactly - maybe a lost sense of place. When you're turning the pages of a print catalog and want to flip back at something, on the other hand, all of the pages are in your hands, and there's an unbroken sense of place, or completeness.

And this is just one thing I don't like about it.

Funny thing about Sears. In 1993 they stopped publishing their big-book catalogs, and the Wish Book was systematically reduced in size until, by 2005, it was published as a 2 ½" x 2 ½" "Little Big Wish Book" and distributed in, among other unlikely settings, Sears Auto Centers. Sears had clearly reached the conclusion that print catalogs were on the way out. Trouble was, the public hadn't, and responding to numerous protests from customers, Sears resumed publishing the Wish Book in 2007, albeit with about 1/3 the number of pages.

Anyway, for these reasons and more, I have a strong hunch that print catalogs will continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future. Like anything else, it's important to have a working knowledge of what to buy and what to pass on. Issues #56, #57 and #58 of the Gold Edition address this niche in detail. Click here to purchase.