Remembering Shopping catalogues..

[hollydolly]

..or Catalogs if that's how you spell them where you are

Did you shop from them?..did your parents shop from them?

What things were the most popular when you were using them?

remember stuff like these...

 

[hollydolly]

 

[timoc]

Remembering Shopping catalogues..​

I remember them well, the paper was a bit too stiff and shiny to use as toilet paper, so we just lit the fire with them.

 

[hollydolly]

This one was a very popular mail order catalogue in the UK... but there were several big store names also..

 

[hollydolly]

OMG..I'd forgotten about the 'wired remote controls"...back in the erly 80's..

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I got my paws on the Sears Xmas catalogue as soon as it came in the mail. The toy section was worn thin. You mulled it over for months, I mean these were the only 60-70 toys I wanted. You couldn't whittle down your list lest than that -the essential 60-70 toys
I can't tell you how happy I was to get Christmas slippers!
.

 

[Aunt Bea]

We used to use them to plan our shopping trips and our budget but rarely ordered from them.

I miss the mountains of little specialty catalogs that we used to get around holiday time.

I understand the change but I really enjoyed thumbing through them while sipping my coffee and dreaming about ordering all sorts of interesting things from around the world.

I feel the same about all of the seed catalogs that used to arrive right after the holidays.

 

[JB in SC]

Here’s a website http://www.wishbookweb.com/ that I enjoy. Christmas catalogs from the major US retailers.

 

[Fyrefox]

Things like the Sears and Wards catalogues were called “wish books” in my area and day. They were thick, and either came in the mail or had to be picked up at the store. Towards the end of their reign, you even had to produce an invitation card or pay a small amount to get one. Kids would leaf to the Xmas toy section and circle what they wanted, which was almost everything!

 

[terry123]

We loved the Sears Christmas one. I would let my girls circle the things they wanted Santa to bring. I would then put what I could afford on lay away at the store. I was a single mom without child support so I did the best I could for them.

 

[horseless carriage]

Internet shopping is really much the same as catalogue shopping, it just utilises the latest technology. It's still shopping from your own home, after all is said and done.
Did those catalogue companies offer some sort of credit system where you pay a deposit and then spread the cost over a period of time? They not only made more profit doing that, but they also expanded their customer base.

 

[Paco Dennis]

In early adolescence they were indispensable to me.

 

[helenbacque]

I remember well and they are still common. Order something from certain companies which proves that you are alive and have a good credit card and you get on a list that does not die even when you've asked to be removed from the mail list.

Many companies have on line catalogs and, if requested, will send a paper one. My favorite is from a seed company. Chock full of info about plants and great fun to order an unusual seed and bring it to fruit or flower. Cheap hobby and always something to look forward to.

Sorry, Do not mean to hi-jack thread. Growing up, if you damaged or lost the Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog, you were in big trouble.

 

[hollydolly]

No Catalogues here any more... it used to be enjoyable sitting on a winters night looking though a big heavy 1000 page catalogue with everything in it,from baby wear to wedding rings... As children we'd sit and pick out things we'd love to have if ever we got 'rich'... later when I was a young mum if it hadn't have been for catalogues I wouldn't have been able to afford furniture ..

I haven't shopped in Catalogues for over 30 years.. ( the last of our store catalogues Argos, stopped printing in 2020).. and the big dept stores... many years ago... I have several in the loft from the 80's or 90's I think.. they're now very collectable

 

[JustBonee]

I liked them all, but loved clothing catalogs the best when I was young.
.. couldn't wait for the new Aldens and Spiegel catalogs to come every Fall.. I sat down w/pencil and paper and picked out my new school year wardrobe.

 

[hollydolly]

Our catalogues had everything, from Clothing, to motorbikes... from Christmas trees, to Televisions...

Simply called Store or Shopping catalogues...

There was spring/summer... and Autumn /winter....

Like Amazon they employed thousands of people in their warehouses..

 

[Verisure]

Even before I had a car or a driver's license I used to mail-order trinkets from J.C. Whitney in Chicago and Honest Charlie outa' Chatanooga.





Being a good and conscientious housewife, my mother collected S & H Green Stamps and Lord help dad if he didn't "Fill 'er up!" at a station that distributed them!

 

[JB in SC]

My dad was a Rural Mail Carrier from 1946 until he retired in 1976. Starting about October each year he would have a back seat full of catalogs, the kids would run to the mailbox once the local hotline relayed the news the Sears catalogs were on the way. He had 365 boxes at that time, 85 miles a day on mostly dirt roads. He never grumbled, Christmas was his favorite time of the year.