AS PROMISED LAST ISSUE, our trip through the wilds of the holiday 2000 catalog offerings continues. Please keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times and don’t taunt the animals. Thank you.
Out of the nearly 70 catalogs I received during the just-concluded holiday shopping season, none made me feel quite so, um,…mature as As We Change. The catalog, billed as a “marketplace for women,” has a decent-enough selection of interesting good-for-you products, ranging from facial care systems to yoga essentials kits.
But let’s face it – the title, while trying to sound PC, screams menopause. Not that menopause is a dirty word, but I’m not quite there yet, thank you. Granted, I know I’m well past my shot at Miss Teen USA. But I’m still – gosh, I hope – several years shy of “the change,” and anything that implies otherwise makes me want to run frantically in the other direction. Two suggestions for the operators of this very attractive catalog: 1. Screen the rented lists very closely for age appropriateness, or 2. Come up with a different title to target those of us not yet ready to believe we’re not invincible (but ready to admit we need a little help staying that way).
Thank goodness Benefit was in the same pile of catalogs to rejuvenate me. Prior to receiving this book, I wasn’t familiar with the product line of this San Francisco-based cosmetics firm. But I was quickly drawn in by the snappy design and copy, all playing up the fact that, although they may be useful, these items are for fun. A flamboyant makeup artist named Arturo (photographed man’s head on top of a cartoon body) serves as the catalog’s narrator. “Dahlings…your tastes may be better than mine! You gals are lookin’ hot in our most popular shades of liners, lipsticks & shadows! Color me ready to party!”
That sassy spirit was carried through when I called to place an order. Chatty like a girlfriend but still down-to-business, the rep asked what “goodies” I’d like to order, and took me through the upsell specials (like diamond-shaped soap on a strand of pearls and sparkly hair gel) in a snap. Color me a customer!
Both Winterthur and Dean & Deluca get mixed reviews for similar promotions in their Holiday 2000 editions. Winterthur delivered its catalog polybagged with a gift coupon good toward $5 off a $25 purchase, $10 off a $50 purchase or $15 off a $75 purchase. Dean & Deluca included a blow-in card offering $5 off a $50-or-higher purchase at deandeluca.com.
As a shopper, I love, love, love discounts like these. But considering the volume of catalogs most shoppers get, and how quickly a little card can get lost or discarded, I question the use of blow-ins. Spend a few extra bucks for a bind-in card that will stay secure and get noticed on not only the first but the second and third browse through the book.
Signals included a very interesting antique postcard-style bind-in in its Holiday 2000 catalog. The card invited readers to visit Signals.com to view limited quantity “one-of-a-kind flea market finds, direct from Europe.” What on earth could those be? I had no idea, and was drawn right to the Web site to check it out. While I didn’t purchase any of the items – like ceramic cheese dishes, enamel milk jugs or antique pocket watches – I did spend 10 minutes browsing around the site. And better yet, I bookmarked it for future shopping possibilities.
Bits and Pieces, which I hadn’t ordered from in several years, got me back with an offer of a free gift, easily available whether I purchased by mail, phone, fax or online. And Stew Leonard’s received its first-ever request from our household, prompted partly by a 10% discount for orders placed online, and partly by the really cute cow-shaped wedge of cheese available in many of its gift baskets. (Be honest – who out there doesn’t love cow-shaped cheese?)
My only gripe with Stew Leonard’s online order process was that I got bounced back and forth between screens repeatedly. I arrived at a screen where I could type in the catalog item number. After doing that, I was sent to another one asking me to register. Fine – except that after doing so I was sent back to a screen asking me for the order number again. Sigh. This happened several times throughout the process.
But it was all worth it. After all, one of my lucky family members received a cheese cow. And that’s what the holidays are really about, isn’t it?
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