My little essay the other day (see my prior post) about fly fishing catalogs prompted me to email Bob Marriott's about their hardcopy catalog. I received a nice email from Steve Oulette who I have talked with from time to time when I placed orders over the last 10 years or so. He's actually been there for over 14 years, so he's a real fixture at the brick-and-mortar store in Fullerton, California. (Store front image was copied with permission from
Bob Marriott's contact information.)

Steve told me that the poor economy and the cost of printing/mailing are two reasons their last catalog was printed in 2008. One other complicating factor is that manufacturers and suppliers were fine-tuning their prices even into January, making it difficult for Marriott's to get a catalog out the door before March or April.
But Steve did say they take great pride in
their online catalog. Prices are current and I can see now that product images are plentiful. I am told they sell over 40,000 items, with online pictures of everything they carry and SKU numbers listed for everything they sell. I will miss the catalog (don't we always miss things the most after they are gone!?) because I find catalogs are great when you feel like browsing and dreaming. But I am impressed with their Web site; I find Web sites are better and faster than catalogs when you know what you want.
No comments:
Post a Comment