You may find the perfect Christmas gift through mail order catalogs.
Catalog shoppers generally start getting Christmas catalogs in the mail at the end of summer, and online venues offer gift packages all year long. For people with limited means of transport, busy people and fans of unusual gifts, mail order shopping may be the only way to get their Christmas shopping done. Christmas shopping via mail order has many appealing qualities, but you should consider a few things before deciding if this is the best way to do all of your gift buying.
Convenience
If you work odd hours, have many family obligations or just don't have time to spend hours at the mall, mail order shopping may be the ideal method for you. Catalogs are there whenever you are ready to shop, at 6 in the morning or late on a Sunday night. Fill in your order form a little at a time, or spend an hour or two to get all of your shopping finished in one sitting.
Variety
Most stores stock a basic variety of colors and sizes because they can only afford to keep the ones that will sell the most. Catalogs, on the other hand, have a greater variety of samples to choose from. If a jacket come in six colors, you'll be able to get the purple one in size 20. You'll find more sizes, colors and flavors in catalogs than you will in mall stores or even major department stores.
One-of-a-Kind Items
You can find Christmas gifts in catalogs that never appear in stores near you. Catalogs exist simply for selling nuts, fruit of the month clubs, pajamas of the month, licorice and any other item you can possibly buy. Specialty catalogs exist to cater to fans of specialty items. If your gift recipient is a football fan, a voracious reader or loves lemons, you can find a catalog full of gift ideas for her.
Cautions
Catalog shopping is not without its problems. Due to the nature of mail order, you have to shop earlier from catalogs than in a brick-and-mortar store. Items that you order may be out of stock if they are very popular, so have backup plans for favorite items. It's rare, but packages have been lost in the mail, so consider registered mail for valuable items.
Tags: mail order, catalogs than, Christmas shopping, mail order shopping, order shopping, time spend