One of the things I like here in Australia is the ubiquitousness of store catalogues. These catalogues are most often printed on semi-glossy paper and features the special offers of the store for a given period of time. They could often be found in the entrance of the store where you could pick up a copy to see if you what you want to buy is on special in that particular store. Occasionally though, you could be handed one of these catalogues while you’re walking in a busy street or you might find them in stuck in your post box at the end of a day.
It’s actually funny to see the people who leave this junk in your mail box at work as I did in several occasions. They’ll usually walk down your street with an armful of these brochures or pre-folded in a mailman bag, stealthily walk up your post box and quickly deposit these brochures. These “spammers” as I call them, look like they’ll quickly run away if you ever as much call out to them. I guess not everyone likes to receive junk and I imagine that some home-owners have actually confronted them about their job. But I digress.
The reason I like these catalogues, or pangarap (dream) pages as I call them, is because I could be informed about which things are being sold cheaply somewhere and I could comparison shop without even leaving my house. I even saw a feature on TV wherein housewives use these catalogues to buy grocery items from different stores or plan their menu depending on what’s on special to save money.
Another great thing about these brochures is that they could serve as a substitute for magazines. One of the major reasons to buy magazines is to be informed of what’s currently in fashion and since the producers of these catalogues want to attract as much consumer traffic possible, they’d feature what they think most consumers would want (i.e. fashionable).
The major attraction of these catalogues for me though is that I could stare at the pretty pictures in it, dream about buying the stuff they are advertising and most of the time realising that what they are pushing aren’t actually what I want or need. That new gadget really looks attractive until I realise that it’s not really useful and could even be frivolous, that great shirt/top just looks nice in the model but would never suit me and that new kitchen must-have is nothing more like an ordinary toaster with better branding and packaging.
Not to say that I’m immune to their tactics though. There are still times when I simply have to have that great pair of shoes featured on page 5 and perhaps it’s time to buy a new set of pans now that they’re on sale?
Reflecting on it though, I think most of my impulse buys have been confined to the pages of these catalogues and in my mind. That sure beats actually going to the store, agonising over whether to buy it or not, buying it anyway and in the end having to queue at the exchange/refund counter. Didn’t someone once say that the best things in life are free?
