Tony Correa says, "catalog buyers buy from catalogs" and his company, A.G.A. Correa & Son, mails over 3 million catalogs a year. It is a marketing strategy to examine. They buy highly specialized lists. They write pithy copy with beautiful pictures for their catalog, and then their mailer sends out millions.

Topic for Discussion: Does Tony target the nautical crowd with his nautical-inspired, high-end jewelry?

Answer: No. Tony told us that people who buy from catalogs are the best prospects for him. They don't have to be sailors or boat owners. They have to enjoy the convenience of buying from a catalog and they do not consider it to be a risk. They don't wonder if they'll like the item when they receive it and talk themselves out of buying. They go ahead and buy. They have enough experience to know that no reputable catalog company would force them to keep something they don't want.

As database demographics continue to improve, Tony and Andy will hit their target market even more precisely and the probability is that their average order size will continue to increase, and their orders-per-1000 catalogs mailed will also increase. With an average at a little less than $1000 per order, Andy undoubtedly does have one of the highest average dollars-per-order in the mail-order business.

He is doing many thing right:

• He does all his sales directly to the customers. There are no middle people.
• Remember Anne McGilvray (AMCI) had over 60,000 retail outlets to manage.
• He has identified his target market; people who use mail-order to buy jewelry, especially jewelry with a nautical theme.
• He admits that his rate of return per-1000-catalogs mailed is too low, and that is what he and Andy are working to improve.
• His web site is fully e-commerce capable.
• He has traveled the world and he is living exactly where he wants to live.

You think about it: Could you use a catalog to grow your business? Could a catalog be a tool to bring potential customers to your web site?