Sierra Trading Post launched in 1986 and ran its mail-order catalog business out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The premise was simple and it worked: buy close-out and overstocked outdoor gear from manufacturers, pass the discount to customers, and ship it from a warehouse in the high plains. For two decades the catalog landed …

The Sears catalog ran for 105 years. When it was discontinued in January 1993, it was the longest-running general merchandise catalog in American retail history. At its peak in the mid-twentieth century, the Sears "Big Book" was the largest circulation periodical in the United States — not a magazine, not a newspaper, …

Print catalogs did not disappear. They contracted — significantly, across most of retail — but the brands that continued mailing print books did so because the print catalog still drives measurable revenue for their customer segments. Brands that mail print in 2026 have made a deliberate decision to continue spending …

Frontgate, Grandin Road, and Ballard Designs are three distinct home decor catalog brands that share a corporate parent. All three operate under Cornerstone Brands Group, which has passed through several ownership structures over the years — most recently operating as a portfolio of specialty home catalog brands …

Three catalog brands have defined American mail-order apparel for decades: L.L.Bean, Lands' End, and Eddie Bauer. All three sell outdoor-adjacent clothing, footwear, and home goods. All three still mail print catalogs. And all three have distinct identities, pricing tiers, and product strengths that make them better …

The kitchen catalog market has consolidated significantly over the past decade. Several well-known names have folded, merged, or gone online-only. What remains is a smaller set of specialized and premium operations, each with a distinct focus. This guide covers the kitchen and cookware catalogs that still matter in …

The heirloom seed catalog market is one of the more active corners of the mail-order catalog world. While mass-market retail and online commerce have displaced print catalogs in most product categories, seed companies have maintained strong catalog cultures. The physical catalog remains the primary browsing tool for …

Furniture is an unusual catalog category. The purchase is large enough that most buyers want to see pieces in person before committing, which has historically made pure mail-order furniture a harder business than apparel or gifts. Yet several furniture operations have built successful catalog-plus-showroom models, and …

I started Home Shopping Guide because the mail-order catalog world is bigger and more fragmented than most people realize. There are hundreds of catalogs for home furniture, appliances, outdoor living, garden, and décor — ranging from major retailers everyone knows to specialty houses that have been shipping to loyal …