Rocketry Catalog Poll

[flying_silverad]

Aside from a collecting perspective, how important is having a rocketry catalog IF you can already veiw the vendors items online?

 

[BobH48]

I don't have any rocketry catalogs and I can live with that.

 

[rocketsonly]

Originally posted by flying_silverad
Aside from a collecting perspective, how important is having a rocketry catalog IF you can already veiw the vendors items online?

Catalogs are nice and rocketry related ones are hard to find, which makes them fun to read!

So yea, catalogs are good.

 

[hokkyokusei]

Hard is it might be to believe, not everyone is online. If you're going to advertise where people who do not have internet access will read you ads, I think it would be good to be able to send them a catalogue.

 

[UncMikesRktShk]

Having mulled that thought over myself, we decided against one. Since most of our rocket sales are Online anyway about 80% as to 20% in the store.

 

[flying_silverad]

I think what i might do is advertise it for non-online customers, and make it available to online customers as a file at the site. I saw an ad in Sport Rocketry of a vendor who didn't have a website and offered it for a price.

 

[rocket trike]

I have also thought this one over. I am going to do one up for when I go to NARCON this spring to hand out.

 

[UncMikesRktShk]

John

Heres a thought, you could charge for the catalog for the non online people (1$-$2). But give them a credit for the catalog with their first purchase. Not an original idea but it does work out well, especially if you are making a real full color catalog ($$$).

 

[sandman]

They make good bathroom literature.

 

[Rocketman35]

my 2 cents

NEVER charge a customer for the Privilege to look at your product, never. I don't care if you refund the money on the first purchaseor not. Its just bad biz IMO.

 

[flying_silverad]

Originally posted by Rocketman35
my 2 cents

NEVER charge a customer for the Privilege to look at your product, never. I don't care if you refund the money on the first purchaseor not. Its just bad biz IMO.

A very good point.

 

[KermieD]

Originally posted by rocket trike
I have also thought this one over. I am going to do one up for when I go to NARCON this spring to hand out.

You'd better look me up this time.

 

[rocket trike]

I will look you up. This will be my first time going

 

[rocketsonly]

Originally posted by rocket trike
I will look you up. This will be my first time going

Should include some Rockethead stickers as well!

 

[jflis]

We've always felt that a catalog is very important. At this time, we are changing/adding items so often that it doesn't do to have an *annual* catalog. Rather we print out enough to cover about a quarter then revamp it.

At this time we're black & white for that very reason. At some point we're going to an annual or bi-annual catalog that will be full color and off set printed, but that wont be for a while.

Our reasoning? there are several:

We estimate that 50% or more of our potential audience either is not online or does not purchase on line (and that is a *conservative* figure)

Marketing studies show that most people like the tactile feel of a catalog in their hand rather than one online.

People like to make notes on catalogs. WIth your web site, how does that 14 year old circle the rocket he or she wants so that their dad sees that before their birthday??

You can't hand out your web site on the field unless you have a LOT of money and a LOT of lap tops...

Makes for good range box literature too

*I* just love catalogs

jim

 

[UncMikesRktShk]

Jim

I would tend to agree with you about note taking kids,etc. Perhaps I should clarify myself a little. You and Flying Silverado actually manufacturer kits. Guys like me dont Im just a dealer. I do however give away catalogs that I get like yours to customers. I tend to use them as a reference for pricing to stay competitive with other dealers.

 

[TheRadiator]

I agree with Jim's point of having a catalog, especially for the younger crowd, it is nice to have. I remember when I was a kid first getting into rocketry in 1987 or 88, I had gotten an Estes catalog when my dad bought an Alpha III starter set for my older brother's science project. I picked my first fifteen rockets from that catalog. I think I only bought 7 or 8 out of the list of 15. Couldn't afford the Saturn V or the Gemini that I wanted. Not a problem now!

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by flying_silverad
Aside from a collecting perspective, how important is having a rocketry catalog IF you can already veiw the vendors items online?

Not at all. But if I can't tell from the site whether it's in stock or not, it's an annoyance.

 

[flying_silverad]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
Not at all. But if I can't tell from the site whether it's in stock or not, it's an annoyance.

That's a given

 

[powderburner]

It might be B&W, it might be two pages zeroxed double-sided and folded and stapled, but ya have to have a catalog ready to go.
When you attend someone's rocketry club meeting, it is the perfect thing to attach coupons and promotional materials inside.
When you support a school class rocket launch, it is the cheapest and most effective way to hand out information (if you tell them the name of your company's website, it will be forgotten by lunch time).
When you pick it up five years from now, it will be a great yardstick to compare how far your company has come.

 

[flying_silverad]

What about photos? Need them for every rocket?

 

[powderburner]

I would say that an illustration is indeed very nice, if not mandatory.
However, you can convey a LOT of info (without the expense or the bandwidth) by a neat line drawing of a rocket configuration. A simple image can still convey the 'look' of a kit.

 

[cls]

everyone at my house is computer literate but still we like printed catalogs. you can do stuff with layout & backgrounds to make the product more compelling than a white background low res web shot.

case in point, my recent Squirrelworks order included a catalog. the kids looked through it and what do you know, the coolest rockets were the ones I didn't order! so now we are going to order some more stuff. funny that. also, someone asked about one and I was able to show them the whole catalog. Fliskits always sends a few pamphlets in the order and I know at least two orders came from pamphlets I handed out to friends.

NEVER charge a customer for the Privilege to look at your product

not sure about never - when you get a huge catalog like from Aircraft Spruce, West Marine, etc. many hours of joyful reading!!

 

[TheRadiator]

Originally posted by flying_silverad
What about photos? Need them for every rocket?

Yup! Especially for the offline people. I visit the eBay store quite often so I can stay on top of what's new. Oh, and dimensions are really nice too! However, the dimensions printed for the Mean Machine is what allowed my dad to forbid me to buy because of the size. So there is a con!

 

[wickball]

If I didn't have an Estes catalog to drool over back when I was in junior high school, I might not have ever got into this hobby.

wick

 

[Fore Check]

A true catalog in your hands is *always* the way to go.

Online catalogs are for people who pretty well know what they want. A printed catalog in hand is for drooling, dreaming, and planning how to spend future paychecks.


I must throw in that the *size* of your catalog affects the need for a hard copy considerably.

For instance: The Balsa Machining catalog is what, 10 pages or more CRAMMED full of stuff spreadsheet style? And their website is basically the same, but you have to navigate through several pages and links and stuff. A hard-copy BMS catalog is a must have, because their mirror image web catalog is too difficult to use (and that's not a problem with site design... it's because of the volume of stuff.)

I guess it's safe to say that I'm a huge fan of hard-copy catalogs.

 

[Jacques]

Printed catalogs can be accessed anywhere at any time. They are also more "valuable" than online catalogs since they are a permanent record of all designs available at the time. As designs are fazed out, or production cancelled, they are dropped from the current catalog and can no longer be accessed online. I have always considered out of date printed catalogs much more valuable than current ones.

 

[Adam Selene]

Originally posted by Rocketman35
my 2 cents

NEVER charge a customer for the Privilege to look at your product, never. I don't care if you refund the money on the first purchaseor not. Its just bad biz IMO.

That's great if you have the budget to give a catalog to every tom dick and harry that comes along. charging for a catalog makes sure that they only go to people who will probably buy something.

 

[jetra2]

Originally posted by sandman
They make good bathroom literature.

You said it best, sandman!

I like catalogs with good pics a LOT! They make good "whenever" reading, and good design resources for scratch-building. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!

Jason

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by sandman
They make good bathroom literature.

Ok, so maybe I'm not the only one that thought of this too! I don't know what it is about being on the pot (maybe the privacy and the freedom of responsibility), but browsing through any kind of leisure reading while in the "room" is certainly more entertaining. Nice call sandman.