I just received my 2012 Defender catalog and sent Stephen Lance an mail, because I felt bad about tossing it in the recycling bin without reading it. I know it's very costly in both pre-press preparation and printing/mailing expense, so I sent him the following email:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Hi Stephan –
I received your annual catalog in the mail and wanted to share some thoughts about it with you, as a friend and customer.

I don’t think you need it anymore. I know I don’t. Catalogs are dead, IMHO.

I tossed it in the recycling (no malice) because when I shop Defender I go right to your web site, even on the boat where I have cellular broadband Internet. On your site I get color pictures, latest prices, in-stock status and rebate/sale info. I can also build a shopping cart which is saved with a browser cookie so it’s there when I return to your site to place an order later. Very convenient.

No doubt some people keep it lying around on a coffee table or next to the bed and mark the pages of interest with dog ears, and perhaps you pick up extra sales from catalogs that were laying around or got passed on. I think you should survey your regular clients and find out how many would prefer to save a few trees and forego the catalog. You might be able to save quite a bit of money for 2013.

Best Regards,
Larry