Jeez, how many Kiefer catalogs do we need? They're the Pottery Barn of swimming gear. How about print one, maybe two catalogs per year and pass on some of the savings to their customers?
yeah - I know they are the exact same for the most part, but I still look thru them for some reason! It must be that I have some sort of swimming addiction or something.
Do the Kiefer catalogs even change? I swear it's the exact same pages, just shuffled in a different order from one edition to the next.
And I agree with Kirk - it's way too many. We get two at a time at our house and one goes straight into the recycling bin. The other replaces the previous catalog (which then goes into the recycling bin).
Simply a function of direct mail marketing... you have to have your message in front of people as often as possible if you want to be there when they decide to make the "buy" decision.
I'll stand up for Kiefer! Yeah, they do send catalogs, but they also support Masters Swimming in a big way.
I have run a number of masters meets over the years and whenever I ask Kiefer to donate door prizes, they have always been more than generous with donations of swim bags, googles and caps.
We use their donations as door prizes and I know that the lucky swimmer appreciates Kiefer's kind generosity - it really helps us draw swimmers to our small but fun events.
And as far back as my memory goes, they have sponsored the men's 100 backstroke at National. The heat winner gets a cap or towel. I don't see the other big vendors doing that!
So GO KIEFER!! - They have great customer service and a good range of products - (but you could set up a listserve and/or ask us if we want a PDF catalog delivered by email (those mass mailing are expensive!)
