A Catalog That Signals More Than a Furniture Purchase Receiving a Restoration Hardware catalog — the company mails a thick, multi-volume "Source Book" that runs hundreds of pages and weighs several pounds — is not merely a matter of unwanted paper. It is a signal. A luxury furnishings catalog arriving at a home address …

One Order, Many Databases Picture a garden-supply catalog arriving in the mailbox. The customer fills out a paper order form — name, street address, city, state, ZIP — and mails it back with a check. That single transaction feels private, a two-party exchange between buyer and seller. Within weeks, the same name and …