Free mail order catalogs are available for nearly anything one could want to buy, including clothing, furniture and food. Several retailers distribute free mail order catalogs, which allow customers to shop from the convenience of their own home or office. Even companies that offer online shopping will sometimes publish free mail order catalogs to reach customers who don’t shop online, as well as those who like to browse catalogs as a complement to shopping on the internet.

While some companies will charge for a catalog subscription, or only send free catalogs to customers who have recently purchased from them, many companies offer free mail order catalogs.

While Benjamin Franklin has been credited with originating the mail-order concept in the United States by selling academic books to remote customers as early as 1744, Sears and Montgomery Ward were among the first companies to distribute mail order catalogs on a large scale.http://nmoa.org/ Montgomery Ward began distributing catalogs in 1872, and featured a variety of products, including furniture and clothing, while the first Sears catalog was produced in 1888, and listed only jewelry and watches.http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/779.html http://www.searsarchives.com/history/chronologies/chronology_brief.htm Both companies grew substantially through catalog sales before they ever opened a retail store.http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/779.html

In the year 2001, nearly 17 billion mail order catalogs were sent by American companies.http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=2112

Before ordering from a catalog, you'll probably want to check the company's shipping and handling fees and policies. These will vary from company to company, and this information can usually be found with the order form, or near the page(s) with ordering information. Some companies will offer expedited delivery for an additional fee.

Often companies will run special promotions that include free discounted shipping for orders of a certain size. In some cases, you'll need to enter or mention a special promotion code to receive these special deals.

Other things to consider when ordering from a free mail order catalog include: shipping to post office boxes, international shipping policies and fees, shipping times, and return and exchange policies. This information can usually be found with the rest of the ordering information, but if you can't find what you're looking for, you should call the customer service number before ordering.

When you receive items purchased from a free mail order catalog, you may want to save all the packaging, packing slips and other paperwork until you’re sure you’re going to keep the merchandise.

While each company will have its own return policies, some of them may require that certain procedures are followed before they will accept a return, or issue a refund or credit.

If you are dissatisfied or have any questions about your order, you should contact the customer service department before attempting to return the merchandise, as some companies will charge a restocking fee, or will limit the amount of time you have to return an item. In most cases, a customer service number will be included on the paperwork that accompanied the order, but if you can’t find it, you can check the catalog you ordered from, or look them up online.