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His Ideas 37 ~ Catalogue Shopping

June 24, 2021

In his case, it was not because of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, he bought some clothes for the first time by catalogue shopping. Originally, he didn't trust that type of business so much. In newspapers, there were lots of advertisements, like for pillows for a sound-sleep, easy English learning materials, etc. On TV, there were an uncountable kinds of TV shopping programs, like for exercise machines, supplements, clothes which make look you thinner, etc. To him, they felt fishy. But this time, he had been looking for a warm shirt with a collar and a chest pocket. He couldn't find it in several shops and then saw one in a catalogue pamphlet in the newspaper. He went to the website of this catalogue company, which offered clothes for men and women, shoes, bed items, furniture, etc. He ordered three sets of shirts that he wanted. As he ordered three, they were discounted. Soon they came, and he found them to be good. He paid with an enclosed bill. After that, he bought two sets of water-proof shoes; then, three sets of thin shirts. After his first purchase, he happened to hear that a husband of his acquaintance took supplements for his allergic nasal inflammation and it worked. He himself had been suffering from the same sickness for a long time. He had been to some clinics, but the results were never good. He had originally thought that the supplements were just consolations, but not effective. But this time, as his acquaintance reported its effect, he bought it through the internet as it wasn't sold in shops, and started to take them. So far, as some of his friends have pointed out, he was sniffing less than before. In the coronavirus pandemic situation, it was natural that people avoided going out, and purchased more by web shopping, catalogue shopping, and TV shopping. Recently he watched on TV that in China, web shopping for products from his country had become bigger than in normal years. The commentator explained that it was because that they trusted products from his country. With web shopping, you can't see things directly, so credit and image for the company, or, in this case, the country, is important. Actually, the companies that made the shirts and the supplements that he purchased were big and famous. He had a bitter experience a few years ago. He had bought an electric assist bicycle through the internet. It was a very expensive purchase. The bicycle was sent from a neighboring country. After half a year, it broke. He sent several emails to get it fixed or to get a refund, but his emails were ignored. His Idea #37 : Catalogue Shopping Once he had a chance to watch a TV program which broadcasted about the call center for a TV shopping company. The TV crew went to a big warehouse, where there were about two hundred telephone booths! After a product was introduced on TV, the telephones started to ring simultaneously. It was spectacular. The operators answered and received the orders professionally. Occasionally some of the operators raised their hands, and supporters soon went to them and gave instructions, it looked systematic. After a while the manager said, "Thanks to all the customers, we've sold 10,000 packages of meat that we prepared." The coronavirus was just a trigger. As long as these companies offered good quality and cheaper products, and if they had a trustworthy reputation, the companies selling items would thrive, he thought.

No.439



*fishy :うさんくさい
*collar :襟
*enclosed :同封の
*allergic nasal inflammation :アレルギー性鼻炎
*consolation :なぐさめ
*sniff :鼻をすする
*credit :信用
*simultaneously :一斉に
*spectacular :壮観な
*thrive :?栄する