L.L. Bean's relentless hunt leaves this consumer feeling trapped
1:49 PM Thu, Mar 29, 2007 | Permalink
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It's been five or six days since we received our last L.L. Bean catalog, and I'm starting to worry. Is the mailman sick? Did he injure his back hauling the catalogs to my house? Has the company gone out of business? 
We did get other mail yesterday, so I guess the mailman is OK. And a check of the L.L. Bean Web site leads me to believe that the company is still running. Still, L.L. Bean's summer 2007 catalog arrived around the first day of spring, and, based on recent experience, I'm thinking a "midsummer 2007" catalog should have shown up by now. And that should be followed by the summer traveler catalog at the end of April and perhaps a "late summer" catalog before Memorial Day. We get almost as many L.L. Bean catalog as credit-card offers and too-good-to-pass-up mortgage refinance enticements. The company publishes more than 65 catalog titles. How many trees does that take? I'm surprised the Freeport, Maine, company still has time for L.L. Bean Maple Syrup or Bean's Sunwashed Canvas Shirts. Don't get me wrong. I like the catalogues. They're full of nice clothes and cool stuff like lamps that strap onto your head so you can read in your tent at night. The men and women modeling those clothes and gadgets seem like the kind of people you'd want for company on the cabin porch as you drink coffee from your stainless steel Bean cup. The lean, well-groomed men look like they spend their weekends chopping wood in wrinkle-free flannel shirts and clean chinos. The wholesome women seem as if they could garden Martha Stewart into the spring mud, then climb Mount Washington without losing the bounce in their hair. And I bet the children never spill milk on their Kingfield Sweaters or talk back to their parents. Thumbing through, I sometimes envision myself walking a Lab along a rocky Maine beach in my Swift River shirt, lambswool sweater, Bean's Original Field Coat, double corduroy chinos and Bean boots. Then I consider my Visa bill and decide I can get another season out of my jacket from Ocean State Job Lot. Still, I wonder why we need Bean's "Holiday 2006" catalog, which urges us to "Look inside for over 700 gift ideas;" if we're also going to get the "Christmas Favorites 2006," which boasts "Hundreds of gifts for everyone on your list"; and the "Guide to Christmas Gifts 2006," which encourages (or scolds?) us procrastinators, "There's Still Time." We also got the "The Guide to Winter Warmth 2006"; along with two "Outdoor Gear and Clothing" catalogs for the winter of 2006. And there's plenty more. The catalogs do provide a nice bit of escapism, a virtual trip to beautiful northern New England and a lifestyle that makes me envious. In real life, I haven't gotten up there in a while. I just hope there are some trees left when I do. 
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Right on! I wonder what their advertising bill might be.
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Jack, you should have been checking out the rain gear. As I recall a waterproof slicker would have come in handy one election night long ago in Barnstable when cold-hearted political reporter dispatched you, an unassuming cub reporter, into the storm in search of final tallies.
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Got a good laugh out of this! But in all seriousness, if you really want to reduce the number of catalogues you receive from them, just contact LL Bean's Customer Service Dept. They can limit the catalogues sent to your address. This will save more than a few trees and ease the burdeon on your mail carrier!
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Ah, and the reason you don't call them up and ask them to stop sending you the catalogs is?
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