# Hammacher Schlemmer: The pretentious catalogue that goes in The wastebin **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857 "2021-05-11T18:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/41 "2021-05-16T21:55:07Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > One of my favorites was the Johnson Smith “Things You Never Knew Existed” catalog of overpriced, bizarro junk. I actually ordered something from that one years ago—the “radiometer” with the vanes that spin around in the sunlight. But they stopped sending the catalogs anyway! 🙁 They went out of business in 2019. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/42 "2021-05-16T22:06:41Z")
But, [these](https://www.sciplus.com) guys are still around. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/43 "2021-05-16T23:33:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > They went out of business in 2019. I had been under the impression that they had been acquired by [this company](https://www.collectionsetc.com/products/custom/things-you-never-knew-existed?Zone=HP&Category=1%7Cproducts/problem-solvers&Category=1%7Cproducts/problem-solvers&Category=1%7Cproducts/problem-solvers). However, on closer inspection, only the brand names were acquired; they’re selling random crap under the TYNKE name, but it’s not the same oddball merchandise Johnson Smith was selling. > [@beowulff](#): > > But, [these](https://www.sciplus.com) guys are still around. Ah, American Science and Surplus! I’ve been to their Geneva store many times—it’s a wonderful place. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/44 "2021-05-17T00:37:45Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > What’s that one catalog that seems like it just deals with “As Seen ON TV” products like that Analog Clock that plays a different bird call every hour, but then there’s a random page in the middle that sells naked women playing cards and vibrators? Ill get a copy of it every 5 years or so in the mail randomly which is how I remember to look to find the dildo page again. Was it the Lillian Vernon catalog? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/45 "2021-05-17T13:32:06Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Same here, except for the Lego catalogs we get on a regular basis. They’ve had some really cool kits (and some amazingly expensive ones too). How else would we find out about the Hummingbird Lego kit in [Lego Birds 21301](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/birds-21301). Printed catalogs for anyone under about 75 seems like wasted money to me. Even my mother has Amazon figured out. But the Lego catalogs actually make a sort of perverse sense; a lot of kids under about 12 or so don’t have internet access, or if they do, it’s monitored and rationed, and probably somewhat intermittent. Printed catalogs get that advertising into their hands, where they pore over it, circle the sets they want, etc… just like we did back in the day with similar stuff. Otherwise, I’m with the rest of you- they go straight in the trash. At best, they remind me that the store exists, and I may go look it up online. But a postcard would more than suffice for that, and at less cost, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/46 "2021-05-17T14:01:58Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Of a piece with HS is Frontgate, where you can for example buy a cutting board for [$400](https://www.frontgate.com/personalized-black-walnut-butcher-board-with-monogram/tabletop-entertaining/cookware-tools/1301309?listIndex=0&uniqueId=1301309), a toaster for [$429](https://www.frontgate.com/wolf-gourmet-four-slice-toaster/tabletop-entertaining/appliances/806133?listIndex=6&uniqueId=806133), a dog bed for [~~$1099~~ On sale now for $879!!](https://www.frontgate.com/baleares-dog-bed/pet-home-care/pet/1462781?listIndex=0&uniqueId=1462781) Frontgate usually had a few pages in the Skymall catalog on airline flights. BTW, what I particularly like are the ones for particular industries or trades. Just about every industry has specialty catalogs and it’s interesting what they need. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/47 "2021-05-17T15:31:49Z")
HS should sell The Shredder for shredding their catalogs when you are done with them. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/48 "2021-05-17T15:34:14Z")
Not just “The Shredder” - “The Titanium Blade Hi-Tech Programmable Shredder” ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/49 "2021-05-17T21:09:08Z")
On the other end of the spectrum, I will browse the [McMaster-Carr](https://www.mcmaster.com/) catalog all day long. Well, for at least an hour. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/50 "2021-05-17T21:24:18Z")
Those guys are great! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/51 "2021-05-17T21:25:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Printed catalogs for anyone under about 75 seems like wasted money to me. Even my mother has Amazon figured out. No, they make nice dream books, and you can dog-ear and circle gift hints. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/52 "2021-05-17T21:26:22Z")
If they had any sense of humor, McMaster-Carr would also have a listing for industrial grades of Unobtainium. Well, sure, that material is at least temporarily not available, but still. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/53 "2021-05-17T21:28:35Z")
I haven’t done that in more than a decade… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/54 "2021-05-18T01:02:35Z")
Ladies, gentlemen, and others, I give you [The ULINE catalogue.](https://catalog.uline.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/55 "2021-05-18T01:04:27Z")
That’s a fun catalog but I was turned off by the owner’s politics. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/56 "2021-05-18T01:48:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That’s a fun catalog but I was turned off by the owner’s politics… Which “That”? ULINE? Tell me you don’t mean Johnson Smith! ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/57 "2021-05-18T02:08:02Z")
> Blockquote > [@Asuka](#): > > What’s that one catalog that seems like it just deals with “As Seen ON TV” products like that Analog Clock that plays a different bird call every hour, but then there’s a random page in the middle that sells naked women playing cards and vibrators? Ill get a copy of it every 5 years or so in the mail randomly which is how I remember to look to find the dildo page again. I might be interested in the naked women playing cards but I imagine feeding them would get expensive! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/58 "2021-05-18T02:09:19Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > I might be interested in the naked women playing cards but I imagine feeding them would get expensive! - Think of all the money you save on clothing. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/59 "2021-05-18T04:20:30Z")
I used to love Scientific American magazine for one of its odd quirks. Their long picture captions were always composed so that even the bottom line was always justified right in a perfect block of text. Also, in high school, I could understand most of the articles. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857/60 "2021-05-18T05:26:37Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Ladies, gentlemen, and others, I give you [The ULINE catalogue.](https://catalog.uline.com/) I throw one of those away every month or so, it’s the only catalog I get anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hammacher-schlemmer-the-pretentious-catalogue-that-goes-in-the-wastebin/941857.md?page=4)