Welsh Warehouse 1861 (UK) Montgomery Ward: 1872 (US) Hammacher Schlemmer: 1881 (US; claims to be the longest-running catalogue in the U.S.) Eaton's: 1884 (Canada) Kastner & Öhler: 1885 (Austria) Sears: 1888 (US) Universal Stores: 1900 (UK) Freemans: 1905 (UK) Spiegel Inc. 1905 (US) Empire: 1907 (UK) Grattan: 1912 (UK) L.L.Bean: 1912 (US) Eddie Bauer: 1920 (US) La Redoute: 1922 (France) Quelle: 1927 (Germany) Littlewoods: 1932 (UK) 3 Suisses: 1932 (FR) Miles Kimball: 1935 (US) Vermont Country Store: 1945 (US) Walter Drake: 1947 (US) Cohasset Colonials: 1949 (US) Neckermann: 1950 (Germany) Lillian Vernon: 1951 (US) Taylor Gifts: 1952 (US) Simpsons-Sears: 1953 (Canada) - a partnership of Sears with the pre-existing Simpson's chain Otto: 1949 (Germany) Lands' End: 1963 (US) Potpourri Group: 1963 (US) JC Penney: 1963 (US) Carol Wright Gifts: 1972 (US) Dr Leonard's Healthcare Corp: 1980 (US) Next: 1988 (UK) SkyMall: 1990 (US) Scotts of Stow: 1992 (UK) Basnett's: 2010 (US) Taxes The objective of the direct marketing industry is to alter the sales distribution chain, in other words [bypass] the wholesaler and the retailer and go directly to the customer, reducing therefore tariffs and taxes. In the European Union, a "VAT union" is in force: the merchant selling to a buyer in a different EU member country adds the VAT of his own country to the price, and the buyer pays no additional tax. A buyer for resale may deduct that VAT, just as with purchases made within their own country. Up until June 21, 2018, mail order retailers in the United States operated with the advantage of not being required to collect state sales tax, unless the retailer's business had a physical presence in the customer's state. Instead, most states required the resident purchaser to pay the applicable taxes. In 2018, after the United States Supreme Court heard the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. and a five-justice majority overturned Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, ruling that the physical presence rule decided in Quill was "unsound and incorrect" in the current age of Internet services, American e-commerce and mail order retailers began collecting state sales tax on orders. See also Book sales club Catalogue merchant OshKosh B'Gosh Pick and pack Shipping list Trade literature Wine of the Month Club Whole Earth Catalogue References Further reading Boorstin, Daniel J. "A. Montgomery Ward's Mail-Order Business," Chicago History (1973) 2#3 pp 142–152. Boorstin, Daniel J. The Americans: The Democratic Experience