When Paula Jagemann came up nearly empty after searching the Internet last year for office supplies, she decided to start an online office products catalog herself. Less than a year later she launched Online Office Supplies.com, based in Frederick, MD. The site, hosted by UUNET Technologies, went live in August and carries 30,000 items, including furniture, cleaning products, and snack foods. Wholesaler United Stationers supplies the merchandise and tracks the shipping from 41 warehouses throughout the country. While Jagemann won’t disclose the response rate, she claims that the average order is $78.
“Internet marketing provides greater flexibility than print catalogs,” says Jagemann, who is president of Online Office Supplies.com. “Since many other office supplies companies publish only one large catalog a year, products that are introduced after that catalog is produced often sit on the shelves until the next catalog comes out. Our site gives customers access to those products.”