Strategy: Generate Extra Revenue While Leveraging Existing Overheard

Often, however, the increase in margin has been offset by increased direct selling expenses. Paper prices have increased more than 30 percent the past 18 months, and we all know about the significant postage increases in 2007. As a result, expenses that were 25 percent of net sales for consumer catalogs a few years ago are 30 percent today. Business mailers enjoy a lower selling expense-to-sales ratio, but they too have seen an increase with total operating expenses around 20 percent to 25 percent.