Catalog Co-ops Come of Age

• inactive, older buyers who would be below breakeven if you mailed the entire lot.

Scoping Out the Co-ops

Co-ops are specialists in statistical modeling, and they now offer better and more sophisticated models at less cost, says Schmid. Indeed, co-ops offer attractive pricing for cost-conscious mailers. Typically, membership is free, and you can get a volume of names at a reasonable cost—averaging around $70/M, compared to individual file rentals that cost upwards of $100/M.