WinterSilks and Venus Swimwear have created a working solution to the challenge of running a seasonal business.

By Alicia Orr Suman

No special incentives are given to push business to the Web sites. In fact he think it’s plain nonsense for catalogers to offer free shipping or other incentives to spur Web orders. He voices his opinion strongly, noting, “There’s no way in the world it’s 10 bucks cheaper to ship a Web order.” At his company, he says, “A Web order saves us about a buck an order, including the 3 to 4 cents a minute we spend for the phone time, the phone rep’s salary and the call-center overhead. I see no rationale behind that [free shipping on Web orders].”