Each 70-page catalog costs the gallery $15 to print.
While the auction catalog costs $40, there is no charge to view the cars, on display until noon today.
Prices being demanded by the alleged smugglers were "far, far higher" than the catalog costs in countries where the weapons can be legally purchased, law enforcement sources said.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, most catalogs cost 50 cents to $1 to print and mail to each household.
"A 45,000-page catalog would cost a lot of money," said Joan Broughton, REI's vice president for online and direct sales.
According to rough calculations by commentators, a divestment of 10 to 15 percent of EMI's catalogs could cost Universal as much as $400 million.
Losses from the Internet-and-catalog segment cost the company $24.8 million last year and another $13.4 million through the first half of this year.
"We can produce and mail a catalog that costs about the same, if not less, than a targeted e-mail campaign," said Matt Jackson, vice president for marketing at eHats, an online hat retailer that is developing its first catalog.
And sources familiar with the companys business say that a single technique from its catalog often costs far more than its six-figure subscription fee.
For a company like Grainger, decreasing reliance on its free albeit hernia-inducing catalogs, which cost $8.50 to design and print, and $1 more for bulk mailing, is not only good for the company, it's good for the consumer.
