I keep looking around and everything I keep finding about catalogs isn't very specific or doesn't mention it. This is my second Animal Crossing since The GC one so I haven't dealt with a catalog in any of the games and apparently a lot of the shops stuff changed so old answers may be misleading.
Are there any restrictions on the items I can buy from the catalog (i.e. maybe I can't buy fossils or Nintendo items), or can I buy all items from the catalog? Also, how do I unlock an item in the catalog? Do I need to buy it from a shop, or is just finding it from a tree or getting it gifted from a friend enough to unlock it?
Best Answer
The Animal Crossing: New Leaf catalog is accessable from a machine within T&T Mart and later upgrades to that store, and includes:
That said, all items that are available in the catalog are not necessarily available for order. In some cases, this is true for entire classes of objects -- marked with a * above. Some rare furniture (such as furniture you earn as an achievement or receive through a special event) cannot be ordered. I will not list them all here, but some general guidelines:
The following DLC sets can be ordered from the catalog:
As to your second question -- yes, all you have to do to get an item in your catalog is to hold it. "Holding" is fairly popular in online AC trading right now. I've seen players trade fairly valuable items for the opportunity to "hold" entire furniture sets, or Japanese DLC items. Players do this so that they can fill out and complete their catalog.