I was helping my husband pick out a baby shower gift for a co-worker when I chanced upon a lovely baby shower card. After a quick glance at the front to determine if it was generally suitable, I flipped it over to check the price. What the???? I kid you not. The pricetag was $6.95. Kill me now. Because you know the only reason those $7 cards are on the shelf is because PEOPLE BUY THEM.
Have you paid $7 for a SINGLE card? If so, run away now before I publicly shame you.
A $7 card???? You have got to be kidding me. There is nothing that a card can do or say or sing that can make it worth seven fricking dollars. That is more than an hour of work at minimum wage in Georgia AND Wyoming. And very nearly the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Who pays $7 for a card that someone is going to open once?
Then read for 15 seconds, and either recycle or stash in their attic for 22 years? Does anybody really pay attention to how “nice” the card is? And how well composed the message inside is? God forbid you pay $7 for a card that is blank inside! You still have to take the time to write a heartfelt message.
Does paying more money for a card make it more important?
So that you can be an accurate judge of my complete disbelief and disgust, I took pictures of the four baby shower cards I found priced at $6.95. Yes, FOUR! And by more than one greeting card company. So this is not just one looney card company testing how stupid we consumers are. I can just imagine the conversation.
“Hey, how much is the most we could charge for this dopey baby card?”
“I dunno. $7?”
“That’s insane! Nobody would pay that much for a piece of folded paper.”
“Let’s try it and see how stupid people are!”
“OK!”
Here are the $7 cards. Judge for yourself.
The super expensive baby cards have a few things in common.
Make sure to avoid these tell tale signs:
- Has elements that physically protrude from the card, as in all four examples above
- Ex. 1 above – the pink horizontal ribbon and white bows peeking out of either side
- Ex. 2 above – all five flowers, the “just” tag, and the bow around the neck of the jar
- Ex. 3 above – the carousel top and some of the handing embellishments
- Ex. 4 above – the owl and bow and “baby girl” tag
- Has real bows, not drawn ones
- Jewels or other sparkly embellishments glued on
How much do you spend on cards?
I make a beeline for the 99-cent section. I also save cards that can be reused by cutting off the back then gluing the front piece onto a new piece of folded paper. It works and saves paper and money! I’ve also been known to buy Christmas cards at the 99 cent store. And you wouldn’t believe how many free cards come up in our daily freebies list.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I have two rules for picking out a card of any variety: 1.) I go to the $.99 section 2.) I don’t spend more time picking it out, than the recipient will spend reading it. which means I go with the first or second card I pick up.
Easy, fast, and cheap. Anything else is a waste of time and money.
99 cents at Trader Joe’s – great selection and $1 at the dollar store. I also send Jacqui Lawson cards via email.
Like you, I purchase cards from the 99 cent section, or the dollar store (sometimes those are even 2/$1.) I will buy nicer cards for my mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day, but usually one of the grocery stores has some deal going (buy 2 cards, get the 3rd free, or extra gas points, or something). I’m also a Hallmark rewards member, so I’ll use those coupons for the nice cards for my mom.
Store cards are almost extinct for us. I send–and receive–brief personsal e-mails for the occasion or e-cards.
When I went to buy Mother’s Day cards at Hy-Vee I couldn’t find any less than $3. I asked an employee about it and she said they were told to pull the 99 cent ones. She opened the bin in the bottom of the display and pulled out a whole bunch of 99 cent ones. I meant to send Hy-Vee an email and keep forgetting to. I don’t think it’s right that they pulled the cheap ones so people are forced to spend more money.
I hope you will contact Hy-Vee, Stacy. While we don’t have this store in the Los Angeles area, I think it’s important that we consumers not be silent about a shady practice like this at any store . If no one complains, what silent message does this convey? And perhaps the silence will motivate the store to pull other “stunts” in the future.
In an effort to declutter my own home and save money, I started using my kids’s artwork as greeting cards. Just fold in half and write a heartfelt message on the inside. Each card is unique.
I am 52 years old and most of the time I drawl a picture ( with crayons, colored pencils) for the person. It often does look like a child did it but I can usually customize it. Like a picture of a suffer, who is the recipient and me on the beach waving to them. Its fun and always appreciated. I dont take much time at all. Laugh.