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I've never cared about the price of a card. I never flip it over to check the pricing.
Things like that, in this time with inflation as high it is, are excessive. I'd be much more satisfied with a phone call, not a text - call, with someone wishing me happy birthday or whatever.
Good heavens, I was the one who brought up buying $1 cards at Trader Joe’s and all these comments followed!
I like the cards from TJ’s as the artwork/graphic design is more modern looking, colorful and “hip”. I dislike schmalzy cards that wax poetic on and on. I guess I picked that up from my mother - if a card had verses on both sides (inside) she would automatically put it back. Too tacky, in her opinion. If you want that much mushiness, write it or say it yourself.
I mostly send cards to older friends and relatives. I prefer to email my younger relatives as they then respond in kind and it is fun to hear back. To some, I do indeed text instead as even email is too medieval for them.
I wonder how specialty card stores will exist in the future as I mostly see elderly women in them, except for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day. I used to send many cards on practically every holiday, birthday and anniversary but times have changed.
The cost is not a primary issue but sometimes just common sense. I used a dollar store back when my kids were young and had a zillion birthday parties and it was great for bows and wrapping paper. I was not going to spend $4 on a bow to be tossed away by a five year old.
My (adult) kids now call instead of sending a card, or better yet, come for a visit. Fine with me!
I can't stand the Hallmark type of cards either. And the prices are absolutely nuts. I have wanted to use Ecards but most are pretty poorly done. I found an English woman who does some really nice ones, artistic, animated and with music, very reasonable and for one price I can send as many cards as I want, which I have to many friends and family. People really like them. So, that has taken care of my card sending.
Good heavens, I was the one who brought up buying $1 cards at Trader Joe’s and all these comments followed!
I like the cards from TJ’s as the artwork/graphic design is more modern looking, colorful and “hip”. I dislike schmalzy cards that wax poetic on and on. I guess I picked that up from my mother - if a card had verses on both sides (inside) she would automatically put it back. Too tacky, in her opinion. If you want that much mushiness, write it or say it yourself.
I mostly send cards to older friends and relatives. I prefer to email my younger relatives as they then respond in kind and it is fun to hear back. To some, I do indeed text instead as even email is too medieval for them.
I wonder how specialty card stores will exist in the future as I mostly see elderly women in them, except for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day. I used to send many cards on practically every holiday, birthday and anniversary but times have changed.
The cost is not a primary issue but sometimes just common sense. I used a dollar store back when my kids were young and had a zillion birthday parties and it was great for bows and wrapping paper. I was not going to spend $4 on a bow to be tossed away by a five year old.
My (adult) kids now call instead of sending a card, or better yet, come for a visit. Fine with me!
I hear you! Who would have guessed so much thinking and opinion could revolve around a simple greeting card? I hope nobody I know considers the cost of the card rather than the fact they are getting one and the sentiments expressed by the cover and whatever else inside. I know I never have. Even the fanciest of cards that have moving parts or sounds or 3-D images don't do any more for me than the simplest of cards. Just nice to hear from folks and sometimes to enjoy a chuckle or two with some of the more humorous ones.
All that said, again we're not doing cards much anymore. Less and less people are sending them anymore for the same reasons. Of the ones we might send for whatever reason, I enjoy scanning the cards at TJs to find just the right one for the person/occasion, or best one, based on the art work. I appreciate the non-tackiness and quality of the paper too. Right across the street, I can go into a book store and find the much fancier and pricier cards there, but all considered I really can't justify the additional $5 they typically want for those cards. They're not really much better if better at all. One exception is if I want to buy a card that has something to do with where we live. From where we live, but that's not often either and even then I can often find cards at TJs that have to do with the ocean or sea life. Otters, forests too. Boats. On-the-water kinds of cards tend to be my favorites in general.
That's how I feel. My bf's birthday is today and he doesn't need a damn thing except a cure for an incurable condition, and I can't give him that. But his 15-year-old dog, who was his one constant through a lot of big life changes, died in March, and so my gift to him is a good shot I took a couple of years ago of the two of them, framed.
Dog pics are very typical for us too. Most of our family on both sides have dogs, and very typically the birthday text goes along with a pic of times shared together that usually includes the dogs in the mix somewhere. Ours died new year's day, so pics of her not so often anymore. Everyone still misses her plenty. A pic along with the bday text is usually my M.O. either way. My wife likes to chime in with texts that include the bursting balloons or fireworks or something a little more fancy like that. Times have changed in more than a few ways along these lines...
I refuse to pay $6.99 or more for one card for a loved one's birthday. I told my daughter "I love you but I am not paying $6.99 for a birthday card". I have a couple relatives that I did not grow up with. The Hallmark stores cards are not only pricey but syrupy sweet as well. I could not find a card there that fit what I wanted to say.
I discovered Dollar Tree through a friend years ago. I was thrilled with not only the price of greeting cards but the choices. I could pick up a very basic "Happy Birthday, Enjoy your Day" card for .50 cents. At the time I believe they were American Greeting cards.
I was annoyed when, within a very short time, Dollar Tree got rid of this brand and brought in.........Hallmark cards! At .50 cents no less! They are basic cards, not the "top of the line syrupy sweet" expensive cards found in the specialty Hallmark stores. This level of Hallmark cards is the "Heartline" line of cards. The ones selling for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree are the Hallmark "Expressions" line. They are bigger in size.
The ones for .50 cents are just fine for me. I can write in any personal sentiments I desire based on my relationship with the receiver. The quality is just fine, IMO. It's a greeting card.........isn't it the thought that counts?
We don't have Dollar Trees near us, but we have a few 99 cent stores, which now need to change their name to Buck25 stores. Talk about a reason to spill out into the streets!
We rarely go to these stores except for reasons my wife decides it's best. Got some pretty nice colored table covers to go over our beat up folding tables for company awhile back. 2 for $1!
At least a few times each month, I get a flyer in the snail mail offering me a "Free Dinner" at any number of upscale restaurants in town. These are almost always "information seminars" on investments - usually it turns out to be annuity sales, sometimes full-service financial planners, and rarely stem-cell therapy clinics. They target senior citizens with enough assets they can "manage" - say, a half million or maybe a million in liquid assets at the minimum.
I'm what they refer to as a "plate licker." I have zero interest in signing up for their "complimentary in depth analysis" of my financial position, but I'm willing to sit through an hour and a half seminar so I can get a free nice dinner.
The last one I went to had:
Table-shared appetizers of Calamari ($15 on the regular menu) & Shrimp Tempura ($15 on the regular menu,
A nice Caesar Salad ($15 on the regular menu),
Choice of 8 oz Filet Mignon ($59 on the regular menu) or Salmon ($45) or Rotisserie Chicken ($39)
Table-shared side dishes of Mashed Potatoes ($13) & Creamed Corn ($15)
Choice of deserts: NY-style Cheesecake ($20) or Toffee-Cake ($20).
Not a bad dinner that only cost me an hour and a half of my life.
I rarely go to these, but we went to one, because we were actually interested in what the financial planner had to say. Pretty nice dinner on the water and an interesting listen. We didn't sign up, however, but they know how this works. I don't like to go if I really have no interest in what's being peddled.
Many decades ago when I was just dating my wife, I arranged a weekend for us to stay up at Lake Tahoe. Three nights free if we would listen to a pitch to buy one of the time share condos where we were staying. Was a heavy and rather long pitch, but three free nights in Tahoe is hard to pass up when you are young and with a tight budget. Turned out to be a fun weekend, but I've never done that sort of thing since. Glad to say we don't need to.
I don't know; the note card, you would have just sitting around the house anyway, but a card for a special occasion, you USUALLY go out and buy with that person in mind (not always, of course; you could "stock up" on special occasion cards in advance)... And, of course, you can always add a personal note or include a letter.
The point of the whole thing is to go to some trouble for the person; an email isn't much trouble.
I like funny cards (Shoebox or similar) for my bff and my brother, and I can't be funny in a note. I also like romantic cards for my bf for Valentine's Day, birthday and Christmas. I do have limits, and won't pay some of the prices they want for some ($8.99? Forget it) but an e-mail would not be a substitute for these cards.
For the kids in my family ages 6 to 25, I get the 99 cent ones because they don't read them, just grab the money and throw the card away.
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