S&H Green Stamps Motorboat Redemption
Folks of a certain age recall "trading stamps," tokens with a certain value given out to shoppers when they made a purchase.
This site has a nice summary of the phenomenon, with lots of pictures of pages from the redemption catalog.
Here's an ad from 1968 which reveals you could get a Chrysler motorboat with Green Stamps.
Source.
I got curious about how many books of stamps that might take. So I did some very rough calculations, fudging the different years, etc.
This site reveals that a similar boat cost about $1500.00 when new in 1969.
In the catalog at the previous link, an Admiral Color TV demands 150 books.
Here's the likely price in dollars of such an item, as seen below.
So the boat cost six times a TV, and might, I'm guessing, demand 900 books of stamps. However, I also read that each filled book was worth $1.20, so that would require 1,250 books!
That's a lot of weekly shopping trips to your local IGA, since you got only a handful of stamps with each purchase. I wonder how many people ever took advantage of the offer.
This site has a nice summary of the phenomenon, with lots of pictures of pages from the redemption catalog.
Here's an ad from 1968 which reveals you could get a Chrysler motorboat with Green Stamps.
Source.
I got curious about how many books of stamps that might take. So I did some very rough calculations, fudging the different years, etc.
This site reveals that a similar boat cost about $1500.00 when new in 1969.
In the catalog at the previous link, an Admiral Color TV demands 150 books.
Here's the likely price in dollars of such an item, as seen below.
So the boat cost six times a TV, and might, I'm guessing, demand 900 books of stamps. However, I also read that each filled book was worth $1.20, so that would require 1,250 books!
That's a lot of weekly shopping trips to your local IGA, since you got only a handful of stamps with each purchase. I wonder how many people ever took advantage of the offer.
Comments
I remember gas often had prmotions that offered multiples of the ordinary number of stamps
Posted by Kay Archer on 09/28/20 at 08:03 AM
You might also compare that 12" color tv at $249.95 to a modern 12" color tv at $89.98
(https://www.amazon.com/Eyoyo-Monitor-1366x768-Portable-Display/dp/B01KJVERF8/ref=sr_1_2_sspa) and say the $1500 boat would now cost $540, which means only 450 books.
I remember when the pages changed in the S&H books to accommodate a larger single stamp which was worth a full page of the little stamps. I assume the change was made because inflation made the standard one-stamp-per-dime-spent mean really, really long strings of stamps.
Quandary of the day: When I was 20 years old, it took me three trips to bring in $20 worth of groceries. When I was 30, it only took me two trips. At 40, one trip. Now that I'm over 60, I can carry $20 worth of groceries in one hand. How much stronger am I going to get?
(https://www.amazon.com/Eyoyo-Monitor-1366x768-Portable-Display/dp/B01KJVERF8/ref=sr_1_2_sspa) and say the $1500 boat would now cost $540, which means only 450 books.
I remember when the pages changed in the S&H books to accommodate a larger single stamp which was worth a full page of the little stamps. I assume the change was made because inflation made the standard one-stamp-per-dime-spent mean really, really long strings of stamps.
Quandary of the day: When I was 20 years old, it took me three trips to bring in $20 worth of groceries. When I was 30, it only took me two trips. At 40, one trip. Now that I'm over 60, I can carry $20 worth of groceries in one hand. How much stronger am I going to get?
Posted by Phideaux on 09/28/20 at 12:38 PM
I remember that in the late 50´s you got one stamp for every 10 cents of purcase. Then again 10 c got you quite a lot.
Posted by F.U.D in Stockholm on 09/28/20 at 01:11 PM
Don't forget Blue Chip Stamps or something like that. Shell gas had a "Collect the Presidents Coin" game that you could win money. Some of the Cigaret companies had coupons in the pack that you collected and turned in for gifts.
Posted by Ed Dart on 09/30/20 at 06:59 PM
Speaking of cigarette coupons, long ago there were coupons in packages of soap. My father used to tell the following joke. A man invites his friend to his home. As he shows him each beautifully furnished room, he proudly says it was furnished entirely with soap coupons. At the end of the tour, his friend inquires about the one room he hasn't been shown. "What's in that room?" he asks. "The soap," the man replies.
Posted by ges on 09/30/20 at 08:04 PM
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Category: Boats | Business | Loyalty Programs, Shopper Incentives, Coupons and Other Discounts | Television | 1960s | 1970s