S&H Green Stamps

Last night I made a comment about a customer loyalty program, calling it an updated S&H Green Stamp program. My wife arched an eyebrow in the usual “what old fogey thing are you talking about now” way. So I had to explain how at certain stores you were given so many S&H Green Stamps based on how much you purchased. They accumulated in a drawer until my mother couldn’t take it anymore and asked me to paste the stamps in the official book. She would moisten a sponge and place it on a saucer, lay out the books and stamps, and away I would go. I got pretty good at figuring out how many stamps of the different denominations I had and how to maximize full sheets and minimize partially filled sheets. I would tally up the number of full books we had and let her know where we stood.

I would pour through their catalogue and see what we could get with the bounty. I always focused on basketballs, footballs, etc. but we almost always ended up with an appliance of some sort. We would go to the redemption center, which was all the way across town, and pick up our “gift.” If you lived in a smaller city that didn’t have a redemption center, you could order by mail.

There were several versions of green stamps across the country (different colors or names), but in the end all were a variation on the Sperry & Hutchinson formula they started in 1896. S&H was ubiquitous where we lived, and I would bet there were plenty of decisions made where to shop for groceries or get gas based on whether or not green stamps were offered. There was usually a green “shingle” in the shape of a stamp hanging in front of any store that offered them. According to several sources (Wikipedia, and InformationWeek.com) the company claimed at one point they were printing three times as many green stamps as the post office was stamps. The company has filed for bankruptcy, been sold, merged, and many other things over the last decades, but has emerged as S&H greenpoints. Similar in concept to many other virtual programs (which, of course, adapted the original S&H concept to the internet) it is still kicking.

My wife arched her eyebrow again in that “you took that long to tell me about a stupid reward program?” (I’m getting pretty good at reading eyebrows) It’s hard to explain, but it was more than that since it stuck in my mind so vividly. It was a chance for the family to do something together, I learned about green stamp denominations and how they worked before I learned about money. And of course there was the occasional toy I got at the redemption center. It was an experience that the internet can not replicate—not that I’m complaining because I hated putting the stamps in the books, but just noting it.

My wife is in trouble if I ever start on the cool crap that gas stations used to give away…
Images found at eBay