Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Greeting Card Scheduling Service

It never fails that I usually only remember special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, mother's day) on that day. And by that time, it's too late to send a card in the mail.

So here's a good business idea for someone: Sell greeting cards with a scheduling service.

Here's how it would work: People could shop online for greeting cards. When they select one, they specify who to send it to and when it needs to be delivered by. Then there's a couple options of how to handle that delivery.

  1. Have the person's signature and/or personalized message be printed onto the card.

    Pro: No more involvement after the purchase is complete
    Con: Not very personal
  2. Have the person submit a scanned signature and/or personalized message (think handwritten) via the Internet or fax to be printed in color onto the card.

    Pro: No more involvement after the scanning and upload; Appears personalized
    Con: Depending on image quality, the receiver might notice the pixelation and become offended
  3. Mail the card and an addressed/stamped envelope to the sender where they can then write a message on the card and put it in the mail for delivery.

    Pro: The sender is reminded in enough time to send the card out; Little effort involved because everything comes to the sender
    Con: There's still manual effort involved, and the responsibility for re-mailing the card is placed on the sender

Now, I'm sure that there's people who think "How lazy can someone be to not want to fill out a simple card?" To that, I answer that it's not laziness. My life is so hectic that little things are often ignored or put off until it's too late. Also, not everyone thinks and acts the same, so what seems simple and effortless to one person might be a huge burden to another. Your strength is my weakness, and vice versa. Be quiet or I'll remove you from my automated greeting card list.

[followup! I checked Hallmark's site, and they do offer a scheduling and mailing service for about $0.50 or so more. So, once again, a day late and dollar short....]