The Stan Turner Show 03-22-2014

Stan is talking with Genny Zak Kieley about the craze that was Green Stamps! Sperry & Hutchinson began offering stamps to retailers back in 1896. The retail organizations bought the stamps from S&H and gave them as bonuses with every purchase based on the amount you bought. The more you bought the more stamps you got. Eventually you saved up enough stamps to toddle down to the redemption center with a sore tongue and trade them in for merchandise.

Stamps programs faded away during the recession of the 1970's. Sperry and Hutchinson was sold by the founders' successors in 1981, and was purchased from a holding firm by a member of the founding Sperry family in 1999. At that time, only about 100 stores were offering Green Stamps. Eventually, though, the company rebounded with the birth of the Internet and now offers "greenpoints" as rewards for online purchases. (http://www.greenpoints.com)