With the Christmas holiday approaching, I thought I would post this. Shortly before Thanksgiving, I decided to subscribe to online cards from http://www.jacquielawson.com/ for 1 year. The cost for 1 year is $12, $18 for 2 years. I come from a large family (siblings, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc.) and thought I might use this as a substitute for regular cards. I'm thinking of it as "green" initiative, a way to reduce paper use while also saving some money. I realize this may not appeal to everyone; some or many of you will prefer the traditional card.
http://www.jacquielawson.com/ had 137 cards, as of the date I subscribed; they are classified into various categories. The artwork is simply delightful.
Here are some of the features of the service:
- Can select a deferred date for sending a card
- Email notification/confirmation that a card was sent
- Email notification that a card was viewed by the recipient
- History of sent cards and cards viewed cards can be seen by logging on to the website
- Cards pending (to be sent at a future date)
- Sending an initial card to a new recipient adds the email address to an online address book (convenient for future cards to that person)
- When sending a card, a text box is displayed where you can enter a personal message
- Cards can be previewed
- Screensavers ( I haven't tried any of them, but they use the same delightful artwork as the cards)
How can they be certain that the recipient got AND opened the email? The same way viruses can be activated when you open the email?The response to the member indicating a recipient has viewed the card is based on viewing the web page constituting the card, not the email message. The email notification sent to a card recipient is a simple text message with a link to the card. Quote from: Helpmeh on December 07, 2009, 07:58:36 PM
How can they be certain that the recipient got AND opened the email? The same way viruses can be activated when you open the email?
Most email clients have the option to notify you when the recipient has
READ the email anyway.Personally I find e-cards impersonal, a
LAZY man's solution, and "too easy". In my opinion there
should be some time and effort involved in sending someone a greeting card, otherwise it's meaningless.Quote from: Allan on December 08, 2009, 05:54:57 AM
Personally I find e-cards impersonal, a lazy man's solution, and "too easy". In my opinion there should be some time and effort involved in sending someone a greeting card, otherwise it's meaningless.
I understand your point of view but here's my perspective on this. As I said, I have many relatives to whom I send, or should but occasionally forget to send, a card. So, this requires taking the time to visit a store that sells cards, selecting cards for each intended recipient, maybe writing a personal note in the card, putting in the envelope and sealing it, buying stamps if I have none on-hand, putting a stamp on it, and mailing it. The cost of cards is, IMO, disgustingly
HIGH. Many of them are $3 or more. And then, you
NEED postage to mail it.
So, the $12 subscription for the e-card service can quickly be recouped; just a few of them, in place of traditional cards will have recouped the subscription fee. From that point forward during the subscription year, I'm saving money each time I send another card since no
ADDITIONAL cost will be incurred.
And, I'll say again that the quality of cards from jacquielawson.com/ is exceptionally good. Other e-card services are available, including some free ones, but they are not nearly as nice as jacquielawson.com/. The artwork, animation, and music background in each card is excellent. So, I'm banking on recipients being happy with the quality of what they see.
One final point: I would not necessarily use an e-card in all situations. For example, I don't think I'd use it for a wedding card. Newly weds may want to keep wedding cards for years for sentimental reasons. Another case might be sympathy cards in recognition of the loss of a family member. And that's fine. It's just something I can't see myself doing, that's all.