We drive by this sign every day, a forgotten momento of "the way we were". We have to admit we're having flash backs of a Brady Bunch episode revolving around Blue Chip Stamps but can't ever recall our parents collecting them.
Does any one else recall saving these? What exactly did you do with them? Where did you redeem them for a prize? Inquiring minds want to know.
I never had grocery or department store stamps, but we used to have a music store called Turtle's that had stamps. I think you got a stamp for each dollar or five dollars that you spent, and then when the book was filled up you got $10 off.
I used this to buy cassettes. Boy am I aging myself here...
our local supermarket gave out the stamps when you shopped. my mom gave them to me to paste into little books which, when you filled enough, you could redeem at actual blue chip redemption centers (i think ours was in santa monica) for goods like transistor radios, cookware, jewelry... you know very all purpose catalog stuff. everything was on display in the redemption center, to encourage you to collect more stamps. as an 8 yr old, i loved it. i got a transistor radio that i listened to while baking in my back yard with baby oil and iodine. ahhh, the good old days.
oh my gosh absolutely! we used to redeem them in Panorama City on our way back from a doctor's visit @ Kaiser. my mom got a classic/bad chair that I would love to inherit some day just because of the memory of going to that junky place that I used to think was so cool.
My small town had them up until the last 10 years or so ago. The grocery store would give you so many for however much you spent. Then you could redeem them for a variety of items and only pay the tax on them. There were all kinds of items, some quite nice. The place was my saving grace when I was in college/just starting out. I still have a lamp, a nice set of kitchen knives w/block, and some cookware from the stamp store.
They also used to offer tickets to a nearby amusement park in exchange for stamp books.
The local high school also asked for stamp donations and funded the Project Graduation prize patrol with items from the stamp store.
I just about cried when they closed the stamp store down. :(
I can't remember how she got them but we had a big drawer full that my mom would allow me to stick into the books and put into order. I have no idea what she used them for but for some reason they conjure up an image of chipmonks or some sort of cartoon character on the front.
I do remember collecting the stamps and posting them into little books. Then, we took them to redemption centers, where you could "purchase" various household and kitchen items - lamps, pots and pans, etc., with them.
We didn't have the Blue stamps where I lived - ours were green. It was basically the precursor to frequent flyer miles and credit card miles. I know they were around until at least the late 70's - that is the last time I can remember collecting and redeeming them.
i also remember going to the "showroom" in Panorama City to redeem our stamps. One year we had saved up a bunch and my sister and I picked out all of these pool toys...it made our summer!
We had green stamps (in Long Island, NY). A few years ago the Foodtown Supermarket brough them back, but they don't give out stamps anymore - they are points that you accumulate until you have enough to "buy" something with them. They're called S&H Greenstamps.
One of Stephen King's first (I think) published stories revolved around a guy addicted to those stamps... I think something about the paste on the back and licking them made the main character lose his mind.
I remember my grandparents collecting green S & H stamps from grocery stores like A & P in Chicago during the 70's.
I still have some blue chip stamps, what can I do with them,and are they still good?