Today's Picture: 071

[akujunkan]

Is of:


point cards! Japan is huge on point cards. They come in three main varieties:

• A certain percentage of the pre-tax total is saved as points, which can later be redeemed at the store for merchandise
  
• A point is awarded per set amount of pre-tax total (usually one point for every 500/1,000 yen)
  
• A point is awarded every time the customer buys something/brings their own bag (this type is most common at restaurants and supermarkets, obviously)

The cards are actually a pretty savvy sales strategy. I know I frequent places the places that issue point cards, even if other stores selling similar goods (but without pointcards) are closer or slightly cheaper, and this has worked out to my benefit as well as the stores'. So far I've managed to score countless books, several CDs (n.b. CDs cost about 30-40USD in this country), supermarket discounts, 5 gigabytes of flash memory, a telephone, and a $50 pair of headphones (that were later stolen from me on an intercontinental flight, *gr*) with the points I've accumulated over the years.

In the picture above we see some of my various point cards. I have many more; these just happen to be the ones I carry about in my wallet, sans any that have my personal info on them.


That will be all.

Comments

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

The free stuff is what it's all about! Alas, the Japanese chains do not give you points for spending points.