Why Can’t I Purchase Just One Calendar?
September 30, 2013 by Jim Braaten · Leave a Comment
We offer great calendars for sale and we’re quite proud of that fact. And we realize that many people throughout the country have grown accustomed to receiving a certain calendar style or theme as it may have been hanging on their wall for years. We understand those traditions. We appreciate that familiarity and passion for a particular themed calendar product. That’s why it is not always easy to tell a caller you can’t purchase just one imprinted promotional advertising calendar from us.
Despite telling many customers we can’t just sell one calendar the pleas to make an exception to our policy often go on. Unfortunately, the call always ends in disappointment and I’m sure with frustration.
So, why do we disappoint people who call wanting to purchase a single calendar unit? We have several reasons, here’s why:
- First and foremost, when we secure licensing rights to images appearing in the calendars we DO NOT purchase them for a retail sales basis. In other words, calendars that are sold in single (or small number units) are not keeping the true spirit of selling for promotional advertising purposes. Instead, what the caller is suggesting for us to do is sell calendars that do not fulfill a promotional purpose, but rather complete a gift calendar transaction. This constitutes a retail sale and violating this clause in our licensing could subject us to fines and other penalties with the owners of the images.
- Another aspect that many callers looking for a single calendar do not understand is we DO NOT assemble the calendars in the factory until an imprinted advertising calendar order is received. That being said, it is not possible or practical to simply go find a single calendar of a particular style and ship it. There’s an order process and part of that process involves several steps in completing the calendar product assembly. Prior to that the calendar is often just printed laying on pallets in the individual component pieces.
- No, we cannot pull a sample calendar from one of our production runs. To ship out a calendar featuring the promotional message from one of our customers would be a violation of our customer’s privacy. Our customers are the only people authorized to distribute calendars bearing their advertising imprint.
- On a similar note, we DO NOT disclose who purchases our calendar products so that a caller can go to their business and request a desired calendar from them. Again, we protect our customer’s right to privacy and do not share their buying history or details with anyone.
- Finally, often times what happens is a caller states their bank, hardware store, etc. has chosen not to give that calendar out this year. We remind the caller they are speaking to the wrong person about this request. The folks who need to hear you appreciated that calendar is the company who discontinued using it for advertising. Perhaps they wrongly assumed nobody appreciated receiving the calendar and need to hear those assumptions are mistaken. Unfortunately, from time to time some businesses don’t always get the positive feedback from customers and prospects they need to hear from to justify continuing to market or promote a business using calendar products.
In closing, we’re not in the business of disappointing customers when they call for our calendar products. Likewise, it’s important to note that we are selling a specialty promotional advertising calendar product that is imprinted with a customer’s unique message for marketing. Single calendars are sold in bookstores and on magazine racks during the holidays. Our calendars are sold typically in larger quantities with a specific purpose in mind.
Honestly, if a customer who has been accustomed to getting a particular calendar from a vendor suddenly can’t get that calendar, we feel your pain. However, we also feel that for us to be in a position to provide that single calendar to the caller is also doing a disservice to the business who used to give that calendar out. They had a special investment in those calendars and they should expect that the folks who sold them the calendars will not also sell to their end-users. It’s a special relationship that we cherish and the policies we’ve stated are intended to protect. Thanks for your thoughtful understanding on this matter.
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