Yesterday, one of my most favorite bloggers, Heather at Freebies 4 Mom, posted a coupon code for a free set of photo cards at Kodak Gallery (TRYUS3).
The code gave me a credit for $10 off a set of in-stock 5×7 photo cards. But there are only 10 cards per set, and I need at least 65 cards this year. Each set is $9.99, although there are volume discounts. Ordering seven sets would bring the price down to $6.99 per set, but that still totals $48.93. Factor in the $10 discount and postage and we’re still talking over $65 before shipping, although that’s before additional coupon codes.
And that was when it hit me: All of our holiday photo cards don’t have to be exactly the same! I’ll use the same photo for all of the cards, but it makes no difference to anyone – least of all the recipients – if the background is different.
I can now hunt for the very best deals on photo card sets without regard to quantity. If I can purchase them all at one time at a steep discount, so much the better. But if I have to pick them up one set at a time, that’s fine too. It takes almost no time at all to create a card. And it’s early enough in the season that my need is not yet urgent – in fact, Angie at Baby Cheapskate says the best photo deals are yet to come (check out her post for current photo deals).
Incidentally, I ordered my set from Kodak and elected to pick them up at CVS, which kept the shipping down to $1.49 (it would have been $2.49 to have them delivered to my doorstep). Since I always go to CVS anyway, the $1 savings is worth it.
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Actually, kodakgallery is offering 20% off most items right now. If you need the code, let me know.
Costco has great prices for photo cards and you can order them online for in-store pick-up.
@Michelle & CCS – Thanks to you both, I'll keep that in mind! The Kodak set works out to 15 cents per card, and it's now my price to beat. I realize that's going to be tough – the best price that Amy at MomAdvice found was 23 cents per card – but I’m sure going to try!
Snapfish is offering 20 4×8 cards for $.20 (total) plus shipping. I paid $3.44 total. Code is CARD08 and is good until Nov 23rd. Not as cheap as Kodak, but still not bad overall.
I blogged here about it: http://www.growingupgabel.com/2008/11/cheap-photo-cards-from-kodak-snapfish.html