June 29, 2022 0 Comments
Postal Patent cards https://www.plymouthcards.com/collections/all-greeting-cards/postal-patents
Hey, how are you today? I am Lisa here at Plymouth cards and I am here, live for our weekly live. And I'd love for you as you hop on when, if you're watching live or even if you're not watching live, I'd love for you to say hi, let me know where you're watching from today because I know it's the summer and everyone's traveled.
So we're all over the place. I am actually in plant city, Florida today. And. It is, you know, a good 95 degrees today. So I hope it's nice and warm and summer where you are too. So today I wanted to talk about a couple of things. I have a new card line, and I wanted to read a letter that I received a few years ago from a customer.
And it give, give like an explanation, so, or talk about it. So that, that's what I was thinking we do today. So I hope you're all doing well. I see a bunch of people popping on, so say hi, let me know where you're, where you are. I, if you just didn't catch my intro, I'm here in plant city, Florida today.
It's. You 95 plus degrees. So, and it's great. I love it. it's I don't have to shovel it, so I'm happy with the heat. So I don't know. I'm trying to figure out if I should show you the cards first or read the letter first. What do you think I should do? I'm undecided. I didn't, I didn't come up with a plan on that.
So let's see. I'm gonna do, I guess maybe we'll start with some of the cards and then I'll stop. Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'll I'll show some of the cards, then I'll read the letter, then we'll do some more cards. I think that might be a great way to go. Okay. So I'm gonna be able to see which one is off.
All right. So we. if you're not aware I've been doing a series called postal notes over on TikTok, and I've been putting some of them here and post what postal notes is, is because, you know, stamps are near and dear to my company and me. I collected stamps as a kid. My dad collected stamps his whole life.
He still collects 'em to this day. I just, so I started this whole postal notes and what it is is I do. Interesting facts, silly facts, crazy stories, ex all that kind of stuff. And I, you know, they're short little clips and so it got me thinking, oh my gosh, you know, I have the whole card line about patents.
Are there any postal patents? Well, The answer is yes. Yes, there are. So it's not gonna show, oh, I I'm gonna have to keep looking to see which one is there, but here is the mailbox phone. So this is brand new. It's on our website right now, hot off the presses. And you know, you can pick any of the card colors that We have, you know, if there's something you don't see, feel free to ask if there's a color that matches your decor better or I really think these would be amazing for, you know, is there a male carrier in your life?
Cuz I think they would just love these. Okay. Let me find this one. Okay. Check it out. This is a patent for the male carrier wagon. isn't that awesome. I don't know. Maybe I'm just a, a, a geek, a geeking out about certain things, but I just think it's so cool. I just, I couldn't believe how many pat there's 14 that I found post office pat or post office items related.
So there's the the, and it, the wagon in their blank inside just like all our. And you know, our little logo on the back about the size of a quarter on the back on an angle. So they work with both orientations, but let me know what you think of this new card line. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Oh, wow.
And then I just, honestly, I was pleasantly surprised as I, or excited, you know, finding all these there's the rail. They have a patent for their own railway car. I don't know, like I said, I guess I , I'm geeking out about this kind of stuff, but patents and the post office, all in one, sign me up. So there's this one, all the cards.
They're 3 49. They're made from recycled paper in case you're new here. Our cards are all made from recycled paper. All the paper is made in the us unless it starts with an E and then that's made in Europe. Some of the colors are getting harder to find as mills are shutting down or the mills are making less colors to focus on white.
So there that's my, my situation there. And okay, here is another male wagon. This male wagon is from 1901. So there's a patent on this one as well. So hopefully you think these are as cool as I do, but you know, they're perfect. They they fit in a picture frame, a five by seven frame, most, you know, most frames.
So this is a sorting system patent. like, I don't know. I just never thought about, you know, the machines that actually do all the work at the post office being patented, I guess I just thought, oh, there are machines that, that do the work, but yeah, this patent is from, oh my gosh. It is so tiny 19 0 1 19 0 1.
So. It's over a hundred years old, over a hundred years ago that that patent came out and then I'll do a couple more 1, 2, 3, 4 fives. I'll do half, and then I'll read the letter and that I got, and then I'll continue on from there. So let's see, this is, Ooh, a postal scale. I love this one because check it out.
it's an Eagle, no list, a postal scale to weigh your, your letter to see how many answers it is. This is from 1987. So this one isn't as old, of course, as some of the other patents. And yeah, I think I have one more to go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Yep. I have one more. That way. I'll do half now and the pocket postal scale.
I just, you know, I, if you, if you've watched some of my videos before, you'll see that I'm always perplexed by this system. I put it in. I tell it what order I want it to be. And then it just like does its own little shuffling and it's. It's like over that wheel. So this is another post still scale a pocket one.
So isn't that cool? So, all right, I'm gonna pause this. We'll pause, this I'll show you the other seven after I read this letter and respond to it just because I think it's important. I got this letter, she only signs her first name and her first initial, and then she includes her. Email address, but the email address is not in my system, so I don't know who she is.
And so sometimes people have more than one email and they use a certain email only for ordering online. I know I do, cuz I like to keep all my online ordering in one email. So I keep track of it. And then I have my other email for, you know, family. Then I have my third email for work, but, but yeah, there we go.
So anyway, and it, it, it came in an envelope. There's no return address on it. So I got this a couple years ago and I, I never responded to it and I don't usually share this kind of room for me or this kind of thing publicly, but I think it's an important letter to talk about. Yeah. And I'm not judging her.
I'm not upset with her. I'm not just please know this. I'm just, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to explain. So she wrote dear Plymouth cards, please accept this unsolicited mail back again. Oh, I forgot to show you in the envelope. Is my catalog ripped up with, in with the clear plastic bag I should have.
I should have shown that too. I only, okay. So I think I'll. So unsolicited, we send catalogs to anyone that's ever purchased from us. If you've purchased within two years, we send you a catalog and our catalogs are made on recycled paper. More often, not more often than not. It's a hundred percent recycled paper.
Sometimes it's not available when I wanna make the catalog. So then I have to go to a lesser. Recycled content value, but just so you know that too, and she says I will not be purchasing from your I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. I don't, I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I'm I'm just reading it in this like certain tone in my head.
I will not be purchasing from your company again, despite having enjoyed your cards in the past. I am no longer accepting mail packaged in plastic or products wrapped in plastic. Here's wishing your printed claims of eco-friendly. She wrote in quotes were justified. Nothing shipped in plastic can be eco-friendly alas ditch the plastic, and I will reconsider returning as a customer best Jane.
So uh, gene, so. My response to that is unfortunately, sometimes you do have to use plastic. We used plastic this year for the catalog because there were loose inserts and they weren't gonna stay in and the post office was going to reject them. So had to put 'em in the bags, the bags do have 10% recycled content.
I know that's not a lot, but it's 10%. And I thought that was a stickler for quality. So sometimes we need to Do like a higher quality bag and that's, this is the only recycled bag I could find that meets my quality standards, you know? Sure. I could find one that. You know, a higher recycled content, but it's junk.
And if I sell it to you, you're not gonna like me. You're not gonna like my company. You're gonna just be like, that's, that's terrible quality. So sometimes we have to do that. And I just wanted to show you. Some of, I'm not being defensive. I hope it's not coming off that way. I just want it to be more informational so that other people that may feel like I'm not eco friendly because we use one plastic bag.
Just, I wanted to share with you all the different things that I do do to be eco friendly. And I would love for you to show me a company that Doesn't have a little bit of plastic in there, you know, it's just, it's just life. So for example, this ribbon I get made it's made here in the us now I buy a ribbon made in the us because I feel well we should support each other here.
And it has less of a carbon imprint when it's being shipped within the us. Sure. Maybe I could find ribbon somewhere else that doesn't come shrink, wrapped, and plastic to keep it clean and protected. But. I would rather buy this ribbon because I know it's a us company. I vetted them and it makes me feel good to buy from a us company.
my sacrifice is they shrink wrap it. So there's that. And I just wanted to show you some other things. Our gift bags are a hundred percent recycled content. I've searched out bags and are made in the us too. Less of a carbon footprint. Our, our bowls are made from reclaimed wood, as well as our little signs that you see here, reclaimed wood.
And let me show you what else. What else did I have that was reclaimed would, I don't know, but okay. Moving on. Our notepads are made from a hundred percent recycled paper. I, you know, and maybe people don't know this and I think I'll let you know that recycled paper actually costs more because it's a more of a process I've been told.
So that's why it costs more. So I, I spend more to get the recycled paper. To be more eco-friendly. So there's that as well as the journals, the journals, this chipboard a hundred percent recycled content, as well as this paper is all recycled. So there's that? Let me show you what else we've got.
Hopefully I'm not coming off. As you know, I'm just trying to be informational. Can know um, our candle. Soy wax. This vessel is not a brand new vessel. This is a recycled wine bottle, reused cleaned out, and then cut down and made into a candle. So it's. You know, recycled, and now we get to the, oh my gosh, the cards the cards are made, of course, from recycled paper, anywhere from 30 to a hundred percent post-consumer waste.
I, I buy as much, a hundred percent as a can as a, as a ah, as is available. But sometimes I can't. So the cards are made for recycled paper. In addition to. Let me show you, our catalog is printed on recycled paper. Our chipboards a hundred percent recycled content, and this is what we wrap our cards in.
So there's that. And if you're just joining feel free to say hi. I'm not on a . I may sound like I'm on a rant. I hope it's not coming off as a rant, but I'm, I was just responding to a letter I got about not being an ecofriendly company because I sent a catalog and a plastic bag. And so therefore I'm just showing some of the ways that I am.
Ecofriendly the 99 other ways. The one that I'm not is what. Was picked. So when you order a hundred, 125 cards or more, I reuse the boxes, our envelopes come in. And so that helps with our carbon footprint. I also reuse any mailers that we get from other companies. I , I actually have some of my neighbors saving them, but you know, why not?
Instead of having it go into a landfill, reuse it. So that's another thing that I do. We wrap all the cards and all the packing material is brand new newspaper that I get from our local newspaper. So instead of it going into. The landfill right away or being recycled, I get to use it and then it gets to be recycled.
So there's that? Let's see what else boxes. So whenever I get mailing boxes or the boxes, the cards come in, we, they come in these big boxes. I get for the. So I reuse these to ship my orders out. Not only does it save the environment, these are a hundred percent recyclable. They're getting used twice and it, it helps keep costs down.
So I cannot raise the prices here and let's see what else. I think that might be the end of that. So in our frames a hundred percent this is reclaimed wood, our frames. So, so there, so in response to Jane's letter that I just read I feel. I, you don't need to use air quotes on eco-friendly that I really am an eco-friendly company.
And every once in a while, I I'd like anyone to show me. There's no plastic in their home. It's just sometimes inevitable. And so, because I used one plastic bag Does not mean I'm not an eco-friendly company. I stand behind it. And there's that. So I just wanted to, if you, if you don't know what I'm talking about, when this is over, you can scroll back.
And I read the letter that I received a few years ago from a customer. And yeah, so there's that, but back to our cards, our postal note card, postal cards. So Yeah. Say hi, if you're watching live, you know, even if you're not watching live, say hi and let's see, let's go onto our, and if you have any questions about the eco friendliness of our company, I should add, feel free to pop a comment down here.
If you can send me a message through Facebook, you can get onto the website and do chat with us. Oh, excuse me. I guess I'm getting a little excited. Oh, hi, Linda. How are you today? Thanks for being here. Yeah. So feel free to, you know, if you have any questions about if, oh, hi, Karen. So nice for you to be here.
Linda and Karen, what's the weather like where you are? I, I don't know if you missed it. It's 95 degrees in humid here. So I'd love to know. And hopefully you, you don't think I was just on a, a rant and all that. So the, okay. Does anyone remember these? This is what I wanna know. check out this patent.
It's the postage stamp meter vending machine. Do you remember these? I remember in the grocery stores, when you were near the customer service or at the exit, there was these, these vending machines were always there where you could buy the postage stamps. Does anyone else remember that? Or am I just the only one that's old or has a weird post office memory?
so there's that and let's see. What else do we got? We have postage. Oh, this one's kind of cool. It's a, it looks like the postage stands. Let's see, we got that. And oh, St. Cog, Minnesota. It's 78 degrees. Oh, that's not bad at all. That's actually lovely. So hopefully you're enjoying it, sitting out getting some nice air.
I love that this is our time of year. This is like our winter where we stay in. Pretty much the whole, the whole summer. You know, my husband thought he might wanna go to the beach this weekend. and I said, I'll go to the beach with you in October, but I am not gonna go sit outside in a hundred degree weather with, you know, a hundred percent humidity at the be no, and with my skin, I'd burn in a second.
So that's not happening for me. So here is the postage stamp. Look at this. This is a patent for the postage stamp for the perforations. So they didn't postage stamps in case you don't know, didn't always start with the perforations. They started on sheets that the male Clark had to use a pair I'm using my, my air scissors so they had to use scissors to cut them.
And then perforations were, this is a patent from 1893 when they came up with that. So little cool piece of history. And let's see which one is next. So this is our whole new postal notes card line that is on the website live. Or you can click any of the links as they pop up and it will bring you right to there and saddle bags they made for horses to carry the mail.
I thought that was an interesting fact that they made special ones. You know, obviously they probably have much of other things, but there's that, I don't know. Are you enjoying this? Are there any other not post office or other things that you're interested in that you'd love for me to see if I can get patents for here is, I don't know why that's not showing up on the screen, but here's the.
You know, the, they call it a mailing box, but nowadays we call it a collection box because it collects your mail at the post office. So there's that, I love that they have the mail carrier in the, in the patent. Like I think that just adds so much to it. Oh. And I should have pointed that out. Did you see it on the the other one that I showed earlier?
Where is it? Oh, it's this one. I don't know if you saw this. He's right there. so I just love the detail of the patents. Let's make me laugh. So there's that, and it looks like the last two are not gonna show up. It looks like, but that's okay. Here's the mail bag. Yep. They made a patent for that. This one is from 1897.
and, you know, they're blank, just like all our cards. They're just our cards blank inside. And then this is the return postage stamp. So there was a special stamp that you used to return mail, which I thought was interesting. And this is from 1894. So, so those are all the the new line that I wanted to show you, it, it ties into my whole postal notes.
Series that I'm doing over on TikTok and I am gonna slowly be reposting them here on Facebook as well. TikTok, you don't have to have an account or anything to watch the videos. Yeah, they're just short, you know, 15 seconds to nothing's more than two minutes that I've done anyway. So they're all there.
And yeah. So, you know, if you need to binge something at night for yourself to sleep or you need a good laugh, feel free to go over there. Yeah. Yeah. So it's. It's been fun, but anyway, so that, that is the new card line. That was my response to the letter. I thought that might be just helpful to explain all the different ways we are recycled.
And but if you ever have questions, you could always call me too. I never said that. 8 7 7 8 3 0 3 4 0 5 is the number. I do answer the phone. If I don't answer, it's just because I'm on the other line. Yeah. Or making dinner sometimes I have to, you know, do that. So I don't answer the. When, when we're eating and let's see what else you can always, you know, like I said earlier, you can go to the website, hit chat with us.
That goes right to my we have a portal. We can chat with you. Private message through Facebook. You can always comment on the Facebook post too. I do check it. At, at minimum once a day, sometimes more just to make sure there isn't anything that needs to get addressed. So I so appreciate you being here and watching live or unlive, or I shouldn't say unlive that makes it seem like you're not here anymore, but live or, or the replay I should say.
Yeah, I so appreciate it all. And thank you. I will be back soon. Have a good day.