I've been selling Christmas cards via my website, eBay and amazon in the uk and they've done really well- appeals to niche market. They went so well on amazon.co.uk that I decided to put them on .com for fulfilment by them ( I had to send bulk packages to 3 centres in US costing £££££s but they would send out to buyers with free p&p) . Result? 9 packs bought in the whole of the US in almost 2 months. I get more than that in a day in the UK! Somebody has suggested that Americans don't send many christmas cards - they are more into 'happy holidays' than merry christmas - is this true? If it is then when are they sent? Any thoughts on why they are failing very welcome!! ( they are now cheaper in us than UK so I don't get stuck with storage / destroy fees) Thank you !
Yes, Americans tend to use 'Happy Holidays' rather than 'Merry Christmas' as a cover-all for different faiths, especially Judaism.
They would send their cards during the same period as us but lots of Americans, if they are sending cards, tend to get personalised cards made up with photos of their families/kids, particularly if they have family and friends spread around the state/country and they don't see each other very often.
They also have had a big celebration at Thanksgiving not long before xmas and maybe get in touch with people they want to then.
I thought I posted a reply from my phone days ago, obviously it didn't work Thanks for your replies. My sales have doubled in the last few days so perhaps I was worrying prematurely. Sales are obviously still disappointing and I'll make a loss but bit more hopeful for next year armed with Happy Holiday ones ! Thanks again
I lived in the States for a few years. Friends there made the effort to spend time with their families around Thanksgiving, rather than Christmas, if they had to choose, or if they had to travel a fair way.
At Christmas, they tend to send a generic letter with photos, sort of like a review of their year, to update friends and family on their lives. Otherwise they sent a 'Happy Holidays' card.
I spent six years out in the states. I saw a mixture of various greetings but the most likely answer as to why they aren't selling as well is as someone else said that people have photos taken of their family and then digitally upload them to a site that provides various card templates. It is hugely popular and when I was a photographer out there many of my photography friends who had a graphic design sideline going on often made these templates to sell to other photographers or even direct to customers. I'd say that the photo cards have probably at least 80% of the market in Christmas greeting cards.
