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In 2006, self-described “average guy” Tom Locke decided to see what he could get companies to send him for free by mailing out 100 letters. 100 stamps at the time cost $0.39 each (remember those pre-Forever Stamp days?), leading him to name the venture The $39 Experiment.
Locke wrote fairly honest (and often hilarious) notes to 100 companies requesting specific free stuff from each, and sent them to addresses he found mostly on products themselves. He documented the whole process, including the actual letters he sent. For example:
Eight in One Pet Products (#50)
Dear Sir or Madam:
I own a Rottweiler named Sir Shagwell. I am writing to you on both Shagwell’s behalf, as well as my own. Before I feed Shagwell any type of pet snacks, I personally sample them to assess their quality and flavor. After all, if I think they taste bad, what is Shagwell expected to think? I just wanted to let you know that your “Dingoroo” dog treats taste excellent, and Sir Shagwell agrees with me. I would like to request free samples of any similar treats you may have available. I appreciate the quality that obviously goes into making your products. Thank you well in advance,
Tom Locke, pet product enthusiastResponse: YES! $25 worth of free dog snacks
The table showing all his letters and responses (scroll down about two screens down the page) is a hoot. In total, Locke received $272.93 worth of free stuff, generally in the form of coupons. Locke is apparently cooking up another $39 experiment, but no details have been posted yet.
So tell me, dear readers: have you ever written to a company and gotten free stuff? When I was a kid I was sure that as a grownup I’d sit around writing companies and getting free stuff…but now I never seem to get around to it.
Comments (52)
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I have two stories, actually.
When I was about seven, my dad bought me Life cereal for the first time. I hated it (I still do). I was so little-fists-in-the-air angry about the fact that Quaker would market a “yucky” cereal to kids that my mom suggested that I write to them. So I did. Ironically, I received coupons for free Life cereal.
About two years ago, I was at my mom’s house on a really rainy afternoon and I started calling companies to ask questions about their products. Most were pretty usual questions, BUT I called Pepperidge Farm and asked them to explain to me if the reason why hot dogs come in 10s and buns come in 8s was their fault or Oscar Meyer’s. The Customer Service Rep didn’t have an answer but I did get about $20 in coupons for Pepperidge Farm breads.
posted by Christina on 2-13-2008 at 9:14 am
When I was a kid I bought a book at a school book fair called “Free Stuff for Kids.” It had all these addresses where you could write and ask (nicely, of course) for freebies. I got some pretty cool stuff that way!
Sadly, I just checked Amazon and it looks like they haven’t put out a new addition in quite a few years. :-(
posted by Roger on 2-13-2008 at 9:29 am
Google for ‘free stuff’ and you’ll get dozens of web sites that specialize in pointing you to companies, organizations, and even government agencies that are just chomping at the bit to send you all kinds of free stuff.
posted by airship on 2-13-2008 at 9:35 am
I haven’t written for free stuff, but I have written compliants and then gotten free stuff.
Like my Oral B Electric Toothbrush which stopped working after a couple of months. I was sent a new one.
Or the crappy Sally Hansen “pore” reducing powder that is crap — I got $10 coupon (to cover the cost) which I still haven’t used.
Or the baby/toddler busy box we bought at the Christmas Tree Shop. This was before the China Lead Paint crazy, but the product was made in China and impossible to put together and not very safe. Wrote an email complaining and saying how unsafe it was — they pulled it from the shelves (or so they said) and gave me double my money back in a gift certificate.
The saddest one though is Old Navy. Got a gift card. Used it at the Old Navy closest to me which was HORRENDOUS. Place was a mess, staff unhelpful, etc. Spoke to someone via email and on the phone and they said they’d address it and gave me a $10 gift certificate.
Went back 6 months later to use it and the place was still horrid. Gave my MiL the gift certificate and emailed them again. They wanted to know what they could do. Like I really want a gift card from then AGAIN!?!?!
posted by beth on 2-13-2008 at 9:39 am
I got the same book as Roger from the Scholastic book catalog around 1990/1991 (2nd/3rd grades) and sent off a lot of letters. My parents didn’t mind since it was a reasonably cheap hobby. Now as a 25 year old obsessed with uncluttering, I look back at this (and all the unneeded junk still in boxes around my parents’ home) as a very bad habit to have started as a child.
posted by Garrison Reid on 2-13-2008 at 9:42 am
Bored at work one day, I called Nabisco to ask them why Fig Newtons don’t have seams. The rep seemed puzzled, then she told me she didn’t know and to have a nice day. A few minutes later, she called back and explained the Newton creation process. So I got free manufacturing advice, but nothing else. The rep did tell me it was one of the more entertaining questions she’d been asked.
posted by Ohne Hosen on 2-13-2008 at 9:50 am
Dinty Moore – We bought a can of something (can’t remember exactly now) and the salt content was eye popping. Wrote to the company to complain – received coupons for more Dinty Moore products. Coupons went directly in the trash.
posted by KJ on 2-13-2008 at 9:51 am
I never been so blatent as to write to a company just to ask for free products (actually I think that just perpetuates our American desire for unnecessary consumerism) but I have complained to my share of companies which I feel have wronged me with their products.
I find most companies are willing to rectify their mistakes, while the ones who don’t suffer: My complaints to Ford and Gateway Computers went unresolved. Last year Ford lost $2.5B and was surpassed by Toyota and I am unsure if Gateway even exists anymore…
I have always said along with my complaints, I would compliment those companies and organizations who have exceeded expectations. Alas, I never seem to get around to the compliments as quickly as the complaints.
posted by dim wit on 2-13-2008 at 9:54 am
My friend uses a Macbook for graphic design work. One day the power adapter spontaneously ignited and singed the edge of her bedspread. She called Apple, very upset, and they sent her a replacement power adapter and a brand new 120gb iPod.
Smacks of pacification to avoid litigation to me, but hey, free iPod.
posted by Ira on 2-13-2008 at 9:58 am
Higgins: The next $39 (or $41!) experiment is still in the works. I hope to have it surface some time this year…
-Tom Locke, Procrastination Enthusiast
posted by Tom Locke on 2-13-2008 at 10:08 am
When I was a kid, I wrote to Crayola for a school project. I received a very nice reply letter, a booklet on the history of Crayola (actually pretty interesting), and a coupon good for a small pack of crayons.
posted by Jason! on 2-13-2008 at 10:10 am
I used to buy “back up” products until a hurricane hit my house and it no longer mattered how many extra of a product I owned because they all ceased to exist in a useable format.
posted by dim wit on 2-13-2008 at 10:10 am
Me and some buddies from work had this faviorite ‘monthly special’ sanny from pret a manger, which was one month only, but we got it like everyday. As soon as it was phased out we still joked about it, and it never came back, so 6 months later i wrote to pret explaining the story, and they sent me a free meal card(drink sanny and cookies).. which i thought was pretty cool
posted by Ryan on 2-13-2008 at 10:12 am
anyone remember my favorite movie, Summer School with the always fantastic Mark Harmon? They got free sunglasses, after Chainsaw complained that his were always breaking.
I always write anytime I have a defective product. Once I wrote to Post Cereals (via the internet) about how my Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries had absolutely NO strawberries in the entire box. They sent me – shocker – a coupon for more Honey Bunches of Oats
posted by Monica on 2-13-2008 at 10:12 am
YEARS ago (mid 90’s?) a friend of mine was drinking a Snapple, (this was right after the whole needle syringe in the Pepsi can thing) and he found a pen cap in it. He wrote to Snapple and got coupons for 20 free Snapple drinks.
posted by Witty Nickname on 2-13-2008 at 10:18 am
I work part time at a liquor store (wedding to pay for)… recently sent a mass email to various breweries offering to whore myself out by wearing their tshirts for free advertising. 3 positive responses (waiting on 2 tshirts, 1 rec’d), numerous responses citing the illegality of such bribery, and a crapload of non responses.
Slightly off topic– No tshirt from Bell’s, yet– but go out and get some HopSlam while you still can. It’s delicious.
posted by Steve on 2-13-2008 at 10:19 am
I wrote a letter once to the Life Is Good company explaining that I had a friend (who loves pb&j) who’s birthday was coming up and had a question about a special order. They had a children’s tee-shirt that featured a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jam with their slogan “life is good” underneath it. But it only came in children’s sizes and asked how much it might cost to get it printed on a adult size yellow for my friend.
Two weeks later I got a package from the company with a great letter and a tee-shirt in it, yellow, with the pb&j graphic on the front.
Gotta love the grassroots(ish) companies.
posted by Mihkel on 2-13-2008 at 10:19 am
I just googled “free stuff” and ended up getting asked a million questions and invited to partake in a million online surveys. One site even wanted me to sign up for a credit card just to get some samples of fabric softener! I think out of an hour of searching I only got confirmations for 2 product samples, so in about 6-12 weeks I’ll be set with toothpaste and Astroglide.
posted by ss on 2-13-2008 at 10:20 am
LOL YES! But not on purpose; I once wrote the Jimmy Dean people to tell them that their commercials with the LIVE SUN are hilarious and they sent me some coupons.
posted by c.a. Marks on 2-13-2008 at 10:24 am
4th Grade – I had a report due on the State of Nevada. I wrote the chamber of Commerce and got a TON of free stuff – posters, info guides and some coupons too. and they didn’t push Las Vegas to me all over the place… it was cool when you’re in the 4th grade :)
posted by Justin l on 2-13-2008 at 10:35 am
We used to do a lot of things to get free food in college, including crashing random gallery openings and stealing condiments from restaurants (not the packets, the entire bottles).
My roommate and I used to write to Carls Jr. and tell them how we had never been to their restaurant before and that their burgers were amazing, and a few weeks later we’d get coupons for free meals. It was great.
posted by Lauren on 2-13-2008 at 10:38 am
I once wrote a complaint to a book publisher about the quality of a book (the packaging was fine, it was the poorly edited text that made me upset) and got a free copy of the author’s latest book.
I also get free books all the time in exchange for writing reviews at my blog, but I’m not sure that really qualifies, since we are making an exchange of services.
posted by John on 2-13-2008 at 10:40 am
When we were little my brother and I both wrote letters to Mickey Mouse. He responded by sending us Mouseketeer hats! I still think that’s pretty cool, though I have no idea what happened to those hats.
posted by Kelly on 2-13-2008 at 10:59 am
Bought a box of Bic pens, half of which didn’t work so I wrote a complaint letter stating that as a starving student, I’d hoped the one box of pens would last me the entire term and that I’d probably switch to Papermate from now one. One large box of bic pens arrived in the mail shortly afterwards!
posted by EJMcK on 2-13-2008 at 11:40 am
My Mom is the Queen of the Free Stuff. She writes companies all the time. She bought a cheap GE CD/radio for $20, then a year later wrote to complain that the CD drawer didn’t close right. They sent her a free brand new version.
posted by Lori on 2-13-2008 at 11:53 am
I think Max and Edna’s definitely won. Way to come through with the free tattoos.
His best letter had to be the one to Energizer about his eleven remotes.
I was pretty surprised that BMW and Mercedes-Benz 1) answered him and 2) gave him exactly what he asked for.
Funny stuff. Good way to kill the morning at work. :)
posted by kate on 2-13-2008 at 11:54 am
I get free samples all the time. I’ve discovered lots of cool products that way. Especially toiletry and beauty products. Sometimes I use them right away, but sometimes I save them for when I’m going on a trip and try them as travel toiletries. It’s fun to have stuff in the mailbox besides junkmail and bills. The things that don’t suit me (like when I send for shampoo and also get a sample of lotion) I often use as guest toiletries or stocking stuffers.
I absolutely hate when I write a company to complain about something and instead of fixing the problem they just send me free stuff or coupons for free stuff. It’s nice if they fix it and send free coupons or if the problem was the kind of thing where a replacement makes it okay (like if the particular item I bought was defective or sub-par). But sometimes it’s not that kind of complaint (bad service, all of the product line is made poorly, etc). I wasn’t asking for free stuff, I was asking for some action to be taken.
posted by Melissa on 2-13-2008 at 12:07 pm
The first time my husband went to Starbucks (he’s not a coffee drinker so this was only a couple years ago), he found the barista helping us to be extremely rude. So he wrote to Starbucks to complain and they sent him 3 coupons for any drink, any size! He hasn’t gone back since but I throughly enjoyed getting free drinks.
When I was young I wrote to the WWF and got free panda stickers. I also wrote to the president (I forget which one) and got a nice letter back from “him.”
My friend sent me a notice of how you can get the President to send you a congratulatory letter on a wedding or anniversary or birth of a child. So last year I wrote to President Bush to tell him I had recently been married and his office sent a really nice congratulations card back.
posted by CK on 2-13-2008 at 12:11 pm
Dear SS,
I just read your post
“I just googled “free stuff” and ended up getting asked a million questions and invited to partake in a million online surveys. One site even wanted me to sign up for a credit card just to get some samples of fabric softener! I think out of an hour of searching I only got confirmations for 2 product samples, so in about 6-12 weeks I’ll be set with toothpaste and Astroglide. ”
I have one piece of advice: Don’t get the tubes mixed up. It will end badly in both cases.
posted by Anthony on 2-13-2008 at 12:23 pm
Never just asked for free stuff but I am going to now!
Complaints – I purchased a used car from a P.O.P company that is popular in the midwest. When I drove the car home it took 1/2 hour of trying to ge the car to start. Took it back, their service dept said nothing wrong, starter fine. Long story short I took it to my mechanic-the starter was bad as well as a few other things. Called the place where I purchased it and they said ‘too bad’. I wrote a very detailed letter to the president of their parent company (it might be Circuit City) expressing my displeasure about how the whole thing went down. I received back a letter of apology and a check for ALL the expenses I incurred in repairing the car including towing! Was very impressed.
My niece took a flight to Paris about 8 years ago (she was 17 and by herself). She and fellow passengers sat on the flight line for about 3 hours then they postponed the flight until the next day (was not weather related). Poor kid was freaking out. When she returned I wrote a letter to the airline (the name might start with CONT and end with INENTAL) expressing displeasure about how that was ahndled and got her a $400.00 voucher for future flight. She was thrilled!
Haven’t written any letter lately but I have learned if you are clear and accurate about what happened and remain UNEMOTIONAL when expressing it (just the facts ma’am) most reputable companies will do what they can to make it up to you.
Can’t wait to start asking for free stuff!
posted by JaneM on 2-13-2008 at 12:23 pm
My mother taught HS English and had her students write companies as an example of how to write a business letter. BTW, this was years before the movie Summer School came out. The best thing anyone received was 5 coupons for family sized Tide (the commercial showed it taking grass stains out of white jeans, but person’s blue jeans did not fare so well).
The worst thing that happened was the guy that filled the soda machine in the teacher’s lounge was told by his superiors to tell our school principal to have the students stop sending letters regarding flat sodas or half filled cans. Nice.
posted by bzzyb on 2-13-2008 at 12:40 pm
Try the website http://www.freestufftimes.com. It is updated all the time with great freebies you can get. I do it all the time and it works great. I have gotten hats, shirts, posters, flashlights, pens, mugs…
posted by KJ on 2-13-2008 at 1:01 pm
When I was in 6th grade I got a packet of M&Ms which had no green ones in it. I wrote a (nice) letter to the company relating my sadness at no green M&Ms. They sent me a lovely letter back detailing the process by which they get the M&Ms in the packet as well as a 1lb bag of just green M&Ms! For about 10 years I got all their mailings too.
I was reminded of this recently because apparently for this Valentine season Mars is selling bags of ONLY green M&Ms!
posted by tulip on 2-13-2008 at 1:09 pm
When I was in middle school there was a rumor that if you wrote a letter to Chiquita banana and told them how much you liked their bananas, they’d send you a free shirt. There were a few kids in school with t-shirts with the Chiquita banana logo on them, all of which claimed to have gotten them for free. I was skeptical, but curious, so I too wrote them a letter.
Much to my surprise, within a few weeks I got something back! A very nice (though form letter) response, along with a few yellow pencils with the Chiquita logo and – best of all – a HUGE (probably close to 3ft long, 1ft in circumference) inflatable Chiquita banana! To this day its hanging in the den at my parents house (which is tropical themed…). While I was a bit dissapointed I didnt have a tshirt to wear to school and show off, I thought the inflatable banana was better!
posted by DB on 2-13-2008 at 1:23 pm
I’ve done a complaint letter. A big bank chain that is no longer in buisness lost a deposit of mine made thru the drive up. After trying to deal with the bank directly for 3 months and filing a police report and cancelling all the checks I finally wrote to the president of the company.
I got my full deposite refunded and $50 as a good will gesture.
I didn’t stay with them much longer after that.
posted by Beth on 2-13-2008 at 1:56 pm
I get free stuff all the time in the mail. It’s amazing what simply asking will net you. I have not bought toothpaste in over a year, I see at least one free movie a week (at the theater, BEFORE the movie opens nationwide), I have enough shampoo/conditioner/lotion to stock a Hotel toiletry closet. Beware of the scam sites on the net, but if you go directly to a company website, most times, then have promotions and give-aways. All you do is ask….
posted by Michelle on 2-13-2008 at 2:07 pm
Oh God, this is all I do. Anytime I have a complaint about a company I call and receive a reimbursement coupon- most recently I called Carolina Rica, Hot Pockets and Chef Boyardee.
Also, last year, as a bored and poor college student, I called companies I really like and also received free stuff. My favorite was when I called the candy company that makes Chuckles Jelly candy. They actually ended up sending me 3 free packs in the mail (not just coupons!).
posted by Laura on 2-13-2008 at 2:22 pm
Like Roger, I also had the Free Stuff for Kids book. I remember getting lots of stickers but the best was the Just Born Candy company. They sent me a bg box of each of their products – full size. My mom had to ration it out or I would have eaten it all in one sitting.
I also remember my dad complaining to the brewery about a half-full beer he’d gotten in a six pack. A week later a guy was out with a case delivered fresh. I was really little and remember distinctly how excited he was.
posted by Megan on 2-13-2008 at 2:26 pm
Recently I bought some Near East couscous… one of my FAVES!… and when I opened it there were little maggot larvae THINGS clinging to the flavor pouch inside, and possibly “swimming” around with the cous-bits… ugh. Just wriggling there. So I called (and saved the little maggots just in case they wanted them)… I wasn’t sure what calling them would accomplish but I certainly didn’t want to suffer in private.
They apologized profusely, explained how it could have happened and sent three coupons. Luckily, they were for different brands… Life Cereal, or Aunt Jemima, etc. I used them on stuff other than couscous… it was too soon.
posted by Kelly J on 2-13-2008 at 3:14 pm
I wrote to Sunkist when I was a kid and they sent me a plastic orange peeler – the one with a sharp point at one end and a hook on the other end.
A letter to Texas Instruments telling them how great their scientific calculator was yielded no reply or freebies.
Not company related, but I still have a letter signed by Pierre Trudeau in 1981 when I wrote him.
posted by ZenBlue on 2-13-2008 at 3:34 pm
In college I got 2 boxes of Franzia (high class, I know) walked em home and immediately put them in my refrigerator. My friends came over a couple hours later, and when I opened them up, a plume of mold shot out the top.
Thinking “Well it’s good I bought 2,” I grab the other box. What I had once thought was a scuff mark was actually mold. Yuck. It was now 9:30 and the stores closed at 9.
The only alcohol I had on hand was a half bottle of Everclear. Being the inventive host I was I made it a potluck alcohol night and recommended everyone bring over what alcohol they had. This netted a quarter bottle of Everclear.
As everyone kind of stood around not wanting to kill themselves with the vile substance I got things started by taking 2 shots of it back to back.
The next day I go back to the store and explain to the clerk what happened. All I have to say is “I bought these yesterday…” and put the box on the counter and he goes “Oh, that’s disgusting! You can get replacements for those.” I go grab my replacements and as he’s ringing me up I’m telling him about how my night was ruined from lack of wine. He feels sorry so he offers me the only freebies he has… a Bud Light and a Coors Light shirt, which I take.
Later on that week I sent a drunken email to Franzia complaining about everything and how I had to subsist on Everclear. I put my snail mail address at the bottom, sent it off and promptly forgot about it.
About 2 weeks later, a check shows up from Franzia for $22 (the boxes only cost me $20!) and an apology.
So in total, I got 2 boxes of wine, 2 t-shirts, 2 dollars and the president of Franzia begging my forgiveness!… but I did have to drink Everclear
posted by Kevin on 2-13-2008 at 3:35 pm
Last summer I purchased a bag of Sargento shredded cheese and when I got home I noticed that the entire bag had melted together to form one large clump of cheese. I figured that I left it in the car too long, so next time I went to the store I bought more cheese. Then I noticed that all the Sargento shredded cheese at the grocery store was melted into a solid block, even though it was in the fridge section. I called Sargento and told them about it. They responded by sending me almost $20 worth of free cheese coupons. The funniest thing was that the person I spoke to at Sargento actually went to high school with my father!! Small world!
posted by Al on 2-13-2008 at 4:07 pm
As a joke my wife wrote a letter to Proctor and Gamble claiming that the residue of their dish washing soap ruined the taste of her lasagna. She did not complain that they should make the soap easier to rinse, but instead suggested that they make the soap taste better. She also suggested two possible flavors, either roasted garlic or pizzalicious. They sent us free samples of dish soap.
posted by Mike Bucher on 2-13-2008 at 4:20 pm
Had to write off to radio stations in middle school, a little different, but still. I accidentally mailed the wrong letters in the wrong envelopes, so one didn’t ever get back to me, but the one from my home state (Texas) sent me free can koozie things and a letter telling me I’d switched the letters. At least they were nice about it though.
posted by AliceO on 2-13-2008 at 4:45 pm
Japan had a really wacked out game show featuring a poor guy nicknamed “Nasubi” or “Eggplant.” They gave him a bare-bones apartment and a supply of postcards and pens, and told him that everything he required he must WIN by entering postcard competitions. (They were HUGE back then, and still get you free seats to lots of stuff on TV.) He was to be let out of the apartment once he won 1 million yen (10,000 USD) via prizes. Now THAT is some mean spirited reality television if you ask me. Ha ha. Search for it and find the story yourself, and you may even find screen caps and video clips. :-) Sick.
posted by Deas on 2-13-2008 at 8:20 pm
The only free thing I got from mailing letters was a signed picture of uncle joey from full house.
Also, I mailed aussie hairproducts to tell them how much I loved the leave in conditioner. I was expecting cases of this stuff for free (was in 4th grade) and that never happened. They do, however, send me Christmas cards every year. I would assume that I would still get them, but my family moved. Maybe I should write another letter…hmm…
posted by Heather A on 2-13-2008 at 9:28 pm
Is it just me or does this article bring back memories of the movie “Summer School” where Mark Harmon’s character encourges his class of summer school reprobates (including a young Courtney Thorne-Smith) to write to a sunglasses company about their product and they recieve a whole box of sunglasses. Man, English is a powerful language. (I think I watch too much HBO as a teenager)
posted by James on 2-14-2008 at 12:39 am
I’ve gotten quite a bit of free stuff just by sending emails or letters to companies whose stuff I love. Sonic Restaurants sent a coupon for a free Route 44 beverage, Quaker sent a HUGE box of snacks, Barkeeper’s Friend sent several good-sized samples, Dove sent a face massager, plus I’ve found that most companies will at least send coupons if they know you really like their product.
posted by Suzeo on 2-14-2008 at 10:45 am
I am SHAMELESS when it comes to getting free stuff, especially for my kids. Any of you with babies on the way, call all the formula and diaper companies and join their clubs – samples, coupons, free diaper bag! If you don’t use the formula, donate it to a food bank. I also get excellent coupons by calling to comment on products – it’s free market research to them.
BTW – you should do another column on other ways to get free stuff – I have toothbrushes for my whole family for the next two years, courtesy of the local health unit! And no, I didn’t cadge them – they give them away.
posted by Marion on 2-14-2008 at 11:18 am
I took art lessons from elementary school and throughout high school. In the 5th grade, after using an ArtBox 2000(similar to a fishing tackle box or toolbox) my dad bought me to lug my art supplies to class, the latch broke. Of course, I was devastated and wrote my first ever business letter to the company using the address on the label attached to the ArtBox asking where I could buy a replacement part. Some kind-hearted postal worker must have figured out the exact street address of the company for me because all I wrote on the envelope was the company’s name, city and zip code. Maybe a week or two later, I received a padded envelope from the company with 2 replacement latches and screws.
posted by Kay on 2-14-2008 at 3:46 pm
About 12 years ago I wrote to the makers of Toffifay. I told them about how I loved their candy and wished I could buy it in the USA. (I thnk they were in Germany?) Anyway, they sent me a map of Jacksonville (where I lived) marked with three stores that carried Toffifay, and 3-4 coupons for a free package. The best part was receiving a PERSONAL (as in handwritten) note from the company with a CASE of the Toffifay candies!! I am still a fan to this day!
posted by Scott on 2-14-2008 at 3:57 pm
I wrote to an *individual* and received what I hope to be good eBay fodder 25 years from now: A blank-front postcard from humorist Dave Barry. It reads, in his handwriting, “Well, they called it Sushi.–Dave Barry”
I hope it’s just enigmatic enough to warrant the big bucks.
Too bad there isn’t a mysterious Jesus shaped ink blot on it.
posted by Brammimonde on 2-15-2008 at 11:25 am