Who Sold Cards as a Kid with Olympic Sales Club?

[LukenDC]

When I was a child in the late 70's, early 80's, I sold Christmas cards and stationary door to door through Olympic Sales Club. Advertisements for Olympic Sales Club---based in Enfield, CT---were an ubiquitous presence on the back covers of comic books and featured dozens of fabulous prizes that one could earn. Prizes that I earned included a magic set and a set of Sea Monkeys.

I was recently reminiscing about Olympic Sales Club with my partner after someone posted a photo of me with my magic set on Facebook. I have not heard of the company in years and the door-to-door model of youth sales seems to be a relic of the past in light of the Internet and heightened concern about pedophiles. This is probably not a bad thing. When I was nine, I visited the home of a seemingly eager female customer who tried to seduce me. Ah, the memories...

 

[*BTMRR*]

I hadn't thought of that in many years! That sure brought back memories. I never sold, but I wanted to. My parents wouldn't let me!

 

[Carl]

Ah, those were the good old days. I didn't sell for that particular company. The one I worked for allowed you to earn a profit from each box sold. Really taught good business practices. The more of a particular item you ordered, the cheaper per item - thus the more you made by selling them. You made the most on personalized items. I went door to door and never gave it any thought that I was in any danger. I'll always remember the man who kept asking me questions and acted very interested in what I was selling. Then, after spending about 15 minutes going through my routine, he said, "No thank you. I wasn't really interested in purchasing anything. I just wanted to see how good a salesman you were." Oh, this was in the mid 1950's.

 

[Robinrs]

I sold cards with the Cheerful Card Company!! They advertised on the back of magazines: http://www.flickr.com/photos/calsidyrose/3128979681/


Needless to say my Mom was LESS than CHEERFUL when a ton of boxes showed up at our door and SHE had to pay for them!!

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Aah, the memories...I used to WORK for them. Started as a proofreader in 1997, worked my way up as a data entry operator, then the IT help desk, then the data entry supervisor until I was laid off in 2000.

I googled them one day last year after driving by the building and noticing that the parking lot was empty and the weeds had grown wild. Apparently they closed down in the spring.

 

[LukenDC]

Did Olympic Sales Club change its name to Olympia Sales Club due to the USOC trademark on the word "Olympic?"

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Yes - by the time I was hired, it was Olympia.

 

[cybrkitn]

DH had when we was a kid and did pretty well. He would often tell me how he would be the only one who dared to go to one house at the end of the street. No one else did b/c of the dogs that were there. Turned out to be one of the members of The Village People that lived there Who would've have known

 

[ricktib]

I did that as a kid, although the company I was with was "Sunshine Sales Club" out of Springfield, MA. Though I remember my dad not liking the idea of them using kids to sell their stuff.

 

[csharpwv]

I found this thread on Google trying to find out of the company was still in business!
It hasn't been until recent yeas that I have looked back at how daring I was to sell that stuff door to door to absolute strangers!
I had customers that came back to me every year for personalized Christmas cards, and the heavy weight wrapping paper that sold so well! I was quite the entrepreneur back then, and I guess that's where I get it from now! I love to make a sale! HAHA

 

[LukenDC]

I found this thread on Google trying to find out of the company was still in business!
It hasn't been until recent yeas that I have looked back at how daring I was to sell that stuff door to door to absolute strangers!

Those were seemingly more innocent days---before 24 hour nonstop news coverage of child murder, kidnapping, and molestation--- and parents had fewer concerns about their kids being accosted by crazies. My Mom never worried about me going door-to-door. If I had a kid today, however, I would not let him/her visit strangers' homes.

 

[HM]

Not through Olympic, but my sister and I sold from Current.

 

[mangosupastar]

Yes! Haha! I spent much of my childhood selling for Olympia. My mom wasn't home after school and I would spend all afternoon going door to door, sitting on peoples couches like a true sales lady. lol. This was fourth grade, it is really lucky I was not kidnapped.
All of these big boxes would be delivered to our door I remember signing for them and the carrier looking at me like I was nuts because I was 10 years old.

Looking back now I think it is hilarious that this was allowed. I chose the money though instead of the prizes and man I did pretty good! I was so proud of myself when I went to Family Dollar to buy everyone Christmas presents with my own money. Beautiful memories lol.

 

[Annergirl]

When I was a kid I sold Christmas cards and seeds from Olympia's competition. One year I sold 93 boxes and the next 75 packets of seeds. Fast forward to two years ago, when I first started working for Olympia. Yes they are still in business and yes they needed to change their name in the early 1990s due to the Olympics demanding it. They ran the sales club program from 1966-2006. They closed that part of their business due to the fact that people couldn't have their kids going door-to-door for safety reasons. They turned to selling their greeting cards wholesale to mom and pop stores and chains.
Just this past week they have revamped the kids sales club program as an affiliate program. No door to door, no prizes (sorry!), just 20% commission sent to you via Paypal. If you Google Olympia Sales Club you'll find it. As for the phone operators, yes they were real and Peggy still works here! Their names were coded for the various ads so that the company could keep track of which ads worked best. Yes, Captain O was based on a real person and today he's the president of the company. No he doesn't have the jet packs but he does drive a really nice car

 

[superme80]

I did! I only did it for a short time. I wasn't very motivated.

 

[ConeyLighthouse]

I was searching Google just for fun to see if anything came up about this and I was glad to see a Dis Boards post on it! I sold these cards in our neighborhood in Brooklyn in the late 80's and early 90's, and loved it - I had a great time getting prizes (a tent) and cash - so awesome! It really taught me some things about business as well. And to be honest, I don't think today it's any more dangerous out there, I just think the Media just covers the tragedies and horror show stuff all the time to get ratings so we're all afraid of everything.

 

[Nsherry]

So I sold Christmas Cards in 1962 with my brothers, using my paper route as the main customer base, and we sold enough cards to earn a canvas two-man pup tent, which we set up in our back yard in the spring of 1963, built a big fire, and actually had the fire department called by a policeman across our valley in White Plains, when he saw the flames against our white house. It made the front page the next day. Pretty funny. But I am trying to remember the company we went through, maybe Olympia, or it could have been Cheerful Card Company in White Plains, as there is where we lived. Did Olympia have that campaign that early, 1962? Anyone remember the pup tent prize?

 

[chickapin parterre]

Oh my Godness!!!.....the question is....what became of us who participated in that that parade of joy on the back pages of Comic Books??? I think my folks let me try because....eventually something has to stick with a ...9 year old who is day dreamer and seems to have no motivation.

I ended up leaving my college degree behind and started doing ebay when the dinosaurs where roaming the earth....those were the days....anyhow, I think my wanderlust of selling greeting cards eventually built up my Ebay empire and the foundation for my ability to evaluate wealth found in Goodwill stores.

Friends just shake their heads when they see me pushing out the cart full of $20.00 bills from Goodwill....but hey, I was use to that as 9 year old....folks just shaking their heads.

 

[D_Harris]

I sold Greeting cards for the "Olympic Sales Club" (or possibly the "Sales Leadership Club", since their ads and prizes both look the same). First in '75, and the second time in '80.

I remember looking through the catalog for hours dreaming about what I was going to get when I sold enough Greeting cards,

I can't remember exactly what items I ordered, but they were along the lines of a Watch, Walkie Talkies, Basketball, and a snorkel & mask, bike lights & generator, and Compass.

The problem was that the last time I sold for them I was ripped off by the company. They didn't send what I ordered and didn't respond to my complaint letter.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I vaguely remember doing it and always asking my aunt to buy something.