Think of it as Tiffany meets Starbucks.
It's not a diamond ring. Nor a gold watch. But for a cool $200 this holiday season, most Starbucks stores nationwide will be selling the Limited Edition Sterling Silver Starbucks Card.
Until they're gone, that is.
It's a solid silver mini-card, the size of a key-fob card, attached to a sterling key ring and clasp. It comes loaded with $50 for Starbucks food, drink and merchandise.
The other $150? Well, that's what Starbucks says is the retail value of the sterling silver card and key chain itself. And if history is any guide, they'll sell out faster than you can say Frappuccino.
For Starbucks, selling a fancy-dancy holiday Starbucks card has become a wildly successful annual public relations ploy. This is the third year -- and is the first year they've been sold in-store, not just on line.
About 43,000 of these cards will be made available in total -- two to 11 cards per store at the about 7,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S.
"It's taking the excitement of limited-edition cards and making them available to other people," says Linda Mills, a Starbucks spokeswoman. On Nov. 1, Starbucks offered 1,000 of these cards on its website and they sold out within four hours, says Mills.
One expert in luxury marketing says the promotion's got legs. "This Starbucks play gets media attention and buzz going," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. "Any publicity is good publicity."
But, she adds, it's got considerably less luster than that $450 Starbucks Metal card promotion that sold-out online last holiday and the holiday before that with $400 loaded onto each card.
Why has Starbucks cut the value of its priciest holiday card and, this time, taking it to the stores? Is this a statement on the tough state of the economy?
"Customers told us that they wanted to have even greater access to our limited-edition, premium cards," says Mills.
Last year, consumers cried foul after Gilt, the luxury retailer that worked with Starbucks on what was then an online-only promotion, accidentally posted -- then un-posted -- the $450 Starbucks Metal card on its site one day before it was supposed to go on sale. Some folks not only bought the card ahead of time, but turned around and posted the collectible cards on eBay for as much as twice their value.
This time around, Starbucks has eliminated the middle man. And it's promoting the cards in stores with signs that read, "A gift aglow with holiday sparkle."
The real Sterling Silver card won't be on display, but kept behind the counter "for security reasons," says Mills. You'll have to ask a barista if you want to actually see one, she says.
At $200, Mills says, the Sterling Silver card is "for the ultimate Starbucks fan. We realize it's not for everybody."
