Hallmark Cards - the owners are told that they have a partner in reatail - actually what happens to the store owners are that they are forced to sell product that does not make money for them - they are forced to pay large advertising fees and buy the product that supports the advertising. When you redeem a gold crown certificate the owner is given 1/2 of the face value back - which in essence will not even pay for the wholesale cost of the product.
When products are defective Hallmark is suppossed to issue credits to the stores so that they can take back products that are purchased throughout the Hallmark channel - the problem is that Hallmark dumps products into dollar stores, or big lots etc. - then when you give the representative something to issue credit on - they refuse to do so and you are stuck with the product and out the money. This is why so many owners have not returned items from other retailers.
The Hallmark owners have their lives invested in the stores - Hallmark has closed over 1500 stores in the last 5 years - because stores cannot afford to stay open. Hallmark puts product into Wal-mart and it does not have to be paid for until it runs through the register - seasonal cards are returnable to Hallmark - so again Wal - mart is not out any money - in the meantime the small retailers that put Hallmark on the map struggle and cannot make it - and then consumers get mad at the stores - it is truly not the Hallmark stores - it is Hallmark corportate.
Hopefully, someday these practices and all the things that they have done to people will come back to haunt them (Hallmark corporate) and the people who worked, toiled, and invested their life savings will find a way to make it. Many people have lost everything - it is not just the consumers who are frustrated.
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