“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Columbia House Record and Tape Club Mr. Carroll?”
“Yes sir, I paid $1.97 plus postage and handling just like the magazine ad said.”
“Could you share with the court how many times you joined Columbia House Mr. Carroll?”
“That would depend on how you define the word joined.”
“According to our files, you enrolled in the club at least eight times from 1972 – 1980. You agreed to purchase six 12” stereo records or 8-track cartridges. Did you fulfill your agreement plus postage and handling in each of those enrollments?”
“My attorney has advised me not to answer that question.”
This fictional account is a public service message to those readers who have not completed their Columbia House enrollment agreement. It could happen to you!
Columbia House began as an experiment in 1955 when an executive at CBS Records formed a new division called the Columbia Record Club. The purpose of the new division was to test the idea of marketing music through the mail. To attract interest in the concept, Columbia Record Club offered one free record to those who joined the club, offering its new members a wide selection of jazz, easy-listening, and Broadway show titles from which to choose. By the end of 1955, the Columbia Record Club boasted 128,000 members who purchased 700,000 records. The club’s success led CBS to move its operation from New York City to a sprawling distribution center in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1956.
According to the company’s history, the Columbia Record Club changed the profile of the retail music industry within a decade. By 1957, Columbia Record Club was using its Terre Haute facility to ship seven million records to its members, the ranks of which were swelling by the month. By 1963, the division accounted for 10 percent of all the money spent on recorded music and thirty-six years later, membership exceeded 13 million.
While their history doesn’t mention it, the key to Columbia House’s success was the full page magazine ad that tantalized music fans with the offer “Take any 10 records or tapes for only $1.97.” The offer later rose to 13 records or CDs but the deal was the same. Get a lot of free stuff at once and then pay exorbitant prices (plus postage and handling) for six records to complete your agreement over two years.
It was a fair proposition if you divided 21 records by the total investment but few of my friends were concerned about long term investments. Instead, they broke the agreement and never became eligible for the bonus plan.
Few activities were more entertaining than selecting the 13 records and filling in the boxes or licking the little album stickers for the enrollment card. Then, 3-6 weeks later a heavy cardboard box full of listening joy appeared at my mailbox.
Another memorable feature of Columbia House that has been duplicated by many mail order businesses was the selection of the month. If I did nothing, Columbia House would still send a record each month. I could return the record postage free if I didn’t open it. Otherwise, it would cost about a dollar to return it. The challenge was finding out what record was inside the packaging without appearing to open it.
Somewhere on Fruitridge Road in Terre Haute, a woman sits with my name on a yellowed index card. “One of these days we’ll catch this guy and make him complete that agreement,” she says. “He still needs to buy 3 more 8-tracks.”
If she calls, have her contact my attorney. Thanks.
The Flipside - February 2008
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