Green Shield Stamps | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 20 Dec 2005 18:35

Green Shield Stamps - bedfordrl

Any one remember Green Shield Stamps?.
After this we had wine glasses and smurfs, what else was there and what is there now when you buy your petrol/derv.
Also something i have been wondering for a while is this, years ago derv was half the price of petrol or less and there were few derv cars about,now there are loads of derv cars about derv costs now more than petrol.
Has petrol become cheaper than derv or is derv more expensive to produce now ?.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 18:45

Green Shield Stamps - AlastairW

I remember the stamps, Mum and dad used sheets and sheets of them to buy a bathroom cabinet, of all things!
Your derv query could be answered by the chancellor. Derv used to carry a lower level of duty, but when it started to et popular for cars the chancellor levelled the duty out so that he continued to get the same duty in his piggy bank.
The price difference between petrol and derv these days is caused by differing production costs.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 10:46

Green Shield Stamps - Roly93

The price difference between petrol and derv these days is caused

by differing production costs.

>>
What ??????????? Derv is far cheaper to produce than 95 octane petrol, the price difference is due to supply and demand in the oil business. There is a lack of refining capacity globally, and the oil companies globally underestimated the demand for diesel fuel. It is a purely profiteering by the oil companies, on this rare occasion I think the chancellor is blameless !!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 18:47

Green Shield Stamps - mare

Any one remember Green Shield Stamps?.

After this we had wine glasses and smurfs, what else was

there and what is there now when you buy your petrol/derv.

Until recently, you could get air miles or double cash back on credit cards. At the moment, i get nothing, i guess the margins in petrol are too tight thanks to the supermarkets. There are plenty of empty petrol stations around the country where people can't amke it pay.

Also something i have been wondering for a while is this,

years ago derv was half the price of petrol or less

and there were few derv cars about,now there are loads of

derv cars about derv costs now more than petrol.

Has petrol become cheaper than derv or is derv more expensive

to produce now ?.

I don't know, but I'm guessing that the answer is that the duty paid on DERV has been raised to equalise the price with petrol. Will the same happen with LPG?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 21:09

Green Shield Stamps - kithmo

Back in the 70's you used to get a stuffed tiger tail, to hang on your mirror, from Esso, "Put a Tiger in your Tank" was the slogan. I get Optimax points from Shell.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 21:28

Green Shield Stamps - Dynamic Dave

I remember the tokens Esso used to give out. I have still got my portable tyre compressor that I had to save 150 tokens for. Obselete now, but I also still have a few TDK blank cassettes kicking around that cost 6 tokens a time.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 21:31

Green Shield Stamps - Happy Blue!

Yup - Optimax points from Shell, plus using my Amex card, I get 2% cashback at the end of each year. Better than GSStamps.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 21:48

Green Shield Stamps - Bromptonaut

Back in the 70's you used to get a stuffed tiger

tail, to hang on your mirror, from Esso, "Put a Tiger

in your Tank" was the slogan.

Followed by World Cup coins in 1970, still got a few. Then it was tumblers, one with every four gallons. FIL commuted from Stoke to Stafford in a 25mpg Moskvich - we've just about bottomed the boxed stock of "petrol glasses" but still have them in daily use!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 21:52

Green Shield Stamps - Xileno {P}

I must be getting old. I can remember all these things :-(

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 22:12

Green Shield Stamps - Pugugly {P}

Remember the self adhesive bullet holes that we all craved as kids ?

All too real these days in certain parts of the country.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 22:18

Green Shield Stamps - Kevin

Ahhh,

Can anyone remember that the original Green Shield Stamps operation folded (in the '70s?) and then reappeared for a short while in the late '80s?

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=27...2

Kevin...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 22:56

Green Shield Stamps - tyro

Great thread. Takes me back. My gran certainly collected Green Shield stamps, and I think my parents did as well.

I have a couple of Esso Tiger tokens sitting on my desk which have probably been there for years.

And I still drink my cuppa out of a mug I got from through tokens at a BP station about a dozen years ago.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 20 Dec 2005 23:06

Green Shield Stamps - Stuartli

Collected books full of Green Shield stamps and not only from petrol stations...

Today it's Tesco Clubcard points.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 08:55

Green Shield Stamps - klystron

Being a bit of 'old so and so' I seemed to recall a link between Green Shield Stamps and the Argos catalogue store chain from many years ago. A quick 'poke' in google found me the following info tinyurl.com/dqg33

Seems my old memory bank isn't so clapped out after all, and is still so full of really useless information. So if you have any musty old Green Shield Stamp books around go and try your luck with them at Argos!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 09:08

Green Shield Stamps - Altea Ego

WE broke the last of our free shell glasses last week. WE had a full set of 12 of each, wine, tumblers, long glasses, and damn fine they were.

People used to crawl around slowly becuase they couldnt fill up that day, as tomorrow was "double green sheild stamp" day.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 11:09

Green Shield Stamps - Cliff Pope

Double Green Shield stamps, then Triple, Quadruple, even TEN FOLD ! Then the bubble burst and the scheme folded.
There were also Pink Stamps, and of course Co-op stamps.

There were even brokers who would buy books of stamps for cash, in case you had enough wine glasses and bathroom cabinets.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 11:36

Green Shield Stamps - sierraman

Double Green Shield stamps, then Triple, Quadruple, even TEN FOLD !

Then the bubble burst and the scheme folded.

There were also Pink Stamps, and of course Co-op stamps.

There were even brokers who would buy books of stamps for

cash, in case you had enough wine glasses and bathroom cabinets.

Co-op stamps survived until last year.I used to save them until I realised,due to infrequent visits to my expensive local co-op,it had taken over a year to save a quids worth.
Total operate a points card scheme,but their fuel is usually a penny more p.l.than Shell.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 11:53

Green Shield Stamps - Chicken Madras

Ah, Shell glasses... I think I've still got some in the kitchen somewhere. Who remembers the Shell soup toureens(?) and flan dishes? I'm still waiting for them to do another model Ferrari promotion so I can blow all my 13,000 points on the lot in one go.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 11:14

Green Shield Stamps - rtj70

I remember Green Shield Stamps from when I was a child. But the best memory was seeing a message written on a rock face in south Wales.

Someone had originally written "Jesus Saves" and then someone else had added "Green Shield Stamps" ;-)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 11:34

Green Shield Stamps - mick1999

I remember them, my dad user to work at a paper mill and they once got a lorry load of full books for recycling that had not been cancelled, so everyone in factory recyceled them back through Green Shield outlets again

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 12:03

Green Shield Stamps - Round The Bend

""Back in the 70's you used to get a stuffed tiger tail, to hang on your mirror, from Esso, "Put a Tiger in your Tank" was the slogan.""

The idea was to hang the tiger tail from your petrol tank to look as if the rest of the tiger was inside!

______________________________________

Time to get on with some work

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 21 Dec 2005 12:20

Green Shield Stamps - Altea Ego

Sure your memory is poor lads, this was in the mid 60's surely?
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 22 Dec 2005 21:10

Green Shield Stamps - bedfordrl

I think i remember (but i may be wrong) that you could save up cigarette coupons for amongst all things a Mini Moke.
I wonder how many people who puffed themselves stupid to get one are around today ?.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 22 Dec 2005 21:35

Green Shield Stamps - Pugugly {P}

Groundhog tyres Honk Honk

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 06:49

Green Shield Stamps - THe Growler

My neighbour's lad when I was briefly in UK c. 1971 used to work at a gas station in Hove. Petrol sales were very competitive and triple and even quad GS stamps were the norm as stations competed with each other. Well, being in Portslade/Hove, this chap's station got large amounts of traffic off the Newhaven ferries from the Continent filling up on cheaper (then) UK fuel. None of the foreign drivers had a clue what the stamps were or what they were for, and there was no audit procedure tallying stamps given out to gallons sold.

Needless to say the pump crew pocketed all the quad stamps and amassed book after book of the things, then took them to the GS Redemption Shop in Brighton every so often to to change them for real junk. He shortly thereafter got married and swore he furnished his flat with those stamps!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 11:40

Green Shield Stamps - sierraman

Sure your memory is poor lads, this was in the mid

60's surely?

------------------------------

TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >

Yes it was,or certainly pre 70s as I was still at school when they were about(left in 1970)and it did not come stuffed,you had to do that yourself.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 12:28

Green Shield Stamps - Altea Ego

Indeed, the tail was a pathetic floppy thing till it was stuffed.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 13:39

Green Shield Stamps - barneybee

Being a mere 24 even I remember GSS (well the revival anyway). I can also remember being told off if I lost them! I think my parents got drinks glasses with their GSS!

Would I be correct to say BP also used to give away 1990 world cup coins?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 24 Dec 2005 15:23

Green Shield Stamps - Welliesorter

Yes it was,or certainly pre 70s as I was still at

school when they were about(left in 1970)and it did not come

stuffed,you had to do that yourself.

I can remember Green Shield stamps (not the attempted revival) and I'd have been barely out of my pram in 1970. They didn't disappear until the late 70s or very early 80s. As others have remarked, when the showrooms closed they could still be redeemed at Argos. I don't know what connection there was between the companies but Argos shops seemed very similar to Green Shield showrooms except that they accepted money instead of stamps.

I do recall pre-filled books (printed pages rather than actual stamps) which shops kept for large purchases, although I may be thinking of Co-op stamps, which were around for much longer.

I can't imagine stamps ever being revived on a big scale as they'd be too easy to forge now.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator