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Monthly mail-order mania
When gift-giving time comes calling, we turn to them in desperation, often resulting in Aunt Zelda receiving a dozen different varieties of persimmons, and never again returning our calls.
We refer, of course, to "of the month" clubs, a variety of mail-order service that arguably began with Harry and David http://www.harryanddavid.com/. In 1934, the two brothers began offering their royal riviera pears by mail, a business plan that would seem to be doomed to fail during the Great Depression. This also was a time when fruit was something purchased from a farmer, not a mail-order catalogue.
But the concept caught on, and now, with the advent of the Internet, "of the month" clubs (or OTMCs) offer everything from beer and pizza to wines and chocolate. In fact, such a variety of OTMCs means that there might just be a club for every taste and every interest. Most allow members to subscribe for either a full year or just a few months to try out the service. Many include special gift items and other incentives for people to join, and a few operate like actual clubs, with newsletters and "members-only" features. The selection of options for clubs is as vast as the variety of goods they provide.
For example, Clubs of America http://www.greatclubs.com/ offers a wide assortment of OTMCs, including beer, wine, fruit, flowers, pizza and cigars. They include newsletters with their shipments and instructions on how best to use and store their goods, and they allow members to choose how many months they want to receive shipments. Another similar vendor, Best Monthly Clubs http://www.bestmonthlyclubs.com/, offers a variety of goods as well, including coffee, cookies and jelly.
Other, more specialized OTMCs include cheesecake http://www.sayitwithcheesecake.com/ccotm/ccotm.php, cheese http://www.cheesemonthclub.com/ potato chips http://www.chipofthemonth.com/, mustard http://www.napamustard.com/club.html, bacon http://www.gratefulpalate.com/Merchant/bacon_of_the_month.htm, salsa http://www.salsakiss.com/club.shtml and chocolate http://www.chocolatemonthclub.com/.
Many OTMCs focus on non-consumable items, such as books or music. One club, for fly fishermen, sends a fly lure to you every month http://www.bluequillangler.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/fly_of_the_month_club.html. Another offers new cross stitch patterns every month http://cross-stitch2go.com/PatternClub.html. Most hobbyists will find an OTMC that's right for them.
A few OTMCs are simply disturbing. The Morbid Tendencies Bunny-of-the-Month Club http://www.morbidtendencies.com/botmc-details.html will ship you stuffed bunny rabbit toys of varying quality, some with three ears or six legs, depending on how much money you pay each month. They recommend that you have the orders shipped to your office or place of business.
Whatever your interest, you will likely find an OTMC to meet it. Just be sure not to send any more fruit to Aunt Zelda!
—Stewart Brower, University Libraries