Jan 15, 2014, 9:20 am
Last edit by: Steve Oh
What we know so far, that we are happy to share, and won't get the hump when other people ask us or other people get the hump cos we know something they don't.
3V / Pay.com cards are no more
That is all.
3V / Pay.com cards are no more
That is all.
Manufactured Spend UK
Oct 24, 2014, 10:21 am
#1441
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 296
I appreciate the restocking period after being cleared out - I've even managed to be in store when the third party stockist comes around with the giant blue crates full of cards such is my frequency of visits. They seem to refill on a three week cycle, usually 20 cards for a M Local and 40 or 60 cards for a main store.
However, I've pretty much had the run of West Yorkshire for months, today was different, the stores I visited to go and clear out were in small market towns, some I had previously visited (several weeks ago) some were new (and remote enough to be untouched in theory) - all had a fully stocked gift card displays but the space where 3V should be was taken and fully stocked with the paid card type.
I really hope you are correct and the shelves have just been tidied and I've just wandered onto a 'competitors patch' but having put through over £40k of cards in the past six months it did look very much like a removal from sale in these stores to someone who knows what he is looking for.
I can't check my usual stores as I have cleared them all out in the past couple of weeks and they definitely won't yet have been restocked, hence asking the community for a wider reference point for those that are also using them as a source of cards.
On the offers withdrawal, the Morrisons one is crazy generous in comparison to Tesco for the 3V card - buy 40 (£1000) of cards at Tesco (if you can get their checkouts to accept that many in a quarter, they will need splitting over many transactions!) and they have a liability of £15 of CC vouchers; do the same in Morrisons during a single transaction (even on the self checkout if you like) you can have £100 of free fuel on your way out of the car park. Whilst high street retailers may well offer their cards at a 10%+ discount to face value does the same maths work for a fee free Visa? If the maths isn't working for the gift card supplier or if Morrisons have too much liability for the vouchers issued then at some point I would expect to see them removed from sale. Hopefully that hasn't happened yet! There is even a thriving market on eBay for these vouchers so I'm clearly not alone in this route.
However, I've pretty much had the run of West Yorkshire for months, today was different, the stores I visited to go and clear out were in small market towns, some I had previously visited (several weeks ago) some were new (and remote enough to be untouched in theory) - all had a fully stocked gift card displays but the space where 3V should be was taken and fully stocked with the paid card type.
I really hope you are correct and the shelves have just been tidied and I've just wandered onto a 'competitors patch' but having put through over £40k of cards in the past six months it did look very much like a removal from sale in these stores to someone who knows what he is looking for.
I can't check my usual stores as I have cleared them all out in the past couple of weeks and they definitely won't yet have been restocked, hence asking the community for a wider reference point for those that are also using them as a source of cards.
On the offers withdrawal, the Morrisons one is crazy generous in comparison to Tesco for the 3V card - buy 40 (£1000) of cards at Tesco (if you can get their checkouts to accept that many in a quarter, they will need splitting over many transactions!) and they have a liability of £15 of CC vouchers; do the same in Morrisons during a single transaction (even on the self checkout if you like) you can have £100 of free fuel on your way out of the car park. Whilst high street retailers may well offer their cards at a 10%+ discount to face value does the same maths work for a fee free Visa? If the maths isn't working for the gift card supplier or if Morrisons have too much liability for the vouchers issued then at some point I would expect to see them removed from sale. Hopefully that hasn't happened yet! There is even a thriving market on eBay for these vouchers so I'm clearly not alone in this route.
I would be inclined to think this is a supply/restocking issue. Perhaps 3V have not been able to manufacture their latest batch in time to distribute to the GC wholesalers or some other hitch in the supply chain.
During the NS&I days any 3V was a good 3V and finding one anywhere was like striking mileage gold! Recently there have been plenty of them available at Boots. Clearly not much good unless you can cycle easily and cost free. Funnily enough though these boots stocks (over the 4 or 5 stores I visit semi-regularly) do shrink lower (but not to the point of emptyness) and then are re-stocked. This suggests to me that other people (ie non-FT, non-mile collecting peeps) are buying them in more normal amounts (ie not clearing out the entire rack) which I read as generally supportive of 3V as a going concern.
Just my 2c..
Oct 24, 2014, 11:34 am
#1442
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: YVR/LBA
Programs: BA Exec Club (Gold)
Posts: 329
I asked the same question on PTS and have already had a reply that others have witnessed the same outside of my local area. I know this could tie in with your national distribution problem but in my local area I have been the only one clearing out the stores so to see old and new stores alike suddenly have nothing from many weeks of being very reliable was quite a shock today.
Clearly I don't want the Morrisons option to die (I've done very very well from it) but something in my MS was going to give way eventually - it really did feel like the end today. I pray I'm proved wrong!
Oct 24, 2014, 7:09 pm
#1443
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: South West UK
Programs: OW Saphire, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 236
Yeah, I have that pretty automated; and the physical side, its amazing what people will do for a tank of fuel
I just find it really strange that suddenly multiple stores that in theory should have had plenty of cards (I hadn't paid them a visit yet!) had full stocks of something else in place of where the 3v belong.
I asked the same question on PTS and have already had a reply that others have witnessed the same outside of my local area. I know this could tie in with your national distribution problem but in my local area I have been the only one clearing out the stores so to see old and new stores alike suddenly have nothing from many weeks of being very reliable was quite a shock today.
Clearly I don't want the Morrisons option to die (I've done very very well from it) but something in my MS was going to give way eventually - it really did feel like the end today. I pray I'm proved wrong!
I just find it really strange that suddenly multiple stores that in theory should have had plenty of cards (I hadn't paid them a visit yet!) had full stocks of something else in place of where the 3v belong.
I asked the same question on PTS and have already had a reply that others have witnessed the same outside of my local area. I know this could tie in with your national distribution problem but in my local area I have been the only one clearing out the stores so to see old and new stores alike suddenly have nothing from many weeks of being very reliable was quite a shock today.
Clearly I don't want the Morrisons option to die (I've done very very well from it) but something in my MS was going to give way eventually - it really did feel like the end today. I pray I'm proved wrong!
Oct 30, 2014, 7:58 pm
#1444
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 30
Nov 1, 2014, 8:18 pm
#1445
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: YVR/LBA
Programs: BA Exec Club (Gold)
Posts: 329
Unless you have found a manager willing to remove items from sale after they have been placed on the shop floor then this is not going to work in many stores.
In addition it draws attention to manufactured spend activity which most people on this forum would agree is best kept under the radar.
Nov 2, 2014, 1:10 am
#1447
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: YVR/LBA
Programs: BA Exec Club (Gold)
Posts: 329
Emptying a Tescos is much more difficult due to their unreliable checkouts and the fact that only a manned till can be used. Working through around 4 cards per transaction leaves plenty of cards still on the shelf for others.
It is the case with all stores that if one is empty then you can try another but given what I have said above if someone is clearing out a Morrisons store in full then this will be the case for all stores within a given locality.
Nov 2, 2014, 10:45 am
#1448
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Ipswich
Programs: BAEC Blue, BAPP
Posts: 158
If anyone is interested, today there were tons of 3V cards at the Norwich Tesco on Fakenham Road and the one on the road south out of the city.
Off topic, but I noticed Norwich had loads of ads on billboards around the city too calling on Heathrow expansion, ironic given how close NWI is to the city.
Off topic, but I noticed Norwich had loads of ads on billboards around the city too calling on Heathrow expansion, ironic given how close NWI is to the city.
Nov 2, 2014, 10:48 am
#1449
Join Date: May 2013
Location: BHX
Programs: A Club Plat, IHG Plat, CC Gold, A3 Blue
Posts: 27
Nov 4, 2014, 5:48 am
#1451
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 30
Yes, I know.
Well yes, that's obvious. If the manager is not willing to remove items from the shelf then he won't have them aside for you to collect at a later time.
In my experience large transactions usually result in something as a little thank you from the manager, like a coffee or a muffin etc. I've never seen a reason to keep my transactions a secret and my credit card issuers have never had an issue in me spending as much as I do. Sure they'd rather I didn't pay my bill in full each month but at least they still get their yearly fee.
In my experience large transactions usually result in something as a little thank you from the manager, like a coffee or a muffin etc. I've never seen a reason to keep my transactions a secret and my credit card issuers have never had an issue in me spending as much as I do. Sure they'd rather I didn't pay my bill in full each month but at least they still get their yearly fee.
Nov 4, 2014, 5:55 am
#1453
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 30
Sadly Morrisons is not as local, with only 4 within 30 min drive.
Nov 4, 2014, 5:58 am
#1454
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 30
I always leave some on the shelf for other people.
Nov 4, 2014, 6:20 am
#1455
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
And their ~1% cut of the transaction.