FEATURE/Whimsical Greeting Cards Arrive in Shapes of Clowns, Birthday Cakes, Butterflies — Without Being Enclosed in an Envelope

Business Wire, April 20, 2004

To download high-resolution, print-ready JPEG images, click on the thumbnail image above.

WARNING: these images are

very large (800K+)

Click here for caption

Feature Editors

FEATURE...

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4619311

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2004

Tickelopes Meet All U.S. Postal Service Regulations

for First-Class Mail and Include Designs for Every Occasion;

Unique Foam Cards Stand Out in Any Stack of Mail

Imagine opening your mailbox and pulling out a greeting card shaped like a butterfly, a giraffe, a bouquet of daisies or get-well balloons. Now take it one step further: these eye-catching, brightly colored shapes have traveled through the mail without being enclosed in an envelope that hides the design.

Impossible? Not with Tickelopes. These unique greeting cards are unlike anything that's ever appeared in a mailbox. Because they are made of flexible foam, Tickelopes arrive in tip-top condition and are available for every occasion in more than a hundred distinct shapes: birthday cakes, butterflies, a bride and groom, race cars, Santa Claus, Jack-O-Lanterns, even Noah's Ark.

What's the catch? These eye-catching, whimsical cards travel through the mail without being enclosed in an envelope, since the envelope is an integral part of the design. Each Tickelope includes a blank card for the sender's personal message.

Tickelopes are the ideal way to celebrate April as the National Card and Letter Writing Month. Stressing creativity, freshness and fun, Tickelopes meet all the requirements for non-rectangular mail and are USPS approved for only 60 cents postage.

"When customers discover Tickelopes for the first time, they can't stop talking about them," said Jeff Rains of Rains Department Store; the Ojai, Calif., store is one of hundreds of Tickelopes retailers across the United States. "Seeing is believing. People love to touch and feel them." Rains also sells Tickelopes online.

"I've sold thousands of Tickelopes, and people who buy them become repeat customers," said Hollis de Paula of Ruhama's Books in Boca Grande, Fla. "People don't buy just one, either. It's not unusual to sell more than 10 at a time to a single customer."

In addition to U.S. retail locations, Tickelopes are available at over 1,500 Canada Post locations. Typical retail price is $3.99 U.S. A directory of U.S. retail locations is available under "Stores" at www.tickelopes.com.

Tickelopes are manufactured by Tickelopes Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition to standard designs, Tickelopes creates custom designs for special occasions and for use by corporate and advertising customers. Tickelopes have been used by a number of prestigious companies including United Airlines, Travel & Leisure, Rosie Magazine, Hillwood, Arcadis, the Los Angeles Zoo, Texas Christian University and Classmates.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Visit www.tickelopes.com and click on "Stores" or "Where to Find Tickelopes" for a list of the Tickelopes retailers in your area.

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4619311