7-Eleven Stamps: Thailand’s Secret Savings Club
Ever found yourself standing at the cashier’s desk, confused about the 7-eleven stamps in Thailand? If so then don’t worry: all the mysteries are about to be revealed. This ever-popular bonus scheme is back again, and your everyday shopping in your local store can now earn you points and special edition goodies.
Do you want the goodies? No, probably not. Will you try and earn them anyway? Hell yes!
Why are the cashiers throwing stamps at you?
You’re at the till, you’ve paid for your toasties and you’re waiting for your change. Here it comes. But what’s coming with it? A series of small, colorful stickers with weird cartoon characters on them. These are the infamous 7-eleven stamps!
Our first tip is not to try and stick them on any letters. These guys aren’t legal stamps, they’re just for fun! Every 50 baht you spend in shop will get you a 1 baht stamp, with the exception of some ‘special’ items in-store which will get you a much-coveted 3 baht stamp. What are the special items? It depends, obviously! Check out the promotional posters in the window to find out where to get maximum bang for your buck.
Why bother 7-Eleven Stamps?
Yes they’re bright, yes they’re colorful, yes collecting them is a challenge, but what actually is the point of the stamps? What can you actually buy with them? Well each stamp has a face value, so you can use them to buy your normal shopping if you wait long enough. That’s the boring answer.
The less boring answer is that there are all kinds of limited edition items only available to stamp-holders. Think pink plastic lunch boxes, small coffee tables and even a set of slightly lurid colored drawers! Sure, you’d have to spend 29,450 baht in-store to earn enough stamps to earn the drawers, but we’re all in there everyday anyway right? So it could happen!
Who are the weird guys on the stamps?
Fans of Japanese cartoons will probably recognize the characters from Doraemon which are gracing this year’s stickers. A cult classic across Asia, Doraemon is popular with children and adults alike and some people have started sticking the 7-eleven stickers on their notebooks and laptops as some kind of multi-colored status symbol.
Previous years have seen characters from big franchises like Disney represented, and crazy though it sounds, they almost became legal tender. We’ve heard stories of songthaew drivers accepting stamps as payment! Will this new Doraemon batch be as popular? Give it a go, but have a few baht as backup just in case!
Get Ready for a New Addiction
The whole thing sounds pretty innocuous, right? Go to 7-eleven, buy a few drunken toasties, get given a few stamps as a fun bonus and go on your way?
Wrong! Collecting these stamps can become an obsession and you’re a better person than we are if you can resist the thrill of the chase. How many stamps can you collect? How many of the higher value 3 baht items can you persuade yourself you need? How many of the different characters can you stick in your wallet! This isn’t just an administrative exercise, these stamps have taken on hero status and the challenge of amassing a collection is one that few people in Thailand can resist. Happy shopping!
