eCards takes on Moonpig for digital audience

A potential price war is brewing in the lucrative print on demand greetings sector as new operators take on the likes of Moonpig for digital customers. 

New print-on-demand greetings card service, eCards, is undercutting the market-leader by two thirds as well as offering 10,000 free greetings cards as a test for its systems before the Christmas rush. The move comes as a raft of PoD operations like Touchnote, Funky Pigeon and Hallmark gear up for a tilt at the greetings marketplace opened up by Moonpig.

MD, Sam Heaton (right) said: "We see no need to charge more than 99p for a personalised greetings card. We’re shaking things up and going head-to-head with Moonpig.  Our print quality and dedication to our customers is proven by our ‘Postcards’ app, which quickly became one of the Apple store’s top downloads.
 
‘Giving away 10,000 free cards will stress-test our system in time for Christmas and help introduce the public to our quality greetings cards. We’re putting the smile back into sending cards."
 
eCards Media’s system allows users to personalise any type of digital image onto the front of glossy A5 cards, which are then sent the same day via the UK post. Orders are sent in daily FTP bursts (File Transfer Protocol) to digital printer, Dialogue Solutions, Edenbridge at 2pm each day, with dispatch by  Royal Mail at 3.50pm.
 
eCards Media believes there is space in the market for a cheaper PoD option and is targeting Moonpig's market share.

"We're priced aggressively because there's no-one in that space at the moment," adds Heaton, "We'll get consumers who think Moonpig is expensive but we can be at 99p and still make money.

According to eCards the current prices charged by greetings card operators in the UK are:

                             Ex VAT      Inc VAT @ 17.5%
eCards.co.u         0.99           1.16
Snapfish              1.69           1.99
GettingPersonal  2.51           2.95
Funky Pigeon      2.54           2.99
M&S                    2.54           2.99
TouchNote           2.54           2.99
Hallmark              2.55           3.00
Moonpig              3.00           3.00
 
eCards' free give-away runs from 8 November to the 22 November from www.ecards.co.uk using the voucher code OneFreeCard.

"We're holding our breath but we're confident," adds Heaton. "Our system has taken 12 months to build and can handle 80,000 cards a day. Moonpig's biggest ever day was Valentine's Day with 90,000 cards so the volume is there. It won't happen overnight but we will build it virally because we don't have the funds for TV advertising, which is why we're focusing on our SEO (search engine optimisation) to draw in online consumers."

About Postcards

• eCards Media Postcards app was launched in May 2010 and became one of Apple’s top 30 apps. The free ‘Postcards’ download lets users take a photo or upload from their library and input text to family and friends. It costs 99p to send second-class and £1.49 to send first class postcards anywhere in the world, processed via PayPal.
• Recently the company has unveiled an Android version with the same user interface. The app is available across a wide range of next generation smartphones designed by manufacturers such as Google, Samsung, HTC and Sony. 

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