Shareholder perks! Freebies you get with the annual report
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  10-9-04, 8:01am | Post
#1
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You know, those little freebies companies like to give away, just to say "thanks"...
Here are some of the best little perks that we have found. Now, let us preface this by saying that while there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is also no such thing as a free freebie...in most cases the company not only benefits from having you invest in their company, but benefits by keeping you as a customer. Remember, too, that the more individual investors a company keeps happy, the more diversified the stockholder population, thus preventing a large conglomerate from accumulating too many shares, and then asserting it's power over the company. Please do not invest in a company for their "perk". Use sound investing tools (found in other articles and areas on this site) to choose your stocks (weknow you knew that, but we just like to be sure!). Anyway...here they are...some of the best perks for stockholders... Anheuser-Busch gives shareholders a 15% discount at the company's amusement and theme parks:Busch Gardens, Sea World, Sesame Park, Adventure Island, Water Country USA and Cypress Gardens. Shareholders who attend the annual meeting usually receive beer and Eagle brand snack foods. AT&T sends out 10 minute calling cards. Ben and Jerry's contributes 7 1/2% of pretax profits to various charitable organizations. Blockbuster shareholders who attend the annual meeting receive a free prerecorded videocassette. Borden shareholders who go to the annual meeting get a shopping bag full of Borden products (Creamette, Prince, Cracker Jack, etc). Brown-Forman Corp shareholders receive a 50% discount on certain Lenox holiday china and Hartmann luggage Colgate-Palmolive shareholders receive discount coupons valued at about $15. There are also coupons in its shareholder mailings sometimes. CSX Corp gives discounts on stays at the company's Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. CVS sends a sheet of coupons for different CVS products Dean Foods offers a box of the company's products at the annual meeting. Disney shareholders receive a 20% discount on membership in the Magic Kingdom Gold Card Program (membership fee for shareholders is $39). In the past, annual meeting attendees have received free passes to Disneyland Fannie Mae has made free copies of their Remic Master software available to it's shareholders. The software helps users understand the mortgage-backed securities market. General Mills makes a special holiday package of products and coupons (retail value-$50) available for $18.95 Gerber shareholders receive discounts on baby products and other coupons Gillette gives out coupons with it's quarterly and annual reports. H.J.Heinz sometimes includes special deals on products and recipe books in shareholder mailings. Helene Curtis sends out coupons Hershey shareholders can order gifts from a special holiday catalog and Hershey will ship the package directly to the recipient. Horizon Organic (nasdaq HCOW) sends coupons for free milk Dairy Queen shareholders are treated to Dairy Queen products at the annual meeting. Josten's and Loctite shareholders generally receive a gift at the annual meeting. Kellogg meeting attendees receive samples and coupons as do Kimberly-Clark shareholders. Kimberley-Clark sends out toilet paper and paper towels. Marriott shareholders receive $10 off weekend stays at certain hotels, 10% off stays at certain Fairfield hotels and 10% off on weekend stays at Courtyard hotels. McDonald's sends a coupon for a free item (this past year it was the Premium Salad) Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) shareholders receive a welcome package of various 3M products. Newell Co shareholders usually get a new product sample at the annual meeting (the company markets Anchor Hocking and Stuart Hall) Otter Tail Power Co. has door prizes at the annual meeting. Pfizer meeting attendees receive a "goody" bag (but don't look for free Viagra samples!) Procter and Gamble, Phillip Morris,Quaker Oats, Right Start, Sara Lee, and Supervalu all receive coupons and "goody" bags. Rubbermaid shareholders receive 3 free passes to shop at the employee store at the company's headquarters. Sarah Lee scatters their coupons throughout the report: $1.00 off the purchase of any Sara Lee fresh bakery product $1.00 off the purchase of any Sara Lee frozen dessert $1.00 off the purchase of Jimmy Dean sandwiches, omelets, & wraps $1.00 off the purchase of any Ballpark Grillmaster brand hotdog package $1.00 off the purchase of any package of Hanes ComfortSoft Waistband knit boxers $20.00 off the purchase of any Senseo Coffee Machine Smucker's shareholders usually receive a gift package with 3 or 4 new products or spreads. Starbucks sends a GC for $3.50 - the card is considered a collectable because it has a special design for shareholders only... people have been able to sell these cards on ebay successfully once empty. And Wrigley sends every shareholder 20 packs of chewing gum every year. All of these freebies apply only if you get the paper reports, not the electronic form... Please post freebies you receive with your annual reports in this thread... |
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10-9-04, 4:19pm | Post
#2
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I'll let you know if I get anything... I have both Procter and Gamble (worked there for a couple years, have 100ish shares) and Smuckers (as part of the deal when they bought Jif/Crisco from P&G, P&G shareholders got some smuckers stock. So I have a whopping 1.0x shares
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10-15-04, 6:02am | Post
#3
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Is it true you only get these if you hold the shares in your name, as opposed to through a brokerage account?
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10-15-04, 6:12am | Post
#4
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QUOTE(BlueTDimly @ 10-15-04, 10:02am) Is it true you only get these if you hold the shares in your name, as opposed to through a brokerage account?  Yep, I believe that's the requirement. |
Lowly Wolfie 
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10-15-04, 10:02am | Post
#5
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So people who own mutual funds with investments in those companies do NOT qualify?
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10-15-04, 10:19am | Post
#6
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QUOTE(Cole @ 10-15-04, 2:02pm) So people who own mutual funds with investments in those companies do NOT qualify? Right, they do not qualify. One way to buy individual shares is through a DRIP plan - Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan. You buy the stock directly from the company, not through an intermediary. Another method is to buy shares through a broker, but then get them put into your name (instead of the brokerage firm). This post has been edited by dewolfxy: 10-15-04, 10:21am |
Lowly Wolfie
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10-15-04, 10:22am | Post
#7
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correct, because there is no way of identifying individual shareholders.
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11-29-04, 1:41pm | Post
#8
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neat
thanks |
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