PDA

View Full Version : I need a flippin' lanyard



screamingflea
5-29-11, 10:46pm
I can't believe this. I just need something with a metal clip so that I can keep track of my bus pass. I hate shopping so I don't want to go on a tour of a zillion stores to find something plain without team logos on it, so I shopped online.

One company had exactly what I wanted, but they were going to charge $9 for ground shipping from one state away. All the other websites I found required a minimum order of 100.

Does anyone know where I can find a plain lanyard with a metal clip on it? I can't believe this is turning out to be so hard. :doh:

iris lily
5-30-11, 12:19am
I"ll bet someone here has an extra. I may have an extra, I'll check at work on Tuesday. I had one from an Ice skaking event some years and and took it to work for an extra.

mtnlaurel
5-30-11, 6:40am
Isn't it funny how some simple things can be so challenging to find!!!

Maybe try calling around to a few promo companies/ trade show tchaky reps and see if you could purchase a sample from them.
OR if you have a CVB in your town, call and see if they have a spare lanyard around left over from a trade show ---- it would probably be logo'd though.

Neither of my ideas sound time efficient though.

mtnlaurel
5-30-11, 6:43am
I don't think any of these are cost effective, but here are cute homemade ideas on Etsy......

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?search_submit=&q=lanyard

herbgeek
5-30-11, 7:30am
I've seen these at Staples, intended for holding ID's or business cards:


http://www.staples.com/Staples-Lanyards-for-ID-Badge-Holders-Breakaway-Lanyard-Black/product_491443?cmArea=SEARCH

The link shows the price for a dozen, but I'm pretty sure I've seen smaller quantities in the brick and mortar stores.

cdttmm
5-30-11, 9:29am
Post a "WANTED" request on Freecycle. I gave away a number of them that way a few years ago.

rosarugosa
5-30-11, 9:49am
Can you accomplish what you need without one? My girlfriend punches a hole in her pass and puts it on her keychain. I keep my subway pass in the side-zippered compartment of a small makeup bag/pouch type thing that resides in my pocketbook.

Juds
5-30-11, 10:43am
I bought plain blue ones a few weeks ago for a school project at Michaels, for about a buck.

screamingflea
5-30-11, 12:07pm
Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, it does often seem that the simplest things are the hardest to find! I have no idea why that is. Maybe all the marketers of the simple things assume that "everyone else" is selling them so they don't bother. Who can say? In any case, I'll try some of these ideas.

Tiam
5-30-11, 12:35pm
Exactly. I expressed the same sentiment in the "Who knew it was so hard to find string?' thread. I think Michaels is a good suggestion. Or other craft store.

Juds
5-30-11, 12:52pm
Or, a ribbon/cord/rope/shoelace and a safety pin/twist tie/hair pin/paperclip/small bulldog clip/wad of gum? Oh, I have a pair of monkey shoelaces that I bought for the babies, on Mackinac Island, that would be perfect. Uh-oh, looks like grandma has a new lanyard!

screamingflea
5-31-11, 2:18am
Well, I solved it. At Ye Family BBQ this evening I just asked around ... my uncle had a whole desk drawer stuffed with them. He actually thanked me for taking one off his hands.

It still mystifies me that it was so hard to track one down in a quantity of less than 100, not plastered with a corporate logo. It's just another silly aspect to this saga. First I lost my bus pass when it fell out of my pocket. I was lucky enough to have someone return it to the bus station, and my mother gave me a lanyard with a key clip. The next day I wore the bus pass to work, then missed my bus home because I left the lanyard sitting on my desk. Then Saturday I wore the lanyard inside my jacket as I biked around town running errands. When I boarded the bus to get back home, I cursed a blue streak to find that the bus pass had fallen off somewhere. The bus driver was very sweet and let me ride anyway.

It's politically incorrect, but I've always associated lanyard-wearing with either small children or those operating at a diminished capacity. I hate wearing one - to me it feels like a sandwich board that screams I AM AN IDIOT WHO CANT KEEP TRACK OF MY BUS PASS!!! Then to have the lanyard itself malfunction, and to have such an impossible time even finding a usable one at all makes the whole scenario completely absurd and silly. Everything went fine over the winter when I wore the same deep-pocketed jacket every day. Curse this warm weather and its demands for lighter clothing.

Selah
6-2-11, 8:54am
I was GOING to say you could get these at Wal-Mart, but now I realized you've solved your problem even more frugally! Congratulations! :)

maribeth
6-3-11, 11:49am
I wear my corporate badge to work on a lanyard every day. So I wouldn't think it was weird at all to see an adult wearing one. (I get them free from conferences.)

Glad you solved your problem!

rosarugosa
6-3-11, 8:19pm
Flea,
I was looking for a post to link to from Get Rich Slowly, but I couldn't find it. But basically, JD Roth is a clever, lovable creative type who can never keep track of his keys, cellphone, etc. In my humble opinion, he has the best personal finance blog out there. He may not know where his keys are, but he's a great writer and communicator. His wife is the more solid, dependable organized one, and she helps keep him grounded (and helps him find his stuff). So depending on how you look at it, you just may be too busy thinking brilliant creative thoughts to get caught up with such mundane matters as bus passes:) I'll find that post one of these days and share it.

Reyes
6-3-11, 10:22pm
The UO bookstore has some no logo ones. My friend who is in the nursing program was able to find it there.

Zoe Girl
6-4-11, 12:57am
That is great, I wear a badge at work daily so I just asked my HR person if she had any. She had a bunch that were good for our work and I chose one. People who have them tend to have waaaay too many