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Text messages from Izod can actually save you money! Recently I was in one of the Izod factory outlet stores when I heard over the speaker system in the store a message about saving $5.00. All I had to do was send a text message to a number they gave which was actually a short text message code and they would send a text message back to me with a coupon for $5.00

This is an example when text message short code program messages can actually save you money. Most of the time you received these innocuous messages and while providing information, they cost you money every time you receive a short code text message .  This time we saved $5 on our purchases in addition to all of the other great sales that we got at Izod.

Stop Text Messages After You Receive the Coupon

Once we received the coupon via text message and paid for our purchases, we left the store. I then sent a text message from my phone to stop any more text messages from being sent to my phone. This is important for readers who pay per text message. Each time you receive one of these messages, you will pay for each individual message. So once you have the coupon send a stop message until you visit Izod again.

Deals at Izod

We really like Izod and we wanted to take a moment to hi-light the sales we got. We started with a $75 sweater which was discounted by 70%. They then added another 30% discount and I had another coupon for an additional 20% discount. When you add the $5.00 coupon , the price of the sweater came to $12.28 ! What a deal!

We do not normally talk about department stores and some of the deals that they offer, however in this case, Izod demonstrated a unique way they can use short code text message programs to help their business and keep their customers loyal and happy at the same time.

We still got charged for the messages to our cell phones, but the cost of these messages was far less than others we have experienced and we also got a deal as well. As long as you are careful you can save money and take advantage of these programs. Once we had our coupon and it was processed through the register, we sent a message to stop further text messages from being sent.

All in all a great day . I always love it when you get good deals.

We were recently in an Izod outlet store doing some shopping and looking for some great deals. If you time it right , the deals at Izod can be even better and this is why we decided to write a post about the savings and more when you use text messaging.

We went to IZOD on Nov 11th, Veterans day when the sales are supposed to be the best. Well imagine buying a sweater for $75, then having it discounted first by 70% and then have an additional 30% added to it. Pretty good deal , right. Well it gets even better.

I had previously provided my email id to IZOD and they routinely send out additional discount coupons which if you can take advantage of them, make it a pretty good deal. In this case they sent us an additional coupon of 21% off if we shopped on Nov 10th or 11th. So now  a $75 sweater is discounted down to $12.71!!!!!!!

Text Messaging Saves Money

Now the reason I decided to add this particular post to this blog is of course text messaging messaging that almost every store is using in some manner these days.  Well while I am waiting in line, the store broadcasts a message over the loud speaker system advertising that if you send a test message to Izod, they will send a message back to you giving you a $5 coupon back to you which you can apply to your purchase. It gets spread over the cost of everything we are buying so in the case of the sweater we got another 53 cents off the cost of the sweater bringing it down to $12.18. What a deal!

Text Messaging Costs

Now in this case the test msg I sent cost me ten cents and the one I received cost me 10 cents. Pretty small and the rate you pay really depends on the deal that you have with your phone company. So my $5 coupon cost me 20 cents so I netted another $4.80. Pretty good deal for sending a text message. I sent a third text message to stop future messages to avoid having to pay further costs for text messages received.

Canadian vs. American Text messaging costs for Short code messages

So the bottom line is that there are times when it makes sense to sign up for short message code programs. It also appears that it is Canadian phone companies who are doing the gouging and not American phone companies. The same message we think would have cost $2 per message if received on a Canadian mobile phone .

If anyone can confirm this we would really like to hear about it. We do  not want to spread incorrect information, however it sure looks this way to us that Canadian phone companies are gouging the public. Let us know if you have had a similar experience.

Have you as a consumer been taken in by this scam? That is what I think it is. Recently I started receiving these funny text messages on my phone. I have an unlimited text plan so really did not pay much attention to them. They keep asking game type questions and wanted me to answer the question. Of course I never replied to them and forgot about it until I received my cell phone bill.

On it were records of 8 short message codes that I had received and for each one, the phone company charged me $2 for a total of $16.00! What is this? Especially when I did not even ask for it.

When I called my cell phone provider they tried to tell me that I had subscribed to this service. I asked them to tell me who the company was. The answer was “Ideal Mobile”, whom I have never heard of! I think that between my provider and this company there is a deal were they split the revenues at my expense!

They wrote it off and told me that in the future I would have to pay. They also told me how to stop the messages from being sent to me. Readers pay attention to your bills . I have included a reference from another web site called, “Sumotext”, which explains short message codes very well. Hopefully this will help our readers!

Note: If you get these messages and do not want the, just hit reply and type “stop” and then send!

Short Codes Explained

Dedicated Short Codes

Taking cues from Asia and Europe, wireless carriers through the CTIA created the Common Short Code Administration (CSCA) as an entity to administer short codes (5 or 6 digit abbreviated phone numbers). Leasing a short code is similar to leasing a domain name. Short Codes ensure that consumers remain in control of their experiences by providing them a trusted method to ‘Opt-In’ and ‘Opt-Out’ of mobile marketing campaigns or alert services from their phone.

Costs of Dedicated Short Code

Carrier-assigned short codes can be leased from the CSCA for $1,500 quarterly. If you want to pick out the numbers of your short code (i.e. choose a vanity code), the CSCA charges $3,000 quarterly.

Benfits of Dedicated Short Codes

Short Codes protect our mobile devices from SPAM and unsolicited marketing. They identify the content providers to both the carriers and consumers. Unlike with e-mail (where you simply lease a domain name and start sending people e-mail messages), all short codes are initially black-listed from carrier’s networks.

Each Short Code program has to be independently provisioned, tested, then certified by each wireless carrier to gain access to that network and that process currently takes 8-12 weeks. Carriers conduct regular audits to ensure ongoing compliance of each short code on their networks and they can easily block programs that don’t follow their rules.

Shared Short Codes

A short code can be shared by multiple content providers if the program is managed by a Short Code Application Provider like SUMOTEXT with a system capable of maintaining carrier compliance while differentiating between program traffic through the use of unique keywords.

However, due to the growing number of programs being run over shared short codes, wireless carriers continue to tighten requirements for the application providers who offer these services. As such, SUMOTEXT thoroughly reviews all new programs and regularly reports new programs and their associated keywords to wireless carriers.

5 Big Rules for Compliance

1. Consumers must ‘Opt-in’ to a short code program from their mobile device before they can be sent anything. Even an initial message that asks for permission is considered SPAM.

2. Consumers must ‘double’ opt-in (confirm their intent to subscribe by replying “YES” to a welcome message) to any short code program that charges fees – or – to any standard rated program when the subscriber opts-in from a web form.

3. All subscription or alert services that will have recurring messages (even standard rated programs) must provide a compliant opt-In confirmation message. That message must contain:

a) Content provider’s name (e.g. “Applebees: “)

b) Program description (e.g. “Welcome to our Mobile VIP Club”)

c) Frequency of alerts (e.g. “Max 8msg/mth”)

d) Rate/cost disclosure (e.g. “Msg & Data rates may apply.”)

e) Instructions for opt-out and help (e.g. “Reply STOP to end or HELP for help”)

4. All short code subscription services with recurring messages (even standard rated programs) must contain “Reply STOP to opt-out” in each and every message sent from the system. This is a requirement for both premium and standard rated programs.

5. All short code programs must support the universal commands STOP, QUIT, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, STOP ALL, and HELP.

NOTE: There are many other short code requirements and some are different for each carrier. Be sure to choose an application provider with an intelligent system designed to format and process messages differently for each carrier network.