UPDATED - NEW IMAGES & INFO - June 15, 2005 Now this is a clever idea. The Tsaya is a thigh cell phone holster for women but the really clever idea is the menage-a- trois viral-marketing scheme. Firstly, don’t get excited – the menage-a- trois is just a sexy name for tell-a-friend scheme where they get a US$10 discount, making the Tsaya US$69.99 and you get a US$10 referral fee. The sales pitch? It’s in “delectable black patent leather” so it will be “smooth against your clothes”, fits any mobile phone, has a separate pocket for your credit card and cash so you can travel sleek without a handbag, and you can wear it concealed or show it off with a short dress.
It’s a simple idea and one that might actually get a bit of traction when everyone realises that they know hundreds of long-legged gals who would love one of these accessories so they can travel sans-bag to social occasions,
We’re not sure if the Tsaya expands enough to handle a stick of lippie but it’s not for the kind of gal who takes three suitcases on a weekend trip – it’ll comfortably handle your phone, ID, credit card & some thin hundred dollar bills but you’ll be telling everyone to “keep the change” unless you want to look like you've just escaped from quarterback school. And there’s a large range of sizes available, from scrawny through sumo.
When you send a Ménage à Trois invitation to your friends, the Tsaya Shop keeps track of it. If they purchase a product from the Tsaya Shop using your invitation, they get a $US10 discount and Tsaya sends US$10 via PayPal to your email address. To prevent fraud, they don't release these funds until 14 days after your friend receives their product.
Our ever-sensitive noses for potential scams (this is the internet ya know) detected one tell-tale sign that this might have been a manufacture-it-when-we-get-the-paid-order idea. In the spiel about how the menage-a-trois scheme works (which we naturally read first), it notes that they don't release the commission funds until 14 days after your friend receives their product and "depending on product availability, this could be a long wait. "
When we spoke to Tsaya President Paul Holman (ex-OQO), Paul explained, "we are indeed in production now."
"The first runs are somewhat limited and that is the reason for alluding to possible wait times. If people'sorders are ever delayed for manufacturing reasons, we'll let them know via email and offer to cancel their order. "
"That isn't a problem yet, but we never know what to expect when launching a new product."
So there you have it - Holman is well known and legit, and the Tsaya certainly signifies a gal has chutzpah. So dig out your little black email address book full of long-legged acquaintances and get those Ménage à Trois invitations happening. There is no limit to the number of Ménage à Trois invitations you can send, so you can make a fortune on PayPal.