Letter rip!

tire

We don’t just mind our P’s & Q’s around here, we also mind our NIB’s, NOS’ and OBO’s. In other words, we like abbreviations; they allow us to get information into an ad in a way that’s easy to quickly enter and simple for potential buyers to understand. Most of the abbreviations we come across (and use) are pretty self-explanatory, but there are a few that we use without really giving them much thought. Until now, that is.

A few months ago, we wrote about what, exactly, those numbers in tire sizes mean. But a series of recently submitted ads got us wondering: what about the letters? We often see LT or P or R in the ads we get for tires, and our curiosity was piqued.

Turns out the letters we most frequently encounter make a surprising about of sense (if we’d been hoping that the minds at Michelin and Goodyear had been conjuring up some kind of magical code, we’d be sorely disappointed). LT tells us that the tire is designed for use on a light truck. P? Passenger car. And that R that sometimes makes an appearance smack dab in the middle of the tire size indicates that the tire is radial

You Have The Right To Remain Silent

web

Really, you do.

And we make it pretty easy to place ads without saying a word. Maybe you do your best work late at night. Or perhaps you just aren’t a person who’s comfortable talking on the phone. No matter the reason, we welcome you to place your ads with us in a number of different ways.

Check out thepapershop.com. It’s a pretty great way to browse items and place ads 24/7. You can attach photos to your ad, choose to have your ad printed in bold type and even change, update & tweak ads that are already running.

We take ads placed via fax, too. Send ‘em to us at 570-969-3109 and be sure to include your name address & phone number along with the ad information so that we’re sure who the ad is from.

And you can always fire up the old Pony Express and send your ads to us via the U.S. Postal Service. Our address is P.O. Box 3176, Scranton, PA 18505.

Today’s the 47th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Miranda vs. Arizona ruling, and we could think of no better time to inform you of your options.

Game Plan

Mario

It started out as a playing card company in 1889. And over the years, business ventures included a TV network, a taxicab company and even a line of  instant rice products. But it took a plumber and a barrel-flinging gorilla to really make Nintendo a worldwide success and a household name.

Whether it’s a classic NES console or accessories for your Wii, we’ve got ‘em. In fact, you’ll see them in their very own category: Video Gaming Systems. And you can quickly find exactly what you need by typing in “Nintendo”, “Wii” or whatever specific thing you’re looking for in the search field at the top of the page on thepapershop.com.

Have A Ball!

lottery

Or even better? Have 6 of ‘em!

It all began on March 7, 1972 when the Pennsylvania Lottery introduced its first game: it cost 50¢ to enter the weekly drawing and the grand prize was one million dollars.

Now it’s even easier. For just 90¢, you can get yourself entered to win, well, millions. And you get quite a few chances, too: 50 of them, to be exact.

Starting with this week’s issue (June 12-June 18, 2013) we’ve introduced the Paper Shop Pennsylvania Lottery Club. And it’s a club with the easiest membership ever: just pick up a copy of Paper Shop, and you’re in. You’ll find Powerball tickets printed on the inside back cover & complete details about the Lottery Club printed just below the numbers.

Feeling lucky? Good. We’ve got you covered!

Speeling

Words

We all have one. You do. I do, too. That word. The one word that, no matter what, you always seem to misspell. Even if you try to be mindful that it’s your grammatical Achilles’ heel, it’ll sometimes paralyze you as you overthink it, finally making even the correct spelling look, well, just wrong.

Full disclosure: I have such a word, and that word is ceiling.

You may guffaw at my failing. And that’s okay. Because chances are ceiling is child’s play to you, but some other word is not. That’s why we tell you never to sweat the spelling on ads you submit on thepapershop.com. Not only do we make a concerted effort to mind our P’s, Q’s & I-before-E’s, we also proofread every ad.

FAQ: Why do you post all four digits for an item’s year?

Question mark

Questions. We love ‘em. When somebody has a question for us here at Paper Shop, we know that they’re either already advertising with us or thinking of giving us a try. We’re happy to help with and all inquiries, and we’ve found that a number of them are, well, frequently asked questions. Here’s where we take some time to talk about them.

It’s simple: because we like the number four. We’ll post up to four free online pictures with every ad. Commission ads run for four issues. We’ve got four customer service reps.

Nah. We’re kidding. We’ve got no particular affection for four (though it does seem to be a recurring theme, now that we think about it). Our reasons for listing all four digits in the year for a listing is simply this: since we also list antique vehicles, it’s important to differentiate between, say, a 1914 Ford and a 2014 Ford. We could have gotten away with a simplified 2-digit year indicator (i.e. ’14 Ford), but it was inevitable that it would begin to cause some confusion. So to keep it simple, we decided to go with all four digits for every year.

What happens in Vegas …

Elvis

… creates quite a stir on The Milton Berle Show!

On this day in 1956, Elvis Presley shook things up when he appeared on TV to perform “Hound Dog”. It was the first time The King performed the song for a television audience, and his now-famous gyrations – very shocking at the time – created a controversy. “Hound Dog” went on to be Elvis’ best-selling single, remaining at #1 on the charts for 11 weeks (until it was replaced by “Love Me Tender”).

But “Hound Dog” had been around for some time before Elvis made it his own: the song was originally recorded in 1952 by blues singer Big Mama Thornton. By the end of 1953, versions had been recorded by no less than six other musicians (mainly Country groups). Elvis himself stumbled upon the song when he heard Freddie Bell and the Bellboys perform it in Las Vegas in April, 1956 (supposedly he also lifted the infamous moves from the band’s performance, too).

Aside from being a beloved artist who changed the landscape of both rock & roll and popular culture, Elvis may also be The King of our Collectibles category. We’ve featured dolls, lamps, busts and lots of other Presley memorabilia.

Cat-egories

cat

We’d like to emphasize the gravity of the situation: cat. Door. And if you’re a cat owner, you know that whichever side of the door the cat’s on is decidedly the wrong side.

When he wasn’t busy formulating the laws of gravity and making countless discoveries in the worlds of optics and mathematics, Sir Isaac Newton faced the very same cat/door conundrum. In fact, he invented the cat flap that allowed his cat to freely move indoors or out. And for that? Pet owners of the world are grateful. Since it’s hardly possible to hug Sir Issac for his ingenuity, why not celebrate Hug A Cat Day (that’s today!) by showing a little affection to the nearest feline?

We do our best to show some love to the cats, dogs & other pets that are looking for homes. Every week we publish a featured pet from Griffin Pond Animal Shelter and shelter info from The SPCA of Luzerne County. And you’ll also find ads for cats, dogs, fish, hamsters – and all the required supplies – in Pets & Supplies.

The Big Picture

FordQuadricycle

On this day in 1896, Henry Ford did a test run. He took his invention, called the quadricycle, for a pre-dawn spin through the streets of Detroit. Of course, it was his intention that the new horseless carriage should remain relatively unnoticed.

But your horseless carriage? Let’s get it seen!

When you advertise your car, truck or motorcycle on a commission basis and you’re asking $2100 or more, we can publish a color photo if it. Best of all? It’s free to do!

You can get the photo to us when you place the ad or even add it after the ad has begun running: simply go to thepapershop.com, choose “Change or Correct Ad” at the bottom of the page, and upload the pictures. You’re also welcome to mail the photos to us at PO Box 3176, Scranton, PA 18505 or even bring the vehicle to our office & we’ll take the picture.

The Final Countdown

partyhats

Doo doo doo doo Doodoodoodoodoo …

Okay, okay. Our sincere apologies to Europe (the band, not the continent). To be fair, though, we never claimed that covers of ’80s tunes were our strong suit. But we do tend to get that ditty stuck in our heads from, well, about noon on Thursday until promptly 11 AM on Friday.

Why? Because it’s crunch time for us. Deadline. We’d like to tell you that at 11 every Friday, confetti and balloons drop from the ceiling, champagne corks start a-poppin’ and we get the cheerful accompaniment of a band tooting out Sousa marches.

Sadly, however, that’s not the case.

What does happen is far more pedestrian: our system briefly shuts down to lay out the next week’s issue, we quickly give a mock-up edition a final once-over, and then we send the whole thing to the printer. And then it’s on to the next issue.

But if you choose to think of us as sending every issue off to print with panache, that’s fine with us. Just don’t tell the members of Europe – we don’t think they’d do the Sousa marches justice.