Cell Phone Wallet from Buxton® – A Marketing Review

Is it hard for you to reach for your cell phone in time?

Don’t you wish that you had an easier way to carry around a wallet?

Can you combine the two questions and make some kind of cell phone carrying wallet?

Yep, you sure can!  Let’s take a look at the TV commercial for the Cell Phone Wallet from Buxton and see how it is presented to the general public.

Cell Phone Wallet from Buxton® – TV commercial (incomplete – check website for longer version)

www.BuxtonWallet.com

I’ll start this review by asking a bleeding obvious question:

Why in the world would a person want a large wallet (or small purse depending on how you look at it) that can carry a cell phone, cash and credit cards, and car and house keys?  Is there a problem with carrying around a small purse?

To me, it seems like the TV commercial is trying to create a solution to a problem that may not necessarily exist.

I get it that some people don’t like to carry a large wallet.  I’ve seen an accordion-style wallet by Buxton in a different TV commercial.  That supposedly solved the “I don’t like large wallets” problem.  But to add on a cell phone holder and have an attachment for car keys AND show how women can use the strap to carry it around her neck and/or shoulder, well, that’s called a purse.  It’s a small purse, but it’s still basically a purse.

The problem with this essentially being a small purse is that Buxton already has a small purse for women (called the Buxton ® Bag).  About a year or two ago it was presented to the general public in a similar fashion as this Cell Phone Wallet.

So this is ultimately a micro purse designed for women who don’t want to carry a large or medium sized purse, and they didn’t purchase the Buxton® Bag a while back, right?

The commercial starts by addressing both the large wallet and lost cell phone in a purse problems.  Of course, the scenarios on TV are a bit exaggerated.  It’s not like most women really try to stuff large wallets into small purses, or they get so frustrated that they have to dump their purse in order to find their cell phone.  I’m sure that most women know how to pick out an appropriately sized wallet for their purse, normally having one small enough that it can be carried in a variety of purse sizes.

Don’t worry because the people at Buxton have the solution for you!  Just leave your purse at home and carry the bare essentials in the Cell Phone Wallet!

The commercial shows a clip with a woman putting a bunch of normal wallet items along a cell phone, some spare change, and a few other items into the Cell Phone Wallet.  Yes, the wallet that “Even Holds Make-up!”

After that is a scene showing an older woman getting frustrated with carrying her “big, bulky handbag.”  But when we see the adjustable strap that conveniently allows you to carry the Cell Phone Wallet around your shoulder or neck, you have to wonder why the company just doesn’t call the thing a purse.  Or if you prefer, the Cell Phone Wallet can also be carried with a wrist strap, as if any woman would dare carry it that way.

And why wouldn’t you want to carry your wallet, cell phone and car keys around your wrist with a fairly long strap?  A) That has got to be annoying putting the extra strain on your wrist, and more importantly, B) for security reasons.  You just don’t carry anything valuable around your wrist like that.  Doing so is inviting every snatch & grab robber to make an easy score.

I’m sorry, but the woman using the wrist strap in the grocery store just looks ridiculous.  I seriously doubt that any woman would carry it that way.  Around the neck or shoulder — yes.  Around the wrist — no way!

The woman wearing the Cell Phone Wallet around her belt while going for a bike ride actually shows a legitimate selling feature for the product.  Carry your ID, keys and cell phone while going out walking, jogging, or bike riding.  Just remember to wear a pair of shorts or pants along with a belt.  You can safely lock your house and still carry the bare essentials without overloading your pockets.

But the commercial just glances over that useful selling feature and instead shows how the expandable outer pocket can carry most sizes of cell phones.  Exciting stuff.  When you carry a cell phone like that, everybody within a hundred foot radius will hear your phone ring when you receive a call.

The example of the woman walking in a mall and answering her phone on the first ring is a bit unrealistic.  How many people do you know blindly answer his or her cell phone without first checking and seeing who is calling?  Caller ID has been a standard feature on cell phones for quite some time now.  This is just a minor issue, but the woman blindly answering “Hello?” is just so tacky that it’s funny.

Up next we see a more detailed look at the accordion-style wallet, complete with a small zipper pouch (change purse) for holding change, etc.  I guess the idea is that you’re supposed to fold your dollar bills and stuff them into those small compartments.  Are you supposed to fold a large stack of money, or only carry around a few dollar bills at a time?  I kind of like the idea of keeping them unfolded in my wallet myself.

After that the commercial tries to show added value and educate us simple minded people that the cell phone holder isn’t just for cell phones.  We can carry a compact camera in that slot, or we could even use it to hold an MP3 player or anything else of similar size.  It’s actually quite versatile.

Near the end of the education part of the commercial we’re shown how you can easily attach a set of car or house keys to the Cell Phone Wallet.  The commercial again used an exaggerate example to show how an “average” woman couldn’t even find her keys in that giant leviathan of a purse.

Is that really a good security idea to flash around your keys like that?

Having car keys available in a purse for quick access is one thing, but to boldly carry them around on display is a different issue.  How much faith do you have in clipping your keys to the Cell Phone Wallet versus just keeping them in a purse or pocket?  Personally, I wouldn’t mention that as a “selling feature” myself.

According to the TV commercial, “Similar cell wallets cost over $80!”  Gee, can I get this Cell Phone Wallet from Buxton for less than $80?  Can I?  Can I?  It would be sooooo sweet if this Cell Phone Wallet was sold for much less than $80!

Only $9.95?!?

Awesome!

I’m sure that the quality is the same as that other cell phone wallet that costs $88, right?  This is just too good to be true!

Oh, we still have to pay $6.95 for postage and handling?  Okay, that brings it to $16.90.

Two free Cell Phone Wallets through the TV commercial’s current offer?  Holy cow!  We only have to pay $6.95 P&H for each of the free Cell Phone Wallets.

So that’s a grand total of, ummm, $30.80 (additional sales tax for California and New York residents).

That doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as $9.95.

There is just one more question that I have with this Cell Phone Wallet.

If this Cell Phone Wallet is supposed to replace a purse, is your cell phone okay if you’re suddenly caught out in the rain?  Is your cell phone just as protected from the weather as it would be in a purse with a zipper top?

As it was stated earlier in this marketing review, it seems like the people behind this product are trying to force an unneeded product into the market.  This isn’t just a wallet, and it’s not just a cell phone holder.  It appears to be a micro purse, but I doubt that most women can fit their essential items into those small slots and the zipper component.

The best selling feature was for people to carry this around when going out for a walk, run or bike ride.  Just wear shorts along with a belt, and you’ll be able to move your legs and carry your keys, money and cell phone without anything bulky in your pockets.

But the marketing department took a different route, and instead we have this tacky product being sold to the general public.

I’ve got one more question.  Just half a question really.

If the Cell Phone Wallet is meant to hold also credit cards, is it safe to keep a cell phone that close to said cards?

If I keep a hotel key card in the same pocket as my cell phone, that card will be disabled by the time I reach the room.  Some things just don’t mix well with cellular phones.

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For more information about the cell phone wallet from Buxton, please visit the company’s website, BuxtonWallet.com.

Buxton is a registered trademark.

RellimZone.com is not affiliated with Buxton.