The other day I was at OD Box, a sporting goods store in Ueno, buying my annual supply of SmartWool socks. I gave the cashier my OD Box point card, which, utilizing some clever technology, displays the number of points accumulated right there on the front of the card and revises the number with each purchase. After I paid, he handed me my change, the receipt and my card.
Something wasn't right. The card showed that I had only two points after the purchase. I was sure I had more points before that.
He told me the points I had accumulated before were erased because I hadn't made a purchase in over one year. Apparently, that was in the contract when I made the card a few years ago, and in fact was written in very small print on the back of the card. I only buy socks there, and I only buy them once a year so I suppose I have nothing to complain about. But one point is the equivalent of 75 yen, and since I had 5 points on the card previously, I could have saved ¥375 on the socks if I had bought them a few weeks earlier.