Oyster card wallets have been around since the introduction of the oyster card in 2003 for travelling on the London transport network. Back then people didn\’t pay much attention to the wallets as they were pretty ugly looking and contained the name, logo and some advert for a global company such as Ikea or MasterCard who were sponsoring the scheme in some sort of way. All oyster card wallets were the same having been designed with practicality in mind, there was a total lack of imagination. At this point in time they were a novel concept which so few people were initially willing to buy in to.

This shocking lack of imagination was resolved gradually over the coming years (and decade). Although all newly issued oyster cards came with this free standard wallet littered with advertising, many people would simply fling them away and buy themselves a more attractive looking oyster card wallet from a store or even online. Designers of oyster card wallets understood that Londoners would like a wide range of designs from which choose. They wanted designs that reflected their moods and personalities. The wallets that the designers made were not just of plastic oyster card wallets but also used materials such as denim, paper and leather. The designs involved using various different colours, patterns, images and symbols such as country flags. Some oyster card wallet design companies even provided the means for you to design your own. As a result, thousands of different designs and styles came into existence over a short period of time.

With so many to choose from it became easier for all Londoners to find a design that they liked and reflected their personality well. Given their relatively low cost (the price of decent wallets started from around £2) many people even liked to buy a small collection so that they could use a particular one that reflected their mood or matched with their clothing on a particular day. Don’t get me wrong, not all oyster card wallets were cheap and the prices currently range from around £1 for mass produced wallets produced in Chinese factories to thousands of pounds for exclusively designed oyster wallets from high end fashion labels.

The chances of seeing someone with the same oyster wallet as yourself are now so remote and as a result people are more than happy to buy their own. With an estimated 2,500 designs available in 2009, one could argue that there was less than a 0.05% chance of two given people having the same oyster wallet – compare this to before when it was 100%.

When someone saw someone else with an interesting oyster card wallet they were sometimes impressed, inspired and ended up looking for one of their own. When people realised that more and more people had their own wallets then they too jumped on the band wagon and went out to get one for themselves. Before long the use of standard oyster card wallets distributed at the desk was in great decline. This trend has continued ever since to this day.

Billy Murphy is a proven British freelance writer in the field of consumer products. He has expertise in the field of travel accessories including oyster card wallets. More interesting information can be found on his website, http://www.happyoyster.co.uk

Billy Murphy is a proven British freelance writer in the field of consumer products. He has expertise in the field of travel accessories including oyster card wallets. More interesting information can be found on his website, http://www.happyoyster.co.uk

Author Bio: Billy Murphy is a proven British freelance writer in the field of consumer products. He has expertise in the field of travel accessories including oyster card wallets. More interesting information can be found on his website, http://www.happyoyster.co.uk

Category: Travel
Keywords: oyster card wallets, oyster wallets, wallets for oyster cards