Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
How many of you are Hobby Demo's. I had a stamping party with my SU demo and she told me since she started last fall I have ordered $800 from her. And then another $100 last night. She really suggest that I become a Hobby Demo to support my habit. What are everyone's thoughts on this.
I signed up in July as a hobby demo. I haven't regretted it since! I have one friend who buys some from me, but I can support my own wicked habit! LOL Great discount!
I say, GO FOR IT!
Hugs,
Christine
__________________ "We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are." Anais Nin
If you are buying that much stuff than I would definatly sign up. I signed up in January and had in my head that I was going to be a hobby demo. I didn't want to try and spend the whole minimum myself so I have two parties next month. If I can just get a few people to order from me than I am completly happy. I'm not in it to make tons of money. I'm in it for the discount, the freebies and the SS magazines. They are great for ideas.
I started as a hobby demo (and still am for the most part); however, I do workshops during SAB and have enough customers to submit monthly hostess orders. It's totally worth it - especially with the money you are already spending. You can change out a lot of the items in the kit & if you don't want the business supplies, ask your demo if she wants to buy them from you or trade them on the demo board. I'd do it!
I am strictly a hobby demo. I never want to have a workshop! If you are spending this much money and plan to keep spending this much than sign up. You have nothing to lose. If you sign up in Feb. you have until June to make your $300 minimum. This will give you plenty of time to see whether or not you'll be keeping up the $$$$$. And if not, they just drop you. No biggie.
__________________ Darla
Cinderella is proof that shoes can change a girl's life!
The Stone Age didn't end because they ran out of stones.
I'm also a hobby demo. I've probably done 5-10 parties in 4 years. I do have a stampin' club though so I don't have to come up with the $300 per quarter by myself although sometimes I don't have any trouble spending that much. :lol:
__________________ Sara
Fort Atkinson WI
My favorite color is Relay purple! My Gallery
I've been a hobby demo for almost 3 years and have never regretted it.
The discount is great, Stampin Success is full of ideas, and I always know the special in advance so I can plan my orders around it. And bonus, my upline has meetings every month where I can learn new techniques and socialize with fellow stampers.
For the most part I buy everything to make my minimums, but I do have a couple friends who order from me. If you are spending that much, I would really recommend it!
Yeah, what everyone else said! I am also a hobby demo. I signed up
when my demo pointed out how much I was spending...might as well
get the discount, hostess benefits & free $$ for more stuff! Also have
not regretted it.
Go for it! I signed up in January and plan to just be a hobby demo so I can get my stuff at a discount. And if you don't meet your quarterly amount you haven't lost anything. You get a ton of stuff with your kit!
I just signed up myself as a hobby demo at the beginning of March just for the same reason you did I have a couple of people that will be ordering once in awhile which will help. Just as everyone else before me has said you don't have anything to lose. You get a lot of stuff in your kit. Plus knowing all the specials ahead of time is great.
I signed up last year to be a hobby demo and for the most part I am, I have had a few parties from people, but after little or no effort on my part, people who just knew that I did it and wanted to check it out. I plan on someday being a bit more, but right now I am just collecting a bunch of stamps and a bunch of knowledge that I may one day be able to turn into a successful business, and if I don't, no harm, I had a great time and got a lot of free stuff!
Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Alumni Creative Crew SU Design Team Alumni
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Centerville. Ohio
Posts: 6,163
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Absolutely sign up! I started as a hobby demo also (and still consider myself a hobby demo although my upline's upline - my upline doesn't talk to me - tells me I actually have a business). If you are buying that much, you could be getting the discount. If you have just a couple others who will buy from you, you are set!
You guys are Great! So what are the min. requirements that I will need to meet. Is it so much a quarter? What other benefits are there other than 20% discount? Tell Me More!!!!
I sometimes wish I was more ambitious and had more parties....I love sharing my love for stamping and seeing all the different ways the customers can take my projects. I'm just not pushy enough and I not it's not really being pushy, but I hate to flat out ask for a workshop. And that's what it takes. I planned on being a hobby demo when I signed up so I'm happy with seeing all the new stamps and projects and saving money. I do love workshops so if anybody in area is looking, I'm your non-pushy woman!
Quota is only $300 US in 3 months...so if you are buying $80 US a month, you were meant to be a hobby demo! Plus sometimes you get unexpected goodies like the Sincere Salutations set they sent us!
Location: Dancing while watching the Corny Collin's Show
Posts: 6,245
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ummm... The only thing I have to say is ditto! I am a hobby demo and love it. I have done 2 parties at other peoples homes and then 3 what I call ladies nights out.
For me, my ladies night out is what I assume is like other peoples stamp camps. I plan it when I'm available, and then I have 5 cards, make 2 of each, snacks, etc... And I charge $15 per person. If someone wants to make more of one of the cards I charge $1.50 per card. I don't actually demo anything at my LNO. Since I am a sahm, so are most of the people that come, but it's growing into their neighbors and moms and I'm about ready to have it be 2 nights instead of one. I plan these once a quarter or less than that depending on my schedule and if I feel like doing it.
If you choose to go hobby demo, have fun, and don't stress yourself out. If you want to have a workshop that's fine. If you don't, then don't.
Besides the 20% discount on all of your orders, you get 30% discount on
the first order you place after you get your demo number. That is a really
great deal and a chance to get tons more stuff & be able to justify it be-
cause of the extra discount. March is a great time to do it, since there is
also a sale on some of the stamp sets. Plus, you can go into the Demos
Only forum & learn tons more!
Yes ~ sign up!! I did the same thing! I was spending at least 100.00 plus a month so I signed up. Within a few months I had family members wanting things. People who you would not even guess that would stamp!! Even though I can make the minimum on my own, it is nice to qualify for other promos they run!! You will love it!!
I've been a hobby demo since last May. I have no parties, I have never sold anything to anyone else at all, its just my spending.
I like being a hobby demo because I like knowing the dirt!
I like being able to preorder nifty things, I like knowing what specials there are out there and I love having all the demo only resources that are out there.
__________________ Seattlejo
aka "The Cruise Director" [email protected]
I say go for it. I thought I'd sign up just as a hobby demo and then a friend asked me to do a workshop, then someone wanted a workshop from HER workshop and it just escalated from there. I'm enjoying doing the workshops, enjoying doing my hostess club, and I'm getting all my stuff at a discount - or even making a little money!
You get to be 'in the know' about upcoming specials and events with SU.
You get to earn free stamps when they have incentives.
You can still earn hostess benefits whenever you place a hostess order and get the discount. How cool is that?
My upline has great meetings which are so much fun. Maybe your upline has monthly meetings. Ask her!
I've made so many great friends since I signed up. We go to convention together and we all go stamp occasionally at my upline's and we're going on a retreat in April. A whole weekend of stamping with other talented demo's!
Whew, that's just off the top of my head reasons to sign up!
So will someone explain to me the difference in a regular and a hobby demo. I have spent over a $800 since November. I find old stuff on ebay, but order lots of supplies and the new stuff through my daughter's demo in Texas. I don't have one where I live except when I go to Texas. Maybe this is something I should sign up for. Can you do it between two states? Thanks, I'm a real newbie.
My downline just signed on mainly as a hobby demo to start out and I suggested that she start a stamp club. This is a great opportunity for her to build up her supplies and to have fun with her friends. This also ensures that you meet your quarterly goals without stressing if you're unable to do it by yourself (life can be difficult sometimes and there are months that you may really want to buy things, but just can't do it) !!!
Regarding taxes...I don't know the details, but you actually earn more than 20% based on your monthly sales (or orders, in the case of a hobbiest), called your "volume rebate" -- ask your demo for a Recruiting Brochure that explains this...
In the meantime, here's what I know...if you were to order between $150 and $249 in one month, SU! would send you a check for 3.5% of your "sales" -- so that would be $7 on $200 (in a month) in orders. Obviously, SU! records that as income, and you will receive a tax statement on that at the end of the year. In addition, I would imagine that SU! records your 20% discount as "income" (it's called "instant income") that would be reported on a W-2???
I just started with SU!, so I haven't done taxes yet! But I would definately look into it more before planning on it!!! Maybe you could call SU! and talk to someone about it? I do know that other companies do have a "hobbiest" kind of membership/discount, but SU! doesn't officially.
Also -- we just had our taxes done and I asked our preparer about this -- she said that SU! should actually help our taxes for this year, since I would most definately be taking a "loss" (my business related expenses are going to exceed my income). However, she said the IRS only lets you have a "loss" like that for 3 years before flagging you for audit. As in, "why isn't this person's 'company' making any money??"
Just some food for thought -- not trying to scare you away, but at least plan to keep track of your expenses even if you are just a hobbiest.
A disclaimer: I'm just trying to make sense of this myself -- so I may not be totally with it!!! Perhaps someone with more experience as a "hobbiest" -- that has already done taxes once -- can tell you more!?!
I say go for it! I signed up in June 04' and have never had a problem meeting my quota. I now have a stampin group that meets once a month but even if I didn't I would have no problem in making the quota. Also as a "demo" you get first dibs at all of the sales, promotions and new catalogs. That alone is worth it - you don't have to wait on anyone to share it with you.
Okay I am in total agreement. I joined in April of last year and the only thing different is that I knew I wanted to do a monthly class (not workshops) I love planning the projects and learning a new technique to teach. It really is easy to make your quota and you meet some of the coolest people!
Well, at this point, isn't it better to wait until June for the new catalog to come out??? If not, why??? I noticed that you have to buy catalogs with your starter kit...........Just curious.
If you're spending that much money already and intend to keep it up, then I say GO FOR IT! I'm strictly a Demo. Have never had a workshop, but probably will with my family sometime. I live in Ohio and my family lives in Missouri, and obviously I want to share the fun with them. The 20% discount covers the cost of shipping and taxes with a little bit left over depending on where you live. The big benefit for me is seeing all the new stuff ahead of time and having the opportunity to get it before non-demos.
__________________ ~Pat
Life may not always be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance!
I signed up last April to go to Convention! Had a blast with 6 ladies in my upline. My goal was to stay active so I can go again this year. I had 2 stamp camps at my home and did 2 shows for my good friends. I also spent a lot but had no problem making my quarterly minimum. If you spend that much on your own definitely do it. As everyone else has pointed out the benefits are so worth it.
I am a hobby Demo and signed up in January - I have 1 friend that will be ordering occassionally but thats why I did it.
Pros are for a portion of the cost you get the starter kit which is real nice. I have also placed $600.00 in sales since I started which included preordering from the spring mini. I guess a good way to look at it for the most you get Free Shipping and Handling and No Tax which is how I look at the 20% - Plus freebies for being your own Hostess.
As for taxes my understanding is you don't have to claim the checks SU send out unless you make more than $600 then SU will send you a MIS-1099. You still have the keep track of everything though and it will help you takes since most of us take losses.
I just put in a big order. Some of the sets I ordered were gift. Those are oviously not for my business. I just a made a not for that. The rest I bought for upcoming workshops.
Hobby Demo
