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As a Stampin Up! demo, I must say that SU! is, of course, my first love. The products are top quality and the company is awesome. As a creative stamper, however, I am absolutely blown away by PTI's February releases. Nichole Heady is truly a visionary in our little stamping world! Those doily stamps & dies look amazing, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
I would love to see SU! go a little more in this direction with their dies, but it seems like their exclusive deal with Sizzix might be hindering them a bit. I think SU! really opened up the die-cutting market to stampers in a major way, though, and for that I thank them.
As another creative stamper, I agree about the innovative genius that is Nichole Heady. I get so inspired by the products and projects by PTI. I love the versatility and inventiveness of PTI stamp sets...and LOVE the coordinating dies. Their stuff gets me stamping. She has me at "hello" every single month! Being inspired to create is essential...and I love that my mojo is kickstarted every month with the new products and showcased samples.
I love the dies this month the doilies and the buttons. I could do doily type on my Silhouette, but it does not do chip board. I have not ordered yet from PTI due to costly shipping to Canada, but this is really tempting. Maybe if hubby gets a job yet this month I will treat myself lol
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This month's release is amazing!!! They have really outdone themselves this time. Makes you wonder what the rest of the year is going to bring....can't you feel the excitement...I know I can.
I am in love with everything they are releasing this month. Those little flower hairclips on the button cards are simply adorable. I really appreciate all the unique dies they offer as well as some standard designs which are really reasonable priced compared to other places.
Just under 11 hours left until we can place orders!
As a Stampin Up! demo, I must say that SU! is, of course, my first love. The products are top quality and the company is awesome. As a creative stamper, however, I am absolutely blown away by PTI's February releases. Nichole Heady is truly a visionary in our little stamping world! Those doily stamps & dies look amazing, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
I would love to see SU! go a little more in this direction with their dies, but it seems like their exclusive deal with Sizzix might be hindering them a bit. I think SU! really opened up the die-cutting market to stampers in a major way, though, and for that I thank them.
Not said with snark but how did SU! open up the die cutting market? Wasn't die cutting already very popular when SU! finally started selling them?
I think Spellbinders was probably the company that really led the market! I'm a demo and I would LOVE it if SU! would broaden their die horizons a little (or a lot)
I also love the offerings on the PTI site, but I'm really overwhelmed by the number of things that are offered. I tried to follow Nichole's blog, but I'm so confused. There are contests and blog hops and so much going on that I think my head is spinning! Maybe I'll be able to figure it all out one day and place an order. The buttons and banners are my current favorites.
I love PTI'd dies. There so unique, especially the card edgers dies. LOVE them. Some border dies don't punch through cardstock. I have a really hard time with the punches,with the dies it's so simple.
Not said with snark but how did SU! open up the die cutting market? Wasn't die cutting already very popular when SU! finally started selling them?
I think Spellbinders was probably the company that really led the market! I'm a demo and I would LOVE it if SU! would broaden their die horizons a little (or a lot)
I guess I believe that because their partnership has been so beneficial for me and some of my customers & stamping friends in terms of our use of die-cutting. I was SUO for a long time and some of my friends still are, so maybe that is just my perception because I was so sheltered! I had an old red sizzix that I bought from Craigslist but I never really used it that much until SU! started carrying the BS, dies and embossing folders.
I, too, would love to see SU! broaden their horizons but I think they are bound to Sizzix (at least for the forseeable future) and that really restrains SU! from the types of dies that PTI (as well as some of the other online stores) sells, those small steel dies that match stamps so perfectly. IMO these have been a real game-changer in the stamping world.
I also love the offerings on the PTI site, but I'm really overwhelmed by the number of things that are offered. I tried to follow Nichole's blog, but I'm so confused. There are contests and blog hops and so much going on that I think my head is spinning! Maybe I'll be able to figure it all out one day and place an order. The buttons and banners are my current favorites.
Boy, you are singing my song. I LOVE the PTI stamps and products, but I can't participate in their contests, their blog hops, or even view their galleries most of the time. I don't know what it is .... I have no problem with other websites, but they have so many different sites, blogs etc. and I get totally lost and frustrated. So I usually just end up waiting until everything is for sale on their site and then hope that nothing is already sold out. I've written them about my problem viewing the galleries and was told they had some problems (this was a couple of months ago) that were being worked out. But I'm still lost .... and it does frustrate me because I love all of their products.
I guess I believe that because their partnership has been so beneficial for me and some of my customers & stamping friends in terms of our use of die-cutting. I was SUO for a long time and some of my friends still are, so maybe that is just my perception because I was so sheltered! I had an old red sizzix that I bought from Craigslist but I never really used it that much until SU! started carrying the BS, dies and embossing folders.
I, too, would love to see SU! broaden their horizons but I think they are bound to Sizzix (at least for the forseeable future) and that really restrains SU! from the types of dies that PTI (as well as some of the other online stores) sells, those small steel dies that match stamps so perfectly. IMO these have been a real game-changer in the stamping world.
Gotcha! I agree, those dies made to match stamps are great!!
I use to buy tons SU until I tried PTI. Now I haven;t placed an order with Su for over a year. I LOVE the monthly releases. They are so awesome!
The dies are fabulous and I love that they are creating stamps to go with the dies!
So where are you seeing the Feb release? I went to the store but did not see it there. I obviously cannot wait a few hours. LOL
If you go to Nicole's blog, you can see a "preview" of the new things. She does a countdown each month for 5 days before the 15th before the new things go on sale.
I believe their website is down. Too many of us die hards all jumping on at the same time. I was in the middle of ordering and it went down - about a half hour ago - and hasn't been resurrected yet.
OK, a few of the items I had on my wishlist are gone. Anyone have any idea how long it takes for items to come back in? I really wanted the button dies but they are gone...I am so bummed!
OK, a few of the items I had on my wishlist are gone. Anyone have any idea how long it takes for items to come back in? I really wanted the button dies but they are gone...I am so bummed!
They say that it usually takes about 2 weeks after an order. If during the pre-release festivities they see that there will be huge demand, they go ahead and re-order before the release.
Sign up for their email list to get the back-in-stock notifications. Check the PTI forum frequently. Sometimes they will receive small shipments - not enough to send out a general email to 20,000 people - and someone will post that they were able to order it. The good thing is the PTI does not retire product, so these items will be readily available for a long time to come. Good luck!
Thanks for the link...How does it work. I see it now but what do I do on the night of next months release???
I have my package sitting on my table waiting for me to open it. I have to eat, shower and finish checking my email or else I will NEVER get to those things if I open my package 1st.
Blessings,
Valerie
BTW...You are all right regarding SU/PTI I LOVE "anyone" with matching dies/punches...However like with Spellbinders...SPACE is a HUGE issue for me...My house is LESS THAN 1000sq/ft and as a SAHM of three girls and a Husband who works from home on conference call...my space is VERY limited...The c/d case and THIN dies was a MAJOR attraction...OF COURSE their Paper/ribbon/button an felt are SIMPLY DELICIOUS and top notch. I am a SU demo only to support my own hobby and I love the INKS and colors that SU offers as well...But each month I find myself leaning more and more towards PTI in my choice for where my precious crafting dollars are spent.
Valerie, that link should work at any time. Sometimes when they are trying to update the storefront just as thousands of eager customers are each hitting refresh dozens of times, the front page gets kind of garbled.
Someone found that if you just add "/index.html" to the usual .com address it would bypass that wonky first page while everything is getting sorted out.
The first company they hired to upgrade the store software walked away with the job not finished, so they had to start again from scratch, and are implementing bits and pieces here and there. We all have great expectations for when all the upgrading is done and the new store is live.
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Originally Posted by NancyJ
I also love the offerings on the PTI site, but I'm really overwhelmed by the number of things that are offered. I tried to follow Nichole's blog, but I'm so confused. There are contests and blog hops and so much going on that I think my head is spinning! Maybe I'll be able to figure it all out one day and place an order. The buttons and banners are my current favorites.
Don't feel bad, you're not alone! I get totally lost on both the blog and the PTI site....makes me cross eyed:-P lol!
Oh and I can't buy all I want (and actually USE it) of SU from QUARTERLY releases so PTI would be the death of me....I can't handle the monthly releases...it's too much stuff for me...I'd be bankrupt! Haha.
And they work beautifully in the Cuttlebug I might add. That is the only machine I have used them in so far.
I got my shipment from PTI on Tuesday & they are so pretty. I can't wait to make some cards with them. I was able to get on the site at 12:05 am release night and get my order in. I did find that you have to give the site about 3 or 4 minutes to get ready. At 11:00 pm Nicole puts everything that will be available on the site so you can look the new release items over and be ready when the time comes to place your order. I like that...Once you get use to following the blogs and participate in the Forum on release night...which starts at 10:00 pm it's really pretty easy to follow. It helps to already be on the site and not trying to get on the site after release is available.
Here's all the goodies I got..."Bad Girl"..LOL!!!
"All" the Doilies and the Punch Outs for each one...Metal Shim...Doily Stamp set...Button Stamp set & Button Card Die and 1 pack of coasters. Cost: $138.00 with free shipping. That was a lot of product for that amount of money. They have great customer service too...ordered on 2/15 got it on 2/22 because Monday 2/21 was a holiday. I think that is great turn around time for a release night. Shout out to PTI!!!
I will probably get a lot of criticism for this but I'm going to say it anyway. They do have awesome stamps and dies, etc., but their 6.50 flat rate shipping sucks when all you want is a couple of dies. They say their shopping cart won't allow them to do it any differently, and I beg to differ. It's a Yahoo shopping cart and you can use different shipping methods, based on number of items, weight, price, etc. - I checked the help file. Maybe they need to move to a different version, but it's not normal for shopping cart software to only allow flat rate shipping, it's the way PTI has it set up. Also, they keep saying they try to have enough inventory on release day and yet many, many people get disappointed when things sell out so quickly.
They are making money right and left, why don't they spend some of it on a real website, their own shopping cart, and keep enough stock on hand so people don't get frustrated? I haven't ordered from them in a long time and probably won't until they change their shipping policies, at least. They don't give an inch, either, when you ask them to change something about an order or you want them to combine orders to save on shipping. It's the same "our shopping cart won't allow it" spiel.
Ok, let me have it if you want to, I don't care. I had to get that off my chest.
Regarding the PTI web site, they did hire a company to build a new store. Changes were made, rolled some of it out live on the web, it didn't go well, then the software company walked away from the job. A new company was found and hired, started over from scratch, and they have been making small changes to the store as they are completed. They are anticipating a complete changeover within the next 2 to 3 months. I think I remember it being said that the shipping options will be much improved.
There are many companies, if not most, that will not change or combine an order once it has been placed, so I can't rip a company for that policy.
Regarding the out of stocks, the second month that PTI had dies, they ordered triple the amount of the first month's order, hoping to avoid running out. They ran out anyway. The third month, they ordered five times more, and I'm sure still increase the order amount every month.
With an internet-only business, the owner doesn't know for sure how many of any product will be ordered until the actual orders come in. If you follow the cardmaking publications at all, you already know that PTI has taken the industry by storm. Almost every page of the card magazines include PTI product. They obviously have a massive customer base, still growing exponentially. How do you decide how much product to order? 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000? If you order 5,000 and 6,000 orders come in, there will be 1,000 people posting that you are deliberately ordering low quantities to keep demand up (which PTI has categorically denied). If you order 10,000 and only 6,000 are ordered, you've paid for 4,000 too many, and also have to pay taxes on the unsold inventory, which increases your operating costs.
Also keep in mind that this is a small business, which wouldn't have access to unlimited lines of credit. We've all heard how tight the credit markets have been for the past couple of years. If you owned a bank and weren't a papercrafter, would you loan a lot of money to an internet-only craft business? I sure wouldn't.
Nichole has stated many times that PTI's success have been beyond their wildest dreams. They are very well aware of the areas where some people think they are failing, and are making changes. For those of us who follow the PTI forum, we see almost on a daily basis how quickly customer comments and requests are incorporated into the business and the product line. Many have commented that PTI responds to customer's requests better and more quickly than any other company they have seen.
If your mind is made up, then I've maybe wasted my time typing all this. If not, give it a couple more months, then try being a customer again. They have the most innovative products in the business, as well as an amazing design team, and it would be a shame to deny yourself the pleasure of working with those products and inspiration because you're mad at the company.
I think when a company takes off like PTI has, there are always going to be some problems. Stampin Up!, which is arguably one of the most successful companies in industry, has had its share of growing pains but they also have at their helm a true visionary.
People like Shelli and now Nichole come along only a few times in each generation. I feel very blessed that I have been exposed to and influenced by each of them.
I love shopping with PTI. I had placed my order this month by 12:15 and received everything I wanted. I always strive for the free shipping and if I don't want much one month then I will wait until the next month so I can have enough for free shipping. That is a hugh plus with me as I use all of their cardstock. I sell my cards so am always needing their ivory and white. I also have SU cardstock but I primarily use PTI. And the new Purple is sooooo rich!
Papertrey Ink's February releases
