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Prices out of control when stores have Free financing to buy stamps and dies
WOW Prices are defiantly out of control when people need a loan to buy the stamps and dies on ONE collection.
Here is a place offering "FREE Interest Free Financing" to buy the Heartfelt collections of stamps and dies plus a paper pad for the Italiana Riviera collection . They offer "Free Flex Pay Financing" for any of the other collections too.
:shock:
It's not a lot of money for all the stuff you get, and everything but the paper is non-consumable. But you'd have to really feel like you are going to make a lot of cards with vines, grapes and wineglasses for it to be worth getting everything IMHO.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I went to Heartfelt Creations to see if some of the components were sold separately. I was particularly interested in just the grapevines stamps/dies. Not worth it for me.
But a snippet of something else caught my eye and I finally found what I was looking for under there "About Us" section of the site:
"We exist to dynamically inspire, uplift, and add value to each person that comes in contact with our creative inspiration and crafts." (Emphasis mine.)
:confused: :confused: :confused:
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I can see how some people will look at the flex plan as an easier way to pay for their product. After all, we live in an age where many people--especially those with a better than average income--are swimming in debt. For them, the interest-free payment plan looks better than a charge card, and they're probably right.
Me. Well, I'm poor. I cut up every credit card with my name attached after my divorce 18 years ago. (Not the smartest move as I now have NO CREDIT and wouldn't be able to get a credit card if my life depended on it) But at the time, it worked for me. Now, I'm strictly cash & carry -- meaning I save up to buy what I want. If I can't save enough, then I don't get it. Period. And to be very honest, I like it that way!
This is another version of layaway. You just dont have to show up every week and plunk down your 10 bucks or whatever. Maybe I am showing my age.
Those do look like big sets, but I get your point though Barbara Jay. I guess the selling point is "be set in one swell foop". Nowhere near diverse enough for my tastes for a "foop" move. Even if I used grapes for everything under the sun for a year-I'd get darn sick of them after that.
Just FYI, but Create & Craft is essentially a version of HSN/QVC - except that it airs in the UK, and only sells craft related items - hence the availability of the "flex pay" option.
You can watch it online if you want from their website - I've done so a couple of time when they had spellbinders or someone else on I was interested in just so I could see the demos.
__________________ "You may not have lost all your marbles, but there's definitely a hole in the bag." Grumpy Cat
Skybluesky, you are so right. Having a credit card doesn't mean you have to use it all the time, but for emergencies, or for certain large purchases, they are a godsend. For example, a few years ago, here in the UK, we had a big furniture chain go into receivership. They were trading right up to the night before it was announced. Not illegal, but highly immoral,. I feel. Anyway, that meant that a large amount of people who had paid either in full, or a deposit, in cash, or by bank card, lost their money, and their furniture. Anyone who paid by credit card was ok, because banks are what is known as a secured creditor, which means in the case of bankruptcies, they get paid first. So, if you paid by card, they give you your cash back straight away. Anyone els has to wait until all the proceedings are wound up, and see what is left to be shared between all the unsecured creditors, ie everyone who paid cash. Usually thats nothing, or a few pennies per pound. SO if we are buying anything expensive, which we are not taking away with us there and then, out comes the credit card. They can take the risk, not me.
Incidentally, I also use it if buying online from somewhere I have never used before if they don't take Paypal. Again, the credit card company can take the risk!
Some crafters like to have the whole collection at one time. One former customer used to buy big auto-ship collections from HSN and have to spend days at a time embossing stuff just to feel like she got her money's worth that month. I have purchased from Create and Craft but not ginormous collections.
Mary Beth
I really enjoy Heartfelt Creations stamps and matching dies. However when I purchase, it is only the stamps and dies that I know that I will use and very seldom the paper packs. However I guess there are people who feel that they must have it all, more power to them. There must be a market for these collections otherwise I doubt Heartfelt Creations would be putting them out on a monthly basis.
Heartfelt creations has some beautiful and creative stamp/die sets. It is just that they are so expensive.
I chuckled at the idea people need to take out a loan to buy an entire collection of coordinating stamps, dies and designer paper
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
Heartfelt Creations is my very favorite company. Their paper is beautiful. I have bought some of the collections (all of the items) but usually I purchase just the pieces I want when I go to a convention. However, I've never used flex-pay. If I can't afford to pay cash, I don't buy it.
These are like oversized card kits. You will have coordinated paper. A lot of people like that aspect...paper pads, etc.
The world has changed so much. When I was kid and people had Christmas club accounts...they would go get the money, keep it in the envelope and shop with that envelope. When it was gone, shopping was over. But back then, people walked around with cash. I dont see that much anymore, except tourists. I do think it's nuts when a person at the supermarket debits stuff under 5 bucks but whatever.
You can build credit while in bankruptcy btw.
You just need to get a "secured card". Aka...you give them X dollars up front and keep paying that off. So say I seed it with 500...I can charge against that limit. I keep paying it off in full each month and it counts like a CC for building credit. You are spending your money but you are getting CC protection and reviving your credit and not having to carry cash around.
Actually, sadly, what is even better is if you do installments-which I would probably never go past 3 months, but the interest rates right now infuriate me. They are SO high while they give us NOTHING on our bank accounts. I am old enough to remember that in the 80s, I was getting 18% interest on my savings account. At 25% interest you end up losing whatever savings you got buying it on sale and possibly even more.
Anyway, you dont have to wait out the whole 10 years on a bankruptcy.
You don't have to have a credit card to be safe. Debit card does just the same thing. I have no credit cards or any credit scores and enough in savings to cover anything that might come up. As Melissa said, if I can't afford it I don't buy it.
__________________ Stop paint chip abuse. Act now!!
Won't somebody think of the paint chips?
I have a difficult time justifying $50 plus tax and shipping for ONE stamp set and the matching die set. I can't buy all the stamps/dies I would like to have. But, NO WAY would I put them on a payment plan.
It seems, however, there are SO MANY to choose from and it's such a short time before a whole new slew of stamps and dies are premiered at Expo or CHA in the Winter followed by another round in the Summer. Then there is Stampin UP and Close to My Heart catalogs and promotions. edited to add: And this isn't including the stamp clubs that feature stamps of the month!
I have decided to shift my focus to selecting stamps I LOVE and using my Cameo to cut them out. It's just too easy to do and I can use that money for stamps.
Last edited by CottageBliss; 12-31-2015 at 06:27 PM..
Sadly, $50 for a stamp set and matching dies seems to be the new normal. And that does make investing in an e-cutter of some kind look more attractive.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
No bankruptcy here. In my divorce, we split debt, not assets. I paid off my share and swore that I'd never be in debt again.
But I do think it would be wise to build up my credit, just in case of an emergency (like the car breaking down 300 miles from home--though I guess I'd have to take an actual vacation for that to happen! LOL) A secured card would be perfect to get that ball rolling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wavejumper
You just need to get a "secured card". Aka...you give them X dollars up front and keep paying that off. So say I seed it with 500...I can charge against that limit. I keep paying it off in full each month and it counts like a CC for building credit. You are spending your money but you are getting CC protection and reviving your credit and not having to carry cash around.
Heartfelt Creations is my very favorite company. Their paper is beautiful. I have bought some of the collections (all of the items) but usually I purchase just the pieces I want when I go to a convention. However, I've never used flex-pay. If I can't afford to pay cash, I don't buy it.
Do they offer discounts on them at the Conventions?
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
Sadly, $50 for a stamp set and matching dies seems to be the new normal. And that does make investing in an e-cutter of some kind look more attractive.
If I bought a couple of the Peacock stamps, the Daisy stamp and the matching dies for both plus the paper pad everyone would get Peacock cards for the next couple of years to justify the cost :lol:
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
So admittedly I'm a Heartfelt Creations Junky! I LOVE their products - pretty and good quality and yes, I do watch for their sales too....so anyway, I'm a bit biased in this response.
Yes - they do run specials at the conventions. Their classes are wonderful and sell out quickly - and they have given coupons at their classes to be used when purchasing at the convention. Their Tutorials are very helpful and their gallery is very inspirational - a very talented Team.
It was during a convention that I heard of their Platinum Membership. It's a one time purchase for membership and you get a 20% discount on all of their products for life. On Regular priced and sale priced items too. https://www.heartfeltcreations.us/pr...p?product=2102 It's not for everyone, but for me it was worth it!
They are very nice people too -- I've gotten hand created / hand written "Thank You! for your purchase cards" from them ( completely separate from a product delivery) and I've even gotten 2 out-of-the-blue Thank You! for your patronage phone calls from them. -- I don't know of anyone else who does that.
We all have to make choices and this isn't for everyone - but it has worked out nicely for me.
__________________ ChaosMom Thanks for visiting my: Gallery!
I LOVE Heartfelt too!! They are my favorite at the moment with Stampin'Up a close second.
I watch a lot of YouTube and StampinUP Demos have shown me how to use those 'other' stamps I wouldn't ordinarily use...like using those stamps to make printed paper out of a solid color sheet and others as second hand stamp for a faded background.
This month (January) is all about Owls at Heartfelt...not my favorite, but they knocked it out of the park! But, I would have to make a bazillion to use them enough to get the 'value' from what I would pay. I'm very frugal, tho, and rarely throw caution to the wind.
I did buy their Poinsettias and Peacock's, couldn't help myself and my C'mas cards were stunning! As were the Easel cards I made with the Peacocks. I will use them again but on a limited basis.
Another thing about Heartfelt, I really do LIKE the people. VERY nice to share the way they do and I feel they give give so much of themselves each month in their releases.
But, I am choosing to think very critically with an eye toward use for stamps today and a year from now....willl I be able to use that stamp in other ways without it looking like a re-do.
Prices out of control when stores have Free financing to buy stamps and dies
