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Thank you very much for posting about this. I have created an account with **********. It's nice to have a comparison on prices.
And thanks for showing that it all comes from China! I think the markup on dies is around 500% so it's nice to see sites like this offering to sell dies for around $5.
There are 2 downsides that I can think of for ordering direct from China. The time to get the product can be several weeks (my personal esperince with EBay from China). If the product arrives defective or otherwise disappointing, you are pretty much stuck with it. If all goes well with your transaction, then it's not an issue, but it's a roll of the dice, in my opinion.
I have been absolutely delighted with the products and service I have received from Gina. She even tossed in a large leaf background die as a freebie with one of my orders. Totally unexpected, and totally wonderful.
I love a bargain as much as the next person, however, I also value the customer/client relationship that I have with someone who I can rely on to be responsible and ethical. Just my two cents on the subject....
There are 2 downsides that I can think of for ordering direct from China. The time to get the product can be several weeks (my personal esperince with EBay from China). If the product arrives defective or otherwise disappointing, you are pretty much stuck with it. If all goes well with your transaction, then it's not an issue, but it's a roll of the dice, in my opinion.
I have been absolutely delighted with the products and service I have received from Gina. She even tossed in a large leaf background die as a freebie with one of my orders. Totally unexpected, and totally wonderful.
I love a bargain as much as the next person, however, I also value the customer/client relationship that I have with someone who I can rely on to be responsible and ethical. Just my two cents on the subject....
While this advice goes without saying - we all shop the internet heavily and have gotten rotten service before (GASP even from USA companies!) - it is something to check out. Don't spit on it before doing a little research. It just might be the perfect fit. Personally, I�ve had great service and quality from India and China on my orders.
The customer review rating on this site is extremely high. If you have an issue, contact this vendor and they will refund promptly (and most likely ask you to keep the die/product and not mail it back from the reviews I've read so far). I think they are safe and provide a good service. Having said that, I would do an order for $25-$40 first and see how it goes. From the web site I think their English is marginal, so keep communications simple with pictures.
It will take a month to get your order, but that is why it's free shipping for anything you buy. You can increase your shipping services (but pay for it). Of course we would all have to weigh the advantages of getting it next week as opposed to 3 weeks from China. I can wait 3 weeks. Sure, there are dies I want to use tomorrow but honestly I still have dies that have not seen paper yet. Waiting won't kill me.
My position: I want to explore all avenues to cut down the cost of stamps and dies. If I have to sacrafice a 'relationship' with a vendor to do that, then it's a small price to pay. The price of this hobby has gotten ridiculous (IMHO), especially when it�s all made in China from cheap rolled aluminum or clear poly resin. There is very little quality and durability in the products any more but the mark up on this stuff is out of this world. The more competition we dig up as crafters/artists, the more pressure there is to drop the prices to compete.
When you shop **********, understand that each one of these is a different vendor. That's why you find the same die priced from $3 to $9 - and check the vendor rating and how many sales they have done. ********** is just an Asian form of Ebay.
And just like Ebay, don't buy from someone if they have few sales or anything below a 98% satisfaction rating.
Susy, I'm used to waiting, no problem there. And you were lucky because Gina never tossed anything extra in my package and my order was over $100! lol
Great review, Janet! I was always very much pleased with the services provided by ********** and never had any issues with them.
I was recently ripped off from a US based company called Jollymolly and never saw either the products purchased or my money back. Kept me from buying anything online for a long, long time!
I just wanted to let you know that most of the Gina Marie Designs dies are from China suppliers and can be found at **********.com. They are not made in USA. You can go to the website and search for cutting dies or dies scrapbooking and you will find them all there. To me the good thing is that shipping is free. I also found there lots of sets from the Doohickey Magnolia Club, from the early vols. My Gambi Kuretake watercolor I got from this place and was very pleased with the service provided by **********. Hope this information helps.
Candida, most of my dies are originals designed by me and not available on **********. I do however get the option to add some store stock and put my brand on them which adds up to about 10-15% of my inventory. Since the ********** companies are manufacturers and I just resell I am pretty happy with the price I am able to offer them since I am usually within $1 of their pricing and sometimes cheaper. Not all my dies are made in China. My small ones are made by cheery lynn out of Arizona. My large dies which I charge $10 for would cost $10 to make in the USA. So sadly I took my business out of country to an equal quality manufacturer which I am more then pleased with. Thanks for your purchases and hope this info helps.
I recently ordered some stamps and dies from Gina Marie Designs and am very happy with everything I ordered, and the speed of delivery. I probably would have ordered twice as much as I did, but quite a few things I wanted were out of stock. Does anybody know how often she restocks, or if the stamps and dies that aren't her design are restocked? I am new to this hobby and am so thankful I found this site and all the wonderful information and help on here.
Teresa
My site has been hit very hard lately and I apologize. This has become bigger then I honestly ever dreamed it to become. Just me and one other gal package all the dies and we sell them in our shop, online and at large events. I try to get all orders out in 3 business days so sometimes restocking my site takes a few days if I am putting all my effort into pushing orders out. You can always email and I will personally restock it if it is something I have more of. I do this for lots of girls 😘 When it comes to the limited dies that is usually all there is left. Sometimes limited dies do not make it more then a few hours. Which I feel bad about but being one person I sadly can not buy every die in bulk 500-1000 pieces of each style. My entire savings is wrapped up into these puppies and right now I have 60 designs being tested and approved this month alone! I thank all you girls and am trying to keep up on the site with restocking, adding new items and shipping fast. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you could only see the van I was driving around (a 9 point buck helped with the exterior decorating) I am a very humble person and I have had my life transformed in the last 6 months! I have so much more on its way and no intentions on raising the prices. Please forgive if any of the above is silly or not professional. I am just a Michigan farm girl with a lot of goats and don't plan to be the face of my company. At shows I tell my employee she can be Gina 😜
I love her. I hope she becomes a huge player in the stamp and die arena because her prices really do reflect value. It's crazy that a stamp set costs $20, and dies are $18-$25 these days.
The only misgiving I have is a lot of her dies don't show sizes. Ever buy a die or a stamp and when it arrives you realized it's too small to do anything with? I have learned my lesson on that - I try to buy from web sites that list the width and height of every item. And I use a sheet of grid paper that has been marked in inches so I can get an idea of size and depth of the image it will create and how well it will integrate with all my other stuff.
I am getting better with listing sizes! Thank you for the feedback. All the new ones that have been going up should have sizes on them unless limited. And if I ever fail to list sizes hound me lol. My backer cards are 4x4 or 4x6 if that helps reference size at all. I know the nested it is nice to have exact measurements so I at least try to put down the biggest layers sizes. Thank you for your support.
Supporting small businesses often trumps price for me, whether it's my LSS or purchased on line. If we don't support them, they will disappear. Many have. If the difference is just a few bucks, it's well worth it - to me.
(On a related note, it makes me crazy when someone goes to a free event or make-n-take at the LSS, uses their materials, gets free instruction, and has a finished product to take home... and then says, "I bet I can get this cheaper at Michaels.")
I am not complaining 😜 And it all gets reinvested into new designs!
Gina, I'm glad you posted here, so we can get to know you a little. I knew your dies were great, and now I have a suspicion that you are a great person also!
I have quite a few of your dies, and just got another couple of sets in the mail today that I can't wait to try out.
Keep up the good work - we're all behind you!
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Gina, I'm glad you posted here, so we can get to know you a little. I knew your dies were great, and now I have a suspicion that you are a great person also!
I have quite a few of your dies, and just got another couple of sets in the mail today that I can't wait to try out.
Keep up the good work - we're all behind you!
Awwwe shucks. Yes I am nice, weird or as I like to say a "hot mess" but nice . Lol. When I do shows I bring 3 helpers and if the people don't look at name tags I am the last person they think to be the owner. They say it's cause I'm young...32 doesn't feel young anymore, I blame all the dies I lift. But it's okay cause I am shy. I get an upset stomach before each big event, but after the first hour it becomes natural to me and I just flow running around the booth helping everyone.
I hope to get to more shows all over the US. I will be in Indiana and TN in the fall. It is crazy that this has gotten so big in the last 6-7 months. So many people have heard of me. But it is only because of you passionate girls that spread the word. I have no intentions to raise any prices and am gonna keep on keepin on
Got my first batch of Gina Marie dies today (11 sets plus the crab), and I'm over the moon happy with them. Through no fault of Gina's, my package decided to take the "scenic route" to get to me. Gina was super helpful and communicated, sent emails letting me know what happened and when to expect them. I can't recommend her enough!
P.S.: My second order is already on it's way to me. lol
There are only 2 of her released dies I do not hac-ve. The mermaid...just not my thing and the heart hot air balloon. I usually order everything she has.
I finally got a chance to play with my new Gina Marie Dies. I'm in love! They cut so nice, and because they are thicker than spellbinders/SU they don't warp after a few goes through the big shot. I'm going to use the stitched circle and the bow on the cards I'm making for the Orlando victims. I'll post the card when I find my camera.
I'm wondering if anyone has any information they could share about this business.
I recently ordered the Gina Marie Designs pineapple die from Firefly Crafts. I received the item within a few short days, together with a handwritten thank you note. I was rather impressed with how quickly the order was sent out and that Debbie Arvaneh took the time to hand write a thank you note which was personalized. Having never heard of Firefly Crafts prior to ordering the pineapple die, I only ordered the one item. But with the quick turn around and the courteous response from Debbie, I will be ordering from Firefly again.
I'm wondering if anyone has any information they could share about this business.
I recently ordered the Gina Marie Designs pineapple die from Firefly Crafts. I received the item within a few short days, together with a handwritten thank you note. I was rather impressed with how quickly the order was sent out and that Debbie Arvaneh took the time to hand write a thank you note which was personalized. Having never heard of Firefly Crafts prior to ordering the pineapple die, I only ordered the one item. But with the quick turn around and the courteous response from Debbie, I will be ordering from Firefly again.
Gail,
Thanks for sharing your experience with Firefly Crafts. I'm seriously thinking about getting some Gina Marie items and it's nice to have some options of companies to purchase from.
Gina, you mentioned you will be in Indiana in the Fall; where in Indiana will you be? I live in the northeast near Fort Wayne. I have Googled your store location in MI; I would love to visit, however, my schedule hasn't made that happen as of yet. I LOVE your dies!!
I was lucky enough to visit Gina Marie's store last week while in Michigan. I walked in, saw all the stamps and dies and STUFF and my heart was so happy Love your products, prices and the very nice lady who helped me.
Because of this thread, I placed my first order with Gina Marie The item I wanted was showing out of stock, so I sent her an e-mail asking to be notified when it came back in. I got a very quick answer saying she had that die in stock, just hadn't had a chance to restock the website. I was happy to wait but even happier with the swift response. I had the dies in hand within a week.
