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Okay . . . I already e-mailed my demonstrator about this and I'm sure that she'll get back to me, but I'm impatiented and wanted to see if anyone can shed some light on this in the meantime.
I ordered some Green Galore and Gable Green cardstock last week . . . not my favorite, but my daughter sure loves them so I thought that I'd get some while I still can. I got the "this product is on backorder and will ship when available" message so I assumed that wouldn't be getting my order for a while and that was okay with me. So, I was surprised when my order arrived today. However, instead of shipping the smooth cardstock that I ordered, it was Textured Cardstock with a sticker on it that says, "Textured cardstock substituted for smooth cardstock."
Does this mean that they are out of smooth cardstock in those colors and won't be getting any in?
Again, I'm not complaining because I've always had good customer service from SU and I'm sure that I will get some answers eventually, I just a little impatient and want to know if this has happened to anyone else?
Thanks,
Molly
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
I am sorry this happened to you. Yes that is exactly what it means. The colors that you ordered are no longer available in the smooth cardstock and they will not be getting anymore in. Maybe you can find someone to trade with if you do not like the textured cardstock.
Actually Molly I think they left that up to the demo's to convey to the customers. Stampin' Up! let all the demonstrators know that this was going to be the case. They did not tell us which ones would be substituted. We were just told that when the smooth ran out, rather then just telling everyone, "Sorry we are out of paper" they were going to substitute the textured cardstock. I would think that if you are not happy with it, that you still have your 90 days to exchange it as long as it has not been opened.
Some demonstrator (maybe Dawn Griffith) posted on her blog a while ago that they were going to do that. I think all demonstrators knew that this is happening.
I agree that the message you got was misleading.
I guess this is a consequence of being a stamping hermit and not keeping in touch with my demo. I usually just log in and order through the website.
At the moment, I'm on the fence as to whether or not I'll try to return it for a refund.
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
Last edited by PinkyPapers; 06-03-2010 at 06:19 PM..
Reason: typo
I understand Molly. Just so you know you can exchange it, but not get a refund for it. I hope you can get it all worked out. Maybe you can find someone to trade with?
That certainly changes my outlook! Not having ordered the SU textured cardstock before, I didn't know that. I didn't open the packages that I received in the event that I'd be returning them.
Thanks, everyone.
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
This is one of the fundamental problems that comes up with any direct sales model - you as a customer are dependant on how good or bad the company representative is that you deal with (unless you spend way too much time searching the internet for information). If they're lousy and don't communicate information conveyed to them by the company, then you as their customer suffers. If you have a good or great repesentative that you deal with, then sometimes you get info as soon as they receive it and many times that's before the interested general public. It just seems like that the main company could let their reps know what's going on, then a few days later put that information out on the company's customer website for those customers who have lousy reps. Sometimes, it takes some type of big mess-up for the customer to realize that the rep they deal with isn't such a good one because they didn't inform the customer of what's going on. I'm all for "buyer beware" but sometimes you as a customer don't know what all the questions are that you should possibly be asking your rep. The company as a whole should have a certain amount of responsibility for the correct information being given to the buying public. But, SU will always go back to the fact that the demonstrators are "independant" demonstrators and can run their businesses as they see fit, eventhough the company ends up getting a bad reputation if the rep is bad.
I've been lucky in that I got all smooth cardstock for the Brilliant Blue I ordered, but I only knew of the possibility of getting textured because I read it here on SCS and a few blogs I follow. I never heard anything about the possibility from any local demonstrators.
I've been lucky in that I got all smooth cardstock for the Brilliant Blue I ordered, but I only knew of the possibility of getting textured because I read it here on SCS and a few blogs I follow. I never heard anything about the possibility from any local demonstrators.
Heck! I've got smooth Brilliant Blue cardstock that I'd give away for free! As to reading about it here on SCS, I'm surprised that I didn't read about it too, because I've been following a few threads on the retiring colors and I don't remember seeing it mentioned in what I was reading.
As for leaving it to the demos to convey info to their customers, wouldn't SU have the responsibility to convey the same info to someone ordering from the website who is not signing in and paying the higher prices instead? (Does anyone do that, even? I mean, why not save a little money?)
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
Last edited by PinkyPapers; 06-03-2010 at 06:52 PM..
Reason: punctuation problem
This is one of the fundamental problems that comes up with any direct sales model - you as a customer are dependant on how good or bad the company representative is that you deal with (unless you spend way too much time searching the internet for information). If they're lousy and don't communicate information conveyed to them by the company, then you as their customer suffers. If you have a good or great repesentative that you deal with, then sometimes you get info as soon as they receive it and many times that's before the interested general public. It just seems like that the main company could let their reps know what's going on, then a few days later put that information out on the company's customer website for those customers who have lousy reps. Sometimes, it takes some type of big mess-up for the customer to realize that the rep they deal with isn't such a good one because they didn't inform the customer of what's going on. I'm all for "buyer beware" but sometimes you as a customer don't know what all the questions are that you should possibly be asking your rep. The company as a whole should have a certain amount of responsibility for the correct information being given to the buying public. But, SU will always go back to the fact that the demonstrators are "independant" demonstrators and can run their businesses as they see fit, eventhough the company ends up getting a bad reputation if the rep is bad.
I've been lucky in that I got all smooth cardstock for the Brilliant Blue I ordered, but I only knew of the possibility of getting textured because I read it here on SCS and a few blogs I follow. I never heard anything about the possibility from any local demonstrators.
As a demo for SU, I try my best to keep my customers up-to-date on what is going on. I also post on my blog so that anyone who happens upon it might be able to benefit from the info. I am still waiting for some CS and do not know if it will be smooth or textured--and that does not make me happy either. I personally do not care for textured cardstock. When I placed the order, I did not know about the substitution possibility.
May 5 - that's the date that the corporate office told all demos about the card stock substitution.
One sort of twist to this sort of thing for me, as a demo, is I can tell my customers every which way about something and sometimes they just don't see it, read it,absorb it, etc... I post on my blog, I send Constant Contact newsletters, and I email. I risk overdoing it so I rely on my blog. Then what happens? Someone doesn't read something then there's some unexpected outcome for the customer. I think what the crux of this is is that customers lead busy lives and a note about a stamping product may not be a priority for some and they miss it. I totally understand that. Add to that a demo who tells you nothing and you're totally out of the loop. :(
I have heard stories of demos who tell their customers nothing. They do exist. In this case, with the card stock, it's almost impossible for a demo to alert every customer. I think the ordering system should do the alerting such as "stop, this smooth card stock is now sold out... would you like the textured instead for the same price?" I am not a technie but I would hope that's not super hard to do.
Anyway, I do feel badly for you but as was mentioned above, you cannot refund as SU refunds nothing, only exchanges. OR resell it?
__________________ Stella MacKay, Independent Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! since 2002
When I placed the order, I did not know about the substitution possibility.
Out of curiosity, I just went back to the SU website to recreate my ordering experience. Here are the results, the pop-up that appears when you add the cardstock to your shopping cart does not mention the substitution. It just says that the product is on backorder and will ship when ready. The page that you are ordering from does not mention the substition. If you click okay on the pop-up, it takes you to your shopping bag. If you click cancel, the pop-up disappears and the description on the ordering page changes and and additional paragraph appears that reads, "Because of inventory levels of this soon-to-be-discontinued product, textured card stock may be substituted to fulfill this order." This message does not appear until you click the cancel button! If you go ahead and order, you never receive the info! When I ordered, I never clicked on the cancel button, I clicked okay and was taken to my shopping bag. Then I hit the continue shopping button, which takes you back to the original cardstock page that does not include the warning about substitutions.
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
Anyway, I do feel badly for you but as was mentioned above, you cannot refund as SU refunds nothing, only exchanges. OR resell it?
How can they refuse to give a refund when they sent a product other than what was ordered and they do not have and will not ever have the product ordered in stock?
(BTW, don't feel too badly for me because I probably won't ask for a refund, I'm just arguing the principle of the whole thing now.)
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
WOW that is so cool to get textured stock, it is more expensive, but they did not want to disappoint you in not being able to supply. Texture is far more interesting and it gives interest to your project. Simple turn to the smooth side if you do not want texture, so you have 2 in 1. The whole colour renovation has been a nightmare for SU as whilst they have exciting new colours coming, the customers have bought up large and depleted stocks way ahead of normal sales levels so rather than getting more card stock made in the old colours they came up with the substitute which is more expensive to keep everyone happy. I am sure if you are not it can be changed. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Another time they would send an "out of stock" but we have textured which you can have and the customer says "well why didn't you just send it", I want that colour and need it now. "Hand over the cardstock and no one will get hurt" LOL
Molly~~That is interesting. I hate to admit it, but I was not aware of this. When I placed the orders, back in very early May, I ordered the cardstock before SU announced it was making substitutions. I am still waiting on 6 packs of back-ordered CS for customers of mine, and if it comes in textured, then my customers want to exchange it. Which will be a hassle, but you do what you can. My suggestion would be that you talk to your demo and see if she can exchange it for you.
I too placed an order on 5/5 before the announcement about the substitution of textured for smooth cardstock. The textured is "somewhat" smooth on one side but still bumpy enough to not give a perfect stamp impression. I do NOT want textured but I am still waiting on 3 pkgs of Mellow Moss from 5/5 and 1 pkg of Close to Cocoa. I hear on other threads that the last order in is the one processed first..not first in first processed...this angers me because my order was in a long time ago and I am still waiting for SMOOTH Mellow Moss.
blessings.
I too placed an order on 5/5 before the announcement about the substitution of textured for smooth cardstock. The textured is "somewhat" smooth on one side but still bumpy enough to not give a perfect stamp impression. I do NOT want textured but I am still waiting on 3 pkgs of Mellow Moss from 5/5 and 1 pkg of Close to Cocoa. I hear on other threads that the last order in is the one processed first..not first in first processed...this angers me because my order was in a long time ago and I am still waiting for SMOOTH Mellow Moss.
blessings.
So Amber~~Do you think we will get smooth? Actually, do you think we will get any?
I heard back from my demo this morning (my super helpful demo who only knows me as the hermit stamper who lives one neighborhood away who she hasn't met). She said that she actually has an unopened package of smooth Gable Green that she'll trade me for the textured and also has about 15 sheets of smooth Green Galore that she'll gladly part with.
Problem solved.
I still think that for the sake of other folks ordering out there and the sanity of their customer service representatives, SU should fix the glitch on the website that alerts you to the possibility of substitution after only when you decide NOT to order.
Thanks for all of your input, gals.
-Molly
__________________ -Molly, Stamping for her Sanity in Seattle
I agree with the OP that it should clearly state on the website the possibility of substitution for those ppl who don't have a demo and just order directly from the website. That way there aren't any surprises.
As for me I was tempted to roll the dice on a few colours in hopes that i WOULD get the textured cardstock. I'm going through a phase right now where i'm loving the texture!
Glad to hear you paper situation was straightened out.
Kristy
I dont know if we will really get it..it show that is should start shipping next week but I am afraid it will be textured. I saw on another thread somewhere that a lady received a credit for the Mellow moss like it may not be avail after all...I hope it is...I really really hope I get smooth...blessings.
How can they refuse to give a refund when they sent a product other than what was ordered and they do not have and will not ever have the product ordered in stock?
(BTW, don't feel too badly for me because I probably won't ask for a refund, I'm just arguing the principle of the whole thing now.)
I can't argue the merits of the policy as I'm just the messenger. Just telling you what it is ;-) I can't disagree with you. I might feel the same way. The only way things change is if customers tell SU directly so I always encourage customers to do so. They can be easily reached by email (which I think is more effective as it can be shared with more than a phone conversation) at [email protected] (got that off the customer home page).
__________________ Stella MacKay, Independent Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! since 2002
I still think that for the sake of other folks ordering out there and the sanity of their customer service representatives, SU should fix the glitch on the website that alerts you to the possibility of substitution after only when you decide NOT to order.
I could not agree more!
__________________ Stella MacKay, Independent Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! since 2002
INteresting that for the first time I actually saw the notice in the catalog (p 207 of the 2009-2010 version, and its in the new one too) that SU has the right to refund or substitute product for items discontinued or out of stock, and the choice to offer a refund belongs soley to SU.
As others have said - you can return for an exchange, but not a refund. SU could have refunded, but instead substituted.
I think SU will always go back to their little statement in the tiny small print stuck way at the back of the catalog that hardly anyone is told about and is so far back in the catalog that few people actually ever get to it to read it: Limitations: Stampin' Up! reserves the right to substitute merchandise of similar quality and value for items that are discontinued or out of stock...
There's also one about how you can exchange stuff but they don't give refunds.
I don't know, but does the website have similar statements anywhere as SU's "out" clauses? I don't recall seeing anything but I haven't really looked. If anything, those types of statements should be some of the first things a customers sees when shopping online, regardless of the company involved. Unfortunately, you usually have to go looking for them and sometimes they're incredibly hidden on sites. You usually don't think about looking for them and reading them first - it's usually only after you have a problem and then it's usually too late.
The disclaimers are on the website, since they reside in the catalog. I just cruised the SU site, and there is a specific pfd about returns... if the customer wants to. But no information on the menu bar about substituting on the SU side.
I too placed an order on 5/5 before the announcement about the substitution of textured for smooth cardstock. The textured is "somewhat" smooth on one side but still bumpy enough to not give a perfect stamp impression. I do NOT want textured but I am still waiting on 3 pkgs of Mellow Moss from 5/5 and 1 pkg of Close to Cocoa. I hear on other threads that the last order in is the one processed first..not first in first processed...this angers me because my order was in a long time ago and I am still waiting for SMOOTH Mellow Moss.
blessings.
Last order in is the first processed , not the first order in is the first to process...Now that alone is just bad business procedure. I have never heard of a company that does that. This really annoys me maybe it is because I come from a family that owns and operates several small business's and if they acted on that - no one would ever come back to that store. I really hope that isn't the truth, but it sounds like it if you order 1 month ago.
I too placed an order on 5/5 before the announcement about the substitution of textured for smooth cardstock. The textured is "somewhat" smooth on one side but still bumpy enough to not give a perfect stamp impression. I do NOT want textured but I am still waiting on 3 pkgs of Mellow Moss from 5/5 and 1 pkg of Close to Cocoa. I hear on other threads that the last order in is the one processed first..not first in first processed...this angers me because my order was in a long time ago and I am still waiting for SMOOTH Mellow Moss.
blessings.
I would be shocked if this were true. I do not think it is. When SU has a backorder my understanding is that it fills oldest first when supplies come in. I am sure someone posted thinking they got this info right but I would bet that it is not.
One way to find out when your color is being shipped is to ask SU. They have back order updates available. I had a customer with card stock on back order and she asked me to look into it a few days ago and I did. I found out the ship date for her card stock. A lot of colors are shipping "week of June 7" per the report I just looked at that every demo has access to. If you ordered thru your demo, ask her to contact SU or look in the Backorder Report on our demo home page. If not, SU has a customer service number that you can phone Monday. It might ease your mind to check in on your order:
Got this number off the customer page:
1-800-STAMP UP
(1-800-782-6787)
__________________ Stella MacKay, Independent Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! since 2002
Several friends and I ordered retiring colors and split packages of about 6 colors recently and we all got smooth CS...I hope you can get what you want!
I'm still waiting for a package of Mellow Moss that I ordered at the end of April. But then again, I'm also waiting for all of the order I placed on the 19th of May at the last club. Hopefully it will be in the package when my demo finally delivers the May order. I'm hoping for smooth cardstock but I think that will be the exception from what I'm reading. Has anybody received their Mellow Moss from the back order list yet?
SU textured cardstock substition
