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?
On our local news this morning they had a segment about this very issue. Consumers are feeling too overwhelmed by the constant sales emails and commercials. Most consumers said they are just clicking the delete key on their emails and not even opening them. And they are muting the commercials on TV. I feel the same way.
Another thing I can't stand is blog hops to release new product. I don't care how much the prize is that is being given away, I hate blog hops and won't participate. I know a lot of people who feel the same way.
I agree with all of it! I delete so many newsletters and stuff. Some companies send out DAILY newsletters & sales stuff. It is all just way too much.
I just really can't stand all the hype & definitely feel the overwhelm myself as a consumer. I'm taking my little stamp co back to basics & that's what I am trying to do with my personal crafting too. The lastest & greatest thing just gets me overwhelmed.
Ugh, I HATE TV because of the ads!! I won't even watch Hulu for free anymore, because of the ads!! Now I will only watch Youtube, or the commercial-free programmes from the online stations themselves (like watchabc.com). Ever since reading this thread, I've come to realize that I DO look at releases quite regularly because they land in my inbox - Flourishes, Tiddly Inks, Kraftin' Kimmie, Crafty Secrets, Penny Black, Crafter's Companion, and others, but I don't ever go in search for these... The only two releases that I will actively wonder about and go search out are Papertrey and Paper Smooches! I guess these never cause me anguish because I never feel the urge to buy anything right then and there, even when I like something.
I mostly don't even watch TV unless I overhear something that DH is watching in the other room that piques my interest - usually a concert on Palladia or a political discussion. When the new season of "So You Think You Can Dance" starts, I'll DVR those and watch, fast-forwarding through the commercials. The thing that bothers me THE MOST about all of the advertising - aside from the constant onslaught - is that they can't seem to let us enjoy whatever season we're in or what holiday we're supposed to be celebrating - they're already on to the next one. At the rate things are going, we'll start getting Valentine releases before Halloween. I REFUSE! I'll make Christmas cards year-round (actually, I'll make ANYTHING Christmas year-round), but all of the other holidays get dealt with within a week or so of when they actually happen...
On our local news this morning they had a segment about this very issue. Consumers are feeling too overwhelmed by the constant sales emails and commercials. Most consumers said they are just clicking the delete key on their emails and not even opening them. And they are muting the commercials on TV. I feel the same way.
Another thing I can't stand is blog hops to release new product. I don't care how much the prize is that is being given away, I hate blog hops and won't participate. I know a lot of people who feel the same way.
I spend a lot of time just deleting these emails as well. I'm starting to unsubscribe to the ones that send me multiples through the day.
I don't participate in blog hops for prizes, but I will look through the samples of cards for favorite companies. I save copies of the samples I like and have them tagged with the stamps and dies used in case I decide to make a purchase later on. Many times a card will catch my eye and make me consider purchasing a stamp or die set I would never have considered before.
I set up a separate e-mail account I use just for online purchases. It gets so much spam - and by that I mean constant sales and promotions from companies I have done business with - that I don't check it. Some retailers will send e-mails out every day once they have your address, and these are nationally known stores. Ugh. Enough!
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
I do love Pinterest. That place is just bad for temptation. Last week I wanted three puppies, an owl, new skirt & a trip to Turkey. I was only looking for a design idea for my DH's art studio.
This is fascinating to me - I began in this business nearly 5 years ago now and it was my plan to release monthly, simply because I guess that's how I thought it should be done. After a while I found that I felt like the only communication I was having with my blog readers was when I was trying to sell them something - I did not like that. I was either sneak peeking new stuff or showing samples of what had just come out. I don't like the hard sell at all. I moved to a release every two months and while It felt like the right thing to do at the time, I have to say that the business did not do as well during that period.
Lots of other things come in to play when you are running a business single handed and it would be fair to say I had several huge personal hurdles to cross in the last two years that have also affected the business, so I was never able to say, hand on heart, that the two monthly release was a complete negative.
At a later time I felt that the best thing for the business was to go back to a monthly release, but I found it well nigh impossible to stick to a particular date and so the releases have 'floated' for some time now. There are a million reasons why this is not a good idea for either myself, the business or the folks who shop with us and I have been working hard to reach the point where I could have a static release date each month. (sorry Phantom!!!)
I completely agree with the perception that new stuff is being pushed all the time and that is a great turn off to some folks. I sure don't want to be one of the folks who is doing the pushing, but I have a theory that my small company needs frequent releases - I don't think they have to be large releases, but I feel that if we had a larger audience I could easily move to a bi monthly or even quarterly release schedule.
I do love Pinterest. That place is just bad for temptation. Last week I wanted three puppies, an owl, new skirt & a trip to Turkey. I was only looking for a design idea for my DH's art studio.
Well this wins the comment of the day award!
Claire and Samantha, thanks for sharing your insight from the other side of the stamp.
I can't imagine coming up with new ideas every month and you can tell that some companies have had the well run dry and they just start putting their company's most popular "thing" in a santa suit, then surrounded by hearts, then with bunny ears...
What I also really miss are the sets that were jam-packed with images. In my recent searches, I felt that some companies were divvying up their sets into smaller one-image purchases so it would look like they were releasing more (and I guess having customers buying 5 different small sets is better for them than putting it all in one!)
I think small releases, even if they are monthly, are an acceptable thing. Keeps everything fresh, you know? I think what we have a problem with is so many large releases- lots of stamp sets/colours/ technique based stuff, just turns into information overload. Completely agree with what Meg says, some releases do seem to be packed with 'fillers', or have no real inspiration behind them. Or you get two or three sheets, all of which only have one main image.
Claire and Samantha, thanks for sharing your insight from the other side of the stamp.
I can't imagine coming up with new ideas every month and you can tell that some companies have had the well run dry and they just start putting their company's most popular "thing" in a santa suit, then surrounded by hearts, then with bunny ears...
What I also really miss are the sets that were jam-packed with images. In my recent searches, I felt that some companies were divvying up their sets into smaller one-image purchases so it would look like they were releasing more (and I guess having customers buying 5 different small sets is better for them than putting it all in one!)
LOL, I have actually been told off by my accountant for filling sets with too many stamps - she suggested splitting the sets, but I'm happy to ignore the accountant, there is nothing worse than sending a set of stamps out for manufacture and knowing there is wasted space on the sheet, I absolutely cram everything I can into a set. When I buy stamps, I love to get good value, and I figure most of us are the same. :p
I personally don't care for larger stamps sets. They cost a lot more and I usually only like a few of the images anyway. I've got tons of stamps I don't care for because of this.
I don't subscribe to any newsletters from stores. I have a simple reason for this. I want to get my online things done so I can game. 
