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Wanna hear my pet peeve about online stamp stores?
Have you ever decided to shop for stamps at an online store, and clicked the image of the stamp to "enlarge" it so you can see it better? Have you ever had the image that comes up be smaller than the image you clicked in the first place to "enlarge"? That drives me INSANE! Sometimes the enlarged image is so downright tiny that you nearly need a microscope, LOL! Do they seriously think anyone is going to buy a stamp that they can't even SEE?
OK, this one is not a peeve, just an observation. I love to watch demonstration videos of stamping, crafting, etc. Sometimes when I watch the video, and someone is coloring with pencils or markers, I take notice of how they hold their pencil. the way some people hold their pencil looks so awkward, LOL. I am sure that is their way of doing it, but I if I tried to hold my pencil like that, I would have no control, and it would actually be painful, I think, LOL! I actually tried to imitate one person's hold, and I could not even get my fingers in that position, LOL! And some people hold their pencil like a kindergartener. Has anyone else ever noticed this?
Vicki, I totally hear you on the smaller images that don't enlarge. I find that when I'm visiting an online store, I'm ticking off little check marks in my head and my personal rating of that store goes up or down tick by tick :^) . And clicking on an image and having it get bigger is a big plus!!! When I finally have a real store site, I am going to make sure visitors give me a "+" on that feature.
In my blog store, clicking at first doesn't make it bigger, but then the cursor turns into a little magnifying glass and if you click again it gets much bigger. It also does that for photos in blog entries. I wonder if it has to do with the original size of the uploaded photo, because I know that doesn't happen on everyone' blog. But I agree with you ~ it's a worthwhile feature for the online stores to pursue!
I agree with you about the value of online videos, too -- sometimes you do see just the slightest little thing the person does that they may not even realize, and that helps you achieve their technique or whatever. I can't remember what it was but there was something I tried to do once and it would not work . . . then I watched a video and some little thing the demonstrator did just made it click for me! Can't say I've ever noticed any peculiar pencil-holding though ;^) , but I know so many people really do develop their own quirks with that.
The no enlarging of the online image for the stamps (or even smaller image) drives me nuts, too. My eyes were fine for the longest time (even after I hit 40 when my eye doctor said major changes in eyesight tend to happen). Well, they've finally kicked in now that I'm approaching 50 and I sometimes I feel like I need to crawl into the computer screen to really see some of those tiny images or to get the details. There have been times that I havent' gotten the stamps simply because the site didn't have a decent sized image to be able to see the details, so I wasn't going to get it to see if it was going to work for me.
As for the pencil/brush/marker holding. I'm one of those that many would say is an awkward hold. I can still remember being really little and having all the teachers trying to get me to hold my pencil in the "traditional" type of hold where the pencil is resting on the middle finger and is being controlled by the thumb and first finger. No matter how hard I tried, I could never get it to work and my writing looked atrocious. So, I did it my way and I was always complimented on my clean, clear, attractive writing. Go figure. My son was taught the same traditional way and started out like that, but I notice that he now holds it more like I do. My daughter has the traditional hold. Funny how it all works out, but watching her write is much more "attractive" than either myself or my son (ours looks like a fist like we're trying to destroy the pencil or something).
Oh Vicki, that's my pet peeve about ALL online stores, not just stamp ones! You would not believe how often it occurs, and on websites belonging to companies who are big enough to know better and have enough money to spend on a decent website.
I don't do a lot of on line shopping, but I won't buy anything if I can't see close up detail, so yes, the picture not enlarging irritates me as well. In that same vein, what also irritates me is if the picture does enlarge, but the watermark on the image is so heavy that you still can't make out the detail of the image. I understand why the image has to have a watermark, but it shouldn't cover up the entire image.
To add insult to injury, some stores not only don't let you see the stamp but don't even give dimensions of it either! That really gets my goat. Grrrrrrrr.
I agree with the aggravation with small images. But, I also get annoyed with the sites that enlarge so big you have to scroll around on the image to see the set, you can't see it all at once.
I agree with the aggravation with small images. But, I also get annoyed with the sites that enlarge so big you have to scroll around on the image to see the set, you can't see it all at once.
I hear you too! Those tiny "enlarged" pics are annoying. These stores are losing business when we get frustrated with the lack of detail & move on. I always wonder, why don't they verify their listings & check picture sizes?
Oh, I'm also annoyed by online stores that require you "sign in" or register before they'll calculate your shipping charges. I don't want to register until I know exactly what my shipping charge will be based on stuff in my cart. Store in question is twopeasinabucket.com Most other stores quote shipping before you sign in to confirm purchase. Reason why I've never purchased from twopeas. I hate being "forced" to give my personal info. to get an exact shipping quote. before I decide to buy.
ok, off my soapbox
To add insult to injury, some stores not only don't let you see the stamp but don't even give dimensions of it either! That really gets my goat. Grrrrrrrr.
Yes!
This frustrates me with some of Unity's stamps. Some tell you the size of acrylic block to use, which helps because you can assume it's somewhat smaller than that, but there are others that have no dimensions. I had ordered a quote stamp and it turned out MUCH larger than I was expecting when I hoped to be able to use it on a card.
I won't buy from stores that don't let me know the dimensions, won't let me enlarge, or their watermark covers most of what I need to see. Another pet peeve is not letting me calculate shipping until after you add credit card info. You don't know if the order is going through without letting you decide if you want to pay shipping. Last pet peeve, online stores with no shopping cart. You fill out a paper order blank and then call in your order...sheesh what a pain
Wanna hear my pet peeve about online stamp stores?
