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I do agree that there is something nice about wood, but if I have a choice I'd rather just get more stamps ya know? So I'd for sure buy more if there was a choice, but I wouldn't spend more, just get more for my $$.
TAC used to have the choice, is anyone a TAC demo from then? When I signed up they changed to all UM like the next month so I don't know what the thinking was. Maybe not too many people were buying mounted and it didn't seem cost effective for them to have twice the pick line or whatever it's called. I'm sure there are increased costs with the options. Would you still choose unmounted if it was only 25% cheaper instead of 50% cheaper?
I'll use stamps the way they come, so I mount my SU (Only have like 15 sets anyhow), use the cling mount on TAC, and the ones that I buy as bare rubber I don't use any clingy stuff on, I just use wacky tack or double sided tape.
anyhow I love SU and will buy them with my X amount of dollars no matter what they decide to do. And I'll buy TAC, and Cornish Heritage, and Papertrey, and Stamping Bella, and C.C.Deisgns, and Missy B, and oh well, you get the picture! ;)
I joined TAC when they were selling both unmounted and wood mounted stamps.
The wood mounted stamp cost much more than the unmounted stamps and they were not selling as many wood mounted so they dropped the wood mounted stamps and keep the unmounted ones.
Example: Unmounted Rubber stamp set of 5 sold for $19.95 and the wood mounted Rubber stamp sold for $39.95 these were large stamps.
another example: Unmounted Rubber stamp set of 10 sold for $9.95 and Wood mounted Rubber stamp set of 10 sold for $17.95 Medium size stamps.
That to me was a big jump in price. But then again you were paying for the wood, the rubber, the foam and the label for the stamp set.
Our unmounted stamp only come with Ez-mount foam and no label.
I had some customer stop buying from me because we went totally unmounted.
I like both wood mounted stamps and unmounted stamps.
But as far as SU going unmounted I don't see this happing...Not this year anyway!
Something else I would like to bring up....Many people are thinking that TAC stamps are clear Acrylic.
They are NOT they are made out of Blue or PurpleRubber and are deeply etched much like SU and other wood mounted rubber stamps.
Our stamps come with a full sheet of Ez-mount foam (TAC calls it Creative Cling foam) but it's the same thing.
Our stamp then use a acrylic block instead of a wood block.
I have bought unmounted stamps from other companies and without having the ezmount on them it was hard for me to use them. I did find a way to stamp with them though. But I went back to the company that offers unmounted or mounted and purchased mounted stamps instead. I do have one online store where I get my fairy stamps that only offer unmounted sheets, I still buy from there cause to me as long as I like the stamp, I will buy it and use it when I am ready to. I even have those foam stamps the LSS sells cause I liked what they had on them. To me it just don't seem to matter anymore, just as long as I am the one who likes the stamp.
[QUOTE=JanTInk]Acrylic is made from petroleum...just sayin'!
Trees are renewable resource as is rubber...petroleum is not.
Sheesh! Well, I'm not an Environmental engineer or anything, but I'm betting that a couple acrylic blocks are better than hundreds of wooden blocks...I mean really, you don't really think that trees grow overnight do you? It's AWESOME that SU gets their wood from tree farms, but honestly, it almost sounds as if you were knocking my statement about being environmentally-consious...I say !!!
YA GOTTA START SOMEWHERE!!!
So....maybe one small step from SU would be one large step for...ok, whatever, I need a nap;)
Not that I'm the worlds greatest environmentalist or anything, I still drive my car when I could walk, still use disposable diapers....I have a long way to go in this area too! But it would be nice to see large companies investing in the Earth's future.
What about the fancy pants sets that run about $40?? How come they are so high priced???
This is the great thing about so many companies appealing to so many markets, there is something for everyone somewhere!!!
The Fancy Pants set that is $40 is a 12"X12" sheet of acrylic stamps, pretty much filled with images. You couldn't get a 12X12 set of SU! stamps for $40. A (estimate) 4"X10" set is likely $29.95 with SU! and that is not the images being cut out. So for the same square area, you would like spend $90 with SU!
Hero Arts sets that are 4"X6" are $14.99. I would need to buy 6 sets of Hero Arts to fill the big set of Fancy Pants. So Hero Arts gets $90 for the same square area that Fancy Pants is charging $40. You are getting an awesome deal with the Fancy Pants.
Vicki
__________________ Vicki Nelson
That's my little 4 month old cutie, Ryne.
Remember no time is ever wasted that makes people better friends...so we aren't all wasting our time here on SCS. :-)
Just MY opinion....don't want any flames thrown my way.....I HATE unmounted and the acrylic stamps.....I love the wood and real rubbah! And frankly I don't like the "gummy" feel......ok...cuss me all you want.....i can take it.....
I'm with you all the way.....I don't like un-mounted at all...
creepy.....
Umm you do know there are tree farming businesses out there right...most cases they aren't harvesting virgin timber to make wood products...they get wood products from tree farmers -farmers who make their living planting and harvesting...I would feel sad if I didn't have my wooden block all ready to grab and go...and even sadder for the poor little tree farmer who looses his business because there isn't as much as a demand...
So would you feel sad if the poor little oil campanies lost their jobs if we all decided to buy electric cars too? I'm still trying to figure out if your comment was meant to be serious!;)
I joined TAC when they were selling both unmounted and wood mounted stamps.
The wood mounted stamp cost much more than the unmounted stamps and they were not selling as many wood mounted so they dropped the wood mounted stamps and keep the unmounted ones.
Example: Unmounted Rubber stamp set of 5 sold for $19.95 and the wood mounted Rubber stamp sold for $39.95 these were large stamps.
another example: Unmounted Rubber stamp set of 10 sold for $9.95 and Wood mounted Rubber stamp set of 10 sold for $17.95 Medium size stamps.
That to me was a big jump in price. But then again you were paying for the wood, the rubber, the foam and the label for the stamp set.
Our unmounted stamp only come with Ez-mount foam and no label.
I had some customer stop buying from me because we went totally unmounted.
I like both wood mounted stamps and unmounted stamps.
But as far as SU going unmounted I don't see this happing...Not this year anyway!
Something else I would like to bring up....Many people are thinking that TAC stamps are clear Acrylic.
They are NOT they are made out of Blue or PurpleRubber and are deeply etched much like SU and other wood mounted rubber stamps.
Our stamps come with a full sheet of Ez-mount foam (TAC calls it Creative Cling foam) but it's the same thing.
Our stamp then use a acrylic block instead of a wood block.
Thanks for posting this. TAC found it's niche in the market and as you said, they must have lost some customers going UM but they now really are not in competition with SU or CTMH, so they are serving an area that the other companies aren't. It's what works for them. I wouldn't expect them to cater to my needs and start selling blocks with their sets, KWIM? They are an unmounted company. If I like an image I have to buy it, get some foam w/ adhesive on both sides, the blocks to fit, a case for it and something to create a label for the top of the block. If I like an image enough, I'll go through the time and expense that takes. If I don't then I won't. I'm not going to ask TAC to start changing what works for them because it doesn't work for me. I'm sure we would all love for every company to meet our needs but the fact is, they don't. I'm sure some people don't like clear stamps so CTMH isn't for them, they're not going to ask CTMH to start offering rubber stamps...:confused:
I think our culture has really become one of entitlement, we have all these expectations to be catered to. Sometimes, something just isn't for you. I'm a mess and loose stuff ALL the time so UM isn't for me and clear is really a problem since they're so hard to see. However, being the spendy gal I am, ;) I adapt and either wood mount my rubber UM or I make sure my area is completely clean so my clear stamps don't get lost. These are adjustments I must make. I'm not going to ask an UM company like TAC or a clear stamp company like CTMH to change what works for them. I just adapt and deal.
:-D For the OP...don't give up on the fall preview catty yet. I know when I first looked at it there wasn't much that I liked. But the more you look at it or see projects done with the stamp sets in there then your opinion may change. I am a SU demo and I know from experience with my customers, there was stamp sets in this years catty that they just did not like at all but once I showed them something with it they ordered the stamp set. Just like SCS I don't know how many times I have looked at a mini catty or this years catty and thought ugh I don't like this Stamp set but once I see something done with it in the gallery I have to have it. Even after my customers look through this years catty again and again their wish lists have doubled...because they can see what they can do with a particular stamp set. When I sat down and looked through the fall preview catty a few times there are now Stamp Sets that I do want. For instance Pick a Petal wasn't one that just shot out at me but now I can't wait to get it and sit down and use it. I would like to try and use it to make a Turkey card or page for Thanksgiving. The more I look through the catty the more ideas I get. As far as the price increasing I think SU is a fair competitor. With the economy the way it is now, prices are bound to change a little. One suggestion for people that know that the price is to high for them but they absolutely love SU product is to become a demo. Anybody can be a hobby demo, or even a business demo it is up to you. A hobby demo will get 20% off of her purchases and sells nothing...and I think their are 2 types of business demos... those interested in selling SU merchandise to customers so that they can get their SU product free by using the money they earn from sells to buy SU merchandise and those that are strictly in it to sell SU merchandise for extra side money. These are always options for all customers if they are worried about $. I became a SU demo for this very reason I found that I love SU product but I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford all of it...so I became a demo so I could do a few shows and buy SU merchandise because I am taking the money I earn from sells and buying what I want.
Now back to the op about mounted or unmounted I can understand what you are saying about having an option...but my question is can SU guarantee that the unmounted will stay perfect forever?? I mean you will be putting the rubber on and off blocks of some kind...will the quality be as good as mounted?? Does that make sense? Maybe it is something for SU to check into but I think until they can guarantee quality then it isn't going to happen for a while. But for everybody who does want unmounted I do hope SU checks into it and can offer something of AWESOME quality. Because it wouldn't be SU if it wasn't the best quality product that they could do.
No flames this is just my opinion...I hope it helps someone!!
I think our culture has really become one of entitlement, we have all these expectations to be catered to. Sometimes, something just isn't for you. I'm a mess and loose stuff ALL the time so UM isn't for me and clear is really a problem since they're so hard to see. However, being the spendy gal I am, ;) I adapt and either wood mount my rubber UM or I make sure my area is completely clean so my clear stamps don't get lost. These are adjustments I must make. I'm not going to ask an UM company like TAC or a clear stamp company like CTMH to change what works for them. I just adapt and deal.
My request to SU to offer their rubber stamps without the blocks is not a sense of "entitlement". As a customer, I am letting them know that there is a market for this option. The more they hear from other customers or industry trends that this is something that people want , it becomes a smart business decision to appeal to a larger market. Our economy is based on supply and demand, so voicing my opinion is part of the demand side.
I am also pointing out, as they probably know anyway, that their higher cost is becoming more difficult for many of their long time fans. It's great that there are people who can afford it, but there is a huge majority of middle income Americans who don't have a great deal of disposable income. It's a business decision, sell less at higher cost or sell more at lower cost.
~ Kathy
__________________ I love talking about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about. ~ Oscar Wilde
I find the way this poll is worded to be extremely offensive.
Yes, I like wood stamps.....I also hate trees and want to cut them all down... yes I am wanton with my money.... yes I like to stamp blindly and hope I waste lots of cardstock.... yes I also enjoy my supplies taking over the rooms in my house one by one...
I'm just a terrible, rotten, no-good mean tree-hater. Oh and I dress funny too.
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
I find the way this poll is worded to be extremely offensive. Yes, I like wood stamps.....I also hate trees and want to cut them all down... yes I am wanton with my money.... yes I like to stamp blindly and hope I waste lots of cardstock.... yes I also enjoy my supplies taking over the rooms in my house one by one... I'm just a terrible, rotten, no-good mean tree-hater. Oh and I dress funny too.
Sorry, no offense intended. I wanted to point out my reasoning for the option in the poll. I posted later in this thread to laugh at myself, because stamping with UM uses up lots of paper anyway, so the thought of saving trees doesn't really make a big difference and as someone else pointed out, the wood blocks come from a tree farmer who replants. I guess I would remove that part if I could. :rolleyes:
~ Kathy
__________________ I love talking about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about. ~ Oscar Wilde
Already regretting the tone of voice of my previous post. I sincerely dislike the choice of wording in the poll, true, but I went overboard reacting to it and I apologize ..... I'm going to go get myself a little chocolate now.
Buh-bye!
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
OOOOOOOOkaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy.....
Already regretting the tone of voice of my previous post. I sincerely dislike the choice of wording in the poll, true, but I went overboard reacting to it and I apologize ..... I'm going to go get myself a little chocolate now. Buh-bye!
LOL, thank goodness chocolate is a renewable resource! But, I'm glad you voiced your opinion, different perspectives help me learn. I guess my wording reflects my passion about this topic as much as you! I'm not at all against anyone being passionate about their wood blocks and I wouldn't want SU to stop offering it that way, but I think an option would be helpful to many people.
~ Kathy
__________________ I love talking about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about. ~ Oscar Wilde
If not for any other reason, how about SAVING OUR ENVIRONMENT?? I love wood blocks, but I can easily do without them to save thousands of trees!! Kind of like ivory...love the feel and it sure is beautiful, but don't go killing the elephants for it!
Sorry, I'm a bit of an Earth-lover...;)
I wonder how many trees I have in my stamp area! I know how heavy they are, and that's only picking up part of the collection at any given time. Seriously, I wonder how many trees each of us has in our stamp room!
Trees are renewable resource as is rubber...petroleum is not.
Do I have some acrylic sets? Yes, I do. Do I reach for them very often...nope. I hate having to find the correct size of block, then placing the thing just so while trying not to tear it, then having to clean it, pull it off (trying not to tear it again) and put it away before moving on to the next thing. And I have to say, I'd have the same issue with unmounted with acrylic blocks.
I also found that they were pretty much just as expensive as the rubber w/wood mounts. I feel it's easier to save space by constantly purging the stamps I don't use anymore to make room for the newer ones I want. I can sell my SU! sets and get a good price for them; I've never seen acrylic sets or unmounted rubber going for anything more than pennies on Ebay. In fact, some SU! sets appreciate in value...some I sold for more than I paid for them. Can't beat that! ;)
I get nearly the same price selling my unmounteds as I do my wood stamps. There is a SCSr who currently has lots of UM's on Ebay and looks like they are going for a bundle and the auction still has days to go.
I feel compelled to add that I wasn't flaming Robyn; Robyn, you raised a provocative and interesting question, and I was responding to it and the concept you raised. Since January, I've put a *huge* amount of thought into this issue and how I think I should deal with it in my own life choices, so it is something that I talk about and like to hear other folks' perspectives and philosophies when the opportunity arises. Just wanted to clarify that.
I find the way this poll is worded to be extremely offensive.
Yes, I like wood stamps.....I also hate trees and want to cut them all down... yes I am wanton with my money.... yes I like to stamp blindly and hope I waste lots of cardstock.... yes I also enjoy my supplies taking over the rooms in my house one by one...
I'm just a terrible, rotten, no-good mean tree-hater. Oh and I dress funny too.
That's too funny. I didn't answer the poll because I wasn't sure where I belonged. None of the choices reflected my decision.
Sheesh! Well, I'm not an Environmental engineer or anything, but I'm betting that a couple acrylic blocks are better than hundreds of wooden blocks...I mean really, you don't really think that trees grow overnight do you? It's AWESOME that SU gets their wood from tree farms, but honestly, it almost sounds as if you were knocking my statement about being environmentally-consious...I say !!!
YA GOTTA START SOMEWHERE!!!
So....maybe one small step from SU would be one large step for...ok, whatever, I need a nap;)
Not that I'm the worlds greatest environmentalist or anything, I still drive my car when I could walk, still use disposable diapers....I have a long way to go in this area too! But it would be nice to see large companies investing in the Earth's future.
Please tell me you are kidding here. You are saying here that based on an environmental slant... that petroleum based products are better than wood based products because trees don't grow overnight? Do you know what petroleum is and how it is created? It takes millions of years for it to be formed. How long does it take a tree to grow? And people can plant more trees, we can't create more petroleum or oil. Those are NON renewable.
I suggest you browse this website really quick and rethink what you just said here.
__________________ Julia Gluten free on 9/15/2008. I am a Celiac. 1 in 133 Americans is a Celiac and 97% of those who have Celiac Disease are still undiagnosed. Are you one?
Please tell me you are kidding here. You are saying here that based on an environmental slant... that petroleum based products are better than wood based products because trees don't grow overnight? Do you know what petroleum is and how it is created? It takes millions of years for it to be formed. How long does it take a tree to grow? And people can plant more trees, we can't create more petroleum or oil. Those are NON renewable.
The fertilisers applied to trees on tree farms are made from fossil fuels, and almost all pesticides are derived from petroleum products as well. Additionally, some pesticides (not sure if they are used on tree farms) are diluted into kerosene; other pesticides are diluted into water. Furthermore, tree farm needs to use machinery to maintain and harvest their crops, and all of this machinery runs on fossil fuels.
So, if you consider a lucky stamper who has 200 stamp sets from SU, I think it's hard to say how much more fossil fuel went into producing those wood blocks versus a dozen acrylic handles that could be used with all those stamps instead.
Hey if you all don't want to use the wood blocks send them to me. We use wood in our woodstove (outside kind) and I'm sure my DH would be glad to take them. He wouldn't have to spend so much time cutting wood. These babies he could just throw in. Sure it might take quite a few of them to keep our house warm and our water heated, but if everyone that doesn't like the wood mounted stamps would do this...........just a thought.
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Originally Posted by Katie018075
If not for any other reason, how about SAVING OUR ENVIRONMENT?? I love wood blocks, but I can easily do without them to save thousands of trees!! Kind of like ivory...love the feel and it sure is beautiful, but don't go killing the elephants for it!
Sorry, I'm a bit of an Earth-lover...;)
Just curious what you stamp on..... ;)
I love all of these "save the trees" posts from people who think absolutely NOTHING of using multiple layers of cardstock on cards....
bet you (general you, referring to those who want to "save the trees", use the ENTIRE piece of cardstock, too, right? No scrap hits the trash can? None of your paper products in your home are in a landfill anywhere I bet!:rolleyes:
(Not singling you out Katie, your post was just the straw.....)
Similarly, we can't assume that other folks who aren't doing what we think might be 'perfect' (like stopping with the wood blocks on stamps aleady ;)) aren't doing anything at all, or aren't concerned about the effects of consumerism on our ecosystem. It is kind of discouraging to see how easy it is for suggestions to try and reduce our environmental footprints can polarise groups of individuals, and start an "us vs them" approach where everyone is either a hypocrite (treehuggers who do papercrafts) or irresponsible (folks who like wood-mounted stamps). We're neither -- all of us are stamping folk who make the choices we have to make to be able to sleep at night.
Back to the OP: I of course voted for SU to offer both unmounted and wood mounted stamps. From the posts to this thread, it looks to me like everyone's made a really strong case for SU to offer both options! With all the die-hard wood stampers and all the die-hard unmounted users here who like SU's images, SU would definitely have a strong market for both mounting options.
Mel this was excellantly written, and I thank you for your perspective! It makes a great deal of sense...
However, many of the posts on this thread seemed, IMO, that if you went unmounted, you COULD save the world, and everyone BETTER be doing it... many of them came across as "how DARE you harm a tree"... I found that QUITE hypocritical considering they do PAPERcrafts... had they worded it in the same manner you did, however, I would have been a little more generous in my response to their pushiness and superior attitude regarding how the rest of us are "killing trees" for no reason.... JMHO...
I am not sure how long it takes to get your order from SU! But here in Ohio it takes approx. one week. No imagine that they offered both unmounted and mounted stamps. To be pulled, checked and rechecked, it would take at least an extra day. Not to mention the extra space that SU! would need in their warehouse. So to pay that extra warehouse space... where do you think it is going to come from?
So I have to wait at least an extra day to get my stuff, AND I'll pay more? No thanks.
Actually, you should read the post by the woman who works for an SU manufacturing plant on another thread. She would say that your presumption of it slowing things down is not accurate.
Actually, you should read the post by the woman who works for an SU manufacturing plant on another thread. She would say that your presumption of it slowing things down is not accurate.
The manufacturing end would be simpler than I had assumed, but the distribution center problems (not enough space *currently* on the picking line) still exist. ;)
The manufacturing end would be simpler than I had assumed, but the distribution center problems (not enough space *currently* on the picking line) still exist. ;)
Looking at SU's annual profits they can more than afford to expand if they want to. They would make that up in a very short time.
Reading this thread brings me to wonder if at some point we'll end up using bamboo mounts and bamboo paper? Bamboo has become popular for everything from floors to clothing. It's a much faster growing renewable resource than trees AND it's more versatile. Hmmm...
__________________ Debra ---artist * teacher * designer Say yes. Be generous. Speak up. Love more. Trust yourself. Slow down. ---Patti Digh
Looking at SU's annual profits they can more than afford to expand if they want to. They would make that up in a very short time.
You've seen SU's annual profits??? They didn't share their profits even with demos at Leadership. Total sales, yes, but not profits.
SU does plan to expand the distribution center-- the plans for the building have an entire second wing included. But they will not do so until they can pay for the building. They will not go into debt and make up for it later, even a "very short time."
Since they announced to demonstrators when they were building a new manufacturing facility and when they were building a new distribution center, I have no doubt they will announce when they plan to expand the distribution center. I'm sure the news will spread like wildfire here on SCS. ;)
Reading this thread brings me to wonder if at some point we'll end up using bamboo mounts and bamboo paper? Bamboo has become popular for everything from floors to clothing. It's a much faster growing renewable resource than trees AND it's more versatile. Hmmm...
My thoughts on this to make the sheets of rubber as usual but instead of attaching the cushion to the rubber for the wood mounted version... why not just send the cushion unattached? Sticky on both sides plus the wood mounts. That would save time and money for Stampin' Up to have to attach this. Also, do they really need to partially precut the rubber?
This would make the entire manufacture process the same. It's a matter of what is packed in the plastic box.
Wood mounts, rubber, double-stick foam OR
Rubber and EZ mount foam -- or just the rubber and no foam.
How do other companies do this? Viva Las Vegastamps offers their stamps as wood mounted, EZ mounted, and bare rubber. (Granted, SU most likely has high sales volumes, but they used to sell their stamps in two different mount versions, "my" way would be much easier.) LOL
I like how TAC packages their stamps. The set is on a sheet of rubber and you also get the same size sheet of Creative Cling (EZ Mount). You can choose to use the Creative Cling or, if not, whatever other way you want to mount your stamp.
Kimberly
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
I love to hear all sides to a discussion. I was just teasing about the paper. Thanks so much for your thoughts. I really appreciated them. 
