this questions is for all demo's of Su I need your help the more answers the better.

[Lisa62]

I am trying to compile a list of the stamp sets that you don't sell.same with products.The reason I am doing this now is to get some kind of idea about what stamp sets they may be putting on the retire list next year.or what you think will go this year.This way if theere is any of my favorites on th elist I JUST MIGHT GET THEM IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE retireing list that will come out in june or is it may.

[camsmom]

do you mean ones that are not big sellers for us demos?

Hmm I guess what folks buy always surprises me, LOL.

One thing I *have* noticed is that "generic" sets are often very easy to find after they retire. By that I mean ones with a lot of greetings, or kind of all occasion sets.
The ones that are really difficult to find after they retire are ones that fill a "niche."

So for example the firefighting set from last year, or On the Farm, or Little Trucks. Things that people would want to scrap (like using older Halloween sets) tend to be looked for often after they retire, and religious holiday sets as well.

Not sure if that helps-but if there is a set that is specific to a hobby or "outing" then those would be the ones I would buy since I think they are harder to find later on.

HTH

[GWTW Junkie]

Lisa 62--my first thought was that someone might use this list to purchase sets and then try to sell them online at a huge profit the second they retire... I really hope that's not your intention.
Anyway, my only advice is to agree with Britta--it's the occasion-specific sets that become rare--like the sign language one or the Harley Davidson one. So if you're worried about being able to get one like that later, definitely get it now or you will find yourself paying upwards of $50 for it later.
I'd also avoid any sets that were past years' hostess sets or SAB sets--they don't put them in the regular catty anymore but there are a few left in there from past years. If it's been in the minis it likely had a lot more exposure and might be nearer the end of it's course.
As far as what sets people never buy... you won't find a set in there that doesn't appeal to SOMEBODY. I just sold an oriental set for the first time in my career last week. The same person buys anything with a gnome or a hedgehog, both of which I can't stand. I also sold two of a set no one had even mentioned liking before, the same week! So you never know.

[tanya]

A lot of times, the things they put on sale toward the end of the catty year go but then sometimes not.

If you love it, buy it because you never know...

T.

[CherylPenner]

By the way, the retiring list comes out in May so you have 2 months to buy your must haves.

[stampinCPA]

I don't think there is a good answer - it really depends. Some stuff I see people commenting they sell a lot, I've never sold a single one!

[awspoede]

I would only add that you could look at the date the stamp sets were first offered. The older ones are somewhat more likely to go than newer ones. You can tell the date by looking at the second and third number of the item numbers. Sets with 100### came out in 2000, sets with 101### came out in 2001, 102### came out in 2002, etc. They don't retire sets in chronological order, but it does seems like it is "out with old, in with the new" fairly often.

Angela

[Momofoneson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWTW Junkie

Lisa 62--my first thought was that someone might use this list to purchase sets and then try to sell them online at a huge profit the second they retire... I really hope that's not your intention.

Wow, you know if she wanted to do this, she could really. She could see which sets she thinks wouldn't be popular and then stock up on them, et al. Sometimes it is easy to tell which ones won't aren't popular enough to hang around. But really, I think you jumped to conclusions here that weren't warranted.

[Boss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWTW Junkie

Lisa 62--my first thought was that someone might use this list to purchase sets and then try to sell them online at a huge profit the second they retire... I really hope that's not your intention.

.

Huh????? Very strange "first thought"....I hope this doesn't offend you, but I guess that I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter what a person's "intent" is when they buy something from SU. They are not stealing the product - they are paying the same price as everyone else. There is nothing underhanded about someone buying an item with the hope it will appreciate in value - it's called speculation in the investment world. If the person purchasing the product is willing to take the risk that they may not be able to sell it for a profit later, then that is their business. (And to answer the question ahead of time, no, I have NEVER done this...in fact the last retired set I "sold", I didn't even get a dime for - I sent it to the person for the cost of the postage!;) )

I interpreted the question in an entirely different way - I thought that LISA62 was trying to figure out a way to budget her crafting dollars in the next 6 months so that she would be sure and get the "must have" sets before they are unavailable. We only have a couple of months notice on what will be retired and this can be a real strain on a straped stamp budget if you haven't planned ahead for the extra expense.
JMHO

[r stamp collection]

I'm with BOSS"s interpretation. The budget rules.

[jailbirdstamper]

I think that the sets that seem most popular and hard to find seem to be speciality areas (like the cheer set, the princess set, etc.) - I bought Toy Box last year, not because I just **had** to have it right now, but because I thought that it would be one of those sets that if you decided you needed it later, you wouldn' t be able to pay it without paying mega dollars on Ebay.

[Bella Catalina]

Maybe you could start setting aside a few $$ for this purpose (maybe $20 a month or something) - if you have a certain number of "must have" sets, you can budget accordingly so that when the list comes out in May, you will be able to decide what you need to purchase before July...

[Soozie4Him]

As far as what sells and what will retire, it's anyone's guess. Remember when we were all shocked that they retired Watercolor Garden 2, and PAISLEY PRINT?! And didn't retire that goofy Cruisin' Christmas that's *still* in the catalog!

Happy Winter, Nice and Easy Notes and Lovely As a Tree are 3 of the oldest, just from what I can remember. If they retire Lovely as a Tree, I'll cry! I think Love Ya Bunches and Fun Filled (two SAB sets from 2 years ago) might go, but you never know.

I wish SU would let us have MORE Background stamps at one time. Why can't we have 25 or 30 instead of just 20 or so? Also, I don't think the smaller, but new BG stamps have done real well - the ones with the letter patterns, etc. I don't see many samples here on SCS!

[happy2stamp]

Stampin' Up! does not allow us to "stockpile" items to sell at a later date (retired example mentioned by someone above). It is against Stampin' Up! policy to do so. I specifically brought this question directly to Stampin' Up! In May and was told an emphatic NO, they refer to this as "stockpiling" and have warned to severe some demonstratorships for this. Just some info I thought could be helpful as it seems others above may be unaware.

[happystamper05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2stamp

Stampin' Up! does not allow us to "stockpile" items to sell at a later date (retired example mentioned by someone above). It is against Stampin' Up! policy to do so. I specifically brought this question directly to Stampin' Up! In May and was told an emphatic NO, they refer to this as "stockpiling" and have warned to severe some demonstratorships for this. Just some info I thought could be helpful as it seems others above may be unaware.

But Lisa62 isn't a demo, is she? As a customer you *could* do this, if she really wanted to, couldn't she?
Not trying to stir a pot or anything - just curious.

[staramaze]

I'd say; put aside a little money each month and save up!

The retiring list is very unpredictable... but if they don't retire "Fresh Flowers" this year then I might retire! (kidding!)

[Lisa62]

No the answer to selling on ebay isn't what I was going for. I don't sell on ebay nor do I want to go thru all that work.

My thoughts were for the sets that I have on my wish list.sets that I myaself have been holding out to buy but keep putting them of due to buying from mini catalogs all the time and never actually buying sets that I reaaly want fromthe big catalog.I tend to bump them back for sets in the mini catalog because of only 3 months to get them as oppsed to a full year.I try to do 1 or 2 sets from the big catalog every now and then.But if it's something i really like I hate to loose out at the end of the year befoe the next catalog comes out.Since we really only have about 3 weeks for the retirement list which isn't a whole lot of time to get them.

So now I am trying to plan a little each month from now until then to get little things I want.

Last year I missed out on the reinkers from the chalk ink pads and now I can't get them and even when I tried last year after the retired list came out they were sold out too fast.It just isn't enough time after the list comes out that's all.

That's why I thought I would ask you ladies what sets aren't selling all that well then That will kind of give me some idea of maybe there's a slight chance it could go.Then I might just order it sooner than later and not take the chance again on items that might not make it again in the next catalog.

I'm not affended by any means I know as a demo you have to be very careful in certain decisions that you make so I understand if you don't say which sets aren't selling as good as others.But I just felt like I would ask rather than lose out.

[Lisa62]

But I do have to say lovely as a tree is still on my wish list.Treat yourself.curvey verses,some bigger wheels,peaceful wishes,snowflake spot,loads of love accessories,all through the year,tassle time,happy occassions and the matching wheels happiest of holidays wheels,girlfriends and accessories,give thanks,a tree for all seasons,the cats meow,background basics,itty bitty backgrounds,cheery chat,elegant greetings,

Plus i still need to get 3 of the in colors with the reinkers,stock up on paper,wHAT IS A PERSON TO DO.with little money we're talking about $50.00 a month from now until then.

I know there are a lot of new sets here but you never know how they are really selling .But some of the sets that have been linguring around for a little while now should I get these.

[LateBlossom]

A word of comfort, Lisa62. Like you, I felt that if it retired and was on my list, I just "had" to get it. Then after a few years, I noticed that, except with the really "niche" sets, SU! tends to replace like with like. In other words, if they retire a set of Christmas greetings, they replace it with a new Christmas greetings set. There are no guarantees, of course, but the only sets I've felt I missed out on were the very specialized ones that at the time, I thought I'd never use (like the Corvette and old car ones). Turns out my FIL loves old cars (not trucks, so the current set does me no good!) and it's always hard making his b-day cards!

Anywho...even if you could set aside just $10 extra a month to save for the retirement period, you'd be able to get 2-3 sets from the main catty before they retire. Then you can pick your preferred niche sets (or Lovely as a Tree if it retires, 'cause it really is a must-have :-).

It's just a crying shame we can't have everything we want! (Picture me stomping up and down like a three-year-old--"They can't retire THAT set! WAAAAA!!!")

[Jenmouer]

I buy things I want and think I will use...obviosuly you don't know what thematic specific sets you might need down the line though...

as far as what sells and what doesn't sell - at this point I am pretty sure SU has made some decisions about what is going to be retiring...so even if something becomes a hot seller at the end of the catty year (like the Paisley stamp did a few years ago).

[BasketMom]

One other thing to consider - say for instance Lovely as a Tree does retire, do you know how many of those sets are going to be flooding the B/S/T forum after the new catalog comes out? So in a way, it would be better to wait for a demo to unload it after she can't demo it anymore. And to further that specific example, Lovely as a Tree was one of those sets that sold for 1/2 price a year or so ago, so a TON of people own it and might be willing to sell it at a reasonable price if/when it retires.

I agree with the previous posters - of the things you listed, the specialized sets are the ones that you should buy before the more generic sets. And don't forget that during SAB you can earn free sets for every $50 you spend!

[GWTW Junkie]

I'm sorry if I offended by mentioning the possibility of eBay. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything. I just noticed a proliferation of very specific questions by a poster and wondered.
Yep, it struck me "wrong", and yes it was my first thought. I'm one of those "glass half-empty" people. Very fun when you're married to the male version of Pollyana. LOL

[happystamper05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWTW Junkie

I'm sorry if I offended by mentioning the possibility of eBay. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything. I just noticed a proliferation of very specific questions by a poster and wondered.
Yep, it struck me "wrong", and yes it was my first thought. I'm one of those "glass half-empty" people. Very fun when you're married to the male version of Pollyana. LOL

\

Ah, no worries "Missy".... at least from me. :-)

[pigfingers]

I always get surprised by what gets phased out, stamps and products. I really loved the copper and silver designer paper and matching vellum and can't believe it is gone! Some stamp sets they retire I scratch my head over and some that are kept I am baffled over! So it isn't always a logical case, as most have said sometimes the stuff that sells is not predictable!

But I do remember sometime at the beginning of the year or so someone always starts a list here saying "what do you think will retire" and a lot of times that list is pretty good. I can't predict but sometimes others do that see lack of sales in some products. I would check back here in a few months and that will give you a little more than 3 weeks. How come you only got 3 weeks last year? I thought the list came out in May and was good until July - that should give you plenty of time.