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Recently I've noticed a few sets of stamps with incorrect grammar.
One company, when it came to their attention, promptly made a decision to stop orders and issue a fixed sentiment for the incorrect one. I thought this was fantastic customer service.
I noticed another popular stamp company had a mistake in the Dec. release - both the name of the stamp set and one of the sentiments are incorrect. I know of two people who contacted the company and their comments were deleted off the blog and their messages were unresponded to. Apparently this company is not going to fix their error and I find that a shame, because the set is really cute.
If you saw a set that had a typo or incorrect grammar, would you ask the company if they would fix the incorrect bits? Would you just not purchase the set? Would you use it anyway?
I would not buy it. But then, I used to pull out a red pen and correct signs in grocery stores.
LOL, I would do this too
I have a compulsive need to correct incorrect grammar in public venues (stores, magazines, books, etc). I can't tell you the number of typos and other errors I've corrected in books, newspapers and magazines. Even if nobody else sees them, I just feel I have to correct them! :p
I would probably notify the company, but I would be very unlikely to buy the set. I do not carry a red pen, however, I have been known to email stores and/or companies about poor grammar.
__________________ "You may not have lost all your marbles, but there's definitely a hole in the bag." Grumpy Cat
I would not buy it. But then, I used to pull out a red pen and correct signs in grocery stores.
Oh, I thought I was the only one who did that! ;) I would definitely NOT buy that set/stamp. I would also contact the company. In fact, I did that with a company that makes scrapbook papers. I told the owner, and she said that all of the teachers noticed the error; but she made no mention of correcting it. To my knowledge, she never did.
I wouldn't buy it because I wouldn't use it knowing that it was grammatically flawed. To me, that would be like broadcasting that I didn't know it was incorrect.
For the company that didn't pull the set, is it truly an error? Or is it just slang or casual usage? I guess I would like to understand the nature of the error. Please post if you are able.
For the company that didn't pull the set, is it truly an error? Or is it just slang or casual usage? I guess I would like to understand the nature of the error. Please post if you are able.
I agree. Sometimes, casual usage is cute; sometimes it's not. It's all in the perception of the person reading it, so there's lots of variation in opinion.
To answer the original question, if a set had an error and I otherwise wanted it, I would call it to the attention of the company. The one I see A LOT is the adjective everyday when the phrase every day should be used.
As someone with an MA in English Literature, I could never bring myself to use a sentiment with an error. As someone who worked as a proofreader for years, I even have issues with capitalization errors, periods where they should not be, and missing commas.
Of course, I also get annoyed when people think they know rules that simply are not accurate. You most certainly may start a sentence with And or But...doing so on occasion can have a strong rhetorical effect of emphasis. It's just not a good idea to do it all the time. ;)
I could go on and on...as could most people who post to threads on this topic! There sure are a lot of us grammar Nazis!
I would not buy it and would hope the company would fix the error.
I must say I don't notice grammer errors/typos much, but when I was checking the weather forecast for my area on Sunday night, I had to laugh when I saw a bad typo on the website of a local news station.
The forecast was for 5 to 8 inches of snow. The website said "5 to 87 of snow". Oops. I'm glad we did not get that much. lol
I always find it comforting to know there are others who care so much about English and its proper usage.
Coincidentally, I just overheard my 9-year-old daughter correct her friend's grammar. I guess I'm passing on the tradition, LOL!
I agree, when so many seem not to know better, or maybe they simply don't care, I'm not sure. One thing that really annoys me of late, is advertising companies making up words- one recent one that REALLY bugs me is that a particular frozen meal is ' ovenable'- I hate this every time I see it. Surely for a word to end in -able, it must be a verb? I wash something, or it is washable. I do NOT oven anything- I cook/roast/ whatever, but definitely not oven!
OK, rant over, lol.
As someone who worked as a proofreader for years, I even have issues with capitalization errors, periods where they should not be, and missing commas.
I'm glad someone mentioned proofreading. Exactly how does a stamp go through all the steps involved without someone picking up this error? Is proofreading becoming a lost art, or have proofreaders all lost their jobs in the bad economy? Because you see more of this in all types of printed media, even books.
To answer the question, no, I would not buy the stamp. I might contact them about it, but I wouldn't really expect a response.
For the company that didn't pull the set, is it truly an error? Or is it just slang or casual usage? I guess I would like to understand the nature of the error. Please post if you are able.
I don't want to publically call out the company. There are DT members from the team that frequent this site and I don't want to rile anyone up If you want, I can PM you the info.
I can tell you that it's not slang - it's an unnecessary apostrophe. Both in the title of the set and in a sentiment, there is a word that is supposed to be plural and instead it is possessive.
No, I would not buy a set with any kind of typo. Even if it were just one word, the entire set would be ruined for me. I'm not a teacher or a proofreader, and I make my share of mistakes, but I think we all need to have standards.
There is a jewelry store in my town called "Forever Your's", and I can't even look at their sign when I drive by.
I wouldn't buy a set with incorrect usage of grammar or punctuation, but I probably wouldn't notify the company about it unless the accompanying images were very desirable to me.
No, I also would not buy the set if the grammar was incorrect. I would also contact the company about the problem, though, and if they re-released the set correctly, I would then buy it.
No, I would not buy a set with any kind of typo. Even if it were just one word, the entire set would be ruined for me. I'm not a teacher or a proofreader, and I make my share of mistakes, but I think we all need to have standards.
There is a jewelry store in my town called "Forever Your's", and I can't even look at their sign when I drive by.
Oh my. I would have to call them!
There is a place by us that has a sign to let people know that you can park a bus there. It says "Busses Allowed." I wonder if anyone goes in and kisses the employees ;^) .
I don't want to publically call out the company. There are DT members from the team that frequent this site and I don't want to rile anyone up If you want, I can PM you the info.
I can tell you that it's not slang - it's an unnecessary apostrophe. Both in the title of the set and in a sentiment, there is a word that is supposed to be plural and instead it is possessive.
This is a rule that's broken all the time and I honestly believe that most people don't know the difference between right and wrong in this situation. I see sales fliers and Facebook comments with "CD's, TV's and DVD's" ALL THE TIME, so it doesn't surprise me that someone would publish/cut/press a stamp with that error in it, but to not correct it? Yikes! I would never buy a set with those kinds of errors..
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I would definitely contact the company, but if I wanted the set badly enough for the images, I guess I would go ahead and buy it. BUT, that's because I already hate (or at least strongly dislike) nearly ALL non-generic (and grammatically correct!) sentiments that come with a set. So I have resigned myself to never liking the included sentiments in a set.
In a kind of related matter, I did go ahead and buy a set where I noticed two tiny music notes were facing the wrong way. It was a clear stamp set, so I just cut away the music notes. On that one I didn't bother contacting the company.
Oh, and also with snowflakes with eight points instead of six. I'd go ahead and buy the set if I liked the other images, but wouldn't bother contacting the companies either. There are too many companies who do this!!
I'm glad someone mentioned proofreading. Exactly how does a stamp go through all the steps involved without someone picking up this error? Is proofreading becoming a lost art, or have proofreaders all lost their jobs in the bad economy? Because you see more of this in all types of printed media, even books.
No, we're not all out of work! I work freelance as a proofreader/copy-editor.
Errors do occasionally slip through. To me, the issue is about whether it gets corrected so your story makes me a bit sad. When I was on the DT for a stamp company, we had a set issued with a typo (a word missing a "t"). I'd switched to "designer" mode when I made samples and used the offending sentiment without even noticing. One of my blog readers spotted it and told me. I told the company, they pulled the set and put the mistake right before releasing it for sale.
I spotted a mistake on another company's stamps and told the designer. She told the company and again, they pulled the stamp and had it remade with the correcttion (its rather than it's). To me, that's just the way it should be.
Apostrophe usage is getting worse, I think. We even have a name for it here in the UK: The Grocer's Apostrophe (because of the number of times you see a hand written sign that says Apple's or Banana's or Mushroom's).
I certainly wouldn't buy a set with a grammatical mistake or typo. Heck, I won't even buy a stamp or embossing folder with an eight-pointed snowflake but I guess that's a whole other ball game!
Oh, and also with snowflakes with eight points instead of six.
I have always thought that snowflakes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Didn't know that it can't be more than 6 points. I come from a tropical country so never seen a real snowflake before. I tried asking somebody to preserve one for me but she said it is not possible.
I have always thought that snowflakes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Didn't know that it can't be more than 6 points. I come from a tropical country so never seen a real snowflake before. I tried asking somebody to preserve one for me but she said it is not possible.
Well, snowflakes come in hexagonal or cylinders I think. I think they can come in a variety of sizes, but the points are multiples of six.
She probably couldn't preserve one for you but... well, you can grow your own if you happen to have a vapor diffusion chamber: Designer Snowflakes - Part One
<grin>
I don't want to publically call out the company. There are DT members from the team that frequent this site and I don't want to rile anyone up If you want, I can PM you the info.
I can tell you that it's not slang - it's an unnecessary apostrophe. Both in the title of the set and in a sentiment, there is a word that is supposed to be plural and instead it is possessive.
That's no good; if it were missing an apostrophe at least you have a chance of adding one - maybe - but removing one isn't practical. I've added the apostrophe in Season's Greetings on stamps that don't have it.
Someone had a blog with a misspelled word in the title. I kept looking at it and just couldn't stand it any longer. I decided to notify the person and she was so appreciative of me for pointing it out and corrected it. Now I can frequent her blog without having my blood pressure rise. LOL
Well everyone, looks like all the concerns paid off - the company pulled the set and the set that is now on the site is error free It's not available yet to order, but it looks like they did end up taking it seriously. Yea!
I would definitely contact the company, but if I wanted the set badly enough for the images, I guess I would go ahead and buy it. BUT, that's because I already hate (or at least strongly dislike) nearly ALL non-generic (and grammatically correct!) sentiments that come with a set. So I have resigned myself to never liking the included sentiments in a set.
In a kind of related matter, I did go ahead and buy a set where I noticed two tiny music notes were facing the wrong way. It was a clear stamp set, so I just cut away the music notes. On that one I didn't bother contacting the company.
Oh, and also with snowflakes with eight points instead of six. I'd go ahead and buy the set if I liked the other images, but wouldn't bother contacting the companies either. There are too many companies who do this!!
It is rare that I see a stamp set with music notes done CORRECTLY! I've never contacted anyone regarding these mistakes because they've clearly not consulted a musician regarding the correctness of the images so, why bother??
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I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
I'm glad there are so many "on the job" out there! As much as I find myself a stickler for punctuation, etc., I realize that some things slip through. I would hope every company/blogger, etc. would be at least polite if not grateful for having their errors pointed out.
As for the points on a snowflake ~ as much as science interests me personally, I would never let that bother me in an artistic representation. Love the link though, Sophie!!! Very cool :^) .
P.S. If I ever do draw my own snowflakes, the photo page of that link will be my guide!!! Then you can use them Joanne :^) !!!!
I agree, when so many seem not to know better, or maybe they simply don't care, I'm not sure. One thing that really annoys me of late, is advertising companies making up words- one recent one that REALLY bugs me is that a particular frozen meal is ' ovenable'- I hate this every time I see it. Surely for a word to end in -able, it must be a verb? I wash something, or it is washable. I do NOT oven anything- I cook/roast/ whatever, but definitely not oven!
OK, rant over, lol.
I've not encountered this word, but I bet they were thinking that ovenable must surely be the opposite of microwaveable.
i contacted prickly pear about their "snowflakes are winter's butterflies" stamp. never got an answer. i will never order from them again. i am sick of poor customer service, don't care how large or small the company. consumers have limited $$ to spend and i for one want to spend wisely. an answer would have been nice. i love PTI but their explanations for mistakes, problems etc wears thin. and folks jump all over you if you express an opinion about them.
of course, i only use lower case in messages...so i guess that makes me a hypocrite?
I agree, when so many seem not to know better, or maybe they simply don't care, I'm not sure. One thing that really annoys me of late, is advertising companies making up words- one recent one that REALLY bugs me is that a particular frozen meal is ' ovenable'- I hate this every time I see it. Surely for a word to end in -able, it must be a verb? I wash something, or it is washable. I do NOT oven anything- I cook/roast/ whatever, but definitely not oven!
OK, rant over, lol.
Oh my.... we haven't seen "ovenable" either but certainly would have raised eyebrows over that one!!
Another thing that bugs my daughter and me is when they spell things wrong on purpose -- like Koala Kare on the baby-changing tables. Grrr.
i contacted prickly pear about their "snowflakes are winter's butterflies" stamp. never got an answer. i will never order from them again. i am sick of poor customer service, don't care how large or small the company. consumers have limited $$ to spend and i for one want to spend wisely. an answer would have been nice. i love PTI but their explanations for mistakes, problems etc wears thin. and folks jump all over you if you express an opinion about them.
of course, i only use lower case in messages...so i guess that makes me a hypocrite?
So that is what you emailed about, the punctuation? (Otherwise, I'm having a brain freeze and can't figure out what the other problem would be. ;))
I guess I personally don't worry about that quite so much-- I think I like sentiments to be lower case with no end punctuation because they seem more symmetrical that way to me (as opposed to one side having a big ol' fancy capital letter). A full quote I would want capitalized, I think, but short little sentiments, I guess I've never really noticed.
i contacted prickly pear about their "snowflakes are winter's butterflies" stamp. never got an answer. i will never order from them again. i am sick of poor customer service, don't care how large or small the company. consumers have limited $$ to spend and i for one want to spend wisely. an answer would have been nice. i love PTI but their explanations for mistakes, problems etc wears thin. and folks jump all over you if you express an opinion about them.
of course, i only use lower case in messages...so i guess that makes me a hypocrite?
I just looked at their website and it doesn't have an aphostrophe. Is that the problem? winter's butteryfly. Winter "owns" the butterfly
Stamp Grammar
