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Is it me or do you notice that when a new SU catalog is going to come out, the threads deteriorate into SU trash talk. I will start reading a thread about the new in-colors, etc and then it takes a nose-dive into complaining about SU. I'm not SU demo and the majority of my stamps are non-SU. I share my wealth around to any stamp I gotta have.
It does seem like it's become impossible to have an SU thread with out it tumbling into complaints about lack of clear or unmounted rubber from SU. I don't really get it. I don't go into Bella threads or MFT threads, and complain about how they aren't wood mounted rubber, etc.
It does seem like it's become impossible to have an SU thread with out it tumbling into complaints about lack of clear or unmounted rubber from SU. I don't really get it. I don't go into Bella threads or MFT threads, and complain about how they aren't wood mounted rubber, etc.
It is sad. The time leading up to a caty reveal is a favorite time of mine. I LOVE the sneak peaks and the fun of what is going and what is coming. I am not nor have I ever been a SU Demo, but I do agree that I wish everyone would take just a half second to reread a comment and sub SU for whatever their favorite line of stamps to make sure they would be okay if they stumbled across that same/similar comment during a fun discussion of their chosen stamp line.
I always try to remember that we all have opinions and if a comment hits me wrong I try and hope that perhaps it was said in fun or came across in typing different than what would have been said in person.
I think it's just a matter of different people, with different opinions...talking about it, on a message board that is there for that very reason: to discuss all things related to stamping/scrapping.
Seems par for the course to me.
As for why SU! is mostly on the chopping block - it's catty release time, they are a large company, been around for a while, widely used, etc. etc.
I read the new SU catty threads and I didn't feel like anyone was trash talking SU. To me it seemed just like any discussion, people voicing their opinions. I think that is a good thing, because I am sure if opinions were never voiced, SU would probably not have come out with in-color markers.
I think on SCS you probably get this even moreso than other boards because so many people found the site thru Stampin' Up and have now branched out into buying from other companies. So they feel more familiar with the company and ready to complain about it (kind of like you do with members of your family - until someone from outside the family joins in).
It probably also has something to do with the fact that they have limited catalogs. With the other companies' monthly releases, if you don't like the options this month, you don't have long to wait for something else. With SU!, if you're disappointed in this catalog, you're stuck for a year (except for the minis). Although for myself, usually the stamps I HAVE to have by the end of the catalog are not the ones I picked out when I first saw the book.
To each his own I suppose! I have learned to just skip over the truly negative posts, but for the most part I think people are just expressing their opinion. Not everyone does it in such a negative way, just a handful of people.
Thanks everyone for your input. I do enjoy reading all the varied opinions, I was just feeling alot of negativity and sometimes it just gets to me.
I am a SU Demo and I rarely post on this side, I do read alot here though and I have to say that I don't think it is your imagination.
I never send my customers to this site for that very reason, because I don't see other companies discussed in this way. And it rarely remains a wistful comment like " I just love SU images, I so wish they offered unmounted" " oh I agree, so and so has unmounted, I buy a lot from them." If it were left at that it would be one thing, but it always goes way downhill from there.
Nobody complains that all the little web based companies don't offer as much product variety as SU, or they don't offer unmounted or don't offer certain types of images. It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone, but no one else is held to that standard. I never have understood why it's that way, but it IS that way.
I think: different strokes for different folks, but I generally try to keep my own posts positive. If someone doesn't like something, they should be allowed to express it though. BUT if I read another thread about SU's shipping costs, I think I will throw a stamp as somebody (and I almost exclusively use SU stamps so you might need to duck ;) )
Truthfully what blows my mind is that there would be NO SCS without the original SU DEMOS that started this awesome website. Then to get negative nellies complaining about SU just makes me shake my head.
I think: different strokes for different folks, but I generally try to keep my own posts positive. If someone doesn't like something, they should be allowed to express it though. BUT if I read another thread about SU's shipping costs, I think I will throw a stamp as somebody (and I almost exclusively use SU stamps so you might need to duck ;) )
Don't even get me started on this one. I live in Alaska and order a lot of things online. Believe me SU shipping is very reasonable. In fact most companies charge me way more than 10%
I have to agree. It's unfortunate that there are some out there that need to take a shot at something, just to take that shot.
I used to work for a big insurance company. When you're the biggest fish in the sea, you're an easy target. Working on claims for that company taught me that there are always going to be disgruntled people, no matter what you do for them.
If you don't like the product, shop elsewhere. But... you don't need to slam the company while you're doing it. What goes around, comes around.
Location: along the bluffs of the Upper Mississippi River
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ctab
It does seem like it's become impossible to have an SU thread with out it tumbling into complaints about lack of clear or unmounted rubber from SU. I don't really get it. I don't go into Bella threads or MFT threads, and complain about how they aren't wood mounted rubber, etc.
To each his own I suppose! I have learned to just skip over the truly negative posts, but for the most part I think people are just expressing their opinion. Not everyone does it in such a negative way, just a handful of people.
I was always taught that if you didn't have something nice to say.. don't say anything at all.
I read a lot of negative threads on there and wonder why there is so much of it. This should be a community of happy stampers.. not nasty nellies who complain about every little thing.
By the way.. I think that Stampin' UP! rocks! and so do many other companies.. I might not own them all.. but others day and I'm sure that they feel the way I do about SU.
Maybe some posters will think twice about their rants that they post on here.. there's a little red X in the upper corner of your browser that you can close off, walk away and come back later..
__________________ "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
I am a SU Demo and I rarely post on this side, I do read alot here though and I have to say that I don't think it is your imagination.
I never send my customers to this site for that very reason, because I don't see other companies discussed in this way. And it rarely remains a wistful comment like " I just love SU images, I so wish they offered unmounted" " oh I agree, so and so has unmounted, I buy a lot from them." If it were left at that it would be one thing, but it always goes way downhill from there.
Nobody complains that all the little web based companies don't offer as much product variety as SU, or they don't offer unmounted or don't offer certain types of images. It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone, but no one else is held to that standard. I never have understood why it's that way, but it IS that way.
Just my thoughts on the subject.
Belinda
I think you should trust your customers to be big girls(boys?) :mrgreen: and find the good and the not-so-good here. I stumbled upon this place accidentally and it certainly sucked me in and I think I continue to order more SU stuff than I might otherwise because of what I read/see here and on other blogs. I'm not going to let someone who favors clear or unmounted keep me from buying. :twisted:
Nobody complains that all the little web based companies don't offer as much product variety as SU, or they don't offer unmounted or don't offer certain types of images. It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone, but no one else is held to that standard. I never have understood why it's that way, but it IS that way.
Just my thoughts on the subject.
Belinda
I think that some of the veiled (and not-so-veiled) animosity that shows up about SU is because of some people here who are so gung ho for SU that they become patronizing and really annoying about it. There are certain posters here who are "all SU, all the time" and tend to state their preferences rather obnoxiously. "I would never use anything but SU because it is the best and everything else is second rate" is a good summary of how they present themselves. It's the "everything else is second rate" and the implication that if you buy anything else you are stupid that sets people's teeth on edge. After a while it becomes almost easy to knock SU- mostly as a response to the aggravation of reading these type of posts.
I like SU; I use SU. But it is not my only stamp or supply company. Belinda (quoted above) states that "It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone" which the sensible folks around here know is not possible. It's the ones who actually push that attitude who annoy so many others and I think, cause a backlash.
I have an obnoxious brother with an even more obnoxious wife. He makes a huge amount of money and now both of them are prone to saying things like "I can't imagine how you drive that car; I would never go back to anything else once I bought my first Mercedes". The result? If I hit the lottery for $100 million dollars tomorrow, I would still NEVER buy a Mercedes. It's the same thing- I am less likely to buy SU when someone tells me I should because my other stamps are second rate.
It is very easy to be enthusiastic about something without running down the competition- too bad too many SU fans around here haven't learned that.
I think you should trust your customers to be big girls(boys?) :mrgreen: and find the good and the not-so-good here. I stumbled upon this place accidentally and it certainly sucked me in and I think I continue to order more SU stuff than I might otherwise because of what I read/see here and on other blogs. I'm not going to let someone who favors clear or unmounted keep me from buying. :twisted:
Some of my customers have found it on their own and they are big girls who love everything stamping and who understand why I don't send my customers here. I don't send them to Michaels, hobby lobby or the scrapbook store either. Why would I? I see it as a bad business plan. But I also would not tell them, hey head on over to this spot where you can hear a fairly regular bashing of SU, most of which I don't agree with and frankly neither would they. If they find it on their own, I chat about it with them, just like when they tell me about a deal at HL or what fun they had at a CK convention or other stamping event for that matter. But I don't see it as part of a healthy business plan to send them to the competion or to someone who is going to run down my product or company. They still buy plenty from me, come to all my camps and have workshops. That really isn't my concern. The ones who are computer savvy find it easily on thier own the ones who aren't don't need me to indoctrinate them. I too, have lost myself for days here, so I let them seek out their own addictions if you know what I mean lol
I totally agree that it is incredibly annoying when someone gives the impression that their product choices, cars or opinions are superior to others. I am completely with you on that.
I personally see just as many people who put that same attitude out there about their unmounted or clear stamps, nesties, scorpal, and plenty of other stamp companies and quite frankly there are just as many postings of people who make it seem that if you still are with SU, well you are a "beginner" or just not as cool as if you are on the whatever the latest trend bandwagon is.
Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion, and to thier own favorite products,but to the point of the OP-- I think if you went back through the threads and honestly took a count you would be hard pressed to find any company or product name that attracts the "pile on" as much as SU. It is what it is, no matter the reason and to your point, I don't feel that someone loving a product to the point of annoyance justifies the pile on. No matter what the company or product. That is what the original poster was saying as well as those agreeing with her. It is disheartening to hear it all the time, especially when it seems so one sided and when given the # of SU customers and demonstrators on this list the percentage of people like that is miniscule. So why punish the rest of us?
I do appreciate your opinion, whether that is why it happens or not. I hope you can appreciate mine.
Oh and one other thought, maybe this is one of those chicken or egg questions. Is the overzealous praise of SU a backlash of the constant bashing or is it the other way around?
Or do some of us just loves us a whole lot of SU?
I know I do, but I have plenty of non SU supplies in my stamp room as well.
I think that some of the veiled (and not-so-veiled) animosity that shows up about SU is because of some people here who are so gung ho for SU that they become patronizing and really annoying about it. There are certain posters here who are "all SU, all the time" and tend to state their preferences rather obnoxiously. "I would never use anything but SU because it is the best and everything else is second rate" is a good summary of how they present themselves. It's the "everything else is second rate" and the implication that if you buy anything else you are stupid that sets people's teeth on edge. After a while it becomes almost easy to knock SU- mostly as a response to the aggravation of reading these type of posts.
I like SU; I use SU. But it is not my only stamp or supply company. Belinda (quoted above) states that "It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone" which the sensible folks around here know is not possible. It's the ones who actually push that attitude who annoy so many others and I think, cause a backlash.
I have an obnoxious brother with an even more obnoxious wife. He makes a huge amount of money and now both of them are prone to saying things like "I can't imagine how you drive that car; I would never go back to anything else once I bought my first Mercedes". The result? If I hit the lottery for $100 million dollars tomorrow, I would still NEVER buy a Mercedes. It's the same thing- I am less likely to buy SU when someone tells me I should because my other stamps are second rate.
It is very easy to be enthusiastic about something without running down the competition- too bad too many SU fans around here haven't learned that.
And that is *my* thinking about this situation.
I agree with you, I am a new stamper and I have gotten the message that if it aint SU, it's second rate. I feel other companies at just as good.
I guess it can get old for demos to hear constant harping for an unmounted SU option, but I believe much of it is from good SU customers who could justify even larger purchases if they didn't have to buy the blocks. Also I believe there is a feeling that SU is responsive to their customer base, so we feel if we just keep wishin, hopin and complaining...!
I guess it can get old for demos to hear constant harping for an unmounted SU option, but I believe much of it is from good SU customers who could justify even larger purchases if they didn't have to buy the blocks. Also I believe there is a feeling that SU is responsive to their customer base, so we feel if we just keep wishin, hopin and complaining...!
I don't have an issue with people wanting unmounted, but I wish it didn't derail every thread about SU even when it has nothing to do with the original subject matter of the post. That's what gets tiring for me.
If people want unmounted stamps, then go find a company that sells them. Don't complain that Stampin' Up! doesn't offer clear mounted or unmounted stamps...whatever...this is why I buy Stampin' Up! I like wood mounted stamps. End of discussion.
Another thing...Why don't I see more complaints about these smaller web based companies? Why don't SCSers voice their opinion about them like they do SU?
If you don't like Stampin' Up!, then don't buy it. Simple as that.
I was always taught that if you didn't have something nice to say.. don't say anything at all.
I read a lot of negative threads on there and wonder why there is so much of it. This should be a community of happy stampers.. not nasty nellies who complain about every little thing.
By the way.. I think that Stampin' UP! rocks! and so do many other companies.. I might not own them all.. but others day and I'm sure that they feel the way I do about SU.
Maybe some posters will think twice about their rants that they post on here.. there's a little red X in the upper corner of your browser that you can close off, walk away and come back later..
if I may, I'd like to just (respectfully) disagree with this viewpoint all together. I think to live in a world where everyone is supposed to be "rays of sunshine" every day - and not speak or talk about things that might bother them, or pro's/con's of things is unrealistic.
Again, this is an Internet Message Board - here for the purpose of discussing ALL THINGS related to Stamping. Good or bad. It's not owned by Stampin Up - or any other exclusive Stamping company for that matter.
I love a LOT of things about SU. A LOT. However there are some things that I do not like, just as I do not like things about other companies. There are comparisons, of course. I have just as much of a right to discuss those things here as you have to talk about what you like. So I would argue that you if you don't like threads where people are chatting about pro's/con's - of SU (or any other company) that you can click the red X too. Know what I'm sayin?
the only other thing I want to add is that if anything, I think SCS is SUPER pro-SU!. There are LOTS of people on here who are SU! all the way - and that is great. You just can't expect everyone to feel that way.
Just my .02 - hopefully I don't need a flame retardent suit! LOL!
__________________ *Kerry*
Last edited by pantala40; 06-03-2009 at 05:10 AM..
Reason: edited wording/grammar
I don't believe in monoplies;) hence why I buy what I like from whom I like....if something from SU! catches my eye and I have the pennies and it ticks all my other relevant purchasing boxes then why not? the same with other Stamp companies.
Having said that I do agree with the OP that quite a large proportion of threads that start off about SU! being positive turn into 'well I wish they did this or that' threads......and I guess there is frustration on both sides, for those that love SU! as it is....they want it to stay at it is....and for those who want SU! to change...well they want it to change;)
I have seen other company bashing going on, so much as you may feel you are in someway being victimised I truly don't think that that is the case:(
IMHO there is a level of snobbery on both sides......those that 'do' SU! and those that don't ....and somewhere in the middle of those are people who are like me...who 'do' it all.
It is sad. The time leading up to a caty reveal is a favorite time of mine. I LOVE the sneak peaks and the fun of what is going and what is coming. I am not nor have I ever been a SU Demo, but I do agree that I wish everyone would take just a half second to reread a comment and sub SU for whatever their favorite line of stamps to make sure they would be okay if they stumbled across that same/similar comment during a fun discussion of their chosen stamp line.
I always try to remember that we all have opinions and if a comment hits me wrong I try and hope that perhaps it was said in fun or came across in typing different than what would have been said in person.
You expressed it so well! I always think of the Bambi movie when Bambi's mother said "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all".
__________________
Wanda Cullen ~ Dirty Dozen Alumni, On design team for Papertrey Ink, Designer for Color Throwdown and Fusion Card Challenges Cullen-ary Creations[/URL]...my blogHERE'S MY GALLERY[/URL]
I think: different strokes for different folks, but I generally try to keep my own posts positive. If someone doesn't like something, they should be allowed to express it though. BUT if I read another thread about SU's shipping costs, I think I will throw a stamp as somebody (and I almost exclusively use SU stamps so you might need to duck ;) )
You made me smile with this word picture - lol! I agree...if anyone orders from ebay, the internet in general, or from a catalog, they will soon discover shipping in general is pretty high. Looks like it's a fact of life so they better get used to it. :-)
__________________
Wanda Cullen ~ Dirty Dozen Alumni, On design team for Papertrey Ink, Designer for Color Throwdown and Fusion Card Challenges Cullen-ary Creations[/URL]...my blogHERE'S MY GALLERY[/URL]
Wanda Cullen ~ Dirty Dozen Alumni, On design team for Papertrey Ink, Designer for Color Throwdown and Fusion Card Challenges Cullen-ary Creations[/URL]...my blogHERE'S MY GALLERY[/URL]
Location: prolly in my 'rubber room'... in the mid-west
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tchk
I think that some of the veiled (and not-so-veiled) animosity that shows up about SU is because of some people here who are so gung ho for SU that they become patronizing and really annoying about it. There are certain posters here who are "all SU, all the time" and tend to state their preferences rather obnoxiously. "I would never use anything but SU because it is the best and everything else is second rate" is a good summary of how they present themselves. It's the "everything else is second rate" and the implication that if you buy anything else you are stupid that sets people's teeth on edge. After a while it becomes almost easy to knock SU- mostly as a response to the aggravation of reading these type of posts.
I like SU; I use SU. But it is not my only stamp or supply company. Belinda (quoted above) states that "It's as if SU is supposed to be everything to everyone" which the sensible folks around here know is not possible. It's the ones who actually push that attitude who annoy so many others and I think, cause a backlash.
I have an obnoxious brother with an even more obnoxious wife. He makes a huge amount of money and now both of them are prone to saying things like "I can't imagine how you drive that car; I would never go back to anything else once I bought my first Mercedes". The result? If I hit the lottery for $100 million dollars tomorrow, I would still NEVER buy a Mercedes. It's the same thing- I am less likely to buy SU when someone tells me I should because my other stamps are second rate.
It is very easy to be enthusiastic about something without running down the competition- too bad too many SU fans around here haven't learned that.
If people didn't like what SU offers so much, they wouldn't keep asking SU to offer unmounted versions of it... they would just go other places. It's a round-about compliment to SU, actually.
Not everyone has friends who stamp, or families who want to hear about the catalog AGAIN! This is just a place to come and share thoughts with other people who actually care... You can love something and still want to improve it.
First of all, everyone is entitled to voicing their own comments, be they positive or negative. That being said, I feel the following is more true and the case than people trashing Stampin' Up.
There are very few ways people can voice their suggestions/comments of ways to improve or what they would like to see from a particular company. If we say or make a suggestion to our Demonstrators/Consultants there is really no way to know if they will follow through and relay that to the "powers that be" at Stampin' Up. Voicing those comments here there is a better chance that they are seen and at least read. Don't you think that someone from Stampin' Up management is at least on this website from time to time? I would certainly bet that someone is. They get to read the comments and perhaps it may eventually get their design teams to increasing or changing some things.
I really feel the comments from people about Stampin' Up are for positive changes and not trashing them.
By the way.....Does Stampin' Up have anywhere on their paperwork/order form or website that people can put personal comments? Might be a good idea to suggest that if not already in practice.
These are just my comments, you can take them or leave them.
For example, if anyone has a complaint about one of the member companies, they take that complaint to the member company forum. A complaint about SU!, which doesn't have a member forum, ends up in general stamping.
A comment from someone who wishes that SU! would carry unmounted stamps isn't "bashing" the company. It does get frustrating when chatter about the new catalog derails into a debate of unmounted vs mounted, though. (And I'm an unmounted fan; if I'm frustrated, I can only imagine how much more frustrated the mounted followers are feeling.) Either SU! will start selling unmounteds or they won't; if I truly love the images, I'll buy them regardless.
Regarding this comment:
Quote:
some people here who are so gung ho for SU that they become patronizing and really annoying about it.
I have seen this in the past (not so much lately, though) - one specific instance that stuck in my mind was from someone who wanted to know a good way to crease white-core cardstock so that the core didn't show, and the first reply was "You should buy SU! because it doesn't have a white core!" That didn't answer the question and came across as really smug and superior. Truth be told, SU! has some darn fine cardstock, but it's not the be-all end-all for every application.
If people didn't like what SU offers so much, they wouldn't keep asking SU to offer unmounted versions of it... they would just go other places. It's a round-about compliment to SU, actually.
Not everyone has friends who stamp, or families who want to hear about the catalog AGAIN! This is just a place to come and share thoughts with other people who actually care... You can love something and still want to improve it.
I totally agree with what you are saying, but I think the point of most people who are posting here is this.
This is actually NOT the place to ask SU for anything, They do have company employees who are also demos who might report to them on things that come up here, but no, they do not have an employee who sits on scs and reads every thread. If someone wants to make a suggestion to SU, they should go to the website or to THEIR demonstrator and use the tools availabe for that. Just like we would any other company, stamping or not. This would be a far more productive than throwing something out on a message board and hoping it gets back.
This is the best way I know to make the point of this thread. Lets say I went over to the lost thread (which I have never been in nor have I ever seen Lost, so this is just an example)
Someone posts, did you see the first show of the season? I loved it! How exciting!
I post-I don't like Lost, I like 24
They post--well you are entitled to your opinion, I don't like 24
I post--while I am on the subject, I think lost should only have 8 episodes a season, that way if I did want to watch, it wouldn't take up so much of my time
They post-really if you don't like Lost, you don't have to post here, I personally love lost and this is the reason why
I post or someone else posts -- Lost sucks, my sister-in-law told me Law and Order is the best show on TV, I am going to try it.
Someone else posts--you all shouldn't be watching TV, it is bad for your eyes.
12 Losties post at one time--What the-- Moderators!
Everyone is entitled to thier opinion, but how you deliver it and whether it is relevent to the discussion at hand is a whole other thing and THAT is the point that we are trying to make.
If you don't like to talk about the new SU Catalog, Why go into a thread that is about the new catalog ?
If I don't like the menu choices at Chili's, I don't stop two employees that I overhear discussing thier cute new t-shirts and complain to them, I go to a manager or get a comment card.
Yes, everyone is entitled to thier opinion, but how and where it delivered reflects on the person delivering it. Not the other way around usually.
Just trying to stay in context of the original post.
Belinda
.....<snip> By the way.....Does Stampin' Up have anywhere on their paperwork/order form or website that people can put personal comments? Might be a good idea to suggest that if not already in practice...
Stickin' my toe in ju-u-ust enough to offer [email protected] as a way to communicate suggestions and/or comments to SU. There's also the standard "Contact Us" button on the home page. Don't by shy...they LOVE to hear from people! ;)
As for the rest, I guess I'm hangin' with Jukie on that, and not for the first time... The girl has a sensible head on her shoulders, what can I say!
SU Complaint fest?
