This stinks

[canada goose]

Recently Provo Craft who owns Cricuit, started putting the name Cricuit above the Cuttlebug name on their embossing folders.

So first of all, why would they do this as the folder cannot be used in a cricuit itself but made for cuttlebug, big shot and anything but a cricuit!

As a result of putting the word `cricuit`on the product it is now considered a cricuit product ,and Mikes will not honor coupons because that name is on the folder. What are they thinking at Provo Craft, can anyone explain this to me, because i cant for the life of me figure out what purpose it serves putting the name on the folder except to exclude this product from ever being purchased with a coupon. Looking for answers.

[jjhere]

Hmmm...that really doesn't make much sense, does it?

[cat_woman]

Well, another good reason to not buy their products. They really don't get it do they?

[angel1971]

I recently bought one of the new cuttlebug folders that say cricut on the packaging and had no problem using a coupon on it. Have you tried to use a coupon on it? Unless something has changed within the last few weeks, the coupon went through fine.

[canada goose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angel1971

I recently bought one of the new cuttlebug folders that say cricut on the packaging and had no problem using a coupon on it. Have you tried to use a coupon on it? Unless something has changed within the last few weeks, the coupon went through fine.

that is precisely why I posted. I presented the coupon And it was the clerk who said it was a circuit product and if I read the fine print on the coupon I would see it did not quafily. She was very good and knowledgeable About these folders and did agree that it made no since, and she did try to put through the coupon but no luck.

I was hoping someone here might know what is going on prior to my contacting ProvoCraft. not sure if its just a mistake which I doubt or or someome in the company does not know how orwhat their own products Are used for.

[TheOtherMeg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cat_woman

Well, another good reason to not buy their products. They really don't get it do they?

No, they don't.

[angel1971]

Must be they changed something in their computer so the computers won't accept them now. It doesn't make any sense to me either why they are now packaging them like this now. Good thing there are alot of other companies making embossing folders now too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by canada goose

that is precisely why I posted. I presented the coupon And it was the clerk who said it was a circuit product and if I read the fine print on the coupon I would see it did not quafily. She was very good and knowledgeable About these folders and did agree that it made no since, and she did try to put through the coupon but no luck.

I was hoping someone here might know what is going on prior to my contacting ProvoCraft. not sure if its just a mistake which I doubt or or someome in the company does not know how orwhat their own products Are used for.

[ThatGirlThere]

Joanns has now changed their coupons. They now state that you can not use the coupons on DIES or cutting machines!!! Luckily, alot of sizzix dies are usually on sale anyway. I have hardly shopped at Michaels this year, and now Joanns is close behind.

[shazsilverwolf]

It looks like your shops are going the same as ours! We don't have Michaels or Joannes, our only chain is Hobbycrafts, and they rarely issue coupons, when they do its something like �5 off a �40 spend, and they have exclusions on them.

[binkiemonstermom]

With Michaels stores, I think that it depends on the store on how coupon friendly they are.
With that said, provocraft does some crazy stupid stuff. Do I have a cricut? yes. Do I still use my cricut, sure. But some of their stuff doesn't make sense to me.
I rarely buy cuttlebug folders because there are so many other companies out there. Of course I get the exclusive SU ones, but Hobby Lobby carries their own company brand, paper studio. I got my neice a big shot for Christmas. She is 12. I can't afford to get her SU folders for a 12 year old! BUT....I was able to score some at 40% at Hobby Lobby on Friday! I picked out interesting ones for her! She will love them!!!
Also AC Moores carries Darice ones, at mine store they are $3.99 a folder!!! Very reasonable!!! I picked up the Christmas ones from there. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on an embossing folder I will use for one batch of cards. KWIM?? So I save my money for the exclusive ones that SU carries and buy the others cheap, cheap, cheap!!!

[cbet]

I picked up some of the Hobby Lobby folders last week as well - and the LAST thing I need is any more embossing folders. But with the 40% off, they were only $2.99 . . . and the one with the gears was sooooo cool . . .

I think the reason the Cuttlebug folders are being labelled with Cricut is because Provocraft is now saying they are Cricut coordinates. Which is dumb, dumb, dumb. Because you cannot use those folders in your Cricut machine - you still need the Cuttlebug. Is the Cuttlebug now labelled with Cricut as well?

I have noticed that even though Joann's is excluding papercrafting machines and accessories from their coupons (which, hoo-boy, if they wanted to they could get really broad in that interpretation and the coupons wouldn't be good on anything!), they have had sales on almost all their dies and embossing folders lately. And usually the % off on the Cuttlebug folders is less than they offer on the Sizzix or Spellbinders.

[craftykarla]

Guess these companies want to keep these products on their shelves.

[smriti]

I did see the Cricut name on the new folders but didn't realize that it was going to create coupon-trouble! Not that I've bought any of theirs recently - I'm loving the designs from other manufacturers!

[sewnmachine]

CBet - I think you're right. There are some cuttlebug folders that coordinate with the Cricut cartridges - Preserves comes to mind.

But what I can't determine from the original post is if ALL of the Cuttlebug folders are branded as Cricut, or if it was just that particular folder that she was trying to buy?

[cbet]

Quote:

But what I can't determine from the original post is if ALL of the Cuttlebug folders are branded as Cricut, or if it was just that particular folder that she was trying to buy?

From what I've seen at my local Joann's (they have a lot more of the newer folders than my Michal's), it looks like everything new is also branded as Cricut.

[canada goose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbet

From what I've seen at my local Joann's (they have a lot more of the newer folders than my Michal's), it looks like everything new is also branded as Cricut.

The first time I encountered this was at a Joannes when we were in North Dakota.When we arrived back home to Winnipeg ( Canada) I did not see any of these newly labeled folders. At home they were the same as usual as well as when we went to Calgary in September, the stores there all had the same old packaging. I even remarked to two store owners about this and they replied they were not aware of any changes to the folders.

On Saturday Mikes had about 10 new folders all with this new packaging and they also have red inserts on them showing the design. I should mention that the folders are bigger than their originals.I love my Swiss Dots and the one i bought at mikes with the new packaging is called Polka Dots which are just larger dots. It is also 4.75 x 6.5. I make a lot of little boxes and purchased this one so i dont have to spend time lining up my dots on some of my boxes that i do on the original Swiss Dots folder.

I too like to spread my money around, and have other ef from other companies as well. Anyway I might just drop PC a note asking the reasoning for this new packaging with the descrepancy of the Cricuit. I am sure I will get some gobbilty gook answer.

[cat_woman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by canada goose

... At home they were the same as usual as well as when we went to Calgary in September, the stores there all had the same old packaging. ...

Those are probably the same ones they had 5 years ago when I bought my first embossing folders. I've been temped to put a black check mark on the packaging of a couple items just to see how long it actually sits on the shelf. I swear some of the things in the stores here have been there since I started paper crafting.

[cbet]

Quote:

Anyway I might just drop PC a note asking the reasoning for this new packaging with the descrepancy of the Cricuit. I am sure I will get some gobbilty gook answer.

If you do, be sure to report back

Here's my question, though - Michael's and Joann's coupons aren't manufacturer coupons, are they? They're issued by the store. ProvoCraft should get the wholesale price of their items from the retailer regardless of whether a customer uses a coupon, shouldn't they? I've never worked retail and I don't know all the ins and outs of the deals that manufacturers make with retail outlets, but why would ProvoCraft care if places allow coupons to be used on their items?

[smriti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cat_woman

Those are probably the same ones they had 5 years ago when I bought my first embossing folders. I've been temped to put a black check mark on the packaging of a couple items just to see how long it actually sits on the shelf. I swear some of the things in the stores here have been there since I started paper crafting.

LOL!

[sprtchick]

I am grateful that there are so many new companies with embossing folders now. There are so many to choose from. Lately I am loving the Darice embossing folders..they are usually cheaper than Cuttlebug/Cricut folders. They have a great selection to choose from too. This is an interesting thread. thanks.
blessings.

[craftykarla]

I agree with you Amber and do appreciate the larger size ones.

[ladybugstamper2]

Provo Craft did this to save my husband money. LOL!!! There aren't any Hobby Lobby's or AC Moore's around where I live, so I am stuck with JoAnn's and Michael's and their coupon policies. I am not much of an on-line shopper. I have a bunch of Cuttlebug folders, looks like I won't be adding more of them to my stash. Now to plan a vacation with a road trip to find those other stores. Sounds like fun.

[sherry107]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlThere

Joanns has now changed their coupons. They now state that you can not use the coupons on DIES or cutting machines!!! Luckily, alot of sizzix dies are usually on sale anyway. I have hardly shopped at Michaels this year, and now Joanns is close behind.

I was sooo disappointed in Joann's not taking coupons for Spellbinders-at least Mike's does-so I guess the only good thing is Mike's will take Joann's coupons-- too bad for Joann's-kinda like shooting themselves in the foot-if you ask me!:mad:

[KatyLynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbet

If you do, be sure to report back

Here's my question, though - Michael's and Joann's coupons aren't manufacturer coupons, are they? They're issued by the store. ProvoCraft should get the wholesale price of their items from the retailer regardless of whether a customer uses a coupon, shouldn't they? I've never worked retail and I don't know all the ins and outs of the deals that manufacturers make with retail outlets, but why would ProvoCraft care if places allow coupons to be used on their items?

I could be wrong, but I think they have (or had) a policy that certain items could not be sold under a certain price. So if you use a store coupon and it goes under that price, the store would be breaking their agreement to not sell at the agreed upon price. At one point, I think it was so the local stores could compete with the big box stores -- but now I honestly have no idea.

[Lorri.V.]

In Canada the M's sell their spellbinders for 34.95 so a coupon is not that great. I will still buy online instead of M's.

Lorri

[bbgeltz]

Besides such restrictive coupons, has anyone else noticed that Joann's marks some of their items higher than the suggested retail price? I found that they had the retail price of Martha's mini scoreboard at $12.99 while Martha's own website listed it as $10.99. They also had Spectrum Noir set of 6 markers at $14.99 ... I found the retail price to be $11.99 online for Archivers and others. Shopping isn't as much fun when you have to worry about stores doing things like this.

[lmcgraw01]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbgeltz

Besides such restrictive coupons, has anyone else noticed that Joann's marks some of their items higher than the suggested retail price? I found that they had the retail price of Martha's mini scoreboard at $12.99 while Martha's own website listed it as $10.99. They also had Spectrum Noir set of 6 markers at $14.99 ... I found the retail price to be $11.99 online for Archivers and others. Shopping isn't as much fun when you have to worry about stores doing things like this.

This is to offset constantly having the 40% off coupon, right?

[Penny Hall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlThere

Joanns has now changed their coupons. They now state that you can not use the coupons on DIES or cutting machines!!! Luckily, alot of sizzix dies are usually on sale anyway. I have hardly shopped at Michaels this year, and now Joanns is close behind.

I have to agree about not shopping at Michaels much anymore. I used to be a frequent shopper at my local Michaels. I had their app on my smart phone & before you could use the coupon as many times as you wanted to, but now it's a one time only coupon. Once you use it, it's gone. Plus, they discontinued their rewards program which made no sense to me anyway because I never saw any rewards. I think it was a waste of time. At least with AC Moores rewards program you get points & once you accumulate enough points, they mail you a $10 coupon you can use on ANYTHING. For as long as I had the Michaels rewards card, I never saw any kind of reward.

[happigirlcorgi]

I do most of my shopping at my LSS (Peddler's Pack, they are the BEST). I am on their e-mail list, so I get a 40% off coupon periodically. Which I use all the time. They also have sales on their dies and embossing folders - about 20% off. I also have graduated to online shopping for stamping stuff. I can often check it out at Michael's or Joanne's, and then I can buy it online. If you aren't used to shopping online, try it out. Starting with some of the companies here (no, I am not a rep for any of them) is pretty easy.

In defense of Michael's, Joanne's, and other coupon issuing companies, remember, their goal is to make money. They offer the coupons only as a way to entice you in, in the hopes that you will come in to use the coupon on ome thing, but buy a bunch of other things as well.
If you are like me, you get that Michael's coupon, go right to the Copics (at the front of the store), and check out. Or go to adhesives, and then check out. I buy ribbon when on sale, and only go there if I can't find it at my LSS. If they don't have it, I go online. Or I re-think my creative goals.
As for the Michael's rewards, I did receive the $10 rewards when I was in AZ, But not all states do the rewards program. :(
I wonder if Cricut/Cuttlebug were losing money on their products which is why they repackaged? Oh, to be a fly on the wall...

[Diana stamps]

At Hobby Lobby last week they wouldn't accept the 40% coupon on any cuttlebug folders or even the plastic plates for the cuttlebug. I was hoping to get the C plate with a coupon. :(

[Savagetwin]

I tried to purchase a new cuttlebug last year after mine broke. I has a 50% coupon that the asst store manager would not honor. The coupon did not say provocraft products. It said cricut products. Cuttlebug is not a cricut product. It is a provocraft product. I called another Michael's and the manager who had a cuttlebug confirmed my thoughts. So, I never got the cuttlebug because an angel here on SCS gave me hers.
The cashiers in Michael's make up their own rules. Next time guys, pursue the issue with the corporate office. Get names of cashier and store manager. Make sure they know that you are going to call corporate office to complain! How much you want to bet that the store will honor that coup? ;-)

[KristaTracy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbgeltz

Besides such restrictive coupons, has anyone else noticed that Joann's marks some of their items higher than the suggested retail price? I found that they had the retail price of Martha's mini scoreboard at $12.99 while Martha's own website listed it as $10.99. They also had Spectrum Noir set of 6 markers at $14.99 ... I found the retail price to be $11.99 online for Archivers and others. Shopping isn't as much fun when you have to worry about stores doing things like this.

Yes -- they have a set of Memento Dew Drops on their site for $35, while it is $25 at Hobby Lobby and Simon Says Stamps. Caveat Emptor!

[fionna51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbet

If you do, be sure to report back

Here's my question, though - Michael's and Joann's coupons aren't manufacturer coupons, are they? They're issued by the store. ProvoCraft should get the wholesale price of their items from the retailer regardless of whether a customer uses a coupon, shouldn't they? I've never worked retail and I don't know all the ins and outs of the deals that manufacturers make with retail outlets, but why would ProvoCraft care if places allow coupons to be used on their items?

KatyLynn mentioned one reason...another is that while most of the time the wholesale discount is 40-50% off of suggested list price, sometimes on pricier items it is only 25-30% off of suggested list price.

Offering a 40% coupon would mean selling the item for less than they paid for it. And while loss leaders are a great way to get people in the doors, it's not good business practice to use an expensive item as a loss-leader.

[fionna51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbgeltz

Besides such restrictive coupons, has anyone else noticed that Joann's marks some of their items higher than the suggested retail price? I found that they had the retail price of Martha's mini scoreboard at $12.99 while Martha's own website listed it as $10.99. They also had Spectrum Noir set of 6 markers at $14.99 ... I found the retail price to be $11.99 online for Archivers and others. Shopping isn't as much fun when you have to worry about stores doing things like this.

Just two comments here.
There's often no restriction for a store to sell lower than suggested retail. Admittedly some companies don't allow it, but some do. It is to Archiver's favor to price items below suggested retail...it encourages return shopping! I imagine that is why the markers were a better price there.

And when it comes to brand-holders like Martha or Sizzix or whoever...when they decide to get in the retail side of the market as well as the wholesale, they can decide what price they are going to sell at. Selling products at wholesale to stores they get only 50-60% of the suggested retail. But they can afford to sell from their own site for something below the suggested retail, undercut the stores they sell to, make some of that money back by inflating the shipping, and come out way ahead.

I have a DIL in marketing, can you tell? ;)