how do you decide what to buy?
 

i'm sure we all have our own method to the madness, but i love hearing about how others go about their stamping ways.

do you buy based on want/need/etc?

for me, it's so hard to balance what i WANT and what i NEED. cause really, i want and need everything =)

I second the motion!

Well...I would like to lie and say that I buy purely on need...but that's so not true!

This month...I'm doing the challenge to buy nothing except essentials so I am learning how to redefine essential (Yes...so far, I have bought no stamping materials). It's been interesting! I think in general, II decide what to buy by balancing the cost/how bad I want it/cuteness factor and rarity. I'm sure if I asked my DH, he could come up with the math formula for this...but you probably know what I mean. :) Will a deal this good never come again or can I wait awhile and know that I can at least get a deal as good in the future?

i have a list of everything i NEED to buy, and everything i WANT to buy, and somehow, i manage to redo the list daily. i'm new so i really should be stocking up on the essentials, but i want cute stuff too!

I guess at this point, I don't NEED anything for awhile as I have all the basics (ink pads, paper, brads, tons of ribbon, stamp sets, etc). Having said that, I WANT lots of stuff. Including my 3rd Bella order and my first order with Allthatscrap.com which are both being shipped as we speak!

I have no method. I am impulsive, sick, addicted and I blame it all on Julie....

I take a most unscientific approach - if I see something I like, I want it. It's as simple as that. My trouble is that there are usually many things I want at the same time, and my budget says "no more........"

i kinda go thru phases...
i collected and got a good selection of brads & eyelets.
then i went on to ribbons, got several EP, i am now trying to expand my BG collection, all the while i am adding to my punch collection.
each month i add another color ink & CS (almost half way there)
sounds like i am a little bit spoiled! yup! my husbands fault tho!

Actually it's really pretty simple around here. I see it and can not live without it, I buy it, I exhaust my stamping budget and hide it in the closet for a while, I pout until next month and pretty much repeat.

I am really trying to only by based on need. I figured I have plenty of stamps right now so really all I NEED is to stock up on paper. Although there are always things I want.

This is a trick question, innit?

I usually buy stuff I see used in the gallery here at SCS and on people's blogs. They do something really cool- like use the cuttlebug and then one magically appears on my stamping table while the money magically disappears from my wallet! LOL!
Gina K.

I'm a believer that you gotta invest in some ribbon and embelishments right away. These add so much to the stamping experience. I like the SU assorted paper packs - you can get all of the colors rather inexpensively that way. For stamp sets? I learned the hard way. Some sets I thought a needed haven't even been used yet. Now I make a "want stamp set" list. I look at the list each month. If I still want the set after 3 months of it being on the list, I buy it (budget pending of course). This method has really helped me with impulse purchases. Another tip that has helped me distinguish needs from wants - if your contemplating tools or need info on other supplies, the TOOLS AND PRODUCTS forum on this site is very informative! All this to say, rubbah is addicting!

I basically buy what I want because really, I don't need any of it. LOL I like to have the new and latest gizmos and goodies. It's a bad habit.

marlo

Great Question! I used to buy everything I saw that was remotely appealing. Now, I rarely buy on impulse (of course my first bottle of Primas is sitting on my desk after I swore never to buy any of them...but who knew I would see them at Target, the Mommy Crack Store? I digress.) I make lists, live with the lists, edit the lists for a while, think about what I want to do with the items on the lists, edit some more, then buy.

This system works for me and has seriously cut back on the amount of money I spend monthly. Of course, my craft room could be converted into a scrappin' and stampin' store just with the addition of price tags, and since I have so much to work with, I'm less motivated to buy everything I see. Already done that, LOL!

i thought this only happened to me! good to know there are others out there!

I have been so good lately. I buy the stamps that I really like and think I will use. I have sold a few sets that I justhad to have and never came out! I too have been stocking up on ink pads and paper. I did just get the new ctmh book, I made a list of what I love and what I just like. I am going to a stamp show this weekend I like to look once, think about it and then decide. I still spend way too much. I heard this good idea for Christmas shopping once, maybe we can adapt it, decide what you are spending on a person, put that amount of cash in an envelope, when it is gone, it is gone! We could do this every month, with a little extra of course! I am taking cash to the show on Saturday, I hope that helps.

I used to be a paper addict. If they made it, I had to have it. Even papers that were pretty, that I knew I would never use. I would buy without thinking. So, last summer a friend and I went on a paper diet. Boy, that was the best thing that has ever happened to me! We made a pledge to not buy any paper all summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Well, i gotta say the first two weeks were awful, but after that, I didn't miss buying it. I have so much more than I ever can use. And the effect has lasted. I only buy what I am going to use, meaning I must have a specific purpose for it (and not have it in my collection) before I buy it. Now, if I can only do that with stamps, I'll be all set! :D

LOL! Yes, I thinkit is!

I keep a running tab like a grocery list posted in my stamping cabinet. When I get low on something I put it on the list then I balance in what I want after I've considered what I can afford.

I try not to buy any stamp that has an image that I can easily draw or hand-copy, so most of my stamps are vintage-like images versus clear-line images. Also, I try to avoid stamp sets that have English phrases included, because most of my cards use French. Also, I think twice before buying the solid images because I always have trouble getting the stamp all inked up completely, and evenly. I tend to veer towards stamps that can help me create a background (like swirls and flourishes) of any size.

I quit buying decorative paper, because it is just too painful for me to use it. It is soooo expensive!!

Also, now that I have a huge stamp collection, when I want a new stamp, if it is "girlie", I think twice before getting it because I have tons and tons of girlie images and hardly any for guys. I hate making masculine cards! So most of the guys in my life have to put up with slightly (or totally) girlie cards from me. :(

Also, because I have tons of flower images, I think twice before getting a new flower image.

I LOVE making masculine cards, but then I've been accused of being tom-boyish myself. ;)

This is my rule: If I likes it muchly, I can affords it, and I knows I will use it multiple ways/repeatedly, I buys it. :mrgreen:

It's been a good rule. Buying it just cuz I likes it, but have no clue what I'll do with it, has usually been my downfall . . . Can I interested anyone in a twice used Rollabind Punch? heh, heh, heh! :rolleyes:

I really try to follow this rule too! I typically have several projects that I want to complete with something new. I might have bought your Rollabind if I hadn't just bought a Bind-it-all (sorry, haven't used it yet, but I have three projects in the design (in my head) stage!).