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<sigh> That would be me. I have all the original type pads in both full-sized and cubes except Sweet Blush which NEVER worked for me). I also have all the refills. Then I replaced all of them with the new and improved and oh-so-wonderful (note sarcasm here) formula as they became available. Couldn't get them to work, but kept buying them as I was assured that it was "user-error" and if I'd just take the time, I'd learn how to do it right. :rolleyes: Also have all the pads, cubes and refills. Smooshed, smashed, watched videos, ruined tons of cardstock and they STILL never worked right for me. <sigh>
It's going to be REALLY hard to have faith enough to invest in these all over again. I've found a pretty good list of matches from Momento, SU, CTMH, etc. I think I'm done with PTI inks for good this time. :(
What exactly is "user error" in using a stamp pad. It's ink. My dd was using stamps and inking her own stamps when she was 2 yrs old for crying out loud!!!!
Sure glad I didn't get that "user error" line from someone, cause I would not have been very nice telling them what I thought about their "user error" commet!!!!!!!
I am Totally baffled with that comment!!!!!!!
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
What exactly is "user error" in using a stamp pad. It's ink. My dd was using stamps and inking her own stamps when she was 2 yrs old for crying out loud!!!!
Sure glad I didn't get that "user error" line from someone, cause I would not have been very nice telling them what I thought about their "user error" commet!!!!!!!
I am Totally baffled with that comment!!!!!!!
I would have come unglued! User error, my butt! :mad:
I only have the Fresh Snow and Vintage Cream inks and I have not had any troubles with them. I'm pretty sold on Memento so that is about all I use along with Hero Arts Chalk and Shadow inks.
The thing that annoys me with PTI is that their products are never in stock. I've been waiting for a month for the Up, Up, and Away dies since I didn't want to deal with the issues they were having on their release day in May (what a mess LOL). It's not just the new items ether... you never know what they will have in stock at any given time.
I hope they get things straightened out because I love their stamps and die combos!
What exactly is "user error" in using a stamp pad. It's ink. My dd was using stamps and inking her own stamps when she was 2 yrs old for crying out loud!!!!
Sure glad I didn't get that "user error" line from someone, cause I would not have been very nice telling them what I thought about their "user error" commet!!!!!!!
I am Totally baffled with that comment!!!!!!!
LOL~ Yeah, well..... yeah.
I was told that I need to GENTLY tap, tap, tap the ink pad onto the stamp instead of mashing the stamp into the ink pad. And if I got that goopy, ooze outline when I stamped, I was doing it wrong, not that the ink pad was bad.
Whatever. :rolleyes:
Some inks worked okay. Some not. But ALL the PTI pigment inks appear to need reinked very often. Even if they are not used much at all.
I'm glad they are finding a better solution. But it may just be too little, too late for me. I've found pretty good matches elsewhere and may only buy their newest inks for those color which I cannot find a match.
Actually it can be user error. If you are used to SU dye inks, which many people are, then switching to a pigment ink takes some practice. With dye ink, the harder I stamp the better impression I get. Pigment is exactly the opposite. You have to have a very light touch, otherwise you will get a smooshed, splotchy impression. Dye ink is absorbed into the paper, whereas pigment ink sits on top of the paper. So if I press too hard, I will smoosh all the ink out the sides of the stamp. Many people that are complaining about their ink pads, although not those specifically on this thread, cannot get a good impression with the pigment ink. In many cases, it truly is a matter of practice(and patience) makes perfect. I really did not like mine when I first started buying the pigment formula. After a little practice, I have found them to stamp beautifully!
I do feel for those that cannot get a good crisp impression. Obviously pigment ink is not the right ink for them. But that does not make the pads defective. Like I said earlier, I still cannot get a good impression with my SU craft inks, which are pigment like PTI's newer ink. I don't think SU should refund my money because I cannot get them to work for me. It's my issue, not an issue with the ink.
How much ink is put on.
How evenly it is put on.
How much pressure you apply.
How evenly you apply pressure.
Can't be too difficult, as my dd inked her own stamps at the age of two(now 12 1/2) and my ds inked his own stamps at the age of 3(now 11). You would be surprised at how well they stamped images!
And the first time I inked my own stamps was at age 38. The three of us Never had any problems inking stamps!
Just Saying!:p
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
I have followed Ted's lead though, already told all my friends and family about PTI and how unhappy I am, many of them didn't order this month because of it. I honestly don't think PTI will notice or care though.
I don't think it is fair to use Ted's name in this comment. Ted is, as far as I can tell, very happy with PTI. He is not happy with SU, and all of their changes recently. In fact, he just placed an order with PTI at the new release party last night!! This comment makes it sound as if Ted is unhappy with PTI and telling all his friends how unhappy he is. That is just not the case!
Can't be too difficult, as my dd inked her own stamps at the age of two(now 12 1/2) and my ds inked his own stamps at the age of 3(now 11). You would be surprised at how well they stamped images!
And the first time I inked my own stamps was at age 38. The three of us Never had any problems inking stamps!
Just Saying!:p
But were you using pigment or dye ink? Because there is a big difference between the two! Actually, my son(age 7) likes my new PTI pigment inks more than any of my other brand ink pads! He loves that he doesn't have to press hard to get a good impression!
Actually it can be user error. If you are used to SU dye inks, which many people are, then switching to a pigment ink takes some practice. With dye ink, the harder I stamp the better impression I get. Pigment is exactly the opposite. You have to have a very light touch, otherwise you will get a smooshed, splotchy impression. Dye ink is absorbed into the paper, whereas pigment ink sits on top of the paper. So if I press too hard, I will smoosh all the ink out the sides of the stamp. Many people that are complaining about their ink pads, although not those specifically on this thread, cannot get a good impression with the pigment ink. In many cases, it truly is a matter of practice(and patience) makes perfect. I really did not like mine when I first started buying the pigment formula. After a little practice, I have found them to stamp beautifully!
I do feel for those that cannot get a good crisp impression. Obviously pigment ink is not the right ink for them. But that does not make the pads defective. Like I said earlier, I still cannot get a good impression with my SU craft inks, which are pigment like PTI's newer ink. I don't think SU should refund my money because I cannot get them to work for me. It's my issue, not an issue with the ink.
I have used many, many pigment inks successfully including the Fresh Snow and Vintage Cream PTI inks. I use exactly the same technique/pressure/ink amount and some colors (Spring Moss, Sweet Blush, Terracotta Tile) just do not work for me. Half the ink stays on the stamp so I get a very uneven image. I've tried more ink, less ink, more pressure, less pressure, a dryer ink pad, a newly reinked ink pad, on and on and on. And nothing works for those colors.
Spring Rain, Aqua Mist, Orange Zest seem to work okay if I reink them right before using them. Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz seem to dry on the stamps REALLY quickly and I hardly ever get a good impression with them. But if I put more ink on the stamps to keep them from drying out so fast, I get the smooshed outline. <sigh>
It really is not from lack of trying or refusing to try different methods that I cannot get these to work. And frankly when I look at some of the DT work, I see the same issues with their stamping and those colors. That does NOT lead me to think it's just my fault.
But were you using pigment or dye ink? Because there is a big difference between the two! Actually, my son(age 7) likes my new PTI pigment inks more than any of my other brand ink pads! He loves that he doesn't have to press hard to get a good impression!
My kids used and still use SU inks, my dd does use pigment. I use both SU and pigment.
Changing bewteen both inks should not take a long time to get use to. A couple sheets of paper to practice should do it. To be told "user error" after purchasing multiple stamp pads and with all these complaints behind the product is not the way to do business. As this seems to be a major problem that has taken a very long time to rectify, the "user error" comment should NEVER have been given to a customer.
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
It's not true that all of the pigment inks are dry and need re-inked. Mine are actually far too wet and runny, and I've heard others complain about the same issue. The disturbing thing is that there are so many problems with the inkpads - some of the original ones changed color over time or gave a splotchy impression even when the stamp was inked evenly, and the pigment ones were sometimes too dry, sometimes too wet, and sometimes had major color inconsistencies. I think PTI is right to discontinue selling these inks even when they don't have a fix in place just yet, because these inks are clearly just not a quality product.
As far as returning the inks you have currently, PTI is accepting returns on an individual basis, so you can send an email to customer service to return any pads you don't like. You may not like the way they handle returns or their customer service, which is definitely your right, but it's simply not true that they won't do anything for customers who have defective ink pads.
About the out of stock - Yeah there are companies that do run out of stock and backorder items. I know one company that always has a long back order list.
PTI normally gets the items in shortly.
I have used many, many pigment inks successfully including the Fresh Snow and Vintage Cream PTI inks. I use exactly the same technique/pressure/ink amount and some colors (Spring Moss, Sweet Blush, Terracotta Tile) just do not work for me. Half the ink stays on the stamp so I get a very uneven image. I've tried more ink, less ink, more pressure, less pressure, a dryer ink pad, a newly reinked ink pad, on and on and on. And nothing works for those colors.
Therein lies the problem. See, I have had the best luck with my Spring Moss, Terracotta Tile, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Spring Rain, and Raspberry Fizz pads! Actually, only my Lemon Tart and Hawaiian Shores have given me any trouble. So why do mine work so well and yours do not? That is what PTI has been trying to figure out!
I did not mean to imply that you are doing something wrong. I am quite sure you tried to get them to work for you. They just don't. But I don't think PTI should offer refunds to everyone for all their old pads because some people have had issues while others have not! Unfortunately there are a lot of people(not you specifically!) who just want a refund because they want the new formula even though there is nothing wrong with their current pads. The same thing happened last time they switched formulas. There were a lot of people that wanted to return ALL their old pads even though there was nothing wrong with them.
I don't think it is fair to use Ted's name in this comment. Ted is, as far as I can tell, very happy with PTI. He is not happy with SU, and all of their changes recently. In fact, he just placed an order with PTI at the new release party last night!! This comment makes it sound as if Ted is unhappy with PTI and telling all his friends how unhappy he is. That is just not the case!
I didn't read it that way nor did I mean it that way. I meant that he kind of made it clear to me that unless I really put my money where my mouth is and also share my experiences then what good does it do? I was really worried since many on here will defend PTI tooth and nail (as with other companies) but I guess his posts about SU made me think that I should share my thoughts.
also for what's it worth, I haven't had any problems with the ink pads I have used. I do have a Teracotta Tile, Hawaiian Shores and Simply Chartruese that have never been used though.
What I don't agree with is having to pay return shipping.... especially when I didn't make the mistake.
I would have come unglued! User error, my butt! :mad:
I only have the Fresh Snow and Vintage Cream inks and I have not had any troubles with them. I'm pretty sold on Memento so that is about all I use along with Hero Arts Chalk and Shadow inks.
The thing that annoys me with PTI is that their products are never in stock. I've been waiting for a month for the Up, Up, and Away dies since I didn't want to deal with the issues they were having on their release day in May (what a mess LOL). It's not just the new items ether... you never know what they will have in stock at any given time.
I hope they get things straightened out because I love their stamps and die combos!
Those dies are great for getting out (and causing) frustration! I find that I have to throw mine against the table several times to get the cut paper out, or at least up enough that I can pry the paper out. You can try sticking the paper with a pin too (like MFT did - BTW, the same company makes both PTI and MFT dies), but it's hard to do that, get it out, and not leave a mark that shows. A pinhole in the die would be nice! BTW, if you ever get the dies, it's easier to line things up if you stamp the outline stamp of the balloons first and then do the inner stamp.
__________________ I'm a natural blonde. God just dyed my hair brown. -me My Blog
Many companies will not pay for return shipping even if the item is defective.
It is customary for the buyer to pay it. Ans yes when buying online we all take the chance of losing money if an item needs to be returned.
There are also some online stamp companies that I know that will NOT replace a package if it is lost. That means they buyer is out all that money (this is why I do not order directly from a certain fantasy stamp company so I found their line of stamps elsewhere to buy)
Can't be too difficult, as my dd inked her own stamps at the age of two(now 12 1/2) and my ds inked his own stamps at the age of 3(now 11). You would be surprised at how well they stamped images!
And the first time I inked my own stamps was at age 38. The three of us Never had any problems inking stamps!
Just Saying!:p
Okay, so, your kids are stamping prodigies.
You asked how there can be user error. That's all I was answering. I personally still have difficulty with using the right pressure to get the image I want, and I always have MORE difficulty with pigment based ink. But I KNOW that it's because of my skill set and not my product. Same way I know that when I mess up my copic coloring, it's me and not the markers. ;)
I stopped ordering from PTI in 2007 when it became apparent that there was a lack of customer service (bent paper, dry ink pads). Repeated emails were necessary to contact them and they never seemed to have a solution.
The final thing that really annoyed me was their 2007 release of a stamp set called My Punny Valentine which had a specific sentiment stamp that never made it into production, thus the set was falsely advertised. PTI's solution to this was to release another stamp set called Year Round Puns so that a customer could purchase this additional stamp set and it contained the sentiment that it was supposed to come with the My Punny Valentine stamp set. Problem solved (in PTI's mind anyway).
At the time of this fiasco, PTI was a SCS member company, and many customers voiced their dismay regarding the stamp set with the missing sentiment. PTI, rather quickly after this incident, stopped its membership with SCS. A coincidence? Perhaps.
I was shocked at the way PTI handled the incident.
After parting with SCS, PTI had a blog that they touted as "a happy place" where I can only guess any problems with their company are taboo subjects. This is definitely a company where I choose NOT to spend my money.
Imagine my shock when I went to purchase $60 worth of white cardstock two days before the release and they were sold out! I couldn't believe it. And I'm totally out. So I placed my first order with Gina K. She's pretty local to me (in Western WI) and I've heard such wonderful things about her. I placed my order on Sunday and Monday by 8 am I had a shipping notice. I can't wait to try out her cardstock!
I do love PTI stamps. I am feeling a little sick knowing how much money I've spent on the full size ink pads. I really hope PTI does the right thing and let us return them for full credit.
Nope, unfortunately, no refund. In the Ink thread someone posted above from the PTI forum. Nicole states no refunds will be given unless they are unopened. But if you have a faulty ink pad, you contact CS and go through the normal channels for a refund.
I have a sucky situation, 3 days before the announcement I bought 9 ink pads -making my color collection complete and didn't buy the reinkers (I always do that later, just easier on the pocketbook!). I have already asked in the PTI forum if the NEW reinkers will work on the OLD pads and the answer was no.
That is a big bummer cause I know I will now have to replace these when they dry out, instead of just reinking them.
I am one of the people who don't mind them revamping all their inks, I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. I think it is admirable to try to get a Perfect Match to their cardstock like SU does. We all love matchy-matchy!
The problem with the PTI inks was inconsistency... some worked, some didnt. I have 3 pads (pigment) from them that are completely useless. I had two of the old formula pads that were also useless. I, for one, am glad they are redoing their ink. I don't know if I will buy or not but I am just happy they are saying they understand its a problem and they are dealing with it. I have returned to my colorbox chalk inks and my versamagic... and my pti pads that do work. I do understand the frustration here. Paying for shipping to return a defective product does make me mad but it is they way most mail order businesses operate, in my experience anyway.
You asked how there can be user error. That's all I was answering. I personally still have difficulty with using the right pressure to get the image I want, and I always have MORE difficulty with pigment based ink. But I KNOW that it's because of my skill set and not my product. Same way I know that when I mess up my copic coloring, it's me and not the markers. ;)
Messing up copic coloring-now that is a whole different thread.!!! I can say, I am a pro at this:p
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
I'm sorry to hear of everyone's frustration regarding the ink pads.
I stopped purchasing from PTI some time ago because their customer service is terrible! It's too bad, too, because they have some really cute stamps and dies.
About the out of stock - Yeah there are companies that do run out of stock and backorder items. I know one company that always has a long back order list.
PTI normally gets the items in shortly.
The out of stock thing is one of my main complaints with PTI because I only order a few times a year. It's inevitable that when item A comes in, item B is then out.
However, I do appreciate a company that doesn't take my money today and make me wait weeks (or months) for an item to get off the backordered list. In my opinion, doing the latter (like SU does) is more annoying. I had to wait almost 6 weeks for the polka dot embossing folder in the previous mini. That's bad business and did not endear my former demo to me as I only found out it was backordered when the box arrived at my home.
I stopped ordering from PTI in 2007 when it became apparent that there was a lack of customer service (bent paper, dry ink pads). Repeated emails were necessary to contact them and they never seemed to have a solution.
The final thing that really annoyed me was their 2007 release of a stamp set called My Punny Valentine which had a specific sentiment stamp that never made it into production, thus the set was falsely advertised. PTI's solution to this was to release another stamp set called Year Round Puns so that a customer could purchase this additional stamp set and it contained the sentiment that it was supposed to come with the My Punny Valentine stamp set. Problem solved (in PTI's mind anyway).
At the time of this fiasco, PTI was a SCS member company, and many customers voiced their dismay regarding the stamp set with the missing sentiment. PTI, rather quickly after this incident, stopped its membership with SCS. A coincidence? Perhaps.
I was shocked at the way PTI handled the incident.
After parting with SCS, PTI had a blog that they touted as "a happy place" where I can only guess any problems with their company are taboo subjects. This is definitely a company where I choose NOT to spend my money.
Actually, My Punny Valentine and Year Round Puns were released at the same time. I actually remember this pretty well. There was a phrase that was in the original stamp reveal picture, but never made it to production. There wasn't enough room on the stamp sheet for it. But the image for the website had been created before production began. If I remember right, Nichole changed the picture not long after the release and those of us that ordered it before the change were sent the missing stamp. I know that happened with Sweet Love, too. The j'taime stamp was in the picture, but not in the set when it arrived. I ordered that one and the missing stamp was sent to me. I didn't order My Punny Valentine and ordered Year Round Puns after the picture had been changed. But my Sweet Love was corrected! So I think Nichole did a pretty good job of handling that one. I'm sorry you don't think so. Here is the entry on her blog the day she introduced Year Round Puns, which was during the My Punny Valentine release! http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capt...y-valenti.html
If you scroll down to the bottom of the post Nichole explains how Year Round Puns is meant to help you use My Punny Valentine "year round", just like the name implies. It was not made in response to a stamp being left out!
As far as the PTI forum and leaving SCS, I really don't think that had anything to do with the missing stamp situation. They created their own forum to help celebrate their 1 year anniversary! It is still going strong and is where I spend most of time! There are discussions about problems with PTI. That is how the ink change came about. Nichole and Jennifer are very good about answering questions on the forum! Nichole has been posting questions on there all day, trying to help explain this whole ink thing. I don't know of many companies as big as PTI where you can post a question and the owner will actually answer you! If she doesn't know the answer, she will find out for you. I don't think it is touted as a "happy place", but I sure find it to be happy most of the time!
You are certainly free to not spend your money with PTI. I am in no way trying to change your mind. In fact, the fewer people that buy from PTI the better. More stuff for me!! ;)
I will agree that the ink is awful. Very dissappointed in the last 2 pads I bought. The Hawaiian Shores is not a teal color at all. The ink pad matches Gina K. Designs Ocean Mist really well, I found that out yesterday when trying to make something using the ink pad.
Glad to hear they are trying something different. I haven't really had good luck with the customer service either. But I only had a question not a problem.
Shipping is really fast and I always place a big enough order for free shipping.
Thanks for letting me know, I purchased Gina K Ocean Mist cs awhile ago, but didn't buy the ink pad that went with it. I just purchase PTI's Hawaiian Shores ink pad yesterday after hearing about the ink pad discontinuation, but did not buy the cardstock because I wanted to use up the Ocean Mist first before buying the Hawaiian Shores cs. Thanks for your information.
Actually, My Punny Valentine and Year Round Puns were released at the same time. I actually remember this pretty well. There was a phrase that was in the original stamp reveal picture, but never made it to production. There wasn't enough room on the stamp sheet for it. But the image for the website had been created before production began. If I remember right, Nichole changed the picture not long after the release and those of us that ordered it before the change were sent the missing stamp. I know that happened with Sweet Love, too. The j'taime stamp was in the picture, but not in the set when it arrived. I ordered that one and the missing stamp was sent to me. I didn't order My Punny Valentine and ordered Year Round Puns after the picture had been changed. But my Sweet Love was corrected! So I think Nichole did a pretty good job of handling that one.
That is exactly my point, the stamp set did not contain a sentiment that was to have been included. The PTI (SCS member forum) got pretty hot because Nicole was not sending out the omitted sentiment but incorporating it into another small set for purchase. I can only hope that she ultimately changed her mind and did the right thing. But I stopped looking at the PTI SCS forum. It had become apparent that PTI had become a bad model for customer service.
Those dies are great for getting out (and causing) frustration! I find that I have to throw mine against the table several times to get the cut paper out, or at least up enough that I can pry the paper out. You can try sticking the paper with a pin too (like MFT did - BTW, the same company makes both PTI and MFT dies), but it's hard to do that, get it out, and not leave a mark that shows. A pinhole in the die would be nice! BTW, if you ever get the dies, it's easier to line things up if you stamp the outline stamp of the balloons first and then do the inner stamp.
It took me a bit to figure out how to get them out..... I just use my Stick Quik. Thanks for the tip!
About the out of stock - Yeah there are companies that do run out of stock and backorder items. I know one company that always has a long back order list.
PTI normally gets the items in shortly.
LOL... I guess it is just my luck then. I'm the one that goes to the line with only one person in it at the store and end up seeing all the other lines clearing before I even get to the register! :rolleyes:
I mostly buy PTI cs and ribbon. Since most of my cardmaking is coloring, the ink wasn't important to me, but occasionally I would buy a cube. Hopefully they will have better success with the new manufacturer.
__________________ I like mayhem! Southern Heart-my blog
I always only "test" ink pads/cubes and make a decision. I bought Aqua Mist in the cube to see if I like it. I liked it, bought two more cubes and didn't like the way colors turned out. Stopped buying PTI's ink. When they changed to the new pigments I bought Aqua Mist and liked it. Since I liked Aqua Mist I ordered the Simply Chartreuse in the full pad and I hated it. A part of the image stamps gray-ish. I knew about some of the colors not matching the CS very well (for example, Hawaiian Shores being a pretty blue but not matching) and about having to smoosh with a spoon but Chartreuse was a new color and didn't know about the gray-ish issue. With my Chartreuse experience my decision was I was not going to buy any more PTI inks. And then I saw that inks were being discontinued.
I do this process with all companies' inks. And there are other companies' inks that I did not like and I will not buy those again.
When PTI introduces their new line of inks I will again purchase just one and see if I like it. If I like it, I'll just add one color at a time to each of my orders.
I'm not tryin to incite a thread riot but its about the whole "I deserve a refund" or "they should pay return shipping" complaints. To address the first, PTI inks have been hit&miss for a while with the new formula. Yet, people bought them month after month, colour after colour. Seems to me the customer made a choice to continually invest in a product that had proven itself to be 100% unpredictable and unreliable. Why should those consumers be rewarded now when they could have gone elsewhere for inks that worked & matched? Hindsight is 20/20.
Secondly, I have yet to see any online company that pays for return shipping. I know that SU doesn't and if I wanted to return the textured CS they are sending out now as substitutes, it would be on my dime. This is just a common business practice. If a huge, international company won't absorb the costs, how can we expect a smaller, domestic company like PTI to do so?
There's been a lot of chatter here and on the PTI boards for months about the quality of their inks which is why I only have one. And the one I bought and love is one of the three they aren't discontinuing.
Nope, unfortunately, no refund. In the Ink thread someone posted above from the PTI forum. Nicole states no refunds will be given unless they are unopened. But if you have a faulty ink pad, you contact CS and go through the normal channels for a refund.
I have a sucky situation, 3 days before the announcement I bought 9 ink pads -making my color collection complete and didn't buy the reinkers (I always do that later, just easier on the pocketbook!). I have already asked in the PTI forum if the NEW reinkers will work on the OLD pads and the answer was no.
That is a big bummer cause I know I will now have to replace these when they dry out, instead of just reinking them.
I am one of the people who don't mind them revamping all their inks, I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. I think it is admirable to try to get a Perfect Match to their cardstock like SU does. We all love matchy-matchy!
Bummer on the 9 ink pads, Michelle! I also can't wait to try out the new formula. I hope it all works out for them. And yes, we all love our matchy-matchy!
I stopped ordering from PTI in 2007 when it became apparent that there was a lack of customer service (bent paper, dry ink pads). Repeated emails were necessary to contact them and they never seemed to have a solution.
The final thing that really annoyed me was their 2007 release of a stamp set called My Punny Valentine which had a specific sentiment stamp that never made it into production, thus the set was falsely advertised. PTI's solution to this was to release another stamp set called Year Round Puns so that a customer could purchase this additional stamp set and it contained the sentiment that it was supposed to come with the My Punny Valentine stamp set. Problem solved (in PTI's mind anyway).
At the time of this fiasco, PTI was a SCS member company, and many customers voiced their dismay regarding the stamp set with the missing sentiment. PTI, rather quickly after this incident, stopped its membership with SCS. A coincidence? Perhaps.
I was shocked at the way PTI handled the incident.
After parting with SCS, PTI had a blog that they touted as "a happy place" where I can only guess any problems with their company are taboo subjects. This is definitely a company where I choose NOT to spend my money.
I've got to say, I was a member of their origional forum and then I had to reregister for a new forum. I went there and posted about inks not matching the cardstock, my friend had a few and they didn't even come close and PTI customer service said too bad, so sad. Anyway, I got slammed for mentioning it and how dare a new person come to this forum and complain. :rolleyes: Never went back to their "happy place" after that.
I'm not tryin to incite a thread riot but its about the whole "I deserve a refund" or "they should pay return shipping" complaints. To address the first, PTI inks have been hit&miss for a while with the new formula. Yet, people bought them month after month, colour after colour. Seems to me the customer made a choice to continually invest in a product that had proven itself to be 100% unpredictable and unreliable. Why should those consumers be rewarded now when they could have gone elsewhere for inks that worked & matched? Hindsight is 20/20.
Secondly, I have yet to see any online company that pays for return shipping. I know that SU doesn't and if I wanted to return the textured CS they are sending out now as substitutes, it would be on my dime. This is just a common business practice. If a huge, international company won't absorb the costs, how can we expect a smaller, domestic company like PTI to do so?
There's been a lot of chatter here and on the PTI boards for months about the quality of their inks which is why I only have one. And the one I bought and love is one of the three they aren't discontinuing.
Okay, I'm done with the soapbox. LOL
You are both right and wrong there.
If you have a defective item from SU! and wish to return it, shipping is free. You contact your demonstrator, she gets an RMA number, and there is a postage-free return label. So if you got a defective ink pad and for some reason, SU! wanted it returned (usually they don't, they just send you another), you would NOT have to pay postage to return it. I had a customer who got a smashed pencil sharpener. A phone call from me, and a new one is on its way, free of charge. She did not have to return it. Occasionally, SU! will ask for something to be returned so they can examine it, particularly if its a quality issue. And then, the shipping is free.
If you simply want to exchange an item because you don't like it, then, yes, you do have to pay for return postage. But there is no requirement that you use the most expensive way to return. You can send it parcel post. It should, of course, arrive there in good enough condition for them to be able to resell it, so you need to package it to arrive that way. When they send you the exchange merchandise, though, they do not charge you for the shipping to send it to you.
The textured cardstock issue is not the usual situation for SU! After the huge spike in demand for retiring colors (4 times the projected demand), they could have chosen to reopen the production line for those products, but then the new color roll-out would have been plagued with even MORE backorder issues. The factory has only so much capacity. To open up a production line for one color would have meant shutting down another. It was a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." Impossible to make everyone happy, so they did their best to come to a compromise that would still deliver cardstock to those that ordered it. You can still stamp on textured cardstock if you flip it to the nontextured side. Otherwise, yes, you can exchange it for something else.
I'm not tryin to incite a thread riot but its about the whole "I deserve a refund" or "they should pay return shipping" complaints. To address the first, PTI inks have been hit&miss for a while with the new formula. Yet, people bought them month after month, colour after colour. Seems to me the customer made a choice to continually invest in a product that had proven itself to be 100% unpredictable and unreliable. Why should those consumers be rewarded now when they could have gone elsewhere for inks that worked & matched? Hindsight is 20/20.
Secondly, I have yet to see any online company that pays for return shipping. I know that SU doesn't and if I wanted to return the textured CS they are sending out now as substitutes, it would be on my dime. This is just a common business practice. If a huge, international company won't absorb the costs, how can we expect a smaller, domestic company like PTI to do so?
There's been a lot of chatter here and on the PTI boards for months about the quality of their inks which is why I only have one. And the one I bought and love is one of the three they aren't discontinuing.
Okay, I'm done with the soapbox. LOL
I totally agree with you, if people knew there was a problem and/or didn't like the ink why keep buying.
I love PTI products and have only have had to deal with customer service once and they responded within the timeframe they said they would and quickly fixed the issue I had with a gift certificate. I will say their turn around time on responding is a little long, but at least they state the expectation and it seems as though they need to add an additional Customer Service person.
The out of stock issues do fustrate me sometimes and I hope they put something in place soon to manage and predict inventory levels and reduce out of stocks.
The one thing that I do really like about them is that they listen to their customers and I think that is the biggest reason why people keep coming back and that is why I choose to overlook the inventory problems, that being said if they don't get some of the issues fixed like the website problems and out of stocks they are going to start losing a lot more customers.
I'm not tryin to incite a thread riot but its about the whole "I deserve a refund" or "they should pay return shipping" complaints. To address the first, PTI inks have been hit&miss for a while with the new formula. Yet, people bought them month after month, colour after colour. Seems to me the customer made a choice to continually invest in a product that had proven itself to be 100% unpredictable and unreliable. Why should those consumers be rewarded now when they could have gone elsewhere for inks that worked & matched? Hindsight is 20/20.
Secondly, I have yet to see any online company that pays for return shipping. I know that SU doesn't and if I wanted to return the textured CS they are sending out now as substitutes, it would be on my dime. This is just a common business practice. If a huge, international company won't absorb the costs, how can we expect a smaller, domestic company like PTI to do so?
There's been a lot of chatter here and on the PTI boards for months about the quality of their inks which is why I only have one. And the one I bought and love is one of the three they aren't discontinuing.
Okay, I'm done with the soapbox. LOL
If I had been trying ot exchange an ink I didn't think worked but I ordered that would be one thing, but that isn't what happened to me. I ordered ink pad X, they sent me ink pad Y when I emailed about it they asked me to pay the shipping to mail them back inkpad Y then they would mail me the original inkpad I ordered..... No company I know of would do that.
Also, I used to be a demo for another company that sold non-crafting items. Their return policy was the same SU! mentioend above, if defective or broken then you didn't have to pay return shipping as long as it was within 60 days of ordering. After 60 days then you can call and they would make arrangements depending on the CS issue for that instance.
Thank you for the polite correction. . But I still take issue with having to pay to return textured cardstock when you ordered plain. The cheapest method of return when you live in Canada is more than the pack of cardstock.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JanTInk
You are both right and wrong there.
If you have a defective item from SU! and wish to return it, shipping is free. You contact your demonstrator, she gets an RMA number, and there is a postage-free return label. So if you got a defective ink pad and for some reason, SU! wanted it returned (usually they don't, they just send you another), you would NOT have to pay postage to return it. I had a customer who got a smashed pencil sharpener. A phone call from me, and a new one is on its way, free of charge. She did not have to return it. Occasionally, SU! will ask for something to be returned so they can examine it, particularly if its a quality issue. And then, the shipping is free.
If you simply want to exchange an item because you don't like it, then, yes, you do have to pay for return postage. But there is no requirement that you use the most expensive way to return. You can send it parcel post. It should, of course, arrive there in good enough condition for them to be able to resell it, so you need to package it to arrive that way. When they send you the exchange merchandise, though, they do not charge you for the shipping to send it to you.
The textured cardstock issue is not the usual situation for SU! After the huge spike in demand for retiring colors (4 times the projected demand), they could have chosen to reopen the production line for those products, but then the new color roll-out would have been plagued with even MORE backorder issues. The factory has only so much capacity. To open up a production line for one color would have meant shutting down another. It was a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." Impossible to make everyone happy, so they did their best to come to a compromise that would still deliver cardstock to those that ordered it. You can still stamp on textured cardstock if you flip it to the nontextured side. Otherwise, yes, you can exchange it for something else.
Thank you for the polite correction. . But I still take issue with having to pay to return textured cardstock when you ordered plain. The cheapest method of return when you live in Canada is more than the pack of cardstock.
I always dread having to ship anything to Canada...between the hoops you have to jump through for customs and the exorbitant postage costs...bleh! I feel for you.
I've got to say, I was a member of their origional forum and then I had to reregister for a new forum. I went there and posted about inks not matching the cardstock, my friend had a few and they didn't even come close and PTI customer service said too bad, so sad. Anyway, I got slammed for mentioning it and how dare a new person come to this forum and complain. :rolleyes: Never went back to their "happy place" after that.
*Gasp!!* You stepped into their own backyard and dared to complain?!?!
LOL!!! Been there, done that.
It's absurd, I tell you. I really think they need to make this lousy attitude priority number one.
I gave up on the inks ~ there are loads of choices out there and plenty of "matches."
