Rubber stamps means it's made of, errrm, rubber, doesn't it?

[Metalcharm]

I've been trying to find a nice tree stamp and so I went searching around eBay for just the right one. I was searching for "Stamp Rubber Tree" and came across one that was perfect but when I read the description it said ..

" You are bidding on a new stamp, that is actually made from Polymer, even though it looks like rubber. Polymer can give a cleaner and finer print than rubber"

*sigh* I was cheesed off enough to send an email saying I was annoyed that I thought I had found the perfect thing then only to find it wasn't what the title said.

THis was their response.

"Hello
Thanks for your email. The description of Rubber Stamps is a generic name that all people use when referring to printing stamps, even though some are made from rubber, probably the bulk in the industry are now made from Polymer, and some from even newer materials which may take over eventually from all of them.
No matter what material people want - it is always called Rubber Stamps, otherwise when searching people will end up bringing up postage stamp pages instead.
A bit like Koalas, people keep refering to them as Koala Bears, even though they are not bears.Common usage always wins out in the end and we have to go with the tide.
Regards
"

Do you think that's right? Or is it a pile of crap? :p I'm going for the latter :mrgreen:

[Toni in Kansas]

Don't get mad, but I call all my stamps rubber stamps. Even the clear acrylic ones! It's just easier to describe. I've never really thought about it. And personally I think the polymer ones stamp just as well.

Toni

[fionna51]

To an extent, yes. The craft of "rubber stamping" will stay that way...I don't think we will become "rubber stampers" and "polymer stampers". "Rubber Stamps" is a generic term as well as a specific term. But if a person is selling a clear polymer stamp, they usually list it as such, but a good number of folks out there would not know what they would be talking about without saying "clear polymer rubber stamp" which is technically incorrect. So, I would not consider their statement incorrect at all.

[momis mama]

i too would be a little honked off!

rubber is rubber and polymer is polymer!

and i much prefer RUBBER!

i think acrylic is actually what the blocks are made of when using polymer stamps.

[FubsyRuth]

Just to cause more confusion, I don't think all polymer stamps are created equal either! I have clear photo polymer stamps and they are great quality and I love them.

But a few years ago I bought some stamps from eBay in the UK where the eBayer had made them at home using polymer resin (I think that's the term for it). These were a lot different to rubber or photo polymer stamps and I couldn't get good impressions with them so I gave them away. They weren't clear but they weren't a solid colour like rubber either - they were a beige-y colour and they seemed to have quite a hard consistency to them.

Is the polymer resin what people make stamps at home with using the ImagePac machine or similar systems?

I do think rubber stamps is used as a generic term though. However, I understand your frustration 'cos no way would I want any more polymer resin stamps! I would want to know exactly what I was getting!

[Hambo]

I think one way to differentiate between the ones we use for crafts and postage stamps is to call our kind "art stamps." Then you can say rubber art stamps, polymer art stamps, acrylic art stamps, etc.

[pjw2855]

I think the woman's response was trying to make her idea sound like everyone's idea. I think she was also trying to "snow" you.

If you do a search for rubber stamps you may come up with all kinds of crafting stamps, but each description will be more specific. (at least from my experience)

I would be leary of what that woman is selling as she sounds to be very deceiving.

I'm not really an eBay person/buyer since I'm not trusting enough of the people to properly describe what they are selling. Once you get it, you own it with great difficulty to return it.

These are just my opinions and I realize are not shared by all.

Patti

[fura]

Well, first of all...it's eBay. If it's in the description, then I don't think it's that bad. It could be worse, some sellers' descriptions are very general and so, I always ask specific questions and ask for photos. The Koala "Bear" part is too funny, desperate to make a point.