SU Sell-a-bration 2021
 

I've noticed the last few years SU sell-a-bration offerings have become less impressive and disappointing. They want you to spend at least $50 to get a free item with purchase but I'm not seeing anything worth adding to my collection.
Is it just me?

Umm. No. Same feeling here.

There was some discussion about SAB in the thread about the occasions catty. Sounds like lots of people are disappointed. I didn’t see anything in either that screamed must have.

Question:
What kinds of things would you all like to see offered?
SU welcomes feedback and if they get it from customers as well as demos they'll be forced to look at things more closely.
I can tell you that there will be a second SAB later this year and that the options for this one were chosen because they were trying to focus more on items manufactured in the US so as to avoid the manufacturing/shipping complications of the Chinese New Year and Covid issues on top of that.
So please email SU and let them know what you'd like to see.

As a demo, I'd like to see more consumables, I don't mind stocking up on paper and embellishments and such, but I only need one of any given stamp set.

I miss the days of when you could get an embossing folder or a small punch as your freebie - but obviously those must be made in China so not eligible for this SAB

The SAB offerings don’t incite me to purchase $50 or more. The stamp sets are like things I have already and the dark floral paper??? I’m not sure where I would use?? It looks dreary. I respect some thought the donkeys were cute, but I can’t think of one person I would send a card to with a donkey on the front. Strange. If it’s too challenging to come up with different stamps or offer cheery and energetic DSP my suggestion is to offer a pack of basic white, creme or tan paper, tape, basic embellishments for me to continue crafting. I bought the Hydrangea paper—-that would have been a lovely SAB offering (cheery and energetic!). How about offering a small card kit?

The SAB offerings are already all over eBay which should give them an indicator of the response.

When I started stamping (1990) I hopped on the SU demonstrator band wagon, but it was short lived. I'm glad I got off the wagon sooner than later. I couldn't be a loyal demonstrator and I wasn't going in to deep debt to stay in the SU community.
I believe the best way for our disappointment to register with SU is to not buy their products.

I don't really buy much SU anymore, so hadn't even checked out the SAB offerings this year, but after seeing this I had to take a look. I actually like the dark floral paper collection. Wouldn't use it for scrapbooking, but that's because I use solid cardstock whenever I do scrapbook. However, I think it would make really beautiful, dramatic card designs. That's just my taste though...but I see they also have a light colored floral offering as well.
As for the donkey set..haha! Yes, I agree that it's not one I would use often, but at least it stood out as different from the rest. Even the birthday sentiment set has sentiments that I've already seen, or own.
Speaking of the donkey set probably not getting a lot of use, I happened to be flipping through a CTMH catalogue from last year that I friend gave to me. I noticed a bowling stamp set and thought, "cute...for maybe ONE card, but how many times would I use this?" I don't know a single person who bowls, but everyone is familiar with bowling, right? My stash is filled with things that were cute at the time, but not practical. I try not to buy something that has only a one-time use factor. When I first started buying stamp sets, I went for a lot of unique and (sometimes) quirky images that I ended up never using. I own a ton of alcohol related images and saying, and none of my friends are drinkers!
I imagine it's hard to design products for a general crafting public with different interests and tastes. Maybe they're aiming to appeal to new stampers with their SAB offerings? My intro to SU was during a Sale-a-bration event and I ended up buying ink pad sets, stamps and supplies...all so I could earn the freebies. My friends did the same.
I like Joanne's idea of offering a packet of basic supplies for those stampers who already have stamps or papers that are similar to those offered during SAB. Everyone can use card stock or adhesive.
Well, for someone who doesn't buy SU anymore, and hadn't even looked at the SAB freebies this year, I had a lot to say, ha!
I wonder if the lack of interest in this years free products goes along with a general lack of mojo that has been discussed on some other threads. Many of us are at the point with our stash where we have everything we could use in a lifetime. No one needs another Thank You stamp set when we already own 15 of them.
Karen

I would be more inclined to consider things in the occasions and SAB offerings if SU! had considered the current financial climate and lowered the $50 requirement.

It would seem that some people have been making the choice not to buy.
However, letting companies know what you'd like to see is probably just as, if not more effective than not purchasing from them. There are multiple reasons a person would choose not to order from any given company including not having enough money due to a variety of circumstances. So simply not buying from them doesn't really say anything.

I'm used to the $50 requirement, so that didn't bother me but I did notice that half the items I looked at had a $100 requirement and that's too much for me!
Karen

Good point about letting a company know why you are choosing not to order from them. I have a friend who has been a SU demonstrator for over 20 years and she's seen changing buying habits in her customers over the years. When the economy is lagging, she finds a continued interest in her card classes, as people use what they have. However, her product sales decline. I recently asked her how she's doing in this COVID period, since she can't do in person classes etc, and she said she's selling more product. Her sales aren't as large, but people seem to be buying more often. Maybe it's out of boredom or depression?!
SU is a company that seems to welcome feedback, so that's another good reason to let them know if you aren't liking the offerings. Lots to think about.
Karen

With SU having a presence in countries other than the U.S., as a company, they would have to consider requests/desires from customers/demonstrators in those other markets as well. When I saw the donkey set, I immediately thought of the very popular “Wonky Donkey” children’s literature series written by a New Zealand author. Wonky Donkey now has a daughter, Dinky Donkey, and the newest book has the cutest Grandma Donkey! If you haven’t read the books, you can find videos of them on YouTube. The books are darling, and kids of all ages (including adults) love the donkey characters. I don’t have any idea whether or not this is where the idea came from for SU, as I have no association with the company other than having been a long time customer, but it seems plausible to me. I would use the donkey set if I had it to make cards for my grandchildren, but like many of you, I haven’t yet decided to spend the $50 on other SU product when there are so many other choices on the market.

I LOVE all the SAB offerings! In fact, I got all but 2 things from the brochure. Having many choices overwhelms and paralyzes me, so in the interest of happier crafting for me, I've stuck to SU! for almost 20 years (branching out a bit into Club Scrap for awhile and a few Tim Holtz items). I can easily spend quite a bit on paper, ink, adhesives, envelopes, and embellishments alone. In fact, that is 80% of my orders usually. I go through consumables quickly since I make so many cards for a variety of reasons.
My favorite has to be the berry paper and stamp set, although A Touch Of Ink is nearing the tops. I like that I can stamp the detail and then stamp inside it and not have to color. I do enjoy coloring, but the soft look that two-step stamping gives is gorgeous!

The berry paper is fabulous! Sadly it is paired with a stamp set and I think pairing a consumable with a non-consumable was a mistake. I would repeatedly select the paper and an embellishment, but as much as I love the paper I'm not going to select that bundle a second time. I wish the SAB brochure had more consumables.