What is stopping you from signing up as a demo?
 

Hi,

I'm sort of new to SCS. I've been a demo almost 4 years. If you're not a demo (which is why I'm posting here), I'm curious as to why you might be so into stamping and scrapping and why you aren't signing up? If you buy anywhere close to $300 per quarter, or have friends that can help you buy that amount, why aren't you signing up?

I have 21 downline and one customer who spends about $200 per month. I just cannot figure out why she won't sign up. I would lose commission BUT she would gain discounts. As I'm a person who worries about others before myself, I cannot figure out why she won't sign up as she'd save a bundle. Yes, she can afford it all no matter what the cost.

So, if you're someone's regular customer, what is preventing you from joining SU?

Honestly, just curious and your responses might help me overcome my 250 customers lack of interest.

Signing up
 

First, I am compulsive- too much stuff- I would have to control myself which would be really hard

Second- my demo is busy with three kids like me- she has great camps and workshops, but not alot of people come.... It is alot of work for her... I always tell her God gave her to me so I could see how crazy my life would be if I added one more thing! I see she has cut numbers of CS pieces for cards- then the turnout is low.....

Third- I have tried doing swaps here on SCS- some are better than others AND, I am so busy, it puts me over the edge- I end up staying up half of the night! That is another thing I would have to do if I signed up.

Four- I would sign up as a Hobby demo, but I love to teach, so next thing I know, I would be doing workshops, etc..... It would be way too much with my schedule.

Five- I can afford the demo kit, but then you get a discount for the first 30 days, I would spend too much (I am sure too much). I would need a Carl Cutter... the list goes on

Six- I spend too much time each day on the computer- now we add SU demo side of the website, plus SCS..... AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! When I signed up, I was member # 2423 Wow! I am a visual learner- SCS plus the Technique Junkies is all I need!!!

More meetings to have to go to, esp at night

One more thing- I can't take people making a mess of my demo's stamp pads- I would have to buy a whole new set of those too......and they would still be a mess......

Maybe when my kids are in college???

And finally, my demo needs customers too!!!

Hugs,

Shelly

I spend ALOT on Stampin Up Supplies, and I am a former demonstrator, however, I find myself not signing up so "My Demonstrator" won't lose the Commision I get her! If I were to do it even as a hobbiest she would lose quite a bit from me.....Sometimes I think the pressure too, of having to get that $300.00(240.00) a quarter, is a bit stressful, even though when I add up what I spend, I usually spend just that much!!! Hope this gives you some insight.....

Simple --
* I would rather be stamping.
* I don't buy that much.

If I signed up my friends would feel obligated to buy from me an not our demo. She has a pretty good customer base, but since I would only be a hobby demo I feel I would be robbing her of customers just so I could have a discount. I also love her to pieces and enjoy just going and learning from her with my friends.

I think Shelly in the above post nailed most of my long term reasons as well! I'm a GREAT customer!

Pretty much what Shelly said. But at the top of the list would be that my friends either are avid stampers and regular customers of my demo already (and are pretty loyal), don't have extra money for a hobby like this, or have absolutely no interested in or time for stamping, scrapbooking, etc. I essentially have 2 sets of friends/acquaintences: stampers and new moms of children under 3. These moms fall into the other 2 categories.

HOWEVER, Star Stamper, I notice you're in Sacramento. I'm in Roseville. Do you know if there are any local get-togethers or stamp clubs? I'm part of a stamp club with my demo, but I'm always interested in more. Besides, stamp club is over for the summer. :-(

Christie

I am a very good customer; however, I am a very bad salesperson!

I get my demo's discount so why would I sign up? And....anytime there is a cool incentive to sign up...I already have what they are offering. Nuff said! :mrgreen:

At the moment I do not have the kind of money to support $300 every 3 months and know no people locally who I could talk into this habbit. I like to spread my money around and not be exclusively with just one comp. There's just too many places I'd like to spend money if I had them.

If SU ever came out with a Jr program type thing with lower minimum and % discount I might consider it.

One thing that has put me off is this...right now I DO spend about $300+ a quarter, but I'm free to buy whatever I want with that $, from whatever company I want to buy it from. Once I sign up with SU, I HAVE to spend that $300 on SU supplies (as a hobby demo who might not be doing workshops, etc) to keep my quota up. To buy items that are other brands, whether it is paper, embellishments or ink...I'd have to spend even more money than I am now, buy purchasing above the $300 going to SU. Eventually I'll have all the stamps I want from a particular catalog, paper, ink, etc. Thank goodness for mini's to keep things going. Doing workshops would make these supplies come and go, but purchasing for myself things would pile up more and more than they already are. Just my .02 cents.

Hi... this is an interesting thread... I just wanted to clairify this; You get minimum 20% "instant Income" (up to 40% as of 7/07) as a demo... as long as you are meeting the minimums ($300 a quarter). You get minimum 30% "Instant Income" your first Workshop order placed in the first 90 days. This is a one time only deal... but the 20-40% is forever. Make sense?:)

I AM signing up. My papers are going to my new upline this weekend. Woo Hoo!

I am going to sign up but am having trouble finding from my current demo what I need to do. She did advise that I should wait until the new catalog comes out--but other than that I have really not received any info as to what I need to do--If anyone out there can be of assistance--I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Well some people are just customers and customers are needed, so don't knock the customer people, we really can't all be demos.

K

For me, it's the quarterly minimum. I would be more interested in TAC since their minimum is $75 per quarter.

In Feb. I bought everything that I wanted out of the current catalog in one shot. By everything, I mean, all of the cs packs, ink pads, markers, wc pencils, chalks, etc. If I had known about being able to sign up to be a demo and then ordering everything, I would have done so for the discount and bennies. Being a frugal as I am and now that I have everything, I just don't see that I will be buying enough each quarter to maintain my demo status. It would be more economical for me to buy any of the supplies that I run out of, or an occasional stamp from a demo.

I was gung ho.. ready to sign.. then I started thinking when the retired ist came out.. Every year they retire 1/3 of thier sets.. That really bothered me for some reason.. I mean - they basically are saying - these are not worthy- they need to go- so why did I buy them in the first place.. I think once a eyar is a bit much.... As a customer I can tell myself I like them and I will use them.. as a demo I may like them but know I need to be current and get the newer ones.. so that means taking the time to sell off the ones I have (but only at the perfect time so as not to cause a lawsuit) or keep my collection growing. I also have been looking at my spending and SU has stamps and paper and ink but a meak attempt at accessories... and aside from the ribbon I think many of the accessories can be purchased elsewhere for less.. I am just now looking at the bigger picture.. I love to stamp - I love to scrap- but $300 exclusive to SU may be a bit overwhelming.. SO that holds me on the fence.. Plus with the discount - once you add back in shipping and tax its really not really a discount considering I could have the freedom to go elsewhere with 40% coupons.. Just some thoughts that are keeping me back.. Ohh and the cost for catalogs too.. YIKES! Its alot of $$$

I have often wonder what everyone does with all those images they purchase. I use them for charity work, it's my hobby, it does someone else good while I play. I have no interest in being a demo and having to stick to one main company, sell all my images as many demos do when they retire. I do fall in love with images and could not part with so many in my collection.

I don't buy from every catalog that comes out and I rarely buy at full price. Resale days for one to four dollars a stamp makes me a very happy stamper!
Not to mention if we were all demos, who would be customers?

I don't get the 20-40% instant income. Could you explain that please??? Thanks.

TAC is $100 per quarter...:-D HTH with your decision!!

Basically it's simple, I'd like to be a demo, but I know NO ONE in my area, plus the idea of the tax situation makes me nervous. I don't spend quite that much on SU stuff, but I do spend that much on ALL craft supplies each month/quarter. I like some things that SU doesn't sell and I refuse to give them up!

Also like Shanon, I already get the discount from my demos. That's the main push, isn't it?

MY HUSBAND DOESN"T WANT ME TO SIGN UP! (Yes, Julie I was yelling!)

...Don't want the responsibility that is associated with being a demo. I don't buy $300 per quarter for myself, and don't want to feel as though I *have* to have shows, camps, etc. to reach it because I may not feel like doing any that quarter!

I am a consultant for another (non-craft) company and went from being active to just being wholesale because I hated doing the shows. Well, that's not entirely true... I didn't mind doing the shows, it just always seemed that when the day of a show rolled around there were about ten other things I'd rather be doing that day so I got resentful of the business. I don't need the extra cash to afford my stamps, so I figure I'll just buy here and there (demo, B/S/T, Ebay) and be done with it!

Well, technically it's $100 per trimester, which ends up being $25/month. Therefore, it's $75/quarter. Just thought I'd throw that out.

No matter what company you work for there's always new stuff you want. I could easily spend $200/month with TAC, but then I'd have to live in a cardboard box.

I probably spend $300 on my supplies each quarter, but I don't spend it exclusively with SU! I love SU! stuff, don't get me wrong, but there are so many other great products out there, too!
Also, I like supporting my demo, going to her workshops, and helping her make a commission! I'm just happy being a customer, for now! Maybe someday....

Honestly, the ONLY thing that is stopping me signing up is the fact that SU STILL hasn't come to the UK!!!!! :(

Two reasons:

1. My dh is military, and we move every two-three years. Can you imagine trying to make that work!

2. I just don't want to connect selling something to my hobby, which is purely escape for me. Adding tax paperwork, responsibility for $300 every quarter, etc. NO Thanks!

Like somebody said, we can't all be demos. Ya gotta have customers, too!

HTH!

I, too, will be signing up as soon as the catalog comes out. :-) I am going to teach card classes to support my habit. I don't intend to sell SU at the classes, so I can use whatever I want. But I'll use my class money to help meet my minimums. Have a friend who does this and has been trying to talk me into it for 6 months. She finally won me over!

What has kept me from signing up before is that the starter kit is not that great a value for me. I already have some of the stuff, and the rest isn't stuff I want (chalks, stampin scrub, black pad, snail). But, I'm going to give it a try. I know I'll spend $300 by Dec, so that gets me thru SAB before I might have to go inactive. I wasn't thrilled with the limitations placed on a demo--I understand them, but don't love them. And, I didn't want the pressure. I kept thinking I'd get tired of stamping LOL--because I usually have a pretty short attention span.

So, I'm going to give it a shot. If one of my demos had offered me their discount (I spend a lot), I would have just stayed a customer. But now, I've got things planned!

I don't want to be responsible for the quarterly minimum on my own and I don't have the time to build a customer base right now.

I also think that to hold stamp camps and workshops would end up costing me more than I could make.

To expand on that, since I am in the same situation . . . .I am a military wife and I was a hobby demo. I would occasionally get orders from coworkers who were also interested in stamping.

Right before I moved I had two horrible situations. . . one was a coworker that ordered a $150 order. She didn't realize it qualified for hostess benefits, but I pointed out it did and she got the benefits. She ordered pastels and I threw in an extra NIP Versamark I had in my stash to expand her use of the pastels. I busted my tail to get her order in before I left for a month away from work, so I put the order in and finalized it at work before I got paid for it, no problem, I knew where she worked. To make a long story short she fell into some hard times and health problems and I never got paid. I could've demanded payment, but I think she was just putting me off until I left (moved to another state with DH)

Then another coworker who was expecting a baby and was an avid SBer ordered about 100 dollars in product. Again I put in the order, we looked at the schedule and she was going to be working the following Monday with me and she was going to bring her checkbook. It was the end of the quarter and I was happy to have an order to meet those minimums so I placed the order. That weekend she lost the baby and quit work (changed jobs, we work labor and delivery nursing so after a nurse suffers a perinatal loss it is so hard for them to come back and work in that area) So what was I supposed to do? Chase her down and demand payment for the baby items she ordered? Some might say yes, but I just sucked up the loss.
Situations like that are reasons I stopped being a demo. I may sign up again sometime, but I won't ever sell to people again.

you really need to have it in your heart to want to be a demo. I don't have the drive or want to be a demo at this time in my life. I have 2 children. My daughter will be starting kindergarten in the fall and I want to spend my time and energy with her at the school. Maybe in a couple of years when they both are in school full time. I don't know, maybe I might change my mind in the fall. I've got camping on the brain right now and making cards for my family. :) . I'm also busy potty training my son which is a major feat on it's own!

I will no longer be a demo, I am in pending status. Why do I no longer want to be a demo?

Because I think it is sad that SU will put new products in a magazine before introducing the products to their own demonstrators. This totally baffles me. Why should I as a demo have to go track down a magazine to see what new products I can offer my customers.

My sponsor dropped off the fact of the earth the day I signed up.

The discount is no big deal, especially after shipping

I don't have to be tied to just SU. I can spend my $$ wherever I choose.

I'm tired of all the flower sets!!

I will not sign up again, but I will be a customer for someone.

And when I have negative comments about SU the SU cheerleaders track me down and stalk me!

Gotta go hide now... they are on the way... :)

Just my 2 cents worth.

Most of my reasons have already been listed. I was a demo and it did add a little more to my plate, I stopped enjoying it, I wasn't having as much fun with it, I didn't want to be SU exclusive there are other products out there that I like too. Also there was something that happened while I was a demo and it shook me a bit, I know some people will say "well that happens keep going yada yada yada" but it still hurts to this day, plus I don't want to be the person everyone runs from because I am (was) a demo and they think that is all I will do is push it, I didn't want to push it either. I still hate making those calls I just hate it. Now that I droped it I am having more fun with it again and mostly focusing on getting my scrapping caught up while playing with all the cool things I did purchase while I was active and learning how to incorporate my stamps in the designs.

Probably the main reason for me is lack of time & energy. Perhaps I would have jumped at the opportunity 20-25 years ago (if Stampin' Up had been around and I'd been a stamper back then) but not anymore. If I start spending extra hours on the business aspect of it, I fear I'll not only lose the little time I have to stamp but also my passion. I like things the way they are, and I'll remain a very happy Stampin Up customer. And thanks for starting this thread - very interesting reading the responses!! Linda

There are three things holding me back. One our neighborhood has had a high turnover rate and all the people I knew have moved. The second being I HATE to drive!!

I have several Demos trying to get me to sign on .My Hubby is on me as well. I just don't know where I would get my client base from as my fellow stamping friends and I use the same demos.

I have this feeling I'll end up signing as hobby demo, but how soon is anyone's guess.

I really want to sign up, but I'm in a monthly club and have an obligation to that until Oct. Plus, my stamping friends are in the same club, so don't want to "steal" customers from my demo. I'll prbably still sign up after the new catty comes out, get the starter kit, use the 30% discount, then go inactive :

Right now the only thing that is holding me back is waiting for one of two things:

1) A sign up special
2) The new catalog

Whichever one comes first.... :) I am hoping it is the sign up special, actually, so that I can get more FREE stuff! :)

I agree 100% with this. I have every SU punch - just not the SU private labeled ones which cost on avg. about 40% more than I can get them elsewhere. So yes, I do probably spend close to the quarterly quota, I don't buy exclusively from SU and would never want to.

In general it seems to me SU charges a huge premium just because it has the SU branding. I'm a bargain-hunter by nature, so the only things I buy are the truly exclusive SU items, the stamps themselves and the pads. I've done the math and by the time I buy the required demo kit, most of which would be redundant, I would have to spend an ADDITIONAL $2000 just to make up the initial $200 I spent to become a Demo. (basically I have to spend $2000 before I actually realize any savings from the 20% discount). So naturally I'm going to feel obligated to buy EVERYTHING from SU to hit that number (as well as my quota) even though the discounted items would still cost a good 20% more than I would pay for most of the accessories and the like at Michael's or online (some items it's even more than that).

Also I can't help but feel there's some aspects of this pyramid scheme that are a tad bit, um, off. I don't want the SU cheerleaders coming after me either - so please don't take this the wrong way - but it's a very clever and very apt business model to retire that many stamp sets each year. I'm betting that most of SU's profits come from their own Demo's and not customers. I say this because off the bat they're getting the $200 starter kit sale, plus whatever they buy using the 30% off (I'm certain the markup on the stamps and other items is astronomical so they're still making a nice profit even on the discounted items), plus a required $300 in sales each quarter. Multiply that by every Demo and you see what I mean - it's a ton of money! Retiring the sets each year pretty much insures that they'll have a captive audience (the Demos) who will continue to buy buy buy to keep their collection up-to-date and demo'able. It's very smart marketing to be sure, but it goes against my grain somehow. I just don't like being manipulated like that.

-Pam

I signed up to be a demo in August 2005 after being a customer for 8 years. I moved states and wasn't thrilled with the demos I tried out. Plus I just wanted to order. I finally bit the bullet with the agreement of a few friends that would help keep me active. That hasn't worked as planned since financial situations change. I may drop back out because having to force myself to spend $300 a quarter is hard. Plus I know find myself having monthly workshops and not having fun anymore. I want to go back to fun!

For me its....
 

...the poor reflection of Canadian exchange rate.

With 91 Canadian cents to 1 US dollar you'd think that the Canadian quarterly quota would be closer to $330 rather than $450 Canadian (this is $406 US Dollars today). I am easily spending $300 US dollars but probably not $400 US Dollars per quarter. I don't see why Canadian demos should have to sell 30% more product to stay active (I also note there is no junior status).

The prices in the catalog also reflect this same exchange rate (being 50% higher than their US counterpart). It is much cheaper for me to buy all my stamps/supplies on ebay and to pay shipping to bring them up to Canada. I only purchase things I can't find from my demo.

I understand that the catalog is only produced once a year, and that policies cannot be changed frequently, but it has been some years since Canada had a 60 cent dollar and has NEVER had a 50 cent dollar.