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What I am not encouraging is bashing of SU. Merely a letter to express your confusion and displeasure over the huge price discrepancy. This is really going to hurt our CDN demos. We need to express our feelings to SU and remember that our demos did not increase the price. I am NOT a demo.
This is going to effect people starting new hostess groups, people signing up to be demos...and just general sales. This is sad. One lady in a previous thread stated that she total an order that in the US would cost 224 and in Canada it would be 373. That is huge!
Please remember that a polite, concise, well written letter goes further than an angry tirade. Make sure you tell them how much you enjoy their product. If a merchant knows how much you love their product, but cannot afford it or they have displeased you, they will work harder to fix it than when they are being ranted at.
If you love your SU products. Take this opportunity and speak up!
My hope is that people will email SU and then post here. See if we can let them know how we feel. Respectfully.
I sent an email. I started it by saying how excited I was to get the new catalogue, and see the great new things, specifying a couple things. Then I remarked that the prices seem so high given the status of our dollar, and that it will hurt my purchasing-I will not be buying the normal amount this upcoming catalogue. I also said that it will be hard for the demos to justify it to their customers-it is their business after all, while not believing it themselves.
I always seek to be positive and think the message was given in that way.
Wow, you are right that is a huge price difference. But I think the United States prices went up too much also. I feel for you all. It will limit how much I buy and is the reason I am signing with TAC.
I've just recently started looking at TAC stamps (from a US demo) and they are GREAT. They are the right price and the rubber is wonderful ... you get a clean, clear image when you stamp and they clean up so nicely, even using basic black ink. I will probably be buying more TAC stamps this year, as opposed to SU, unfortunately, due to the higher prices.
I sent an email - although I'm sure it won't do any good! Last year they just replied with some blah blah blah about the cost of doing business in Canada, etc.
Yeah, I got a response. "Thank you for your email. We will respond to yourinquiry as soon as possible. If your request is of an urgent nature or time sensitive, please call Demonstrator Support at 1-800-STAMP UP. Have a great day!"
I received the same message as well. That is just an automated thing that most business do to let you know it was received. Hopefully with all of us sending in letters they will respond
WOW! That is a huge difference! I am assuming that price difference is still in US$ and not Canadian$, cause although it seems like a huge difference it could just be the difference in the exchange rate. Or is it really that they are charging that much more for the same items??? If so that is just plain WRONG! Please inlighten me as I am not sure what the exchange rate is or what the catalog pricing is up there...
__________________ Rebecca
Stay at home mom to 3, and jack of all trades...
WOW! That is a huge difference! I am assuming that price difference is still in US$ and not Canadian$, cause although it seems like a huge difference it could just be the difference in the exchange rate. Or is it really that they are charging that much more for the same items??? If so that is just plain WRONG! Please inlighten me as I am not sure what the exchange rate is or what the catalog pricing is up there...
I went online to both catty's and made a mock order of the identical items:
Mock Order from US catty and CDN catty:
Simply Sent Friendship Shapes � 42.95 US Catty/ 58.95 CDN Catty
It�s Snow Time � 31.95 US Catty/43.95 CDN Catty
Loads of Love 20.95 US Catty/ 28.95 CDN Catty
Monkey Business 23. 95 US Catty 32.95 CDN Catty
All in the Family 36.95 US Catty/ 50.95 CDN Catty
Rich Regal Classic Stampin Pad 5.25 US Catty/7.25 CDN Catty
Rich Regal Card Stock 8 � by 11 5.50 US Catty/ 7.50 CDN Catty
US Catty Total 167. 50 in US Dollars with todays rate of exchange that would equal out to 176.94 (CDN)
Canadian Catty Total 230.50 in Canadian Dollars with todays exchange rate that amount would equal out to 218.22 (USD)
I have not added shipping or tax. This is just total catty amounts.
As a Demo from the U.S., I am clueless as to how the exchange works, but the pricing is insane!! Why would it be such a difference?
Are the business taxes for non-Canadian businesses that high to discourage outside competition?
Can you also ask the Canadian tax jurisdiction why the differences would be so much? I cant believe SU! would be jacking the prices up just for the heck of it.
What about Australia? What are the price comparisons there?
Or New Zealand.
Or (where else?)
Loads of Love works out to 34.21 USD if you by it in Australia, and 36.71 USD if you buy it in New Zealand. Wow..you would really have to love to stamp!
i'm ordering from a US demo. i've had enough of the paper crafting industry, the book industry, clothing, EVERYTHING being too darn expensive up here. like, come on, change the prices and give us a fair deal. it's almost like they're punishing us for being canadian. (i feel like that a LOT of times.. lol) a book will be $10 US and $25 canadian... yes, there is SOME duty, but not a lot. there's no duty on paper crafting products generally, so all that's different is the tax, and we pay that anyway. canadian businesses wonder why we all shop online, or in my case, drive 10 minutes to the border to do my shopping elsewhere.
__________________
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I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
I'm sorry to see that the Canadian prices seem so out of whack. I hope your efforts at getting either the prices changed or an acceptable explanation bear fruit.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I just sent one too; I just asked for a break down of the pricing so that I could understand why the Canadian prices were so much higher even though our dollar is almost par right now. Can't wait to hear what their explanation is, I am really curious to know if there is an actually reason, or just cause they can. I need to make friends with someone in the states that I can order from and I'm sure the shipping would still be cheaper.
I've just recently started looking at TAC stamps (from a US demo) and they are GREAT. They are the right price and the rubber is wonderful ... you get a clean, clear image when you stamp and they clean up so nicely, even using basic black ink. I will probably be buying more TAC stamps this year, as opposed to SU, unfortunately, due to the higher prices.
First, I want to say I LOVE SU, but.... I can get twice as much product from TAC than SU. I made out my wish lists from both companies and TAC cost approximately half as much as SU. Don't get me wrong, I am going to still purchase from SU, but TAC has a lot of cute stuff and will significantly cut into on my SU purchases.
This is an excellent thread! The stamp club that I'm in all feels the same way!! It almost feels discriminate that the prices are so much higher!! What I can't figure out is why they lowered the prices last year, only to bump them up again this year! I was surprised to see that they had gone down...as that rarely happens in anything, but completely dismayed to see them right back up again this year!!
Thanks again for posting this thread! I'm off to write my letter now!! Perhaps with a strong 'show of hands' they will 'hear' us!!!
I sent my letter off too. I was taken back when I saw the prices in the new catlogue. As much as I love magazines and certain books etc. I've been boycotting them since our exhange rate has improved. I'm having to think twice before ordering anything now.
As a Demo from the U.S., I am clueless as to how the exchange works, but the pricing is insane!! Why would it be such a difference?
Are the business taxes for non-Canadian businesses that high to discourage outside competition?
Can you also ask the Canadian tax jurisdiction why the differences would be so much? I cant believe SU! would be jacking the prices up just for the heck of it. What about Australia? What are the price comparisons there?
Or New Zealand.
Or (where else?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ciebelle
Loads of Love works out to 34.21 USD if you by it in Australia, and 36.71 USD if you buy it in New Zealand. Wow..you would really have to love to stamp!
We are used to high prices in Australia - compared to a few years back prices are considered good now our Australian $ has improved. I buy from both Aust & US demos as some stuff I want isn't avail in Aust for 9 months - I have found that buy the time you convert the US $ and then add on postage - it works out roughly the same - so I am not complaining about the price - just the fact we can't get it all here. If I want anything out of the new catty which I do I will have to wait 9 months for it to be avail in Australia at present or order from the US - of course I do the latter.
Keep those emails going in. Maybe we won't get the prices lowered, but we might get an explanation, and maybe we can help ward off a price increase in the future. If we just keep paying those high prices without saying anything they will feel free to keep increasing the prices.
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I think the prices for Canadian customers is pretty ridiculous, but I also think the shipping costs are crazy too. 10% is a little extreme and they dont offer any kind of incentive or discount if you spend x$. I know with Creative Memories after your order totalled a certain amount then you got free shipping. Thats great...why doesnt SU do something similar? They should also offer more free stamp sets with your higher hostess orders. The max they give you I think is 3 (from the different levels) and then you get the $ hostess benefits too. But if you have a HUGE order like I recently did, you should get more free stamp sets. Kinda weird.
__________________ Lisa mother of Alexis (3) expecting Olivia 7-29
i placed an order through my sister who lives in the states. my stamps, if i had ordered here, came to $130, but the total, in canadian dollars from the US catty was $98. it was a no-brainer for me. (these prices are without shipping and taxes) even if i was a still a demo it would still be cheaper to pay full price from the states. now, is that fair?
__________________
{Gallery}{Blog}
I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
We are used to high prices in Australia - compared to a few years back prices are considered good now our Australian $ has improved. I buy from both Aust & US demos as some stuff I want isn't avail in Aust for 9 months - I have found that buy the time you convert the US $ and then add on postage - it works out roughly the same - so I am not complaining about the price - just the fact we can't get it all here. If I want anything out of the new catty which I do I will have to wait 9 months for it to be avail in Australia at present or order from the US - of course I do the latter.
Canadians have been used to higher prices than the US too. We've never liked it but it's been a fact of life. However, now the Canadian dollar is the strongest it's been in the last 30 years and almost at par, (dollar for dollar) it�s time the prices reflect the same value and in general prices aren't going down and the new Stampin' Up catalogue is a prime example. Because of the strong dollar, the Stampin' Up prices should be very close in line to the US prices, and they're definitely not. Even if the prices had been left the same as the last catalogue, the profit margin was still more than the exchange rate. The increase in prices is totally off base with a huge profit margin being made from Canadians and it�s time it stopped.
As mentioned in a previous post, I too would be very interested in the explanation from Stampin' Up, but I doubt we'll see one.
I've had this discussion with the local craft stores I visit and the owners are well aware of the ongoing price gouging. Magazines are a prime example. Sadly the store owners are not the ones making the profit as our demos aren�t either. It's the home company. Some store owners agree and are asking their distributors and sources about it. Sadly others just shrug their shoulders with a "what are you gonna do?" attitude. That's when I jump into action with my response, *I* am trying to do something by bringing it to their attention asking them to pass on my questioning and observations from their end of the business. I�m also refusing to buy magazines, books and many products until the prices are more inline. I personally have a good supply of stamping and craft products and don't "need" more stamps as much as I'd love them, so will be resourceful and use what supplies I have on hand. I sometimes feel alone �out here� but the more Canadians who voice a complaint to the various companies and let the suppliers know we�re onto them, then hopefully eventually the prices have to be adjusted.
A huge thanks to Ciebelle for being the brave one to speak out first. I had been doing a lot of soul searching and thinking about the whole thing when I came upon her post and there were my thoughts reflected. Thanks to all who have sent a message too. It's just as they say in the "greening" of our countries, if we all do a little bit to help, the little bits together add up to a lot. I suspect the marketing people will be surprised to see their mailbox on Monday morning.
We all love Stampin� Up products for our own reasons. We can make our voices heard by going directly to the company. Have you sent your message yet? If not, please take a moment and contact them.
Bowing to MaggieMay Very well said! If we expect change we need to speak up...but to the right people. In this case it is the SU people. It does not need to turn into something ugly against SU. It is just letting a company we spend many of our hard earned dollars to..know that we are not happy about this.
I think the prices for Canadian customers is pretty ridiculous, but I also think the shipping costs are crazy too. 10% is a little extreme and they dont offer any kind of incentive or discount if you spend x$. I know with Creative Memories after your order totalled a certain amount then you got free shipping. Thats great...why doesnt SU do something similar? They should also offer more free stamp sets with your higher hostess orders. The max they give you I think is 3 (from the different levels) and then you get the $ hostess benefits too. But if you have a HUGE order like I recently did, you should get more free stamp sets. Kinda weird.
I agree that the prices are not compatiable with the American $ and the conversion rate...I wonder if there are other things involved that create a higher cost of a stamp set - for example business taxes might be higher in Canada then the US...so in order for them to even do a worthwhile business in CA they would have to incorporate those costs somehow...
Just a few things to point out
10% for S&H is pretty good compared to most mail order companies...there are a lot of companies I balk at buying things from because if you want to purchase say $30 worth of stuff the S&H is $7.95 (over 20%) I just ordered some items from Lands End and I paid $8.95 shipping on my $40 order - yes there are a few companies that offer free shipping over a certain amount...but those are few and far between...
As for CM they actually changed thier shipping rates and now shipping is higher - it basically depends on how your CM consultant deems to charge YOU...some charge based on your specific order (so you could be paying 20%+ in shipping costs) others charge based on a percentage of an order (i.e. they put in 4 orders together and split the shipping charge 4 ways) Where I live there is a CM distribution center - my demo picks up her orders directly so she doesn't incur a S&H charge and doesn't impose it on her customers...however other consulatns in my area pick up thier orders as well but CHARGE thier customers a S&H fee and pocket it...
If you do have a big Stampin Up order you might want to see if splitting it up might help...you might loose out on a few Hostess Freebie $$ but you might wind up with more hostess sets...for example - if you had a $300+ order you could ask for the order to be split into 2 ~$150 orders - that would net you 2 Level 1 hostess sets and $30 in free merchandise instead of one hostess set and $35 in Free stuff
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
Canadians have been used to higher prices than the US too. We've never liked it but it's been a fact of life. However, now the Canadian dollar is the strongest it's been in the last 30 years and almost at par, (dollar for dollar) it�s time the prices reflect the same value and in general prices aren't going down and the new Stampin' Up catalogue is a prime example. Because of the strong dollar, the Stampin' Up prices should be very close in line to the US prices, and they're definitely not. Even if the prices had been left the same as the last catalogue, the profit margin was still more than the exchange rate. The increase in prices is totally off base with a huge profit margin being made from Canadians and it�s time it stopped.
As mentioned in a previous post, I too would be very interested in the explanation from Stampin' Up, but I doubt we'll see one.
I've had this discussion with the local craft stores I visit and the owners are well aware of the ongoing price gouging. Magazines are a prime example. Sadly the store owners are not the ones making the profit as our demos aren�t either. It's the home company. Some store owners agree and are asking their distributors and sources about it. Sadly others just shrug their shoulders with a "what are you gonna do?" attitude. That's when I jump into action with my response, *I* am trying to do something by bringing it to their attention asking them to pass on my questioning and observations from their end of the business. I�m also refusing to buy magazines, books and many products until the prices are more inline. I personally have a good supply of stamping and craft products and don't "need" more stamps as much as I'd love them, so will be resourceful and use what supplies I have on hand. I sometimes feel alone �out here� but the more Canadians who voice a complaint to the various companies and let the suppliers know we�re onto them, then hopefully eventually the prices have to be adjusted.
A huge thanks to Ciebelle for being the brave one to speak out first. I had been doing a lot of soul searching and thinking about the whole thing when I came upon her post and there were my thoughts reflected. Thanks to all who have sent a message too. It's just as they say in the "greening" of our countries, if we all do a little bit to help, the little bits together add up to a lot. I suspect the marketing people will be surprised to see their mailbox on Monday morning.
We all love Stampin� Up products for our own reasons. We can make our voices heard by going directly to the company. Have you sent your message yet? If not, please take a moment and contact them.
*stepping down from my nicely stamped soapbox*
Seems a fair question then. I know in the past our prices have been high for other stamping products but as our $$$ keeps improving the prices are changed to reflect this. We haven't had SU here long enough to comment on their prices I do believe though prices went up for us in April too when the new catty was released down under
Ok I am going to duck now because I am sure someone is going to throw something at me...LOL...but here's my two cents worth...
Personally yes, I do not like the price increase however, having said that, the way I see it is...how many people would actually take the time to look at the US prices to see if they would save? I mean my sister is a demo and I just can't see her stamp club members taking the time to look at the US prices and say..hmm..not going to order this because it costs more in Canada.
Does that mean we should just sit back and accept the higher prices? Well no and I will also write a letter to Stampin Up however, do we just sit back and accept the blatantly obvious "timed" increases in say, gasoline? How many times has the price of gasoline mysteriously jumped from say 98 cents per litre up to 105.9 per litre just before a long weekend? Do we Canadians accept that and just keep filling our cars or do we protest and take other forms of transportaion? I'd say most keep filling our cars and going about our day grumbling all the while about it..LOL
I looked over the catalogue and I didn't do any in depth research but I did see a lot of smaller sets in the under $30.00 category which I think is reasonable. Frosty only went up by a couple of bucks, and I think it was Flaky Friends only by $1.00. I dunno...didn't seem that bad to me.
As a former business person from the retail perspective I can tell you too, that SU probably has a lot of hidden expenses for doing business in Canada and would need to re-coup those costs somehow. I had an uncle (not Canadian) with a commercial rental property here in Canada and I was shell shocked at what our government took from him in taxes alone!! I wondered how the government thought they would entice foreign investors when they charged them so much to do business in this country. I am sure that we will find that SU will have a similar story to tell.
Sorry for the rant but it's just my opinion. Off to formulate my letter too.
I have just emailed SU re the price discrepancy CDN/US...
