Thursday, January 27, 2011

Another "don't fall for it" warning...

Good morning all. Things have been crazy here-and I know Sat. I will get back to some scrapping and stamping with things to post, so stay tuned. In the meantime, the Stamp Queen was perusing the Archiver's e-mail and drooling and wishing we had one closer than 4 hrs+ away! Sigh. Saw several things I would like, several classes I would like to take---if only. There was one thing I saw, however, that made my hair stand on end. They are advertising the new Vagabond cutting machine. It looks like a tattered suitcase (ugly to me--but oh well!) and from what I read, is similar to the Cricut or other such machines. It also has a name attached to to it-Tim Holtz. Yeah, anybody who does anything with stamping and scrapping recognizes that name even if they don't know quite what he does. Well, Theresa and I know-he makes junk! Literally. And Tim is right up there with Martha Stewart and her punches but that's another post!) Ok-so some of his new die cuts are cute and, I have to confess, we have bought some. But I would NEVER EVER spend the kind of money I am sure they are asking for for the Vagabond with his name on it. Why? Well, some years back his name was on some adorable little canvas storage bags! Polka dots, pretty plaid-I bought two. Theresa bought some. In a very short period of time, the zipper pulls broke, the zippers themselves broke---and I was quite disappointed. They weren't cheap (in fact one bag was at least double of the Close to my Heart Accessory bags-p. 123 Spring/Summer catalog; $ 12.95 with removable dividers--granted, they are plain black--but I just tie a pretty ribbon to the handle and it dresses it up just fine! They hold A LOT and are quite durable-I've used (and abused!) mine for two + years now and they are still going strong! Check it out (Item # z4200) at http://okistampqueen@myctmh,com.) When I contacted Tim his reply was "The company that made those have gone out of business-sorry." That was it. End of story! He could have cared less! If you're good, got something good-the Stamp Queen will shout it from the rooftops. But---if you are bad, poor product, poor service---I am just as quick to share that as well! Word of mouth advertising says a lot! So---I flat out refuse to endorse his products. They are junk. Unlike Fiskars--and, in case you didn't know this-now you will! ANYTHING that Fiskers makes, if it breaks, you simply contact the company, send an e-mail photo of the product (or you can snail mail the damaged product to them)---and they will replace it--free of charge, no questions asked, in a timely manner. Now THAT'S the way to do business! So-save your money-get a Big Shot from Theresa or check the stores for deals on REPUTABLE products such as the Cricut---but stay away from JUNK (aka Tim Holtz' products!) That's my advice for today!
Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping! Blessings, Sharon

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