A Post on Products...

...I am SO NOT A FAN OF MR. HOLTZ! Read on...for the rest of the story...

• I've been meaning to do this for sometime now and, after reading yet another post/blog RAVING about a certain well-known male in the stamping industry, its time to have my say...!
  
  I have bought and used a lot of products from a lot of different companies during my 15+ years stamping and scrapping. Some great, some so-so and some I wished in retrospect, I had saved my hard-earned money on. So, here's some insight from my personal experience that might save you from making the same mistakes. One thing for sure, being a red-headed German, when I don't like something, I make it known to the powers that be.
• When my Fiskers border punch broke-I called Fiskers. No problem, Mrs. Russell. Send us an e-mail photo of what broke and we will send another right out. And they did. Fiskers will replace ANY of their products in a polite, timely manner.
• I've learned to like Cat's Eye ink pads for color dusting edges. The problem is...they fall apart and there is no known adhesive to reattach them. Trust me, Theresa and I have tried them all. Called Colorbox. No problem, Mrs. Russell. Just tell us what you need and we will replace it.
• I had drooled over Basic Grey's magnetic cutting mat and finally bit the bullet and paid the price. It was great-the magnetic ruler helped hold the paper secure for cutting as did the little magnets. Imagine my dismay, however, when I removed my paper and found the mat cut to shreds! Literally. That, and the magnets were chipping when they'd hit each other (don't want a metal chip in MY eye, thank you very much). E-mailed Basic Grey. No reply. About 3 weeks later a new mat showed up. At least I had a new and improved replacement (note: I still use this mat carefully!)
• Cutterbee's papercutter's "arm" developed a crack after not too much use. They weren't happy, but they did replace it.
• E-600 Adhesive that I love have changed their packaging---and the tubes split and crack-leaving me with 3 tubes that were useless at $ 3+ per tube. No reply or response from them whatsoever. So now-where I normally would suggest and use this product-I've turned to hot glue. It dries faster anyway and I will not endorse or recommend a product I am not pleased with...which brings me to...
• The one that takes the cake, however, my all-time tick me off response, came from that well-known male-TIM HOLTZ. His Junk Bag was the hot thing to have---they were cute, had 5-6 zippered compartments and rolled up and velcroed shut. Adorable. You can store a lot of stuff in them. I bought two. Their name, however, says is all-JUNK. The zipper pulls break off completely, the zippers stop zipping...and Tim's response? OH, the company that made those are no longer in business. H-E-L-L-O!!! YOUR NAME is on the product. YOU, MR. HOT-SHOT HOLTZ, need to stand behind your product. So they went out of business. Well, then, how about "Gee, Mrs. Russell, I am sorry that happened--let me send you this and that to compensate." But NOOOOO---no apology, no replacement, no nothing, nada, ZIPPO (no pun intended!) So-while others rush out to buy RANGER products and anything else that has TIM HOLTZ' name plastered on it--not me. I will stick by companies that stand behind their product-and will save my hard-earned money for those that appreciate it and their customers.

Thanks for letting me "vent". I hope it was helpful for you, too! Lol! Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon

UPDATE: Since I first posted this post, I had contacted Scotch as three of my tape runner refills quit working half-way through. They were VERY nice, responded promptly to my e-mail, provided not only the three replacements but sent a package of self-adhesive hooks as well! Maybe Mr. Holtz could learn a bit from them...naw, he's a man afterall! (Sorry-there are a FEW good ones out there tho!)