Just a Thought......

We have been very busy meeting with our reps these past few days! This means lots of NEW goodies are on the way!

One of our reps broght this article in that they had received, and rang so true to us here at Scrapbooks Etc. that I thought I would share it. I hope you enjoy. I really did!

Too Bad Everyone Deosn't Have to Own a Buisness at Some Point.

By Kim Guymon (Scrap Bizness)

A local plant nursery near me just announced they were closing. It's too bad because the were the place you could get really cool plants for your yard- not just the standard stuff you can get at any big box store. They will be missed.

But, the article in the paper had a comment from the owner that made me have flashbacks to the scrapbook industry. The owner said that they were losing money because consumers were buying ther plants at the big box stores and then coming to this nursery for advice on planting and caring for them. The consumers knew the big box store employees didn't know what kind of fertilizer worked best for a Japanese Maple, but they knew that this independent nursery did. They dragged all thier plant issues and dying plants into the ursery for advice but left without spending a dime.
Shame on consumers. I really wish that peple would put themselves in the shoes of business owners. If you don't want to shop there and pay a little more for the local retailers fine products and experience, that's your choice. But, SHAME on you for buying "cheap" and then using the expertise of the independent for FREE. I have yet to run across a business who can exist by giving out free advice.
I can't tell you how many times this was an issue in the scrapbook industry-and probably still is. Consumers would come into thier LSS and demo every tool they could get thier hands on and then run to the big box store with a 40% off coupon and buy the one they wanted. Those same people then act shocked when thier LSS's started closing all over the country.

I have often said that a retail business is not a charity. They can't afford to give you free crop space, free advice, free demonstrations, etc. so you can go spend your money at a store that doesen't really offer any of that.

I know everyone is looking to save a buck these days, however, it's unfair to use a small retailer for information you know you can't get where you purchased your products. Coming in to ask advice for a $200.00 cutter you bought somewhere else and then feeling "justified" because you walked out with $7.00 in paper just isn't nice.
Put yourself in the shoes of that owner who has invested about everything they can give into thier Local Scrapbook Shop before you spend half an hour playing with thier tools with a 40% coupon in your purse.