How do you shop for sb supplies?

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?
Online. The not-so-LSS doesn't stock my favorite manufacturers & the chain craft stores have slow inventory turnover, so I usually just buy cardstock, adhesive, & the occasional tool (e.g. mist, mask, embossing folder, punch) locally.

Why do you shop where you do - best price, best selection, convenience, etc.?
Selection. Although I would prefer to see the colors/size & feel the weight/texture of the supplies before purchase, I do not have the selection (or even my favorite manufacturers available) locally compared with online.

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?
Selection at a competitive price.

Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?
About the same as last year & noticeably less than 5+ years ago due to availability. Like last year, I expect to place only a couple of online orders this year & buy basics, as needed, locally. If I recall correctly, 5+ years ago our area was fortunate to have both a (chain) Memories & More location & a mom-n-pop store that stocked the latest-n-greatest supplies (including my favorite KI Memories, Chatterbox, & an entire wall of Bazzill), so I easily shopped 2-3 times per month!  

here in Ottawa we have a warehouse type of store where I do most of my shopping. However my niece is at CTMH consultant so I but a lot off her and I also belong to at SU club so I buy there as well. I will purchase some things through Michaels only with my 40% coupon.

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?
A C Moore. Walmart. Michael's.

Why do you shop where you do - best price, best selection, convenience, etc.?
Best price. I can get cardstock cheap at walmart. I look for clearance deals at ACM & M's. I can also print a coupon for 40-50% off a regularly priced item most times.

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?
I like it when I'm treated politely, even thought I'm buying clearance merchandise. I like when product is displayed neatly. I like clearly marked price tags. I don't like when the shelves are bare, or overly messy. I don't like vague sale tags on the shelf. I don't like unknowledgeable sales staff.


Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?
I spend a lot less for the same reason many people probably do. My life situation has changed. I need to save money for the future. And the cost of living has seemed to increase.

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?

The LSS has always gotten the bulk of my business.  Now they are closing in a little over a week, and I have started paying more attention to the big box stores.  The LSS is the last one in this very large metropolitan area.  I prefer to shop local brick and mortar stores.  I need to see products in real life.

Why do you shop where you do - best price, best selection, convenience, etc.?

Better selection is more important to me than price.  I'd rather spend more money on something I love than get a great deal on scrapping supplies that I will never use.

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?

I appreciate it when I am greeted upon arrival and asked if I need help.  Ignoring me as a customer  or taking me for granted is a good way to lose my business, and I can be a big spender.

Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?

I am spending more this year, mainly because I am stocking up on papers and supplies before the LSS closes completely.  After it's gone, I will probably spend very little the remainder of the year and beyond.  I am used to the higher quality and preferred paper products carried by the LSS.  The big box stores do not carry as good quality scrapping products.

Where: my LSS, which happens to be the largest store in my country, approx 75% of my spending goes there. The rest is divided between Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com.
Why: my LSS because the selection is good (5500 sq feet of goodies) and also because I like the people working there. Online shopping because my LSS doesn't get everything I want (like echo park and my mind's eye).
What: in a LSS I want the staff to be knowledgeable, if they don't know the difference between Prima and Petaloo, I'm not interested. I want them to be able to tell me what kind of product they're expecting in, and when it will be there. In an online store: I expect it to be updated, and shipping to be reasonable. I also expect them to ship my order within 3-4 days.

I'm spending less than I used to, but I've been shopping like crazy and have to cut back simply because I realized it's impossible for me to use up my hoa... ehh.... "Collection" in this lifetime.

where: big box

why: It's all that is around here and I get to use a good coupon (40% off one item or maybe 20% off entire purchase including sale items) and they always have sales. I hardly ever have to pay regular price for anything

what makes a good shopping experience: the employees being friendly and if the shopping area is nice and tidy.

spending: spending less now because I have a huge stash and I recently cleaned out my stash and found that my taste and style are not the same as it was 2-5 years ago!

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?


Almost all my shopping is online. Mostly because I don't have a local LSS. There is one about an hour from me but doesn't carry october afternoon or AC products. Which is 80% of what I buy. 
My go to online stores are Simon says stamp, peachycheap, and Scrapbook steals.

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?


Good shopping experience for me is reasonable shipping time and price and packaged nicely as to not get damaged. Also getting what I have ordered correctly. 


Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?

I seem to be spending more this year about 300 so far and will probably be close to 500 by the end of they year. Last year I spend about 3-400 and the previous years about 200. However 6 or 7 years ago I would have spent more. Closer to the 1000 a year mark. I think I spend a little less now because I have a lot already and I know what I want/like and will use.

Nowadays I shop most often online because I really don't have any other choice.

The closest sb store is an hour away and it's not very good, definitely not worth a drive.  In fact, I've been in that town for other reasons and have chosen not to stop in, even though I miss shopping in a brick and mortar store sooo much. (I used to shop at Archiver's and one of the LSS in the area ALL the time when they were open.) 

Currently, all we are have 2 Michaels, HL, and 2 Joanns in a 30 minute radius.  One of the Joanns isn't bad, but it's not a sb store. One of the Joanns has almost nothing for scrapbooking. I prefer not to shop at HL for political reason and in any case, their products are largely paper that never seems to change and stickers. Michaels is fine if I need adhesive or basic cardstock or an album. 

So, I mostly find myself shopping online at Scrapbook.com, PaperWishes, and occasionally Scrap Your Trip.  

What makes a good shopping experience online is selection and ease of searching for products. I also like when I find site exclusive or unusual products. 

Bad shopping experience is due to poor site navigation, poor searching mechanism, and exorbinant shipping fees. There is nothing more annoying, for example, than doing a search for "Disneyland" when you know the site has DL specific material and having either zero results show up or having the DL results show up amidst tons of Disney World products. Or when you're searching for journaling cards and later discover that they have some categorized as journaling cards, some as journal cards, some as pocket pages, and some as cut apart pages. Argh. 

I usually only buy now when I have a coupon or there is a sale of some kind (which is why I have not yet shopped at Archivers Annex -- they never seem to have any sales or coupons). There is much less impulse buying or small purchases because shopping online gives you time to consider your purchase and sometimes decide, "Oh, I don't NEED it" and I'm certainly not going to pay $8 shipping fees on a $5 purchase. I spend WAY less on sbing than I used to, that's for sure. 

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?
Now it's about 99.9% online because the two LSS near me have closed their physical stores and are now online only. There's one big box store but it doesn't have a great range.  If I'm going to buy online I'd rather shop at US based stores (I'm in New Zealand) because the range and price is so much better than here. The places I shop at most would be Papertrey Ink, Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com.

Why do you shop where you do - best price, best selection, convenience, etc.?
Best selection and from Papertrey Ink, innovative products. Also even with the shipping a lot of things work out cheaper than buying locally. About the only thing I get locally is the odd consumable like adhesive or maybe something that I need urgently for a particular project when shipping would take too long. 

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?
Good range of products, responsive customer service and fast shipping (and some sort of shipping discount for internationals). What I appreciated about my local LSS stores was the knowledgeable staff and crops/classes they ran. 

Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?
Less. That's because I've done a lot of purchasing in the last few years and I'm a lot more selective about what I buy. I have recently got into digital though, so am building up a few kits and templates for that. 

Where do you shop most often - chain/big box stores, brick & mortar lss, or online scrapbook stores?

It's a fairly even split between a chain store, a brick & mortar lss and an online scrapbook store that is interstate.

Why do you shop where you do - best price, best selection, convenience, etc.?

chain store - convenience, price (they carry brands under the AC umbrella as one of the two main suppliers, they often run sales, and have been moving towards some of the trendier products over the last 12 months so I can now buy SC, and Crate through them. My LSS is about 30 mins away. It's no longer on my way home from work so I tend to only shop there if I need something, or when they have their twice yearly sales. I don't shop here as much because it's no longer as convenient as it used to be (although is now one of the only stores left on my side of the city), and because they sort their store by theme so I have trouble finding things. The online store I shop from maybe 2 or 3 times a year, usually when they have a sale. I like this store because they have a good selection of latest and greatest and they get most of the pieces of any range they order.

What makes a good shopping experience for you - or, conversely a bad one?

I don't need to be greeted on arrival but I do hate to be ignored when I'm ready to be checked out or if I have a question. That means no standing there talking about your weekend plans with the other staff when I have chosen to give you my money.

Do you spend more, less, or about the same on Scrapbooking as you did a year ago or five years ago? Why?

I spend about the same as I did last year but definitely way less than five years ago. My scrapbooking has really slowed down, most of the stores in my area have closed down, and I really know my style now so am much better at buying what fits rather than buying what is new and trendy just because it is new and trendy. I have also moved into doing some projects in digital where supplies are much cheaper.