Anyone else noticed seconds in scrapbooking merchandise?

I had a 6x6 paper pad from AC that had roughly the last 1/3 of the sheets turned upside down. Except as it was meant for a tear strip, it was perforated, had a hole in the center and was a contrasting pattern. I contacted AC directly and they had me send a picture to them and then they sent a new one out. They were very interested as they said they hadn't run into any other similar complaints. Very happy how they handled it.

Generally, though, I haven't seen much of what I would consider seconds out there, even at places like TJMaxx or Tues Morning.

Unfortunately, I'm betting that American Crafts doesn't think they are seconds.  AC just doesn't care and they have demonstrated that because it keeps happening. Spelling error? Who cares. Wrong size cards? Who cares. Crappy quality stickers? Who cares. AC just can't get it right when it comes to quality and attention to detail. The "made in China" label equates to "made with poor quality".

People might complain about October Afternoon's slow releases but I'll take that over American Crafts poor quality control.

Full disclosure: I do buy AC products but it is always with the knowledge that I probably won't get good quality. I NEVER pay full price for AC stuff. I will pay full price for OA.

I really haven't noticed a lot of seconds. I don't buy that much AC, although they have bought up many of the companies I like. I have noticed more and more made in China. If you are concerned about acid free products how much of the made in China products do you think are acid free? I doubt any are. 

I've heard manufacturer's reps say "scrapbookers will buy anything if the packaging is cute and the it girls are using it".

It's pretty much true.

Look at Studio Calico's level of service and quality.

It's nothing new. A long time ago I bought a bunch of Chip Chatter alphabets to use for some class kits I was putting together and about 15% of the packs had no lower case f's and extra lower case t's. The only thing I could think of for a reason was that they were packed in China and to the people packing them, they looked the same! Unfortunately when you're trying to spell the word "friends" having an extra t in place of an f just isn't going to cut it! 

Some of the paper pads I have bought at discount stores don't have the same paper that is shown on the front. That happened on one I bought from TJ Maxx. Most of what I have gotten from Tuesday Morning has been pretty good quality.

I got some basic grey magnets at Tuesday Morning that lacked adhesive on them......all 3 packs. I also picked up a 6 by 6 crate paper pad that didn't have the same color saturation as the matching pad I had at home.It was a bit faded. For the most part, most products from TM have been up to par.

One thing that drives me nuts is that the Design A 12x12 Project Life sheets (Becky Higgins Brand) do not have uniform sizes for the cards. The 3x4 cards along the middle are NOT all 3x4. I often have to trim a card. I thought I was crazy until I found others (on youtube and social media) had the same issue.