If you've been to a recent scrapbook expo...

At the CKC the echo park booth was very discounted. I think collection packs were 4 and the diecut packs and PL Cards were one dollar a pack. They had quantity deals on the collection packs also. I got lots of greats things.

I went to one yesterday. I haven't been to an expo in 11 years, so I wanted to see if there was anything new in the world of scrapbooking. When I went 11 years ago, there was so much new stuff like this funny machine called a Cricut. I saw nothing amazing yesterday.

Anyway, in my opinion, prices at most booths were retail. Nothing special. Some had specials where you could get a discount if you bought x of something, but really it still wasn't that great of a deal (in my opinion).

What caught my eye was a company that sold products to make shaker cards. It was intriguing, but I passed because I have rarely bought ready-made shaker cards, so why would I drop $50 in supplies to make them?? If I'm so inclined to make a shaker card, I can use and exacto and my Cricut. Queen & Co was the company, if you want to look that up.

The only two places I spent money was at Paper Wizard and Echo Park. Paper Wizard had beautiful layered lazer dies at about $8 each (on average). They had a special where you bought 3, got one free. I bought 4. Two Harry Potter and two Disneyland castles because they were really nice. I think his stuff in online at scrapbook.com and Amazon.

At Echo Park, their paper packs were 4 for 20, or 10 for $40, making them $4 each. I really only loved 8, and had to find an extra two. The owner of Echo told me the majority of the paper packs were several years old. Doesn't bother me, but may bother some. (It was all new to me.) He admitted many were second run leftovers that they produce for Tuesday Morning. (I wonder how much they are there?)

So, was it worth it? Not to me. I don't regret it; it was nice to get out without kids. But it wasn't a deal by any stretch. People often talk about what great deals they get places, but often fail to factor in the cost to even attend. It was about $6 in gas, $5 in tolls, $10 to park, and $10 to enter. So $31 just for the privilege to shop. When I factor all costs, I spent $103 on 10 packs of paper and 4 dies cuts.

If you add that $31 to the $43.70 for the Echo packs, that's $74.70, or $7.47 each--exactly what you are finding them for. I saw several of the same packs at Hobby Lobby half off $10, making them $5 each. So if Echo is what you're after, you can get them lots of places cheaper or at the same as the Expo.

Hope that helps.

There are very few brick and mortar LSS in my state anymore so Expos are a way for me to see products in person and to have a large selection in one place. It is not really about deals for me, though there are booths that have good prices on certain items.

I go to Expo to shop and crop. I don't care what the product is I will buy it. Echo Park practically gives away their stuff but they don't come east anymore.

The Paper Wizard also has an online store - paperwiz.net.  Love his products.  I get to go see him next month at CKC St. Louis.