scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,451 
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 20, 2017 20:09:12 GMT
I called them again today, exactly one week since I first called to get an idea as to when I can expect my stamp platform.
One week ago, they were "starting to ship the January orders." One week later, they say they are still doing the January orders, and they "may" need to order more to have enough to fill all their pre-orders. Last week I was told that they had ordered enough to cover all the orders that had already come in. Today I was told that they have enough to fill pre-orders through May. The guy told me the June orders "might" go out by the end of next week, IF I'm lucky, and IF they get more stock in by then.
NOT. Happy. At. All.
I assume they are a small business and do not have enough personnel to keep up with something in such demand. It's that thought that keeps me from cancelling my order. That, and knowing they charged my card promptly for an item they wouldn't be shipping nearly as promptly.
Edited to add: I think what bothers me as much as the delay in getting the stamp platform, is that what I am being told by their personnel is not consistent.
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Jul 20, 2017 20:49:03 GMT
I ordered in February or March. Nothing yet! A month ago I ordered the new distress inks . my account still says awaiting fulfillment. Not terribly happy
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Post by cbet on Jul 20, 2017 21:20:45 GMT
Ugh, I am so sorry - I know I was bragging up Marcos as a great place to order from, and I've never had problems with them. Based on the blog post from Greg (who was very possibly who you were speaking with on the phone), it sounds like their first shipment was received late last week and was a fairly small shipment; and that they are expecting to receive at least 800 this week. They have over 1,000 preorders. I got the impression, though, that they had more ordered from suppliers that they were waiting on, not so much that they hadn't ordered enough to cover preorders. Here's a link to the post: marcopaper.blogspot.com/2017/07/tim-holtz-stamp-platform-update.htmlI've also been waiting on an order of the Distress Oxide reinkers for over a week now; that one has me somewhat cheesed off because it didn't say it was a preorder when I placed the order. It's not that I need them right away; I already have the ink pads; I just would have liked to have known that they weren't shipping right away. |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 20, 2017 22:59:46 GMT
I assume a big part of the delays in shipping from Marco are simply too few employees to handle the demand. If they are not getting all the platforms that they ordered, that also says to me that they must be a smaller company. Bigger companies get preferential treatment from suppliers than the smaller companies do.
I do realize that none of this is necessarily the fault of Marco's, but I think they bit off more than they could chew to some extent. I don't blame them. It would be stupid to not try to grab their chunk of the demand. The sad thing is that this has made me reluctant to order from them again.
I like being able to support a smaller company, but I feel like they are leaving their customers in the dark. I had to call to ask for info. Yes, I got the one email about the new stamp platform, but it was kind of vague. Based on my phone call last week, it sounds like they went off to convention and left one poor gal to try and fill a thousand orders by herself. Not that she had all the goods to do it, but why didn't they hire some temporary help to deal with the sudden rush of orders that needed to be shipped? They also apparently took more pre-orders at convention. Now there appear to be a couple more people working on getting orders ready to ship, but they are still only working on January. Not exactly encouraging for those of us who ordered later. In my case, it was late June.
I thought about it, and decided to place an order for the stamp platform with Scrapbook.com. They said they could ship within 24 hours or so. It will take up to 6 days to arrive, plus I had to pay for shipping. But I should still receive it before Marco's even gets my shipping label ready.
I am NOT canceling my order with Marco's, though. I will be having friends come to join me for paper crafting, hopefully on a regular basis. I think the stamp platform will be in enough demand on those days that I will want a second one to share with my buddies, anyway. Two of the Tonic/Tim Holtz stamp platforms are still cheaper than just one 12x12 MISTI would have been.
Edited to add: I just got an email from Scrapbook.com that the stamp platform which I ordered this afternoon is shipping today!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,451
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 23, 2017 2:25:37 GMT
The Tonic stamp platform I ordered from Scrapbook.com arrived today, and I love it!
I could probably cancel my order with Marco's, since I doubt they have gotten anywhere near to the late June orders yet. However, after having played with the platform this afternoon, I still want to keep my order with them. I have no doubt that when my friends come over to stamp and scrap, the Tonic Platform will be a constantly borrowed tool. It will be a good thing to have two, so I can share one and hog the other.
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Post by mommaho on Jul 24, 2017 15:19:49 GMT
Marco's is an amazing store and a family owned small business. They are at quite a few shows across the US and work on getting their items shipped out as quick as possible when they arrive back at the store after the shows. Don't give up on them, with the 20% discount you get on pre-orders patience is a virtue!
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Post by SallyLynnMacDonald on Jul 24, 2017 21:05:42 GMT
I want to jump on the Marco's bandwagaon as well. They are a lovely, family-owned business. I have met the owners and demonstrate for them at a few shows a year.
Delays are on the manufacturer as far as I can tell; and now a bunch of them are arriving everywhere and the huge backlog of pre-orders must be difficult to manage.
Even though I have two sizes of the MISTI I ordered the TH platform as well to see how it works for larger pieces because of the borderless edges on two sides. I haven't received it yet - but I know it will be fulfilled as quickly as possible and I'm willing to wait. The pre-order pricing was great.
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scrapnnana
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 25, 2017 1:49:11 GMT
I will keep all that in mind.
I used to work for a Mom & Pop LSS. It's one reason that I left my order open with Marco's. I decided that I *needed* a second one rather than cancel my order with them.
I'm sure they are a great company based on the recommendations you three have given. Unfortunately, my first and only experience with them has been a bit disappointing. The reasons are probably many, and also probably not completely their fault. Unfortunately, for the number of orders they received, they did not seem well prepared to ship such a high demand item quickly, even after receiving their first shipment.
Based on my two phone conversations, they seem like nice people. I won't rule out the possibility of ordering from them in the future, but I doubt I will be trying again anytime soon.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,930
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Post by CeeScraps on Jul 25, 2017 13:08:35 GMT
I ordered in February. I got a notice last night that it shipped to me! I can't wait!!
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Post by marg on Jul 25, 2017 14:09:15 GMT
I will keep all that in mind. I used to work for a Mom & Pop LSS. It's one reason that I left my order open with Marco's. I decided that I *needed* a second one rather than cancel my order with them. I'm sure they are a great company based on the recommendations you three have given. Unfortunately, my first and only experience with them has been a bit disappointing. The reasons are probably many, and also probably not completely their fault. Unfortunately, for the number of orders they received, they did not seem well prepared to ship such a high demand item quickly, even after receiving their first shipment. Based on my two phone conversations, they seem like nice people. I won't rule out the possibility of ordering from them in the future, but I doubt I will be trying again anytime soon. I've never ordered from them before, but I did order the stamp platform last week from them because of their sale. I would imagine that it's really hard to be prepared with extra staff, etc. when you don't know when the platform will actually come in. With the lawsuit and all of the delays, how could they really be prepared? Plus, as a small business owner in the past, I can say that it can be hard to just find extra staff when you need it - for one thing, just the administrative side of setting up temporary staff to ship out the preorders would make it not worth it, I would imagine - first they'd have to hire these people, then let them go after a few days of work, unless they wanted to pay them under the table - but I respect a business that wouldn't do that. That's a lot of paperwork, even if you could find people who are willing to just work a day or two. I sympathize with them because the timing really sucks. They probably were ready to go in April when the platform was supposed to be shipped, and then they could go do all of their conventions, etc. afterwards, but because of this lawsuit everything hit them all at once. SaveSave |
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Post by jstblondie on Jul 26, 2017 22:25:19 GMT
I ordered my th platform and new ink oxide last week and it arrived today. I never bother with preordering products. I refuse to wait. The platform looks okay. I haven't tried it yet. I like the fact that you can use larger size paper
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 27, 2017 0:10:36 GMT
I ordered my th platform and new ink oxide last week and it arrived today. I never bother with preordering products. I refuse to wait. The platform looks okay. I haven't tried it yet. I like the fact that you can use larger size paper When you say you ordered the platform and ink oxide last week and got them right away, was it from Marco? They are supposed to be shipping in the order that pre-orders came in. If Marco is shipping new orders before the pre-order ones, I think a lot of people are going to be upset. I ordered the 2nd TH platform from scrapbook.com and got it within 48 hours from the time I ordered. I have never pre-ordered anything before, and this was my first order from Marco Paper. At this point, I do not think I will ever pre-order anything again. From anyone. |
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Post by jstblondie on Jul 27, 2017 2:50:02 GMT
No not Marco. It was from bee creative. They have great sales on very popular things. I got th platform and new oxide inks. No sales tax and free shipping. Sorry for the confusion.
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Jul 27, 2017 11:53:31 GMT
Ordered mine march 21. Arrived July 26
ETA... still waiting on new distress inks
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scrapnnana
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 27, 2017 13:37:52 GMT
Ordered mine march 21. Arrived July 26 From Marco? Or from another place? Please clarify by stating where you bought it if you bought recently rather than pre-ordered. The way you state this, it implies that you bought from Marco. I want to know if they are filling new orders before pre-orders. I don't think they are, but if they are, I would like to know. I'm sure the others waiting for their pre-orders would want to know, too. Thanks. |
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Jul 27, 2017 13:51:08 GMT
Ordered mine march 21. Arrived July 26 From Marco? Or from another place? Please clarify by stating where you bought it if you bought recently rather than pre-ordered. The way you state this, it implies that you bought from Marco. I want to know if they are filling new orders before pre-orders. I don't think they are, but if they are, I would like to know. I'm sure the others waiting for their pre-orders would want to know, too. Thanks. I didn't think it needed clarification since I was responding to the title.... yes, Marco And mine was a preorder as the date of order was march 21 |
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scrapnnana
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 27, 2017 20:22:39 GMT
I must be tired. Somehow I read that as July 21st, received July 26th. My mistake. That was clear, or at least should have been. Thanks.
It's good to know they are moving through the orders faster now.
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Post by cbet on Jul 28, 2017 14:03:15 GMT
I just got notice that mine has shipped - ordered on April 17. So they are getting further along in the calendar!
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scrapnnana
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 28, 2017 15:54:01 GMT
I just got notice that mine has shipped - ordered on April 17. So they are getting further along in the calendar! Hooray! Thanks for posting this! |
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Post by mommaho on Jul 28, 2017 18:50:02 GMT
Mine arrived on my doorstep today, ordered it April 17 also!
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Post by aj2hall on Jul 28, 2017 19:01:46 GMT
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Jul 30, 2017 20:25:13 GMT
Now, if only my distress oxides would arrive!!
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scrapnnana
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Posts: 6,451
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Post by scrapnnana on Jul 30, 2017 21:22:56 GMT
August starts in just a couple of days at this point, although the notice said that it would be after all the previous orders were filled. Since I pre-ordered late in June, it will be August before mine arrives. I know they are getting closer, but I have yet to get my shipping notice. It sounds as though they are at least making it clear to customers what to expect, though, which I do appreciate. |
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