Retiring Stamp and Accessory List

So how do you feel about both lists?  Are you overwhelmed?  Are you nervous or anxious or even frustrated?  I read this comment from Bev on one of the forums and I couldn't agree with her more!

Let me know what you think?

~~Rachel

I know we are all in shock at the large list of retiring items. It is a bit overwhelming but let's try to stay positive.

1. We still have 5 weeks before these items retire…at least the stamps…the accessories are only while supplies last. So get on the phone and call your customers and tell them about the lists. Tell them how quickly the accessories will disappear so if they want them they need to get them quickly. You still have time to plan a couple of events, a class, a workshop, a retirement party etc. Use only retiring products in these events.

2. Look at your purchases for the last year (or however long you have been in if you are new.) Have you used the products? How many of each one have you sold? If you have sold 5 of an item then you have broken even (20% commission on each item x 5). If you have sold more then everything over 5 is pure profit…either way that item is basically free. If you haven't sold 5 of them or you have a lot of product you haven't used then maybe you need to re-think your purchasing habits.

3. Don't impulse buy. Plan out your events for an entire month….before you purchase anything. If you still have a stamp set that your customers haven't seen then use that set first before you buy another one. Buy 1 pack of DSP and maybe a multi pack of card stock….maybe the new In Colors.

4. I know we lost a bunch of ribbon and we will most likely be getting a bunch of new as well. Instead of buying a bunch, see about sharing with another demonstrator or demonstrators. It's a great way to get more without spending a ton. A couple of yard of several would be great. Then when you find one that you love and know you will use a lot, you can buy a whole roll. Do the same thing with new buttons or brads. You could possible do the same thing with DSP. 2 people could share a pack and each would get 1 sheet of each design. Or even more and just cut it into 6 x 12 or 6 x 6 depending on how many want to share.

5. Try not to spend your own money. Hold your own events and only use your hostess money for new stuff. If you have a workshop/party then only spend your instant income on product. With those two things you aren't spending any actual money on the product.

6. Look at what products you still have available from the current catalog that is NOT retiring. Use those products for your next workshops or classes instead of spending a bunch of money. Hopefully no one lost every stamp set. And don't think that you can never use a retired set in a workshop or class. For instance….I didn't buy the baby set with the hand prints & foot prints from the mini catalog but I still have a similar baby set that is retired. If I was going to do a baby card I would use my retired set and say something like "I am using "xxxx" set that is no longer available but you could purchase the set from the mini that is very similar". Same thing with punches. I did not go out and buy all new punches when they redesigned them a few years ago. I used the one I had and told them about the new design and that I was still using the retired style because it worked just fine and it didn't make sense to replace them just because they changed the style.