What are your favorite stores to shop from?

[howdyheidi]

I shop from the smaller stamp companies, but I noticed that Joann.com seems to have Really good prices on ink, reinkers and stamps when they have th 40 and 50% off sales.  They have a pretty wide variety too and you can get decent shipping.

I always wonder where I should be looking for online sales. 

[Conniecrafter]

I try to do most of my shopping from brick and mortar stores as they say, I have a local scrapbook store that is adding new stamps all the time, and one that is about half hour to 45 minutes away that I try to get to once a month or two.  JoAnns, Hobby Lobby and Michaels do have good sales every now and then and even put some on clearance.  Have you tried Cut @ home, they sell stamps from many companies too.  And they discount some of their pricing so it is sometimes better than what you can get in the stores, which in the end will help you pay for shipping   If you sign up you can get a code to get spellbinders and sizzix dies at 40% and 30% off, I love that deal because I do love my dies.

[howdyheidi]

Good to see you here, ConnieCrafter.  Good point about B&M stores. I have Michaels and AC Moore nearby, but no stamping or scrapping stores that I know of. 

Thanks for the idea of Cut@Home, I have not heard of them before.

[lovepug2]

No stamping stores near me .  That might be a good thing though!

We have Michaels, JoAnns, Hobby Lobby. Occasionally I find stamps there but the selection doesn't change that much. I mostly buy other  supplies there like adhesive, pattern paper, tools etc.

Online stores I shop from are I brake for Stamps, Simon says stamp, a cherry on top and frantic stamper. I've had great experiences from all

ETA- I have ordered from Joann's online before. Great prices when they have sales but shipping takes forever.

[CarefreeSadie]

I hate to admit it but I buy alot of my stamping supplies (stamps included) on amazon.com.  I am a prime member so if it's on prime I get free shipping.  I also shop at A Cherry on Top and a couple times at Scrapbook.com.  I look on joann's online but most of the time what I want is the same price on amazon as on joann's.  I buy mixed media supplies and when I bought new colored pencils and things like that I went to Dick Blick's online and amazon. 

The closest Hobby Lobby or Joann's are 90 miles away.  If I want to go 150 miles I can walk into a Michaels, Joann's, and a real scrapbooking store.  It is a real treat to walk into an actual LSS that has full aisles and new product, but that doesn't happen very often.   

[Far North]

Locally we have Jo-Ann's and Michaels but as already mentioned they don't change out their stamps frequent enough. That is it unless I want to drive 350 miles one-way to the best stamp store in the state. Unfortunately about the same time 2Peas announced their closing the owner of the LSS announced her retirement     So I spend time purchasing online.  I generally like to order from the primary store front.  Impression Obsession, Red Lead and Penny Black are some stores that I frequent online.  For things in addition to stamps I often turn to Ellen Hutson or Frantic Stamper...both NW companies who provide broad range of product and good customer service.   Online JoAnn's has good sales but I have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for delivery...by then I am in a whole different place with stamping.

[howdyheidi]

It is really interesting to read WHY people shop places.  And yes, Joann's does take forever.  I think I started shopping there bc they started carrying all the kinds of reinkers i was looking for. 

I like the idea of shopping places with great customer service.  SSS is near-ish to me but their shipping has taken forever the couple times I have shopped there, and I don't usually feel comfortable with my budget to place a large enough order to get the free shipping.

However!  I know shipping is expensive and other stores may pad the prices to make up for the "free" shipping.

[Iring]

I hit the jackpot the other day at Ms, and I didn't even really want to go in there.  Our Ms store is messy and the majority of the staff is not familiar with the stock.  I had a gift certificate though, and the friend I was with wanted to go in.

I found a 10 piece set of gelatos marked down to $6.24, from $24.99 in the clearance bin.  Someone had scribbled all over the box, but the contents are intact!  I've been holding off on another watercolor medium, but for $6.24 I bit!  Motto : always check the clearance aisle 

[Iring]

Hey!  I was able to insert an image!  WooHoo!

I clicked on the image icon (under the italic "I") and pasted the image url between the brackets.
                                                                                                                           

[Far North]

Addicted to Rubber Stamp has a sale on for Stampdeous this week good through July 17.  They say up to 50% off but generally that is more like a very few but many better than the Stampdeous site price.  They have wonderfully fast delivery.

[howdyheidi]

Great find, Cindi. I would try Gelatos for that price.  And, yes, M's does often have good clearance, if you can dig through the stuff. 

I will check out the sale, Jan.

[Far North]

 

[Far North]

Heidi said "It is really interesting to read WHY people shop places."

Yes, Heidi I probably have one of the more unique stories of why I buy at a store. When I was growing up my Dad worked for a division of General Motors that built large heavy duty construction equipment similar to the  well-known Caterpillar yellow variety but his were neon green.  Anyways after his retirement the business was sold and finally that division moved out of state.  It took years for the massive building and property to sell but finally JoAnn’s bought it. Today they have a major store at the site, in addition to the corporate headquarters and huge warehouse space. So crazy as it may seem I do have a spillover of warm, good memories for my Dad that shines onto JoAnn’s.  And sometimes I have to consciously disconnect before spending too much money LoL!

I also feel they have been good to us in my community. The first arrived here in the early 90’s to a tiny older space which was not the best but there was only one other fabric shop in town and no one with general crafting supplies other than Woolworth’s.  Business was extremely good since most of our stores here also are the closest store to the entire northern part of the state especially prior to the Internet.  Finally they bought a new location and are now we have one of the super stores.

[howdyheidi]

Heidi said "It is really interesting to read WHY people shop places."

Yes, Heidi I probably have one of the more unique stories of why I buy at a store. When I was growing up my Dad worked for a division of General Motors that built large heavy duty construction equipment similar to the  well-known Caterpillar yellow variety but his were neon green.  Anyways after his retirement the business was sold and finally that division moved out of state.  It took years for the massive building and property to sell but finally JoAnn’s bought it. Today they have a major store at the site, in addition to the corporate headquarters and huge warehouse space. So crazy as it may seem I do have a spillover of warm, good memories for my Dad that shines onto JoAnn’s.  And sometimes I have to consciously disconnect before spending too much money LoL!

Small world, Jan. I know exactly the site you are talking about.  Except I thought it was Caterpillar that owned that site first???  Anyhow, that is off topic, but really funny that we know about the same places.

Neat story about your Dad!

[Craft Nerd]

Great find at Michael's, iring. Gotta love the clearance bin. 

I try to be a bargain shopper, so I shop at a variety of on-line shops.  And if there is something in particular I need, I will check out several sites, until I find the one with the best price.

I second Connie's recommendation for Cut@Home.  They have great prices on Spellbinders.  I also like Impression Obsession and I've shopped at Addicted to Rubber Stamps, Simon Says Stamp, Amazon, and JoAnn's online store.

If you use Copic or Prismacolor colored pencil, Dick Blick sells individual colors at about 40% off list price.  It also had Copic reinker at about 30% off.  And that its a sale price, that is the sites regular price.  So far it is the best non-sale price I've found for Copic and Copic reinker.  It also has the most extensive color selection. 

Another stamp company I like is the Stampin Place. They have some cool images and you can select wood mounted, cling mounted or completely unmounted for all of their images.  I usually get unmounted and buy EZ mount.  I've also recently found 1-2-3 Stitch, which has a variety of crafting supplies, including stamps, dies and stencils.