A Funny Way to Spend Thanksgiving…

We’re supposed to be camping for the long weekend with DH’s extended family & my mom/stepdad.  We were supposed to leave early this morning.  However, DH got called to work last night and is still there, so I thought I would head to the computer and check something off my very super extremely long To Do List:  Order some Prism cardstock Prismatics packs to fill two customer orders.  See, Prismatics is what Memory Works carries and it’s awesome cardstock.  You get a trio of colors (light/medium/dark), 12 sheets for $6.50.   Here is a sample of a Prismatics pack and the link to our CARDSTOCK PAGE:

Well, thinking I was all cool and stuff, I purchased the Prism swatch book from Memory Works as a selling tool and took it to my last crop without really looking at it first.  Well, I just flipped through it long enough to admire all the gorgeous colors (don’t pretty colors just make you happy?!?).  Anyway, it WAS a hit and there were 2 ladies who each had a list of Prismatics Packs they wanted.  Turns out…Memory Works doesn’t carry the complete line (duh), and I could only fill about half of each order.  I told the ladies that, because I had basically advertised the cardstock, that I would find a way to fill their order.  I figured I would come home, pop online, order the packs at the best price I could find, hopefully not pay too much in shipping, and maybe at least break even if not lose a little bit o’money.  Even if I lost a little some money, I would hopefully gain my customers’ respect and confidence, learn my lesson about the swatchbook, and move on.  

So, after spending HOURS online, here is my conclusion:  Prismatics are hard to find!!  Cheese and Rice!  To purchase from Prism wholesale, you not only have to have a business license, etc. but you have to be a brick and mortar store.  There are sites that sell it by single color packs of 50.  There are sites that sell it by the sheet.  There are sites that have most of the packs I need listed on their site, but when you click it into your shopping cart, it says Unavailable.  There are many sites showing the colors I need Out of Stock.  There are sites with every color EXCEPT the ones I need.  There are overseas sites that don’t ship to the US or, if they do, the shipping is super high.  Next, I went on the Memory Works message board with my plight, and asked the other consultants what they do in this situation and if anyone had a good source for Prismatics.  Long story short:  Uhhhh, no.  Finally, I asked my lovely friend Stacey over at www.AllMomentsRemembered.com if she could help me out, since she is so connected in wholesale scrap world now (wink, wink).  Such a doll, she looked into it right away and, alas, could only do the 50 sheet/single color deal.  

So I thanked her for trying anyway, and that leads me to today.  I’m here on Thanksgiving morning, waiting to hear from DH to see if maybe we can leave here by noon today.  And searching once again for the elusive Prismatics packs and….same luck as last time.  Grrrr….  I feel so bad about letting my customers down.  I shouldn’t have made a commitment before I looked into it.  So, after the holiday, I’ll try one more time and, if not successful, I will confess my mistake to the lovely ladies and hope they forgive me.  

PS: On a lighter note, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I am so grateful that I started this blog. It has given me an outlet to release all my crazy, scrapbook-obsessive thoughts so I can sleep at night. Now, I only occasionally dream of cardstock and patterned paper and sketches ~ no more scrap nightmares where all my friends leave for the retreat without me or running around Big Lots, not able to find any of the scrap bargains mentioned on CKMB! (Now, that really would be a dream because I don’t even have a Big Lots). Anyway, it has been wonderful to share and exchange ideas with you, to finally feel that I’m not alone, and to have all your positive feedback. I am blessed and thankful…