No question the scrapbook industry is hurting from a double whammy of a bad economy and a downswing in the trend of scrapbooking…which do you think is hitting the industry harder? Feel free to explain the “why” of your answer in the comments!
About Nancy NallyNancy Nally is the founder & editor of Scrapbook Update and the owner of Balalaberry Media LLC. She's also the co-host of the popular Paperclipping Roundtable podcast, and the Modern Business columnist for Creative Retailer magazine. Her self-paced class "Pro Press Releases" is currently available from Big Picture Classes.
I think that the scrapbooking industry has priced itself right out of the average person’s budget for hobbies.
I still scrapbook, but I made a decision about 2 years ago to stick to mostly solid card stock and titles, etc. using my computer. It is futile to try to keep up with color/fashion trends in supplies because they go out of style so fast. And supplies are absurdly expensive. I can’t justify spending $4 to $6 on a SINGLE page in a scrapbook even though I could afford to.
In addition, maybe other scrappers discovered, like I did, that I already had enough supplies to create a life-time of scrapbook pages. Why buy more?
I used to attend crops, but don’t do that anymore either. It seems that the over-commercialization of the hobby has transformed scrapbooking from a simple past-time shared among friends along the lines of old quilting bees to a competitive sport. Who’s using the trendiest stuff? Who has the biggest stash, the fanciest scrapbooking room, the most celebrity encounters? That stuff took the soul out of scrapbooking for me.
Besides a drop-off in the buying habits of seasoned scrappers (I’ve been scrapping since 1995), the prices are way to high at this point to entice many newcomers to the hobby. When I started, I accumulated a lot of basics at fairly reasonable prices. I can’t imagine that there are many teens, or new moms, or anyone really who could come up with the start-up costs to begin scrapbooking.
The scrapbooking industry has only itself to blame.
Love the poll, it will be interesting to see where it ends up! I don’t necessarily think that scrapbooking is on the decline, I do agree the economy does have its impacts but scrappers are scrappers – like an addiction…it is hard to give up. I think some of these big box stores are running a lot of the private stores out of business. Retail stores just can’t compete with the big discounts they give because most retailers don’t have other “crafty” inventory to fall back on when the scrapbooking goods are on sale. People no longer care about the person to person relationship that a retail store has – they just want something for cheap and big box store/chain store can do that.
I find it hard to believe it’s a decline in interest. Mainly because I know a few new scrappers. I’ve heard others talk about cutting back on spending and still others getting another job to sustain themselves. I know in our household we had to adjust our spending. I only buy one kit a month and haven’t spent much on all the fancy extras…like cricut cartridges or other fun goodies!!! I sure hope things change soon!
From the manufacturing point of view (for 8 years now) you have so many companies out there now, each one taking a smaller piece of the available pie. About the time that Basic Grey came out, and they are one of these, a bunch of designers left companies and started their own, thinking they could do it better and make more money.
While a couple have, many more haven’t. They didn’t understand the manufacturing costs, adminstrative costs, etc that is part of running a business. Nor did they look at market share. They just wanted that all-mighty dollar.
We have seen sales decline over the past 3 years, but have also seen a resurgance in the basics of our lines. Not everyone out there needs to look like BG, as many people don’t like it. You can look “old-school” and still sell very well.
It’s also about customer service to the independents. Some of these companies forget who created their business, and left them in the dust when a major chain picked them up. Look at the blow that EK took when they released Martha’s line to Michael’s exclusively for 6 months, and then wondered why no independents ordered it. Forget that nothing in it was original, some of it was old EK product just re-labeled, and no one I know was going to change to 12 x 18 albums. Now EK has put the Martha line in Wal-Mart, with more of the same recycled ideas from the scrapbook industry of the past.
Yes, the market has definately changed over the past 8 years. But we still enjoy going to work every day. This industry will never pay for a vacation home in Tuscany, but I never expected that.
I am just wondering…is “annon” with Basic Grey? If so, then I have only one thing to say..BG’s problem with customer service is exactly that..they have a problem with customer service. I am a retailer that has had nothing but problems with their service. When I can order their product from a large distributor before they can ship it there is a problem. Many times I’ve waited and waited and no shipment. Other competitive stores in my area have received their orders before mine even shipped. Then I find out that I could have just ordered through the middle man and probably got it sooner. Not only does BG not tell you this…they barely give you any info let alone return phone calls.
I do agree on one statement from “annon” about the market share. Customers love having as many stores as possible in the area because they like to think we are all so different but they do not realize that they do not financially support that many stores. It is easier to have all the choices under one roof rather than 3 or 4. That is rent x4 instead of paying rent for one store. How can they possibly think we can all make it. So everytime a new store opens it doesnt make the other one struggle. It makes BOTH struggle.
When I opened my store there was only one in the area and the owner refused to support it because she had no interest. She didn’t want to purhase new product and her attitude drove people away. Soon after I opened my store a new one popped up and the original store changed owners. Now you might as well say there are 3 new stores in the area fighting to stay alive.