Demonstrators for direct sales stamp and scrapbook supply company Stampin’ Up! received a new Independent Demonstrator Agreement (IDA) yesterday which they must sign by September 30th if they wish to remain demonstrators with the company. The new agreement contains controversial new restrictions on the activities of demonstrators which have lead some demonstrators to say they will resign rather than submit to the new agreement’s rules.
Two key areas of change have been made to the agreement in section nine, which is titled “Restrictions on Representation of Competing Companies or Products.” The first areas of change, which seem to be the less controversial of the two, is that demonstrators are no longer allowed to work as members of design teams for competing companies. Demonstrators who are under contract to design teams for other companies will be allowed to fulfill their current term of contracted obligation to those other companies. General consensus from the demonstrator community (with a few exceptions) seems to be that it is understandable that Stampin’ Up! as a company would want its demonstrators to have a commercial interest in selling only their product.
The second area of change seems to be the more controversial of the two. It has touched off a firestorm of criticism from demonstrators. It is the new sub-section (d) of section nine, which addresses specifically electronic communications as it relates to competing product:
I understand that the content of my electronic communications such as e-mail, personal blog, web site, Twitter, Facebook, other social media and the like can have a considerable influence on how I am perceived as a Demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! and also reflect significantly on the Company. Accordingly, I will refrain from using such electronic communications to promote, market, or sell the products of other companies (direct or retail sellers) who offer similar products, which includes: decorative stamps (in any form), stamp art accessories, scrapbooking products, digital art solutions, and vinyl wall art.
The company has issued a FAQ (read it here) to help demonstrators interpret the new IDA. According to the FAQ, sub-section (d) means that demonstrators may not post information (names, stores or prices) about any products besides Stampin’ Up! products anywhere online. In fact, since the agreement includes email in the communication that it covers, it appears that even providing that information to someone via private email might be considered a violation of the agreement. I have requested clarification on that point from the company’s public relations department and will post the answer if/when it is received.
The FAQ stresses that demonstrators will still be allowed to post projects online (or have them published) but they cannot provide detailed product information about any non-Stampin’ Up! products used in their projects. They also cannot publicize their participation in any online forum that promotes or sells non-Stampin’ Up products. Yet many demonstrators say they rely on outside sites (such as sites that provide technique tutorial videos) to help them promote their business or educate their customers. Many consumers also say that their involvement with Stampin’ Up products has also been enhanced by outside sites, such as this poster on Splitcoaststampers:
I’ve got to say that I discovered SCS through a friend/demo. I would have grown bored with SUOnly pretty quickly and SCS has kept me in stamping and buying SU. With the last SU catalog, I still earned level 2 hostess set. SCS has only enhanced my enjoyment of SU products. It’s where I come to see samples with their latest stamps. Too bad the bloggers can’t link it on their PERSONAL blogs.
-Nancy (Phantom)
But the most-discussed aspect of the changes to section nine have been the ones that apply to linking. The FAQ describes the new terms:
Q: On my personal blog, I have links to my friends’ personal blogs and web sites. Some of them sell competing product. Do I need to remove these links?
A: Yes. In evaluating the links on your web site, you will need to remove any links to blogs, web sites, or the like that promote, market, or sell competitive products.
This is the section that has prompted the most outrage and resignation announcements by demonstrators. Many appear to be willing to limit their own posted content to company products, but can’t stomach the thought of having to cut themselves off in the social online world from family and friends who aren’t in compliance with the Stampin’ Up non-compete policy.
My daughter is a SU demo. I am a DT member for 2 competetive companies. According to this new IDA she can not have my blog link on her blog site. What kind of CRAP is that.
-Neva (n5stamper)
And there is one big unanswered question about interpreting the policy – what constitutes “linking”? If being friends with someone on a social network constitutes “linking” to them in the eyes of the company, Stampin’ Up! demonstrators could be in the position of having to police the content posted by their social media friends on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and having to cut themselves off from a great many people who might post content unacceptable to Stampin’ Up! I’ve passed that question on to the public relations department at Stampin’ Up! with a request for clarification and will post the answer on Scrapbook Update if/when it is received.
Update – Stampin’ Up! has revised the FAQ about how the new demonstrator agreement will be applied to state the following:
Q: On my personal blog, I have links to my friends’ personal blogs and web sites. Some of them sell competing product. Do I need to remove these links?
A: No and yes. On your web site, blog, or other online space, the policy is that you may not post links to competitive companies’ web sites, or to locations where a customer could purchase competing products. As you evaluate the links that you provide, the only restrictions would be that the link should not a) direct to the company web site of a directly competing company (retail, online retail, or direct sales), or b) direct to the web site or blog of a representative for competitive products where the customer may purchase from directly. For example, if you link to a friend’s site and customers can purchase products directly from your friend on that site, you need to remove the link to that site. If they cannot purchase products directly from your friend’s site, you do not need to remove the link. Updated 9/2/09.
Q: I regularly participate in online forums relating to the craft industry, and maintain a gallery of my artwork on one of these forums. With the new IDA, is this activity still allowed?
A: Yes. Participating in forums and posting your projects for your fellow crafters can be an important method of inspiration and recognition. It’s important to note that the new IDA does not prohibit this kind of activity. You may link to any blog or forum that highlights the crafting industry in general, regardless of the products highlighted or advertised. You may want to consider, however, where you are sending your customers, and the kinds of advertising they’re likely to encounter when you make your decision on what kinds of links you recommend that your customers follow.
We are currently exploring ways to provide more of an open community and sharing environment, as well as opportunities for artistic recognition for our many talented demonstrators. We will keep you updated on any new developments. Updated 9/2/09.
These revisions make the application of the policy much less broad than the original version of the FAQ did as far as linking is concerned. This removes the concerns about violations from things such as friending on social media networks like Twitter and Facebook.
However, it appears the company is standing by the rest of the guidelines, issuing a statement to justify them that includes the following:
…the changes in requirements are meant to protect the Stampin’ Up! brand and business as a whole, not restrict your personal freedom of creative expression. For example, consider the famous spokespeople that companies contract to represent their products, like Michael Jordan for Nike. Not only would it have been unethical for Michael Jordan to promote Reebok on the side, but Nike likely had a specific agreement with him not to do so. Your response to this comparison is likely, “But we don’t have million-dollar bonuses from Stampin’ Up!” That may be true, but we do compensate you for the work that you do, and you are definitely our superstars! We consider our demonstrators our partners in business, and an exclusive sales agreement between us is an important aspect of that partnership.
Will the linking restrictions being loosened and the explanation by the company be enough to placate angry demonstrators, or at least some of them?
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geez I thought this country was built on the foundation of freedom of speech……apperently SU skipped history 101
Sigh. It also means one cannot be a digital designer. You can’t promote anything in the digital art or scrapbooking supplies category. So anyone who is a digital designer it out as well.
The reality is that the future is more open thanks to the internet and social media. The fact that SU wants to own their reps like this is sad. The reality is that SU was built upon the work of their demonstrators. Change is inevitable. The reality is that SU is afraid of having to compete. They want to keep things closed so the retail customers of demonstrators don’t realize the options out there. The reality is that the best demonstrators make their customers aware of all the good products out there. That is how they win their customer’s loyalty – they take care of them!
I see this is as a strong sign that Stampin’ Up 1) doesn’t care about the best interests of their customers. 2) Hesitates to embrace this changing market.
Wouldn’t it be cool if they innovated and worked to make their products better so they didn’t have to worry about customers seeing other options?
Close minded = soon to be closed business.
This video on You Tube also seems appropriate – with SU as the Advertiser and the customer and demonstrators as the customer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkOHsjZKBB0
I was seriously considering becoming a SU demonstrator recently. Glad this came out before I committed. I think for the compensation & profit to be made by selling SU that this is too restricting & not what I want to be a part of.
I left SU as a demonstrator years ago because it was so obvious that they changed their products each year so their demonstrators would have to buy more product. How much of their sales is to their demonstrators? I bet the number is very high.
I was recently at a SU party recently and I was put off by their new relationship with Build A Bear. This once again was cleary for them to make money. While businesses are in business to make money people can see right through their intentions.
This most recent decision makes me angry enough to no longer want to buy their product at all.
SU has not stopped disappointing me since I left.
Amazing
Michael Jordan might have a contract with Nike to promote their shoes exclusively, but they pay him handsomely for promoting their shoes. He doesn’t have to make his own compensation by selling Nike shoes out of his mini van. That’s a really stupid comparison. SU demonstrators, like most DS people, are really just temporary employees of that company, not business owners. A true business owner calls all the shots and no one can take their business away from them at the drop of a hat or via a policy change. I think SU has jumped the shark…
Another aspect of this is that since SU just started selling digital images linking to sites like Designer Digitals or Jessica Sprague will be in violation because they sell competing products. The fact that they want to own the SU demo 24/7 and control their communications is disturbing. I understand that SU might not like their demo’s being on Design Teams but this seems to be completely overdone. I would think that with the current economic situation and the fact that they just went through corporate layoffs that they would not be pushing people to resign but apparently I would be wrong. LOL
Wow, this is so ridiculous. I think Stampin’ Up should require that their demonstrators not SELL any product from any other company. I can also see them not wanting them on other stamp company design teams. But what about companies that are mostly paper? Stampin’ Up is delusional if they think they can keep customers only buying their paper. Not just delusional, but disgusting to the creativity of the craft world. If I ran that company, I wouldn’t want people to only buy my paper! It’s so limiting!
To Stampin’ Up: If you want us to continue buying ANYTHING from you, please revise your terms to allow demonstrators to participate in other non-stamping design teams and link to non-stamping craft related websites.
To any up and coming stamp company: Consider taking Stampin’ Ups independent seller approach. There’s a lot of people out there that might consider a switch. Oh, I would laugh so hard.
As someone who has worked in the retail world for more years that I would like to admit, this latest just makes me laugh. It once again shows how out of touch the people at the corporate offices really are with the customer. Really when was the last time anyone who has a big tiltle ever worked in “the field” and had direct contact with the customer? To limit a demonstrator from being on a design team is severly limiting a way to attract new customers. I would rather think they should embrase those who have been lucky enough to be chosen weather for a stamping store, a general craft store or even a scrapping store. In these economic times one would think that they would embrace any way a demonsraor can attract a new sale and customer. According to this new contract I’m wrong. I Guess now I know to say NO when invited to that next SU party-I don’t want the demonstraor to get in trouble for talking about they newest products I just found at my local store.
Wow! I would not have expected a stunt like this from Stampin’ Up. I think it’s going to harm their business much more than they realize.
Kayla said it — they’re closing themselves off. The future is openness and cooperation. They just hung themselves by taking down links to other companies and reps — all those reps and companies are now taking down links to SU.
wow, way to shoot yourself in the foot stampin up! And the Micheal Jordan analogy (hmm I wonder what he would think about a company using his name in conjunction with their product, but not being compensated???)…wow, just wow. What stampin up is doing here would be like Nike telling MJ he couldn’t talk to or be seen with anyone wearing shoes other than Nikes. Laughable. No one seems to be disputing that demonstrators shouldn’t be promoting or selling competitive products, but trying to restrict what their friends and family do too? Yikes. Best of luck to the company, but I bet it won’t be long before they too are a victim of the “economy”! (as it seems businesses with horrible customer service and bad sense seem to place their demise with the economy and not themselves).
I have been a SU demo, was a loyal customer and now refuse to be placed in the same room. Can we all say Marxist? Orwellian? Ridiculous? And ok how out of touch to compare your independent contractor business to a stage coach and MJ? I mean is this for real? And what about ClearSnap and the digi scrapbooking, and Build A Bear – Will Build A Bear have to refuse any customer who just walked out of the Spencer’s across the mall? I’d love to know what shoes MJ’s friends are wearing? And the last time I road in a stage coach was about 125 years ago!
Come on SU! You cannot dictate who your “INDEPENDENT” demonstrators play with. Or are they going to change that part of their contract as well and add “DEPENDENT, SHEEP-LIKE FOLLOWERS”. Forget who’s lining your pocket SU!?
Just wanted to pipe in as a very happy Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. There are over 40,000 SU demonstrators in the country, and a very small number of them are venting to this extent. I am happy with the clarification. I’m not in business to send my customers elsewhere to get their crafting supplies. Am I deluded enough to think that they will only buy supplies from me? No. But they can find the other things without my help. The fact is that direct sales is the least expensive, easiest way to OWN your own business. But – just like a franchise – you must abide by the agreement you made with the company. I couldn’t have started my own stamping/scrapping business for such a little investment and still carry the amount & quality of product that I basically do now – thanks to Stampin’ Up! They have a right to ask me to represent them well in exchange for manufacturing product & keeping inventory for me to sell.
As for the comment about their Build a Bear relationship only being about making money…what do you think McDonalds putting Teeny Beanies or Disney toys in their Happy Meals is? The funny thing is that I’ve heard complaints from a small number of demonstrators for years that SU should partner with some of these companies to offer papercrafting products. Now that they’ve entered that arena, they are labeled as the “big bad corporate greed machine.” You can’t have it both ways.
I hope SU! will continue to find face saving ways to backpedal. Others have speculated on the relationship of this decision to the sale of Splitcoast Stampers (Web site), which originated for SU! demos by an SU! demo, and I agree with them. The dramatically increased traffic on that site together with its new emphasis on a wide range of manufacturers had to have influenced SU!’s decision. Something in the tone of the new policy and in the tone of its defense I read on the boards, reminds me of the stew over Creating Keepsakes’ Hall of Fame contest. The magazine’s response to consumer complaints had an autocratic tone, and I sense that here too. I believe shortly after that mess the Creating Keepsakes had to be sold again. We all like to see a busy marketplace and a wide range of products. I want SU! to be viable and vibrant, and I hope it will treat its demos, not as employees, but as a major target market –which they really are.
I like to leave a comment too. I live in Europe and I love to surf on the internet from one SU-blogger to another Su-blogger. I like cards and tutorials they have on their blog…made with or without Stampin’ Up items.
Does all of the above affect Europe too???
[...] that it’s what I want to see happen. I’m being forced out by pending changes to the Stampin’ Up! Independent Demonstrator Agreement (IDA). In a nutshell, Stampin’ Up! wants to control advertising across the site network that I [...]
I am a happy Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I am happy with the clarification. I work many stamp camps and some of the demonstrators were sellling non-SU embellishments, etc. I mentioned it was against SU policy to do that at a SU event but the other demos didn’t care. That one person attends everything, even if she isn’t participating in the event, to sell her wares. I personally think this practice wasn’t fair to the demos who were doing it the right way. I am on a non-SU design team and am not allowed to use SU products. I can see why SU is doing this. Policies have been too lax. I am very proud of the quality of the SU products and bought them for years before becoming a demonstrator. I have thousands of non-SU stamps and only use them for personal cards if SU doesn’t sell anything similar that I could use. I have a friend who is a Creative Memories consultant…and she buys her cardstock from me because she likes it better. She still used CM for her worshops…but not for personal use. That says something. SU is wonderful to work with if I have a problem with a product, they correct it without question. They give us wonderful perks and they have many resources to help us with our businesses.
Judy I think it is great that you are a happy demonstrator. The issue is not so much about what products are sold as it is an issue of being able to be yourself 24/7.
In your example of the CM consultant – she uses SU cardstock and only uses CM in her workshops. We all share status updates about so many different things on FB and Twitter – according to the SU policy she couldn’t ever say that she used SU cardstock because it would violate her agreement.
Stampin’ Up may provide wonderful perks and resources to help you with your business but if you truly understand the value of who you are as an individual and the value of being able to be who are you and say what you think – I think you will realize that what SU is asking of their demonstrators in the new agreement far outweighs the compensation they give them to keep them under such tight restrictions.
With respect, this is simply not the case.
As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I can indeed say that I use a competitor’s product. I heard this from Shelli Gardner’s own lips on a Webinar two days ago. While the company would prefer that we did not specify other brands, we can do so.
What we cannot do is put a link to the site where you can buy a competitior’s product. Seems reasonable to me.
There are a lot of comments made on this subject which do NOT reflect the truth of the revised agreement and it distresses me that so much is being said by people who have not read the revised agreement.
I’ll be glad to answer questions with the facts if you wish to email me privately.
Sign me — proud to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator!
Cheers,
Kathleen
http://www.stampjourney.com
maccreative@me.com
I am a demonstrator with a competing company and I am so proud to be with my company – there have been on occasion that I have bought a punch or designer paper from a SU friend but NO MORE – I am even going to cancel my subscriptions to magazines that have over 50% SU images in their magazines. Talk about dictatorship, – WOW.
I wonder if they prohibit people from talking on the telephone too…
I think it stinks to high heaven!!
Hugs, Millie..
I just happened upon this article and WOW….lots of anger and bashing. I always try to look at changes from both perspectives. I was one of the many demonstrators that was happy to see this change. As a full-time Stampin’ Up! demonstrator – I always thought it was bad business to be designing for another rubber stamp company. Why on earth would you be posting cards on your blog/website that promoted a company that you didn’t get any commission from…if you are a SU demo? For those that aren’t demos – hey, good for you! The Nike example states a point…and a good one. It has nothing to do with Nike or Michael Jordan…come on. If you dropped it down to something much smaller, it’s easier to relate to. For example, we have a lot of used stamp sales that are put on by non-demos in my area. I choose not to advertise these to my customers….why…because that’s like shooting myself in the foot. It doesn’t make good business sense for me to do that. Or lets say I run a small bakery and there is a HUGE bakery across town that has very unique cakes….I wouldn’t advertise that bakery as having a better variety of cakes than mine, would I? I also wouldn’t like my head cake maker, that I’ve invested training, classes and product in, to go design cakes for them. It’s all the same principle.
First – as of this writing – I just talked to my Service Account Manager and the info in the initial article has not been updated. We, as demos, are allowed to link to Splitcoaststampers.com. In fact, it’s encouraged! And a VERY valuable tool for me in my business.
Secondly – SU invests alot in their demos…in the way of training and publications. Why on earth would they allow an SU demo to use the talent that they have gained from all of this to promote another company that they are in direct competition with? I’m not saying that SU is teaching these crafters everything they know…but you get my drift here.
Third – there was a comment above about the Build-A-Bear partnership….YES – SU is looking to make money on this – it is a new product offering. They are a “for-profit” company. That’s what they do.
Fourth – there was another comment above about the fact that SU keeps offering new products – “so demos have to keep investing more money.” It is their job to stay on top of the industry with trends…if they didn’t offer new products – people would get bored. You have to offer new products to compete.
I LOVE my job as an SU demo! I LOVE my company. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion….but I think sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Another example – SU had 2 big catalogs last year…they made a decision to return to one catalog per year. There are two sides to this…..Most everyone that I had talked to, was very happy about it. I was one of the FEW that was not. From a business stand point – returning to one catalog was bad for me….1) it took away the excitement for my customers of two new catalogs a year; 2) it took away a retirement list in one of the slowest business months (Dec) for me; 3) it took away a catalog kickoff event in Jan for me and my customers. On the other hand…it was difficult for me to keep up with everything in two catalogs – I was not as knowledgable with the products; I had to be careful and not order too many catalogs and be stuck with the leftovers, once they retired – so it did make me stay on my toes.
It’s all very simple to me – you are either an SU demo, promoting your own business or you’re not. If you are an SU demo, you have a big draw to the public and SU is not interested in having you do FREE advertising for it’s competition…that’s just really bad business practice. I’m glad they took a stand to eliminate this. Just my two cents worth.
Thank you for the information. I love SU products but I have no intention of being exclusive and enjoy when my demonstrator is creative with other products. No one company can do everything (or do everything best). I look forward to continuing discussion of this issue. The demonstrator makes a choice to work for SU and that’s fine.
While I myself could not sign on to the agreement, I think SU has every right to do this. Tons of companies have anti-competition agreements that their employees have to sign. Lots of companies that have their products in retail stores also make you sign contracts that you won’t sell other similar products by other companies. Yes, it might seem self-centered, but that’s how strong reputations are build. I can’t fault SU for doing this, infact I’m suprised they haven’t done it sooner.