Big News From Stampin’ Up!
Yesterday we were surprised to hear some big news from Stampin’ Up! about new products that will be coming in the future. If you are on my Mailing List, you got this information yesterday afternoon in my newsletter.
Stampin’ Trimmer Being Replaced
Stampin’ Trimmer 
Cutting Blades
Stampin’ Up! is retiring the Stampin’ Trimmer and all its accessories on June 3rd while they search for a suitable replacement, due to supplier issues. This will leave a gap in time until a new paper cutter is released, which will not particularly affect those of us who already own the trimmer or another paper trimmer. If you are new to stamping or have always wanted this trimmer, NOW is the time to purchase this one. However, if you want to see what new product comes out, then wait and see.
How this affects my customers is that replacement Cutting Blades could be an issue. Stampin’ Up! has increased their inventory and will continue ordering until September. When the retirement list comes out April 15, the Cutting Blades limit will be increased from 3 to 6. Even with increased inventory, these could go on backorder. So….if you need Cutting Blades to last until we get a new trimmer (if you decide to purchase a new one at that time), or RIGHT NOW, then I would order Cutting Blades ASAP and maybe as available throughout the retirement period. In other words, get what you need while you can! (At this moment it looks like the Cutting Mats and Scoring Blades are not available.)
Big Shot Being Replaced
The Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine will be retired as Stampin’ Up! wants to work directly with a manufacturer to better meet our needs and designs after extensive research and evaluation including Demonstrator feedback. This should lead to a better product in the future, but in the meantime, we can still use the Big Shots that we own and even the new dies coming in the new catalog will still work in the Big Shot and any die-cutting machine you may own or purchase. It’s possible, due to machine differences, that maybe something like a shim may be needed with dies. Also, the “fancy” language of Framelits, Thinlits, Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, etc. will be simplified to just “dies” and “embossing folders”.
How this affects my customers is that you can continue to use your Big Shot as long as you like, until a new die-cutting machine comes out and you have the opportunity to choose to purchase or not. There will be new dies in the new catalog, made in a slightly better design. Perhaps we will need to add a shim or finagle something but we will figure it out together! The new die design seems like it will cut closer which will be great! New dies will be the new design. Old dies will continue to be sold until the inventory is depleted, then the new design will take over. There could be backorder situations during this transition.
If there are dies that you want now or in the near future, just like with the Trimmer and Blades, I would order what you want as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. No way to tell what could be sold out. (But of course, there are always new things coming that sometimes make us forget the old things!)
If you have always wanted a Big Shot, buy one now so you have it and you can reassess machines when a new one comes out. I love mine and would hate to do without it, but if you already have one, in a way, nothing changes!
There are no time frames given for these new products so there likely will be a long gap in between the retirement and new products announced. Just my guess.
The Retiring List comes out April 15. Anything you REALLY, REALLY want from the outgoing catalog or Occasions Catalog, I would not wait until April 15 when the rush starts. I’m sure we will hear more information as time goes on. Just keep in mind, Stampin’ Up! is always trying to make our stamping and papercrafting experiences and products as positive and high quality as possible so sometimes we have to go through these bumps in the road! But once the new pavement is down, we are usually very happy with the new products they have released! Keep your fingers crossed and enjoy what we do have!
Let me know if you have any questions/comments about these announcements of new Stampin’ Up! products either in an email or leaving a comment on this post!