Happy New Year & Store Changes

Simon Valentine's Release
Happy New Year!

2014 already!?  I hope you are able to spend today relaxing and doing exactly what YOU want to do :)

2013 was a wonderful year for me personally.  What about you?  What are some of the things most memorable to you from 2013?  Here are just a few fun things from my list:

*Hearing my 2 year old daughter start to form sentences and express herself through words.  She went from almost never talking at all to a total chatterbox in what seems like just overnight

*Our Simon teammate, Lorraine Aquilina visited our Simon offices all of the way from her home in Malta and attended the National Stationery show in NYC with me, Stephanie, and Sarah

*My son started Kindergarten.  It’s his first time 5 days a week 8-3pm all day at school.  Man, was he excited!  Our boy is growing up.

*Being so very lucky to develop fantastic friendships with people from all over the world from this industry.  I so very much enjoy visiting them at crafty retreats, their home cities, and CHA.  I will remember experiencing Mario’s cooking first hand for all of my life!

*In 2013, my husband and I started renovations in our home (with professional help ;).  Even though we aren’t finished, the renos that are completed so far have brought significant change to our daily living and have affected our family for the better. We finally have a bathtub! (anyone with a 2 year old can appreciate the value of that!)

*Speaking of husband, Jason and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this year.  Wow. Wow. Wow.  He’s the best life partner a girl could ask for!

*Working with our teammates Kristina Werner, Shari Carroll, and Kelly Purkey to bring quality products to the market for us to all enjoy.  Seeing these products brought to life by YOU has been one of the best parts of my job.  WOW!  You have an artist within yourself and using your creativity to spread joy is a huge gift to everyone you share it with!!

*I’m so very grateful for this Simon family.  From my right hand Malini, to Stephanie and Sarah whose offices are just next to mine.  Tiffany and our customer service peeps, Mandy and our kit production crew, our Logistics team, our leadership and management group, our design teams and artist friends around the globe are all part of our valued family.  We also welcomed an additional marketing member just before Christmas and are so thrilled to have Stephanie Klauck joining us every day now! 

*Connecting with loyal and helpful customers from around the world.  People like Gisa touch our lives every day.  Our long time customer friend, Gisa from Germany who has undergone multiple surgeries through the year and has lifted her spirits through stamping.  She continues to keep in touch with us via email regularly.

Thank you to you all for making 2013 the greatest year ever! 

In 2014, our biggest resolution is that want to be even better for YOU!  We are working with a web team to develop an easier to use web site that will give you more options for searching products, tracking your orders, and so much more.  The new site development process will take several months, but please know that we are working hard behind the scenes so that you can more easily enjoy your experience with us!  We’ve heard your suggestions and are working hard to implement them in our Simon processes.  Please continue to be forthcoming with your ideas and suggestions.  We just wrapped up our year end inventory (you might have noticed an unusually high amount of out of stocks.  These are starting to replenish tomorrow).

One of our mantra’s in our home office is “Embrace Change”.  These changes will bring improvements for all of us!  In less than 2 weeks, the industry will be revealing new products for 2014 at CHA Winter Tradeshow and we cannot wait to see them and share them with you!  It’s such an exciting time of year!

Thank you for allowing us to continue this journey with you!   THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our Shipping and Handling rates have been just slightly modified and are posted below.  We hope you enjoy the coupon code being offered now through February 15, 2014.

Use code QR799  to receive $7.99 off any order $75 or more.

http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/images/November1910/shippingrates.gif

Heidi Crowl
Founder of Simon Says Stamp. Crazy in Love with my hubby and life partner, Mommy of two fun(ny) kiddos, forever mom to our pup Simon who sadly passed over the Rainbow bridge, and a new mom to our family protector German Shepherd. Lover of all things art, craft, and stamp related. Goofball at heart.
  1. Happy New Year to you, Heidi, and to everyone at SSS! Love this post! I’m looking forward to another wonderful, crafty year full of inspiration from your team! ♥

  2. Just our of curiosity, why is there no longer free shipping for orders $75 dollars or more?
    Are there any changes to the order processing time or to the refund policy?

    1. Hi Anika! There is actually a coupon code for $7.99 off orders of $75 or more. That means FREE SHIPPING for USA AND Canada for all orders $75 or more. International customers can save $7.99 as well.

      1. But will we be able to use a free shipping coupon code as well as another code such as the one we receive from Online Card Classes? I have remained loyal to SSS over the other retailers due to the free shipping along with the savings from the classes. If only one code can be used, I will do much more shopping around.

        1. HI Valerie! One coupon code can be used per order. You can choose whichever gives you the best deal on your order. Thank you for supporting us and for supporting OCC.

    2. I was wondering that myself! I love Simon Says Stamps and their free shipping. I’m a bit bummed with this news.

  3. Best wishes to SSS for 2014!
    Looking forward to seeing & using the new website when it is ready. I would love more advanced search options and to be able to add items to my wishlist from the multiple items page view.

    Just to clarify, is the free shipping-equivalent coupon code good only until February 15?

  4. Thank you for all the inspiration you give us every day. I wish you all much success in the coming year.

  5. My trip to Simon Says Stamp was definitely the highlight of 2013 for me !! It was a dream come true !! :-)
    I am looking forward to seeing what 2014 brings, the new website sounds fab and I am sure the Simon brand will continue it’s journey, going from strength to strength :-)
    Good Luck for 2014 !! I love being a part of this family :-)
    THANK YOU
    luv ya’ll
    Lols x x x

  6. Happy New Year to your whole team! I’m looking forward to all the improvements you have in store for us. I admit I was a bit bummed about no free shipping on orders over 75, since I really took advantage of that with my orders. But the discount code makes the shipping free for me again, and that’s good enough.

    I also want to take a minute to praise you once again on your fantastic customer service (Malini is great!). You have been very generous and kind, and I feel so happy to be a Simon customer. :)

  7. Hello! I know there will be free shipping codes available but will we be able to combine with other discounts like the discounts offered with the online card classes or other types?

    1. Hi Kirsten! We accept one coupon code per order. You can choose which one suits your order best. Thanks so much for stopping by! We are really excited about the Stenciled class coming up with Online Card Classes!

  8. The years go so quick and looking back there are allways so many joyfull moments that are worth to remember… Hope you will have many of those in 2014!

  9. I’m happy to hear you had a wonderful year. My wishes for everyone this year as well but I’m bummed about the shipping change. It was nice knowing the shipping would be free on my orders. To have to remember to enter a “limited time” code at all is very disappointing.

  10. But the coupon code is only good until 2/15/14, right? So after 2/15/14 there will no longer be free shipping for orders over $75.00? Have you set another threshold for free shipping to replace the $75.00?

  11. I guess I am a little disappointed in no Free shipping over $75. I am also curious to know if you can double up coupons with the card class discounts too?

  12. It is wonderful to hear you are working on upgrading your online store. I have been a member of your monthly card kit for 5 months now and am very happy with it. However, I am not one who likes to pay shipping, even though I truly understand rates keep increasing. Please find a way we can combine orders. I will happily make a larger order if there is a shipping discount. If shipping continues to increase, I will be less apt to continue with the monthly card club. I also take most of the classes from onlinecardclasses and try to take advantage of the discount code. Your shipping time is a little slow, but I have been happy with everything else. Happy New Year and Best of Luck to You!

    1. HI Tracie! Yes, combining shipping on the card kits is a high priority for us in 2014! Thank you for being a subscriber! The kits are a true love of mine personally too :) HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  13. Happy New Year! Very good questions being asked. I’d like to know too, about the shipping and discount codes. Exciting news though about the site changes and better features.

  14. Happy New Year to everyone at SSS! You are my favorite online shopping site hands down. I understand postage has go up everywhere, but I, too, am wondering how this will effect other discounts. I hope we will be able to combine the free shipping code with other discounts that are offered by various designers and classes throughout the year. 2014 is going to be a fabulous year!

  15. 10 years, congratulations, my sister and I also celebrated our 10 years anniversary with our husbands in 2013. I hope to be able to buy the stamp sets and dies I have been coverting from you today if they are in stock. Life has finally slowed down enough for me to get around to it. I have to say I love all the inspiration from your blog. I visit every day. Thank you for that. And I hope your two year old keeps up the chatter with full sentences.

  16. Happy New Years to all the wonderful and caring staff at SSS!

    Will the monthly kit subscription price hike as well?

  17. First off, happy New Year!! I agree….slightly disappointed with new rates. I’ll probably just hold off ordering till a coupon is available. No big deal. But I definitely think $7.99 for kit shipping is way high. I hope that can either be modified or that we can have the option to add regular store items to the kits since the price is going up so much….

  18. Happy new year to you and yours Heidi and allthe members from the SSS team. And way to go for another year here over at Simon’s with lots of inspiration and beautiful products.

  19. And also a very Happy New Year to you Heidi and all there at SSS and everyobody else inhere too. I hope, this will be the best year ever for all of us.
    I can see here, that people seems o be pretty disappointed with the postage, but I think you all need to remember, that it´s NOT the compagnies faults, that the postal services raise their fee´s, and it´s not just in the US, but all over the world. I know, it does mean a lot for us as crafters, cause we send a lot of our cards out, like we have most of our crafting stuff mailed to us, and have to pay quite a lot for the postage all the time, but I´ve also had my own compagny and know how much it also means to the compagny if they have to provide free shipping, causede in the end, there´s only the customers to pay for it, so if you all wants free shipping, then it´ll just in the end make all the products more expensive, as every compagny needs to earn money to pay their staff´s wages and that money need to come from somewhere so if you don´t want to pay them on postage, then you´ll just have to pay more for the items, so simple is that. Just thought I would try and make you think about this.
    Happy New Year everyone and let´s make it a wonderful year now okay.

    1. Thank you for the sweet note Maryann. Yes, we definitely try our best to charge reasonable prices and still take care of our team. We offer full health insurance and retirement benefits to our employees in addition to very competitive wages. This is a costly endeavor for our company, but our people (customers and teammates) are all very important to us and we value you all greatly. Thank you for understanding!

  20. Happy new year to the SSS Team. Great customer service/delivery time, competitive price and great stock listing, last but not least the free shipping are what I love about SSS. So having to know that the free shipping over $75 is going to expire soon is disappointing. I understand the postage is going up but perhaps you can consider a higher purchase amount for free shipping instead of chopping it off? Say $100 for free shipping I’d love to buy a bit more than “no free shipping”…Just a thought.

    1. Hi Petti! It’s nice to hear from you! Yes, we do have more coupon codes planned for 2014! In fact, as soon as this one expires February 15, there will be a new one coming out.
      Hope this helps!

  21. Shipping costs seem reasonable – I appreciate the coupon code – thank you! And Happy New Year to you and everyone at SSS!

  22. Happy New Year. I’ve really loved Simon says stamp and it has been my number one online shopping stop for crafting goodies. I’m so disappointed that there will no longer be an automatic free shipping on orders over $75. I typically buy enough at a time to get that free shipping especially with online card classes. I totally understand the flat rate going up, but overall your shipping reasonability kept me coming back. This will definitely make my husband happy as it is going to force me to put the brakes on shopping.

  23. Happy New Year to everyone from Simon Says Stamp! I’m so extremely happy and thankful for being part of the awesome Simon Says Stamp family! I can’t wait to see the store changes! I bet they’re going to be fantastic! :) Hugs!

  24. Happy New Year to SSS! When exactly does the coupon expire? At the top of the post in the heart graphic it says 2014. At the bottom of the post above the shipping rate chart it says 2015. I hope it is 2015!

    1. Hi Monica! Happy New year to you too! I’m sorry I’m not seeing what you are referring to. The existing coupon code expires 2/15/14. That’s February 15 of 2014. The numbers do look confusing though! Hope this helps!

  25. I felt the need to come back and reply after reading all the comments about the shipping fees. Maryann explained it perfectly above. With the price of postage about to rise again, I totally understand why SSS had to raise their shipping prices. In my opinion, we’ve all been very lucky to have had free shipping on purchases above $75.00 for as long as we have! I look at it this way – I love this hobby and love getting new goodies from SSS, so I’m willing to pay another $7.99 to get them! I’ve checked a couple other online crafty stores and these new rates from SSS are either comparable or lower than those.

  26. I am happy to hear about enhanced search capabilities in the store. The current one is a bit cumbersome and it is frequently hard to locate a product even when I know for certain it is something you carry.

    I do love the variety of stock you carry and I love the stamp/die combo sets. Brilliant idea. And I love how you support Online Card Classes and bloggers with giveaways. You are generous in that way and it is noticed and appreciated.

    But I have to say that free shipping over $75 was a big incentive for me and a major factor in choosing SSS over another online store. I understand that postage is going up all over. I understand there is a cost involved in packing and shipping items. (Truly I do; I have owned a retail business.) But when I ordered from SSS I always made sure I hit that $75 mark. Without that incentive, my orders will likely get smaller. I won’t be able to spend more in total, and I suspect I am a pretty typical customer. This is a hobby for me and my expenditures have to be a reasonable part of my household budget. I will just get less product for the same money spent. And that will be disappointing. You have to do what you have to do. I will still order from SSS. But if I am as typical as I think I am, SSS might ultimately notice that your total volume of sales takes a hit.

  27. I can understand an increase in shipping rates as the UPS rates are going up by the end of the month. I’m sad to see the free shipping for over $75 going as a routine thing…I realize you will offer that with a coupon code from time to time hopefully. I have been a card kit subscriber for nearly a year and love those kits but going from shipping of $5.99 a kit to $7.99 is a big increase! That’s a 33% increase and huge in my opinion! Please rethink shipping for the kit subscriptions.
    Love SSS…best online store!

  28. Hi and Happy New Year to SSS. I love your products and am looking forward to your new search process. As for postage, we all need to remember that ordering on line means it comes right to us – no gas, no wear and tear on our cars and crowded parking lots. Plus we get all these wonderful videos which are often better than anything on TV!! Happy crafting to all!

  29. I’m so glad I found your store site through Jennifer McGuire’s website. I’m also thrilled to know you are changing up some features in the store – it can be frustrating right now. Your shipping is one of the best I have seen and I do a lot of my shopping online as I am disabled. So, happy new year and I look forward to spending more of my $ with you (just don’t tell hubby, LOL).

  30. Thank you to everyone at Simon Says Stamp for all you do….we love the way you care….it shows!! Thanks, tool, for tell us about this wonderful blog. The creativity is awesome!! Happy 2014 to all!!

  31. I am also disappointed with the rate increase for shipping. I usually make smaller orders and pay the shipping, so 7.99 is getting pretty steep! Wish there were other options for small orders! I usually get dies, which are lightweight and ship in a padded envelope.

    1. Hi Denise! It’s only USA & Canada orders $75 and over that ship for $7.99. And if you use the coupon code for $7.99 off your order, that means shipping is free. Smaller orders ship to USA & Canada for $6.99.

  32. I can only hope that the increase in shipping fees will come with a decrease in the actual time it takes for an order to be shipped!
    As an international customer, who regularly pays $30–$50 for shipping, I don’t think $7.99 is worth complaining about. The reality is that very little is free these days and if the increase in price comes with an increase in service then what is there to complain about!

    1. Thanks Diane! Yes we do have outstanding enhancements coming to our web site in 2014! Our customer service and logistics teams have expanded considerably as well. We hope this helps you!

  33. Hi there and a happy new year,

    sorry, but I’m not so happy about these news: “Our Shipping and Handling rates have been just slightly modified and are posted below.” Instead of 17.99 I soon will have to pay 24.99 – that’s quite an increase and not a slight modification at all! And the (great indeed) coupon you offer is only valid for the next purchase. Feeling quite disappointed as I’m a customer with over 3.000 $ annual purchase … :-(

    1. Hi Antje! You can use the coupon code QR799 for $7.99 off any order over $75 until February 15. It’s not just good on your next purchase. It’s good NOW :) Hope this helps!

  34. PS: Adding $7.99 onto the monthly card kit makes it a > 30% increase. That’s a crazy high amount. I am going to start being selective about which monthly kits I get from now on.

    1. HI Amy! I’m not sure what you mean? We are not adding $7.99 to the monthly card kit. The card kit will be shipping for $6.99 now instead of $5.99 if you live in the USA. I hope this helps! The rates are posted in our blog above.

  35. Happy New Year to all, especially the SSS team! I look forward to seeing the new changes in the shop. Although I’m not overjoyed with the fact that shipping rates are going up, it’s something to be expected and your international shipping rates are still very reasonable compared to some other companies (US and Europe). To me, your domestic shipping rates sound like a dream, although I can understand that the added cost for monthly card kits might put people off. For international customers, this is even worse, which is why I am not likely to take out a card kit subscription. Instead, I’m always trying to take advantage of any discount offers, e.g. from the online card classes or Jennifer’s special discount codes (and favourable EUR-USD exchange rates LOL). What I especially love about your shop is the enormous selection of products and great customer service! So please keep up the good work!

    1. Thank you Marianne! Happy new year to you too! We do work hard to give you one stop shopping selections! Thanks for taking the time to post, we appreciate hearing from you!

  36. Happy New Year to you all at SSS – I love shopping with you totally appreciate how much I learn from the blog and videos and only found you last year – lucky me! I too am an International shopper and tbh its is such a big factor in the cost of shopping for us, I was just relieved it wasn’t a bigger hike. Those of us over the pond, sigh with longing when we see the great rates you guys get – none of us like increases but I think SSS are a decent and fair bunch. Hope its a great year and wish All Happiness and Joy,.

  37. While I am very upset about taking away the free shipping over $75, especially if we can not use two discounts, I think the shipping on card kits will be $6.99 – I believe that is the flat rate for under $75.

  38. I’ve really loved Simon says stamp and it has been my number one online shopping stop for crafting goodies. I’m so disappointed that there will no longer be an automatic free shipping on orders over $75. I typically buy enough at a time to get that free shipping especially with online card classes. Your shipping time is a little slow, but I have been happy with everything else. I have always loved your exclusive line and will miss using them but will definitely be buying less…Ellen Hutson has free shipping at twice that ($150-so I have bought less from her) but her shipping time is super fast!

    1. Thanks Janet! We appreciate hearing from you! The coupon code will still offer you free shipping if you are in the USA and your order is over $75. It is valid until February 15. February 16 we will introduce a new sale. Hope that helps!

  39. Happy New Year to the whole SSS team. I always enjoy your inspirational blog posts and shopping at the store. I am looking forward to seeing the changes to come and lots more inspiration in 2014!!!

  40. HI Kathy! Thanks for stopping by! The coupon code of $7.99 off a $75 order is the equivalent of free shipping. I hope that helps!? Our card kits are $24.95 or $19.95 if you are a subscriber. The card kits ship in a box for $6.99 USA & Canada. The $7.99 shipping rate doesn’t take effect until your order reaches $75.

  41. Hi Amy! If you live in USA or Canada, you can use the $7.99 coupon code QR799 for $7.99 off your order over $75…so you will still get the wonderful free shipping benefit. Hope this helps!

  42. I have been reading with interest the comments about the shipping charges. Yes, free shipping would be nice, but for the past while, we have been paying shipping to Canada. I thought at first that it would prevent me from buying often, but since it’s 7.99 for over 50.00, it really hasn’t stopped me from placing orders. The shipping charge is considerably lower than with other on line stores. Some stores are charging 24.99 or more! Shipping charges are a fact of life with on line buying. I just hope Simon Says can keep it to the amounts that they are charging. Postage in Canada has risen considerably, so I really don’t find the 7.99 all that much! I just wish there weren’t so many things on my wish list. It’s not good for a retired person to have such a long list!! Happy New Year!

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