Friday, April 20, 2012

Should I say Thank You!

I received an email Wednesday from Stampin'Up! compliance department stating:

"We recently were made aware that your blog links to a site in which competitive products are available for purchase.

We want to remind you that Section 9 (d) of the Independent Demonstrator Agreement, the Competitive Activities Policy (Section 6.3) and the Internet/Web Site Policy (Section 6.22) of the Demonstrator Manual, state that demonstrators are not permitted to promote, market, or sell the products of other companies who offer similar products. This means you cannot promote competitive companies or post links to other companies who sell competitive products, including digital artwork."


Evidently someone in their infinite wisdom decided to 'turn me in' for noncompliance with the above stated policy. At first I was really kind of angry at both the 'anonymous' do-gooder that had turned me in and at Stampin' Up!. I am curious why that person didn't email me or leave a comment saying that I wasn't in compliance which I would have done had it been me. It seems like the intent was malicious and gave the informer some sense of superiority and that's why they didn't contact me! Then my next reaction was why after all this time had the informer decided to turn me in because I have been blogging since July of 2008 and no one had ever said anything because the SU catalogs have been on my side bar all that time. I think it might have been the title I put on the SU catalog on the right sidebar and where it linked to since the middle of the week. I had several emails from people wanting to know where they could get a matchbox die that I used in a previous project post so I called Stampin' Up! Tuesday and set up a demonstrator online web site so anyone who wanted SU access could order it through there and not have to search out a demo. I had one person tell me she had never seen or heard of SU until that post.

I signed up in November of 2008 as a hobbyist demonstrator (not to make money and still don't care about the money part) and had never been approached by any other demo except my recruiter and she was in the same boat in that the only other SU demo she had seen was her recruiter! I decided in 2010 to find out more and attended a meeting in Ft. Worth, a big regional event hosted by Stampin' Up! where I learned a lot about the product. I was so excited when I came home I contacted Stampin'Up! and requested information regarding SU up line and was given a local name and even attended a couple local meetings that were lead by people 6-7 demos up line from me. We were charged $5 to attend the meetings which were held once a month and learned various things about the products but once again I didn't learn anything about policies. I was told normally they don't have people at their meetings this far down line so I didn't go anymore.

After communicating with the compliance department at SU I was given information about the policies and how to find them on line in the Demonstrator Manual. I don't have time to read over the entire manual but I can plead ignorance over the policies until now because as a hobby demo the only thing I cared about learning was how to order my product at 20% off and I learned that from my recruiter before she disappeared out of my life. As time permits I will look through the manual and acquaint myself with the policies and just so you know as a hobbyist I don't expect to be treated any different then any other demo whether they be hobbyist or in it to earn money. I have complied with what the compliance department told me that I was in violation of and I have rid my blog of the offending links on my side bar and in my posts back to March 1, 2012.

I guess I should say thank you to whomever 'turned me in' at this point for making me aware of my ignorance... Nah, don't think I will. Have a blessed day.

13 comments:

  1. Oh brother Vickie! I can't believe you had to go through this!!! It's crazy stupid.

    Someone definitely has too much time on their hands!!

    Hugs,
    Kay

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  2. OMG - just come over to read your WOYWW post - and caught site of this... I can't believe that someone has been so spineless in that they couldn't come to you about it and rather, chose to have someone contact you to humiliate you. Anyone with any ounce of decency would, like you, drop the 'offender' a kind friendly email just helpfully pointing out that there may be a possible issue...

    So sorry you had to be on the receiving end of this... I hope the 'other' person has a conscience - but then they can't if they did what they did...

    Sending you hugs - now off to your WOYWW post xx

    Paula x x x

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  3. ...hi Vickie...I know of 2 other people who this has happened to, it's very upsetting but at the end of the day do you really need to have a company telling you what you can & cannot do...they left Stampin up...stores in the high st sit happily side by side...have a loVely weekend...Mel :)

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  4. Hay, I'm a SU! demo in the UK and can't believe someone could do this, they do really have too much time on their hands! :) x

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  5. I want to say thank you for posting a comment on my blog.
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  6. OMG! Can't believe that someone would do that to you, surely they should have had the common courtesy to email you and ask if you knew? I do feel the world in general is becoming so blame orientated and the art of showing common courtesy is fading fast. I do feel for you, I'd like to think if I do anything wrong someone would tell me directly, at least I hope they would. Big hugs. Zo xx

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  7. Well, you know what they say- "Snitches end up in ditches." lol

    Maybe Stampin Up found it on their own, thru referring links or something, and they have a 'Compliance Department of their own, and they use the 'we were made aware' stuff to make it sound like they don't have someone who searches the web for such horrible, thoughtless, criminal behavior? I do like some Stampin Up product, tho, so I won't subject them to my ridicule. Like I do to Creative Memories. lol

    -kory

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  8. Vickie, This is awful news. I never thought of crafting being cut-throat at all. How can they live with themselves, after all it nothing criminal. Sending you lots of support and good wishes too. Carry on Stamping my friend. Hugs from Scotland. Rita xxx

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  9. Hey my heart goes out to you, can you catch a cyber hug. You poor thing, Karma will get whomever did it, that is for sure. I am like you be upfront and honest and work it out, don't be spineless. Again catch a cyber hug.

    Eliza #103

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  10. Vickie some sad people have too much time on their hands... This happened to me and they never told me who... so I scraped them I can live without SU they dont rule the world, and I did not like being told what I can use and not use!!! Think do you need them!!! Vickie... Good Luck... Hugs May x x x x

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  11. But this is your personal blog, not a SU demonstrator blog. They should see it as a bonus if you mention their products on your blog!!
    Rather puts me off buying any more products from SU - if they are so petty with their demonstators (and don't make them welcome at meetings etc either!), I don't think I want to be a customer any longer.

    Shimelle and numerous others work for/ demonstrate for/ design for more than one company and they are not pilloried for mentioning them all on their Personal Blog!

    Shame on whoever "brought it to their attention" and shame on SU for their petty and small-minded behaviour.

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  12. Ahhhh, yes! The conflict of interest for SU! I gave up my demoship when SU insisted that every demo sign the new demo agreement that we would NOT use any other competing product from other companies. Like you, I was a hobby demo and who were they to tell me what I can/cannot use and what I can/cannot post on my personal blog (which, btw, I NEVER had a link to SU at all....no indication that I was a demo)
    And in all honesty, it was the BEST thing ever to happen to my creativity!! I discovered a whole new world of wonderful goodies and I can combine to to my heart's content!
    And yes, I still use SU, just not as much as I use too! wink!!

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  13. Hi Vicky . . . I am a relatively new SU demo in the UK and knew about this policy before I committed myself (although it was a bugbear). As far as I understand it we can "mention" competitors products in a generic way on our blogs but can't be specific and certainly can't add a link on our blog to make it easy for our blog chums to visit and purchase the product.

    I'm guessing your promotion of Ten Second Studio products may be to blame? I think you can get PERMISSION from SU to do work for other companies though . . .

    If a fellow blogger was behind this, it's a shame they didn't ask you if you knew about the policy first though.

    Off to browse the rest of your blog now! x

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I would really love to hear what you think about my art and my posts. Please leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for visiting my blog. Vickie aka Okienurse