PTI stands for Papertrey Ink. This is a collective smack blog and Papertrey Ink review page. Papertrey Ink's continuously poor customer service has lead to a page dedicated to discussion of this stamp company and recommendations for alternative stamp companies. Minimal censorship here- I prefer to leave it up to posters' discretion.
The opinions posted on this blog belong to our visitors and we are not paid for our honest reviews ;)
I was going to comment on that WOW thread, but changed my mind. The fact that Ted decided to chime in speaks volumes to his new attitude towards PTI. Talk about "wow."
I moved several posts under the same thread because they all dealt with the same issue, and sometimes it is easier for everyone if we have one thread instead of 4 when it comes to finding a resolution. Sorry for the confusion..
So I knew that sometime in 2011 I went ahead and placed an order just before a release to get a die that they restocked on the 14th, one that I thought might sell out later in the evening, and then I placed another order in the morning after the release... I went back and checked the order numbers.
In March 2011, between ~5:00 p.m. on the 14th (order #1), and ~8:00 a.m. on the 15th there were 1,755 orders... that's just 15 hours difference between those two orders.. most of which were probably release night orders.
If the numbers that people figured out based on their order numbers this release are correct, PTI is nowhere near triple those older order number amounts.... in fact, it seems they did a fraction of the business this month as in 2011 (including people who got doubled order numbers due to trouble checking out this month!).
They want the threads to match the store. Move everything under names that don't match and then no one can find anything, which interrupts the stream of conversation that PTI wants to go away.
From the previous thread-Anonymous said... you take a perfect opportunity to provide valid criticism to a company and ruin it by mentioning irrelevant mean spirited things.
[i]I actually agree with this part. For the most part people here are just voicing valid concerns and frustrations.The sausage fingers comments and the hurtful insults just take away from the validity.[/i]
and now folks are quoting ted on scs and implying lisa is giving the finger to pti.
[i]Is Ted not allowed to be quoted? I disagree with the Ami's speculation about Lisa. That was not helpful IMO.[/i]
you really should not do this stuff. it is rude. it is mean and not one bit funny. and no i'm not cherly. i'm not anyone with a name.
just someone who likes to live by the golden rule.
i love for the moment you get back what you are dishing out.
[i]Not sure what to say about the rest of it. You are only looking for the bad here so maybe this is the wrong place for you. [/i]
Someone actually wrote this in Michelle W's comments on her blog. I guess they have no clue about the customer service issues.
Michelle all I keeping thinking is are you crazy, do you know how many people would die to be on the design team, are you sure you want to leave?? I don't want you to leave, I would love to be on the design team, but I still don't want you to leave!
I tried to order from Joanns three times this afternoon. It keeps flipping back in forth from wanting a valid phone to wanting a valid email. Both of which are valid. So its not just PTI
I cannot figure out, why, with thousands of customers WANTING them to be a success---why doesn't PTI put out any effort at all toward that end? Why is it month after month, and year after year, they screw up everything they touch. Customers do NOT want to be unhappy with them. Battered customer syndrome for sure.
Hot DAMN! Thanks for the link to MadSky's comparison of Lilly Belle's and PTI's papers. Off to spend some money PTI may have gotten if they were so sucky.
Don't you people get it? WHY would they change if they don't HAVE to? People are still buying their products, regardless of shitty service. That's why. Money talks, bullshit walks.
Every someone clicks that 'Submit Order' button, they are saying "I'm enabling you PTI'.
You know what is going to happen with SAF? They will have the release on the 15th and the unicorns will order. Then when people want to order on the 21st to get the set, there is going to be screaming that everything is OOS.
I don't think that will be the big problem - the PTI loyalists will place an order on release night to make sure that they get the new stuff (because we don't want to miss out, since there's 3x the usual volume, LOL). Then they'll place a $100 order on SAF day, too.
I love Cristina but I'm disappointed she joined PTI. I get it, but I'm still disappointed. Can't shake the feeling that she sold out and made a deal with the devil. Does this mean she quit her WPlus9 gig?
Just so you know, I totally get why someone would join the PTI team. I just think Cristina deserves better.
WTF, trying to search the small number dies from PTI website and could not find it on their website. So difficult to search :( Searched about 5 times on their dies section. Grrr! Now that made me suspicious, do they have a small number die set or only By the numbers die set? If they do have the small number dies, what are they called? Help!
http://www.papertreyink.com/Item.aspx?ID=PTD-0221 17 June 2012 06:59
THANK YOU! You are a genious :) Truly! How do you keep up with the names of their stamps and dies and how do you find them from their website? Applause to you:) Thanks once again. Appreciate it a lot.
You're welcome:). I find that searching using only 1 word helps. I searched by the word "number". It's really lame that the PTI search system can't use logic.
I am amazed at how much money they have to be making. What is a $24 set at PTI, is a $12.88 set at Stamps of Life (same size set). PTI charges $7 to mail the set and it takes 10 days. SOL charges $1 to mail their set and it takes 3 days. I am SURE that SOL is still making a very, very good profit, so can you imagine how much profit PTI is making? SOL has about the same number of employees for their small company as PTI does for their huge company. So PTI is making money there too. Not to mention that PTI's volume alone raises their profits hugely.
My point? WHY can't they hire a decent web designer, decent number of employees to ship, decent number of people to organize things in customer service?
If I were looking for a large number set, I would totally get this one http://www.mftstamps.com/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=number&filter_category_id=29 instead of PTI's. I love that the additional stamp set (including cute background patterns) comes in at only a few dollars more than PTI's dies alone. The size sounds like it is right in between PTI's large and small sets.
I believe that a big part of it is they just don't want to.
I also have to believe that financials play a role. You just can't continue to maintain the size of the inventory they do (and add a bazillion new releases each month) and not have it affect the fiancial stability of your business.
I also believe they don't trust outsiders or want to share the weath with outsiders. So they use family/ex-family. Not the best way to run a business.
Plus you have to factor in the cost of mistakes and inefficiency. And we don't see how much PTI "pays" Heskamp printing. I bet it is an inflated price to keep the Heskamp printing profits up.
I have to agree that a big chunk of change is locked up in inventory.
I looked into starting my own stamp company. I inquired about pricing and it would cost $9.50 for a 8'x12" sheet of stamps plus $30 for a set up fee. So basically it costs about $4 for each $24 set PTI charges. I know there are more costs involved, but still, that is a lot of profit!
They don't change their ways due to utter and complete GREED. Now, if they had any sense between them, they'd be fixing the website issues to get more sales. But obviously it's not being run by people with common sense.
Weve established that they are greedy. If they were smart theyd fix these issues in order to increase their profit. So if im doing the math... Greedy + stupid = PTI. I could handle greed if the machine ran smoothly.
Wouldnt you think that since release day was Friday they would work at least Saturday to get a jump on the 3 X normal orders? This will put them behind 3 days to start.
I would expect them to work the day after release no matter which day it was. Take off next Thursday instead or whenever all the release stuff is sent out.
07:44 Nice poetic expression of your opinion; but this place is about far more than just "a good laugh". It is a safe place to vent our frustration without getting slapped on the PTI forum. It is a place to call out poor business practices that need to be changed, without our voice being swept under the rug. Yes, their is some ugly, hurtful name-calling and bitching too. But maybe some of that is to be expected from customers of whom PTI seems to excel at making enemies.
(Blargh. I think that last sentence is the grammatically correct way to phrase it? It seems so convoluted. I wanted to say, "from customers who PTI seems to excel at making enemies of." Whatever.)
Lisa J. got fired. I don't think the others leaving is a coincidence. Stamps of Life produces their own stamps hence the lower cost...not that I think that any PTI set is worth $24...just putting the explanation out there.
First!!!!
ReplyDeletesecond!!!!
ReplyDeleteThird!
ReplyDeleteIt isn't really "quick" to hit 200 posts when PTI has a release night, which they will inevitably F up.
ReplyDeleteFrom the "WOW, nothing sold out thread" in case he clarifies.
ReplyDeleteRe: WOW nothing sold out
Unread postby Ted » Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:40 pm
I'm not surprised nothing originally sold out.
The times...they're a-changin'.
I was going to comment on that WOW thread, but changed my mind. The fact that Ted decided to chime in speaks volumes to his new attitude towards PTI. Talk about "wow."
ReplyDeleteRick the asshole is up to his old tricks again!
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.papertreyink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=36494
His response to moving posts and merging threads:
I moved several posts under the same thread because they all dealt with the same issue, and sometimes it is easier for everyone if we have one thread instead of 4 when it comes to finding a resolution. Sorry for the confusion..
Rick
How about stay the fuck out of it!
Fuck Ted! The times changed many moons ago!
ReplyDeleteTed doesn't have a new attitude. He'll be licking sausage fingers ass in a few days.
ReplyDeleteTed's feelings are just temporarily hurt. He'll get over it and order again mid-month though.
ReplyDeleteSo I knew that sometime in 2011 I went ahead and placed an order just before a release to get a die that they restocked on the 14th, one that I thought might sell out later in the evening, and then I placed another order in the morning after the release... I went back and checked the order numbers.
ReplyDeleteIn March 2011, between ~5:00 p.m. on the 14th (order #1), and ~8:00 a.m. on the 15th there were 1,755 orders... that's just 15 hours difference between those two orders.. most of which were probably release night orders.
If the numbers that people figured out based on their order numbers this release are correct, PTI is nowhere near triple those older order number amounts.... in fact, it seems they did a fraction of the business this month as in 2011 (including people who got doubled order numbers due to trouble checking out this month!).
Can we stop with the sausage fingers please?
ReplyDeleteThey want the threads to match the store. Move everything under names that don't match and then no one can find anything, which interrupts the stream of conversation that PTI wants to go away.
ReplyDeleteAnyone seen "Rock of Ages"? Any good?
ReplyDeleteFrom the previous thread-Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteyou take a perfect opportunity to provide valid criticism to a company and ruin it by mentioning irrelevant mean spirited things.
[i]I actually agree with this part. For the most part people here are just voicing valid concerns and frustrations.The sausage fingers comments and the hurtful insults just take away from the validity.[/i]
and now folks are quoting ted on scs and implying lisa is giving the finger to pti.
[i]Is Ted not allowed to be quoted?
I disagree with the Ami's speculation about Lisa. That was not helpful IMO.[/i]
you really should not do this stuff. it is rude. it is mean and not one bit funny. and no i'm not cherly. i'm not anyone with a name.
just someone who likes to live by the golden rule.
i love for the moment you get back what you are dishing out.
[i]Not sure what to say about the rest of it. You are only looking for the bad here so maybe this is the wrong place for you. [/i]
16 June 2012 12:49
Someone actually wrote this in Michelle W's comments on her blog. I guess they have no clue about the customer service issues.
ReplyDeleteMichelle all I keeping thinking is are you crazy, do you know how many people would die to be on the design team, are you sure you want to leave?? I don't want you to leave, I would love to be on the design team, but I still don't want you to leave!
Why do we only see some of the dt consistently chatting up the forum?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we see Maile and Betsy?
what did happen to the new customer support guy? my recent inquiries have been answered by rick or julie.
ReplyDeleteDave? That's interesting.
ReplyDeleteI thought Nichole fired Dave. I thought that is what Rick told us here?
ReplyDeleteI take it back. Wrong rumor.
ReplyDeleteI tried to order from Joanns three times this afternoon. It keeps flipping back in forth from wanting a valid phone to wanting a valid email. Both of which are valid. So its not just PTI
ReplyDeleteSorry but there's no comparison between Joanns and PTI!
ReplyDeleteIn case you were wondering about the paper from LilyBelles . . .
ReplyDeletehttp://madskydesigns.blogspot.com/2012/03/superior-cardstock.html
sausage fingers
ReplyDeletesausage fingers
sausage fingers
sausage fingers
sausage fingers
so there!!! :PPPPPP
I cannot figure out, why, with thousands of customers WANTING them to be a success---why doesn't PTI put out any effort at all toward that end? Why is it month after month, and year after year, they screw up everything they touch. Customers do NOT want to be unhappy with them. Battered customer syndrome for sure.
ReplyDeleteHot DAMN! Thanks for the link to MadSky's comparison of Lilly Belle's and PTI's papers. Off to spend some money PTI may have gotten if they were so sucky.
ReplyDeleteDon't you people get it? WHY would they change if they don't HAVE to?
ReplyDeletePeople are still buying their products, regardless of shitty service.
That's why.
Money talks, bullshit walks.
Every someone clicks that 'Submit Order' button, they are saying "I'm enabling you PTI'.
So suck it up, you ask for it.
Personal attack not necessary. Let's concentrate on customer service ...
ReplyDeleteLisa J seems to be posting a lot on MFT products ...
ReplyDeleteYou know what is going to happen with SAF? They will have the release on the 15th and the unicorns will order. Then when people want to order on the 21st to get the set, there is going to be screaming that everything is OOS.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that will be the big problem - the PTI loyalists will place an order on release night to make sure that they get the new stuff (because we don't want to miss out, since there's 3x the usual volume, LOL). Then they'll place a $100 order on SAF day, too.
ReplyDeleteGood for Lisa J. I love seeing good card makers working their magic with whatever gets their creativity flowing.
ReplyDeleteI love Cristina but I'm disappointed she joined PTI. I get it, but I'm still disappointed. Can't shake the feeling that she sold out and made a deal with the devil. Does this mean she quit her WPlus9 gig?
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, I totally get why someone would join the PTI team. I just think Cristina deserves better.
WTF, trying to search the small number dies from PTI website and could not find it on their website. So difficult to search :( Searched about 5 times on their dies section. Grrr! Now that made me suspicious, do they have a small number die set or only By the numbers die set? If they do have the small number dies, what are they called? Help!
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to know if anyone has ever turned down a chance to join the PTI team?
ReplyDelete@6:53
ReplyDeleteThis it?
http://www.papertreyink.com/Item.aspx?ID=PTD-0221
They do have a small number die set. I sold my large ones and bought the small ones, but I have no idea how to find them in the store.
ReplyDeleteEvery time we cannot find something, we should start a thread asking. Maybe that would motivate them to fix the stupid store.
ReplyDeleteThis it?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.papertreyink.com/Item.aspx?ID=PTD-0221
17 June 2012 06:59
THANK YOU! You are a genious :) Truly! How do you keep up with the names of their stamps and dies and how do you find them from their website? Applause to you:) Thanks once again. Appreciate it a lot.
Block Alphabet Number die????? What a way to name number dies!!! Why cannot they name it in simple terms - Small number die collection?
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome:). I find that searching using only 1 word helps. I searched by the word "number". It's really lame that the PTI search system can't use logic.
ReplyDeleteI swear that website is put together with toothpicks and chewing gum.
ReplyDelete@7:06
ReplyDeleteThanks for that tip as well. Next time I shall try searching the website using single words :)
@7:13
I agree 100%
I am amazed at how much money they have to be making. What is a $24 set at PTI, is a $12.88 set at Stamps of Life (same size set). PTI charges $7 to mail the set and it takes 10 days. SOL charges $1 to mail their set and it takes 3 days. I am SURE that SOL is still making a very, very good profit, so can you imagine how much profit PTI is making? SOL has about the same number of employees for their small company as PTI does for their huge company. So PTI is making money there too. Not to mention that PTI's volume alone raises their profits hugely.
ReplyDeleteMy point? WHY can't they hire a decent web designer, decent number of employees to ship, decent number of people to organize things in customer service?
If I were looking for a large number set, I would totally get this one http://www.mftstamps.com/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=number&filter_category_id=29 instead of PTI's. I love that the additional stamp set (including cute background patterns) comes in at only a few dollars more than PTI's dies alone. The size sounds like it is right in between PTI's large and small sets.
ReplyDeleteCan't or won't, 7:25?
ReplyDeleteI believe that a big part of it is they just don't want to.
I also have to believe that financials play a role. You just can't continue to maintain the size of the inventory they do (and add a bazillion new releases each month) and not have it affect the fiancial stability of your business.
I also believe they don't trust outsiders or want to share the weath with outsiders. So they use family/ex-family. Not the best way to run a business.
a harmless speculation
ReplyDeletean anonymous mock
weight
hair
eyes
disappointed expectations
fugly yes? and other clique phrases
jobs lost; friendships ended
but a good laugh
Plus you have to factor in the cost of mistakes and inefficiency. And we don't see how much PTI "pays" Heskamp printing. I bet it is an inflated price to keep the Heskamp printing profits up.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that a big chunk of change is locked up in inventory.
I looked into starting my own stamp company. I inquired about pricing and it would cost $9.50 for a 8'x12" sheet of stamps plus $30 for a set up fee. So basically it costs about $4 for each $24 set PTI charges. I know there are more costs involved, but still, that is a lot of profit!
ReplyDeleteThey don't change their ways due to utter and complete GREED. Now, if they had any sense between them, they'd be fixing the website issues to get more sales. But obviously it's not being run by people with common sense.
Honestly, I totally get the greed part. What I don't get is the shitty attitude, lack of customer service and fucked up website.
ReplyDeleteI agree 8:52. I don't care how much money they make. I do care how they treat their customers.
ReplyDeleteWeve established that they are greedy. If they were smart theyd fix these issues in order to increase their profit. So if im doing the math... Greedy + stupid = PTI. I could handle greed if the machine ran smoothly.
ReplyDeleteWouldnt you think that since release day was Friday they would work at least Saturday to get a jump on the 3 X normal orders? This will put them behind 3 days to start.
ReplyDeleteI would expect them to work the day after release no matter which day it was. Take off next Thursday instead or whenever all the release stuff is sent out.
ReplyDelete07:44
ReplyDeleteNice poetic expression of your opinion; but this place is about far more than just "a good laugh". It is a safe place to vent our frustration without getting slapped on the PTI forum. It is a place to call out poor business practices that need to be changed, without our voice being swept under the rug. Yes, their is some ugly, hurtful name-calling and bitching too. But maybe some of that is to be expected from customers of whom PTI seems to excel at making enemies.
(Blargh. I think that last sentence is the grammatically correct way to phrase it? It seems so convoluted. I wanted to say, "from customers who PTI seems to excel at making enemies of." Whatever.)
08:52, perhaps those are all symptoms of the fact that PTI was started to be a sideshow act of Heskamp Printing?
ReplyDeleteI really, really wish PTI would sell their business to someone who knows how to run a business properly. Like Ellen Hutson. Or Oozak.
ReplyDeleteMy order already has a shipping number.
ReplyDeleteLOL, you think a shipping number means ANYTHING at all??????
ReplyDelete11:20 all that means is so far you have a mailing label
ReplyDeleteNo, but it's better than nothing!
ReplyDeleteAt least they have started!
ReplyDeleteYeah, better than no activity ...
ReplyDeleteIt simply means the computer is doing labels. Humans have nothing to do with it. They have not done a thing since release.
ReplyDeleteAnd it also means that your order is not likely to have fallen prey to that poor excuse of a website. Small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThat's gotta count for something! LOL! Also, the fact that you didn't get duplicate confirmation numbers is good. Look on the bright side!
ReplyDelete:-p
A new post is up, so go there.
ReplyDeleteLisa J. got fired. I don't think the others leaving is a coincidence. Stamps of Life produces their own stamps hence the lower cost...not that I think that any PTI set is worth $24...just putting the explanation out there.
ReplyDelete