View BasketFebruary 2025
Dear customers, suppliers, and business partners,
It is with a heavy heart, and much reflection, that we must announce Frantic Stamper will be closing in the latter part 2025. We do not have a final date yet, as it will depend on several factors, not the least of which is selling off our current inventory.
With only 4 employees, we cannot rush into this closure with a giant sell-off as it would be an overwhelming task. Instead, we plan on soft and gradual close. (see details below)
At this time, we are adding new products to our "Going Out Of Business Sale" page on a weekly basis. Don't forget to also check out our "Clearance Sale" page for even more bargain. Prices range from 10% off to 75% off.
We understand you probably have many questions. Let’s try to answer some of them.
FAQ:
-Why is
Frantic Stamper closing?
-Over the past few years, sales have declined dramatically, all the while, the
expenses of running a business have increased.
At our peak, we shipped 600-750 orders a week… and now we are down to
around 250 per week.
The cost of doing business is on the rise, from business insurance to utilities, shipping costs to regulatory and tax expenses, office supplies to the electronics we need to operate. We are at a critical crossroads. Our choices were to retire, or invest in a new online platform, heavily increase our social media presence, coordinate with influencers (most of which are already committed to our competitors), and increase our brand offerings. To be honest, this is not only a daunting task, but would also require taking a big risk with loans to fund these changes.
Another factor is that, let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger. On a personal note, my husband retired in 2024, and it’s time for me to join him onto the next phase of our lives.
And then there’s Temu, AliExpress, Amazon, and the massive issue with counterfeits…. Sigh…. A losing battle. On top of that, tariffs are making the prices of many craft supplies manufactured in China and Europe rise out of the reach of many crafters.
Please know that this decision was not taken lightly. Frantic Stamper is my “baby” of 29 years. Some of you have been shopping with me (us) since the very beginning, on the old AOL & Prodigy message boards, before shiny websites and shopping carts were a thing, before Google and Amazon existed, and it’s been a crazy ride. Frantic Stamper was a pioneer in online sales for our niche market of paper craft supplies. It’s something we can be proud of.
-When
will you close?
-At this time, we do not have an end date…. But it will most likely be in the
second half of 2025. This will depend on
how fast things sell out and how long we can keep our employees busy.
-Will you
be having sales?
-Yes, of course. However, we need to take
it slow so that we can serve you properly.
We will not have a site-wide discount until closer to the
end. Instead, we urge you to shop for
staple items you know you will be using, and your wish list items, as we will
not be restocking.
In the next weeks and months, we will add many items to our heavily discounted clearance section (which already contains over 6,000 items), as well as implement %off discounts on certain brands. Please understand that programming sales and product discounts takes time, therefore, these discounts will come gradually over time. The plan for now is to add 2 to 3 companies to the “going out of business” section every week.
We are also limited on what discount we offer on certain brands. Some brands do not allow us to discount without prior approval, and we will need to take up our cause with each one on an individual basis.
In addition, please note that we will most likely NOT put individual sheets of paper on sale. Why? Well, to be honest, filling a 12 page order with 1 sheet of this paper and 1 sheet of that paper takes way too long. **IF you would like to purchase all we have remaining of certain papers, please email us and we will come up with a way to give you a discount for lightening our load**
-New
products?
-We are no longer bringing in new products, nor are we restocking products. We're so sorry.
-Will you
still accept returns?
-As per our normal store policies, any defective items are always eligible for
return or replacement. Returns on
non-clearance merchandise will continue to be handled per our store policies
with a 15% restocking fee for refunds, or NO restocking fee for store credit. Items marked as “Clearance” are not eligible
for returns (unless they are defective)
-I have a
store credit or gift certificate, when will it expire?
-As long as we are open, you may redeem your store credits and gift
certificates as normal. However, I would urge you to use any gift certificate or store credit as soon as possible as once we close, they will not be valid any longer.
-What
about the free shipping offer at $150 for USA orders?
-At this time, we will continue to honor this offer. Even as postage rates increase, and have
increased every year, we continue to offer free shipping on orders over $150
shipping to the USA. As you can
imagine, it is getting more and more difficult to absorb this expense, but we
are committed to continuing this offer for as long as we can. That being said, there may come a time when
we need to discontinue the free shipping offer. Please understand that when we started
offering this, a USPS Flat Rate box had a shipping cost of $8…. And now, it is
over $16.
-Why aren’t
you selling Frantic Stamper to someone else?
-While this option not off the table, as of right now, we have not been
approached by any buyers. For now, our
plan is slowly selling off our inventory, offering grab boxes, having a yard
sale at our physical location, and donating unsellable inventory to local
schools and charities, etc.
Should you have any questions, please either email us at [email protected] or call us at 541-826-2500. We will do our best to answer your specific inquiries.
With much love and gratitude,
Fran and the Frantic Stamper Team