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Old 01-01-2021, 11:00 PM
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Default Help please! wishlist & sale shopping advice needed

Help please! I need to ask how people manage their wishlist and how you shop in the sales as what I'm doing is SO not working. I've just missed out in buying in the sale yet again, after going through item after item carefully for hours and it's driving me crazy at wasting so much time and missing out on things I really wanted. I am clearly doing this all wrong, so please, any advice is very much appreciated!

My wish list is huge. HUGE. I still love most of the things in it, and of course keep adding more. I get frustrated that I can't sort or manage it in any way. Ideally, I would love to be able to make separate lists for each designer and for specific events. This would absolutely be my No.1 scrapping wish.

Fast forward to sale time, like iNSD or the Going Going Gone sale that's just finished. I mess up almost every time. I'm pretty anal and can't remember what I've bought previously, so I go through things one at a time and look closely to note the things I love most. I know I can't afford half of what I want, so decisions have to be made. Pretty normal there I think.

There's no point saving things into the wishlist whilst I'm deciding because it's already so big, and there's no way to separate these items from the others. So instead I simply load up the cart and then start to cull to my budget. But what happens so often is that it takes so long to do it this way that, like today, I end up missing out completely. I might have over a hundred items in my cart when I start and I need to get it right down to under 10 at the very most. I can't find any way to export the info to another program to make it easier to sort or review. And because EVERYTHING is in the cart, I can't just buy my "must haves" and then make a second purchase from the others once I have decided. So in the end I usually miss out entirely.

So please everyone, hit me with your best tips to get me out of this nightmare. The only thing I can think of is to open additional accounts just to be able to use the wishlists, but this is not ideal for lots of reasons.

Thank you and wish everyone a safe and happy 2021 x
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Old 01-01-2021, 11:24 PM
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How disappointing--I'm sorry you missed buying in the sale! I think some people use Pinterest for wishlists instead of the one in the store. I don't know if that's flexible enough for you, though, because although you can have as many different lists as you want I think it might be harder to move things around, have a "must buy" list, etc. Another option would be to right click on images for each thing you're considering and save all the previews to your hard drive. In a situation like you're describing, I think that's what I'd do so that I could easily move things into a folder of must haves, a folder of maybes, delete the ones I decided against, etc.

When there's a big sale here I always start by looking through the pictures in my To Be Scrapped folder. I think about which of those will work with kits I already have and which ones I'd like to buy something new for. What tends to happen is that I notice a few themes that are "holes" in my stash--maybe I have a bunch of winter photos that don't go with the kits I have, or maybe I have family photos to scrap but I've used my family-themed kits so much that I'm tired of them. Before I look through my wishlist, I try to make a list of the themes or color schemes I need to focus on. That helps me narrow down what to buy.

I hope you're able to come up with a better system for yourself!
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Old 01-01-2021, 11:34 PM
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Oh shoot! I missed the sale too... thought it went until midnight. Had a cart full.... *sigh*
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Old 01-02-2021, 12:10 AM
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I find that pinterest helps me with my wish lists! I have a board for kits that I want and you could break them down into designers or even write yourself a note as to what you would use each kit for. You could even keep these boards private so no one else can see them. Does that make sense? Hope that helps!! Pinterest has helped me with lots of 'lists' and organizing my ideas and thoughts!
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Old 01-02-2021, 04:28 AM
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My wish list is based on my photo's.
What theme and color are on it.
And then i buy the ones on the wishlist from the album(s) that i scrap at that moment, and
Save the rest on the list till another sale, and buy the kits that match what i am scrapping at that point.

Last edited by renatasluis; 01-02-2021 at 04:30 AM.
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Old 01-02-2021, 09:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3BluEyedBabi View Post
I find that pinterest helps me with my wish lists! I have a board for kits that I want and you could break them down into designers or even write yourself a note as to what you would use each kit for. You could even keep these boards private so no one else can see them. Does that make sense? Hope that helps!! Pinterest has helped me with lots of 'lists' and organizing my ideas and thoughts!

Yeah I was going to second this.
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Old 01-02-2021, 11:49 AM
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Hey ladies! We just extended our GGG sale through the weekend! I think with the holidays, people just got busy, so hopefully one more weekend will help.

Sale now ends at 6am EST on Monday 1/4, so be sure to grab those goodies you want before they are gone for good.
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Old 01-02-2021, 12:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin Carlton View Post
Hey ladies! We just extended our GGG sale through the weekend! I think with the holidays, people just got busy, so hopefully one more weekend will help.

Sale now ends at 6am EST, so be sure to grab those goodies you want before they are gone for good.
Thank you so much Robin!
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Old 01-02-2021, 02:44 PM
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Oh man, I wish I wouldn’t have placed my order “in the nick of time”...would have loved to have gotten the new FD kit!!

I have an excel sheet for my wishlist. I make an effort to open it & type in anything I add to my wishlist. When there’s an Oldies but Goodies or Featured Designer sale, I open the spreadsheet & control-f to search for what might be on my wishlist.
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Old 01-02-2021, 03:22 PM
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Figuring out what to buy and how to organize is a huge question, isn't it? For me, I have an excel spreadsheet for my kits. (I have a separate one for items that don't have corresponding kits. It's where I list JC packs, very specific templates, Cut files/WA packs, Alphas, etc.) While your question was How to pare down a WL, my answer is to find a way to organize what you already have so that it's easier to find the holes in your stash. For me, it was realizing my spreadsheet, which I started to help organize what I'd already purchased, could help me before I even make a purchase.

My spreadsheet has, in order, the columns Kit name, Designer, Store, Themes, Colors, Misc (like if it's part of a bigger collection/series, like the Around the World series), and Date of purchase. This way I (1) don't buy a coordinating JC pack if I already bought the bundle and (2) I can tell with a quick search what kits I have, which can also tell me what I don't have. And if I search my spreadsheet and find that I already have 4 kits with the same theme, then I don't need the kit I'm looking at in the store. So I don't buy it or put it on my WL. Keeping stuff off my WL means I don't have to worry about organizing it. I try to keep around 10 items or less on it. And I also think about my photos. If I don't really have photos or upcoming events that fit the kit's theme, then I don't buy it (or put it on my WL). I know some people who have a spreadsheet for their "To Scrap" photos, but I don't have one. I have a running mental list lol.

And I realized that, for me, I have to pay attention to my Return on Time Invested. The difference between the 25% off new release sale and a larger 35% off sale isn't that much for the amount I buy. There have been some AWESOME sales lately, but even if my cart held $100 worth of product, the difference between 25% off and 35% off is $10. (I'd spend either $75 or $65 after the sale, respectively.) Yes, that's $10, but I have to think about how much my own time is worth, and frankly, I'll spend $10 more on DS if it means I'm not spending an hour anxiously debating my cart. Even as a SAHM during the pandemic, my time is worth more than $10/hour. (And that extra $10 goes to women-owned small businesses. BONUS!) Granted, the GGG sale is larger than 35% off, but by the time the GGG sale rolls around, I hope to have already purchased anything that's retiring.
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Old 01-02-2021, 05:27 PM
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I have a table in evernote.... I copy kit previews from my wishlist (makes notes of what plans/photos I want to use it with if I already have any). Sometimes I'll go as far as to put them in groups by a set budget so I can make a plan to get the ones I know I can use right away. As far as sales go, I just cross reference my list to the sale selection to make sure I won't miss out. My wishlist is out of control as well, but I find it really helps to make the table because I can put them under theme headings if I want and then I can see if any kits are similar so I can decide if I really 'need; all of them.
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Old 01-02-2021, 06:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin Carlton View Post
Hey ladies! We just extended our GGG sale through the weekend! I think with the holidays, people just got busy, so hopefully one more weekend will help.

Sale now ends at 6am EST on Monday 1/4, so be sure to grab those goodies you want before they are gone for good.
What?! That's AWESOME news!!!
I, too, missed the sale as I never got on my computer to come online! This is the BEST news I've heard in 2021!!!!! Thank you Robin and team!
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Old 01-02-2021, 10:38 PM
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I was so excited to log into the store tonight and see the sale extended!

I think I am going to start a Pinterest board for my Wishlist kits as well. I have so many in my Wishlist that it is ridiculous to wade through. If I can make notes as to how I plan to use each kit and then compare my list with sale items, etc. it would be more efficient. Trying to see if I have wish-listed kits that are on sale or being retired is tough.
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Old 01-03-2021, 09:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin Carlton View Post
Hey ladies! We just extended our GGG sale through the weekend! I think with the holidays, people just got busy, so hopefully one more weekend will help.

Sale now ends at 6am EST on Monday 1/4, so be sure to grab those goodies you want before they are gone for good.
Thank you so much... of course I found a few more things that I *needed* lol!
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Old 01-05-2021, 10:54 PM
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I go through my wishlist every month or so, and think about whether it is something I still want or not. Sometimes, something I really loved the week it was released may not hit me the same way or I may realize I already have something really similar and probably don't need it and delete. It keeps the list a little more manageable.

I agree about wishing there was some ability to sort the wishlist by designer so I could find things on my wishlist quicker. I usually remember the designer, but not necessarily the kit name.
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Old 01-06-2021, 08:13 AM
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If you do the challenges, you get a nice coupon. Then you can spend all month thinking about what you want so that you are ready to go when the coupons are sent. It's like making your own sale.
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Old 01-13-2021, 12:18 PM
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If you do the challenges, you get a nice coupon. Then you can spend all month thinking about what you want so that you are ready to go when the coupons are sent. It's like making your own sale.
This helps me so much. I can plan that these are the kits I really want to get with my coupon as they are next on my list to scrap and then the next month I can see what i want to scrap and what kits I'll need.

I also really agree with the comment above about reevaluating your wishlist. Sometimes a new kit catches my eye because I love the colors, but looking at it again in a few weeks, maybe there's it doesn't have the elements I thought or the papers don't match my style. If I have a bunch of similar themed kits on my list, I'll also open them all up and compare - which ones will I really use? Will I really use 6 with the same theme/colors?

I also started a spreadsheet of all my SSD kits and marking off if I've ever used them. This is helping me both 'shop my stash' and reminds me - hey you liked this kit enough to buy it, go look at it again and use it!!!
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Old 01-13-2021, 04:46 PM
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I also started a spreadsheet of all my SSD kits and marking off if I've ever used them. This is helping me both 'shop my stash' and reminds me - hey you liked this kit enough to buy it, go look at it again and use it!!!
That's a good idea! Can I ask if you make a check mark for each time you use a kit, like a way to see some of your go-to kits?
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Old 01-13-2021, 10:51 PM
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I agree about wishing there was some ability to sort the wishlist by designer so I could find things on my wishlist quicker. I usually remember the designer, but not necessarily the kit name.
I use my browser's 'find' function and search the name when this happens (Ctrl-F or Command-F on my mac) - then search the designer name, it'll take you to the next instance of the name on that page.
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Old 01-14-2021, 08:27 PM
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That's a good idea! Can I ask if you make a check mark for each time you use a kit, like a way to see some of your go-to kits?
I should start doing that as well!! Good idea!!!
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Old 02-03-2021, 11:22 AM
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I would also love some sort of sorting function on the wish list... great idea!
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Old 02-03-2021, 02:05 PM
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I vote for the Pinterest board too...although I really need to update mine. I think you can create different categories now within a board. I'm so doing that soon!
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Old 02-03-2021, 03:40 PM
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I spent a good chunk of time last weekend adding kits from my wish list to Pinterest. My aim is to keep no more than 15 things on my wish list-- the things I wish for the most! The rest are all on Pinterest sorted by category.
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