#177- Oh I do work just like my husband does:) Thanks for asking. However, I am thankful my husband isn't a deadbeat and contributes to the family bank. _ Bully for you. I have a feeling most care as much about how your household finances as they do Traci's. Happy Holidays, you little Sweetheart! Keep spreadin' that Christmas cheer!!!!
Everything about Traci is horrible. Right down to the way she treats her customers behind their backs. --- You obviously have a personal problem with Traci. Why not be a grownup and handle it with her and not anonymously on a blog? Generalities such as "Right down to the way she treats customers behind their backs" are indicative of LYING and/or EXAGGERATING. It's obvious you're trying to stir shit. Why not do it someplace where people know who you are? Oh, I KNOW! You don't do that because you're, among many, many other things, a coward!
#172- Krystal H is one of the MOST vain, conceited people I have ever met. What do you expect though from someone who used to be really fat. She thinks she deserves the strokes to her ego. -- You obviously have NO idea of what you speak. What a piece of crap you are. __ Yeah, this person is just spouting off and has no clue. Krystal is STILL quite overweight so the op is just being an asshole. Jerk.
LOL @ Traci Reed. She talks about how her husband bought her a Wacom tablet for Christmas. No Traci, you bought yourself one for Christmas. __ Maybe you're a bitter bitch because your husband doesn't buy you squat for Christmas.
Oh #2 pull your underwear out of your ass. It's a SMACK blog. People come here to bitch. That is the purpose of this blog. Simple as that. If people want Holiday Cheer, the SMACK blog is not the place to come. Idiots.
Oh #2 pull your underwear out of your ass. It's a SMACK blog. People come here to bitch. That is the purpose of this blog. Simple as that. If people want Holiday Cheer, the SMACK blog is not the place to come. Idiots. --- Coming here to bitch is what I am doing, Dumbass. I just happen to be bitching about YOU! LOL!!!
I'm starting to get really tired with the digi stores. I don't like that the download links expire in 5-7-10 days and I have to send an email to have them activated again. I'm very busy, I barely have time to browse through the stores and shop, I can't stress over expired links all the time. I now have about 30 orders that have expired and I have to go through the process of finding the order numbers and sending emails. It would be nice if the links would stay active for a month.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again. ----- Good riddance. You sound like an idiot. A hypocritical idiot at that.
#11 where are you shopping? I've shopped all over and have never had problems getting links later. I've never had to even contact anybody. They're just there.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again. ----- What's real gossip
maybe they are on dial-up? A 30 mb file used to take me about an hour to download when I was on dial-up. 100 mb would take about 4 hours. If she only has one phone line and a family making calls that is going to be hard to manage
First of all I spend hours shopping. I buy lots and lots of digi supplies. It takes me hours and several days to download everything. My internet is dsl but it stops for a few seconds and I may need to download stuff again. I also need to unzip everything right away to make sure everything was downloaded because of the small internet cuts. I'm also very busy. I just wish this whole process wasn't so stressful. Of course I'm sure I'm putting to much on my plate and my time management isn't the best but what can I say? I can't resist digi shopping especially during sales. I can't be the only one who's too busy to enjoy digi shopping and sales during the christmas season. I shop from The Lilypad, Sweet Shoppe, Scrap Orchard, Shabby Miss Jenn, Pixels & Co (which I love because the links don't expire) Digital Design Essentials, One Story Down, The Digi Chick, Jessica Sprague, Scrapbook Graphics.
We're all busy. It's a matter of what's a priority for you. For me, making sure I get products I purchase is a priority. If it's not a priority for you, you're just going to have to accept that you'll have to jump through hoops to get links reset. You're lucky they reset them. Seriously... it takes an extra 5 minutes to download. I don't even leave the website until I have the product downloaded. I hate the "I'm busy" excuse. We're all busy. Get over it. And if it's stressful to shop, stop doing it. Why do something that stresses you out? Obviously you don't need it if you're not even bothering to download for a month.
#20 It doesn't take me just 5 minutes to download the links. More like a few hours.. If it was only five minutes I wouldn't even mention it. It also takes a while to shop. I've been shopping for years and I always downloaded right away but this year I just couldn't and that's when everything went out of control.
It's not a store's responsibility to be an adult for you. No matter how slow your connection, 5-10 days would be plenty of time to download even on DSL (which is laughable). It's 2013. My phone downloads faster than DSL.
11 (and I'm assuming also 22): I am trying to understand. You don't have time to DL but you have time to shop in the first place? And come here and complain? DLing and unzipping is the easiest part of the process for me. I spend more time looking at the preview (to try to check quality/amount of CU used--if any--etc). I DL while I watch TV or I click 2 or 3 DL links at a time as I pass my laptop while I watch the kids during the day. It literally doesn't take any extra time to do. Unzipping into folders takes 2 seconds: create a new folder and dump everything into it.
How do you have time to go through that many orders, contact that many stores, and then beg for that many resets...but NOT have time to DL in the first place? That's like saying "I cant' make a salad for lunch! I started my garden after perusing seed catalogs and picking exactly what I wanted to buy, and then planting/harvesting everything, but now it's too tough to take the lettuce out of my fridge and onto a plate! I just don't have time!"
unzipping gets boring. I know designers break it up into smaller downloads for those who are still on dial-up, but then it takes way longer to unzip than to download.
That was what drove me nuts about Al Ward's site. He would have one action in a zip file. Or one style or shape. Sometimes he would put a few in together, but then often it was just the one file in the zip with no preview! You don't need to zip one file!!
There were way more frustrating things about ActionFX than just the download files ;)
My guess is that shopping is more fun than downloading so the effort and time goes to the enjoyable part. That isn't really the store's fault, though. I'm not always that fond of paying the bills for my real life shopping, and sometimes I don't get that done on time. Maybe I should ask them to reset the billing cycle ;)
How lazy are some of you women? It's too hard to click a button to unzip? There are programs out there that unzip multiple files at once in a matter of seconds.
I never unzip because I click Open instead of Save so when it pops up the folder is there and you just drag it into the folder you want. So much faster than unzipping later.
When my computer crashed last fall, I lost a LOT of kits that I hadn't gotten backed up yet. I was able to go back a full six months or so on SSD and downloaded almost every kit I bought (a few retired freebies didn't work) without asking for a reset-- I went back into my order history and clicked through to the links. Maybe something has changed since then, but I didn't have to ask for a reset at all, and, like I said, I went back 6 months or so.
Ladies you're losing the point of what I'm trying to say. Yes..ok..I admit it, stupid me for having time to shop for hours but not downloading the links right away and blah blah blah..the point is, why do links have to expire? That's my problem. Well after this big mess of course I'll never let things get so out of control. And just so you know I'm talking about $1500 worth of digi supplies and 60-70 orders..so no it's not 5 minutes. I hate unzipping everything together because lots of files get mixed up. I unzip one by one and rename every file. Thank you #233 for the tip about Sweet Shoppe links.
A really great free program for renaming files quickly is called "Bulk Rename Utility".
The program looks a little archaic but it's very functional. You can add characters/words to the beginning of files (ie. "Designer A - Kit B - "), or you can delete any number of characters from the existing file name & have it rename the selected files sequentially. Just look thru the help files that come with it. If you have trouble, let me know & I'll try to help. Just remember when you bring in a folder to rename, you get to select which individual files to rename (you don't have to do all that's in the folder, only the ones you select). I use this program all the time for digi files, photos, etc.... Hope that helps.
Anyway, as for the resets, I've heard that they expire (or can only be DLed a certain number of times) to discourage priacy. IDK: maybe store owners think we'll go to a friend's house, log into our account on our friend's computer, and DL stuff? I like the certain-number-of-times links cuz sometimes I DL right away but I don't unzip for awhile cuz I forget.
$1500-worth of DS stuff could still be easily managed. While you shop at store 2, DL and unzip store 1. And then DL/unzip Store 2 as you shop Store 3. So you're doing everything at once. I do it (though not on that grand a purchasing scale).
I save files as zips (vs what someone said about choosing "open file"), but I just open the zip, click on what I want to keep (meaning I leave the stupid multiple TOUs, photos of the designers/their logo, store links, etc behind) and then drag/drop into the folder I created for the kit. Why do people make a big deal out of unzipping? Am I missing something? I have a PC and run W7.
I too am on a pc w/Win 7 and I must be missing something as well. Unzipping is neither time-consuming nor labor-intensive. I've never really looked at it as anything but a step in the whole process. I unzip multiple files simultaneously while I do other stuff; when it's all done, I go back and file everything where I want it.
Who the hell needs $1500 worth of digi supplies all at one time? --- I don't think it's a matter of need. After all, this is a hobby for most of us so we get what we want and can afford. I'm sure I don't need as many Christmas kits as I have or hundreds of templates but I want them and MORE!
Ladies you're losing the point of what I'm trying to say. Yes..ok..I admit it, stupid me for having time to shop for hours but not downloading the links right away and blah blah blah..the point is, why do links have to expire? That's my problem. Well after this big mess of course I'll never let things get so out of control. And just so you know I'm talking about $1500 worth of digi supplies and 60-70 orders..so no it's not 5 minutes. I hate unzipping everything together because lots of files get mixed up. I unzip one by one and rename every file. Thank you #233 for the tip about Sweet Shoppe links.
I agree with this poster- links should not expire: there is no reason for it. There are plenty of reasons why they should not expire: back-ups fail, files become corrupted, slow download speeds, purchasing too much, etc. Even years ago, two peas links never expired. My nook and Kindle links don't expired. Pixels links don't expire. Why should other sites?
As for SSD, I have shopped there since they opened, and I have seldom, if ever, found that my links are still there after the initial period (plus two days or so) for downloading. However, Robin is great to work with you.
And not to be rude- Those of you who don't understand her point have obviously never had limits on their internet connection or time. As for cell phone speed, I don't have good reception where I live, and most of the time I don't have access to 3G. As far as internet goes, I pay for the most gigabytes and speed available where I live every month. I still have a 15 GB anytime and 15 GB non-peak hour limit. With the size of today's kits,that is not a lot of download capacity. Therefore, many, many times I can't download within ten days. When I shop, which is only 4-5 times a year in large quantities, I spend between $200-$550 dollars (I like to support the designers) and have several gigabytes to download which takes quite a bit of time. Unfortunately, with several of the sites, using a bulk downloader causes problems because it can take more than the 5 click limit to download the file. That means I have to be at the computer monitoring my downloads- that can take several hours. I do have a life outside of digi supplies. Yes, I could choose not to shop at those stores, but do they really want to lose me as a loyal customer, who spends quite a bit at their store over the course of the year, over their artificially imposed time limits on downloads? If they do, just let me know, I can easily find other ways to spend that money.
I think all of the designers here should be thanking the lady for investing $1500 in the digi scrap community. I hope she enjoys scrapping & creating projects with her new downloads. :)
I get like 250GB per month, and I've never used that much. I can DL whenever I want. I have a nice DL speed (I think it's nice, maybe others would disagree. I think it's around 18 MBps.) We rent our lines, so we don't have "peak" times or anything.
Anyway, I guess I just don't understand complaining about the store's expiry/link limits if you shop like a fiend. The original point might be about expiring links, but really it's a matter of balance. And shouldn't links eventually expire in a community where stores frequently close and/or designers retire/re-brand themselves? You better back up your purchases on multiple HDs/EHDs/websites/DVDs because in a year or two the store might be closed. Try getting a link from ScrapMatters now. Take some responsibility for your purchases from a small webstore. DS stores are not Amazon.
And 42, yes, I'm sure designers are thankful that she spent so much, even if now she can't get her purchased items.
I'm #20 and I'll agree that links shouldn't expire. I also don't see the need for it. I bought it, I should be able to access it anywhere and everywhere. Heck, we've got a bunch of Kindles and we can all access the books at any time. It makes sense to me... except the nature of digital supplies is that things get retired, server space is limited (which is why things get retired), and the stores can't afford to keep everything on their server forever because someone's hard drive crashes 4 years from now. What about designers who retire and leave the store? Should they keep their stuff forever? Amazon can afford to keep every book available forever because it's Amazon. SSD is a small business owned by a real person and doesn't have the same resources.So look, I've done talked myself out of having links never expire. I could go for a six month expiration or something.
However, they *do* expire and everyone shopping in digiland knows that. If I was going to spend $1500 on digital supplies (which I would never do... I could get a car for that amount of $$), I'd darn sure make sure I got my supplies downloaded before the links expired. So yes, I do get the point of the complaint: the OP thinks links shouldn't expire. Here's my point: make sure you download before the links expire. It's common sense. If your internet is slow or you're "busy" or you don't link to unzip in one fell swoop... maybe you should make a lot of small purchases rather than 2 or 3 big ones. This isn't the stores' fault. They make it clear how long you have to download your purchases. I was able to find the policies for Designer Digital, TLP and SSD with just a few cliks. I guess my problem is someone using the excuse "I'm too busy" to think that stores need to change policies for them.
Even if it's over a month or two, there are others who've spent that much and are still able to DL/unzip without links expiring. If I add up all my CT stuff and what I purchase, it's probably close to $1500.
The "I'm too busy to download stuff" line is a lame excuse. If you have time to shop then you've got to make time to properly take care of your purchases. I'm sure it's more of a hassle to track down everything than to DL everything in a timely manner.
Even free these suck. Traci, give it up, your handwriting sucks! There are plenty of fonts that look a lot better than your pitiful attempts. http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/product.php?productid=26893&cat=650&page=1
Expiring links are just like merchandise in a store. Would you go back to a store saying that the dress you bought 2 months ago got stolen and expect they would provide you with another identical one? First, I doubt you would consider it is their responsibility to have it available forever simply because you have paid for it. Second, it could become out of stock; the size you need might no longer be available, the model might be discontinued. Nobody would expect stores to keep things just because someone has paid for it and now, needs to replace it.
Also, in a digital store, one might argue that it does not take storage space (like the dresses in all colors, sizes and models) but they CAN become discontinued: designers retire products, designers move around, change store, etc. Stores require those supplies to be left available for a certain period (like a month) so that everyone can take the "normal" time to download their order, but no more.
Also, do you think that every designer would like to keep their stuff in a store they left just to keep the links available forever? In a personal store, that is not as much of a problem, but in a consignment store a designer certainly would not want their products to be left "available" forever; who knows if the owner would not sell it more and not give the designer her share? What if the designer is now supposed to be exclusive to her current store? What if the old store gets hacked and this designer's products are at risk?
Having links expired should be the norm. However, having the option to have the links reset on demand (even for a fee if needed) if the product is still available would just be good customer service, but not an absolute must.
Did you see the DSA blog hop? I'm happy they put the photos of each designer there--you can pick and choose which ones to download. Unfortunately, it won't be many, but I don't have to waste my time downloading a lot. Happy new year. There are a couple of cute templates there.
Digi stores sell digital supplies, not storage space. I am not sure I understand this sense of entitlement. When you pay for your product and receive it, the transaction is over. If you need more storage, then buy an ESD or cloud service. If you can't afford that why would you expect a store to pay for it on your behalf? They not only have to pay for server size but they also pay for bandwidth transfer, and when people take advantage of link resetting those costs can add up. When links are available ongoing customers come to expect that they can come back any time and not have to pay for their own storage. Resetting the links takes time, especially when this service is abused which it often is. Plus, It has been discovered that many times that links are reset, new IP address come to visit and download, indicating that some people use this opportunity to share with their friends without even having to transfer files. They just share access to their store accounts. In fact, it is a favorite method of file transfer for pirate groups.
52-I'm sure that some people probably share access, but my isp address is changed automatically every day. I'm sure other people also change their isp address frequently.
There are a couple of cute templates there. __ Agree. Also sooo glad they put their individual contributions up so I didn't waste time dl'ing stuff I'll NEVER use!
Happy New Year!! I'm the OP about the download links. I don't want them to exist forever but a few months or at least a month would be nice. I know a few stores that have changed the time for the download links and made it possible for them to be available for a month. I really appreciate that and I'll try to chose them for my purchases in the future. Anyway..I mentioned before that this was the first time I lost control of my downloads and digi supplies after years of purchasing every few days. This time I bought $1500 of stuff in 2-3 days. In the period September-December I spent almost $5000. I always need many hours to browse, shop, download, unzip. I may spend a few days every month doing this but I'm happy because I see it as a hobby and I love this whole process.
Thank you #35 about the "Bulk Rename Utility". I'll definately try it.
I cannot understand how someone can spend over $1500 in 3 days on digi stuff, with a total of 5K in 4 months. It's just mind boggling to me. I might spend $500 a year if you count prints, so that just is beyond my comprehension. I guess if you have that much money to spend on supplies you are too busy to use, it matters if your download links expire after a week and you have to go back into your order history in the store to get them.
An IP address is not a person and can't be treated as such. IP addresses are changed all the time by service providers. Anyone who wastes time tracking down, blocking, or otherwise hoping to identify someone with an IP address is wasting their time and showing their ignorance.
While I do agree with #52, that digi stores are not a source of back-ups, I do disagree as well. Any other digital item I buy I have access to for pretty much ever to download when and where I please.
I always need many hours to browse, shop, download, unzip. I may spend a few days every month doing this but I'm happy because I see it as a hobby and I love this whole process. -----------
Interesting that you never mention doing any actual scrapping. I guess you are too busy
I think that comparing it to a kindle book is really accurate. If I've bought it, I should be able to access it when I want. -------
You can, on your Kindle. It's up to you to back up your Kindle files, just like any other digital file. Why should a digital file in a store be there forever when a physical item in a store isn't there forever?
"Why should a digital file in a store be there forever when a physical item in a store isn't there forever?"
Perhaps that is an added value to the digital version. I see how it is very appealing for the digital books. If there were two stores I liked and one provided longer lasting download links, I could see that having a possible effect on my purchases.
I think that comparing it to a kindle book is really accurate. If I've bought it, I should be able to access it when I want.
-------
You might change your opinion on this if you were the person/company having to pay for the server fees and bandwidth to host it forever just because some customers are too lazy to download it in a timely manner. Obviously there are situations when an EHD crashes and that's another story, but in general, it isn't the shop's responsibility to fund long-term links. A shop can provide quality customer service without hosting your products forever.
264 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 264 of 264 Newer› Newest»#177- Oh I do work just like my husband does:) Thanks for asking. However, I am thankful my husband isn't a deadbeat and contributes to the family bank.
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Bully for you. I have a feeling most care as much about how your household finances as they do Traci's. Happy Holidays, you little Sweetheart! Keep spreadin' that Christmas cheer!!!!
Everything about Traci is horrible. Right down to the way she treats her customers behind their backs.
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You obviously have a personal problem with Traci. Why not be a grownup and handle it with her and not anonymously on a blog? Generalities such as "Right down to the way she treats customers behind their backs" are indicative of LYING and/or EXAGGERATING. It's obvious you're trying to stir shit. Why not do it someplace where people know who you are? Oh, I KNOW! You don't do that because you're, among many, many other things, a coward!
#172- Krystal H is one of the MOST vain, conceited people I have ever met. What do you expect though from someone who used to be really fat. She thinks she deserves the strokes to her ego.
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You obviously have NO idea of what you speak. What a piece of crap you are.
__
Yeah, this person is just spouting off and has no clue. Krystal is STILL quite overweight so the op is just being an asshole. Jerk.
LOL @ Traci Reed.
She talks about how her husband bought her a Wacom tablet for Christmas. No Traci, you bought yourself one for Christmas.
__
Maybe you're a bitter bitch because your husband doesn't buy you squat for Christmas.
Oh #2 pull your underwear out of your ass. It's a SMACK blog. People come here to bitch. That is the purpose of this blog. Simple as that. If people want Holiday Cheer, the SMACK blog is not the place to come. Idiots.
Oh #2 pull your underwear out of your ass. It's a SMACK blog. People come here to bitch. That is the purpose of this blog. Simple as that. If people want Holiday Cheer, the SMACK blog is not the place to come. Idiots.
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Coming here to bitch is what I am doing, Dumbass. I just happen to be bitching about YOU! LOL!!!
I watched the Krystal H videos and her breathless voice was annoying as was her hair in her face.
Yes, it's as if she were trying to hide something. Very annoying video.
This blog has died. Is everyone hanging out somewhere else?
I guess everyone is too overcome with the joy of Christmas to be smakin'! ;)
I'm starting to get really tired with the digi stores. I don't like that the download links expire in 5-7-10 days and I have to send an email to have them activated again. I'm very busy, I barely have time to browse through the stores and shop, I can't stress over expired links all the time. I now have about 30 orders that have expired and I have to go through the process of finding the order numbers and sending emails.
It would be nice if the links would stay active for a month.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again.
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Good riddance. You sound like an idiot. A hypocritical idiot at that.
#11 where are you shopping? I've shopped all over and have never had problems getting links later. I've never had to even contact anybody. They're just there.
#9 this blog has become too nasty. Only bad things are being said and no real gossip. Whenever someone expresses an opinion they get smacked badly and I don't care if the blog is named digismack..I'm sick of it. I haven't visited in a few months and don't plan to visit again.
-----
What's real gossip
What on earth would make it so you can't download your purchases within 10 days?
Is there a certain reason you can't download your purchases within 10 days? Why can't you download them on the same day you purchase them?
maybe they are on dial-up? A 30 mb file used to take me about an hour to download when I was on dial-up. 100 mb would take about 4 hours. If she only has one phone line and a family making calls that is going to be hard to manage
First of all I spend hours shopping. I buy lots and lots of digi supplies.
It takes me hours and several days to download everything. My internet is dsl but it stops for a few seconds and I may need to download stuff again. I also need to unzip everything right away to make sure everything was downloaded because of the small internet cuts.
I'm also very busy. I just wish this whole process wasn't so stressful. Of course I'm sure I'm putting to much on my plate and my time management isn't the best but what can I say? I can't resist digi shopping especially during sales. I can't be the only one who's too busy to enjoy digi shopping and sales during the christmas season.
I shop from The Lilypad, Sweet Shoppe, Scrap Orchard, Shabby Miss Jenn, Pixels & Co (which I love because the links don't expire) Digital Design Essentials, One Story Down, The Digi Chick, Jessica Sprague, Scrapbook Graphics.
We're all busy. It's a matter of what's a priority for you. For me, making sure I get products I purchase is a priority. If it's not a priority for you, you're just going to have to accept that you'll have to jump through hoops to get links reset. You're lucky they reset them. Seriously... it takes an extra 5 minutes to download. I don't even leave the website until I have the product downloaded. I hate the "I'm busy" excuse. We're all busy. Get over it. And if it's stressful to shop, stop doing it. Why do something that stresses you out? Obviously you don't need it if you're not even bothering to download for a month.
What #20 said.
#20 It doesn't take me just 5 minutes to download the links. More like a few hours.. If it was only five minutes I wouldn't even mention it.
It also takes a while to shop.
I've been shopping for years and I always downloaded right away but this year I just couldn't and that's when everything went out of control.
You can't fixed STUPID!!
It's not a store's responsibility to be an adult for you. No matter how slow your connection, 5-10 days would be plenty of time to download even on DSL (which is laughable). It's 2013. My phone downloads faster than DSL.
dst games and challenges?
http://www.digishoptalk.com/boards/showpost.php?p=3390408&postcount=1
You're right, 23: You can't "fixed" STUPID. You're out of luck.
11 (and I'm assuming also 22): I am trying to understand. You don't have time to DL but you have time to shop in the first place? And come here and complain? DLing and unzipping is the easiest part of the process for me. I spend more time looking at the preview (to try to check quality/amount of CU used--if any--etc). I DL while I watch TV or I click 2 or 3 DL links at a time as I pass my laptop while I watch the kids during the day. It literally doesn't take any extra time to do. Unzipping into folders takes 2 seconds: create a new folder and dump everything into it.
How do you have time to go through that many orders, contact that many stores, and then beg for that many resets...but NOT have time to DL in the first place? That's like saying "I cant' make a salad for lunch! I started my garden after perusing seed catalogs and picking exactly what I wanted to buy, and then planting/harvesting everything, but now it's too tough to take the lettuce out of my fridge and onto a plate! I just don't have time!"
"even on DSL"
----
I have dsl and my downloading, etc. is lightening quick.
unzipping gets boring. I know designers break it up into smaller downloads for those who are still on dial-up, but then it takes way longer to unzip than to download.
That was what drove me nuts about Al Ward's site. He would have one action in a zip file. Or one style or shape. Sometimes he would put a few in together, but then often it was just the one file in the zip with no preview! You don't need to zip one file!!
There were way more frustrating things about ActionFX than just the download files ;)
My guess is that shopping is more fun than downloading so the effort and time goes to the enjoyable part. That isn't really the store's fault, though. I'm not always that fond of paying the bills for my real life shopping, and sometimes I don't get that done on time. Maybe I should ask them to reset the billing cycle ;)
How lazy are some of you women? It's too hard to click a button to unzip? There are programs out there that unzip multiple files at once in a matter of seconds.
I never unzip because I click Open instead of Save so when it pops up the folder is there and you just drag it into the folder you want. So much faster than unzipping later.
When my computer crashed last fall, I lost a LOT of kits that I hadn't gotten backed up yet. I was able to go back a full six months or so on SSD and downloaded almost every kit I bought (a few retired freebies didn't work) without asking for a reset-- I went back into my order history and clicked through to the links. Maybe something has changed since then, but I didn't have to ask for a reset at all, and, like I said, I went back 6 months or so.
Ladies you're losing the point of what I'm trying to say. Yes..ok..I admit it, stupid me for having time to shop for hours but not downloading the links right away and blah blah blah..the point is, why do links have to expire? That's my problem.
Well after this big mess of course I'll never let things get so out of control.
And just so you know I'm talking about $1500 worth of digi supplies and 60-70 orders..so no it's not 5 minutes.
I hate unzipping everything together because lots of files get mixed up. I unzip one by one and rename every file.
Thank you #233 for the tip about Sweet Shoppe links.
A really great free program for renaming files quickly is called "Bulk Rename Utility".
The program looks a little archaic but it's very functional. You can add characters/words to the beginning of files (ie. "Designer A - Kit B - "), or you can delete any number of characters from the existing file name & have it rename the selected files sequentially. Just look thru the help files that come with it. If you have trouble, let me know & I'll try to help. Just remember when you bring in a folder to rename, you get to select which individual files to rename (you don't have to do all that's in the folder, only the ones you select). I use this program all the time for digi files, photos, etc.... Hope that helps.
Who the hell needs $1500 worth of digi supplies all at one time?
ITA with 35. "Bulk Rename" is great.
Anyway, as for the resets, I've heard that they expire (or can only be DLed a certain number of times) to discourage priacy. IDK: maybe store owners think we'll go to a friend's house, log into our account on our friend's computer, and DL stuff? I like the certain-number-of-times links cuz sometimes I DL right away but I don't unzip for awhile cuz I forget.
$1500-worth of DS stuff could still be easily managed. While you shop at store 2, DL and unzip store 1. And then DL/unzip Store 2 as you shop Store 3. So you're doing everything at once. I do it (though not on that grand a purchasing scale).
I save files as zips (vs what someone said about choosing "open file"), but I just open the zip, click on what I want to keep (meaning I leave the stupid multiple TOUs, photos of the designers/their logo, store links, etc behind) and then drag/drop into the folder I created for the kit. Why do people make a big deal out of unzipping? Am I missing something? I have a PC and run W7.
I too am on a pc w/Win 7 and I must be missing something as well. Unzipping is neither time-consuming nor labor-intensive. I've never really looked at it as anything but a step in the whole process. I unzip multiple files simultaneously while I do other stuff; when it's all done, I go back and file everything where I want it.
Who the hell needs $1500 worth of digi supplies all at one time?
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I don't think it's a matter of need. After all, this is a hobby for most of us so we get what we want and can afford. I'm sure I don't need as many Christmas kits as I have or hundreds of templates but I want them and MORE!
Hey I've had my finger throbing like George Jetson's from so much clicking!
maybe it's arthritis. seriously, it did hurt.
Ladies you're losing the point of what I'm trying to say. Yes..ok..I admit it, stupid me for having time to shop for hours but not downloading the links right away and blah blah blah..the point is, why do links have to expire? That's my problem.
Well after this big mess of course I'll never let things get so out of control.
And just so you know I'm talking about $1500 worth of digi supplies and 60-70 orders..so no it's not 5 minutes.
I hate unzipping everything together because lots of files get mixed up. I unzip one by one and rename every file.
Thank you #233 for the tip about Sweet Shoppe links.
I agree with this poster- links should not expire: there is no reason for it. There are plenty of reasons why they should not expire: back-ups fail, files become corrupted, slow download speeds, purchasing too much, etc. Even years ago, two peas links never expired. My nook and Kindle links don't expired. Pixels links don't expire. Why should other sites?
As for SSD, I have shopped there since they opened, and I have seldom, if ever, found that my links are still there after the initial period (plus two days or so) for downloading. However, Robin is great to work with you.
And not to be rude- Those of you who don't understand her point have obviously never had limits on their internet connection or time. As for cell phone speed, I don't have good reception where I live, and most of the time I don't have access to 3G. As far as internet goes, I pay for the most gigabytes and speed available where I live every month. I still have a 15 GB anytime and 15 GB non-peak hour limit. With the size of today's kits,that is not a lot of download capacity. Therefore, many, many times I can't download within ten days. When I shop, which is only 4-5 times a year in large quantities, I spend between $200-$550 dollars (I like to support the designers) and have several gigabytes to download which takes quite a bit of time. Unfortunately, with several of the sites, using a bulk downloader causes problems because it can take more than the 5 click limit to download the file. That means I have to be at the computer monitoring my downloads- that can take several hours. I do have a life outside of digi supplies. Yes, I could choose not to shop at those stores, but do they really want to lose me as a loyal customer, who spends quite a bit at their store over the course of the year, over their artificially imposed time limits on downloads? If they do, just let me know, I can easily find other ways to spend that money.
I think all of the designers here should be thanking the lady for investing $1500 in the digi scrap community. I hope she enjoys scrapping & creating projects with her new downloads. :)
I get like 250GB per month, and I've never used that much. I can DL whenever I want. I have a nice DL speed (I think it's nice, maybe others would disagree. I think it's around 18 MBps.) We rent our lines, so we don't have "peak" times or anything.
Anyway, I guess I just don't understand complaining about the store's expiry/link limits if you shop like a fiend. The original point might be about expiring links, but really it's a matter of balance. And shouldn't links eventually expire in a community where stores frequently close and/or designers retire/re-brand themselves? You better back up your purchases on multiple HDs/EHDs/websites/DVDs because in a year or two the store might be closed. Try getting a link from ScrapMatters now. Take some responsibility for your purchases from a small webstore. DS stores are not Amazon.
And 42, yes, I'm sure designers are thankful that she spent so much, even if now she can't get her purchased items.
I'm #20 and I'll agree that links shouldn't expire. I also don't see the need for it. I bought it, I should be able to access it anywhere and everywhere. Heck, we've got a bunch of Kindles and we can all access the books at any time. It makes sense to me... except the nature of digital supplies is that things get retired, server space is limited (which is why things get retired), and the stores can't afford to keep everything on their server forever because someone's hard drive crashes 4 years from now. What about designers who retire and leave the store? Should they keep their stuff forever? Amazon can afford to keep every book available forever because it's Amazon. SSD is a small business owned by a real person and doesn't have the same resources.So look, I've done talked myself out of having links never expire. I could go for a six month expiration or something.
However, they *do* expire and everyone shopping in digiland knows that. If I was going to spend $1500 on digital supplies (which I would never do... I could get a car for that amount of $$), I'd darn sure make sure I got my supplies downloaded before the links expired. So yes, I do get the point of the complaint: the OP thinks links shouldn't expire. Here's my point: make sure you download before the links expire. It's common sense. If your internet is slow or you're "busy" or you don't link to unzip in one fell swoop... maybe you should make a lot of small purchases rather than 2 or 3 big ones. This isn't the stores' fault. They make it clear how long you have to download your purchases. I was able to find the policies for Designer Digital, TLP and SSD with just a few cliks. I guess my problem is someone using the excuse "I'm too busy" to think that stores need to change policies for them.
Happy New Years!
I don't think she means she spent that all at one time. Maybe it's a total of all the things she has bought over time.
Even if it's over a month or two, there are others who've spent that much and are still able to DL/unzip without links expiring. If I add up all my CT stuff and what I purchase, it's probably close to $1500.
The "I'm too busy to download stuff" line is a lame excuse. If you have time to shop then you've got to make time to properly take care of your purchases. I'm sure it's more of a hassle to track down everything than to DL everything in a timely manner.
I've gone back months later to SSD when I've lost something and the links were always available.
Even free these suck. Traci, give it up, your handwriting sucks! There are plenty of fonts that look a lot better than your pitiful attempts.
http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/product.php?productid=26893&cat=650&page=1
Expiring links are just like merchandise in a store. Would you go back to a store saying that the dress you bought 2 months ago got stolen and expect they would provide you with another identical one? First, I doubt you would consider it is their responsibility to have it available forever simply because you have paid for it. Second, it could become out of stock; the size you need might no longer be available, the model might be discontinued. Nobody would expect stores to keep things just because someone has paid for it and now, needs to replace it.
Also, in a digital store, one might argue that it does not take storage space (like the dresses in all colors, sizes and models) but they CAN become discontinued: designers retire products, designers move around, change store, etc. Stores require those supplies to be left available for a certain period (like a month) so that everyone can take the "normal" time to download their order, but no more.
Also, do you think that every designer would like to keep their stuff in a store they left just to keep the links available forever? In a personal store, that is not as much of a problem, but in a consignment store a designer certainly would not want their products to be left "available" forever; who knows if the owner would not sell it more and not give the designer her share? What if the designer is now supposed to be exclusive to her current store? What if the old store gets hacked and this designer's products are at risk?
Having links expired should be the norm. However, having the option to have the links reset on demand (even for a fee if needed) if the product is still available would just be good customer service, but not an absolute must.
Did you see the DSA blog hop? I'm happy they put the photos of each designer there--you can pick and choose which ones to download. Unfortunately, it won't be many, but I don't have to waste my time downloading a lot. Happy new year. There are a couple of cute templates there.
Digi stores sell digital supplies, not storage space. I am not sure I understand this sense of entitlement. When you pay for your product and receive it, the transaction is over. If you need more storage, then buy an ESD or cloud service. If you can't afford that why would you expect a store to pay for it on your behalf? They not only have to pay for server size but they also pay for bandwidth transfer, and when people take advantage of link resetting those costs can add up. When links are available ongoing customers come to expect that they can come back any time and not have to pay for their own storage. Resetting the links takes time, especially when this service is abused which it often is. Plus, It has been discovered that many times that links are reset, new IP address come to visit and download, indicating that some people use this opportunity to share with their friends without even having to transfer files. They just share access to their store accounts. In fact, it is a favorite method of file transfer for pirate groups.
52-I'm sure that some people probably share access, but my isp address is changed automatically every day. I'm sure other people also change their isp address frequently.
isp? isp means internet service provider. I think you mean ip address. I'm pretty sure you don't change your isp daily.
There are a couple of cute templates there.
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Agree. Also sooo glad they put their individual contributions up so I didn't waste time dl'ing stuff I'll NEVER use!
Happy New Year!!
I'm the OP about the download links. I don't want them to exist forever but a few months or at least a month would be nice. I know a few stores that have changed the time for the download links and made it possible for them to be available for a month. I really appreciate that and I'll try to chose them for my purchases in the future.
Anyway..I mentioned before that this was the first time I lost control of my downloads and digi supplies after years of purchasing every few days.
This time I bought $1500 of stuff in 2-3 days.
In the period September-December I spent almost $5000.
I always need many hours to browse, shop, download, unzip. I may spend a few days every month doing this but I'm happy because I see it as a hobby and I love this whole process.
Thank you #35 about the "Bulk Rename Utility". I'll definately try it.
I cannot understand how someone can spend over $1500 in 3 days on digi stuff, with a total of 5K in 4 months. It's just mind boggling to me. I might spend $500 a year if you count prints, so that just is beyond my comprehension. I guess if you have that much money to spend on supplies you are too busy to use, it matters if your download links expire after a week and you have to go back into your order history in the store to get them.
An IP address is not a person and can't be treated as such. IP addresses are changed all the time by service providers. Anyone who wastes time tracking down, blocking, or otherwise hoping to identify someone with an IP address is wasting their time and showing their ignorance.
While I do agree with #52, that digi stores are not a source of back-ups, I do disagree as well. Any other digital item I buy I have access to for pretty much ever to download when and where I please.
I think that comparing it to a kindle book is really accurate. If I've bought it, I should be able to access it when I want.
I always need many hours to browse, shop, download, unzip. I may spend a few days every month doing this but I'm happy because I see it as a hobby and I love this whole process.
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Interesting that you never mention doing any actual scrapping. I guess you are too busy
I think that comparing it to a kindle book is really accurate. If I've bought it, I should be able to access it when I want.
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You can, on your Kindle. It's up to you to back up your Kindle files, just like any other digital file. Why should a digital file in a store be there forever when a physical item in a store isn't there forever?
"Why should a digital file in a store be there forever when a physical item in a store isn't there forever?"
Perhaps that is an added value to the digital version. I see how it is very appealing for the digital books. If there were two stores I liked and one provided longer lasting download links, I could see that having a possible effect on my purchases.
^^^^
I see that but it's still up to the consumer to back up their own digital files.
I think that comparing it to a kindle book is really accurate. If I've bought it, I should be able to access it when I want.
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You might change your opinion on this if you were the person/company having to pay for the server fees and bandwidth to host it forever just because some customers are too lazy to download it in a timely manner. Obviously there are situations when an EHD crashes and that's another story, but in general, it isn't the shop's responsibility to fund long-term links. A shop can provide quality customer service without hosting your products forever.
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