297: For Crying out loud….Buy the Book!
First off, let me say that this post had many titles floating through my head….Many!!
Including such wonders as:
“What an idiot!” “A penny saved is a dollar or two AND some time wasted” “Some people just never learn” “Count the cost first….no Really…count the cost FIRST” and “Shortcuts are usually the longest road home” amongst others…
And secondly…. I am greatly humbled and somewhat embarrassed even telling you this story, but I want to let you know the lesson that I learned from it all….
So here’s the story…..
You remember I was on Amy‘s Book Blog Tour awhile back, right?? Well Stash sent me a great PDF Editorial Review copy so that I could have something sensible to talk about right? Well, of course, right…. It was a great overview, but I didn’t get my own “real” copy. (by the way I am not in any means complaining about that at all, I know that the margins aren’t all that great for publishing houses…cause a LOT of people have to get paid just to produce one book…AND they were giving away plenty of books already…..) I really was fine with that.
The PDF was great for reviewing…but if I was ever going to make one of these beauties, I would like a hard copy….SSOOOO…I think to myself, well, there shouldn’t be a problem just printing up this editorial copy just so it is easier to work with (I so dislike reading on a screen)….It was mine, I wasn’t re-selling it…I knew it was going to be just an editorial copy anyway…no big deal….
So I being the smarty-pants that I think I am take my little flash-drive to Kinko’s Copies and ask them to print it and bind it for me….
How much could that be right?? Well, I didn’t ask that question out loud, as I just figured I knew the answer…..my big mistake…..
would you like to know how much? ?
29 cents less than the FULL price of the ACTUAL REAL book …I got this…….
So by “saving” money….I have myself a photocopy version of the book with this spread across every page… for the same price and likely MORE $$ than it would cost me online for a nice glossy paper, high quality print job….
Smart move, huh??
NOT!!
So what I am saying is…..BUY THE BOOK!! Don’t try to be “clever” and Heavens….DON”T break copyright laws (I don’t think that I did, but maybe I was playing on the edge of that law perhaps (?), even if I told myself I wasn’t….. {I don’t think they would have let me print my digital copy if they thought it violated copyright laws…but who knows ….maybe they would have})
And I am not just saying this because in a couple years or less I will have my own book out….either…..I really think that everyone should learn what I did and save themselves some money…. and go buy that book…
I hope you all won’t go away in droves because I was so honest with my stupidity here….trust me I will never forget my lack of insight in this situation….I hope you all forgive me….and at least some of you go out and buy this book…because well… the folks at Stash Books and Amy did a fantastic job on this, and they deserve the tiny bit of money each of them gets from it…..
Now shall we move on to the not-so horribly Confessionistic nature of this post?? (yes, I made up that word….you know which word…..)
First to announce the winner of this prize pack…… and that would be….
Pat V…. who wrote:
This looks like a very fun package of goodies! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
I will be emailing you shortly Pat to find out your mailing address to send your prize!!
And now for today’s Market giveaways….
Today TWO prizes, which both happen to include books appropriately enough….
First the second prize which is a set of Zipper patterns from the Wonderful women of Indygo Junction and a bookmark and mini journal from the fabulous Lizzy House.
And the first prize of today’s post is Inspired to Sew by the Uber-talented BariJ !
This is another Stash book that if you don’t win it here, and haven’t already bought it…well you need to go out like me and buy it FULL PRICE….I bought mine straight from the author….just to make sure she got the most money possible for her efforts…..AND I got it signed to boot…
Speaking of which.. This winning copy is also signed by Bari…..so you can almost feel like you stood in line and met her face to face!! (Which if you did…you would feel very comfortable with her instantly)
SO now how to win….well, I think your comment should relate to this post….so tell us all something you did to
“save” money that you later really realized would have been better to just pay the going rate for it….or any other “confessionals” that are not going to offend anyone, but either teach us a lesson or give us a laugh…or both….I will choose 2 random winners on Sunday the 5th sometime….
Piece out….
Scott….
Oh, and GO BUY THAT BOOK!!
Jacqueline
Inspired to Sew is SOOOO on my list of books to buy. <3
well…now maybe you’ll win it…
Mary on Lake Pulaski
My learning experience is really something my husband does. So lucky for me, he does all the shopping and errands. Well he buys the cheapest ever paper napkins. They are nearly see through, so nearly always, everyone uses TWO napkins.
Two lessons: I think we should 1. start using cloth napkins or 2. buy a little more expensive napkins.
Yes, I hate to say anything because I’ll lose a good thing – his shopping!
I will never tell..and I would vote for cloth napkins…that’s what we use, and they make everyday feel a little more “special”
LoLoJo
I have had similar experiences to yours. It seems like a great idea at the time. Then once the idea is carried out, the elated feeling you had (about saving money, or time or whatever the idea was supposed to solve) is completely gone and you are left feeling like a flat tire. So I totally feel your pain.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Jeanne Gwin
I make blunders every day. I used to be so tight when it came to fabric and would buy less then quality just so I could sew. The last time I did that the quilt was so skewed and twisted that it wasn’t even worth quilting. Hubby cut it into big pieces (I just couldn’t cut it after all that sewing) and used it in his shop for grease rags.
Moral of my blunders…..If you are going to make a quality quilt out of Moda fabric, don’t put cheap “Big Box Store” fabric on it for the sashing, borders or backing. Buy quality and end up with a quality quilt.
Sandie
Way to come clean! Sure glad I’ve never done anything that crazy…….
Elaine/TinkerVerve
You’re a funny guy!
Would love to be entered into another give-a-way, Scott! 🙂
Cathy A.
Well, I was an English major in college, so liking books with words and pretty pictures about things related to fabric is clearly very easy for me to love! I think books are generally speaking a pretty great value, too. Individual patterns are about $10-$12 each, so if you get 2 or 3 patterns that you like, you’ve gotten a great deal! And most books have more than three patterns/projects. I would love to sell tons of books in my shop, but sadly they don’t sell well. I don’t know if it’s amazon related or what, but I don’t quite get it. I LOVE books!
I’ve done similar things trying to save money so many times! Although I’ve never printed a book.
And cloth napkins are the best! Flannel is my favorite!!
Patti
I have this saying that I try and live by and that is ‘you get what you pay for’. I have had Bari’s book on my must buy list for so long and thanks for the opportunity to win it.
Patti xxx
Tabatha
Don’t be so hard on yourself Scott, we all make mistakes, most of all me!
Congratulations Pat V! I’m so jealous as I’ll have to wait till after the postal strike to order some Tula Pink Prince Charming.
Jeanette
I feel your pain Scott. Often I will see something at a fancy boutique and think ‘hey I can make that at home cheaper’. Last winter it was some cool wooden boxes complete with hand made metal hinges and imprinted metal sayings. Wood…really expensive, metal hinges were either too thick to be able to bend or too thin to hold a nail…the hours spent trying to make these presentable would have been better spent on making other holiday gifts. Lesson learned? Pay others for their expertise.
Jen
I’ve been in this situation before! Some things you just can’t do yourself. I don’t make my own spaghetti sauce or sliced bread. Those just take too long to save yourself $2. I’ve also learned to just buy the quality clothing, you really get what you pay for with clothes. I try to “vote” with my dollars. And I definelty vote for quilting books!
Melody
I was taking a trip to New Jersey for a conference. I decided to save some money on the airfare but booking my own flight. Unfortunately I was so into getting a good deal I booked for a day early. That meant either getting a hotel room or rebooking. Either one ended up meaning my savings was only a couple of bucks. Thanks for another great giveaway.
Jansie Martin
Awww, that’s sad! You didn’t know it would cost that much. Gotta try and be economical, right??
My story is probably one that lots of people have experienced. I went to iTunes and downloaded a couple songs I loved off an album. Then realized I wanted a couple more off the same album. And next thing you know, I had spend more on $.99 cent songs then it would have cost me to just buy the actual CD at my online discount music store. SO. Yeah. Lesson learned. 😉
I have been coveting Bari’s books since it came out and have come this || close to buying it on several occasions!! Since I haven’t yet, maybe that’s the universe’s way of hinting that I need to win ? >:D
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and lesson learned.
Syd
When we were first married, we were both stundents and not much money. We bought the cheapest rubber raft for fishing. DON”T do that!! First time out in the lake we sank. Then we bought another. It never sank because it never left the living room. We just inflated it and sat and did homework in it. Talk about us being crazy, but it was fun!! Thanks for the giveaway!!!!!
gina s.
Oh, love to have Bari’s book! The real book please, not a black and white version! LOL
Since discovering *real* fabric and the quality and difference it makes in your finished product, I would say my blooper was thinking I was saving money by buying *cheap* fabric. I will never go back! Ha!
Hugs,
Gina
Thank goodness, I will never have another black and white book again…unless it’s a book about black and white art or something!! Yep this is the real deal!!
Perri
Thanks for sharing, I know it is hard sometimes to admit to our human failings. Learning from the experience usually helps lesson the sting and your heart seems to be in the right place.
I have had several experiences where in the moment the idea seems great only to find out that had I looked a little further down the road I would have realized what the real cost was going to be.
I too have Bari’s book on my wish list, so winning a signed copy would be fabulous!
Jodi Guerrero
Thanks for sharing your story Scott. Like several of your readers I made the mistake of buying “cheap” fabric when I first started quilting. I’ve also seen other crafts and thought “I can make that” and either messed it up or never made it. Of course I’m older and wiser now. Haha Thank you for the giveaway and a chance to win.
Laurie B
Oh man! I can so relate to you with this post!! I have done a lot of these money saving projects that ended up costing more than the original idea. I don’t know why I never learn – although the last “project” I made myself instead of buying I showed my husband and told him the next time I say “Oh – I can make that” – he must immediately hit me in the head and say just buy it!! Anyway – I heard a funny story yesterday from my sister in law. Her Mom – my mother in law used to make her first four daughters all their special outfits so they would all match (it was a ’50’s thing!!) My mother in law decided when the girls were going to take swimming lessons, she wanted to save money and make their bathing suits. She chose a waterproof material that happened to be just like the material you use for outdoor upholstery. The problem was when the girls jumped in the water, the swim suits became waterproof but weighed about 10 lbs! My sister in law said they were exhausted after each lesson because the bathing suits weighed so much when they got wet!! But they matched!! And they were cheaper than the real thing!! Yikes!
Thanks for sharing your story – makes me glad I’m not alone in this crazy world!! Have a great weekend 🙂
Shelley C
I’ve done stupid things quite often acturally; being a frugal gal, it just sticks in my craw to have it go sour! The one that stands out for today was the time i agreed to pay postage for someone else’s scraps…I LOVE scraps ok; and it is always fun to get some totally new to you zingers. So the woman sends me two boxes full at first class mail. I ended up paying $30 for those scraps…I was not a happy camper…do you know how much fabric I could have bought with $30 (esp buying on clearance frugal gal that I am????) Some of that stuff wasn’t even cotton weight or cotton….lesson learned….win scraps in giveaways..it is so much cheaper 😛
kathy h
We thought we would use our frequent flyer miles for a trip with a friend. We didn’t have enough for the free ticket but could buy more points to make up the rest. We did that and ended up paying $10 more for the ticket than if we had just booked a ticket the regular way. Plus we used up our points!
MoeWest
I bought the same quilting book twice. My purchases were about six months apart. The older you get the less you remember! So the second one became a gift.
Bethany
Well that was an awesome post. Isn’t it funny what we do to ‘save’ money….I would go to three or four store around town to save on the flyer items then I realized that I am using more gas in my van then I saved going to the stores……unless I need more then 5 items there I don’t go!!
Patty
I trird to use any cheap thread I could find. I know better now.
Jennwith4
Hmmmm a story about when being cheap cost you more money?…
…I hate driving around to different stores to get the best deals. I never do it. I love one stop shopping. But one day I thought it’d be smart to try it out. I knew the chicken at one store was only always $1.97lb so I stopped and bought some before continuing to my usual grocery store. Upon arriving at said store I discovered the chicken was on sale and even cheaper than $1.97lb! Doh! So what did I do? I bought more! lol You can never have enough chicken in this household. 😉
Rosanne Derrett
I have to admit to many, many cheapskate failures. I’ve used cheap thread and cheap fabric with some fairly horrendous consequences.
The best of these has to be the poly cotton quilt top backed with a poly cotton sheet but with 4oz wadding. None of the pieces are correctly sized, so they don’t fit together, everything stretched and buckled. Even my trusty machine went on strike with this horror. The end to this project was when my deliquent Bengal decided to empty his bladder on it. I have not touched it since.
There was the cheap petrol incident, and the one where I tried to get home on the fumes in the tank and ran out half way home on the motorway, in the rain and with no breakdown service. Then there is going shopping online and finding the local shop has the same thing a lot cheaper and with no postage. My list is endless.
Karen
Can I tell my hubby’s story? He is the worst about spending hours debating about buying some widget for $2.59 here or $3.29 over there. I mean, literally, he will go back and forth to different stores mulling over this purchase that costs him about 45-sec of work time.
This may seem like no real big deal, but by the time he decides which one to get, we’ve spent an hour or more and then when we get home with it? He decides he doesn’t need it after all or doesn’t want it…and takes it back…standing in line for 30-min or more to return something that was less than $5.
On the other hand, in a story that is both too long and too full of family drama to retell, dear hubby went and bought a table and chairs set for four as a temporary solution to a seemingly long-term problem. The problem resolved itself in less than two weeks and we have over $200 in the dinette set. What does he do? Really, you won’t believe it. He gives it away to someone who is willing and able to pay for it.
I don’t begrudge giving it away, but have you ever heard the saying, “penny wise, pound foolish?” that is very often my dear hubby.
MaryBeth
My hubby (wonderful guy!!) is addicted to garage sales/auctions. He came home one day with a bag full of balls for racketball. I said “that’s wonderful dear, but nobody in the family plays racketball”. “That’s okay” says he. “Nobody plays the saxaphone either”. You guessed it!! It was beautifu saxaphone which he did eventually sell on ebay!