time consuming). If you are
buying online, be careful of the
postage and packaging cost which most of the time can take
up the majority of £10, depending
on what you are buying. Yarn
from Amazon usually comes with
postage and packaging costs of
around £4. But, some sellers offer
free postage and this is where you
can find some serious bargains. Be
aware that Amazon has changed
its policy so that any item under
£10 is an ‘add-on’ item - you need
to have a checkout price of over
£10 for Amazon to post your
goods to you.
...
might go to obscure shops, like
Aldi for yarn materials and B&Q
for all types of materials, just to
name two. The high street isn’t
always the best place to look, as
shops expect you not to go out of
your way for cheaper items, so in
a sense at the high street you are
paying for the convenience.
C
raft shops can be
expensive, but spending
the extra pennies on
security (i.e. you are sure of
exactly what you are buying) and
quality depends on the crafter.
All crafters wish to be certain that
their products are of good quality
and durable for the buyer. This,
in turn, increases the crafter’s
reputation. However, how crafters
will go about this differently. Some
will head straight for the craft
shop and not look anywhere else
on the high street, other crafters
will try to look around and get the
best price. A handful of crafters
while for the pennies to mount up.
Vouchers and offers
M
Saving the pennies
Buying in a shop
21
W
hen you come to
the till and you have
less than 5p change,
don’t tell the shop assistant to
keep it. Scraping the pennies can
seem daunting, but sometimes,
desperate times call for desperate
measures. You might think
that you will never spend it,
but you will. The University of
Northampton art store sells plastic
wallets for 5p. As a crafter this
could protect your craft designs,
cross-stitch or paper craft from
dust and dirt, or you could use it
in your craft to create a pocket.
I, personally, knit handbags and
stick plastic wallets in between the
knit and the lining for protection
and to make the handbag
waterproof. So, store those
pennies away in a secure pot or jar
and start your own saving scheme
for your hobby or business. Don’t
be discouraged but it may take a
any crafters would never
pass up a voucher or
an offer. How many of
you knitters would say no to a 4
for 3 sale on yarn at Hobbycraft?
An offer is always enticing and it’s
hard to stop yourself from getting
out your card or cash. Some
offers are really helpful, however
the majority of offers are there
to simply get you to buy more.
The same goes for vouchers. In
some cases, it’s just not the right
vouchers or deal for your craft
or for you personally. A voucher
should be money off on an item
that you were already going to
buy; the exact thing should apply
when you come across deals. Ask
yourself if you need it for your
hobby or business; if you don’t move on. If you do, try to get the
best coupon that you can get your
hands on or the best deal.
£1off your next
issue of Handicraft
Participating stores only. Offer ends on
1/08/14. Offer only applies to the summer issue
2014 of Handicraft. Limit to one coupon per
customer per day. Coupon must be presented
and surrendered at time of purchase. No
reproductions. Not valid online.
This coupon has no cash value.
Limited to availability of stock.
Handicraft is not responsible
for stolen or lost coupons.
Photo of person online shopping courtesy of Keith Williamson, Creative Commons Licence; photo of Abington Street courtesy of John Sutton, Creative Commons Licence; photo of penny jar courtesy of Tom Small, Creative Commons Licence.
How to