Thursday, March 17, 2011

GREAT TIME TO GET OVER TO LETTERING DELIGHTS!!!

As many of you know I am TOTALLY behind Andy the owner of MTC (Make the Cut). What happen between him, his family and Provo Craft was nothing short of the BIG BULLY telling the little guy what to do. I know in the end Andy will WIN no matter what the outcome was he will continue to produce a EXCELLENT product that provides us a way to have more freedom to design and create. PC chose to not allow that with there machines, which I feel is very sad. Whats even worse is that PC is also going after other companies like SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot). Whats next for the big billy? I feel there needs to be a way found to stop PC from going any further. What about what they claim there products will do then when bought you find out what was said by PC and what was on the box wasn't true. There are many problems with PC's products. I won't name them but you know what they are. Updates that never happen when they say they will or are months late. Things like that have got to add up to a way to stop PC. If you know of any other ways to help stop PC please post them here. Thanks!!

Official Word from the Creator of Make-The-Cut

This is the official word from Andy the creator of Make-The-Cut:

"Effective immediately Make The Cut! will no longer be compatible with the Cricut"

Now that I have said that...

We will continue to support:
Anything that has nothing to do with Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc.

This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Black Cat Cougar and Lynx
  • Boss Kut Gazelle
  • USCutters MH/LaserPoint Series
  • Craftwell eCraft
  • Any cutter machines that support HPGL printing (Craft ROBO, Silhouette, etc)
  • And many more to come in the near future :)


Thank you all for all your support in these times of absolute uncertainty.

Sincerely with much respect,
Ann, Andy and family

If you have any questions about your product working with Make-The-Cut please email them personally at
support@make-the-cut.com

Monday, March 14, 2011

Provo Responds to Cricut Critics December 18, 2006

http://www.clnonline.com/archives/vinnyarchives/2006/vinny20061218.html
Unexpected demand caused problems.
by Mike Hartnett (December 18, 2006)
(Note: CLN has received numerous emails from irate independent retailers regarding the way Provo Craft has marketed the Cricut. To hear Provo's side of the story, CLN emailed questions to Cathy Davis, Provo's Director of Corporate Communication and Training. Her answers are below. CLN sent this column to independents who had contacted CLN previously. Their responses to Provo's answers can be found by clicking on "Benny Da Buyer" in the left-hand column or click HERE.)
CLN: Is it true you cannot legally prevent a retailer – chain or independent – from discounting the Cricut or Cuttlebug? If so, what's the point in having retailers sign a contract promising not to advertise the discounted price? Have you stopped selling to any retailers who violated the signed contract?
DAVIS: Provo Craft has unilaterally established a minimum advertised price policy on specific skus within the Cricut product line to protect the integrity and image of the brand. To meet our ongoing intention of protecting the brand, Provo Craft has put consequences in place for retailers who violate this policy and enforces those processes unilaterally.
The paperwork that a retailer signs is not a contract nor an agreement. As our Minimum Advertised Pricing policy is a unilateral policy and does not allow for an agreement of any kind. However, the signed paperwork does serve as an acknowledgment that the new Cricut retailer has read and understood that.
Provo Craft has established this unilateral MAP policy and will enforce it.
CLN: Some independents claim they have had to wait for their orders while QVC was selling them. Do you fill orders on a first-come, first-serve basis or fill the largest orders first? If there's a delay in filling an order, is the retailer notified?
DAVIS: The demands for the Cricut product line far exceeded Provo Craft’s initial launching expectations. In many businesses, when this happens there has to be a determination of how to best disperse the allotment coming in so that the business is able to ensure both the stability of the new product line and the "future" demand for it, while balancing the needs of our customers as much as possible.
This is a tough balance; but one that Provo Craft takes to heart and has done so weighing all the considerations of the business needs during the time demand was exceeding the product availability.
CLN: Are Michaels' stores still allowing consumers to use the 40%-off coupon to buy the Cricut?
DAVIS: Provo Craft does not get involved with the price any of our retailers choose to sell their products for. Any retailer can sell the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter for any price they deem in their individual business.
Provo Craft does not wish to participate in discussions around pricing Or have any impact on what a retailer chooses to sell a product for.
The MAP policy is a policy around advertising minimums, not selling/buying.
CLN: I noticed on the Creative Xpress website that the mail order company is prominently displaying the Cricut for $249.99, plus 2,000 bonus points. Is that a violation of the contract?
DAVIS: Provo Craft does not issue nor do they sign "contracts" regarding their Minimum Advertised Price Policy. The MAP is a policy that has been unilaterally implemented and enforced. The paperwork that is signed is only an acknowledgment that the retailer has read our unilateral policy and understands it.
CLN: When Provo agreed to sell to Wal-Mart, did the company warn independents and explain why?
DAVIS: Provo Craft, like many craft manufacturers, made a decision to sell product in the mass market. For each mass merchant the timing of implementation varies. We would want our independent customers to know that the timing of this was much quicker than we anticipated. Provo Craft would never wish to cause concern or issue to any of our customers and appreciates the partnerships we have with each.
CLN: An independent told CLN that at the 2005 Summer Show, he was told Provo was showing something new – possibly the Cricut? – in a private area of the booth, but when he walked in, he was told to leave because the A.C. Moore buyer was coming. Then he returned three additional times and was told the appointment schedule was filled. Was that true? Why not show it to everyone?
DAVIS: It would be hard to address any conversation that may/may not have happened between two unidentified people from 1 1/2 years ago.
CLN: Like all vendors, Provo sells to the chains for less than they do for independents because of the chains' buying volume. What do you suggest independents do to compete?
DAVIS: In many industries, the LSM (Local Store Marketing) strategy is used and is very effective. It is particularly successful in the independently owned businesses within those industries as they are far more equipped to execute the process within their business format.
We feel strongly about the potential of this process and will be rolling it out at the CHA Winter show and invite any independent retailer who would like to learn about it to come by our booth, #3061.
CLN: One independent told CLN that she called Provo and was told that Provo referred consumers who called about education and tech support to local shops. She wanted to know why she should help customers with a product with which she's at a serious price disadvantage. What do you suggest she do?
DAVIS: Provo Craft appreciates and values each and every one of our customers. We strive to deliver high quality products at affordable prices to all. Retail is a competitive environment. With that being said, if a customer walks through the door of a retailer with any question, that is a great opportunity to win them over as a future and ongoing customer. A suggestion we would offer, that many businesses use in other industries, is the process of L.S.M. (Local Store Marketing) or grass-roots marketing. This is a process of meeting and exceeding the potential customers’ needs so that they gain a loyalty to your business and by so doing, turn the curious into an ongoing customer of your business.
CLN: If Provo could go back in time, would you change anything about the way the Cricut was marketed, sold to independents, and sold to chain accounts?
DAVIS: We have learned much from the launch of Cricut and have already taken many of these learnings into other product line launch plans of the future.
Provo Craft will continue to look for ways to improve our processes and enhance our ability to be the vendor "partner" of choice for each of our retailers.
CLN: Back in May, the Cricut price was raised $15, yet the suggested retail remained the same. What prompted this decision mid-release?
DAVIS: As with any product that has the technical nuances and complexities that the wonderful Cricut product has, it takes much development and troubleshooting. Many companies find when developing such products that the cost burdens end up being more than anticipated while the perceived value of the item, by the consumer, remains the same. In such cases, it is not uncommon to see a price adjustment at the wholesale level and not see that same increase to the MSRP.
CLN: Do you have any specific plans to improve relations with independents?
DAVIS: Provo Craft values each of our independents and understands the barriers and obstacles they face when looking for ways to grow both their top and bottom lines. With this being said, we would like to be partners with each of our customers in assisting them with tools and ideas
to drive both. Provo Craft is currently working on a LSM program that will be introduced at the CHA winter show. We feel strongly about this program as it has been used in other industries for years and is a great tool for driving year over year sales growth in independently owned businesses.
We are excited to share this with our independent customers and know that this will be a wonderful aid to them.
CLN: As a major player in scrapbooking, how does Provo see the category performing and changing in 2007? What can/should retailers, vendors, and the industry as a whole do to increase sales?
DAVIS: The first BIG thing we all must do is to look for ways to bring in "new" curious customers to the industry. (These can be children, students, working parents – helping a student with their school project, someone who has never scrapbooked or paper-crafted before, but is curious.)
Once we have them in our doors (for whatever brought them there), we must look for each and every opportunity to provide them with an exciting and memorable experience. We have to learn what they are looking for and look for ways to exceed their expectations. As we do this we will turn them from curious to crafter, from crafter to core crafter, and build the category even further as they begin paper crafting and then scrapbooking.

The beginning of the Cricut story.


Jan 8, 2007

Cricut in the news...

This is from the Salt Lake Tribune:
How Provo Craft ended up on loyal customers' 'naughty' listThe unkindest (Cri)cut of all
Mike Dolan, a scrapbook-store owner in San Antonio, is urging a boycott of Provo Craft, maker of a contraption called the Cricut. And he's looking for a good slogan to put on T-shirts, buttons and armbands for the upcoming Craft and Hobby Association winter show in Anaheim - and, we can presume, the cover of a nifty mini-book about the revolution. I don't know if a boycott is in order, but I do like the idea of cranky scrapbookers staging a public protest. And so, in support of his cause, I offer the following catchphrase for use on bumper stickers or buttons or whathaveyou: "Provo. How low can you go?" It's been a favorite of Utes fans for years. But it also sums up the story of how one wholesaler, overwhelmed by the popularity of its product, double-crossed its most loyal customers and now is paying a price.

In June 2005, Orem-based Provo Craft introduced the Cricut, a portable machine that cuts letters and shapes that come on individual cartridges purchased separately for an additional charge. As is often the case, the product was unveiled at a craft show and at a discount to small retailers who placed orders on the spot. Instead of paying $150, retailers attending the Craft and Hobby Association show in Chicago got the machines for $135. The suggested retail price was $299. There were some caveats: The machines would not arrive in stores until January 2006 - after Christmas. They couldn't be sold on eBay or by other unauthorized dealers. And though stores could sell them for any price, they could not advertise them for less than $249. Violators, Provo Craft vowed, would be cut off from carrying Cricut products.

The small retailers saw the minimum advertised price (MAP) as a good thing, a tool to prevent "discounters" from undercutting local scrapbook-store owners and a way to protect the Cricut brand. (It's tough to argue a product is worth $250 if you can buy it for $150 at Wal-Mart.) Dolan, a banker by trade, says Provo Craft representatives assured him and other small retailers that the machines would not be available in big discount stores. So he ordered 50 and, at a subsequent trade show, requested several more, figuring he could sell them for $199 and still make a decent profit. The orders streamed in, and the double-dealing began. The machines didn't arrive in January as promised. In fact, many independent dealers didn't get their orders until October 2006 - a year after they placed them. Yet QVC had machines - in April - and they were bundled with a free cartridge worth $99. In May, just before National Scrapbooking Day, they appeared in Michaels craft stores, which permitted customers to use a 40 percent off coupon. By Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart and Target were selling them for $179. Customers were furious that they had to wait nine months for a product which, by the time it arrived, was available elsewhere for less than what it cost them and, in some cases, for less than what retailers paid. Dolan bought Cricuts from his competitors in an attempt to satisfy some customers. But he ended up giving a lot of refunds, he says.

To make matters worse, chains like Michaels got around the MAP policy by boasting of discounts "too low to advertise." Meanwhile, the Web retailer www.addictedto scrapbooking.com (ATS) was penalized for telling customers a discounted price would be revealed once the Cricut was moved to the "shopping cart." In its response letter, the owner of ATS called the company's tactics "disgusting" and "utterly un-American."

Provo Craft won't disclose which companies have been reprimanded, but says it treats all violators equally. "We must, at all times, unilaterally enforce this policy regardless of the size of the retailer or their placement in the marketplace," communications director Cathy Davis wrote in response to complaints. Davis also emphasized that the MAP is an advertising restriction, not a pricing policy. As for why Provo Craft didn't warn independents that the Cricut would be sold at large discounters, Davis said the "timing implementation" of entering the mass market took the company by surprise. But she offered no explanation of why discounters were given priority in shipping, saying only that demand was stronger than anticipated.


I'll admit, it's hard to feel sorry for small-store owners who claim to care about their customers but have no trouble charging what the market will bear - until, that is, the market gets more competitive. And, as someone who routinely uses those Michaels coupons and rags on local scrapbook stores for not offering more incentives, my sympathy is with the consumer.

But the issue isn't whether Wal-Mart should be able to buy in bulk and offer steep discounts, or whether Provo Craft should be able to sell its products in as many stores as possible. That is just capitalism. Small retailers accept this, and they are pretty savvy when it comes to competing with big-box stores. They realize that their primary customers - avid scrapbookers in this case - won't go to Wal-Mart or Michaels to save 50 cents on a pack of brads. But they will go there to save $50. Which is why the boutique stores like Dolan's Scrapbook 911 in San Antonio would not have loaded up on Cricuts if they hadn't been assured, or at least had been warned, about their availability in discount stores.

I doubt Provo Craft set out to deceive local scrapbook stores. But it wouldn't surprise me if some of the big stores placed one-time orders and advertised them for bargain prices because they had no intention of reordering and therefore didn't fear getting "cut off." By selling to discount stores in the first place, Provo Craft devalued its brand, exactly what it hoped to avoid with a minimum advertised price. By burning its best customers, the company also sullied its good name. If Provo Craft had any sense, it would find a way to right this wrong. A good start might be for company representatives to show up at the Anaheim trade show with their own buttons, saying simply, "We're sorry."
lfantin@sltrib.com

Andy and Ann (MTC) and Todd (SCAL)

It just makes me sick what corporations like Provo Craft go out and try to shut down companies that are improving the use of there product.

MANY have bought there die cutting machines just because they knew there was other software out there that they could use to be more creative.

Please if you care stop using all Provo Craft products.

I would encourage you all to check out other cutters that will work with the Make The Cut software as it is the best on the market today.

I know that Black Cat, Gazelle, Silhouette and eCraft (in beta testing) are just a few of the many that work.

Please support Andy and Ann (MTC) and Todd (SCAL) and buy products from companies that work with there customers not lock them in.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

My Letter to Provo Craft

As far as Im concerned I will NEVER buy any of your products again. What you are doing is BULLSHIT and Im sick of it! Your acting like a child that dose'nt want to share there toys. You may think you have beat Andy(MTC) and Todd (SCAL)but you havent!
There are several other machines out there that are better than yours that MTC & SCAL are compatible. Those companys see the benefit of having MTC & SCAL work with there cutters. Dont you think that with your actions that myself and others will be selling our Cricuts to buy the other product?? Thats exactly what is happening right now. Your idiots for what you have done and I hope you feel the consequences soon.I will be selling ALL my PC products on Ebay!

Provo Craft can kiss my A**

Make The Cut Settles Cricut Software Lawsuit With Provo Craft

By Nancy Nally on March 11, 2011

Documents filed in US District court on Wednesday reveal that Make The Cut has reached a settlement with Provo Craft in the lawsuit over 3rd party Cricut software created by Make The Cut. Provo Craft had sued Make The Cut in April 2010 alleging that Make the Cut’s 3rd party software for Cricut machines illegally circumvented copyright protection on Provo Craft’s products and violated copyright on the company’s Cricut Design Studio software code.

Provo Craft had appeared particularly to be targeting in the suit the recently introduced “back-up” feature in the Make The Cut software, which allowed users to create back-ups of their Cricut cartridges. (The feature was only available to users for a two week period in March 2010 before being pulled from distribution as a result of the litigation.)

Terms of the settlement were stipulated to the court in joint documents filed by the companies Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which had been hearing the case. Under the settlement, Make The Cut is permanently and immediately disallowed from selling software that is compatible in any way with Cricut machines. The company is also required to destroy all copies of the software’s source code.

For the existing software, Make The Cut also is required to take measures within 30 days to disable the 600 copies that were sold of the software with the cartridge back-up feature. Make The Cut is ordered to render these copies of the software completely non-functional until these users update their software to a copy that eliminates the back-up function.

Provo Craft also recently filed suit against another 3rd party Cricut software creator, Craft Edge, in an attempt to stop distribution of their Sure Cuts A Lot product.