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[Nana5]

On 2/21/2014 mallemo said:

On 2/21/2014 Jules5280 said:

Hope it is okay to put this here because I've enjoyed reading some of the threads about holiday decorating. I've been gathering up little things here and there for Easter and spring decor, and have noticed lots of talk about cloches, bell jars, apothecary jars, bird cages, burlap, baskets, bunnies, birds, and all that fun stuff. Thought I would share a site that has pretty much anything and everything you could want for home decor or any kind of party decorating. I've ordered from them before and have been pleased with the price and quality. It is called Save-On-Crafts. It can get pretty expensive with all the beautiful things out there, so I always enjoy getting more for my $. Not sure if anyone else has purchased from them, but I hadn't seen it mentioned so thought I would share.

Thanks for that info. There is another thread here somewhere about that site. Many have been pleased with what they ordered I think. Some said the shipping was a little high at times. I have looked at their offerings and they do have some nice things.

I just discovered SOC recently and have ordered from them three times. They have great prices but the shipping is high. However, I live in PA and they ship from California and the items I buy are glass and heavy so I can live with the shipping. Before you check out, you enter your zip code to determine the shipping. One or two items in your cart can increase the shipping by $10 or more so I play around with my items and remove one or two until the shipping is what I'm willing to pay.

On the plus side, everything I've ordered has arrived extremely well-packed and nothing ever has been broken. I've ordered several large glass cloches and many "mercury glass" candle holders/vases that I use as display bases/pedestals for my VPH lighted spheres.

Even counting the shipping costs, the items I buy are cheaper than similar ones in my area. And some of the items I've never seen in stores in my area.

[Kachina624]

The big disadvantage to ordering from Zulily is that it takes forever to get your orders. The items are in the various vendor's warehouse. They ship to Zulily which ships to you, using that dreaded FedEx/post office arrangement. I've gotten some great buys on shoes there.

[prior1]

What a fun thread! I just placed another order from Zulily. (Included some mercury glass nest/egg pieces that I am going ito include in Easter baskets with the Valerie Mason Jars of similar colors...would post a pic of them, but have to figure out how) I always worry about fragile items from them. I have had a number of items arrive damaged and because they do take awhile to get the items to you (as kachina624 mentioned) and because they are flash sales - there is usually no way to receive a repalcemnet. However, their customer service has always been incredible! I have never been anyting but very happy with how they have handled situations. (So far at least.) I wish they would get better packaging going, but otherwise have really enjoyed shopping there. (One order I plased was for Polish Stoneware...a lot of it incuding some higher-priced larger pieces. It all arrived in one box with the pieces just lightly wrapped in a little paper and tossed in together...no additional packaging and lots or room to shift. As soon as I opened the -large- box, I said there are going to be damages. Happily only one small piece was broken )

[Marsha2003]

On 2/23/2014 ChrisO said:

What a fun thread! I just placed another order from Zulily. (Included some mercury glass nest/egg pieces that I am going ito include in Easter baskets with the Valerie Mason Jars of similar colors...would post a pic of them, but have to figure out how) I always worry about fragile items from them. I have had a number of items arrive damaged and because they do take awhile to get the items to you (as kachina624 mentioned) and because they are flash sales - there is usually no way to receive a repalcemnet. However, their customer service has always been incredible! I have never been anyting but very happy with how they have handled situations. (So far at least.) I wish they would get better packaging going, but otherwise have really enjoyed shopping there. (One order I plased was for Polish Stoneware...a lot of it incuding some higher-priced larger pieces. It all arrived in one box with the pieces just lightly wrapped in a little paper and tossed in together...no additional packaging and lots or room to shift. As soon as I opened the -large- box, I said there are going to be damages. Happily only one small piece was broken )

You were lucky! I've stopped ordering breakable items from various flash sales sites because they always seem to be broken when they arrive. You are right that they always credit my account promptly and cheerfully, but usually I would rather have the unbroken item.

[prior1]

Hi Marsha2003...sorry that my experiences haven't been isolated. What is really tough is when I purchase a grouping (such as the Polish Stoneware - where I had a tray, bowls, mugs, creamer, sugar, etc.) and something is broken. I eventually found a replacement, but it was not easy. I agree...would so much rather have had any of the unbroken items. I have had incredibly good packaging experiences with One Kings Lane...omgosh...they wrap, bubble wrap and then encircle the bubble wrap in paper with a seal holding it together!

[LuxeDeluxe]

I don't decorate for Easter but I do love to decorate for spring!

[Nana5]

Saveoncrafts, already mentioned in this thread, also has incredible packaging. I've bought a number of glass cloches and other glass items that were shipped via UPS from California to Pennsylvania. Everything was so enclosed in masses of bubble wrap that nothing has ever arrived broken.

It's so disappointing to order something and eagerly await its arrival only to find that it's broken or chipped.

[Marsha2003]

On 2/23/2014 ChrisO said:

Hi Marsha2003...sorry that my experiences haven't been isolated. What is really tough is when I purchase a grouping (such as the Polish Stoneware - where I had a tray, bowls, mugs, creamer, sugar, etc.) and something is broken. I eventually found a replacement, but it was not easy. I agree...would so much rather have had any of the unbroken items. I have had incredibly good packaging experiences with One Kings Lane...omgosh...they wrap, bubble wrap and then encircle the bubble wrap in paper with a seal holding it together!

I guess that shows that we can have different experiences with the same vendor because OKL has been the worst offender in my experience. I broke my own rule and bought some antler candle holders made from resin from them in January. They came and were fitted into a styrofoam mold...guess what? Broken. That said, I've been having trouble with anything sent using the postal service. I always warn eBay sellers to use extra care with their packaging because of the high rate of breakage that I see. For some reason, priority mail packages do better than those sent parcel select.

Right now, I have an uncaring postal carrier. He leaves packages by the mail box when he could, without any extra steps, leave them behind my gate. Soft packages get thrown over the gate. I'm keeping a list of the dates so that I can complain at the post office. I used to have the nicest carrier. Not only did he leave packages at my front door, he would put any mail from that day with the packages.

[prior1]

On 2/23/2014 Marsha2003 said:

On 2/23/2014 ChrisO said:

Hi Marsha2003...sorry that my experiences haven't been isolated. What is really tough is when I purchase a grouping (such as the Polish Stoneware - where I had a tray, bowls, mugs, creamer, sugar, etc.) and something is broken. I eventually found a replacement, but it was not easy. I agree...would so much rather have had any of the unbroken items. I have had incredibly good packaging experiences with One Kings Lane...omgosh...they wrap, bubble wrap and then encircle the bubble wrap in paper with a seal holding it together!

I guess that shows that we can have different experiences with the same vendor because OKL has been the worst offender in my experience. I broke my own rule and bought some antler candle holders made from resin from them in January. They came and were fitted into a styrofoam mold...guess what? Broken. That said, I've been having trouble with anything sent using the postal service. I always warn eBay sellers to use extra care with their packaging because of the high rate of breakage that I see. For some reason, priority mail packages do better than those sent parcel select.

Right now, I have an uncaring postal carrier. He leaves packages by the mail box when he could, without any extra steps, leave them behind my gate. Soft packages get thrown over the gate. I'm keeping a list of the dates so that I can complain at the post office. I used to have the nicest carrier. Not only did he leave packages at my front door, he would put any mail from that day with the packages.

Yikes! So sorry. That is why I even mentioned that I was hoping my poor experience with packaging/shipping problems was isolated. I know it can be so frustrating and would not wish that for anyone. I have been experiencing enough shipping problems all around that I do now consider possible issues and follow-up stress before I order from almost anywhere.

We have been so lucky to have had two amazing postal carriers in the last few years. We know we are very fortunate and I hope that situation gets better for you soon!

[Marsha2003]

On 2/23/2014 ChrisO said:

On 2/23/2014 Marsha2003 said:

On 2/23/2014 ChrisO said:

Hi Marsha2003...sorry that my experiences haven't been isolated. What is really tough is when I purchase a grouping (such as the Polish Stoneware - where I had a tray, bowls, mugs, creamer, sugar, etc.) and something is broken. I eventually found a replacement, but it was not easy. I agree...would so much rather have had any of the unbroken items. I have had incredibly good packaging experiences with One Kings Lane...omgosh...they wrap, bubble wrap and then encircle the bubble wrap in paper with a seal holding it together!

I guess that shows that we can have different experiences with the same vendor because OKL has been the worst offender in my experience. I broke my own rule and bought some antler candle holders made from resin from them in January. They came and were fitted into a styrofoam mold...guess what? Broken. That said, I've been having trouble with anything sent using the postal service. I always warn eBay sellers to use extra care with their packaging because of the high rate of breakage that I see. For some reason, priority mail packages do better than those sent parcel select.

Right now, I have an uncaring postal carrier. He leaves packages by the mail box when he could, without any extra steps, leave them behind my gate. Soft packages get thrown over the gate. I'm keeping a list of the dates so that I can complain at the post office. I used to have the nicest carrier. Not only did he leave packages at my front door, he would put any mail from that day with the packages.

Yikes! So sorry. That is why I even mentioned that I was hoping my poor experience with packaging/shipping problems was isolated. I know it can be so frustrating and would not wish that for anyone. I have been experiencing enough shipping problems all around that I do now consider possible issues and follow-up stress before I order from almost anywhere.

We have been so lucky to have had two amazing postal carriers in the last few years. We know we are very fortunate and I hope that situation gets better for you soon!

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I'm not sure what's going on with our postal route. We had the same carrier for many years. Now, it seems like we have a three different ones each week. Two are reasonable, but that one (I assume it's only one) is very bad.