Scrapbooking Supplies

The best places to find and buy scrapbooking supplies and equipment

By Angela Kovalyak, Freelance Writer/Editor Kovalyak Editorial, Ltd.

Finding scrapbooking supplies is easy. All you need to do is visit any big box retail store, grocery store, or chain drug store, and visit the scrapbooking or craft section. The difficult part about buying scrapbooking supplies is finding them at a good price.

Whether you are a business looking to buy scrapbooking supplies for your office, or a business looking to buy and then resell these supplies, you will want to buy a large number of items at a low cost. Before purchasing any supplies, you will need to consider exactly what items you intend to purchase, and how many of each item you intend to buy.

Since you can purchase an inventory of scrapbooking equipment from almost any store, here are some things to consider that may save you time and money:

Get detailed information on scrapbooking supplies that you intend to purchase.
Buy scapbooking supplies in bulk that will be used or sold quickly (card stock, glue, stickers, pens or paint).
Only buy a few of the larger, more expensive items until you know what the demand for these items will be.

Buy scrapbooking supplies in bulk

You may need everything from paint to paper cutters to stickers. If that is the case, be sure to visit scrapbooking supply distributors that specifically deal in wholesale scrapbooking supplies. These stores usually offer a wide variety of items at lower costs. The downside to wholesale shopping is that you may be required to buy a minimum quantity of an item.
Try: crafthobbywholesale.com has a large selection of wholesale scrapbooking supplies. This site is easy to use because of its convienient dropdown "Scrapbooking" menu. However, the site does require that a minimum number of items be purchased at one time. You may also want to check out Scrapbook Supercenter.com.

Buy from a store specializing in scrapbooking equipment

Stores that sell only scrapbooking supplies will have more unique items. These scrapbook supply vendors tend to offer a one-stop shopping experience. They offer everything you need for scrapbooking, however, you may have a difficult time finding discount scrapbooking supplies at these stores.
Try: Cropping Corner, Two Peas in a Bucket, and scrapbook.com are Web sites designed specifically for scrapbooking supplies. They are easy to navigate because of the menus displayed on each page, and you can find everything from your own die cutting machines to already made scrapbooking kits.

Get detailed information about scrapbooking supplies

When searching for scrapbook supplies to purchase, be sure to read the descriptions of the items. For example, you want to purchase card stock that is acid free and lignin free. This will help to preserve the artifacts displayed on the pages. You also want to ensure that you are getting exactly what you want. For example, when shopping for a paper cutter or trimmer, pay attention to size and dimension.
Try: Joann.com, the official website for Jo-Ann fabric and craft stores, offers a wide variety of products with detailed information about scrapbooking supplies. For example, they provide specific information about the card stock as being acid and lignin free and how many sheets come in a set. The prices at the site are reasonable, however, the selection is not as large as at a store that specializes in scrapbook supplies. Another site that also provides detailed information about each product is cutting-mats.net.

Consider a scrapbook supply vendor that offers already made pages and kits

Buying pages that are already made, or kits for these pages, can be more expensive than simply buying individual items. If you plan to purchase already made pages, know exactly what you are getting.
Try: Addicted to Scrapbooking has a large variety of already made pages and kits. By clicking on any specific kit, the site provides pictures of what can be made, along with detailed information on the scrapbooking supplies included in the kit. The downside to this site is that the details tend to be fuzzy in some of the product images, and the cost of each kit is approximately $30.00. Another site that has a large variety of already made kits is Crazy Scraps, where you can click on any of the featured page kits to view a much larger selection.

Buy only scrapbooking supplies that you think you will need. Just because scrapbook supply vendors offer card stock pages for every occasion doesn't mean you need to buy pages for every occasion.
Focus on cost and quality; do not simply buy discount scrapbooking supplies because they are inexpensive. Just because you get a lot for your money doesn't necessarily mean you are getting a quality product.
Keep an open mind and buy from a few different scrapbooking supply distributors. When you find one with outstanding products and service, then remain loyal to that company.
Don't fall for the "Don't Forget" section that scrapbook supply distributors use on their Web sites. If the product wasn't on your original list, you probably don't need it.