Creative Memories Bankruptcy Update

 

About a month ago, I wrote a post explaining what I could about the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings filed by Creative Memories (see that post HERE).  If you go to the home page of my website HERE and look near the bottom there is a link for "Restructuring News" (just below the blue line on the left side).

While the company has stated that it is "business as usual," things are changing.  The information that is available to consultants is delivered through various web pages, emails and Facebook posts and sometimes there are inconsistencies.  I will try to summarize the information that I have in order to help you decide on the best course of action for your needs.  Some of the plans of the company have not yet been approved by the Court so there may be changes in these plans.

Rewards Club

All Rewards Club members should have received an email notification of the winding down of the club.  No new members are being accepted.  The club will end on August 21, 2013 and Rewards Club credits will be issued and can be used until that date.  Membership fees will be pro-rated and refunded in the form of Rewards Club credits (must be used by August 21st).  This refund by credit will not happen until Court approval is received.

While Supplies Last for Traditional Products

All or nearly all of the current line of traditional products will be discontinued.  Many are already sold out.  If there are any tools, organizers or decorative products that you have been thinking about ordering, now is the time to order. It is possible that some of these items may become available again, perhaps in updated versions, but this is not certain.

Host Rewards

The Host Rewards Program will end as of June 30, 2013.  There is conflicting information on whether the rewards must be used by June 30th or August 21st.  If you have any Host Credits outstanding on your account I would recommend using them as soon as possible - while there are still products available.

Last Chance Order for Pages, Protectors and a variety of Album Coversets

If the plan is approved by the Court, there will be an opportunity in July to preorder an unlimited quantity of pages, protectors and selected albums and these will be manufactured to meet the demand,  More details about this Last Chance Order program and the specific products to be included will be made available "soon."  The proposed timing for this ordering is from July 8th to July 31, 2013.

Product Certificates, Product Credits, Content CD Coupon Codes

Product Certificates, Product Credits, Content CD Coupon Codes (and, possibly, Host Credits if they don't expire June 30th) will expire on August 21, 2013.  If you have any codes outstanding you should try to use them as soon as possible.  Check any digital CDs that included a coupon code to be sure that you have used the code.

Creative Memories Cricut cartridges

At the time I am writing this, there are five cartridges still available on my CM personal website - Be Young, Divine Wedding, Reminisce Accents, and Stork's Delivery.   Total Sports is the last Cricut cartridge that was released.  It is not listed on the same page with the other cartridges but you can find it HERE.  There a "look book" available HERE and you can also see all of the images in the Cricut Craftroom, but I can't find a link to the full handbook.  I do not know how many of these cartridges are available but the last new cartridge, Tiny Treasures, sold out very quickly.

I do not know if these cartridges will ever become available again, through Cricut.com or other sites.  I imagine it depends on the terms of the exclusivity agreement for the cartridges and could be affected by what happens with the bankruptcy proceedings.  If you were planning to buy any of the cartridges, it would probably be best to get them now, while you can.  Some of the cartridges that aren't available on the website may be in the inventory of individual consultants so you could try checking locally.  If you don't have a local consultant and want to order through my website I'd be happy to help you with any additional questions.

I have some products in inventory at my home.  If there is something that you want that is sold out online, please contact me by email (capadiadesigns (at) gmail (dot) com) to see if I happen to have the item you want available.  I can also do a search with other consultants to try to locate an elusive item that you need and I don't have...

Digital

The company is still working on their future plan for digital products.  I will do another post to try to give some advice about backing up your digital content and projects for the StoryBook Program and your photos on the Memory Manager program.  There has been some speculation that if these two programs are not part of the plan for the new company, the developer of the programs may continue to support them and sell additional content.

What to do...

I have checked my supply of albums and made sure that I have pages and protectors to complete all of the coversets.  There will be new albums, most likely of the Fast to Fabulous type (preprinted and assembled) when the company relaunches this Fall.  Since it is unclear whether new album pages will fit the existing coversets, I am planning to "stock up" just enough to complete the current projects.

Please leave a comment or contact me if you have any questions about the ever changing state of affairs at CM.  I am waiting to find out whether they will be keeping the digital programs - if not, I may decide to move on...  I hope that that the creators of the programs will take them back and continue to support both Memory Manager and Storybook (probably under new names).

The flower photos are all from our trip out west - trying to add something pretty to a long dry post!

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