Asking for your help

It has recently been brought to our attention that many stamp images are being swapped en masse on the internet.  Please HELP US protect the stamping industry by saying NO to mass image swapping. What do we mean by mass swapping? Have you seen some of the swaps that are going on here on the internet? People are receiving large envelopes stuffed full of images, sometimes numerous copies of the same image, sometimes just one copy of each image, but a bagful! This is not like sharing your stamp with "Betsy" when she stops over to craft with you.

We know that some of you are not even aware of our Angel Policy. So please read on to find out more.
More and more people are swapping images online. We would like to take a minute to point out that we DO NOT ALLOW our images to be swapped, neither the stamped images of our rubber stamps nor the printed digis. Here is the link to the Terms of Service/ Angel Policy for The Pixie Cottage.

Please understand that we are not against you letting your neighbor or friend use your stamps. It is understandable that you want to share with friend who is coming over to craft and wants to use one of your stamps. We are only happy that they get introduced to our images and we hope that after they would purchase some of our stamps as well. We are not happy at all about LARGE swaps all over the Internet with hundreds of people participating.


We work very hard. When I say "we" I mean, myself, as well as all the artists who provide these lovely images and the great paper artists who help us showcase our lovely stamps. It makes me sad and upset to see work being swapped like this. Please try putting yourselves in our shoes. How would you feel if something that you worked very hard into creating was being shared without your knowledge and approval. Something like swapping the images might seem innocent, but in fact it hurts business. This is how we make our living and this is how we can keep on bringing you the new images. It is taking money out of many pockets, including the artists, the manufacturers, the owner of the company and the retailers who sell these stamps.

When you purchase our images, you are automatically agreeing to our Terms of Service. You are, in fact, entering into a licensing agreement. Please understand that when you purchase our stamps, you only purchase a PERSONAL license to use them. We will always hold the copyright to our images. This is much the same as when you purchase a book, a movie or a CD. You can lend the CD to your neighbor, but YOU CANNOT copy the CD and give it to them.
We would also like to point out that we are not alone and that our Angel Policy about No Swapping Allowed is in fact very common within the stamping companies. In fact, most of the stamping companies do not allow the swaps.  When in doubt, check with the company about their policies.

We are only asking you to help us protect our designs by NOT participating in these swaps, and if you would be so inclined. when you come across the image swaps on forums, blogs, Split Coast Stampers, Youtube, etc. - let them know that they are infringing on our copyright. If you would rather have us talk to them, you can always email us with their information to thepixiecottage@aol.com. 

Please know that I understand many people will not be happy or agree with our policies and that is fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I am not doing this to punish or hurt anyone, it is simply to protect and maintain the artists and my business.  If you have any questions about using our stamps I am more than reasonable and you can email me at thepixiecottage@aol.com for more information or questions.
Again, we would like to emphasize that we realize many people are not aware what they are doing is wrong. We appreciate our loyal customers, you are the what keeps us going. We are sad that we had to bring this to your attention, but we feel that with your help and support we can put a stop to it.

Thank you for reading this post and for your continued support.


Michelle