Milwaukee Consumer FAQ

We appreciate the time that you have allowed us to work through the challenges that come with organizing, postponing, and rescheduling our shows. It was with great sadness when we had to postpone our event, but your safety and well-being matter first and foremost. Please know that our team is committed to addressing your questions and concerns about your registrations and we will be periodic making updates as we get more questions from consumers that apply to a wide audience. We hope that you find the information below helpful in answering some of your tough questions, but furthermore open and honest as to how we plan to move forward with past and present events.

Yes. The facility has been temporarily closed. It is our understanding that the facility is being used as an alternate care facility and testing site.
We are working hard to make that happen. Once the facility has re-opened and gatherings are allowed to resume we will be better prepared to make that determination.

For 23 years SSBE has prided itself on allowing full refunds up to two weeks prior to a show for any consumer wishing to cancel their order…no questions asked. We have far exceeded the event industry standard with these policies and felt that they were essential for maintaining a great level of service throughout the years. However, when the CDC and WHO initiated crucial policies limiting gathering size and then the government mandating stay at home orders; there was honestly no way for us to maintain the level of refunds with the postponement of five consecutive "In Person" events.

As a promoter there is a significant amount of overhead and costs that are associated with our events at the beginning of each year. Our website, ticketing system, workshop photography, digital guides, button program, venue deposits, advertising are just the start. These are “normal” business practices and eventually translate into the wonderful events that we enjoy bringing to all of you.

However, these are unprecedented times and without the foreknowledge of the situation; we like so many others were caught off guard. Unfortunately, this came at a considerable cost not only for our business, but most importantly for our consumers and vendors. This was not a matter of our company mismanaging funds, but a situation where many of our expenses had already been paid out and are non-refundable.

This is a tough question and for several weeks now we have all had to contemplate what could we have done differently. Considering that businesses did not have advance warning, and in our case 6 weeks would have made a considerable difference as to how we managed opening our online pre-registration system. Each event requires a 7 to 8 week window for online pre-registration sales. Our hotel specials (where applicable) require a 12 week window as there are guaranteed room blocks that we must satisfy in order for us to host our events.

Our business can weather one postponement, but five consecutive events online has proved to be very costly. Going forward many businesses around the world are already re-evaluating their policies and or/contracts to better protect themselves as well as the consumer.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic promoters in general such as Ticket Master, Stub Hub and other large event organizers did not offer refunds of any kind. Many of these large event organizers attempted to offer refunds in light of the pandemic, but shortly thereafter found that it was unsustainable given the amount of cancellations that were occurring with no end in sight with regards to stay at home orders.

It has been common knowledge for many years that our competitors have also had a “No Refund” policy. However, after the shutdown occurred in March, our competitors added additional verbiage to their policy to include refunds if events were cancelled. It is worth noting that at the time of this implementation our competitors did not have events online…i.e. they were not selling tickets to their events; so they could plan and manage their capital in a much different manner.

As for SSBE we had five shows open for pre-registration between mid-December through mid-March. Had the pandemic occurred in November or if we were able to have had just one event our financial picture would have looked much different.

Yes! We are actively working towards new online opportunities to offset revenue as our traditional events will likely resume sometime late summer. During the month of June every dime of profit that comes in will be used to start refunding customers orders! You do not need to ask for a refund. As profits come in, refunds will be generated in the order of pre-registration date (i.e. the date that you placed your order online between December - March 2020).

As close to June 1st as possible we will be announcing a schedule of @Home Events and we hope you will join in supporting our amazing Crafting Industry. We will have some cute merchandise that will help generate proceeds in which we can start refunding orders from postponed shows and help get everyone moving forward again.

You are welcome to keep your E-Gift Certificate and use it towards items mentioned in the E-Gift certificate tab. ***Please email us at info@scrapbookexpo.com.com with your "order number" so we can make a note on your account.

Yes. Your E-Gift Certificate is located on your original pre-registration order. If you did not receive the email notification, you can simply log into your account at https://shop.scrapbookexpo.com/Members/MyAccount.aspx
If you placed multiple orders online, you will receive an E-Gift Certificate for each order created. We do not combine orders; so if you are unsure, you can simply log into your account at https://shop.scrapbookexpo.com/Members/MyAccount.aspx to view your past orders.
If you did not receive your code via email, follow these simple steps.
  • Log into account https://shop.scrapbookexpo.com/Members/MyAccount.aspx
  • You will see a listing of all the orders that you have placed.
  • Click View Order next to the order that has an E-Gift Certificate.
  • No. E-Gift certificates never expire.

    There are a few ways that you can use your E-Gift certificate.

  • Online during the pre-registration process for any future SSBE "In Person" Event, which include, Workshops, Card Swaps, Play Dates, Mega Make & Take and Admission tickets.
  • You can also bring your certificate to any future SSBE "In Person" Event and purchase Workshops, Card Swaps, Play Dates, Mega Make & Take and Admission tickets. Please note: Tickets maybe sold out for certain events on-site, so pre-registering is the best way to secure your spot before we sell out.
  • You can also use your E-Gift Certificates on one of our online stores below:
    1. KIS Products (https://keepitsimplepapercrafts.com/)
    2. @Home Events - (https://virtual.scrapbookexpo.com/)
    3. SSBE Merchandise - Coming Soon!
  • How to Apply Your E-Gift Code for our Online Stores
    1. Pick Out Your Items & Add To Cart
    2. Proceed to Check Out
    3. Insert your E-Gift Number in the "Special Instructions for Seller" and then proceed to checkout.
    4. Then on the Payment Page select "Apply to Gift Certificate", you do not need to enter your gift code again.
    5. If your E-Gift certificate value is less than your cart total we will give you a call for the difference.
     

     NOTE: If you have an E-Gift Certificate for the Hotel Special, please refer to the Hotel Special Reservation section for answers regarding this event.

  • E-Gift Certificates are used just like any other store gift card. You are welcome to use as much or as little as you want.
    We’ve had many people offer to donate back their E-Gift Certificates to keep us #ExpoStrong. We can’t thank you enough for your kindness. It is our hope that you would use your E-Gift Certificate to support our exhibitors or other options when our events resume, but if you would like to pay it forward...just let us know.
    Yes! Just simply forward your E-Gift Certificate code to your friend and they will be able to use it.

    With so many businesses impacted by the effects of Covid-19, we want you to know that we are in this for the long haul. There is no doubt that this global tragedy has brought a new perspective as to how we will move forward, but we are hard at work behind the scenes to get our traditional events back on schedule as soon as reasonably possible along with some new online activities too. We have met so many wonderful people throughout the years and we believe our support system is well rooted within this loyal group of customers, exhibitors, and team members. So in short, we're not going anywhere!
    We are currently working with our creative team to come up with new ways to keep you crafting. Re-Inventing the way we do business has its challenges, but we look forward to what the future may bring. More Details Coming Soon!