Welcome, everybody! As you can see, contestant one is Store Bought Decals and contestant two is Trading Phrases decals… are you ready for a fight to remember? Now I may be biased, but having worked in this industry for such a long time, I cannot help but feel the need to warn you against buying decals that you can find in your local Hobby Lobby or Target. Let me clue you in to why going with Trading Phrases is the wisest choice…

(You may want to sit down for this. It's a lengthy one!)

Store bought decals are harder to apply. While you may luck out and get a “fresh” one, in a lot of cases the decal you’ll end up with was packaged months ago in somewhere like China and decals simply don’t hold up in a tube that long. We recommend that our decals are applied within 60 days (and the sooner the better) because the tape that allows you to transfer your decals easily from the paper to the wall becomes less sticky the longer it sits. Just imagine how long those store-bought decals have been sitting there (especially clearance ones!). We don’t sell our products on shelves for this reason, not that we haven’t had interest! Here at Trading Phrases we want you to be 100% happy with your purchase, and if we can’t guarantee that… we simply won’t risk it. I can’t tell you how many calls we’ve received from people telling us that their decal is falling off the wall or won’t apply. Turns out, the decal they got is from Target or Michaels. We hate having to tell them that it actually isn’t our product and we can’t help them with it (but of course give them helpful hints on how to hopefully make it stick).

The quality just isn’t there in store bought decals. There are a lot of different types of vinyl decals, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. There are those that are printed on clear backing, those that are shiny, and those that are cut from matte vinyl. Trading Phrases specializes in the latter. Many that you find in stores are printed, which is great if you really want that “sticker” look. From almost all angles you can see the clear backing on the wall outlining your design on printed vinyl, which doesn’t give you the same “painted on” effect that our decals give. Trading Phrases designs are cut from the highest quality vinyl, and once applied to your wall they go on with no backing of any kind. The only thing on your wall is the design, which is about 3 layers of paint thick. Our vinyl is a matte finish so that when your light is on or the sunlight is coming through your windows, you won’t have an unsightly glare from your wall decoration. You can see it in all lights with no shine. Our decals are made to last and have applied beautifully to outdoor furniture, cars, garages, bathrooms (including in a frequently used tub for several years), etc. If it doesn’t work in your space- call us! We may have ideas on how to make it apply better, or we can walk you through the process to get your money back. We won’t hassle you.

Trading Phrases gives you a choice… or thousands! Selection, selection, selection- certainly something you don’t find in store bought decals. Trading Phrases has over 5,000 designs in stock, and that number grows daily! Can’t find the exact quote you are looking for (grandma’s famous cookie recipe for your kitchen wall)? Never fear !TP designers are here!! Trading Phrases offers up our fabulous designers for your custom design needs at a very minimal price… FREE! I’d like to see you get that in the store. The cherry on top? We cut every single design to order. This means that when you click “submit payment” and your order goes through, we open the file, put in your roll of color, and process it right then. You will never receive something that has been laying around the shop...except for our grab bags (and those are a great deal!).

“This quote at the store is exactly what I wanted.” Perfect! Chances are we have the same quote. If not, we can make it. What you can get from Trading Phrases, and not the store, is choice. A choice in size, color, and even a choice to personalize it or re-design it to match your space better, if you wish!      

Free Goodies! Okay, so I already mentioned the ability to work with our awesome designers for free. Everyone loves free! Did you know that we also have FREE shipping for all orders over $75? How about that every single order comes with a free “promo” of the season- essentially a free design- to go with your order? Not really sure on what color would best match your Behr Blue #186? Free color samples can be sent directly to your home.We cut them from our actual vinyl so that you can see the colors in person to better make your decision. “I have textured walls and shiny paint, will it adhere?” Chances are… yes, but to be sure, we also have a FREE product sample we’ll send you to put up in your home and test your surface. You thought that was a lot of free stuff? We have more! You also get a totally 100% free installation tool in every order- a little scraper that makes putting your decal up a breeze! Not only this, but we also offer you the assurance that if you don’t like your item for any reason we’ll take it back and refund your money or exchange it. Have a problem with installation? We can help you! Please give us a call (good luck with the store)!

Mom & Pop Mentality. Let’s face it the instant gratification of buying a store-bought decal is better than ordering it online and waiting a week to get it in the mail. It really is. What you don’t get from the store really counteracts that instant gratification, however. What you get from purchasing from Trading Phrases is peace of mind. Trading Phrases is a family owned/run company in Columbus, Ohio (that’s right, in the grand ole USA). We have hired our family and friends. We continue to reach out to donate to charities all around. If you call us,we will pick up the phone or call you back promptly. We only have one CSR and she gets bogged down sometimes! If you email us, we get back to you- period! It's just the polite thing to do! Trading Phrases is friendly and dedicated to making you a satisfied customer. You can’t imagine the lengths that we’ve gone through to help out our loyal customers. We’d willingly do it over and over, even!

Get to know us! This isn’t really an incentive for you to buy from us over the big box products, but I just wanted you to know that the family runs a facebook page for the business (www.facebook.com/tradingphrases) where we have over 38,000 fans that we talk to daily. We post images, ideas, and contests very frequently so that our fans never miss out on the latest and greatest happenings. We are a family, and we want you to feel like a part of that. We can’t wait for you to be part of our team.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us!

Thanks for reading!

Samantha

Marketing & Design Manager

www.tradingphrases.com