'Does anybody have an idea if Creative Home Arts Club is a good one to join'

Does anybody have an idea if Creative Home Arts Club is a good one to join

By Sharlene at 10/04/07 14:03

I received in the mail an advertisement for a company called Creative Home Arts Club in Minnetonka Minnesota. They are offering a membership in their club for $10.00 a year which includes the cost of their magazine Today's Creative Home Arts.

In their offer, they claim they will send you free crafts to try at home and you have to simply fill out their questionnaire for each one for an evaluation. They also make some other offers.

I am just wondering if anyone has had any involvement with this club. Are they legitimate, or is it more like one of the companies that get you to join their club and have to send back the stuff each month or pay for it instead?

DO NOT JOIN CREATIVE HOME ARTS CLUB. They are a scam.

I wondered the same thing, so I googled the club name and found several sites indicating this is a SCAM, and to avoid it...

here is just one... http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/321740/creative_home_arts_club_scam_dont_fall.html

Needless to say, I won't be joining!

I am glad that I googled this. I received a Dues invoice in the mail today. It was thanking me for activating my membership which I never did. I went to their website and clicked on contact us which then told me I had to sign in - just to contact them! Needless to say, I did not sign in so they can't use it against me when I do find their number and say, "What the heck is this?"

Don't join! To my regret I did join. I got the first magazine and have not received another one since. I also got my product to review. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!! They called it a topper. It looked like a bookmark with France printed across the top. They said it was a 75 cent value. Free was too expensive for this mess. Oh yes, they also try and hook you into a book club. You bet they are a scam.

Actually I'm in this club and I think it is pretty cool. The magazine is great and I've never felt like I had to buy books or anything else.

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!

Be sure to Google "Creative Home Arts Club" before you respond. Read what other's experience has been.

The magazine is okay if you don't mind being harassed for several hundred dollars if you decline the Lifetime Membership Offer. The promised Membership Benefit of Product Testing is available only with additional purchases (books etc). It may not be a scam in the full sense, but it is predatory and there are numerous complaints. It is NOT possible to contact this company by telephone and the "Contact Us" option on the web site will only offer you the opportunity to register with them.

Wish I'd researched the company more before 'joining.' If you have not yet, please spare yourself months of frustration and avoid them! Once they have you, they own you! (I still have over a year left of my 2-yr subscription and cannot cancel because they ignore my letters - plural, as in at least 7 times!).

However, in a listing of complaints about this company, it appears that several people have received invoices demanding payment although they have NOT joined the club, or do not receive magazines for which they have paid. So there may be no escaping them once they have your name and address!

With some research online, I found a phone number for the address listed for Creative Home Arts Club. Here it is:

(952) 936-9333

North American Membership Group owns several similar 'clubs' all at this address/phone number. I have not attempted to call yet. They ignore my letters.

I'VE BEEN A MEMBER FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR. I'VE RECEIVED ONE FREE TEST ITEM. IT WAS BOGUS AND STUPID. WORTH LESS THAN A DOLLAR. HOWEVER THE MAGAZINE IS OK AND HAS AN OCCASIONAL GOOD CRAFT PROJECT. I JUST ENTERED MY FIRST CRAFT CONTEST TODAY. WONDER HOW THAT WILL GO. FOR THE PRICE IT'S OK. THEY DO HAVE GOOD DEALS ON SOME BOOKS AND STUFF. SOME STUFF OVERPRICED BUT SHOP THE SPECIALS. WITH A CRAFT MAGAZINE IT IS CHEAP. AS ALWAYS YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. I DON'T FEEL HARRASSED BY THE FREQUENT MAIL ABOUT JOINING THE LIFE MEMBERSHIP. I JUST THROW IT AWAY. THEY HAVE NEVER CALLED ME. THEY OFFER NUMEROUS "FREE" GIFTS IF YOU JOIN. YOU MAKE PAYMENTS FOR ONE YEAR. HOWEVER, IF YOU FIGURE IT OUT THE $75 TO $100 IN FREE GIFTS ACTUALLY COST YOU ALMOST $400 IN MEMBERSHIP FEES OVER ONE YEAR. THEN THERE IS NO MORE COST. SUPPOSEDLY AS A LIFETIME MEMBER YOU'LL GET LOTS OF QUALITY THINGS TO TEST AND KEEP. I FEEL THE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP IS A WASTE OF MONEY AND I WOULD NEVER JOIN IT.

THANKS, CAROLYNN, FOR THE PHONE NUMBER. MAYBE I'LL NEED IT SOMEDAY.

Big rip off. I am in the process of reporting Julie Stephani and her Arts Club to the Attorney General's office in MN. She promised full refund and I want MY full refund. The magazine is useless and I never got any of the FREE JUNK in the mail. I do get books I do not want that I have to mail back and other useless offers. I am now getting offers for some cooking club who promised to send me "Everything" for the kitchen "Free", just for trying it. At least I was smart enough to avoid that one. :-)

I find that these clubs that offer free testing on products are not free. I join a club for free and in order to get the test product you have to order 3 mag, buy 2 silver things and connect to something else.. Well after spending money on this free item you don't get it any way.. I think that is wrong and the BBB should do something about it...

I too was taken. I did not research the club. Thought it was on the up and up. It was a scam, not for creative arts, but for health items. Like restraint gym items, etc. Never received the magazine that was suppose to come, also received the Handyman offer. Needless to say that was filed under "G". I received the same run around as everyone else..How can they get away with this? The Gym equipment that was sent I could have bought at Walmart or Target for much less than they quoted the price as. BUYER BE WARE. If it sounds too good then perhaps it is. This is the 3rd time they have sent this junk mail. I wish I would have researched first.

I am a new member and I had made one payment (after paying the yearly subscription)toward the lifetime membership when I had found all of the dirt written about it. I called them and spoke with a rep who was snippy and refused to refund my money. I wish I had reviewed this site before I paid any more money. I find it interesting that one blogger got promised a refund. I might try that or just get a lawyer on my side and pursue that. I will also contact my state's attorney general's office and get these people shut down if possible. MS

I just did a search and for this club and was about to pay my dues, when I found out about the scam. Thank you all for the posts. I am not paying any money to them......glad I looked..:)

Thank you all for your input and warnings. What did we do before the internet?

THANK YOU from the bottom of my limited income heart.

I was going to join, and could not get a number for them to ask questions. Now I have it, but, I'm not taking the chance. I went on the internet to find out something about them and found you. My pocket book thanks you too.

I am a member and find the Life Membership is expensive (about $400), but has been worth it. I have reviewed several items - a metal working set, a couple of scrapbooking items - and receive a very nice crafts magazine every month. The Life Member gift items are also very nice - a large rolling crafts cart, take-along crafts portfolio with binder, and another crafts case. You don't receive items to test very often, but there are a number of members, and not that many items to test. But there are a great many discounts to take advantage of - like a 10% discount card at Joann Fabrics! The website and magazine are both full of great information and projects, so I guess it all depends what you value, and how long you would use your membership. I've been a member several years - if you used your membership for ten years, it would cost you $40 a year; over 20 years it would cost you $20 a year. Is that worth it to you? Including the magazines, the gift items, and the website?

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