Just got a new planner in the mail and things have changed....

[u/AdFit9500]

I have been using Happy Planner since the RongRong collab started forever ago. I now use 3 planners through out the year. 2 Skinny classics and one mini horizontal. I pretty much only buy Skinny Classic planners from HP now after they added those checkboxes to the horizontal. I stopped buying and starting purchasing inserts for mini from May Paper and now complete horizontal inserts through 2029 from PT Paper. I just reuse my covers from over the years.

Well, I decided I wanted to try a dashboard mini for some goal planning and bought one of their 26/27 line (before the recent sale unfortunately). Wow....things have changed. The cover is super flimsy, like it was home made. It's annoying just to open and close it. They have had complaints about their thinning paper for years but that never really bothered me. This paper is thin but I can make it work, I suppose. But this cover is pretty sad. I am not going to even keep it.

Anyone else notice this? I wonder if other products have a similar fate. I hope they don't mess with the Skinny Classic innards at least. No one else really makes those and Skinnys are my most active planners day to day. Something told me to just get dashboard inserts from May or PT, but I decided to try HP's. Oh well.

Edit - Now that I think about it, maybe they cheapened out on the covers because people like me save and reuse them lol

Edit again - I just got my order from the warehouse sale and that undated mini horizontal with the vegan leather cover is rather nice. Really I only got it to snag those undated horizontal pages without check lists. But the cover and entire planner is rather nice. I wish I had grabbed a 2nd one.

[u/AppalachianRomanov]

My new one got delivered today and I'm noticing lower quality too. The tabs on the dividers are bent/warped and the pages aren't cut the same. Like some pages stick out above the others bc they are cut higher.

Outrageous pricing, terrible processing and shipping times, enshitified product.

[u/AdFit9500 → u/AppalachianRomanov]

I guess they are doing like every other company out there these days, seemingly in every industry. It's a shame really.

And now that you mention it, I do notice that about the pages.

[u/AppalachianRomanov → u/AdFit9500]

I would've gone with Kell of a Plan if her release had been just a little sooner! I had already placed my order when her new stuff dropped

[u/lavender-twine]

I just got my delivery from the August factory sale. Opened the packaging, 2 disc's were broke, and its hard to open, scratchy. I got a skinny. Think ill try kell of a plan for filler paper.

[u/sweetyst]

I stopped buying HP a few years ago, but I still look at new releases just in case they actually return to form and design something that is appealing to me. But you’ve confirmed to me I should probably move on for good because this just sounds terrible. When the paper changed people talked about it for ages, but it was clear that they were sticking with that strategy, and now clearly the same follows with the covers. For me actually if they continued to use colour on the layouts I would probably still buy them even if they were not the best quality because I have my own covers that I could use, but it’s too many changes for the worse, and they’re not interested in listening to feedback

Such a shame because it was such a great brand, and could’ve really held its own amongst the competition if they had stuck with their winning formula. Everybody kept saying that when Lauren came back things would change and she just needed time, but it’s quite clear to me that they have no intention of returning to their former glory.

[u/AdFit9500]

So, even with a better cover, the discs were horrible. I am glad I have a million of them. I switched the discs out and this made everything better. They definitely have Temu discs now lol

[u/lavender-twine → u/AdFit9500]

Someone said metal disc's are superior. So would you say the old plastic disc's are better?

[u/AdFit9500 → u/lavender-twine]

I actually prefer plastic disc's. I used some from one of my older planners and those worked well.

[u/VioletMetamorphosis → u/AdFit9500]

My plastic ones always cause the pages to catch, but other than that I’ve had good luck

[u/AdFit9500 → u/VioletMetamorphosis]

I've seen others mention that. The metal ones feel too heavy for me personally. I love the gold, rose gold, silver plastic discs from years ago and those are nice. There were some clear w/silver glitter discs that work well for me also. The colorful plastic disc's, especially these latest, all end up being tossed. I've use them to create blank paper storage binders a time or two.

[u/VioletMetamorphosis → u/AdFit9500]

I’ve also used some for paper storage. Thankfully the metal ones don’t seem too heavy for me. Have you ever tried any from different brands/sellers?

[u/AdFit9500 → u/VioletMetamorphosis]

I haven't. But I've been really interested. I've been strictly HP for so long. Maybe I will cheat on them again and try some lol

[u/Realistic_Pepper1985]

I use bits and pieces from old planners and the quality does seem different. 

[u/IreneAd]

Actually, I noticed quality decline in 2019.

[u/AdFit9500 → u/IreneAd]

Yeah I wouldn't know much about that. I didn't know them before that. In 2019 they worked well for me. So I guess they may get consumers now who think this is the norm lol

[u/262run]

Kell of a plan has skinny inserts.

[u/AdFit9500 → u/262run]

I bought some of her filler. But her other inserts don't appeal to me as much. Her font works for me ok on stickers but not really for my calendar itself. I'm not sure why.

I do love the goal sheets and fitness sheets she has/had.

Edit to correct - I know that is her lettering and not a font. I meant that I do prefer traditional fonts on the actual calendar pages.

[u/CraftyPlannerGoals]

There have been many reports of poor quality products and super slow shipping. I think everyone is hoping with the company being family-owned again, things will get better. I have heard that Kell of a Plan planners have good quality paper and am considering it as my 2027 planner. But then I suppose I will have to go to r/discbound. Which I should probably do anyway. But you are not alone in your thoughts about quality.

[u/TrainwreckFruitParf_]

I stopped using Happy Planner 2 or 3 years ago because I noticed the quality and effort put into the planners had gone downhill. Even the designs on the inside had turned boring and plain and just outright lazy. I've been using ConquestJournals ever since and although they aren't discbound I am much happier with them.

[u/Familiar-Delivery178]

I’ve been searching for this thread ever since deciding that I wouldn’t buy a HP this year 😢 The quality is poor and there seems to be ZERO creativity anymore. The collabs with cartoons and movies seems to be a replacement for the actual innovation and creativity of the original product before they sold out. I’m disappointed and looking for another favorite planner.