I looked, but didn't find anything either. We have the same problem with some of ours.

That happened to me also. I had a bunch I bought on sale one year for a girl scout troop. I tossed the sticks, but used the caps as heads for Xmas decorations.

I sort of thought there was no hope in reviving these. Just seems like several of us have 'wasted' $$$ on these things for sure. So I probably won't be buying them any more, not knowing if they were dried up when I first purchased them is also a question to consider. Who knows how long they sit in a warehouse waiting to be shipped out to all the crafty and home stores. Maybe I'll check the ones I kept, and send a email to the company. See if I get a response and will post it here if they reply.
Thanks for your help, and sorry you all have experienced the same thing.

I'm wondering if we put one in one of those melting pots for the electric gun glue sticks if they would melt and be usable,.

Humm, that's a thought or the microwave?
I have gone to the Elmers glue site and Avery site, since I had glue sticks from both that are dried up. I 'have not' heard a peep from either site? If and when I do, I'll let you all know what they said.

We might e able to slice them thin with an elec saw and make little pads to glue on the bottom of something (lol)

Hi everyone,
I finally got a response from 'Elmers' and if any of you have the names of the sticks that dried up, you might go to their site and send a note like I did. Looks like from the reply I received today, they will send me replacements. I'll let you all know 'if and when' I get them.
Here's the response:

Dear M.A.D.(These are my initials :-)..really!)

Thank you for contacting us regarding Elmer's glue products.

We are sorry that your recent purchase was unsatisfactory. At this time, it is
difficult for us to say what might have happened to cause the glue sticks to dry
out as you mentioned. Unfortunately there is no way to "refresh" a dried out
glue stick.

We want to assure you that our quality assurance personnel make every effort
during the manufacturing process to ensure that only the highest quality product
is released to our customers. This includes several inspections at various
steps in production and a final check of sample product after it has been
packaged.

We appreciate you bringing this situation to our attention and assure you the
appropriate quality and manufacturing personnel will be informed. We will be
happy to send you some replacement glue sticks, which should arrive shortly. We
appreciate your past patronage and look forward to serving you as a satisfied
consumer in the future.

Sincerely,

Brian Rumschlag
Consumer response Analyst

BTW, the sticks I had was 'Elmer's Craft Bond, acid free, extra strength, glue sticks; goes on blue, dries clear.
I also stated in my letter to them that several crafters on a forum I frequent had the same problem as I did, and that because I had already thrown away the store receipt,I could not return them to the store for replacement/refund.

I have not gotten a response from 'Avery'.

So look at those dried up sticks, find out who made them, and see if they have a site and contact them.

HTH

I'm glad you got an answer. Maybe if enough of us inquire they might get their labs to find a way to keep them sticky!!

Guess what I got today? My two replacement glue sticks from Elmer's! Yippee!

As for Avery...well I kept emailing them back and forth, They wanted USP info, packaging and the defective sticks..so they could 'investigate'. Wow I felt like a criminal. She kept insinuating that I was lying and I told her I certainly would NOT spend time writing or calling if the sticks had not been defective. Since I had already thrown all that away, I had no way of sending the five bad ones back. After 30 minutes on the phone with a customer service rep. I think they are finally going to send five replacements. She kept saying she need this that and the other, all of which I didn't have. Then she said they would send out 'one' as a courtesy!! What?? No way, I had five bad ones. Finally, she said they would go ahead as a one time thing and send five. Should be interesting to see if they actually do and how long it takes to get them.

I still encourage those of you who have had this experience with glue sticks to take the time to write the companies. We deserve to get what we pay for! I won't be buying the Avery Sticks again, this much I know! I hate it when someone thinks I'm lying..so much for customer service, huh?

I just reached over and grabbed a Lip moisture tube and I thought this doesn't have any taste. I looked and it was a glue stick. Thank goodness for dried glue sticks!!
I should learn to look before applying too!!

Well, after repeated emails to Avery and a long not so friendly conversation via telephone with a customer service rep. I finally received (5) replacement glue stix from Avery. I checked each one and they are actually okay after all the hassle with them. I will not be buying Avery products again after the way I was treated.

Elmer's wins the prize for friendly fast customer service. Not one time was I accused of 'lying' about the product. Nor did they what packaging, so they could 'investigate' like Avery requested. I told Elmer's the problem and they took care of it! Thanks You Elmer's You have a repeat customer for sure!

Well, after repeated emails to Avery and a long not so friendly conversation via telephone with a customer service rep. I finally received (5) replacement glue stix from Avery today. I checked each one and they are actually okay after all the hassle with them. I will not be buying Avery products again after the way I was treated.

Elmer's wins the prize for friendly fast customer service. Not one time was I accused of 'lying' about the product. Nor did they what packaging, so they could 'investigate' like Avery requested. I told Elmer's the problem and they took care of it! Thanks You Elmer's You have a repeat customer for sure!

It might be a little strange to offer this comment eight years after the conversation, but I found a somewhat workable solution, for my purposes at least. I have an Avery Glue Stic that I haven't used for at least 10 years, and I probably bought it about 20 years ago. I had no reason to expect it to work, but I had a reason to use a glue stick, so I tried it. Of course, it didn't lay a sticky surface on the paper. I cut off about 1/4 inch of the stick and had the same results. Then I tried rubbing in a little rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) on the end of the stick and letting it sit for a little while. When it was sufficiently absorbed (about 5 minutes), I tried it and it worked. The paper stuck to the paper. I hope this is useful to somebody.