Random musings and general banter.

ShoppingTelly

Help Support ShoppingTelly:

Yes, could well be. Talking of 'Handy', do you remember 'The Handy' range of garden equipment - presented by a proper old boy who I think founded the company, and then by Adam Woolcott. Seems a milliions years ago, and certainly in terms of style from now.
Was that the range that had one handle and lots of attachments?
 
I see bore and boring (Torchy and Vol-as-Vent) are on with a heater. By the time this cold snap has gone they’ll be back selling a fan.

Torchy reminds me of the zombies in the Michael Jackson Thriller video
Are they still doing that skit where they pretend that conduction of heat through a material is treated as some minor miracle? THE POWER IS OFF, BUT THE TEMPERATURE IS STILL GOING UP!!! It's magic, I tell ye.
 
E
IMG_0005.jpeg
 
Hi Alex, nice to see a presenter openly coming on here and engaging with us.

One issue that bothers us (amongst many!) is presenters who contradict themselves within a few days. Selling a cordless vacuum on a Monday, it's brilliant compared to the useless corded one we tolerated for years. Then on Thursday it's a corded one for sale and oh how they are so much more reliable than those rubbish cordless ones. These are general comments, I'm not suggesting that you have done it.
Peter Simon and Peter Vol-au-vent the absolute worse at this by a country mile.
 
“WOW…Only 20 Left.”….”Seriously??” she gushes…Yes, but how many did they start off with? 19?? Fought for the price, my ar se….
Yes, if you don't have all the facts it might be misleading. My friend recently did a pub quiz with work colleagues. She told me her team came third. I then asked her how many teams there were, she grudgingly told me 3🤣🤣🤣
 
I think he (Alex) is in a very difficult position. Unless he demonstrates bedding as a philanthropic love, he needs the money. Many of us have worked in places we have been uncomfortable with both the culture and the protocols. When I was 18 and fresh out of Police training school, I was TOLD in no uncertain terms by two experienced officers to say I’d seen two skinheads throw a bicycle frame at a Pakistani youth during the Brixton Riots period. I hadn’t seen anything of the sort, by the way…You could well say I was unhappy with that culture of work, but I wanted and needed the money, so I stayed another six and a half years.

People like Knowles are no different. He has to put food on the table. And his work often involves appearing on shopping channels like Ideal World. In his great favour, he comes on here in his own name and positively engages with us. Not one other does this nowadays. If the Channel is being run along questionable selling techniques lines, then I cannot see how he can easily refuse to go along with any unsourced priced comparisons they want him to participate with. That said - HE SHOULD DO…I have only seen one presenter (Rob Lamaar) actively and disparagingly refuse to engage with several. And where is he these days? To be grudgingly fair, being positive/negative depending on the type of product (corded/cordless vacuums, for example) is very difficult to avoid. That so-called bastion of shopping television moral selling, QVC, does exactly same thing. They ALL do it. They probably would do it in the likes of John Lewis, too - depending on what you were looking at.

We all know they make-up text senders names and with that accepted- their content also. Can we prove it? Depends on how they log them in if called to account. Is the ASA ever going to leave the comfort of the tea trolley queue and ‘DAWN RAID BUST THEM’?? Don’t hold your breath. I don’t see what he can do about that other than refuse to appear any further.

As said earlier, what I would definitely like to see him NOT involve himself with, is just sitting there as the presenter/Gallery show some ludicrously high, unsourced price comparison massively weighted in the seller’s favour to buy from them. ALL price comparisons should be A) DIRECT (you don’t compare a Skoda with a Roller because they both have four wheels), B) Sourced - WHERE did they find them?? And C) In number - i.e. show at least three or four sourced examples at varying prices to give us an INFORMED CHOICE. Not just the most expensive they can allegedly find from God knows where. Those three KEY things were EXACTLY what previous versions of Ideal World did when using the price comparisons technique. If he has any influence whatsoever there - however difficult…do try and get them to do the price comparisons thing both morally and properly- LIKE WITH LIKE, SOURCED, and MORE THAN ONE…
Well put, I would also add the date of the comparison, because prices go up and down
 
I actually dont think Paul Becque is as bad as some of the others in the lying department. Yes, all his stupid noises and sirens are very annoying, but I don't think he's as bad s salesman as some of them.
Yes, that's what I meant earlier when I said he can be a reasonable presenter. But this hyper and noisy SHOUTY style is very off putting and annoying, I literally can't bare it (same with Sally). A good example is Mike Mason who (although sometimes slips back) has become more subdued with age. Though he still spouts the shyte and does the whole price mistake routine
 
Well said, Muttley. Top post.
Hi @Muttley and @Duke of Cheese - I hope all is well too. Forgive me if I’m only on and off here but I’m happy to engage when I am checking in.
For me Muttley - I sleep on GX pillows and an Emma mattress. My duvet is mulberry silk and bedding wise I change it really from Bamboo or cotton, but I prefer the bamboo.
I think your point is good and that’s why I want to address it because I do try to say on a lot of the bedding shows what products I sleep on because you are spot on - I can’t have every mattress, pillow, topper etc that I speak about on the channel. So I will never say I own a product that I don’t.
So I see my role as informing people of the benefits of everything I’m describing. so I try to gauge the audience I’m talking to as everyone’s price point and requirements are different.
I just know this forum is very active and it’s nice to check in and pick up on anything for me personally where people may ask questions - Muttleys one above being that.
As for the channel and the company - they have been fantastic and I’m really happy to be working with a team of people, many of which I have been with before and are friends. Of course you will expect me to say that, but I can only be honest with you and let you know how I am getting on as a member of this forum and not as a spokesperson for the channel, which of course would be wrong of me to comment on anyway.
So I mean it when I say I hope you are all well. I enjoyed engaging with the members on here previously on all forms of Shopping TV. Apologies if I’m not on very much but I will always check from time to time to make sure I’m not misleading people and if I am, I can work on my narrative so I can be as informative as I can without any particular bias.😊
 
In the days of the original IW, I did buy quite a few things as they were cheaper than buying elsewhere. I hasten to add they were all well known branded items, that were fully demonstrated and sensible questions asked of the product representatives. Since IW started to employ the shouty, pushy, ex Bid presenters, I haven’t bought one single, solitary item.

I have been buying from QVC for around 25 years now, but I do check if I can get stuff cheaper elsewhere , taking QVC’s extortionate P&P into account. I would say about 50% of the time I buy elsewhere. The QVC forum is good on this site for info on better prices other than QVC. If there’s something I particularly like but think it’s overpriced, I shove it on my wish list and keep an eye out for price reduction. I recently bought a ring that had been £45 and I got it for £21 including p&p.

Same for me. Bought a few things from IW2, a few which turned out to be foolish (Blue Magic - but I lay that on Simon Lies' dodgy demos and the fact it was about 2AM on ITV1 and I was vulnerable through tiredness 🤭). IW2 were often as cheap, often cheaper, on branded stuff than other places. And when they weren't, they weren't overpriced, and the benefit of spreading the cost etc.

But IW3? If I want anything from there, I'll just buy it myself at 80% less on Temu or AliExpress.
 
@Alex Knowles ..i applaud you for coming on here and reading all this flak about the channel that now remunerates you. I think you are very brave..or foolish😊.
I doubt other presenters would come on here as they would get slaughtered!

You come across as a decent down to earth chap who tries to tell it as it is(someone else tries to do that also but he gets just a little stick😁).

However you have also covered all the bases. You have GX pillows,Emma mattress and mulberry duvet. All items that Ideal World sells/has sold..plus bamboo which seems a recent item(well it is to me). You can see where I’m coming from here..😉

You haven’t escaped criticism in the past to be honest and I agree that you look after your employer’s interests,rightly so.

However good luck and I hope you can keep your chin up and dodge those bullets as you are one of the ‘better ones’
 

Latest posts

Back
Top