Charlie Bears - fan or not?

[Glittergirl]

These bears are being leashed again soon. From day one I've never been a fan and actually find watching with presenters stroking and tweaking their heads, paws very off putting!

I generally like soft toys but something about these are just not right. Don't get me started on the big guy who sells them. They seem to have a good fan base, why?

Does anyone else feel the same? :mysmilie_43:

 

[loveheart]

Not..... Can't see the attraction at all.

 

[historymystery]

I've bought some traditional-type bears in the past (I'm talking 2 years ago and before) to give as gifts, and I was really pleased with the quality for the price I paid. I also joined the Charlie Bears club when they advertised it, because it used to be a really good deal. For the price of yearly membership, which off the top of my head I think was about £15, it was well worth it, because you got two free plush Charlie Bears (ones from the actual CB collection, not lower-grade specially made-up ones, titchy or 'keyring' bears) that you could chose from a selection of about 8 different ones taken from their collection, OR you could have one mohair bear. You could obviously either keep these yourself, or give them as gifts. They also sent you regular newsletters about new bears coming out, and either a decent Charlie Bears pen or drink coaster. Then, it all went pear-shaped (or should I say 'bear-shaped'), IMO: firstly, they re-vamped the club, reduced the membership price but also stopped offering you any free bears, and the gifts started to become really tacky - like a bear lapel pin or a pen that worked for about 2 minutes. They also started producing really garish bears in horrible colours that IMO looked like something you'd get as a prize at a funfair - and the prices seemed to skyrocket, so no more orders from me. Other posters on here have also mentioned that the quality sometimes took a nose-dive too in more recent times. The other important thing is that generally speaking, the bears are cheaper through online outlets, as for one thing they tend not to charge p & p, unlike Q.

These bears are being leashed again soon. From day one I've never been a fan and actually find watching with presenters stroking and tweaking their heads, paws very off putting!

I generally like soft toys but something about these are just not right. Don't get me started on the big guy who sells them. They seem to have a good fan base, why?

Does anyone else feel the same? :mysmilie_43:

 

[madmax]

Not!
I have never seen why grown woman usually spend £££ on stuffed animals, but if it floats your boat then go for it, who am I to say what you should spend your money on, and if Charlie Bears make you happy then spend away ,just don't ask me to spend my money on them.
I hope you get a great TSV when it comes round.

 

[May]

I think if a woman or man like to buy the Bears then good luck to them ( I only ever bought Rhubarb and Custard) ...could be worse things to buy like drugs etc....harmless and sometimes very comforting to people .....personally the hype on QVC is getting worse I think and the sickly talk for an hour just gets in my clack but...its cringeworthy and totally unnecessary ...over the top lol ....( but I love rhubarb and custard Lol )

 

[countrymaid]

Most definitely NOT!

 

[historymystery]

there's no compulsion to buy them to collect yourself....you can buy them as gifts for children, which is what a lot of people (myself included) have done, although they do warn you that the kids should be over 3 years of age. And people collect what they collect, everyone is different, thank goodness we're not all alike, (and a daresay a few 'grown men' collect them, too!).

Not!
I have never seen why grown woman usually spend £££ on stuffed animals, but if it floats your boat then go for it, who am I to say what you should spend your money on, and if Charlie Bears make you happy then spend away ,just don't ask me to spend my money on them.
I hope you get a great TSV when it comes round.

 

[Glittergirl]

Interesting, I've seen them in shops but tend to avoid. Prices are generally high but fair point if quality good! :mysmilie_7:

 

[Vienna]

Not me. I think they look poor quality, tacky and cheap. The prices are silly money in my opinion and if I were to want to buy a bear then I`m sure I`d find a nicer looking bear elsewhere.
I also find it cringeworthy to see grown men and women talking in silly voices and sticking their hand up a toy bear`s back and pretending to make it wave or somesuch.
To each their own, thankfully not for me.

 

[maymorganlondon]

Not a fan. Each to their own, but I do find the methods used rather unsettling... the transformation of the presenters as they coo, stroke and manipulate the teddy bears... I pity the bears.

 

[CallMeQ]

I have a few bears from the brand that were given to me as a gift and they're lovely but I never watch the shows! I agree that it's fake and uncomfortable to watch

 

[Glittergirl]

I have a few bears from the brand that were given to me as a gift and they're lovely but I never watch the shows! I agree that it's fake and uncomfortable to watch

Exactly, some are nice but it was the presentation of the show I was highlighting. Hard to watch as an adult :mysmilie_1:

 

[Vienna]

I cringe when I see customers photos on Q`s facebook page where people talk about them as if they`re real and pose them watching the TV or sitting around a table or in the garden etc and ask presenters or guests to say hello to them or something equally as daft.

 

[yorkrose26]

What gets me with Charlie Bears is that as others have said the 'same old story' gets pushed out about how they met (I know there are 'apparently' new viewers every day so there is the justification there from their point of view), but I find it hard to believe that a rugby player would go into a teddy bear shop to buy a teddy bear for his mother. I also find it hard to think that as someone in their earlier 40's he is able to get so 'gushy' over teddy bears for two hours on his own. He is one 'helluva sales man'. I know that the bears aim for a certain market so aren't as good as other brands. I myself have a special limited edition Steiff bear that was bought for me by my grandmother for my year zero birthday, it was a limited edition 'birthday bear'. I will of course never sell it as it is a special meaning. I can see by the quality of that and the quality of Charlie Bears that they are different leagues. I am never a bear collector, but from this special bear that I have and from the ones on screen I can't afford 'luxury' so I won't purchase any.

 

[CallMeQ]

I cringe when I see customers photos on Q`s facebook page where people talk about them as if they`re real and pose them watching the TV or sitting around a table or in the garden etc and ask presenters or guests to say hello to them or something equally as daft.

Yes that's creepy! I would like to point out I don't do that with mine :mysmilie_17: they're just sat on a shelf in my bedroom...

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

It's not my thing but if folk want to buy that's up to them.

However the obsession with twatting photos of multiple items be it bears, Eek , Kipling or anything else shouts to me of a problem which Q presenters milk for all their worth.

To my mind talking to them in funny voices isn't a whole lot different to dressing up pets and treating them like small children.

Perhaps it's me.

 

[candycane]

Not for me but there are a lot of collectors out there. Very similar to years ago when QVC used to do collectible dolls and pretended they were alive in the presentation - much worse than bears.

CC

 

[Akimbo]

My bears are currently depicting a tableau of the Karma Sutra on the flat roof of our extension.

 

[historymystery]

Sadly, from what I've read on here, it seems the quality is nowhere near so good today as it was, say 3/4 years back - from my personal experience the earlier ones were good quality and well worth buying. Maybe complacency has crept in or cost-saving measures, perhaps.

Interesting, I've seen them in shops but tend to avoid. Prices are generally high but fair point if quality good! :mysmilie_7:

 

[historymystery]

I also have an old Steiff bear, bought for me when I was five. I've no idea how CB's compare to the modern-day Steiff, but I'd guess they are nowhere near the Steiff quality (and when you compare the price differences, that's hardly surprising).

What gets me with Charlie Bears is that as others have said the 'same old story' gets pushed out about how they met (I know there are 'apparently' new viewers every day so there is the justification there from their point of view), but I find it hard to believe that a rugby player would go into a teddy bear shop to buy a teddy bear for his mother. I also find it hard to think that as someone in their earlier 40's he is able to get so 'gushy' over teddy bears for two hours on his own. He is one 'helluva sales man'. I know that the bears aim for a certain market so aren't as good as other brands. I myself have a special limited edition Steiff bear that was bought for me by my grandmother for my year zero birthday, it was a limited edition 'birthday bear'. I will of course never sell it as it is a special meaning. I can see by the quality of that and the quality of Charlie Bears that they are different leagues. I am never a bear collector, but from this special bear that I have and from the ones on screen I can't afford 'luxury' so I won't purchase any.