General Banter and Random Musings

[Dr Quincy MkII]

I want to point out that the graphics are very clear to read and full of actual useful information. The price comparisons realistic and genuine

 

[PhædrusR]

I don't know about you, but I have a surfeit of pineapples, always have lots of pineapples in the house, every time I go out I seem to return home with a pineapple here, another one in the bag there, another one in a delivery, one on the doorstep, not to mention the pineapple tree in the garden.

Ahhh, well, that's handy then:

Piranha Pineapple Corer | Seen on TV

www.seenontv.co.uk

 

[PhædrusR]

I smiled at the scented Toilet Roll I had never heard of it, My dad Flys RC Planes, and has one of those stools

Be good if we got a dry weekend

Hello Vera!

 

[Duke of Cheese]

After not far off a year of appallingly misleading price comparisons, hysterically inaccurate presentations, a broom cupboard of a studio, goods you’ve never heard of, or never want to have heard of, lifted forum user names texts, and presented with the picture quality of a Kodak Instamatic camera and the credibility of a nun from a fancy dress shop, it is great to see a shopping channel start up which is the very opposite of all of those things.

 

[Muttley]

And it was all going so well…

Mr There, There, There and nepo-hire giving it all the “exclusive, rare, high-end” timepiece spiel from Duxot. Should be £400, £600… Swiss heritage… - it’s a Dartmouth mushroom brand now, watches made in China …they’re picked out of a catalog and a Duxot logo slapped on them. You can buy them with out logos for ~£40 on AliExpress.

Edit; must be watching, Mr There, There, There just clarified Duxot (1946) went defunct and “we brought it back” to continue the style, etc.

If you’re happy to keep name dropping Switzerland despite no real connection anymore, do feel free to name drop the country these watches are made in which is, arguably, rather important information for “collectors”….

Especially since nepo keeps gasping about how it should be £600 and Jonathan's got them such an amazing deal… …

I only watched for a minute before they did the 'recommended retail price' nonsense. The one that's twice as much as this blah blah. I can't remember what they were selling but I turned straight off. That price is only relevant if they're routinely sold at that price. Otherwise the recommended retail price of a loaf of bread could be £29.99.

Disappointed after all the positive comments I've been reading.

 

[Muttley]

I’m surprised how people can turn on a channel over just one show

But if people weren't happy with what they heard, maybe claims that weren't entirely accurate, then they may not give them another chance. It may be harsh but that's life.

There's an expression 'you only have one chance to make a good impression'.

 

[Alex Knowles]

Good morning - I’m going to get you some of the answers to the questions on the watches that are brought up. You might not agree with what those answers are but I will ask and come back. The watch knowledge on these forums is superb so I will ask for you but I can promise you we aren’t buying in for Alibaba at £40!

Powerbond - Ivan is fantastic and has a product that is brilliant and something new to bring to shopping tele that hasn’t been seen for a while (I haven’t seen glue anyway since I’ve worked in shopping tv) so we thought it would work well.

Toilet roll - I get your comments on Andrex - again we are just trying something different and obviously we need to make some revenue as well so try and set the prices for the particular product we are selling lower than you can find it else where. Sometimes we can get deals which mean we can offer better discounts, others we work with what we have got.

Insider - you mention we should spend more time on the tv guide and getting products up and running rather than this thread. You may be right and we are trying to do both. You will know behind the scenes it’s a lot of work to set up and run a shopping channel. It has blown my mind how much needs to be done and has given me a whole new level of respect for everyone I have worked with on previous channels behind the scenes. All I will say is Rome wasn’t built in a day and we are going as fast as we can and working as hard as we can to bring you everything you mention.
Whoever you are insider (as I genuinely don’t have a clue and am rubbish at guessing!) If we worked together and knew each other at the old IW, I hope you are well.

Have a good weekend everyone.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Again...a breath of fresh air with the approach here of Alex Knowles. I've not seen any watch shows on there, but where I do draw the line on credibility is the marketing of watches with the branding of defunct companies or closed down department stores, being bigged up as having some sort of heritage they don't deserve. Are they doing that here? Vostok I have no issue with. I own one bought from Ideal World five or so years ago. Lovely watch. I own a couple of Breitlings and a Tudor also, and it holds its own with them.. Just sell a watch for what it actually is, and not what it is purporting to be. There is nothing wrong with Chinese-made watches. Why not just be transparent about where these items are made and not link them to things that they have absolutely no connection with other than a resurfaced company name long gone. Also, are they using Bordell again? That is particularly disappointing news.

 

[Muttley]

Good morning - I’m going to get you some of the answers to the questions on the watches that are brought up. You might not agree with what those answers are but I will ask and come back. The watch knowledge on these forums is superb so I will ask for you but I can promise you we aren’t buying in for Alibaba at £40!

Powerbond - Ivan is fantastic and has a product that is brilliant and something new to bring to shopping tele that hasn’t been seen for a while (I haven’t seen glue anyway since I’ve worked in shopping tv) so we thought it would work well.

Toilet roll - I get your comments on Andrex - again we are just trying something different and obviously we need to make some revenue as well so try and set the prices for the particular product we are selling lower than you can find it else where. Sometimes we can get deals which mean we can offer better discounts, others we work with what we have got.

Insider - you mention we should spend more time on the tv guide and getting products up and running rather than this thread. You may be right and we are trying to do both. You will know behind the scenes it’s a lot of work to set up and run a shopping channel. It has blown my mind how much needs to be done and has given me a whole new level of respect for everyone I have worked with on previous channels behind the scenes. All I will say is Rome wasn’t built in a day and we are going as fast as we can and working as hard as we can to bring you everything you mention.
Whoever you are insider (as I genuinely don’t have a clue and am rubbish at guessing!) If we worked together and knew each other at the old IW, I hope you are well.

Have a good weekend everyone.

As long as the toilet paper is not the shiny stuff that some of us on here remember then I'm happy...

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Are they selling toilet rolls? I can only think back to Mother Teresa selling packs of them for £70(?) during the lockdown period. Turned my stomachs.

 

[Jazzydrury]

Rug Doctor is on Currently

 

[Jazzydrury]

As long as the toilet paper is not the shiny stuff that some of us on here remember then I'm happy...

It was Scented

 

[galesgal57]

As long as the toilet paper is not the shiny stuff that some of us on here remember then I'm happy...

My Dad insisted for years that we used Izal. I can still remember the smell of it.

 

[Jazzydrury]

My Dad insisted for years that we used Izal. I can still remember the smell of it.

You might as well have just used Greaseproof paper

 

[Duke of Cheese]

My Dad insisted for years that we used Izal. I can still remember the smell of it.

The feel of it for me. Sheet after sheet of slimy paper failing to work. In the end I resorted to wiping up with five Euros…the coin…

 

[cheeky chappie]

I'm not defending this channel nor any other, however as we sometimes touch on (I've just done so in the IW thread) we have to assume their sales strategies work for them, including all the stuff we don't like e.g. the inflated RRPs, dubious claims about where products are made etc.

If we take the watch shows, it would be interesting to know the sales figures if they tried a month without any of the inflated claims and a month with them. If the latter achieved greater numbers and profit, only a fool wouldn't use said techniques, I certainly would. I know that comes across as counter to much of the stuff I type, however even if sailing close to the wind, the business version of me would use whatever technique worked best if it meant more chance of success and profit.

I'll say again though, in a parallel universe it would be interesting to know if these channels would be just as if not more successful if they dropped all the bull ...

 

[Duke of Cheese]

I think these channels are actually too scared to change their long-term strategy on watches. The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome rules. Not being able to or unwilling to source more high street names watch brands doesn't help. In other words, brands that speak for themselves. Oh to see Seiko or Citizen and watch brands of that nature on these channels and not something named after a defunct department store that closed in 1982.

 

[Hammy60]

Again...a breath of fresh air with the approach here of Alex Knowles. I've not seen any watch shows on there, but where I do draw the line on credibility is the marketing of watches with the branding of defunct companies or closed down department stores, being bigged up as having some sort of heritage they don't deserve. Are they doing that here? Vostok I have no issue with. I own one bought from Ideal World five or so years ago. Lovely watch. I own a couple of Breitlings and a Tudor also, and it holds its own with them.. Just sell a watch for what it actually is, and not what it is purporting to be. There is nothing wrong with Chinese-made watches. Why not just be transparent about where these items are made and not link them to things that they have absolutely no connection with other than a resurfaced company name long gone. Also, are they using Bordell again? That is particularly disappointing news.

That is very important and sadly lacking on selly telly, one thing that really annoys me is the use of the word "Luxury" in describing watches (and lots of other products) on selly telly, it is bandied about like there is no tomorrow. Over the last 6/7 years i've seen very few watches on selly telly deserving of such a description, the closest in recent year, which would best be described as a basic watch to entry level luxury watch brands, would be Roamer (oops mentioned them again) especially for their Searock amd maybe the higher end Mathey-Tissot, but the rest nope sorry, just a mix of decent to good quality dive/tool watches (i would good quality dive/tool watches to describe Traser/Vostok Europe) or overpriced luxury junk from baby & papa.

Yeah the most important thing at the end of the day is a watch is a watch, whether it's £10,000 or £10 and will serve the purpose it's meant to do tell time, some a lot longer than others, but most decent quality watches (even in the affordable bracket) if looked after will have longevity. Obviously some watches are better quality than others, whether that is in the quality of the materials used, movements, watchmakers skills, quality control etc and that usually shows in the price, but price can also be affected by brand appeal, status, reputation, history, heritage etc.
There's a lot watches on selly telly that are decent quality but there's some right overpriced nasty looking junk, even £40 Alibaba watches are better, but as i said, on the whole decent affordable watches.
Where the problem comes in, as you've stated, is the erroneous marketing and sales patter, not just from the presenters/guests but the brands themselves. Reynolds is one of the better ones out of all the presenters and guests for giving technical details, although he does come out with some faux pas at times, obviously not as knowledgeable in watches as he sometimes alludes too, but hey none of us know it all. But some of the rest of the presenters/guests are just out and out shysters, peddling a mix of irrelevent stories, misinformation and ouright lies or in some cases they are just totally ignorant about watches and come out with some utter rubbish, if they are selling alledgedly luxury items then they really should be clued up on them, at the very least the basics. There is nothing more farcical than listening to presenter, selling a Christophe Duchamp watch, whittering on about how Christophe moved his watch factory from Switzerland and he has now set up his headquarters and factory in the UK. Would be a great story if Christophe Duchamp was an actual person and the story was true, but unfortunately for the presenter Chris doesn't exists and neither did his Swiss factory nor did it move to the UK.

If you're just a viewer just buying a watch to use as an everyday watch or maybe a present then you're probably not going to need to much info on a watch, oh it looks nice that'll do me , but if you're a watch collector the things you would want to know, well i do anyway, if possible, when buying a watch is:-

Brand - Who they are, who the current owner of the brand is, where they are located, not some story about a defuct brand that has absolutely no connection or relevence to the present day brand.

On the watch itself

1.Who assembled it - Is it by the brand itself or a 3rd party watchmaker and if so who.
2.Where it's assembled/made - Country of origin
3.Materials used in the construction case, crystal and strap/bracelet.
4.Dimensions - not just case width, but height/depth, lug to lug, lug width etc. Lug to lug is especially important on selly telly given their love for selling big, big watches.
5.Movement in the watch - saying it's auto or quartz, Swiss, Japanese or not mentioning origin if it's Chinese doesn't cut it, need to be informed of the make and caliber of the movement, big difference in price and qaulity of movements even from the same movement manufacturer.

 

[Jazzydrury]

I noticed Kevin knows more, Why not just make a resident Watch Expert, rather than upside down bum head or whatever his name is

 

[Jazzydrury]

That is very important and sadly lacking on selly telly, one thing that really annoys me is the use of the word "Luxury" in describing watches (and lots of other products) on selly telly, it is bandied about like there is no tomorrow. Over the last 6/7 years i've seen very few watches on selly telly deserving of such a description, the closest in recent year, which would best be described as a basic watch to entry level luxury watch brands, would be Roamer (oops mentioned them again) especially for their Searock amd maybe the higher end Mathey-Tissot, but the rest nope sorry, just a mix of decent to good quality dive/tool watches (i would good quality dive/tool watches to describe Traser/Vostok Europe) or overpriced luxury junk from baby & papa.

Yeah the most important thing at the end of the day is a watch is a watch, whether it's £10,000 or £10 and will serve the purpose it's meant to do tell time, some a lot longer than others, but most decent quality watches (even in the affordable bracket) if looked after will have longevity. Obviously some watches are better quality than others, whether that is in the quality of the materials used, movements, watchmakers skills, quality control etc and that usually shows in the price, but price can also be affected by brand appeal, status, reputation, history, heritage etc.
There's a lot watches on selly telly that are decent quality but there's some right overpriced nasty looking junk, even £40 Alibaba watches are better, but as i said, on the whole decent affordable watches.
Where the problem comes in, as you've stated, is the erroneous marketing and sales patter, not just from the presenters/guests but the brands themselves. Reynolds is one of the better ones out of all the presenters and guests for giving technical details, although he does come out with some faux pas at times, obviously not as knowledgeable in watches as he sometimes alludes too, but hey none of us know it all. But some of the rest of the presenters/guests are just out and out shysters, peddling a mix of irrelevent stories, misinformation and ouright lies or in some cases they are just totally ignorant about watches and come out with some utter rubbish, if they are selling alledgedly luxury items then they really should be clued up on them, at the very least the basics. There is nothing more farcical than listening to presenter, selling a Christophe Duchamp watch, whittering on about how Christophe moved his watch factory from Switzerland and he has now set up his headquarters and factory in the UK. Would be a great story if Christophe Duchamp was an actual person and the story was true, but unfortunately for the presenter Chris doesn't exists and neither did his Swiss factory nor did it move to the UK.

If you're just a viewer just buying a watch to use as an everyday watch or maybe a present then you're probably not going to need to much info on a watch, oh it looks nice that'll do me , but if you're a watch collector the things you would want to know, well i do anyway, if possible, when buying a watch is:-

Brand - Who they are, who the current owner of the brand is, where they are located, not some story about a defuct brand that has absolutely no connection or relevence to the present day brand.

On the watch itself

1.Who assembled it - Is it by the brand itself or a 3rd party watchmaker and if so who.
2.Where it's assembled/made - Country of origin
3.Materials used in the construction case, crystal and strap/bracelet.
4.Dimensions - not just case width, but height/depth, lug to lug, lug width etc. Lug to lug is especially important on selly telly given their love for selling big, big watches.
5.Movement in the watch - saying it's auto or quartz, Swiss, Japanese or not mentioning origin if it's Chinese doesn't cut it, need to be informed of the make and caliber of the movement, big difference in price and qaulity of movements even from the same movement manufacturer.

If you wanted a Luxury Watch wouldn’t you go to a posh shop, than a shopping channel