Mommabear
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In my opinion, his opinion is what needs checking. The same old scam he used to use on Bid. Will he never learn?
Peter Simon
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In my opinion, his opinion is what needs checking. The same old scam he used to use on Bid. Will he never learn?
Talking of Peter Simon learning.... I thought someone on here said that he would have to do his homework and maybe even have to take an exam.... it obviously didn't stretch to the mining side of things cos when he was selling a Tsavorite ring recently he said 'they are stopping Tsavorte coming out of the ground, they are not just, they are NOT ONLY MINING IT THEY'VE STOPPED MINING IT'.... Thanks for that St Peter.
He announced on his very first shift that he's studying for some 'Gem Qualifications', for once I presumed he was being truthful as I think most (if not all the hosts) are AJP accredited, whatever that means (forgive my ignorance).
But then again this is Peter Simon so ......................... :mysmilie_17:
I haven't really ever watched very much of Gems TV but in the last few days i've noticed a few similarities to Bid in their style of presentation.
They have 'Avalanches'
They sometimes have a 'Mystery Box' item (a bit like 'What's In The Box')
The presenter occasionally has a selection of items on display that he/she 'chooses' from (much like Russell did on Monday nights)
The 'Start Prices' are arguably even more ridiculous than Bid's (For example just now a Kunzite & Diamond Ring started at £5,921 and went for £599 then a Blue Topaz Ring started at £1,679 and went for £179, finally some Emerald Earrings started at £2,035 but went for £199)
In fact on Wednesday afternoon they couldn't sell anything for quite a while as all their computers went down, now that is VERY much like Bid. But I guess where they definitely differ from Bid is that they seem to offer good value! :mysmilie_19:
They have 'Avalanches'
They sometimes have a 'Mystery Box' item (a bit like 'What's In The Box')
The presenter occasionally has a selection of items on display that he/she 'chooses' from (much like Russell did on Monday nights)
The 'Start Prices' are arguably even more ridiculous than Bid's (For example just now a Kunzite & Diamond Ring started at £5,921 and went for £599 then a Blue Topaz Ring started at £1,679 and went for £179, finally some Emerald Earrings started at £2,035 but went for £199)
In fact on Wednesday afternoon they couldn't sell anything for quite a while as all their computers went down, now that is VERY much like Bid. But I guess where they definitely differ from Bid is that they seem to offer good value! :mysmilie_19:
cheeky chappie
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i feel sorry for the idiots oops sorry the innocent members of the public that fall for all the sales gimmicks. does anyone genuinely think a company would sell something that is worth or has an rrp of x thousands for an eventual price of x hundreds, unless part of a closing down event or something. are people genuinely that thick? 'OOOooo it's worth £5,000 and they're selling it for £250 ... where's me phone!'
products are worth what they are worth with whatever margins built in, end of. it would be like a ford dealer doing an auction of a new focus that has a list price of £18,000 but starting the auction at £80,000 or something i.e. a totally fictitious based on nothing starting price.
i KNOW they have to make these channels 'exciting' to the viewer but my god if anyone genuinely believes they're saving thousands then i feel sorry for them. on the flip side if you're happy with the eventual price you pay for a product then everyone's a winner.
PJ.
In an Ideal World ...
I never know how that can say it's not implying a value or worth, well why have it then? What possible other reason is there. I personally prefer a £99 reduced to £79 than starting at £1,000
PJ
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I have seen products priced at say £800, then I read that the product is silver! Suddenly the price is £25, not a lot of difference.
WifeSlashGoddess
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They've done avalanches for some time. However, unlike Bid, they don't try to make out that the items are random and that you're likely to get a whopping great big gold ring for peanuts. Gems are quite open and honest that their highest priced items are at the start of the auction and the lowest prices are at the end. All that does is say to potential customers that if you want a silver ring, come back in 45 minutes. If you want a pricey gold ring, start watching now. On Bid, it was more a case of making people think they're getting a bargain and that the last item could be an expensive gold item picked at "random" - when in reality, that was never the case.
The mystery box is another feature they've done for a long long time - but they're few and far between. The mystery boxes last week were the first i've seen for about 3 months - as opposed to Bid TV's almost daily "mystery" boxes.
The presenter picks are a regular feature on some shows - for example, Angeline does one during her show every day and calls it Angeline's big deal.
As for the starting prices, Steve Bennett openly says that they don't represent anything. They're merely a starting point because they operate a reverse auction format and they have to start somewhere. They've never tried to claim that the item is worth the starting price. If you ask Steve Bennett on Facebook, he'll openly say himself that the starting price does not represent a value (people have asked him before on Facebook - and he gives an honest answer.)
Some of the features on Gems - such as the occasional Mystery Box or avalanches are to build hype. They're never misleading. The mystery box always sells for a price it would usually sell for - and the avalanches, as I mentioned, start with the priciest item and end on the lowest. People know where they stand.
With Bid, everything was false. They did it to make people think they'd get a gold ring for silver prices, etc, etc.
If Gems wanted to rip people off, they too could have a premium rate phone number and charge extortionate postage per item - but they don't. As a regular Gems buyer, I've had numerous packages from Bid that have been very large in size - and definately cost them more than £2.95 to send. They've abosrbed that extra cost themselves. Bid TV wouldn't do that.
Gems TV also do a price pledge promise. If they sell an item today for £100, and they sell it tomorrow for £50, they'll give you that £50 back. Bid TV wouldn't do that either. Nobody mentiones the positives that companies like Gems do though....
They may do similar "themes" - but comparing the two companies is harsh. Gems are very professional. The only thing that lets them down is the image of Peter Simon and his BID TV-esque waffle.
He's only just started and told us he's got a special item coming up at 10.20pm tonight. It's 11.05pm at the moment!.......
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I think you may have taken what I said too literally SWG but perhaps it was my wording. I don't think I 'compared' the two 'companies' per se when I said "i've noticed a few similarities to Bid in their style of presentation", I was rather suggesting that perhaps Bid may of tried to lift some of their style rather than compare Gems TV to Bid, as I added later in my post in terms of offering value Gems TV are in another league. I couldn't possibly compare Sit-Up to Gems TV as 'companies', thankfully I couldn't compare Sit-Up and their shameless stooges to ANY other channel :mysmilie_59:
But I would stand by my point regarding on screen start prices. I accept everything that Steve Bennett says and of course he's right, technically. It's nice Steve is so upfront about them on facebook but as far as i'm aware they don't regularly, if ever, qualify either verbally or by on screen graphics during a time limited, live sale, that the start price is utterly spurious (apologies if they do, personally I haven't seen them do it), indeed they seem to often say (I paraphrase) 'we started at £XXX' as part of their pitches, if it's meaningless and means nothing why say it? I agree they have to have a starting price but why do they have to regularly be to a factor of 10, or even more, to the final price? I'll let others conclude why he's happy to be so open about this point on social media but perhaps not quite as candid 'live' on air! :mysmilie_59:
But I agree that it's a professional outfit and they really do seem to provide a good service, there's no doubt about it. Except perhaps when a certain someone is on, that they would employ him is certainly cause to be at least somewhat cautious.
I wonder when he sits his exams? :mysmilie_19:
PJ.
In an Ideal World ...
I am sure I have seen presenter's talk about how much they can't believe is falling in price, so if the start price is random and not a worth, why say you can't believe it? I don't understand why the ASA and OFCOM are not stopping this. A shop can't claim something was 50% off if it was never at 50% so why should this happen?
If it was a random price, why is it not sometimes just £20 more at the start?
If it was a random price, why is it not sometimes just £20 more at the start?
WifeSlashGoddess
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Apologies for the misunderstanding. I thought you were trying to suggests that Gems had copied some of Bids ideas and were trying to grab their old audience.
I do agree about the starting prices - although, in fairness, if someone is stupid enough to think that a Black Spinel ring in Sterling Silver is worth £1500, you have to question the sanity of some of the public. To most normal people, I would imagine it's fairly obvious to most that it's just a random starting price.
The only thing that frustrates me about Gems is that a small minority of presenters make Steve's otherwise professional and generally honest company look a bit questionable - when those presenters claim everything is rare, rare, rare and over-exagerate prices, etc. No prizes for guessing who one of those is. One of the others is the girl that was on this afternoon (Vicky) - seeming shocked of the price of every item. "Nor nor nor, this can't gor for under £20. Is that a mistake?". They forget that people watch day in, day out - and we know exactly what prices they usually pitch around - especially when we've seen them for the same price two days earlier.
It's the same old presenters too - so it's clearly a presenter issue rather than a company issue.
The likes of Rae, Jim, Lianna, Scott, etc sell their products professionally and calmly without insisting everything is rare, rare, rare and without trying to convince us that every item is so low in price because the presenter has cocked up on every single price.
I won't buy from any presenters that talks to the public like we're all stupid out of principle. So Vicky and Peter can spout all their spiel all they like, I wouldn't buy from them. I like to feel like i'm buying from someone honest and trustworthy.
I'm amazed that Steve tolerates presenters that use those less desirable sales tactics. There's absolutely no need for it on Gems. They offer a quality product at good prices. There's something for everyone - no matter what their budget is - and buying is generally hassle free and good value for money. If there are any problems, they're usually excellent at resolving it. Steve Bennett runs a very well organised ship - and he seems like a genuinely decent guy - so I didn't think he'd be the kind to tolerate muppets that over-exagerate and potentially risk lowering the image and professionalism of his company. I'm truly baffled as to how Peter Simon got the Gems gig - especially when the mistakes are free flowing on a daily basis.
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love media
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blonde Vicky you're on about right?
if so then yeah,she can be a bit too in your face with her scaremongering tactics.
if so then yeah,she can be a bit too in your face with her scaremongering tactics.
Mommabear
Registered Shopper
Steve Bennett is not only a nice guy, he does a lot of good work in these countries he goes to where the mines are. I see he gave money to build a school, how lovely is that?
I went to tune in to Gems last night but the channel has disappeared from my Freesat box so I'll have to look into that :mysmilie_10:
I went to tune in to Gems last night but the channel has disappeared from my Freesat box so I'll have to look into that :mysmilie_10:
WifeSlashGoddess
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That's the one. She's almost as bad as Peter Simon for the over-exagerating, poor acting.
They've recently changed channel on Sky to Bid's old channel - and the old channel number will have Steve Bennett's new charity channel when that opens in a few weeks time.
I'm sure they said Freeview was unaffected - but perhaps you have been affected by that in some way?
Peter Simon was scheduled for last night - but shortly before he was due on, his name was replaced on the schedule and another presenter came on during his time instead. How nice it was to hear someone calm and professional in that time slot again....
I wonder whether he was off sick - or I wonder if there's more to it? Hopefully they've realised how bad he is and pulled him from our screens.
love media
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the lady on last night who replaced peter at short notice was Stephanie Adkins,who normally does the morning bit on rocks.
Mmmm, if a presenter is replaced at short notice they usually tell us why? on hols, ill, car trouble etc. etc. Methinks or should i say hopes, that they've got rid. I couldn't stand more than 10 minutes of his bull, waffle, mistakes, earpiece silences, cut off words, sentences and the rest the last time he was on.
Soooooo, hope it was " Peter, your presenting is absolutely cr*p, get out, you're sacked" and not off sick or car trouble. We live in hope:mysmilie_17:
Soooooo, hope it was " Peter, your presenting is absolutely cr*p, get out, you're sacked" and not off sick or car trouble. We live in hope:mysmilie_17:
I caught the start of Lianna's show at 3am and she said that Gems were no longer going to run shows 24 hours, looks like Gems will finish at midnight from tonight to show Gem documentaries. They've done this before, then went back to 24 hour shows..... but, could be the reason old PS has vamoosed.
Lianna is going back to The Lounge :mysmilie_14: Chrissy Clarke is moving to Gems, so a bit of a shake up again.
Lianna is going back to The Lounge :mysmilie_14: Chrissy Clarke is moving to Gems, so a bit of a shake up again.
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love media
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would've kept lianna and moved Lynn jinks (who just came back pushed Victoria Norris off gems) as it is,only one I like on gems is Rachel Hatton.
PJ.
In an Ideal World ...
I can't imagine The Bennett's of a few years ago would have looked at Peter twice for presenting but they are no stupid they must know what he was like on Bid so unless he promised to tone it down and didn't I can't see sadly him already gone.
PJ
mr tom
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that steve Bennett does genuinely seem like a good bloke and I don't mean ''tv good bloke'' an actual good bloke.
