Postage increase from 13th February

[TheManWithNoName]

Following in the footsteps of Jewellery Maker, Gemporia has announced that postage prices will increase by £1 from 13th February, bringing standard delivery to £4.95 and premium delivery to £6.95.

Their excuse? "The economic landscape around us has changed significantly over the last few years, and the cost of packaging and shipping our products is no exception."

Absolute nonsense! This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to profiteer from postage and packaging costs.

Gemporia uses Royal Mail Tracked, and for the general public, Royal Mail Tracked 48 costs £2.70 for a 'large letter' sized box - the same size Gemporia uses for rings, pendants, and other small jewellery items. As a business, they will receive significant volume-based discounts, meaning their actual postage cost is likely much lower than this.

Even if we assume Gemporia is paying the full retail rate of £2.70 (which they won't be), that leaves £2.25 to cover the cost of the box.

The boxes they use are the "Brown Quick Seal Postal Box 152x107x20mm (Pack of 50)" from UK Packaging, costing £9.35 (including VAT) for 50 boxes - which works out to just 19p per box. At pallet rate (8,000 boxes), the cost drops to 11p per box.

So, even at full retail price, postage and packaging costs £2.89 per parcel. Realistically, Gemporia is likely paying no more than £2 at their business rate. That leaves a hefty markup on postage.

I defended their postage costs when they were £2.95, and even when they rose to £3.95, as that covered larger homeware items as well. But £4.95 is simply unreasonable.

A fairer approach would have been tiered postage pricing - for example:

• £2.95 or £3.49 for smaller items like rings and pendants
• £5.95 for larger homeware items

At £4.95, I can’t see many people paying postage for an 'under £10 hour' item. Even for an 'under £20 hour' purchase, it feels excessive.

I can think of a better way of cutting costs to get through the "economic landscape" - Get rid of Troth instead of paying him a wage to stand around chatting ***** whilst putting endless 30 second clocks on the screen.

 

[Ant7t]

At £4.95, I can’t see many people paying postage for an 'under £10 hour' item. Even for an 'under £20 hour' purchase, it feels excessive.

Cooo, you do your homework. And maybe it's a ploy to encourage buying in their beloved multiples. They sell an item for a fiver, for example and you think, oo, that's good, I will get so and so, so it makes the postage worth while.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Cooo, you do your homework. And maybe it's a ploy to encourage buying in their beloved multiples. They sell an item for a fiver, for example and you think, oo, that's good, I will get so and so, so it makes the postage worth while.

It seems to be going down like a lead balloon on their Facebook page

 

[Ant7t]

It seems to be going down like a lead balloon on their Facebook page

So I see.

 

[Nico]

I think it’s fair given it costs that much per item on any other shopping network. Don’t forget it includes heavy stuff like Kimbie which I think is the main reason for the increase, they would still lose some money for bulky items.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I think it’s fair given it costs that much per item on any other shopping network. Don’t forget it includes heavy stuff like Kimbie which I think is the main reason for the increase, they would still lose some money for bulky items.

Which is why they should have introduced 'tiered' shipping instead - one rate for the letter box sized boxes, and a higher rate for the bigger items.

£3.95p and £5.95p have been more reasonable 'tiered' rates. Their profits should be made on the items they're selling - not postage costs.

It wouldn't be so bad if the profits from the postage costs were being used to subsidise other aspects of the business - such as offering a 12 month warranty (something that some of the other networks do offer) instead of the very poor 6 months that they currently offer.

Alternatively, if they're going to charge that price, then make it more appealing by allowing people to combine postage across the entire Gemporia brand.

Many years ago, orders from Gems TV, Rocks TV, The Lounge/The Outlet, Gem Collector & Jewellery Maker could all be combined on one order - and it only cost £2.95p

These days, items purchased from Gems TV and Gem Collector can be combined - but if you order an item from Jewellery Maker, you have to pay another postage fee (even though they all come out of the same Warehouse) - and if you order something from Hobby Maker or Sewing Street, those also incur additional postage costs.

I think this will backfire spectacularly anyway because people on their Facebook page, etc are already stating that they won't be paying £4.95p postage for a £10 candle or something bought in an 'Under £10' hour. They risk losing more on lost sales than they'll gain by increasing postage.

People also won't forget that their postage costs remained at £2.95p for well over a decade - even through other difficult financial periods such as Brexit, etc - but they've since put it up twice in around 4 or 5 years (a way above inflation increase of 33.9% first time, and another way above inflation increase of a 25.32% increase this time).

It's nonsense that the price increase is down to the "economic landscape" - this looks like a clear attempt to profit from products AND postage costs, which is totally unacceptable.

 

[Nico]

is it just Gemporia or all of their channels going up? If it is all then they may spread costs across their networks. Their orders for the heavy items would drop I suspect.

I wish they charged £100 to ship jade. That would end it.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

is it just Gemporia or all of their channels going up? If it is all then they may spread costs across their networks. Their orders for the heavy items would drop I suspect.

I wish they charged £100 to ship jade. That would end it.

I believe Jewellery Maker prices have already increased.

JM have a contract with Whistl do deliver their orders though, whereas Gems TV and Gem Collector orders are shipped with Royal Mail.

They were asked a while ago about combining across the entire group too - and they stayed they had no plans to reintroduce it.

 

[AndyW]

So I see.

Yep. Not everyone uses Facebook - I don't - but here are some images with comments, one of which is:

 

[Battiola73]

Following in the footsteps of Jewellery Maker, Gemporia has announced that postage prices will increase by £1 from 13th February, bringing standard delivery to £4.95 and premium delivery to £6.95.

Their excuse? "The economic landscape around us has changed significantly over the last few years, and the cost of packaging and shipping our products is no exception."

Absolute nonsense! This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to profiteer from postage and packaging costs.

Gemporia uses Royal Mail Tracked, and for the general public, Royal Mail Tracked 48 costs £2.70 for a 'large letter' sized box - the same size Gemporia uses for rings, pendants, and other small jewellery items. As a business, they will receive significant volume-based discounts, meaning their actual postage cost is likely much lower than this.

Even if we assume Gemporia is paying the full retail rate of £2.70 (which they won't be), that leaves £2.25 to cover the cost of the box.

The boxes they use are the "Brown Quick Seal Postal Box 152x107x20mm (Pack of 50)" from UK Packaging, costing £9.35 (including VAT) for 50 boxes - which works out to just 19p per box. At pallet rate (8,000 boxes), the cost drops to 11p per box.

So, even at full retail price, postage and packaging costs £2.89 per parcel. Realistically, Gemporia is likely paying no more than £2 at their business rate. That leaves a hefty markup on postage.

I defended their postage costs when they were £2.95, and even when they rose to £3.95, as that covered larger homeware items as well. But £4.95 is simply unreasonable.

A fairer approach would have been tiered postage pricing - for example:

• £2.95 or £3.49 for smaller items like rings and pendants
• £5.95 for larger homeware items

At £4.95, I can’t see many people paying postage for an 'under £10 hour' item. Even for an 'under £20 hour' purchase, it feels excessive.

I can think of a better way of cutting costs to get through the "economic landscape" - Get rid of Troth instead of paying him a wage to stand around chatting ***** whilst putting endless 30 second clocks on the screen.

Quite agree with you. With the amount of their sales, they can negotiate prices with the courier and packaging companies. I know because this was part of my job for over 40years, negotiating courier and freight costs worldwide. If they know you have large volumes to ship per year, they’ll be knocking at your door.

I often wonder if that’s how QVC turn a profit by their extortionate p&p charges. If Gemporia are like Hobbymaker that £4.95 is per day regardless of orders placed. Mind you I’d struggle to buy just one thing from Gemporia.

Even if they are selling really bulky items, there is/was a volumetric equation. Multiple the package dimensions together and divide by 6000, if that’s larger than the actual weight you pay highest amount. Comparison a kilo of nails compared to a kilo of feathers.

 

[AndyW]

I often wonder if that’s how QVC turn a profit by their extortionate p&p charges.

The P&P at QVC is, for me, the reason I don't even look at them anymore.

If Gemporia are like Hobbymaker that £4.95 is per day regardless of orders placed. Mind you I’d struggle to buy just one thing from Gemporia.

The presenters at Gemporia are fond of saying "open your order and it's one P&P all day". This might make you understand that it is one P&P per day but it's not - it's per order. Unless you select "Click to combine" when checking out, a new order will be created, incurring additional P&P.

Why you wouldn't combine would be either an error or for a different delivery address or a different shipping rate (a particular item needed faster). Fix the first with a call to the call centre and the other two fair enough.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

The P&P at QVC is, for me, the reason I don't even look at them anymore.

The presenters at Gemporia are fond of saying "open your order and it's one P&P all day". This might make you understand that it is one P&P per day but it's not - it's per order. Unless you select "Click to combine" when checking out, a new order will be created, incurring additional P&P.

Why you wouldn't combine would be either an error or for a different delivery address or a different shipping rate (a particular item needed faster). Fix the first with a call to the call centre and the other two fair enough.

Lynn Jinks used to be the worst - saying it's "one P&P in any one 24 hour period" - which was misleading at it's very worst.

That implied that if you opened an order at 3pm, you could place an order at 2.59pm the following day and combine the postage costs.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Quite agree with you. With the amount of their sales, they can negotiate prices with the courier and packaging companies. I know because this was part of my job for over 40years, negotiating courier and freight costs worldwide. If they know you have large volumes to ship per year, they’ll be knocking at your door.

About 18 months ago, someone who claimed to have worked at Gemporia posted here and stated that the company also received a hefty discount.

Most of the comments on Facebook are quite critical, with some suggesting that Gemporia should introduce a 'tiered' postage system. I'm fairly sure that TJC has a setup where smaller items incur a lower postage fee, while heavier items cost more to ship.

Many retailers now offer 'free' postage to attract customers, while others use subscription models - such as Amazon's 'Prime' service. Someone on Facebook also mentioned that TJC has a similar system, where customers can pay a set monthly fee for unlimited delivery.

At a time when retailers are reducing postage costs or offering free shipping, Gemporia is increasing theirs. I think this decision will come back to bite them.

A few people have defended the change, acknowledging that the 'economic climate' has shifted, but they are in the minority. One response even reads suspiciously like it was written by a member of staff due to its wording.

This price increase has nothing to do with the 'economic climate' because, even at full retail rates, members of the public can send packages of the same size and weight as Gemporia’s ring boxes for just £2.70 - plus the minimal cost of packaging.

Royal Mail raises its prices every April, yet Gemporia’s increase doesn’t align with that. If this change were truly due to rising costs, you would have expected them to adjust their pricing last April or this April when Royal Mail’s latest increase took effect.

It comes across as profiteering from postage. If they receive 1 million orders a year (equating to around 2,740 orders per day - a figure Gemporia easily reaches and often exceeds) and make just £1 in profit per order from postage, that’s an extra £1 million in the bank purely from increasing delivery charges - which is unacceptable. It's treating customers as mugs.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

A few people seem to be in favour of Tiered postage based on the Facebook comments. There's the post Andy posted above, plus these:

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Plus a few other general comments. It's interesting that people are commenting on the quality of stones - something others have mentioned in here too.

 

[Ant7t]

Yep. Not everyone uses Facebook - I don't - but here are some images with comments, one of which is:
View attachment 31655

Looking at those, there's a thought. Gemporia sells a multitude of sizes and values of items. GC doesn't. Eg. 'I' buy a large candle from Gems. Yes, cost reasonable. I buy a 1ct loose stone from GC that costs a fraction of the postage they charge. Me now. I've bought stuff off GC that cost a pound. Granted I did MB, but that's not the point. Who'd pay postage of nearly a fiver for something that could go through the post for the current cost of a second class stamp? Bit of a ramble, I know

The P&P at QVC is, for me, the reason I don't even look at them anymore.

The presenters at Gemporia are fond of saying "open your order and it's one P&P all day". This might make you understand that it is one P&P per day but it's not - it's per order. Unless you select "Click to combine" when checking out, a new order will be created, incurring additional P&P.

Why you wouldn't combine would be either an error or for a different delivery address or a different shipping rate (a particular item needed faster). Fix the first with a call to the call centre and the other two fair enough.

I did that once. Forgot to combine, but it wasn't a huge purchase so I let it slide. Never did it again though.

 

[rubia]

Following in the footsteps of Jewellery Maker, Gemporia has announced that postage prices will increase by £1 from 13th February, bringing standard delivery to £4.95 and premium delivery to £6.95.

Their excuse? "The economic landscape around us has changed significantly over the last few years, and the cost of packaging and shipping our products is no exception."

Absolute nonsense! This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to profiteer from postage and packaging costs.

Gemporia uses Royal Mail Tracked, and for the general public, Royal Mail Tracked 48 costs £2.70 for a 'large letter' sized box - the same size Gemporia uses for rings, pendants, and other small jewellery items. As a business, they will receive significant volume-based discounts, meaning their actual postage cost is likely much lower than this.

Even if we assume Gemporia is paying the full retail rate of £2.70 (which they won't be), that leaves £2.25 to cover the cost of the box.

The boxes they use are the "Brown Quick Seal Postal Box 152x107x20mm (Pack of 50)" from UK Packaging, costing £9.35 (including VAT) for 50 boxes - which works out to just 19p per box. At pallet rate (8,000 boxes), the cost drops to 11p per box.

So, even at full retail price, postage and packaging costs £2.89 per parcel. Realistically, Gemporia is likely paying no more than £2 at their business rate. That leaves a hefty markup on postage.

I defended their postage costs when they were £2.95, and even when they rose to £3.95, as that covered larger homeware items as well. But £4.95 is simply unreasonable.

A fairer approach would have been tiered postage pricing - for example:

• £2.95 or £3.49 for smaller items like rings and pendants
• £5.95 for larger homeware items

At £4.95, I can’t see many people paying postage for an 'under £10 hour' item. Even for an 'under £20 hour' purchase, it feels excessive.

I can think of a better way of cutting costs to get through the "economic landscape" - Get rid of Troth instead of paying him a wage to stand around chatting ***** whilst putting endless 30 second clocks on the screen.

don't forget about Jake, Angelina and Ellis that would be great