Random Musings and Critiques Etc.

[Duke of Cheese]

I was going to call them Elsie and Doris Waters. But I thought nobody would remember them.

 

[cheeky chappie]

Vintage Cash Cow presentation last night with Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth. Not sure the way to getting the best price for your old jewellery, toy cars, watches etc. is to put them into a cardboard box en masse, then sell them on to a somebody else who’ll then sell them on elsewhere. But if you don’t want the hassle of selling items individually on eBay, or engaging the services and commission charges of an auction house, then I suppose it is one way of doing things most simply. Looking at the style of their TV ads (Shaun Ryan and ‘Chester’ do one) they put out, the business model is very much targeted towards older people who want to sell with ‘good, old fashioned British service’, without any aggravation, to perhaps give some money to the ‘grandkids’, say. The Wiltshire Farm Foods style of selling your unwanted stuff…

Last night they were offering an incentive of ‘£25’ bonus payment on what you send in to Vintage Cash Cow. That is a pretty hard bonus to measure, I would say. Similar to the old £500 off any used car at a dealership ploy, where they simply claw that back by offering £500 less on your part-exchange. How you would disprove they just offered you £25 less than normal to pay you £25 more on the trade box, I don’t know. That said, reviews of Vintage Cash Cow on Trustpilot are pretty good, and also in the favour of the broadcaster - Shop on TV are at least trying some different products and services to showcase. Though, I am sure in the dying days of Ideal World 57, they had Vintage Cash Cow shows on there, too.

I wonder how honest they would be (either reflected in their offer or by contacting the customer to advise them) if they found something in the bundle that was worth a LOT of money. e.g. family sends in granddad's belongings after he passes away and amongst the items is a medal worth thousands.

Surely it must be pretty easy for them to say 'we'll offer you £1000 for the lot' even though the true value might be £5000 due to a valuable item the family were unaware of? And if the seller accepts, ah well that's the way it goes ...

I'm slightly dubious about all such companies tbh.

 

[historymystery]

I was going to call them Elsie and Doris Waters. But I thought nobody would remember them.

Weren't they the sisters of Jack Warner, who played Dixon in 'Dixon of Dock Green', the police drama (my Dad's favourite TV programme back in the Dark Ages)?

 

[Duke of Cheese]

That’s right. I was actually born in the 1960s, but I am probably more interested and entertained by stars and shows of 1920s to the late 1960s, being honest. Goodnight, All.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

I wonder how honest they would be (either reflected in their offer or by contacting the customer to advise them) if they found something in the bundle that was worth a LOT of money. e.g. family sends in granddad's belongings after he passes away and amongst the items is a medal worth thousands.

Surely it must be pretty easy for them to say 'we'll offer you £1000 for the lot' even though the true value might be £5000 due to a valuable item the family were unaware of? And if the seller accepts, ah well that's the way it goes ...

I'm slightly dubious about all such companies tbh.

I remember I sold a job lot of Timpo cowboys and indians on eBay about 15 years ago. I thought I was pretty clued up on the value of this particular toy, but it turned out that I wasn’t. In the lot, there was one particular cowboy with a very rare shirt colour - worth, as it turned out, more than the £170 I got for the other 50 or so figures put together! There was me, patting myself on the back because I thought I’d made a killing with the sale, and actually I was probably about 200 quid down on what I should’ve made, had I known. Not that the winning bidder ever told me! I later found out by accident from an online specialist valuation site for Timpo. Similar with these types of buyers, you suspect. I mean…are they going to tell you that you included a 1933 penny in Grandad’s coin collection they paid you 50 quid for? Maybe…But maybe not.

The same goes on during those antiques experts on tour TV shows. The expert pays 20 notes for some bit of pot (as in china) that eventually turns out to be worth thousands. Do they go back and give the difference to the hapless seller? I doubt it.

 

[Battiola73]

I was going to call them Elsie and Doris Waters. But I thought nobody would remember them.

I do. They used to be on the wireless if I remember correctly.

 

[Muttley]

That’s right. I was actually born in the 1960s, but I am probably more interested and entertained by stars and shows of 1920s to the late 1960s, being honest. Goodnight, All.

I was born in the late 1960s but my mum and dad used to talk about people from that era ao I'm familiar with a lot of them. I can remember watching Laurel and Hardy and Abbot and Costello with my dad when I was about 5 years old. And he loved the films with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy L'Amour, Road to Morocco was one. He also loved the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis films and Sergeant Bilko was another of his favourites. Happy memories

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Loved Laurel and Hardy. Also Will Hay. Plus all the others you mention. Also Bewitched, which was on TV early evenings when I was a young child. Had a small boy crush on Elizabeth Montgomery who starred in it.

 

[Battiola73]

I was born in the early 1950s. My parents bought our first tv in 1955 about 3 months after ITV started. They saved up the deposit and bought it on HP (hire purchase). I think weekdays they had an hour of news and children’s programmes between 1&2 pm, then it came on again about 6pm and finished at 10pm. Saturday started around midday with sports programmes and was on all afternoon and evening. Sundays I think was a lot of religious stuff on and always a cowboys and Indians film in the afternoon.

Apart from that always was listening to the radio.

 

[PhædrusR]

They must have been going long enough now to at least show one product per 30 minutes? Say, four items for a typical programme length. Or is it an editorial decision to have just one item up for sale for an entire broadcast? Just some variety…Why not those refurbished iPhones Ideal World 28 used to do? Is there no money in those now? Whatever our negative criticisms on constant repetition and lack of choices, they must be doing something right in their own minds? Maybe sticking with one big margin item works for them for the duration of their shows? But God help us all, watching that Antipodean guy with his never changing monotone repartee and those absorbent clothes for two hours is too much to ask anybody not being paid to do so to bear.

I think the idea is to catch channel hoppers after midnight on ITV and get an impulse buy.

You're not supposed to watch it for 3 hours as an entertainment programme.

Unless it's @RobLocke and you're enjoying seeing how many non-tv shopping asides about acting, the industry, anything else he can shoe-horn into a shopping TV slot!

 

[historymystery]

That’s right. I was actually born in the 1960s, but I am probably more interested and entertained by stars and shows of 1920s to the late 1960s, being honest. Goodnight, All.

I still love watching the old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films. I ignore the fact that the plot was basically the same for every one, and just concentrate on their magical dancing.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

I think the idea is to catch channel hoppers after midnight on ITV and get an impulse buy.

You're not supposed to watch it for 3 hours as an entertainment programme.

Unless it's @RobLocke and you're enjoying seeing how many non-tv shopping asides about acting, the industry, anything else he can shoe-horn into a shopping TV slot!

That’s where I have been going wrong since 1997 - I’ve watched shopping television for humour alone and not for its intended purpose…But surely…more products per session - even more impulses catered for.

 

[PhædrusR]

Has anyone else used Discount Dragon, as promoted on Shop on TV?

A review:

I have a few times and been generally very satisfied. Not everything is hugely cheaper, but many are, and they give away freebies too. Got free 6/8-pack beers during the Euros, large free chocolate pack bundles too.

They've just dropped the minimum order price with p&p £3.99, but still free p&p over £30, which I'd probably do again some time. They also offer discount codes when you order a few times as enticements with gold, diamond platinum membership VIP deals.

The wrapping of glass items is excellent, in recycled mesh paper and everything well-packaged in sturdy boxes and sent RM tracked 24. I was happy with my dry goods, sauces, nibbles, crisps, etc.

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

The REAL black magic and roofix. Seem to be presenting from a cubbyhole studio tonight

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

I just wanted to comment on here about the show the other day. It was Alan Ennis presenting on his own, no guest. They showed clips from a previous show with Paul Brodel using this microwave toasted sandwich maker. Rob was doing this the other day. But It seemed as though Alan was thrown in at the last minute. Instead of just watching the clips Alan brought in food to demo. This is a really professional attitude and much more engaging. In stark contrast to the attitude on Ideal world these days. He is good at explaining without BS how something works and comes across like he wants people to know all the info about it. I would love to see a split screen of him demonstrating something then Peter Simon a supposed professional presenter.

 

[historymystery]

I just wanted to comment on here about the show the other day. It was Alan Ennis presenting on his own, no guest. They showed clips from a previous show with Paul Brodel using this microwave toasted sandwich maker. Rob was doing this the other day. But It seemed as though Alan was thrown in at the last minute. Instead of just watching the clips Alan brought in food to demo. This is a really professional attitude and much more engaging. In stark contrast to the attitude on Ideal world these days. He is good at explaining without BS how something works and comes across like he wants people to know all the info about it. I would love to see a split screen of him demonstrating something then Peter Simon a supposed professional presenter.

.....then Peter Simon a supposed professional presenter.

Peter Simon is a professional.....something. I would not have said 'presenter'.

Good to know there are innovative presenters out there with a really professional attitude to making the show interesting.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

On-air Ennis is personable, articulate and puts in a shift. On-air Simon is far from personable, inarticulate and doesn’t. Ennis tries new stuff. Simon doesn’t.

 

[historymystery]

On-air Ennis is personable, articulate and puts in a shift. On-air Simon is far from personable, inarticulate and doesn’t. Ennis tries new stuff. Simon doesn’t.

But hearing about Our Bet is a 'must'. I think she should make a guest appearance. And does Mum (165 years and counting..) still get a mention occasionally?

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

But hearing about Our Bet is a 'must'. I think she should make a guest appearance. And does Mum (165 years and counting..) still get a mention occasionally?

The oldest woman in the world, died today at the age of 117

 

[mariam]

Seriously, @RobLocke isn't it time you did a "Random Musings, Unlocked" *podcast* as they seem to be all the rage these days?

I saw some of the YouTube channel highlights of Unlocked video and this might convert to be an audio book summaries I'd actually listen to! (I'm not a big podcast talk fan, they intro and ramble and take ages to get to the point).

Not your thing or too busy with ShoponTV in front & behind the cameras and other work?

Agree with this, most of the people are turning toward podcast