Hi guys. De-lurking after recently finding this highly entertaining forum with your humorous comments & observations, to see if anyone had also commented after watching the spectacular debacle that was Eric Knowles' debut on IW selling watches he knew nothing about! Nor how to sell or present!
And then I read all the other IW observations with which I also had similar thinking on.
[I have watched shopping TV since Freeview, Bid-up/price drop, QVC and IW, TJC. Etc. I have purchased twice from QVC, 2 watches 20 years apart. From IW/and their eBay discount cut-price outlet maybe 5 times (an automatic Watch that had all the functions/feature complications I wanted, IW had much cheaper drones, a mini one and a normal big one for far less than half that the £150+ ones they only sell now which don't seem much different. RJW drones.
Imho TJC is fantastic for cheap product deals (home & jewels/jewellery /cheap gifts/watches) and free p&p days (megaday, 30% off codes, etc.). And use topcashback discount on top for TJC and IW and eBay. And nectar points on eBay purchases too! I never pay p&p and wait until free or discounted). I literally do not know how TJC keep up with deliveries given the £1 auction items 24/7 closing every 5mins plus all the TV item sales!]
So here's a brain dump of my various similar IW observations, to discuss, entertain, etc.:
- Eric Knowles' main problem was the constant 'UMMM'ing and "Errring" to fill dead airtime, or his confusion. And despite being an antique expert seems to know nothing of watches, complications, batons, case types, etc . Strange. And say nothing, not "ERRRRR" to fill dead air, until you can think of something sensible and useful to say. Clearly, AR filming has the opportunity to reshoot and is nothing like Live TV presenting. It does show how the IW regulars can talk/sell on live TV, with the director's talkback in their ear and make a semblance of sense or at least normal speech, at the same time and cue in/out on time, etc.
It is a skill Eric will probably not be given the chance to learn further after that car crash initial appearance! "Thank you "Errrrrrr", "ERRRRR", <spoonerism>, repeat gallery directions verbatim, sign-off. And no arcane unrelated anecdotes!
Ok...
- The crass charlatan that is Peter Simon. Bid-up and IW. Especially in relation to watches. Credit for being a good salesman, talker. His initial monologues, pretty much off the cuff, "the exquisite gift of time", the "horological masterpiece that is this wonder of engineering", etc. Remind me a bit of the Les Dawson comedy monologues "the stars shining in the fundament..." etc. Lol. Etc.
Overuse constantly of "remarkable" and "extraordinary"!!! Oh this watch is Beautiful, and ohhh, how remarkable. It is an extraordinary timepiece (i.e. generic oem-branded Solartime or Alltime Chinese/swiss watch made to order for reseller brands).
His inability, after years of presenting them, to say the word Traser but STILL pronounces it "Tras-arrr". And other words mispronounced too
The misleading description of, for example, an item as only "£50 on four flexis". NO! It is £200 on 4 Flexi payments of £50 each! That is the one I would raise with ASA. Has he/IW been warned/done for that ever?
The laughable "selling fast", "not many left", "limited stock", exclusive limited edition, check out your baskets before they're gone. Classic sales technique as referenced in a recent Apprentice episode, when they try their hand at TV selling, by arch salesman Alan Sugar mentioned it himself!
- The over-designed, over-engineered monstrosity VE Vostok watches that appear to be £2-600 for a Seiko, Citizen, "Japanese movement and could get a lot cheaper for same movement without a half inch cylinder on your wrist with lots of metal and pointless gtls tubes and straps. Seem way overpriced to me.
PSimon not calling gtls tubes gaseous tritium light source, getting it wrong, garbling it often.
Kevin his oppo a poor presenter, no rapport, repeating the same phone number ending, the awful 2 man intro. And the nodding dog agreement to PS absurd comments.
Apart from knowing a lots of watch brands he's hawked over the years, PS still seems to know very little about watches, beyond the Geneva watch show and a few industry terms he's picked up.
They never rotate the unidirectional bezel or demonstrate the watch nor describe the complications to any useful extent. Beyond starting the chronograph stopwatch.
- the Chinese watch brands that resurface old UK brands. Swan & Edgar, Earnshaw, etc. The one registered in Woking, using the Hanowa office mock-up. You guys researched explained it better than me.
The inability of the gallery studio to spell Tourbillon correctly much of the time in the graphics. It is not Tourbillion or other variants! And other glaring spelling mistakes over the times.
- While there are sometimes cheaper items to their competitors, their excessive p&p add-on and prices are rarely competitive. Or allt least initially. I bought the gel cooling pillow 2 for £5 discount offer on IW, no p&p or free, last winter, currently 1 for £9.99 + £4+ p&p!! So pays to wait for them to discount at end of line/stock, if you can work out when that is!
E.g. currently selling cooling sport towels, (RJW drone guy), 2 for £6 + p&p , and was selling 3 for £12 +p&p
I.e. £3-4 each plus £3+ p&p!
Compared to:
TSSC Product Invigor8 Super Cooling Towel - [ON5-INV009]
www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk
i.e. £1.32 each plus 99p p&p.
As said by others, do your research.
You pays your money you take your choice.
- the watch, smile, buy tagline was awful. Glad they removed it, sounded like a shop that only sells watches... No comment!
And finally... Interesting to see how the Morajia, then Sport Direct refinancing of IW will go, but if the Peterborough site is up for sale by the owners, not the SD sub letters/tenants does that mean closure is more certain than it appears?!?!
Probably will think of more peeves, but that's your starter for ten!
