Random musings and general banter.

[cheeky chappie]

Above in posts, it was mentioned what is the meaning of a lifetime guarantee about Collectables.

Looking at some of my bits, it is the signature you’re guaranteed on

Yeah, I think in this case the guarantee comes from Gary as he's the dealer and is a member of AFTAL. Here's the relevant bit from their website (code of ethics section):

To ensure that their customers are aware that they offer a full 100% refund in cash, cheque or as requested by the customer, on any item that may be returned as non authentic for its entire life, and that refunds shall be made upon the return of the item, with the original COA/invoice together with any and all appropriate paperwork that may prove the item to be non authentic.

Mind you, as with any guarantee, I suppose it has its limits. For example what if you discover x years down the line your collectible is fake, so you contact Gary for a refund but he's gone out of business? Would AFTAL underwrite in these circumstances? I have my doubts but I've not delved deeply enough into it.

 

[cheeky chappie]

At least the Collectable hours has a proper expert in Gary Ashburn.

But why is it only on late at night, I like Collectables, and maybe inclined to buy stuff at a more sensible hour.

Do we need the 300 showings of a Beldray Vacumm

If you take what Rob says at face value, they (both he and Gary) are trying to build the collectibles shows into 'a thing.' They've set up their own email address for viewers to contact them where you can request specific items be featured (if available in the marketplace) and they'll do their best to accommodate. They even said they might start doing some 'auction' type scenarios if the appetite for it is there.

Just my opinion but I suppose the rationale is the ITV hours are ideal for this type of show, pardon the pun! Larger audience? Viewers that have maybe had a late night tipple or two (me? cynical?) Although I see your point, you would think an early evening show would gain as much traction from viewers that don't want to sit up that late. I think sometimes they do an earlier 'preview' show to whet peoples appetites.

The thing is and jokes aside, whilst not disputing the quality and genuineness of the items, from what I can see IW isn't really doing the viewer any favours price wise. I know it's difficult to make direct comparisons, but they were selling a Charles Dickens handwritten letter for just under £10k. A look online leads you to other letters he's written for £5k+. I've compared other items they're selling as well and I often fail to conclude the item is 'undervalued' as Rob keeps trying to suggest. Gary has to make a profit. IW has to make a profit. So straight off the bat are you likely to get many true bargains?

 

[Mommabear]

Does he always speak 300 miles a hour

Trying to create some urgency is when he does that.

Fast or slow, he still can't say 'Beldray'

 

[Jazzydrury]

I have several pieces of Football Collectables, but it’s nothing up to what they are charging

 

[Hammy60]

I see we have another one of those last chance to get a Vostok shows. I thought it was the last chance 5 shows ago. Of course this will definitely, trust me, be the last chance, Kevin and Peter said so.

I wonder how many times Peter S has said, "we though these had sold out".

And for IW staff member reading, please can you answer a question. If GTLS tubes glow on the dark, why the hell do you shine a UV torch on them?

 

[ronzy75]

Amazing!!!!! They've found some unsold stock of Vostoks which they can offer again
You must check out your baskets

 

[cheeky chappie]

Amazing!!!!! They've found some unsold stock of Vostoks which they can offer again
You must check out your baskets

Did the explanation go something like this? ...

'Egor was flying home from the UK to Russia on his private 747 Jumbo Jet. On landing in Russia, he noticed 20 watches they forgot to unload on their trip to London. So Egor instructed the pilot to keep the engines running and head back to the UK immediately. When en route he phoned me to say he had another 20 watches for our next show.'

'Ain't Egor just wonderful Kevin? Ain't he?? Ain't he??? An ya noooo, I bet ya he didn't even mention the $100,000 in extra fuel costs, am a right Kevin?!?'

 

[Hammy60]

Back with Vostok again, and this time with Mike Mason and the Almaz he's been after for years, but its always sold out before he can buy, and we get his usual plea to stop buying it so he can get one when the show is over, he does realise this crap story is old has been debunked every time he comes out with it.
Hey Mike, if you miss out, which I doubt, like the last time you aired this story, Amazon still have it, and it works out £30 cheaper too.

 

[cheeky chappie]

Back with Vostok again, and this time with Mike Mason and the Almaz he's been after for years, but its always sold out before he can buy, and we get his usual plea to stop buying it so he can get one when the show is over, he does realise this crap story is old has been debunked every time he comes out with it.
Hey Mike, if you miss out, which I doubt, like the last time you aired this story, Amazon still have it, and it works out £30 cheaper too.

I'd love to know what % of their viewer base fall for this guff. Also, just out of sheer curiosity, I'd love to know within the last 12 months what % of the presenter stories have been true e.g. 'I've bought one' or 'my auntie's bought one' etc etc.

 

[Hammy60]

I'd love to know what % of their viewer base fall for this guff. Also, just out of sheer curiosity, I'd love to know within the last 12 months what % of the presenter stories have been true e.g. 'I've bought one' or 'my auntie's bought one' etc etc.

I would imagine quite a lot fall for the guff, the presenters behave and engage you like they are your best friend, tell you personal stories, always alluding they have your best interests at heart, they make it sound like they are doing you a favour, a lot of folk will fall for these tactics, it's the same tactic you get with conmen and scammers that con vulnerable folk out of money, they try and worm they're way into your confidence by being all nice and friendly so you trust what they say. In reality, as much as we like to think we are intelligent and think for ourselves etc, a lot of humans are quite susceptible to being manipulated by marketing, advertisers and TV shopping channel presenters.
I would imagine some (lot will be made up) of the stories are partly true but exaggerated, ie like a lot of retail staff they will buy some stuff from their own workplace for themselves & family, but not because it's the best product, more likely they'll get the stuff even cheaper, don't believe for a minute they will be paying same price as viewing public. On the other hand, I also believe that there is a helluva lot of lies and misinformation spouted by them, even the models join in on that score.

On a more happy note, Mr Mason will now be able to finally get that Vostok watch he has been trying for years to get and has always been sold out, finally today it's still available to buy at IW, so i would expect in any future Vostok shows he presents, that he will be able to announce he now owns 3 Vostok watches having added The Vostok Europe Blue Chronograph Almaz with Rose Gold PVD Case to his collection.

 

[aqua]

I would imagine quite a lot fall for the guff, the presenters behave and engage you like they are your best friend, tell you personal stories, always alluding they have your best interests at heart, they make it sound like they are doing you a favour, a lot of folk will fall for these tactics, it's the same tactic you get with conmen and scammers that con vulnerable folk out of money, they try and worm they're way into your confidence by being all nice and friendly so you trust what they say. In reality, as much as we like to think we are intelligent and think for ourselves etc, a lot of humans are quite susceptible to being manipulated by marketing, advertisers and TV shopping channel presenters.
I would imagine some (lot will be made up) of the stories are partly true but exaggerated, ie like a lot of retail staff they will buy some stuff from their own workplace for themselves & family, but not because it's the best product, more likely they'll get the stuff even cheaper, don't believe for a minute they will be paying same price as viewing public. On the other hand, I also believe that there is a helluva lot of lies and misinformation spouted by them, even the models join in on that score.

On a more happy note, Mr Mason will now be able to finally get that Vostok watch he has been trying for years to get and has always been sold out, finally today it's still available to buy at IW, so i would expect in any future Vostok shows he presents, that he will be able to announce he now owns 3 Vostok watches having added The Vostok Europe Blue Chronograph Almaz with Rose Gold PVD Case to his collection.

Meltdown Mike also , some time , ago made up a story about how he had bought a Vostok watch and worn it on holiday , whereupon 'about five' people approached him in a bar to say 'nice watch mate!'
Anyway , it's their job to sell the stuff so you have to allow them some artistic license I suppose.
It's the false claims and outright lies that are the problem.
Peter Simon is by far the worst offender.
He just said that Swan and Edgar are Britain's oldest watchmaker.
Peter seems to have some kind of personality disorder which enables his frenetic technique.
It's amazing that they all do it year after year with such fervour - it's a horribly repetitive job giving bogus 'stock updates' every thirty seconds , yet they all thrive on it.
Must be something in the water.

 

[cheeky chappie]

It's amazing that they all do it year after year with such fervour - it's a horribly repetitive job giving bogus 'stock updates' every thirty seconds , yet they all thrive on it.
Must be something in the water.

Certainly takes a certain breed of person that's for sure. On a lesser level I dabbled in car sales years back and it just wasn't for me, not ruthless (with smile) enough. I've never been able to find out, however I reckon they'll be paid a reasonable rate per show. This no doubt helps boost the enthusiasm

And, for all I say about them, someone's got to do I suppose and as I say, takes a certain breed. Many of them have entertainment backgrounds so I suppose if that work dries up, selly telly's a nice little earner for them.

 

[Wirral70]

Certainly takes a certain breed of person that's for sure. On a lesser level I dabbled in car sales years back and it just wasn't for me, not ruthless (with smile) enough. I've never been able to find out, however I reckon they'll be paid a reasonable rate per show. This no doubt helps boost the enthusiasm

And, for all I say about them, someone's got to do I suppose and as I say, takes a certain breed. Many of them have entertainment backgrounds so I suppose if that work dries up, selly telly's a nice little earner for them.

Oh it certainly takes a certain type alright.

The Lying Barstool Type!

 

[Hammy60]

Meltdown Mike also , some time , ago made up a story about how he had bought a Vostok watch and worn it on holiday , whereupon 'about five' people approached him in a bar to say 'nice watch mate!'
Anyway , it's their job to sell the stuff so you have to allow them some artistic license I suppose.
It's the false claims and outright lies that are the problem.
Peter Simon is by far the worst offender.
He just said that Swan and Edgar are Britain's oldest watchmaker.
Peter seems to have some kind of personality disorder which enables his frenetic technique.
It's amazing that they all do it year after year with such fervour - it's a horribly repetitive job giving bogus 'stock updates' every thirty seconds , yet they all thrive on it.
Must be something in the water.

Agree totally with your post, like the artistic license part, but like yourself it's the outright lies and false claims which really anger me, and while Peter Simon may be the worst, they are all at it, either knowingly or through ignorance, and I word that way as to me this is a Company problem/policy rather than just the presenters themselves.
While Peter Simon (agree certainly seems to have some sort of mental disorder) or Mason or the others are responsible for a lot of the rubbish they utter, which is virtually every show, and obviously the Company doesn't have a problem with it as they are complicit by allowing it to continue (I've emailed the studio email address numerous times, which goes straight to one of the show producers, during shows to point out errors they are making, and apart from once when they replied to a question, have been totally ignored). A lot of what the presenters say, especially detailed descriptions of products and the companies behind them, is governed by the information they are fed from the Management, Buyers, Show Directors/Producers and of course some of the so called expert guests.

I complained successfully to ASA regarding Ballast shows and Peter Simon's claims that they were a Swiss Brand since 1903, and despite emails to them pointing out this was wrong, it continued for a number of shows over a two week period, but the result was IW had written that presenters had been made aware of the error and IW assured ASA it would not happen again, so ASA didn't feel a formal investigation was needed. In other words you would need to spend a helluva lot of time detailing multiple breaches of the ASA code and even then IW would only receive a wee slap on the wrist, so you're probably wasting your time. IW know this, probably why the allow it to continue.

 

[ronzy75]

More of Resultco's products on tonight with Morphic watches
I wonder if Emma buys in bulk from them and has to sell them on IW?
Japanese quartz movements, certainly not worth rrp

 

[Hammy60]

She thinks the leather strap on one is at least £40 prob a lot more.

JCPenny & Macy's name dropping again.

Something for everyone in the show, she says. Also debut launch in the UK for this brand so you'll be first own one, unless you bought one from Amazon who have been selling them for a few years.

I tell you, she's as bad (maybe even worse) as Fields from Swan & Edgar, any lingering doubts that she may be an unbiased watch expert are well and truly extinguished.

Geesh, who's buying these things, wish folks would realise they would be better off going and buying Seiko, Pulsar, Citizen, Orient etc who are actual watchmakers, who will give you better quality watches at these prices without all the con tricks with these extremely exaggerated RRPs and fictitious claims to their quality.

 

[Paul B]

In the opening seconds of the spiel: (not a direct quote) 'our people are working from home, there may have been mistakes with the pricing.'

I'm no horology expert, so I never knew there were so many premium brands to choose from.

 

[ronzy75]

Yes, after a bit of research on Morphic, I found mentions of it on WUS forums from 2013
Notice how they kept referring to Morphic's website, obviously as people did, "Oh no, they've crashed the website" the prices are extremely over inflated, making IW's prices very attractive
As you say, better buying from a "name"

 

[Jazzydrury]

Regarding presenters, and not wanting it to sell out, before they can get one.

They know which products they have on the hour, why don’t they order it beforehand.

 

[Susie Wusie]

Regarding presenters, and not wanting it to sell out, before they can get one.

They know which products they have on the hour, why don’t they order it beforehand.

Because that would require a working brain cell, or they are telling porkies.