Networks

[jszweda]

OK...since someone started this one, and I have wanted to do this for a long time, I figured I would go and ask.

What do you think about various networks good, bad or indifferent? Have you even been screwed? Defradued? Had a good experience? A bad experience? A combination thereof?

Face it. A lot of people on here are glued to the tube for some show, and we all know that some are better than others in their own right. Some have a lot more hype than there ought to be, but not always.

I will say this. I love watching GSN, but they are more hit and miss than some might think. I think depending on what it is and what you''re looking for, you might make out better on JTV. I will gladly tell you about the sham we had with a show no longer on the air called Jewelry Vault and how that played out, and I can tell you that on another network (I can''t remember which one exactly) that the merchandise fell apart during shipping. LOL

I will say this about GSN:

Their claims on diamonds are valid. I''ve seen what they say, and what they give you. They do have really good diamonds. On their other stuff, there have been more than one occassion where things end up shrinking considerably as compared to what you thought, and for the money, it''s more like full retail than it is between traditional wholesale and traditional retail or "full list" prices.

I am sick and tired of those tanzanites and mandarins on there. Now he''s starting to make up for it with tourmalines-not that I don''t like them but he is starting to push those a lot lately too.

I hate when Frank gripes about air time, yet he can go on and on and on with something and waste more air time than anyone on there.

There are 2 items in particular that someone I know of bought from there, and the experience was good.

I have also noticed something about their camera. I have to go online and crank my saturation up as their digital camera isn''t putting things out with full saturation. That is why their rubies look purple, and everything else is off. I know what good Pakastani or Burma peridot looks like, and i had to go and adjust the saturation to get their green stones to look right and their rubies to look right. If you watch them on regular TV, you''ll never get your colors to display right from their feed because most sets don''t have an adjustment for saturation. So when they say it''s your tube, it''s not. It''s their camera feed not being saturated enough.

As far as JTV goes, well...I pretty much put my thoughts in another thread on that. I can say that I can identify with what some have said about showing one thing, and then when it comes home, it''s another story. At least they will allow you to return it, and they were a lot worse than they are now actually.

 

[Linda W]

OMG Joe how are you? Haven''t saw you post in ages and ages.

I hardly watch JTV or GSN anymore, got tired of all of the changes and the lower quality of gems, etc.



Linda

 

[jszweda]

Date: 1/2/2007 2:48:41 PM
Author: Linda W
OMG Joe how are you? Haven''t saw you post in ages and ages.

I hardly watch JTV or GSN anymore, got tired of all of the changes and the lower quality of gems, etc.



Linda

Hi Linda.
I am amazed that someone on here remembers me. LOL. This is a good thing I guess.

GSN has had some changes-granted. I am starting to wonder a little about them-not to say that they aren''t reputable or screwing anyone over. Don''t get me wrong, but I say this for a reason.

I know a long time ago, someone called in and asked Frank about a parcel of small sapphires in various colors. So he put together a parcel of something like 20ct. for $1000, and then he started selling smaller parcels for the same price/ct. He sold a lot of them.

Mom has wanted a pair of multi-sapphire earings for a while. So sometime in October, she called in and asked for either a set like that or a parcel of sapphires. We know of a manufacturer near me that does really awesome work. So she calls in with her request.

Here it is almost 40 minutes later, Frank finally shows some multi-sapphire earings and says pick your colors, and they will custom make them to your spec. Everyone started to call in, and Mom called back and said what she wanted. They were asking $700 for them, and for the size they appeared to be, she figured that was a deal. We looked around at various places, and like anything else in retail, you get what you pay for.

I have no clue as to what took so long to cast a simple semi-hoop with a channel and mount some stones. It was 2 months later, finally they come by FedEx.

The good news was the stones were really good and about as good of a color and clarity as you could get. The bad news, they were incredibly tiny. When I say tiny, I mean 2mm or so from the sounds of it. I didn''t see them, but when me and my mother were looking at a pendant/enhancer that she liked, she told me the sapphires from GSN were smaller than the pendant I was looking at. The pendant I saw was really tiny. So for smaller than that? $700? I said to myself he needs his head examined. As for diamond weight, they totaled 12 points.

I thought to myself, self-something just isn''t right here. So back they went.

On the other hand though, I remember 1 or 2 other things that came from there that worked out really well. I think that on some things, there is a little too much hype and on a few things I noticed they would contradict themselves on certain things.

I notice this name game stuff going on, Frank went on the other night starting on those copper bearing tourmalines. "Oh those other networks selling those cupriain elbaites (sp), those barely have enough copper in them to be called copper bearing. It''s not the same as the Paraiba''s...blah blah blah". I thought to myself, here we go.

I think with all the hosts on there now, I like Mike the best as he doesn''t give you any BS and he has some really nice and unique stuff. Having said all of that, I think GSN has a little too much hype, and I think it''s more hit and miss than a lot of people realize. Some of what they make to be a good deal (particuarly on some sapphire stuff) isn''t as good of a price as you might find in retail. That''s why I say it''s a lot of hype in that regard.

On some of their other stuff though, I have managed to find some identical or nearly identical pieces with the same specs. On those things, I could say that what they say is the list price, they''re within $50-$100 of the same exact article at a retail level.

As for JTV, half of the time they start pushing that laboradite/andesine which I am sick of. That''s half the show anymore. They are nice stones if you''re reds, yellows, and oranges aren''t as off as there''s are. I have seen some better feeds of the same material, and yeah it blows away a Burma ruby if you ask me. The thing is when they constantly push it all the time day and night...GEEZ.

I think in general with some exceptions, some hosts of some networks just start ragging a little too much on certain things and certain other entities, and it just ruins things for everyone when someone starts doing that. Does that make sense?

I think that in general there are too many places out there as it is that try discredit either certain material or vendors unfairly. At the same time I wish some places that do that would take a look in the mirror. Now if someone shows you VVS stones on one thing, and you get it home and it''s I2 or worse, and they do it continually, that''s one thing.

I do wonder about other networks in general that other people might have bought from. I am not saying they are all schiesters or frauds, but there are some things to which I really question and wonder about.