Jeff Hayden

[VapidStoat]

It's not that simple for some though.

Some presenters are from a TV or acting background. They have qualifications in that field. For those, finding an alternative job is relatively easy.

However, some presenters have got to where they are through rising through the ranks - Jeff being one of those. He started off years ago in what would have been a relatively low wage working in the warehouse. He's then worked his way up to producer / director, then to presenter. If he was to find another job, it's unlikely it would be at the same level of employment he's at now, and of similar salary.

It's a fairly niche job, in a relatively small industry, with a relatively niche salary to match. It's not like working in your local chippy where you can quit on Monday and have a job in another chippy by Tuesday.

Not forgetting that Jeff was already made redundant earlier year, before being taken back on again. Inevitably, that will have hit him financially. He also said at the weekend that he was selling his house and downsizing to a bungalow. Potentially to free up some finances?

Yes, all business and presenters should be transparent and honest - but, the nature of selly-telly is that NONE of the channels and their presenters are completely transparent and honest. Gemporia are not unique to sailing close to the wind when making claims.

However, it's clear that there are presenters that have no qualms or shame when it comes to making misleading claims, being economical with the truth or using whatever tactic possible in order to line their own pockets via sales bonuses / incentives, etc or to get a promotion to a more lucrative or 'social-life friendly' timeslot. I won't name names, but we can all tell who those are on selly-telly without even hiving to think about it too hard. Some live with their wife slash goddess, some absolutely just have to let you know that they absolutely say the word absolutely every five seconds and some have worked on TV for years - not only on the Bid Up channels, not only on the Ideal Worlds, not only having a short stint on Gemporia, not only moving to a channel with three letters as its company name, a channel that not only sells jewellery, but jewellery with sprinklings of fairy dust sourced by the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan mountain goat hurder friends especially for you lucky people at 'ome!

Then there are those that are clearly uncomfortable in having to use dubious sales tactics - and therefore they do the very minimum required in order to keep their employers happy, whilst still keeping a level of integrity with their viewers by being as transparent as possible within their employers limitations.

I don't agree with any of them - but I do have some sympathy with the latter. Unlike the former, who have all made lucrative TV careers out of sailing so close to the wind that they've almost got sucked into the full storm...........

I understand what you're saying. I really do. But it's like saying that one psychopath isn't as bad as another because the first only seriously maims his victims while the second murders theirs and afterwards wears their flayed skin as a fetching new suit.

Either way, viewers are being harmed by it. Lots of people have been affected by the economic downturn over the last few years, but they don't go conning people over and over in order to get by.

I am not naive enough to place all the blame on selly telly presenters, though they're definitely complicit. And selly telly companies wouldn't be able to operate in this manner if the industry was properly regulated and alleged infractions properly investigated and punished if proven.

But as I have said before: if it is wrong for one shopping telly presenter to use dubious tactics to get viewers to part with their cash, then it has to be wrong for all of them. Otherwise you're deliberately holding people to vastly different standards. And it's the viewers who suffer in the end, as they're still being deliberately conned and ripped off no matter who it's by.

Not to mention the fact that if you're complaining about some presenters ripping viewers off but turning a blind eye to others' actions, how can you expect shopping telly channels to improve?

 

[VapidStoat]

One final thing: I am very sure that Jeff's very worried about his financial situation.

But let's not forget that Mirabelle's family had to launch a GoFundMe after she died in order to pay for her funeral.

All because the poor old dear listened to those lovely, friendly people at Gemporia and spent whatever cash she had on stuff she'd been assured would be worth a lot more than she'd paid.

So I will give you two guesses where my sympathies lie.

 

[Snowstorm]

One final thing: I am very sure that Jeff's very worried about his financial situation.

But let's not forget that Mirabelle's family had to launch a GoFundMe after she died in order to pay for her funeral.

All because the poor old dear listened to those lovely, friendly people at Gemporia and spent whatever cash she had on stuff she'd been assured would be worth a lot more than she'd paid.

So I will give you two guesses where my sympathies lie.

I remember hearing Mirabelle on Gemporia a lot. Ellis used to always mention her. I’m sad to read this!

 

[Womanwithnoname]

Jeff is definitely the last watchable presenter on the channel, but he's as trustworthy as the rest

He's also happily sung the praises of the colours of stones he's selling without bothering to state that they're dyed or coated. And waffled merrily about exciting pieces of ruby jewellery without mentioning that the gems are filled.

Gemporia's current business model appears to be "get as much cash from the viewers as possible". Which seems to be getting done by not being 100% up front about what presenters are selling. And Jeff is pretty much OK with that.

If it's OK to call out other presenters for their ruses, tricks and dodgy behaviour, then it seems unfair to exempt one because he appears to be more personable than the rest.

Great point and beautifully made !

 

[TheManWithNoName]

One final thing: I am very sure that Jeff's very worried about his financial situation.

But let's not forget that Mirabelle's family had to launch a GoFundMe after she died in order to pay for her funeral.

All because the poor old dear listened to those lovely, friendly people at Gemporia and spent whatever cash she had on stuff she'd been assured would be worth a lot more than she'd paid.

So I will give you two guesses where my sympathies lie.

It has to be said though that people do need to take some responsibility for their own actions too and their sanity needs to be questioned.

Without trying to sound too brutal to Mirabelle, she was a slightly odd lady. She had visited the studios on numerous occasions and did so again as one of her final wishes before she passed. So talked to all the presenters and crew like they were friends, she sent gifts to them on their birthdays and at Christmas, and she thrived on getting her messages read out on-air, often with the same repetitive messages and stories. She also seemed jealous of anyone that messaged in saying how long they'd bought from the channel - and a message from Mirabelle would shortly follow telling us for the millionth time how she was there buying from day one when Steve was running the business from a burger van in the car park.

I find it sad that her family, particularly the daughter that accompanied her on studio tours and the Gemporia balls, never got concerned by the amount that she was spending with the channel - especially after openly stating, upon Mirabelles passing, that they needed to open a GoFundMe page to clear her unpaid domestic bills /debts and cover the cost of her funeral. Why on earth did Mirabelle get herself into this position - and why did her family allow it to happen without intervening?

There's now a lady called Christine, who has taken over Mirabelles status as chief texter-in to the studio. Continually sending in poems and singing the praises of the channel and their 'excellent prices' - even when Troth is on screen flogging his overpriced, wishy-washy coloured Jadeite tat and heirloom gold tone junk.

Another lady called 'Debs' isn't too far behind Christine.

Then there are the viewers VTs - more odd characters. The woman that says Gemporia are friends and if you feel lonely at home, you can text in and 'just communicate with them'. Righto. Nothing weird about that at all........

Then there's the peculiar lady that rocks in her chair doing an impression of a dinosaur(!!) before proudly saying she says to people "Do you know where that came from?"

The old lady that says "I've never had a problem with them" - before telling us about two problems she's experienced with them.

Oh, and the lady that "loves" Ellis and finds her "very honest and approachable". I'm not quite sure how you approach someone that's appearing on your TV screen - and I certainly don't know how a presenter, that recently had a slapped wrist by the ASA for suggesting that a Tanzanite ring being shown on screen should be snapped up immediately because its price was wrong and a "mistake" - despite the final closing price being £70 more than its usual full retail price on the website, can be considered "honest".

These characters all have something slightly "odd" about them.

They remind me of those gullible people that hand over tens of thousands of pounds to some stranger on the internet that they've never met in real life - because they've convinced themselves that they're going to get married to them and live happily ever after - only to find that six months on, Pedro from Sau Paolo has vanished off the face of the earth along with her £120,000.

Then they plead with ITV and the newspapers to let them share their story to the masses and blame their situation on the banks for not putting enough safeguards in place, rather than admitting that they've been a gullible idiot and stupidly handed over all their money to someone they've never seen or met in their life!

 

[VapidStoat]

It has to be said though that people do need to take some responsibility for their own actions too and their sanity needs to be questioned.

Without trying to sound too brutal to Mirabelle, she was a slightly odd lady. She had visited the studios on numerous occasions and did so again as one of her final wishes before she passed. So talked to all the presenters and crew like they were friends, she sent gifts to them on their birthdays and at Christmas, and she thrived on getting her messages read out on-air, often with the same repetitive messages and stories. She also seemed jealous of anyone that messaged in saying how long they'd bought from the channel - and a message from Mirabelle would shortly follow telling us for the millionth time how she was there buying from day one when Steve was running the business from a burger van in the car park.

I find it sad that her family, particularly the daughter that accompanied her on studio tours and the Gemporia balls, never got concerned by the amount that she was spending with the channel - especially after openly stating, upon Mirabelles passing, that they needed to open a GoFundMe page to clear her unpaid domestic bills /debts and cover the cost of her funeral. Why on earth did Mirabelle get herself into this position - and why did her family allow it to happen without intervening?

There's now a lady called Christine, who has taken over Mirabelles status as chief texter-in to the studio. Continually sending in poems and singing the praises of the channel and their 'excellent prices' - even when Troth is on screen flogging his overpriced, wishy-washy coloured Jadeite tat and heirloom gold tone junk.

Another lady called 'Debs' isn't too far behind Christine.

Then there are the viewers VTs - more odd characters. The woman that says Gemporia are friends and if you feel lonely at home, you can text in and 'just communicate with them'. Righto. Nothing weird about that at all........

Then there's the peculiar lady that rocks in her chair doing an impression of a dinosaur(!!) before proudly saying she says to people "Do you know where that came from?"

The old lady that says "I've never had a problem with them" - before telling us about two problems she's experienced with them.

Oh, and the lady that "loves" Ellis and finds her "very honest and approachable". I'm not quite sure how you approach someone that's appearing on your TV screen - and I certainly don't know how a presenter, that recently had a slapped wrist by the ASA for suggesting that a Tanzanite ring being shown on screen should be snapped up immediately because its price was wrong and a "mistake" - despite the final closing price being £70 more than its usual full retail price on the website, can be considered "honest".

These characters all have something slightly "odd" about them.

They remind me of those gullible people that hand over tens of thousands of pounds to some stranger on the internet that they've never met in real life - because they've convinced themselves that they're going to get married to them and live happily ever after - only to find that six months on, Pedro from Sau Paolo has vanished off the face of the earth along with her £120,000.

Then they plead with ITV and the newspapers to let them share their story to the masses and blame their situation on the banks for not putting enough safeguards in place, rather than admitting that they've been a gullible idiot and stupidly handed over all their money to someone they've never seen or met in their life!

I am very confused. You have posted quite a few scathing critiques of Gemporia on this forum over a long period. Often pointing out and explaining issues that some of us more ignorant forum members have little or no knowledge of. But like myself, you have been quite critical of presenters' actions. Especially Lindsey Carr and Jess Foley. You have been VERY focused on attacking them.

Yet now, because I argue that Jeff Hayden should also be included in any discussions of Gemporia's dodgy tactics, you now state that it's the viewers' own fault for being gullible and getting ripped off. Or blaming Mirabelle's family for not stepping in and ending her purchases.

That's an interesting about face. All because I am not willing to exclude one particular presenter from criticism.

Intriguing.

 

[VapidStoat]

Well, this has all certainly gone off on a.. Tangent. Probably best if I take a break from the site for a bit.

Au reservoir

 

[leslie61]

I am very confused. You have posted quite a few scathing critiques of Gemporia on this forum over a long period. Often pointing out and explaining issues that some of us more ignorant forum members have little or no knowledge of. But like myself, you have been quite critical of presenters' actions. Especially Lindsey Carr and Jess Foley. You have been VERY focused on attacking them.

Yet now, because I argue that Jeff Hayden should also be included in any discussions of Gemporia's dodgy tactics, you now state that it's the viewers' own fault for being gullible and getting ripped off. Or blaming Mirabelle's family for not stepping in and ending her purchases.

That's an interesting about face. All because I am not willing to exclude one particular presenter from criticism.

Intriguing.

I think it's about being able to see both sides of the coin. All salespeople (regardless of the industry) have a job to do. Some do it well, some not so and they all have their tactics to make a sale. However not all salespeople (friends!) sit in your living room day in day out and talk to you direct, which is the way the lonely, guillible people see it, and not all (none?) are totally honest about what they're doing.

At the end of the day regardless of how much of these people you watch, you are responsible for your own spending and, in the cases like Mirabelle, I do think her family failed her to a degree and I'm sure she isn't the only one out there. Mirabelle's family may well have tried to intervene and Mirabelle told them where to go. We don't have all the facts only what we've read.

I am fairly new to this forum and I have learned a lot from the people who post on here, some things I can agree on and others I can't - we are all entitled to our own opinions and one of the things I like doing is reading everyone's thoughts so it would be a shame if VapidStoat felt he had to take a step back as his posts along with various others, like TheManWithNoName for example, are the ones I enjoy reading.

 

[Womanwithnoname]

Well, this has all certainly gone off on a.. Tangent. Probably best if I take a break from the site for a bit.

Au reservoir

I hope you don't take a break or if you do it’s a very short one, as I appreciate your contribution and posts tremendously!
You are always fair, calling the spade a spade. Incidentally pointing out my bias for Jeff. You are exceptionally gifted writing beautifully with such wit and eloquence!
Your posts resonate with me and make me laugh like no others!
so everyone it’s not that I don’t enjoy yours, I really do !
thank you Vapid xx

 

[rubia]

Well, this has all certainly gone off on a.. Tangent. Probably best if I take a break from the site for a bit.

Au reservoir

No you don't.

 

[Womanwithnoname]

I am very confused. You have posted quite a few scathing critiques of Gemporia on this forum over a long period. Often pointing out and explaining issues that some of us more ignorant forum members have little or no knowledge of. But like myself, you have been quite critical of presenters' actions. Especially Lindsey Carr and Jess Foley. You have been VERY focused on attacking them.

Yet now, because I argue that Jeff Hayden should also be included in any discussions of Gemporia's dodgy tactics, you now state that it's the viewers' own fault for being gullible and getting ripped off. Or blaming Mirabelle's family for not stepping in and ending her purchases.

That

It has to be said though that people do need to take some responsibility for their own actions too and their sanity needs to be questioned.

Without trying to sound too brutal to Mirabelle, she was a slightly odd lady. She had visited the studios on numerous occasions and did so again as one of her final wishes before she passed. So talked to all the presenters and crew like they were friends, she sent gifts to them on their birthdays and at Christmas, and she thrived on getting her messages read out on-air, often with the same repetitive messages and stories. She also seemed jealous of anyone that messaged in saying how long they'd bought from the channel - and a message from Mirabelle would shortly follow telling us for the millionth time how she was there buying from day one when Steve was running the business from a burger van in the car park.

I find it sad that her family, particularly the daughter that accompanied her on studio tours and the Gemporia balls, never got concerned by the amount that she was spending with the channel - especially after openly stating, upon Mirabelles passing, that they needed to open a GoFundMe page to clear her unpaid domestic bills /debts and cover the cost of her funeral. Why on earth did Mirabelle get herself into this position - and why did her family allow it to happen without intervening?

There's now a lady called Christine, who has taken over Mirabelles status as chief texter-in to the studio. Continually sending in poems and singing the praises of the channel and their 'excellent prices' - even when Troth is on screen flogging his overpriced, wishy-washy coloured Jadeite tat and heirloom gold tone junk.

Another lady called 'Debs' isn't too far behind Christine.

Then there are the viewers VTs - more odd characters. The woman that says Gemporia are friends and if you feel lonely at home, you can text in and 'just communicate with them'. Righto. Nothing weird about that at all........

Then there's the peculiar lady that rocks in her chair doing an impression of a dinosaur(!!) before proudly saying she says to people "Do you know where that came from?"

The old lady that says "I've never had a problem with them" - before telling us about two problems she's experienced with them.

Oh, and the lady that "loves" Ellis and finds her "very honest and approachable". I'm not quite sure how you approach someone that's appearing on your TV screen - and I certainly don't know how a presenter, that recently had a slapped wrist by the ASA for suggesting that a Tanzanite ring being shown on screen should be snapped up immediately because its price was wrong and a "mistake" - despite the final closing price being £70 more than its usual full retail price on the website, can be considered "honest".

These characters all have something slightly "odd" about them.

They remind me of those gullible people that hand over tens of thousands of pounds to some stranger on the internet that they've never met in real life - because they've convinced themselves that they're going to get married to them and live happily ever after - only to find that six months on, Pedro from Sau Paolo has vanished off the face of the earth along with her £120,000.

Then they plead with ITV and the newspapers to let them share their story to the masses and blame their situation on the banks for not putting enough safeguards in place, rather than admitting that they've been a gullible idiot and stupidly handed over all their money to someone they've never seen or met in their life!

Vapid is entirely Fair in making her point about holding every presenter to the same standard, irrespective of how much we might
like Jeff!

Jeff is different in a way that he presents the items, I believe that he is truly passisted

 

[Womanwithnoname]

No you don't.

Not sure what that means, apologies Rubia , but if it is to communicate to Vapid
to stay in a forum, I am supporting this arms and legs

 

[rubia]

Not sure what that means, apologies Rubia , but if it is to communicate to Vapid
to stay in a forum, I am supporting this arms and legs

Yeahh thanks

 

[Womanwithnoname]

It has to be said though that people do need to take some responsibility for their own actions too and their sanity needs to be questioned.

Without trying to sound too brutal to Mirabelle, she was a slightly odd lady. She had visited the studios on numerous occasions and did so again as one of her final wishes before she passed. So talked to all the presenters and crew like they were friends, she sent gifts to them on their birthdays and at Christmas, and she thrived on getting her messages read out on-air, often with the same repetitive messages and stories. She also seemed jealous of anyone that messaged in saying how long they'd bought from the channel - and a message from Mirabelle would shortly follow telling us for the millionth time how she was there buying from day one when Steve was running the business from a burger van in the car park.

I find it sad that her family, particularly the daughter that accompanied her on studio tours and the Gemporia balls, never got concerned by the amount that she was spending with the channel - especially after openly stating, upon Mirabelles passing, that they needed to open a GoFundMe page to clear her unpaid domestic bills /debts and cover the cost of her funeral. Why on earth did Mirabelle get herself into this position - and why did her family allow it to happen without intervening?

There's now a lady called Christine, who has taken over Mirabelles status as chief texter-in to the studio. Continually sending in poems and singing the praises of the channel and their 'excellent prices' - even when Troth is on screen flogging his overpriced, wishy-washy coloured Jadeite tat and heirloom gold tone junk.

Another lady called 'Debs' isn't too far behind Christine.

Then there are the viewers VTs - more odd characters. The woman that says Gemporia are friends and if you feel lonely at home, you can text in and 'just communicate with them'. Righto. Nothing weird about that at all........

Then there's the peculiar lady that rocks in her chair doing an impression of a dinosaur(!!) before proudly saying she says to people "Do you know where that came from?"

The old lady that says "I've never had a problem with them" - before telling us about two problems she's experienced with them.

Oh, and the lady that "loves" Ellis and finds her "very honest and approachable". I'm not quite sure how you approach someone that's appearing on your TV screen - and I certainly don't know how a presenter, that recently had a slapped wrist by the ASA for suggesting that a Tanzanite ring being shown on screen should be snapped up immediately because its price was wrong and a "mistake" - despite the final closing price being £70 more than its usual full retail price on the website, can be considered "honest".

These characters all have something slightly "odd" about them.

They remind me of those gullible people that hand over tens of thousands of pounds to some stranger on the internet that they've never met in real life - because they've convinced themselves that they're going to get married to them and live happily ever after - only to find that six months on, Pedro from Sau Paolo has vanished off the face of the earth along with her £120,000.

Then they plead with ITV and the newspapers to let them share their story to the masses and blame their situation on the banks for not putting enough safeguards in place, rather than admitting that they've been a gullible idiot and stupidly handed over all their money to someone they've never seen or met in their life!

ok….that is a very hard line you have taken there Sir!
People needing to take responsibility….??? For what exactly ?

And you say “without sounding brutal”… well, hate to say it but you do sound brutal to all of the vulnerable people in a list you described above

As you know I aways appreciated your wisdom with regards to gems and appreciate the good fights you have undertaken on behalf of all customers with various authorities, I am thankful to you for that !

Your post above lists many who got hooked on the Gemporias USP -“ A Friend in your living room”!

THAT is Unique to Gemporia!
No other shopping channel that I am aware of exploits and promotes this particular model that would understandably target lonely ppl. So unique and so very damaging .

You have said that “their sanity needs to be questioned “ and that they “have to take responsibility”?

mmm …how can they if they lack capacity like you say?

On the other hand you feel sympathetic with the presenters who have degrees in acting and performing arts and it leading to a niche job. Why can’t THEY Take responsibility over the degrees they choose to read and the jobs that it lands them!
Also the job Is a job and the local chippie is an honest (whilst unskilled ) more respectable job than conning people out of money!


Personally I would love to buy my chips from Lindsey, Hattie, Jess or Ellis

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I am very confused. You have posted quite a few scathing critiques of Gemporia on this forum over a long period. Often pointing out and explaining issues that some of us more ignorant forum members have little or no knowledge of. But like myself, you have been quite critical of presenters' actions. Especially Lindsey Carr and Jess Foley. You have been VERY focused on attacking them.

Yet now, because I argue that Jeff Hayden should also be included in any discussions of Gemporia's dodgy tactics, you now state that it's the viewers' own fault for being gullible and getting ripped off. Or blaming Mirabelle's family for not stepping in and ending her purchases.

That's an interesting about face. All because I am not willing to exclude one particular presenter from criticism.

Intriguing.

That's not actually what I said though is it. If you're going to pick me up on what I've said, at least ensure you're not barking up the wrong tree first.

I think it's about being able to see both sides of the coin. All salespeople (regardless of the industry) have a job to do. Some do it well, some not so and they all have their tactics to make a sale. However not all salespeople (friends!) sit in your living room day in day out and talk to you direct, which is the way the lonely, guillible people see it, and not all (none?) are totally honest about what they're doing.

At the end of the day regardless of how much of these people you watch, you are responsible for your own spending and, in the cases like Mirabelle, I do think her family failed her to a degree and I'm sure she isn't the only one out there. Mirabelle's family may well have tried to intervene and Mirabelle told them where to go. We don't have all the facts only what we've read.

I am fairly new to this forum and I have learned a lot from the people who post on here, some things I can agree on and others I can't - we are all entitled to our own opinions and one of the things I like doing is reading everyone's thoughts so it would be a shame if VapidStoat felt he had to take a step back as his posts along with various others, like TheManWithNoName for example, are the ones I enjoy reading.

Thank you. At least one person got the jist of it

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I am very confused. You have posted quite a few scathing critiques of Gemporia on this forum over a long period. Often pointing out and explaining issues that some of us more ignorant forum members have little or no knowledge of. But like myself, you have been quite critical of presenters' actions. Especially Lindsey Carr and Jess Foley. You have been VERY focused on attacking them.

Yet now, because I argue that Jeff Hayden should also be included in any discussions of Gemporia's dodgy tactics, you now state that it's the viewers' own fault for being gullible and getting ripped off. Or blaming Mirabelle's family for not stepping in and ending her purchases.

That's an interesting about face. All because I am not willing to exclude one particular presenter from criticism.

Intriguing.

I'm not really sure what's confusing about it - other than you've chosen to cherry pick certain parts of what I've read and ignored others in order to put 2 + 2 together to make 5.

Leslie61 understood my point EXACTLY as it was intended - so it really wasn't that difficult to understand.

ALL of the presenters at Gemporia (and any other selly-telly channel if we're going to look at the bigger picture) - are there for one reason. To earn a living.
ALL of the shopping telly channels are there for one reason - to make money.

You seem to have a "one size fits all" ideology that if presenters are working on these channels, they're happy to be economical with the truth in order to get sales - and if they're not, they should simply "get another job". For example, you applied a "one size fits all" stereotype of presenters when you said "But then, that's true of all the glorified sales assistants on shopping telly. They've all encountered products that they know are awful (like badly made clothes, beauty products that just make your skin a bit softer and smell nicer, and lots of other overpriced tat), but they've still gone on air and pushed viewers to buy them. And they'll use any means to do so."

But that's not true is it. They don't all use any means to do so. If they all sold using any means to do so, then we'd be comparing the likes of Peter Simon to Shaun Ryan, or Mike Mason to Sean Crawley, or Jeff Hayden to Jess Foley or Lindsey Carr to Scott Worsfold. After all, according to you, they're all glorified sales assistants that will use any means possible to get a sale.

Seriously?

I've been very focused on attacking Lindsey Carr and in particular, Jess Foley, because, in my opinion, they are BY FAR the worst for over-reacting, over-exaggerating, and generally being deceitful to get people to by. Jess Foley is 100% hard sell. Lindsey Carr is about 85% hard sell and 15% incompetence / being thick. The words are literally on screen in front of her, yet she still manages to completely misread what's in front of her. Both are 100% out of their depth and never natural TV presenters in a million years. If they left or got sacked from Gemporia, I think it's safe to say they'd struggle to get a job on another TV channel. I'd add Cheralene Lavery to that list as well. She's just escaped some of my flack recently because she's not been on our screens. These guys will happily remain all hard sell in order to keep their jobs and keep their employers 'sweet'. I personally don't feel that they have any sense of guilt in selling the way that they do, so long as they get their sales figures.

In comparison, I'd say that the likes of Jeff Hayden and Kate McCarthy are the more 'as honest as the Company policy allows them to be' type presenters. I don't believe for one minute that they like deceiving viewers. They seem genuinely decent people with morals.

Then there are the presenters in-between that are not 100% hard sell, but not completely honest either. Presenters that will sit in the middle of trying to come across as genuine to viewers - whilst crossing over enough to get selling figures and boost their careers / earnings. I'd pit the likes of Lynn Jinks and Angeline Davies in this category. At one point, I'd have perhaps put Ellis in this category too - but she's rapidly losing her integrity and leaning more towards the dishonest 'sell at all costs' type these days (looking to maximise her earnings before retiring perhaps?).

And to show that I'm not singling out Gemporia or its presenters here, I'll do similar comparisons for other presenters that I know.

Out of all the old Bid TV / Ideal World clan, I'd put Peter Simon and Mike Mason well and truly in the 100% hard sell, sell at all costs, 'deceive as many as possible to get sales' category. I wouldn't trust these guys to tell me the time. I personally feel that they have no integrity and have no qualms or guilt about the tactics they use to get sales.

On the flip side, I've always seen the likes of Shaun Ryan or Sean Crawley as the more genuine, the more 'as honest as the Company policy allows them to be' type presenters. I don't believe for one minute that they like deceiving viewers. They seem genuinely decent people with morals. The Ideal World equivalents of Jeff Hayden and Kate McCarthy.

Then there are the 'in-betweeners' again. The likes of Andy Hodgson, Sally Jacks, etc. Certainly not trustworthy - but not quite as bad as Mason and co.

Remember when Gemporia took on Peter Simon 10 years ago? He lasted a whole month - because his bumbling old fool act, waffling gibberish presenting style and pound-shop Larry Grayson routines just didn't cut it. These days, he would 100% fit the Gemporia ethos. He'd fit right in, waffling about the Sun Gods of Ra and how Lynn Jinks told him in the staff room that the mountain goat herders of Tibet insist on springling crushed Jadeite (not only in the snottiest of greens, not only in the greyest of the dove blues, not only in the greenest of blacks) on their testicles each day [cheeky wink to the camera] in order to prevent getting gangrene in their bunions. All whilst Monotone Dave mumbles on on the background telling us its the rarest of the rare with a 30 second clock on screen.

Some presenters have made a career out of seeming deceitful and 100% hard sell. Peter Simon has got away with it for years by cleverly winning over the public by pretending to be a bumbling old fool, resonating with older folk by cracking dad jokes and presenting himself as some sort of Larry Grayson tribute act, whilst also resonating with the younger audiences by pretending to be camp / gay and some clumsy old fool that will make you laugh 'by accident' when he trips live on-air for the 187th time of his career, 'unexpectedly' breaks wind yet again, or stutters his words to 'accidentally' drop a cheeky naughty word. He's gotten away with it for years because people think he's just a clumsy harmless guy that someone blunders his way through shows - but he's considered a 'TV legend' by some viewers simply because they remember him dropping gunge on people [cheeky glance to the camera] on BBC TV back in the 1990s when they were growing up. I can certainly use one word ending in 'end' to describe him - but the one I'm thinking of starts with the letter 'B' rather than the letter 'L'..............

As for Mason - if Del Boy Trotter has been modelled on a real person, then I'm convinced it's Mike Mason. Everything about MM just screams out Cockney market stall trader. If he not lucky enough to get another job in selly-telly, then I'm sure he could easily get a job flogging Argos seconds from the back of a truck at Hackney market.

You can't seriously say that the likes of Jeff Hayden, Kate McCarthy, Shaun Ryan or Sean Crawley are as bad or as trustworthy as as the likes of Peter Simon, Mike Mason, Jess Foley, and Lindsey Carr, can you? Really?

I will ALWAYS call out companies that are selling their wares via suspicious methods. I will criticise ALL presenters that clearly have no regard for how they push their wares for their employer. However, I will also recognise the difference between a presenter that has no integrity or morals whatsoever - and a presenter that tries to be as transparent as possible within the limitations that their employer gives them.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

One final thing: I am very sure that Jeff's very worried about his financial situation.

But let's not forget that Mirabelle's family had to launch a GoFundMe after she died in order to pay for her funeral.

All because the poor old dear listened to those lovely, friendly people at Gemporia and spent whatever cash she had on stuff she'd been assured would be worth a lot more than she'd paid.

So I will give you two guesses where my sympathies lie.

Jeff didn't choose to be made redundant (neither did any of the other presenters).

Mirabelle chose to spend thousands and thousands of pounds of jewellery and, from what information is available online, appeared to prioritise that over paying crucial bills.

So, I'm sorry, but my sympathies lie in a different place to yours.

Am I of the opinion that Gemporia may have taken advantage of Mirabelle over the years? Yes.

Am I of the opinion that Gemporia tried to make Mirabelle feel 'part of the family' by interacting with her far too much? Yes.

However, do I feel that Mirabelle and / or her family need to take some responsibility for her, seemingly, living beyond her means? Yes. As hard sell as presenters can be, the most they can do is persuade / encourage people to part with their money. They're not snatching it out of customers hands. The final decision to buy rests with the customer - so if they buy knowing full well that they can't afford it or it's going to leave them in financial difficulty longer term, then that is solely on them.

I've spent a LOT of money with Gemporia over the years - but I've only ever spent within my means, only bought based upon my own 'middle of the road' knowledge (I am by know means a gem expert - but I know enough to know a shrewd buy or enough to not be fooled by presenters making misleading claims about supposed rarity or value) and I've never bought believing that something will be worth a small fortune for my family when my time comes or increase in value by four times the amount as soon as I walk through a jewellers to have it valued.

That is never going to happen, I think their behaviour has worsened more since Colin left. Trust me I was no fan of Colin but I did believe Steve was honourable how dumb was I ? Angeline, Lynn, Ellis and others should be ashamed.

The problem is, if what others have said is true, then Jake Thompson is running the show now - and in my opinion, he's been a key part in the decline of Gemporia over the past few years. He's been one of the worst for misleading claims over the years (the ASA also gave a warning over a claim he made) - so that tactic was never going to go away whilst he's running the show. If anything, I would imagine he's more likely to encourage it.

Steve has never been 100% transparent - but he did used to have some boundaries in place at Gemporia when he was running the show. For example, he was always dead against the spiritual / healing properties nonsense that they now push heavily on their website and via Lynn Jinks' shows. Steve always made it clear that it was all unproven - so therefore, he wouldn't make claims about any supposed properties - whereas now, they'll happily push it on their website and happily allow Lynn Jinks to talk about supposed 'healing properties' in a factual manner.

Steve also had the strong belief of 'always genuine gemstones' - to the point that it was once their company slogan. He'd always say "we don't sell brass and glass", "We don't sell synthetic gemstones" and "Synthetics and fakes cost pennies to make" - yet here they are, now selling brass and glass, now selling synthetic gemstones on Jewellery Maker, and those 'synthetics and fakes that cost pennies to make' and now being sold on Jewellery Maker at expensive prices that can often be compared to real gemstone prices.

However, Steve was also responsible for misleading claims - even in the days where the channel came across as more credible. Steve was in charge when they were renaming gemstones to, presumably, mislead customers into thinking they were seeing a stone they'd never seen before or seeing a stone that had recently been discovered 'new on the market'. They were flogging Mandarine Garnet as 'Tulelei' - marketing it as some amazing quality orange stone. They were flogging 'Csarite' to viewers with claims that they were the only company in the UK selling it - but what they didn't tell you is that that they were the only company in the UK selling it with the 'Csarite' name. 'Csarite' is a trademark name - not the name of a gemstone. 'Csarite' is Colour Change Diaspore from Turkey. It was being sold by many other companies in the UK - even on other selly-telly channels - but they were also selling it under other different trademarked names - names such as 'Turkizite' or 'Zultanite'. So it is not correct that Gemporia were the only company selling Colour Change Diaspore from Turkey (its real name) - they were just the only company selling it under its 'Csarite' trademarked name.

Gemporia also had a warning for saying "We're giving it away" on-air, despite there being a price on the screen - who said this? It was Steve Bennett himself - on numerous occasions. Steve Bennett was also running the show when his son-in-law (Jake Thompson) would give lectures on-air about perceived rarity or value of stones - with Jake Thompson often quoting prices out of his Gem Guide - often comparing Gemporia gemstones to 'fine grade' gemstones in the gem guide. However, Gemporia's gemstones are not 'fine grade' - they are either commercial grade or slightly better. Stones that can be wishy-washy in colour, 'windowed', heavily included - or, on occasions when stones did have amazing colour and clarity and looked excellent quality on-air or genuine bargains, it would shortly be discovered, once they arrive home, that the exceptional colour or clarity was spoilt by inferior cutting.

Steve Bennett also pushed the 'family business' thing and the whole 'one big family' ethos - but you only have to spend 5 minutes on Google to find disgruntled ex-employees that have all left scathing comments (all of which are quite similar in the things they are criticising) - saying how difficult the Bennett family were / are to work for, etc. I have no particular views on that one way or another because its common for ex employees to have an axe to grind over bitterness. However, when comments from multiple people all say similar things, it does make you wonder whether there are some aspects of truth to it.

I quite like Steve as a person when he appears on-air - I like the way that he comes across as a fairly 'normal' person despite being a multi-millionaire - but do I think he's totally honest and the saviour of the Company? Sadly, no.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I remember seeing a lady on one of the various antiques type shows who brought in a large collection of coloured gemstones, all in clear boxes. She had paid something like £600 for them but the entire collection sold for under ninety pounds or similar. Absolutely worthless in reality.I just remembered that it was on Dickinson’s programme.

I remember this. You're correct. It was on Dickinsons Real Deal.

The problem with something like this is that you've got a Company like Gemporia that is trying to over-value gemstones in order to sell them, and then you've got an 'expert' dealer that wants to buy these gemstones as cheaply as possible because they're re-selling them in a shop.

The stones that she bought were worth nothing like what she had paid for them. From memory, they were fairly 'ordinary' stones - a Lemon Quartz and White Quartz (albeit massive carat weights from back in the days when Gemporia sold 50 carat+ sized Quartz gemstones), Peridot, Iolite, and then something like a Tanzanite and a fissure-filled Ruby or a diffused Sapphire - but they were worth more than what she sold them to the dealer for. The dealer probably got their 'true' worth when they were sold in their shop.

This is where I've always been careful with my buying. There are some stones that Gemporia sell that are HUGELY expensive. Sphalerite being one. Their prices on Gem Collector are ludicrous. I can get a similar sized stone, with similar clarity, similar colour colour and similar cut for around 60% less through Gem Select. I would NEVER buy Sphalerite from Gemporia.

However, Gem Collector have always been excellent value for money with untreated or heat-treated Sapphires. Their prices are considerably cheaper than almost anywhere else for comparable quality stones. I've had some stunning Sapphires from Gem Collector in years gone by that were bargains - to the point that if I re-sold them now, I know for a fact that I could make a good profit on them (not that I'm going to sell them - they're sat amongst my favourite stones).

As with all things, it's a case of 'Caveat emptor' (buyer beware). Research needs to be done. Yes, Gemporia, like most Companies, over-value their products - but there are also bargains to be had on very rare occasions. Some gemstones will hold their value or raise in value - particularly things like the Russian Alexandrite that they sold years ago. That is now genuinely rare an unavailable. Also, although they claim to make 'mistakes' on what seems like a daily basis, they do also make genuine real mistakes. You can tell when the mistakes are 'real' because rather than telling us all that they've made a big mistake and we need to "take advantage now", when they are genuine mistakes, they can't get the items off screen quick enough, the items fly out, and they cut to a VT. I remember when Gems TV sold a pair of 10k gold Tomas Rae earrings with diamonds - and they sold for £30. There was genuine horror on faces, the item sold within seconds (and they did genuinely sell - a family member bought them and she did actually receive them), they couldn't get them off the screen quick enough, and then they cut to a VT to, presumably, work out how they were going to claw back those loses on other items throughout the rest of the show. I've seen gemstones sell for £1 on Gem Collector when a presenter has hit the wrong button (Nick Davies in particular is VERY quick at tapping the screen and has made a lot of genuine mistakes on prices over the years). I vaguely remember a few viewers once saying that Nick took a stone down to £0.00p once in error!

 

[TheManWithNoName]

People needing to take responsibility….??? For what exactly ?

Spending money that they haven't got!

See my post above - yes, presenters can be hard sell and persuasive, but they don't snatch the money out of people's hands. Ultimately, it is up to people to ensure that they can actually afford the things they're about to buy.

And you say “without sounding brutal”… well, hate to say it but you do sound brutal to all of the vulnerable people in a list you described above

Who says they're vulnerable? I didn't. I said they're a 'bit odd'.

'Vulnerable' is different to being a 'bit odd'.

One of the people that I mentioned (Christine) sends very well thought out poems in to the channel on a regular basis and they are often displayed and / or read out on air. It is clear from the thought that has gone into them that they have not been sent in by someone that may lack mental capacity.

Mirabelle was an NHS nurse - so she was clearly an intelligent person.

The lady that talks about Ellis being 'honest and approachable' seems to have all of her faculties when talking. She doesn't come across as someone that is 'vulnerable'.

So, whilst some may seem slightly oddball, there's nothing to suggest that they would be mentally challenged or incapable of managing their own finances.

'Vulnerable' viewers that could fall into the trap of being brainwashed by presenters would be those with learning difficulties, or some form of mental illness or mental impairment. Gemporia SHOULD 100% be ensuring that vulnerable people are not led astray by ludicrous claims by presenters - and the next-to-useless Advertising Standards Authority should be constantly doing more to prevent that too (rather than giving channels umpteen 'warnings' and slaps on the wrist over and over again - but rarely take any serious action). The ASA should be proactively constantly monitoring the output of these channels to stop these channels in their tracks instantly - not waiting for viewers to report the channels before they look into them!

Your post above lists many who got hooked on the Gemporias USP -“ A Friend in your living room”!

THAT is Unique to Gemporia!

Was that their USP though? I don't think I've ever seen anyone say, on here or elsewhere, that the reason they bought from Gemporia was because they saw Gemporia as a 'friend in your living room'.

In my opinion, their USP was always about offering genuine gemstone that were sourced, predominantly, from mine - and then sold at reasonable quality with reasonable prices, in, mostly, lovely designs.

That was what used to be unique to Gemporia, before they tried to expand far too quickly, far too soon, by launching in other countries, flogging jewellery via third-party companies such as on-board Virgin Atlantic flights and in stores (Selfridges or Debenhams I think it was?). Then Steve Bennett appeared to get bored and start yet another business venture, flogged his shares to employees, and then left incompetent and / or inexperienced people to run the business. That was when the decline and rot started to take over. That decline and rot, in my opinion, has now gone too far and beyond recovery. Their 19th birthday is just around the corner. I'll be very surprised if we see them around for their 20th. If we do, then I'll be astonished by how they've somehow fluked keeping the channel going for another 13 months.