Sarah Bennett

[Badlyworntoy]

Would you not enjoy a book as much when you find out it was written by a ghost writer ??
For some peope who have such an obvious dislike of Rocks and anything associated with it, why on earth watch it so much and waste your time coming here to give your biased opinion.
If this feud was so ridiculous it would be quite sad.

 

[PJ.]

Graham,

So I hope you have seen from my posts and emails to you that I am and always been a fan of ST.com and you, however I just don't understand the negativity all of a sudden towards Mr and Mrs Bennett and Rocks.tv in general. This is the third thread you have not just commented on but started. Have you had a bad order from them recently or have they annoyed you by not allowing an ST.com visit or something or not advertising on your site? Or is it just that Rocks & Co and The Jewellery Channel have been advertising with you?


I hope you don't take this as a flame post or anything I am just a fan of shopping telly and just don't see the need for this type of post.


PJ

 

[gemdreamer]

My take on it is that if I buy, for example, a Stephen Webster piece, I expect it to be a Stephen Webster piece and not available anywhere else. A "designer" name implies exclusivity.

When RocksTV started, a number of "Sarah Bennett" designs were found elsewhere. RocksTV explanation (if I remember correctly) was that they had found certain items and were guaranteed the lion's share of the pieces made. So whilst the same pieces may be found elsewhere, the majority would be sold on RocksTV.

To brand these as Sarah Bennett designs are/was misleading. As a consumer, I'd be pretty peeved if I bought something believing it to be exclusive, only to find it elsewhere (albeit with slight differences).

If jewellery is marketed as a "designer" brand, you also expect the designs to be by that designer/design house - not bought in from a third party.

totally agree with you meeshoo, by calling it the "sarah bennett" collection, and by saying that sarah designs the pieces then that is what as a customer i would expect.

 

[gemdreamer]

Would you not enjoy a book as much when you find out it was written by a ghost writer ?? For some peope who have such an obvious dislike of Rocks and anything associated with it, why on earth watch it so much and waste your time coming here to give your biased opinion.
If this feud was so ridiculous it would be quite sad.

well if i buy a book believing it is by a certain author and then find out it was infact written by someone else, then i would certainly feel decieved as that is what i would have been!

 

[Graham]

Graham,

So I hope you have seen from my posts and emails to you that I am and always been a fan of ST.com and you, however I just don't understand the negativity all of a sudden towards Mr and Mrs Bennett and Rocks.tv in general. This is the third thread you have not just commented on but started. Have you had a bad order from them recently or have they annoyed you by not allowing an ST.com visit or something or not advertising on your site? Or is it just that Rocks & Co and The Jewellery Channel have been advertising with you?


I hope you don't take this as a flame post or anything I am just a fan of shopping telly and just don't see the need for this type of post.


PJ

First of all I think it is fair to say that I have given my opinion on most channels in the 9 years that I have been running this site, one thing I can say with hand on heart being an advertiser does not stop me having an opinion.

I really do not have anything against Rocks TV or Steve and Sarah, I watch all channels and post my opinions. The whole selling point for RocksTV in my opinion is keep mentioning how much better they are to compeditors.

All I post are my opinions, mine are no better or worse than any other, it is just an opinion.

If the majority of members would prefer that I don't start threads or make posts I am more than happy to delete "Graham" and just admin the site publishing News etc.

I am honestly not here to upset anyone.

 

[Badlyworntoy]

totally agree with you meeshoo, by calling it the "sarah bennett" collection, and by saying that sarah designs the pieces then that is what as a customer i would expect.

How many "designers" don't actually "design" their entire range? most have a team of designers working for them, but all are sold under the marketed name.

 

[Badlyworntoy]

well if i buy a book believing it is by a certain author and then find out it was infact written by someone else, then i would certainly feel decieved as that is what i would have been!

A lot of authors use ghost writers.
But does that make you enjoy the read any the less ??

 

[mr jones]

First of all I think it is fair to say that I have given my opinion on most channels in the 9 years that I have been running this site, one thing I can say with hand on heart being an advertiser does not stop me having an opinion.

I really do not have anything against Rocks TV or Steve and Sarah, I watch all channels and post my opinions. The whole selling point for RocksTV in my opinion is keep mentioning how much better they are to compeditors.

All I post are my opinions, mine are no better or worse than any other, it is just an opinion.

If the majority of members would prefer that I don't start threads or make posts I am more than happy to delete "Graham" and just admin the site publishing News etc.

I am honestly not here to upset anyone.

Good for you Graham - I for one have no problem with your opinions as they are as valid as anyone else's. No one can deny you are as much a lover of bling as you are a commentator. Sadly for a number of reasons the atmosphere in the Rocks.TV threads has been almost toxic of late and it must be time to let the Forum get back to what it was.

Sure not all of us like every presenter or product and lively criticism is what this Forum is all about. I like Rocks, it's staff and the way it is produced because of the great service I have had personally but that's just me and I hope I am not seen as an unthinking fanatic. I would like to think I can express my opinions without being subjected to abuse or accusation of unreasonable bias and you are as worthy of that treatment as any member of the Forum.

 

[watersiren]

First of all I think it is fair to say that I have given my opinion on most channels in the 9 years that I have been running this site, one thing I can say with hand on heart being an advertiser does not stop me having an opinion.

I really do not have anything against Rocks TV or Steve and Sarah, I watch all channels and post my opinions. The whole selling point for RocksTV in my opinion is keep mentioning how much better they are to compeditors.

All I post are my opinions, mine are no better or worse than any other, it is just an opinion.

If the majority of members would prefer that I don't start threads or make posts I am more than happy to delete "Graham" and just admin the site publishing News etc.

I am honestly not here to upset anyone.

Your opinions are as valuable as everybody else's, Graham.
It is often difficult for many forum members to separate 'Graham' the individual from 'Graham' the site owner/admin. It is the latter you are more often identified with and there is the expectation of impartiality.
Although I am usually one of these FMs, I would really prefer Graham to have/write opinions just as everybody else, but your presence is not as straightforward (due to being the owner/admin/mod) as everybody else's. Hence, the unease. That shouldn't prevent you from posting opinions, just have it at the back of your mind, please.

 

[LambChop]

The whole selling point for RocksTV in my opinion is keep mentioning how much better they are to compeditors.

This is not my impression but would you really expect any company in a highly competitive market to claim to be the same as or worse than their competitors?!

In my opinion their key selling points are their range of products, price and customer service.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

 

[gemdreamer]

First of all I think it is fair to say that I have given my opinion on most channels in the 9 years that I have been running this site, one thing I can say with hand on heart being an advertiser does not stop me having an opinion.

I really do not have anything against Rocks TV or Steve and Sarah, I watch all channels and post my opinions. The whole selling point for RocksTV in my opinion is keep mentioning how much better they are to compeditors.

All I post are my opinions, mine are no better or worse than any other, it is just an opinion.

If the majority of members would prefer that I don't start threads or make posts I am more than happy to delete "Graham" and just admin the site publishing News etc.

I am honestly not here to upset anyone.

I don't see how your posts could have upset anyone Graham, you are entitled to your opinion and please do not stop posting! You DO post opinions on ALL channels, but unfortunately, where as people can post both good and bad on other channels sections for some reason it seems that some people think that isn't allowed on the rocksTV section! If you are not saying ilove the bennetts you get jumped on!

 

[Sacha]

A question of balance......

Whilst the thread was started as a query about the Sarah Bennett Collection, we seem to have digressed a little. A number of opposing opinions have been made but if it serves to clear the air......that's good.

I do agree with Mr Jones that this particular forum has become 'almost toxic of late' creating unease and discomfort for some of us when reading the posts that are deliberately targeted at individuals at RocksTV. I appreciate this has happened on the other forums also, but not in such a concentrated manner in a short space of time...imho!

I was pleased to see the sticky 'Rules' thread at the start of each forum and would hope that folks will abide by the guidelines outlined in the first paragraph........as I think we would all like to see the forum become 'enjoyable and productive' once again.

 

[Sapphireblue]

a question of honesty..........

Hi all

Graham brings to our attention that some claims made on Rocks TV are not true, or that Rock TV are being “economical with the truth,” How can this be interpreted as “negative”

TJC, Gems TV, IW, Rock & Co are all taken to task (on this forum) in some cases reported to the ASA if they make unsubstantiated or misleading claims.

Some may not considered this to be a big deal. It's a very big deal to me and others who rely on Graham and members of this forum for information before they part company with hard earned cash.

Graham, please keep posting!

Sapphireblue

 

[PJ.]

Haven't they actually said though that Sarah designed them as apposed to say Jessica Lilli who IIRC is a camera operator? I remember she was on cameras once so whether that was here having a play while she was in their or is it just that they used the name of a member of staff, either way i am sure that they have claimed that Sarah has designed them but the others they just talk about the range.


PJ

 

[Sazza]

Haven't they actually said though that Sarah designed them as apposed to say Jessica Lilli who IIRC is a camera operator? I remember she was on cameras once so whether that was here having a play while she was in their or is it just that they used the name of a member of staff, either way i am sure that they have claimed that Sarah has designed them but the others they just talk about the range.


PJ

The camera operator Melissa is the model for the Jessica Lill collection, same as Emily is the model for Viorelli. Many of the names of collections are after Steve and Sarah's children which is the case of Jessica Lilli.

 

[nanpam]

I was pleased to see the sticky 'Rules' thread at the start of each forum and would hope that folks will abide by the guidelines outlined in the first paragraph........as I think we would all like to see the forum become 'enjoyable and productive' once again.

Just a small point, I can only see the 'Rules' thread on the Rocks.tv forum page and not on any of the other channels.

 

[Sacha]

Sorry........

Just a small point, I can only see the 'Rules' thread on the Rocks.tv forum page and not on any of the other channels.

:mysmilie_465:my apologies Nanpam, I thought I had seen the Forum Guidelines on the other shopping forums also when
they were first posted.

 

[Meeshoo]

I agree with everything that has been posted so far.

One point I would like to make is that negative opinions appear to be cyclical. If you look back at the archives in the GemsTV/Rocks&Co section for the past 12 months you'll see that there were many many many negative (and in some cases toxic) threads - look at the Rocks&Co section and it's incredibly difficult to find anything positive. Rightly or wrongly, these have all been opinions expressed.

What I find distressing is that in the RocksTV section of the forum if anybody posts anything other than positive, there are a few that will pounce and accuse people of being biased (I am NOT pointing the finger at anybody when I say this). I posted on this thread earlier and feel that my posts have been taken out of context and I am seen as being negative towards RocksTV which is very far from being the case. I have bought some lovely pieces from them but then have also had some shockingly bad items. If you search the archives you'll probably find pictures of the lovely bits I've bought but I've always refrained from posting photos of some of the hideous items - to be fair, I do the same with GemsTV and TJC items also.

To get back to the topic, at the end of the day, some people feel that having a Sarah Bennett range should mean X and for others it's Y. Both are valid opinions and it's a healthy debate to have. It shouldn't necessarily mean that there is a right or wrong answer or that people should fall out but it's good to share all the different opinions.

 

[NikkiS]

I agree with everything that has been posted so far.

One point I would like to make is that negative opinions appear to be cyclical. If you look back at the archives in the GemsTV/Rocks&Co section for the past 12 months you'll see that there were many many many negative (and in some cases toxic) threads - look at the Rocks&Co section and it's incredibly difficult to find anything positive. Rightly or wrongly, these have all been opinions expressed.
.

This is very true - when i first joined this forum, knowing naff all about any shopping channels, I spent ages going through past posts - I can clearly remember at one point asking what TJC had done to improve its earlier reputation, and being answered very clearly.

I also agree with Mr Jones's comment about this area becoming 'toxic' in parts - people are very much on the defensive and leaping on one another despite what the poster may have intended when posting. I am keeping out of this thread after this one post; I would prefer it if this section was like the others - a place where one can post criticisms when they are necessary - I'd like to point out that i slunk back in here after months and criticised my Rocks experience; I got no-one jumping on me, nothing but very helpful advice - and praise where it's due.

N x

 

[PJ.]

Hi Graham,

I have now read the thread about what has been said in the chit chat thread and have a better understanding of where you are coming from. Firstly I wanna say please don't stop what you are doing. Without you, the likes of auction-world.tv, i-buy.tv and even more respectable channels like QVC would have gotten away with some frankly disgusting business practices. Obviously I am not Steve Bennett or know what he is thinking but I guess he would put a disclaimer that anything that is said in his chat room is not Rocks.TV's opinion. On the time in question was he even in the studio building? Did he see the comments about ST.com? If he found out about it the next day, unlike a forum post it would be pointless deleting it or talking about it as it is long gone. Also I remember some people on here saying they wanted more freedom to chat about other things than Rocks.TV in their chat room, maybe they would say that this is what they were hoping to avoid?

As I said above, I hope you always carry on being the people's champion when it comes to shopping telly, but what I would say and this is why I am posting in this thread is, if the whole chatgate situation hadn't happened, would the things that has bothered you recently about Rocks.TV like the SB collection, have bothered you as much?


PJ