Wheel of Deals

[puffin48]

I dont watch it these days but I switch over on occasion when the ads are on other channels and they talk the biggest load of rubbish (I could use a ruder word). I cant believe that I was taken in over the years but I think alot of the items I got look alot better than what they are trying to flog now.

Another poster mentioned Kate McCarthy. I caught her the other night and oh dear she has gone like the other presenters. She used to have a lovely fresh face but its now made up with black eyebrows and dark shadow. Lin Jinks is like that too. I imagine is some makeup that Gemporia sell.

 

[donna255]

Agree when flicking around channels the silver prices are stupid!

When I see white metal I think oh silver, not even in 9ct gold for that price.

 

[Deasmum]

Sometimes the silver items are comparatively more reasonable, but more and more I am seeing shocking prices for the silver, particularly on the new stock. I am also very amused to hear them saying that pearls are in short supply, while inundating our screens with pears. I seldom watch the channel without seeing pearls for sale. Right now, they are selling pearls yet again!

 

[Ballerina]

I think the cultured salt water pearl market has seen a decline in growth over the last few years but I don't think the industry is threatened, or in collapse as Gemporia would have us believe. As for the majority of the pearls they sell, they are mostly cheap and of rubbish quality. The pearls are grown in the rivers and lakes n China, each mollusc can produe several pearls and they sell for pennies each. These cheap pearls are readily available and there is no problem with supply. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for the freshwater pearls and I own a lot of cheap and cheerful pieces. I have also bought some real rubbish from Gemporia, cheap and nasty describes them perfectly. I didn't return them as it would be expensive, so more money wasted but I will not buy pearls (or anything for that matter)from this company. Gemporia is all about smoke and mirrors, full stop.

As you mentoned, Kate McCarthy used to be a good presenter but has now joined the rank and file. I hate the way she repeatedly says "hello" to nearly every piece and calls them "she", I find that really irritating. The make-up adopted by Kate and Lynn is anything but flattering, how to add 10 years instantly in my opinion. Plus, this cheap make-uphas been made in China and hauled half way around the planet. Have you seen the new advert saying how they have changed their packaging to be more eco. friendly? What a joke, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw the packaging was produced in China!

The company has gone to hell in a hand cart, I think it's days are numbered.

The last 3 times I have dlicked over to Gemporia, they have been selling those sodding supplements. Not really a jewellery channel anymore, health supplements, homewares, make-up and nasty fashion. Steve Bennett goes through fads and throws himself in to what ever the latest fad is completely. 15 years ago it was gemstones, the great gem hunter but now it is health and fitness and in between he started a channel called Vinappris, selling wines. Wait untl he gets bored of that and we will be bombarded with what ever he moves on to next.

 

[Anna]

Well I am not impressed with their new packaging. I struggle to get into the box now, and the items have ended up on the floor. The little purple bags that come with their jewellery are awful, cheap and nasty looking. I think too their days are numbered.

 

[Brighthunter]

They are going to do faux flowers and gardening supplies, wondering if they are low on jewellery or something.

 

[Deasmum]

I asked myself the same thing. But their ad for Flourish the gardening range made me laugh. Among the tools there was a pair of slippers. I don't know many gardeners who would do their thing on slippers and I belong to a gardening club. I doubt I will be buying gardening tools from them since I lost trust on their jewellery. I cannot but wonder that if they can't do that well most of the time, as my experience shows, can they do gardening tools? My mother bought yet another ring which was another disappointment. It was supposed to be red but looks like sparkly mud. It's brown.... Unflattering brown! It's sparkles alright but the colour is dreadful. I think that she has learnt her lesson and no more Gemporia, bless her!

 

[Brighthunter]

That's such a shame. I haven't bought any jewellery since I sent a load of stuff back. Still not been refunded for anything yet either. They had the first items back on 11th January

 

[Deasmum]

Oh dear, Brighthunter, that's a long time! I am so sorry for you! I think the gigantic refund time is one of the most common complaints against Gemporia and quite rightly so! In many ways, they might be shooting themselves in the foot. I am sure there are people who would buy another ring to replace the one they have returned if they had the money back to do it.
I hope you get yours soon

 

[Ballerina]

They are really quick to take people's money, instantaneously but so slow to refun, with some waiting a month for their money. This is a deliberate ploy by Gemporia to keep your money as long as possible. It makes the books look nice and healthy to the accountants and shareholders, plus earns them interest whilst you are losing, or maybe paying interest on the money you spent with them. It is shady practice to put it mildly. It is a common complaint on Feefo, along with painfully slow delivery (even on premium delivery taking 10 days) and shoddy workmanship. I won't call it craftsmanship, hastily cobbled together in Jaipur and apparently, Jadeite (the best grade jade on the planet) pieces made in China and just glued in, so stones dropping out within just hours of wearing. Gemporia pay to be reviewed on Feefo so I don't think it is a very trustworthy platform and they "doctor" the reviews. Other peiople have said this, that their low star rating reviews disappear but the 5* ones stay up forever.

I am so sorry that they have ripped your Mother off again. It is a rip-off, the item looks better on telly and when it arrives a total disappointment. What was the stone meant to be? Their pink tourmalines have been brown when I received them in the past, nothing like what the sample on tv looked like. It is misrepresentation but they get around it by stating that natural stonesmayvary in colour. Whilst that is true technically, stones are supposed to be sorted by professionals who can sort stones into many different colours, so hogwash to that excuse. The Gemporia rubies are revolting, little bits of ruby, glued together with glass or resin. The giveaway is (f) in the description to indicate fissure filling. These rubies are unstable and crack, chip and even crumble easily. They are cheap but you are mostly paying for filler and very poor grade bits of stone.

Gardening tools, f-me! These will also be poundland grade (poundland may even be better), made in China for sure and will last a lunchtime.

 

[puffin48]

They are really quick to take people's money, instantaneously but so slow to refun, with some waiting a month for their money. This is a deliberate ploy by Gemporia to keep your money as long as possible. It makes the books look nice and healthy to the accountants and shareholders, plus earns them interest whilst you are losing, or maybe paying interest on the money you spent with them. It is shady practice to put it mildly. It is a common complaint on Feefo, along with painfully slow delivery (even on premium delivery taking 10 days) and shoddy workmanship. I won't call it craftsmanship, hastily cobbled together in Jaipur and apparently, Jadeite (the best grade jade on the planet) pieces made in China and just glued in, so stones dropping out within just hours of wearing. Gemporia pay to be reviewed on Feefo so I don't think it is a very trustworthy platform and they "doctor" the reviews. Other peiople have said this, that their low star rating reviews disappear but the 5* ones stay up forever.

I am so sorry that they have ripped your Mother off again. It is a rip-off, the item looks better on telly and when it arrives a total disappointment. What was the stone meant to be? Their pink tourmalines have been brown when I received them in the past, nothing like what the sample on tv looked like. It is misrepresentation but they get around it by stating that natural stonesmayvary in colour. Whilst that is true technically, stones are supposed to be sorted by professionals who can sort stones into many different colours, so hogwash to that excuse. The Gemporia rubies are revolting, little bits of ruby, glued together with glass or resin. The giveaway is (f) in the description to indicate fissure filling. These rubies are unstable and crack, chip and even crumble easily. They are cheap but you are mostly paying for filler and very poor grade bits of stone.

Gardening tools, f-me! These will also be poundland grade (poundland may even be better), made in China for sure and will last a lunchtime.

Reading everyones comments makes me wonder if things arent going well for them. To have to start selling stuff other than jewellery when they are called Gemporia makes a mockery of the name. I wonder if covid has affected their supply of gems or whether its just that they cant afford decent ones.

I often wonder why they have people like Dave Troth and others on because they do seem surplus to requirements. Why are the needed when they have a presenter. I wonder if they have put money into the company so have to be kept.

 

[Kit10]

I think like many other companies, they need to diversify in order to continue to grow. Look at TJC, it’s a televised jumble sale compared to Gemporia! There will always be a hard core fan base of customers who will buy jewellery on a daily basis, based on the hard sell from presenters, so Messrs Troth, Cavil and Thompson are fairly safe.

 

[Ballerina]

You have made some very valid points and I think you are right, their jobs are pretty safe. They do have a hard core fan / customer base. I used to buy from them,a lot but never felt valued by Gemporia, nor was my loyalty rewarded, ever. Casing point was when I had to return a faulty item (Lorique earrings) which was £2200 and they gave me an argument, despite claiming a no quibble returns policy. I had sent them back as one had a loose diamond in the bag and I could clearly feel a wobbly diamond that would have come out. I sent them back after 3 days from arriving, so well within time. Two weeks later, I called them to chase my refund and was told I was not getting one, they wanted to repair. I said no and it went back and forth. They were practically begging me to keep the earrings and using emotional blackmail, implying that the company would make a loss! After that, I sent back 15 other items I had just received and got refunds for the lot. I won't do business with them for a whole host of other reasons, not just this incident.

Diversity is one thing, I don't watch tjc at all but will have to have look and see whatyou mean. But the company is called Gemporia for a reason, it sold jewellery and no other nonsense. It does make a mockery of it's own name and should consider re-naming, goodness knows they have had a ton of names previously before this reincarnation. Snatchit, Gemstv, Rockstv, Coloured Rocks, The Genuine Gemstone Company, Gemporia and maybe more that I can't remember. If they must diversify to survive, then I feel the choice of inventory is very poor and of low quality. Destello seems to be other people's designs, made in Chinese factories and tagged Destello (or any other customer's name) before shipping. I have read that the same scarves have been seen on market stalls costing a lot less money. It is such a pity that the company have taken this direction and I do think it may be their undoing ultimately.

 

[Brighthunter]

Well, they are diversifying with chocolate brownies next week...

 

[Ballerina]

How the hell does selling chocolate brownies sit alongside selling health supplements, including one called fat burner?

 

[Kit10]

I bought the Brownies before Christmas and tbh they were nothing special! Lesson learned. Ballerina, I am so sorry regarding your experience with Gemporia. To use emotional blackmail to make or keep a sale! Shocking. They trade on this open and honest company ethos, which is probably very far from the truth.

 

[Ballerina]

Ah, thanks Kit!

I was taken aback with the response and stood firm, almost caved in to begin with.. If this was their top of the shop range, it was a red flag. This all happened in the January sale of 2019. I was up in Yorkshire and the telly in the Holiday Inn is really boring, so I was watching Gemporia every evening on the laptop. I spent a whole lot of cash, I had the money to spend, my debts were paid off and had been saving for a good gult free spree. The earrings were on split pay but I paid in full up front, lessons learned. These earrings I got from the main channel. Steph was the presenter as it was over the holiday season and I remember I fell in love with them. I bought a lot of smaller items but they came to over £400, I was hooked on the outlet (RIP). It ws a such a disappointment to open the lovely Lorique box. For starters, the plastic bag crammed inside ruins the aesthetic and then to see the loose stone, my heart sank. I so wanted to keep them and get a good jeweller to repair them but Paul said if they send the best out like that he wouldn't trust them as far as he could throw them! I knew he was right but they were such pretty earrings, it's easy to become distracted and not think logically. Gemporia did make me feel guilty at first and then after 4 calls, I was just pi$$sed off with them. A high street jeweller wouldn't try to make you keep a piece because you feel guilty that it would impact their shop profits! So, when the other haul from the outlet arrived, I didn't even examine them, I decided to eat the postage and return it all.

After that I wish I could say I didn't shop with them but I still got suckered in and bought more items but I started to scrutinise the company, it's ethics, wild claims etc. I read other customer reviews on feefo and trustpilot and decided to no longer patronise them. My last purchase was 31st May last year and it was also a return due to the poor quality. I have saved a lot of money but have wasted a heck of a lot over the years, I have still got far too much jewellery and need to have a sort out of all those impulse buys that I have never worn. I have some great pieces bought from Gems, I love them and I wear them a lot, so not all bad news for sure

Were the brownies expensive? My daughter Tammy likes those Gower Cottage ones. They are a ridiculous price but I buy a box whenever I am going away, we are away now. She comes and stays at our place and looks after the geese, chickens, tortoise, fish...we couldn't go away if she didn't help us out. So, a treat for her to enjoy while she is staying over. Personally, I like the Morrison's brownies but you have to eat them quickly before they go dry, well that's my excuse lol!

 

[Brighthunter]

Brownies are so easy to make, you really can't go wrong - halve the recipe for the Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownies (the whole recipe makes enough for an army)

Still waiting for my refund. I'm going to have to chase them, its been 12 working days since they had the first item back.

 

[Kit10]

Ah, thanks Kit!

I was taken aback with the response and stood firm, almost caved in to begin with.. If this was their top of the shop range, it was a red flag. This all happened in the January sale of 2019. I was up in Yorkshire and the telly in the Holiday Inn is really boring, so I was watching Gemporia every evening on the laptop. I spent a whole lot of cash, I had the money to spend, my debts were paid off and had been saving for a good gult free spree. The earrings were on split pay but I paid in full up front, lessons learned. These earrings I got from the main channel. Steph was the presenter as it was over the holiday season and I remember I fell in love with them. I bought a lot of smaller items but they came to over £400, I was hooked on the outlet (RIP). It ws a such a disappointment to open the lovely Lorique box. For starters, the plastic bag crammed inside ruins the aesthetic and then to see the loose stone, my heart sank. I so wanted to keep them and get a good jeweller to repair them but Paul said if they send the best out like that he wouldn't trust them as far as he could throw them! I knew he was right but they were such pretty earrings, it's easy to become distracted and not think logically. Gemporia did make me feel guilty at first and then after 4 calls, I was just pi$$sed off with them. A high street jeweller wouldn't try to make you keep a piece because you feel guilty that it would impact their shop profits! So, when the other haul from the outlet arrived, I didn't even examine them, I decided to eat the postage and return it all.

After that I wish I could say I didn't shop with them but I still got suckered in and bought more items but I started to scrutinise the company, it's ethics, wild claims etc. I read other customer reviews on feefo and trustpilot and decided to no longer patronise them. My last purchase was 31st May last year and it was also a return due to the poor quality. I have saved a lot of money but have wasted a heck of a lot over the years, I have still got far too much jewellery and need to have a sort out of all those impulse buys that I have never worn. I have some great pieces bought from Gems, I love them and I wear them a lot, so not all bad news for sure

Were the brownies expensive? My daughter Tammy likes those Gower Cottage ones. They are a ridiculous price but I buy a box whenever I am going away, we are away now. She comes and stays at our place and looks after the geese, chickens, tortoise, fish...we couldn't go away if she didn't help us out. So, a treat for her to enjoy while she is staying over. Personally, I like the Morrison's brownies but you have to eat them quickly before they go dry, well that's my excuse lol!

A bit cheaper than the Gower Cottage ones which are much superior! I ordered them as gifts to take to friends at Xmas, but with one thing and another I ended up opening one box and freezing the other. I wasn’t really impressed, so was glad I didn’t give them as I’d intended. And your home sounds like a real sanctuary

 

[Deasmum]

I love brownies, but I agree they are slightly off brand for them, given the whole fitness ethos that permeates Primal Living. Yesterday they were selling these sad looking faux succulent plants. I love looking at sparkly stones, particularly when I am feeling more fatigued and in pain but lately I think Gemporia is very low on gemstones. Every time I tune in it's chains,czarite, tanzanite, diamonds, aquaphrase, pearls and in-between whatever is left of last year's stock. As such I am watching less and less.
Oh, Ballerina you asked what the brown stone was meant to be. My mother told me it was a zircon. Like Brighthunter, we are now waiting for the refund.... 15 working days, the email said!