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Gem Shopping Network is new to our cable market that being said, let me add this; I have been designing jewelry, collecting gems for over 25 years.As well as being a GIA graduate, I know misinformation when I hear it. These are the experiences I have had in just their first two months here.
I purchased a pair of natural yellow diamond stud earrings. Three days later, what was left of those same earrings were being shown again for $400. Less! Thank God I had not removed the tags.
Another pair of yellow diamond earrings I purchased were not yellow, but under GIA standards were orange. There is a fine line in their grading but they, GSN, boast about GIA certifications but neither show nor mail them. I double checked with my own texts, and some stones were yellow but the bulk orange. What was really disgusting was that when I looked through the loupe someone's hair was stuck and ripped under a prong. Further there was some kind of white greasy cream under the same prong. I had not tried them on so obviously they had been returned, once.
They have been making a lot of comments about the closing of a yellow diamond mine recently therefore implying prices would go up soon. That mine; the Ellendale closed
Due to inability to meet all its bills not due to a lack of diamonds. It is sleazy to represent things that way.
Lastly, and this has happened to me twice. An item may go up for auction, as it starts I am told I am the only one interested. Suddenly I see the bidding going up by more than one bid at a time. I.e. The minimum bid may be $500 and suddenly we have gone up a thousand in a second. Luckily both times, I got out before being pushed to a level I did not want to spend. And how do we as viewers know there is another bidder? We don't hear or see them; I mean that is a great way to jack up the price.
In closing one woman complained about returns, she is right. They have this policy that you have to get a special return code within seven days or you can't return it. NO ONE EVER ANSWERS THAT PHONE NUMBER ON YOUR RECEIPT! No one calls you back, the only way to get the code is by calling the on air number.That is not a no hassle, no question return policy!
Oh, I mentioned the yellow diamond earrings I bought that went up. I did get lucky; one night I bought a one carat natural yellow diamond solitaire. Two nights later my ring which was supposed to be one of a kind, was back up for sale. Three of them. Guess I was lucky the night I bought mine because the exact ring had suddenly gone up by $500. more. Honestly, I think the colored diamond prices are fairer at Langerman's Diamonds.com. After all if they are good enough for Cartier and Tiffany; they are good enough for me. And the owner actually answers your question herself!
Overall, I am not impressed with GSN, I think there is a lot of misinformation, pressure and now after what I have read I hope I don't have to wait forever for my refund..
To that man named John the Jeweler asking why you had so many returns; maybe you did not want to pay more just because it was a different night or you preferred your earrings without someone else's hair; I do! Ugh
You get what you pay for...the higher priced items are truly nice, but in my opinion the items less than 2.5k are just not worth your money or time. Regarding 3/4s of the hosts...they should go back to selling used cars. Their info is less than accurate and apparently they are only there to pump and dump items. Too bad, the show could be worth watching and buying products if some truthfulness and accuracy was injected as a new standard. Unfortunately, this will not ever happen. Sad...
I purchased a necklace that was marked 20 inches long. When it got to my home and I tried it on I could not get it to close around my neck. There was about a 1 1/2" space between the clasp and the loop. I measured it myself and it was 15 inches long from class to loop. When I tried to return it they told me that I did not know how to measure a necklace. They also told me that because this was my 4th return of a purchase, my account was being closed because I returned too many things. I told them fine, close my account!
I have also had the same experience with requesting to see an item. The sales reps are rude and impatient. They also over charge for shipping. I call this revenue enhancement. At times I feel like I am at a carnival, circus, or a zoo with all the screaming, grunting, and snorting that occurs!
Their auctions are completely unfair Mike is the only host that does it correctly Marvin & Kurt are especially sleaze ball If they don't like how an auction is going they say things like that will be there for awhile or the infamous clock where right at the last second there is a miraculous bidding war even more miraculous several shows later the same piece is up for sale yet again,
The sales rep won't show things if you say you want to see them They say okay and hangup Sound familiar Pearl. I was going to buy a Cathy ring and asked to see it Pearl said oh you want to see it. I said yes and was hung up on I watched for an hour and a half longer The ring was not shown Pearl lost her commission and I learned that the gem shopping network is full of it
I like Hunter and Mike and Ben Another man that's called the gentleman also Marvin is a sleaze I watched in the middle of the night once as he used disgusting euphemisms to describe oral sex on a woman. He is completely disrespectful and anytime I see him or hear his obnoxious voice I immediately change the channel You should too.
The Ellendale mine did not close because there where no more yellow diamonds. If you investigate the cause for the closure you will find out that the mine owners could not sell what they were producing and make a profit that would sustain the operation. In my opinion GSN used the closure to imply that it would result in a scarcity of yellow diamonds and prices would double. From what I can determine by researching the yellow diamond retail market such increases have not occurred and if anything the market for color diamonds with the exception of pink is stable with relatively minute increases. My suggestion to those who buy from GSN is to do your own homework and not to trust the gem informaton being provided by the hosts. Another observation regarding some of the show hosts, they are not totally honest about the rarity of many of the gemstones they sell. I have been collecting gemstones for close to 20 years and I am knowledgeable on the scarcity of colored gemstones and as such can honestly assure you that gemstones are always available as long as you are willing to pay the market price.