What amazes me

[Emerald]

is that people will happily buy Links of London or Pandora etc but they wont buy an individullay hand crafted piece that no one else is wearing and that is probably cheaper than there mass produced designer item :(|

[bustagasket]

its all to do with that bloody "name" again i guess isnt it? for be able to say "oh its a Pandora" instead of "oh i found this great little designer, its a one-off you know" which to me sounds far better!

[caroleallen]

That annoys me too.

[Emerald]

Got very fed up with people raisng there eyes to heaven when i told them the prices of the STERLING SILVER Jewellery while there all sat there wearing the exact same thing duh

[MuranoSilver]

I'd ignore the "Ooh that's a lot of money" statements. I got that with a sterling silver European 4in1 once
(chainmaille weave bracelet). The lady in question was wearing a Tiffany bracelet....I said....

"Yes I agree it IS more than a "high street" bracelet, but I see you're wearing a Tiffany bracelet
so I'm sure you understand that good quality is worth paying for"
(She mentioned that her husband bought it for her as a present). I continued
"Here hold this bracelet and compare it to your Tiffany one."
(She did and exclaimed how heavy mine was in comparison)

"Yes" I said,
"This bracelet has hundreds of handmade and handwoven links and I know how much more work it is
because I wove it. How does it feel on?" I slipped it on her wrist.....

By the end of the conversation she thought our bracelet was better value than the Tiffany one and
(although she didn't buy that day) she became a regular customer of my handmade pieces. Goes to show you never can tell,
sometimes it's just some education as to the difference between "Art Jewellery" and mass produced jewellery....

Nic x

[agent_44]

Nice work Nic :)

It's amazing how people will part with plenty of £££ for the name though and see something obviously worth more as overpiced!

[bustagasket]

Nicely done nic!!! some very neat salesmanship there!

[Lisa Quinn]

Please, please ,please, please don't talk to me about bloody Pandora , at a jewellery fair I went to, the stand next to me was bloody Pandora bracelets, a couple of blokes had been on a franchising course earlier this year and now do handcrafted fairs !!!! Women were buying them as presents for themselves and for their daughters, bridesmaid gifts, birthday gifts, christmas gifts, first flippin' period gifts, and although it was very flattering when the more discerning customers who were buying from me ( !!!) made disparaging comments about the commercial crud inches away from me and it appeared to make them all the more pleased with their unique handcrafted purchase from me ( at about the same price :confused:) I would rather have increased my sales and for the "P" stuff to be where it belongs ( and I leave that for you to decide !) :(|

Rant over.............. well nearly.............. went to see my sister in Warwick today and what was she wearing ? !!??:-O

[Emerald]

Please, please ,please, please don't talk to me about bloody Pandora , at a jewellery fair I went to, the stand next to me was bloody Pandora bracelets, a couple of blokes had been on a franchising course earlier this year and now do handcrafted fairs !!!! Women were buying them as presents for themselves and for their daughters, bridesmaid gifts, birthday gifts, christmas gifts, first flippin' period gifts, and although it was very flattering when the more discerning customers who were buying from me ( !!!) made disparaging comments about the commercial crud inches away from me and it appeared to make them all the more pleased with their unique handcrafted purchase from me ( at about the same price :confused:) I would rather have increased my sales and for the "P" stuff to be where it belongs ( and I leave that for you to decide !) :(|

Rant over.............. well nearly.............. went to see my sister in Warwick today and what was she wearing ? !!??:-O

Lol Lisa i too have a P bracelet but it was bought for me by some very dear friends who had no idea i made the type of jewellery that i do as i have only just restarted after bringing up the kids and i do love it but wear it rarely know but i have just made a Jen Pind Bracelet and i am filling it up with UK Lampwork and hopefully some of my own silver beads as i love the concept this one being the first x

[Lisa Quinn]

Hey, now I know what to get my sister for christmas to lure away from the dark side ( I don't mind charm bracelets, and the idea of having a specially commissioned bead/charm for her bracelet would be a lovely personal gift ( hint, hint, ), it was really the chaps parading as handcrafted that "did my head in " , doing the same jewellery fair in a fortnight, hopefully they will not be there).

xxx

[Emerald]

Hey, now I know what to get my sister for christmas to lure away from the dark side ( I don't mind charm bracelets, and the idea of having a specially commissioned bead/charm for her bracelet would be a lovely personal gift ( hint, hint, ), it was really the chaps parading as handcrafted that "did my head in " , doing the same jewellery fair in a fortnight, hopefully they will not be there).

xxx

well this one is from Becky Fairclough Welcome to Chameleon Designs (http://www.chameleondesigns.co.uk) but lots of the Lampworkers make them just check they fit Pandora

[Coco]

We've got a new Links branch in Kingston. I walked past its window and was distinctly unimpressed, it's like they're selling the jewellery form of beige :N:

[mizgeorge]

I make a lot of bracelets for silver core beads. I think the thing that astonishes me most is that a 'real' pandora or troll bracelet will cost twice as much as one of mine, and people still don't get the difference.

PMSL at the idea of jewellery beige

[fi79]

it's like they're selling the jewellery form of beige :N:

I love that! Boycott the beige!!!

[caroleallen]

Blimey! I just had a quick look at the Links of London website. The first thing I saw was a "sweetie bracelet" in rolled gold reduced from £830 to £99. It appears to be one of those bracelets made from strung jump rings. Amazing!

[caroleallen]

And a necklace reduced from £990 to £99.

[MuranoSilver]

I just did a google search - I'm not convinced those sites ARE Links of London sites.....why would they devalue their brand like that?
Nic x

[geti-titanium]

I'm not convinced those sites ARE Links of London sites.....why would they devalue their brand like that?

I agree - check the contact details. If they don't show a 'bricks and mortar' postal address then they are more than likely dodgey. That also goes for any website not displaying a postal address. Not all of them are obviously, but the postal address is one of the main reinforcers of confidence that persuades somebody to buy from a site.

Ask yourself if you would risk buying from somebody that you don't know and can't get hold of if it goes wrong. (On or offline)

[caroleallen]

OMG you're right. How can people get away with such brazen scams like that.

[MuranoSilver]

Could be worse - I've had a few people come into the shop with things that needed altering, they were "Links" branded but certainly not up to quality.

The customers comments that they were genuine but they were on "Sale" certainly make sense now! Looks like they were ripped off :(
I hate fraudsters!
Nicx

[EmmaRose]

Sounds like a bad fair if the organisers let people like that in...surely a craft fair must have CRAFT in it...mass produced is NOT craft...ggrrrr. If they are there, shoot them!!!! for us!!!!!
Em

[amazingbabe]

My sentiments exactly Lisa, i detest pandora bracelets (mass produced rubbish)... To make it worse those 2 guys probable bought a job lot off of FAKEBAY,, Phew :-()