JTV tips

[jewelfreak]

Here are some things I've learned over the past few frustrating return pahases I've gone through over the past few months, along with some other stuff that may be of interest to you guys. Hope they help.

1. Unless you order an item that is less than 9.99, shipping is ALWAYS cheaper if you order off the web site than over the phone. If you make a phone order, items 9.99 and less are 4.50 to ship, and go up as high as 18.28 depending on the price of the item. If you order online, it is only 4.99 for standard shipping on ANY item, and only 2.99 for each item after that. As far as I know, and I could be wrong, they no longer offer discounted shipping on every item after the first like they once did, unless it is the same SKU number. If they still do, it is not listed on the web site FAQ. If this sounds confusing, go on to the web site under learning library and then to FAQ.

2. If you have to exchange or return an item, save your reciepts from the post office! If you mail them in seperately (not with your return) to a specific address, they WILL reimburse you for that shipping. Ask a customer service rep for the address. I have it somewhere, but I have to find it. I will post it when I do. (Note: They will only reimburse your shipping on a return if it is their fault - i.e. damaged, included, wrong item, etc. - not just because you didn't like it.

3. If you have a problem with a low dollar amount item, call customer service BEFORE you send it back. If it is under $50 (don't quote me on this exact amount, this is the best I can figure out based on my and other people's experiences) they will most likely just ship you out another, and you will not have to go through the BS of shipping it back, plus, if the original item is only slightly damaged or it can be repaired cheaply, you have a bonus item to give as a gift. Also, let the customer service rep know that you are in a hurry, that you don't have time to wait for the item(maybe a birthaday gift or Mommy's Day gift) - they will likely ship the replacement overnight for no
extra charge.

4. If you had an item sent overnight or expedited shipping and you have to have a replacement sent, let the customer service rep know, so they will send you the replacement item via the same shipping method. If you paid the extra bucks, put it to work for you!!!

5. Sometimes the customer service rep will let you reorder the item you need replaced at a twenty percent discount and less the cost of the original shipping, and will have you just return the original item instead. This will get you a deal as well as get your replacement item to you much faster. An exchange may take you as long as three weeks. I did this recently, and the original item cost me $165, but the replacement cost me only $120, and the original 165 was completely refunded to me.

If any of you know any other tips, pass them on! Hope these help some of you!

[francesca]

Thanks jewel! Great pointers. All I can add would be re:

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As far as I know, and I could be wrong, they no longer offer discounted shipping on every item after the first like they once did.
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I'm quite sure the hosts still promote the discount on additional purchases made the same day. I hope I'm not mistaken.

[francesca]

When you're deciding to purchase/pass on an item shop with your eyes ONLY. Don't be swayed by the "enthusiastic" descriptions and "retail compare" of the hosts.

Wendy is forever declaring that every $89 diamond in the building is "the cleanest, whitest, brightest!" Well, NO. It's not. It's an included, body color diamond that you're hoping is going to be a pretty nice one, not a waste of $89. She sold me on that on the platinum and diamond studs that they offer now and then. Half carat tw for $99. Holy crap! I RAN to the phone. Never looked at the screen, only went on her description, and ordered 2 pair. What I recieved was less attractive than grey, raw salt globs set in mountings of such thin plat wire you could have squished them flat in your fingers. Now I LOOK when deals like that come on and see it.

The 1 carat bracelets @ $79 . . . . don't even get me started!

Last night Misty was selling blue diamond stud earrings, and part of her pitch was "the clarity is amazing!" No. It wasn't. The diamonds were very visibly included. But they were sparkling quite nicely and, for the money, were a pretty cool look.

JTV is a total grame of roulette. I like to spin the wheel every now and then! :' ) If I ever did fall in love with a high$$$$ piece I would take it from the post office DIRECTLY to my hometown jeweler and make sure I had purchased what the description stated.


~*disclaimer* Names were used ONLY in relation to my examples.
I UNDERSTAND that the hosts are just doing their job!
I also understand that I have to be educated about what I'm purchasing.~

[jewelfreak]

My best friend has the blue diamond studs you mentioned, and while they are far from perfect, they are actually quite pretty on, exspecially for the money. Sorry about your studs, Franseca. While sometimes things at JTV are a genuine deal and you get a decent item for the money, quite often the deals that REALLY seem too good to be true ARE.
This is the way I usually figure out if it is a "believable" deal, meaning that the item could actual be nice at that price. Jewelry stores sell their merchandise at four times their purchase price, unless they are having a great sale. As far as I can figure, JTV sells their item at twice thier purchase price, meaning they make a 100% profit on their items whereas the jewelry stores make 200% - 300% profit. So what I do is take the JTV price and cut it in half. If you think the number is a believable price of what they paid, you are likely getting a decent item. If you think the number is too low or too high, then you either are getting ripped off, or getting an amazing deal. I figured this out by comparing the exact same items I found in jewelry stores to JTV's prices. They do sell some of the same EXACT items.

[mystylady]

Jewelfreak:
3. If you have a problem with a low dollar amount item, call customer service BEFORE you send it back. If it is under $50 (don't quote me on this exact amount, this is the best I can figure out based on my and other people's experiences) they will most likely just ship you out another, and you will not have to go through the BS of shipping it back, plus, if the original item is only slightly damaged or it can be repaired cheaply, you have a bonus item to give as a gift. Also, let the customer service rep know that you are in a hurry, that you don't have time to wait for the item(maybe a birthaday gift or Mommy's Day gift) - they will likely ship the replacement overnight for no
extra charge
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They have to get the item back before they can ship out a replacement... my experience X10!
You must have gotten lucky with your "Rep" or something!
The exception, not the rule.
It makes sense for JTV to not just Re-Ship without asking for the inferior item purchased back first... or anyone could wind up with two of what they originally bought... at their expense. What would stop someone from calling and saying that they weren't satisfied when they were just trying to get another of the same item for free? Outside of the obvious?

[jewelfreak]

Yes, you are right about people possibly abusing the system, but I know someone else who had a low priced item reshipped without having to send the original back, and then it happened to me last week. So like I said, it has to do with items under a certain dollar amount, not just anything, and I'm sure they look at your customer return record before letting you do that. You have to remember, that if you bought an item for say, 30 bones, they are only making 15 anyway. So by the time they refund you the money for the shipping you paid for to send it back, now they are down to 10 bucks. Then they have to repair the item to make it be able to be sold again, so there goes the ten bucks, which they are not going to bother with, they are just going to throw it away, so they might as well let you keep it, instead of losing another five bucks by having to refund you the money you spent to ship it back. Its not worth it to them to have you send back a damaged item they can't do anything with and then possibly piss you off even more by having you go through the BS of sending it back and then getting your shipping money back. So they take a few dollar loss, but in the end, the customer is happy because they didn't have to deal with it. So I assure you, IT IS TRUE, but that doesn't mean I am saying to call and complain about every item you get under 50 dollars just so you can get a free replacement. And while I'm sure every rep is allowed to do that, I'm sure they use descretion with that option. Besides, you have nothing to lose by trying, even if that is not the option they end up offering you, you lost nothing more than a few minutes for a phone call. And I know from experience, if you call about a return first, you will always get a better deal, whether it be a discount on your next purchase, a discount on your replacement, or expedited shipping. JTV always attempts to do the right thing, even if it doesn't always work out.

[mystylady]

I agree. Jewelry Television is Hands Down the best in customer service.
Every time I've had to return or exchange an item I was always impressed by the professional way that things were handled. Fortunatly that hasn't been very often, considering how much I've ordered from them!