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Won't they say, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.... or something like that?

The price should reflect how many eyes are likely to see that beauty. If it is one in a million - maybe they should throw the bead away. If it is one in 1,000 perhaps it should be very low cost.

Great idea

But isn´t that the main reason for sets ? To get rid of all the ugly ones by combining them with very few beauties ?

It makes me think from reading this they were experimenting with a variety of gems and then put them together into limited sets. That would account for the variety of different stones in the set. I can see the practical reason for doing the LE sets as a way to unload the experimental products. But boy, did it create a fuss! Maybe we should take a poll of which ones should go into regular production, if we can figure out what most of the stones are!

Turquoise, lava stone, gold stone, dalmation jasper

Well beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. I've managed to get a lot beads from the LE Gemstone release with the help of wonderful Trollfairies. I was most impressed with the African Bloodstone...I found it very handsome. Sooo handsome I have got three and would like a couple more...

You can find a picture of the African Bloodstone here:
http://www.tpbweb.com/images/catalog/143362.jpg

I agree Colin.... your LE gemstones rock!!

Brightonbelle wrote:Dear Trollbeads - If you create something truly dull or utterly vile by mistake - please throw it away or put a very low price on it and offer it up as a bargain basement deal in case somebody can use it.

This gave me my morning laugh! I agree there are some vile beads from time to time. It's a mystery how some are so stunning and others... well dogpoo-ish.

I saw that wheel shaped green-yellow with black spots monstrosity IRL and couldn't believe that they would waste the time producing this stone in the first place. All of the others I saw had great personality, albiet a little odd in coloring.

Quite frankly I thought the LE Gemstones were another disaster rip off and a gemstone is a gemstone, if I want a rock or a pebble drilled with a hole and lined with silver I can do it myself.. doh.....

Well, I love the LE semi-precious gemstones. Even the pebble looking ones that others seem to find nasty.

I have been a gemstone enthusiast for years and have all the sparkle I need in other items of jewellery so I found these a nice way to add an earthy natural feel to my designs. I'm not into TB for the sparkle, I like the raw, tarnished look and I feel that these gemstones give me that.

The only complaint I would have is that some of the kits included jaspers identical to ones previously released, and even Picasso Jaspers. I don't think that was entirely fair as I think they should have been all new types of jasper or other stones. I also think that all countries should have gotten some, although as people seem not to appreciate all of the stones and some are still unsold then perhaps Trollbeads have been very wise by limiting them... I mean, TB weren't to know that people would go mad for the glass goldstone as opposed to real turquoise or jade, were they... so I wonder how many unsold beads would be left if they were more widely available... It still isn't fair though.

And yes, they are expensive for what they are, but so are ALL Trollbeads.

I've thought about this a lot, and I think the best solution all round would be for TB to use it as a market research opportunity to see what was popular and release a permanent set of 6 of the most popular beads.

My vote would be for:
- lavastone
- aqua terra jasper
- dalmation jasper
- russian feldspar
- blue turquoise
- green turquoise
I think that would make a very pretty kit (all smooth beads as I prefer my facetted beads quite good quality )

And then they could release the blue goldstone as a seperate bead. They could release a smooth one if they don't want to annoy the people who have paid hundreds on ebay...

I love that word....dogpoo-ish!! Made my day!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the same with the ooaks, the uglies/ poor quality don't sell .

I really think they should have "bargain basement" beads. That way, someone who loved them would get a good deal, and they could continue to make beads that others find more beautiful. Some of my dealers won't order new OOAKs unless older ones sell. Chances are, if it has been sitting around for 3-4 years, and they keep marking it up with all the price increases, I'm out of luck!

Maybe on the OOAKs they could have a graduated price decrease. If it doesn't sell after 6 months, mark it down. If it doesn't sell after a year, mark it down more and so on...

Chewbacca wrote:I really think they should have "bargain basement" beads. That way, someone who loved them would get a good deal, and they could continue to make beads that others find more beautiful. Some of my dealers won't order new OOAKs unless older ones sell. Chances are, if it has been sitting around for 3-4 years, and they keep marking it up with all the price increases, I'm out of luck!

Maybe on the OOAKs they could have a graduated price decrease. If it doesn't sell after 6 months, mark it down. If it doesn't sell after a year, mark it down more and so on...

Definatley agree!!

Lotties collection consists mainly of the ooaks that were cut in price here in the UK, as if she lost/broke one, it wasn't so tough to take.

Great idea having a graduated price decrease for unwanted beads someone would love them and it would open up space for dealers to get new beads.

Decreasing price would also encourage new collectors, as although I love wearing mini-bracelets now, when I first started my first bracelet, a full bracelet seemed so far away, and so many paydays away!

GRUMPY wrote:Quite frankly I thought the LE Gemstones were another disaster rip off and a gemstone is a gemstone, if I want a rock or a pebble drilled with a hole and lined with silver I can do it myself.. doh.....

Well Said & You Crack Me Up
Rainy Day Cracked Me Up With Dog Poopish Too!
Did any of you know that African Turquoise is not Real Turquoise, it's a form of JASPER?

Chewbacca wrote:I really think they should have "bargain basement" beads. That way, someone who loved them would get a good deal, and they could continue to make beads that others find more beautiful. Some of my dealers won't order new OOAKs unless older ones sell. Chances are, if it has been sitting around for 3-4 years, and they keep marking it up with all the price increases, I'm out of luck!

Maybe on the OOAKs they could have a graduated price decrease. If it doesn't sell after 6 months, mark it down. If it doesn't sell after a year, mark it down more and so on...

This is what most businesses do if a product isn't shifting.

From a marketing point of view I think it looks really bad for Trollbeads as when you do a search and see loads of horrid /poorly made ooaks at ridiculous prices you may think that's what all their beads are like. UK jewelers have web pages full of unattractive beads that haven't sold in years ! many aren't even seconds in quality and should have been crushed as soon as they were made.

I guess one of the reasons I never got into OOAKS is because the ones I saw were pretty funky. It was so confusing too; maybe if I had a LD to visit, it would have been different.

I think many of the Universal Uniques coming out now are quite beautiful though!