Trollbeads releases two 'ring and bead' sets

From JCK online:
"Beginning Oct. 1—at the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month—Trollbeads will release two silver Strength, Courage, and Wisdom ring sets packaged with either a Pink Prism Bead or a Rose Ribbon as way of honoring the struggle of breast cancer patients, activists, and survivors, and to raise money for research."

Read the full article on JCK online

Source JCK online

I know this is a worthy cause but I don't think my pocket can afford it . I guess I can forget about getting a pink prisim then.

I'm getting very frustrated with Trollbeads HQ now. I don't understand how they sell a bead in one place (Australia) for "regular" price, and then mark it up 500% for sale somewhere else (USA). I don't mind buying a bead for charity at a slightly higher price, but it just seems like they are trying to see how much money they can get out of US buyers. Doesn't look like I'll be getting one of the new retired pink prisms either.

Guinivere wrote:I'm getting very frustrated with Trollbeads HQ now. I don't understand how they sell a bead in one place (Australia) for "regular" price, and then mark it up 500% for sale somewhere else (USA). I don't mind buying a bead for charity at a slightly higher price, but it just seems like they are trying to see how much money they can get out of US buyers. Doesn't look like I'll be getting one of the new retired pink prisms either.

I just don't get it and it is frustrating me as well. I feel like we are being strong armed into purchasing the ring (rather than allowing us to purchase beads of our choice) and then they are marking up the price of the prism and only donating $22 of that mark up to the charity. I would much rather make my own tax deductible charitable donation!

I agree!! What a bizarre idea! They'd get a lot more sales by selling the new/old pink prisms for $50-$80 and giving a percentage of that money to breast cancer charity! Do they not have enough of the remade prisms to go around and so they're using this combo to automatically limit how many people will buy them? And why are they giving such a measly portion to breast cancer research?? Didn't they give almost 50% to charity for the Haiti beads?

I am totally frustrated! Forget the ring, just mark up the prism if they feel they have to, give more money to the charity and give me the option to just buy something I want. I don't tend to wear rings that much and I REALLY want that bead. I wonder if any stores will be willing to help us out and sell them individually? Guess that will depend on how much they have to pay for them in the first place!

I was at my LD yesterday, she still has 5 pink prisms left. They are $39 each BUT it is necessary to purchase $100 worth of Trollbeads to be allowed to purchase a prism. I have already purchased 5 this way, which I have passed on, and I'm afraid that is my personal spending limit for now! If anyone would like to buy $100 worth of beads (at least it would be your selection) plus a prism, I can help a limited number of people as a Trollferry. PM please.

If anyone is wondering, silver prices in Australia are as follows:
Group 1: $37
Group 2: $53
Group 3: $62
Group 4: $69
Group 5: $78

Well, allow me to be the curmudgeon about the whole breast cancer thing.

It makes me mad that manufacturers from Campbell's soup to TB (at least in the US) put a pink something together and think they can get women to buy overpriced things for which the manufacturers make some nominal donation and then get a tax break and PR add to a boost in sales. IF they cared about breast cancer research they could make a major donation and announce that they had done it on their own initiative without obligating consumers. And if women or consumers want money to go into breast cancer research, they could donate what they pay for pink kitchen spatulas or tennis shoes and take the tax break themselves.

Funneling money through retailers and manufacturers only makes people feel virtuous about all their pink garbage while comparatively little actually gets to the researchers who could make a difference.

I don't like the ring AT ALL. I'd buy several pink prisms at a reasonable price a bit higher for the charity donation, but doubt I can justify a single one if I have to buy a ring I don't want. What an odd marketing idea!

hayseed wrote:I don't like the ring AT ALL. I'd buy several pink prisms at a reasonable price a bit higher for the charity donation, but doubt I can justify a single one if I have to buy a ring I don't want. What an odd marketing idea!

I agree. I don't want it at all.

I couldn't agree more with Beadiack when she says:

IF they cared about breast cancer research they could make a major donation and announce that they had done it on their own initiative without obligating consumers.

Breastcancer is not a disease that should be commercialized.
People are very well capable of making their own donations. I don't want TB making choices for me. And I want to be able to wear pink without thinking of this horrible disease all the time. I've had my share of that, and so have many others.

So the ring with the Rose Ribbon Bead is $99. And the same ring with the pink prism is $225. Just how much do they think that the pink prism is worth in the US???? Am I reading that correctly?

I completely agree that Breast Cancer is a horrible disease and a cause worth supporting, but so are any other diseases, causes etc. To have to buy an item that I don't want, and grossly overpay for the item that I would like, and make a contribution to a charity where I have no control over exactly where it goes and no tax receipt--I say no thank you.

I agree, I would love to have free access to the pink prism but I definitely would not buy a ring that I would not wear

No more PMs please about the small number of remaining pink prisms at my LD, I will respond to the ones I have.

I love the Strength, Courage and Wisdom ring, it's on my finger as I type and is one of the comfiest, coolest rings I own.

However having one, I don't want another and the hike on the prism is ludicous when some have been sold for glass I.

Such a shame they can't be fair and offer the same thing for every country...perhaps they have an over abundance of these rings that they need to get rid of...so they use one of the most highly publicized charities in the US to piggyback off of, and get the tax breaks, etc. This is not a really generous offer from TBs in my opinion. I'll donate my own way.

This just makes me sad. And a little angry. I actually thought better of TB than this I wonder if this genius idea comes from the new US 'boss'... it seems unlike anything TB have done before, very greedy.

Adding $126 onto the basic group price of the prism, and then giving $22 to charity is a wasted gesture in my eyes. Perhaps it is to make people feel like they are doing a good thing by buying it?

Trollbeads are already making a huge profit on the cost of producing the prism anyway, even if they sold it for glass 1. But now they are making an additional $100+ profit on it also. With that mark-up they could at least have given 50% of that to charity. At least.

I think very few 'regular' folk (ie not mad-bead-people) will pay that much money for a glass bead (unless they are fooled into thinking all the extra money goes to charity of course - I bet TB don't publicise their poor donation), and the mad-bead-people (that would be us ) will resent having to pay more than price 1 which it was recently sold for in other countries, so many of us will not buy it because we don't like being treated like mugs And people who might have bought it because of the charity aspect won't because the actual donation is measly. So who does that leave to buy it?

This stinks TB US!!

Yesterday, I posted that I would probably get it if I could swing it, but thinking about it, I will probably pass. I would really like the pink prism, but I would not ever wear the ring. I already have a Cartier rolling ring that is too similar and I wear it every day.

I'm disappointed in the dollar amount being donated. If there were a huge abundance of these, like the Yoplait yogurt caps, then the small amount would definitely add up. But there is supposed to be a finite number of the pink prisms, so the final donated amount seems embarrassing.

I did read that someone else thought the price quoted was incorrect and should be significantly less, so there might still be hope. If it is a more reasonable price, I'd try to get one and swap/ebay the ring.

Seriously pissed off with this !

Will any one write to Trollbeads to tell them that they will not buy the ring set as they do not like to be ripped-off and that any donation they make to breast cancer will be personal and tax deductible?

Love the ring and the pink prism but the price...

wonder what will happen when this back fires and no one buys the prism/ring combo

I'm sorry to hear about this two "ring and bead" sets....
If the quoted price is right I think it's totally ridicules, but maybe wait and see until we have proper confirmation..

It must be that the rings are not selling well and they are piggy backing on the popularity of the prisms. Even the smallest is too large for me. I think it is a cool ring but the deal is not such a great one and the charitable aspect minimal. Give directly to the charity of your choice and take the tax deduction yourself.

Fuzzyfeet wrote:Seriously pissed off with this !

Could not have said it better myself.