ShopNBC

Full review
ShopNBC is my best source for upscale jewelry at reasonable prices. I have been a ShopNBC customer since 2001, back when they were ValueVision and were purchased by NBC. To date, I have ordered about 30 jewelry items from them. Since my cable system no longer offers the ShopNBC TV programming, I now order from the online store, ShopNBC.com.

I am a comparison shopper, and when I am looking for jewelry I visit local stores, check the inventory on the web sites of retailers such as Home Shopping Network and QVC, and check eBay and other Internet sources. According to my research, ShopNBC consistently has the best prices on high quality gemstone jewelry, the kind with top gem quality stones and heavy gold settings. Whenever I can afford this kind of jewelry, Shop NBC is my first choice.

ShopNBC's prices on plain gold items in 14K and 18K can't be beat. They carry a good selection of 21K and 24K gold, very hard to find from other sources, and the prices on these items are great. They are oriented more toward pricing gold by the gram weight than by the designer name, a refreshing change from jewelry stores who think they are entitled to charge a 500%-plus markup just on the strength of the brand name.

One price comparison example: in August 2004 I purchased a 14K gold electroform heart pendant from ShopNBC for $59.99 that was offered at the same time on Home Shopping Network for $89.99.

My favorite designer collections on ShopNBC are Gems en Vogue, Carlo Viani and Ancient Inspirations. You can click "Special Collections" in the jewelry section of the ShopNBC web site and view the items in each designer's collection. This will save you time when you shop, since you can go straight to your favorite collection next time you visit the site instead of scrolling through a long list of items.

The web site is well organized. You can review the the items presented in each show from the past week- click on "Week in Review" - and for some prime time shows you can watch a recorded video too. (You can watch live shows on the web site any time.) When items are in low quantity, the site includes a line saying how many are left. One tip: if the item you want is sold out, check back a few weeks later and it might be available again due to returns. Once I found a ring in my size at the end-of-year clearance sale that had been listed as "sold out" several months earlier. That turned out to be a good deal because in the meantime they had marked it down by $100.

Ordering is easy. I have used their "Value Pay" extended payment program on some purchases and have had no problems with the credit card billing. I have had no delivery problems. I usually upgrade my shipping to express, and FedEx brings it to my door with signature required. This makes me feel more secure about the shipment, since I don't want packages of jewelry sitting in my mailbox. The "signature required" shipment is a good option if you know you can be at home on the shipment date. I have returned a couple of items, and the returns were processed promptly. For returns of items purchased on credit cards I usually got a credit on my next statement, and for items purchased by check I got the refund within 3 weeks.

The ShopNBC web site also has an auction section where you can bid on excess inventory items. I have not purchased anything from the auction section yet, but I've been browsing it and may bid on something in the future. You can click on "Auctions" to visit this section of the site.

I have had only two problems with ShopNBC. First, you have to sit on hold a long time if you need to call Customer Service. Sometimes, after 30 minutes or more on hold, I've just given up and tried to call another day.

Second, if you place an order by telephone and pay by "direct check," they tell you they will hold your check for 3 weeks before they will ship your order. However, I authorized them to debit my checking account, and the debits were always done within 72 hours. Therefore, I did not see the point of their sitting on the order for 3 weeks when they already had the money. This is in stark contrast to the policies of Home Shopping Network and QVC, who ship your order as soon as your check clears the bank. I wrote to ShopNBC and complained, but just received a form letter that did not address this specific issue. I don't know whether they have changed the 3-week hold policy, since I got so fed up by 2003 that I quit using direct check payments and restricted my orders to credit card payment. I would buy more from ShopNBC if they would change the 3-week check holding policy.