A Quick Post to Share Info About Some Nice People, Great Customer Service and Some Very Pretty Unique Beads!

After that little rant about the Trollbeads and Pandora situation, I want to share something nice about some very special people.

When we shop for Trollbeads, many of us purchase online; and I am sure we each have our own favorites. Personally, when I shop for Trollbeads, I always return to the same very few online retailers. You know who you are. But then again, you might not know this is me! What a dilemma!

Anyway, sometimes I don't even want to share the names or places because I'm, well, let's call it "link-hoarding!" And yes, I just made that up. I'm calling it "link-hoarding" because it means I'm afraid that if I share my sources with EVERYONE, it decreases my chances of getting those newly-posted special little lovelies! What if you get there first? ACK!

But, alas, there are some things in life that I just have to share. And this would be one. Since I have already shared one of my favorite retailers (TrollbeadsGallery.com), I guess the time has come to share another favorite.

The people at American Diamond Importers are very special. And, in my personal experience, I am happy to mention April by name. She is a true joy to work with and always has a warm thought and a kind word to share.

Not only has ADI always provided me with superior customer support, but their very joy in working with customers is always apparent. They treat me as if I am the only one, the only thing, the only project or task that they have on their agendas. They have always succeeded in making me feel so special, that I just can't keep on being quiet about them.

They are a true sparkling gem in a world of too-busy wanna-be's and I want to humbly offer my sincere thanks to them for being so joyfully cheerful and consistent with all of the warmth they've shared with me. Remember Trollies, it only takes a moment to say or do something nice.

Visit American Diamond Importers and (sigh) take a look-see at their Unique/OOAK selections! Maybe I will have left something behind and you can make a purchase!

Go on. Just tell them Trollhound sent you.

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Trollbeads vs. Pandora :: Can't We All Just Get Along?

What is UP with the talk I hear about Pandora's latest so-called business initiative? Are they really trying to force retailers who sell Pandora to drop Trollbeads?!

Okay, folks. I'm taking off the gloves for this one. It's hand-to-hand combat now, and I haven't yet shared this ... but the time has now come.

Time for some serious Trollhound from-the-gut honesty. (Remember - you'll always get honesty at Trollhound.) See, generally speaking, I believe that your average person who hasn't yet succumbed to the dreaded, life-altering Bead Collector Syndrome (which I will lovingly call "BCS"), well, these people might actually (gasp!) say, "Who cares? What's the difference? A bead is a bead is a bead is a bead!"

The horror! The pain! Agony!!!

Well, as you might have come to expect, I'm going to express an opinion. While that little ditty ("a bead is a bead") might play out as somewhat true ... it's not actually true. Especially if you are talking about Trollbeads and Pandora beads. Or Trollbeads versus Pandora beads (which is just plain ridiculous - that "versus" thing). And, if you are like me, you even have a pretty doggone strong personal preference about which of those two company's products occupy most of the available space in/on your chains (or are responsible for those gaping holes in your bank account!).

My simple - yet very solid - belief is that there isn't really grounds for much comparison between the two companies.

Especially when you note that the products that you actually are able to buy from each company differs in a very vast way.

First, let's talk about glass.

Trollbeads' glass and Pandora's glass beads. Pandora's glass beads are ... pretty ... pretty boring. And limiting. If I've counted right, Pandora has an offering of less than 50 standard glass beads. Trollbeads' standard glass beads number around 150 ... and then they even release for public consumption (or for Trollhound's singular consumption!) an uncountable number of "Unique/One-of-a-Kind" ('OOAK") glass beads. These Unique/OOAK glass beads are almost always the most highly sought-after glass beads there are. They are sooooo cool (and MINE, if I find them first!)!

So let me remind you: this is my own opinion. I truly do find many of Pandora's metal beads (silver, gold, mixed) to be fabulously awesome! And, in spite of the fact that the wearer might be led to believe that there would be an all-out dog-fight on the bracelet, my beads seem to happily and peacefully coexist quite well ... right next to each other! And - grand shocker here! - I think they might even have become friends!!!

So, basically, I personally think Trollbeads glass beads just plain ROCK way above Pandora's glass beads. The end. Contest closed. And in turn, I will cheerfully give a highly-deserved nod towards Pandora's metal beads. I think that the metal beads are Pandora's brightest star ... and that, as a business mission, they should focus clearly and closely on that effort.

So, now I'm going to get to the real point of this posting.

I've been hearing A LOT of very unpleasant talk about Pandora and how they are becoming quite the little ... um, hmm... how do I put this? I got it! Whether they know it or not, they are now being viewed as the TOWN BULLY. It seems that they have begun to believe that they really are "all that." Well, they ain't.

I'm becoming concerned that, if we, as collectors of both Trollbeads and Pandora (and other brands), do not speak up, we might just find ourselves suddenly backed into a corner with icky beads being force-fed down our throats, while our wallets are gleefully raided by Pandora's wicked upper elite (who refer to themselves as "executive management").

What I am hearing is that PANDORA is actually forcing their retailers to DROP Trollbeads from their sales inventory. Meaning, close the account. As in telling their retailers something like, ''If you want to sell Pandora, well, nanny-nanny boo-boo, then you can't sell Trollbeads. And if you defy us, we'll go out and find some other retailer local to you, and we'll set up an account with them just so that we can promote them over you and cause you to have wasted all that $20M that you invested in our beads when you decided to become a Pandora retailer." (Okay, so I'm exaggerating that $20M thing, but you get the point.)

Now that just doesn't sound very nice, does it? Sounds like a kindergarten slapping contest to me.

From what I've seen, it appears that Pandora's leadership has begun to indulge in too much of their own self-generated hype. And with that over-inflated, puffed-chest, huge-market share, ego-lead belief, they now seem to be pointing themselves down that seductive path that always has a pretty front picture and a horrendous outcome.

I sense a very painful lesson of "suffering the consequences of your own actions or misdeeds" approaching.

Yo! Pandora!! Yoooo hooo!!!? Are you listening??? This is important, and I truly wish that Pandora's leadership would pay attention to the shouts of customers: CAPITALIZING ON MARKET SHARE DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO ABOLISH, DESTROY or STOMP ALL OVER YOUR "COMPETITION."

That is disgusting and repulsive. If they subscribe to that as a base of their business practice, how could any upstanding person keep wanting to do business with them?

One of life's best lessons is that competition that makes you better. If competition is gone, where's the motivation to improve on your own product? If you believe you are perfect, where do you go from there? Nowhere. And then we, as the customer, would suffer from the lack of innovation that is often spurred by competition.

THIS is where I believe that Pandora now is. And I feel that, as a company, they are on the very edge of making a very fatal turn. As a customer, I can honestly say that, if they jump into that pit of self-serving notoriety, stepping all over companies like Trollbeads (and any other bead companies) in the process, well, I think that they will suddenly and painfully find themselves neck-deep in quicksand. If that happens, I, for one, will not be throwing a rope or shedding any tears.

If you have no enemies, then it can be said that you consider no one to be your friend; if you have no friends ... you have nothing. If you have no customers ... you have no business.

I ask all fans of Trollbeads, Pandora, Biagi, Chamilia (or whatever your "bead of choice" might be) to stand together and let Pandora know that this is unacceptable. We all want to make our own choices, make our own decisions, and buy whatever the heck we want!!

This is a mess, and I fear that it ultimately may prove to be a business plan that will cause pain, frustration and irritation to all bead collectors. As customers, do we really want to support a company that disregards the fact that we like having the freedom of choice?

I am capable of making my own choices - and flat-out possessive of my right to do so. I don't want ANY company dictating what style I buy, what retailer I buy from, or what brand I buy. If Pandora keeps playing childish kindergarten sandbox games, I will refuse to spend any more money on their products.

Integrity matters more to me than any product. Everyone wants a choice, and we have fought long and hard to be graced with the options of making choices.

If Pandora chooses to take away our right to choose, by essentially eliminating their perceived competition, aren't the customers the ones who will actually suffer? Do you want to support that?

I suggest that, if Pandora wants to win over more customers, they should follow a typical and respectable success-drive business plan: make a better, more appealing product.

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Why don't you go ahead and send an email to the "head-dude" at Pandora? Let them know how you feel about Pandora messing with your right to choose and trying to force Trollbeads out of business.

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Dollars and Sense - What’s With That Price, Anyway?!

Do you live in the United States? Do you feel like you are constantly researching to try to understand how the pricing structure works for Trollbeads? Do you sometimes feel that prices are out of whack – be it by retailer, country of sale, or eBay seller? Does it sometimes seem that prices are just unexplainable? Well, you can obviously feel perfectly free to continue doing all that research – or you could just stop, and read what I’m about to share. Because, trust me folks, I’ve done a ton of legwork. And maybe even two tons. And I am practically world-famous for ferreting out a deal, a bargain, a sale, a secret or a steal. (Not that I’ve actually participated in stealing! :-)

In writing this post, I was TRYING to find a nice balance between providing enough of an explanation to help address some questions or concerns … while also respecting that old adage of KISS (which is “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”)! But. I’m thinking that’s KISS thing hasn’t really been accomplished, because it got more complicated than I’d have thought.

I suggest you read on.

In this particular posting, let’s assume that, when I refer to “Trollbeads,” I am referring to “Authentic, Genuine, Original” – and neither “knock-offs” or “fakes.” If I address anything that is talking about “knock-offs” or “fakes,” I’ll state that. Directly.

If you’ve read any of my blog postings, you should already know that I am neither a Trollbead Retailer, nor an employee of Lund Trading. I’ve never talked to or met the folks over there. But, maybe they’ll hire me some day. :-) Anyway, like I said, I research a LOT. And I retain what I learn.

If you read nothing else in this post, read this: stop sitting around and moaning about prices and blaming the US Retailers for what you think are unfair prices.

Instead, I have two suggestions for you:

1. Read on and get an overview of basic sales policies and the costs of both production and distribution; and


2. Don’t forget to look at the current exchange rate between the US Dollar and … just about any other country in the world. In that comparison, the US loses in just about every head-to-head battle.

If they operate like most other well-run businesses, Lund Trading has a basic policy for “fair trade” among their authorized retailers. What that means is, in the interest of being fair to all US Retailers, the prices are already determined by a contract between Lund Trading and the US Retailers. No lows, no highs, no sales. The price just IS what it IS. Every US Retailer is treated as equal. And, neither these US Retailers, nor Lund Trading, are trying to “rip anyone off.” It’s a business, folks; not a charity.

I encourage you to please read this very very carefully – maybe twice – and to stop bad-mouthing US Retailers or Lund Trading. I’ve seen a number of unfortunate accusations flying around that are founded on nothing other than speculation and inaccurate and inconclusive logic. With a strong dose of uneducated self-righteousness thrown in a few screams of “I want mine cheap! You’re cheating me!” All this does is stir up the resentment in the world for the rest of us Trollbeads buyers.

Unfortunately, most such “assumptions and accusations” are truly ignorant; because people don’t really understand either the basic economics of supply and demand; and manufacturing, distribution costs and pricing policies. (BTW – just to be clear, “ignorant” does not mean “stupid.” Ignorance is the basic lack of knowledge, education or training about a particular subject. Stupid is a term used to imply that someone is foolish, dull or senseless.)

So, here we go. And I want to RESTATE that I am talking about Genuine, Authentic, Original, Legitimate, Real, Honest-to-Goodness Trollbeads.

Almost all of them are MADE IN CHINA, folks. Yes. China. Designed in Denmark, manufactured in China. That does NOT mean they are “fake or knock-offs.” “Made in China” IS a real and authentic Trollbead. Keep reading.

Glass I Trollbeads (and many of the Gold and Silver Trollbeads) are made in China. Not designed in China – manufactured in China. Since labor in China is so much more cost-effective, the labor part of the process is contracted from the people in Denmark to China. If each Trollbead were actually physically manufactured at Trollbeads Denmark; you can best believe that the costs would skyrocket and the prices would rise to a level that is entirely unaffordable for most customers.

After the Trollbeads are created, cleaned (and, in the case of the glass beads, had the silver core inserted) they are packaged and prepared for shipment. They are then sent directly from China to both the US Distributor of Trollbeads (Lund Trading) and to Trollbeads Denmark. There is no middle-man or additional step to be accounted for to impact their pricing in the US. To explain it directly, their route, after packaging, is this: China to Lund to US Retailer; or China to Trollbeads Denmark to European Retailers. Therefore, the pricing appears to be “across the board” similar if not exact (especially, if you ignore the impact of the phenomenally low value and exchange rate of the US Dollar).

Now I want to talk about the Prism Trollbeads, since it seems that those particularly are a bit of a lightening rod right now. The Prism Trollbeads are not only designed in Denmark, but they are also manufactured in Denmark. This means that the distribution goes through more steps before arriving in the hands of the US Retailers – and also passes through a very bad financial exchange rate (bad from the US viewpoint). Trollbeads Denmark already has them in their hands and can obviously sell them at any price they’d wish. Distributed from Denmark, to Lund Trading, and then to US Retailers causes the prices to be a bit higher – not only because of the shipping and distribution costs, but because Lund Trading has to pay an incredible amount for them. Nothing is free, although it would be really spiffy to think it would be.

Now, before I go any further in explaining the Prism prices, let’s talk about that lovely little thing we all know and love (ha) and call the US Dollar. Anyone else notice how the Federal Reserve lowered the short-term interest rates for the sixth time in six months, by ¾ of a percentage? They are trying to increase consumer confidence and spending to help stabilize the US financial market. That means they want to improve the exchange rate for foreign countries.

As I write this, the current exchange rate between the US Dollar and the EURO, which is the currency most used in Europe) is pretty scary. To explain that, the conversion is like this:

30.00 USD = 19.1370 EURO
30.00 EUR = 47.0293 USD

25.00 USD = 15.9491 EURO
25.00 EUR = 39.1911 USD

(I suggest that it might be interesting to you to see what the exchange rate might be at the time you are reading this.)

So, exactly what does that mean, anyway?

The bottom line is this: because the US Dollar is so weak overseas, it is quite possible that Lund Trading is spending more by bringing the Prism Trollbeads to US for the US Retailers than they can recover through distribution.

Most especially when you consider that there are shipping, packaging, processing and distribution expenses to add to that bottom line.

Those of us that love Trollbeads should be ringing the bells of joy and thanking both Lund Trading and our committed US Retailers and offering our solid respect and appreciation for forging on ahead and bringing the Prism Trollbeads to the US, in spite of the financial obstacles.

Neither Lund nor the US Retailers deserve to be the subject of our disdain and mistrust. If you choose to buy directly from Trollbeads Denmark instead of one of our dedicated US Retailers, you can look in the mirror and thank yourself for helping to bring the US economy and US dollar even lower.