# The Liquidation Channel's Tanzanite Smackdown **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411 "2012-06-17T08:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/1 "2012-06-17T08:10:30Z")
I spent many, many hours today watching The Liquidation Channel, where they were having a 24 hour marathon called The Tanzanite Smackdown. I have never been so entertained in my life. 1. Extremely poor production values. Seriously… just… seriously. 2. “Actresses” who seemed to have no script whatsoever, having to ad-lib everything and doing it poorly. 3. A very large, baritone-yet-mumbly-voiced man named Sharron Becton with an untamed beard who would occasionally come out and lower the price of the jewelry even further than it had already been knocked down. I could really only understand about 60% of whatever he said. 4. The quantity remaining of each item would sometimes inexplicably jump UP after slowly ticking down. Did a wave of people call in and cancel their orders, or were the graphics guys drunk/high? 5. The 1.9 million dollar tanzanite gemstone that they knocked down to the low, low price of $149,999.99. With 2.99 shipping and handling of course. Shannon was in on lowering the price of this one, much to all of our pleasure. 6. The graphic that showed you how much you were saving would sometimes display "You save -1 over regular price!" Then it would tick to something real. But I loved seeing the -1 in savings. 7. Constantly hearing about how tanzanite is 1000 times rarer than diamond, that it only comes from one mine in the world, etc. GOTTA BUY IT NOW! 8. When one of the ladies teased us that we were about to see a special guest celebrity… and it turned out to be Shannon Becton! What a riot!!! 9. At one point, they pulled up the website on the screen, which was showing a slightly delayed broadcast of the live tv show inside a frame, which would then show all of that inside of a frame, etc, etc… and this really caught one of the ladies off guard. “Whoa!.. what a deal we have here for you.” Nice save! 10. When one of the hostesses shifted her eyes around and said, “Shannon has left the studio, so I’m gonna go ahead and do something here…” and after a bunch of buildup, she added another piece of jewelry to a 4 piece set. It was SO dramatic, I almost peed my pants. No, I am not drunk or high. Although I can only imagine how funny this would have been if I WERE drunk or high. Anybody else get kicks from stuff like this? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/2 "2012-06-17T13:47:43Z")
Sounds like a Debeers strategy, but one that is hitting the ‘this isn’t working!’ phase. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/3 "2012-06-17T14:03:30Z")
There’s a _Liquidation_ Channel? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/4 "2012-06-17T14:05:21Z")
Reason #208,089,897 that America is so friggin _wrong_. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/5 "2012-06-17T15:38:22Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > There’s a _Liquidation_ Channel? I would have thought it’s something the Nazis would come up with, in an entirely different context. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/6 "2012-06-17T16:51:24Z")
I’m not sure what’s worse: You spending hours watching the Tanzanite sale on the liquidation channel, or me taking time out of my precious Sunday morning to read about it. This is the true course of evil. . . ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/7 "2012-06-17T18:53:29Z")
I think this would make a great Dope Drinking Game, next time they have one of these tanzanite smackdown marathons. Drink every time one of the hostesses says “ummm” Drink every time they bring out shannon to lay the smackdown on the prices. Drink every time they screw up the quantity remaining counter. Drink every time they remind us of how rare and unique tanzanite is. And best of all, you can actually watch the show live on the liquidation channel’s website! Who’s in? ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/8 "2012-06-17T21:02:24Z")
I have seen the channel and it is like a train wreck that I just can’t look away from. What gets me is that they will show a piece of jewelry that has badly cut gemstones, dirty gemstones or visibly flawed gemstones and present it as “beautiful jewelry”. You would think they would present the best pieces on air and if these are their best pieces, I feel very badly for their customers. They had pearls on one night and the quality was awful. I’m all for getting a good price, but it’s not a good deal if the quality is crap. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/9 "2012-06-17T22:24:06Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > I have seen the channel and it is like a train wreck that I just can’t look away from. > > What gets me is that they will show a piece of jewelry that has badly cut gemstones, dirty gemstones or visibly flawed gemstones and present it as “beautiful jewelry”. You would think they would present the best pieces on air and if these are their best pieces, I feel very badly for their customers. > > They had pearls on one night and the quality was awful. I’m all for getting a good price, but it’s not a good deal if the quality is crap. Yeah I didn’t even feel like mentioning the terrible quality of the stuff. I think that goes without saying on something like “the liquidation channel” It IS a trainwreck that you just can’t look away from… I also love how they always have the tags on everything that they are showing, even modeling. Sometimes the models try to hide the tag and it’s so funny. Seriously people, check out their website for a laugh sometime. You won’t regret it. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/10 "2012-06-17T22:40:51Z")
About that “tanzanite is extremely rare” BS…they’ve been pushing that line for years. I’ll bet that the tanzanite mines are chock full of the stuff-like the DeBeers propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/11 "2012-06-17T22:53:37Z")
Knowing the “medical emergency” that started off the weekend, I am somewhat surprised you would be watching the “liquidation channel”. excavating (for a mind) ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/12 "2012-06-17T22:54:29Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > About that “tanzanite is extremely rare” BS..they’ve been pushing that line for years. I’ll bet that the tanzanite mines are chock full of the stuff-like the DeBeers propaganda. I remember back in college (must have been 2007 or so) that they were claiming that the tanzanite mine (the only one in the world) was going to be closing up soon, or had been closed up, so all the tanzanite in the world that was going to be for sale was already mined up. And you needed to buy it today because the price was going to skyrocket! :rolleyes: > [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Knowing the “medical emergency” that started off the weekend, I am somewhat surprised you would be watching the “liquidation channel”. > > excavating (for a mind) Ha! Thank you for the awesome belly laugh. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/13 "2012-06-17T23:27:07Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I would have thought it’s something the Nazis would come up with, in an entirely different context. It reminded me of a joke by Chespirito from Mexican TV from many years ago, in a parody of Snow White the queen as a witch consults the mirror: _ **Evil queen** _: Magic Mirror, How can I liquidate Snow White? _ **Magic Mirror** _: Well, give her her 3 months of severance pay, her unused vacation time, sell her stock… ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/14 "2012-06-18T00:53:38Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Drink every time one of the hostesses says “ummm” > > Drink every time they bring out shannon to lay the smackdown on the prices. > > Drink every time they screw up the quantity remaining counter. > > Drink every time they remind us of how rare and unique tanzanite is. Is this one of those drinking games where the winner is the last one to die of alcohol poisoning? Because I usually love those, but I’ve filled up all my usual body disposal areas. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/15 "2012-06-18T01:30:46Z")
This reminds me of Mike Rowe’s [QVC days](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChjMRfi40c)… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/16 "2012-06-18T01:31:03Z")
I spent a few minutes watching a similar channel in the UK a few weeks back. Fascinating stuff. I wondered about the counter showing the number of items left. I’m torn between whether to believe it bears any resemblance to reality, or is a total fabrication. The wonders of human silliness combined with the mass audience of TV make me think it is just conceivably real. On the other hand it all just seems too glib and I think it more likely that the numbers are total BS. They are just trying to get suckers to think others are buying the stuff (to appeal to sheep) and to put time pressure on potential buyers. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/17 "2012-06-18T02:18:00Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I spent a few minutes watching a similar channel in the UK a few weeks back. Fascinating stuff. I wondered about the counter showing the number of items left. I’m torn between whether to believe it bears any resemblance to reality, or is a total fabrication. The wonders of human silliness combined with the mass audience of TV make me think it is just conceivably real. On the other hand it all just seems too glib and I think it more likely that the numbers are total BS. They are just trying to get suckers to think others are buying the stuff (to appeal to sheep) and to put time pressure on potential buyers. I would actually be SHOCKED if those counters weren’t fabricated from whole cloth. I don’t believe them for a second. Except for the one they sold for 150 thousand dollars and only had one of. Of course, they didn’t sell it. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/18 "2012-06-18T02:23:20Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > This reminds me of Mike Rowe’s [QVC days](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChjMRfi40c)… See, he was intentionally trying to be funny. Thanks for sharing that! The liquidation channel on the other hand… well, let’s just say I wouldn’t expect to see Shannon Becton with his own TV show on a major cable or network channel someday. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/20 "2014-12-12T03:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > The Christmas season is upon us all and we would love to have you, your friends, and everyone on this chatroom to come give us a visit online or on the television if you’re based out of TX. We are proud to offer the best home shopping experience at the lowest prices and hope to see you and hear from you this holiday season… > > \ > > I will just sign off from this chat by saying that I hope you will understand how hard we all work at the Liquidation Channel to save you, your family, and your friends unimaginable savings on the highest quality gemstones and jewelry this holiday season and beyond. We would love to hear you call in and order from us this season, and please pass on our information to everyone you know. Sounds like spam. Reported. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411/21 "2014-12-12T03:17:14Z")
> [@SBectonLC](#): > > Thank you and Merry Christmas to everyone in this chat. Hope to hear from you soon! Hello, and let me introduce myself. I am Kunilou, and I have been a member of this group since 1999. I’d like to address some of your concerns that you outlined in your post. First, and most importantly, you are posting to a thread that no one has seen in 2 1/2 years. In our little world, this is known as “reviving a zombie.” Secondly, by reviving this zombie, you have opened yourself to relentless mockery and undisguised contempt. This is particularly true because you are a representative of the Liquidition Channel, and thus will be seen as coming in here to pump your own product, which is considered bad form And finally, pumping your own product without prior permission is generally considered a violation of this board’s terms of service, for which I have just reported you. However, I invite you to hang around and see what happens. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-liquidation-channels-tanzanite-smackdown/625411.md?page=2)