The Posh Pod discussion

[Playedinloops]

There is another video on youtube of an unboxing that is less...well less "freaky"

 

[MakeupA]

Wow there's no reason for that vlogger to attack members of makeuptalk or the community here as a whole. If the products and the company are so great she shouldn't be so defensive and let them both speak for themselves. Also I don't follow her reasoning or connection she tries to make with the owner of posh pod and her son having aspegers.

 

[glamourdolleyes]

I hope Silver/Gina (I am still confused on who owns the company) can turn things around. I do want to see her succeed. I don't think its fair for Sheryl (the vlogger) to get attacked on the forums. I talk to her often and shes my go to sample girl and without getting in the middle of it, please be sympathetic to what others are going through. Yes, she is a "lurker" but that doesn't make her creepy, as I lurked for a long time before I signed up.

I will end that here, please don't hate me for sticking up for the little guy, I know a lot of you were put off for her video but remember, this is a Posh Pod discussion!

 

[yousoldtheworld]

Originally Posted by glamourdolleyes /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I hope Silver/Gina (I am still confused on who owns the company) can turn things around. I do want to see her succeed. I don't think its fair for Sheryl (the vlogger) to get attacked on the forums. I talk to her often and shes my go to sample girl and without getting in the middle of it, please be sympathetic to what others are going through. Yes, she is a "lurker" but that doesn't make her creepy, as I lurked for a long time before I signed up.

I will end that here, please don't hate me for sticking up for the little guy, I know a lot of you were put off for her video but remember, this is a Posh Pod discussion!

I work with developmentally disabled children and young adults, including some with autism and aspergers, so I do have sympathy for that. But comparing the troubles of a child with aspergers to those of a BUSINESS really doesn't make sense.  I think that's the main thing some of us were put off by.

 

[glamourdolleyes]

I think she was just saying that we don't know what Silver/Gina has (or doesn't have). Maybe she has a disability that causes her to not spell that well (and yes there is spell check) and to maybe not pick on it as some have. You never know what is going on someones life. Yes, she did make lots of spelling/grammar errors and she does own a business so she should work on that but she is a human.

I am not discounting any side, I hope no one feels that way. I just don't feel its right for her to be attacked for her opinion, we all have them.

Hopefully Silver/Gina will learn from this, constructive criticism can help her business.

Originally Posted by yousoldtheworld /img/forum/go_quote.gif




I work with developmentally disabled children and young adults, including some with autism and aspergers, so I do have sympathy for that. But comparing the troubles of a child with aspergers to those of a BUSINESS really doesn't make sense.  I think that's the main thing some of us were put off by.

 

[NutMeg19]

You know what else I find strange? And this may just be me, but why was she on the phone with "Silver" ("Gina" was there also) for THREE HOURS? Especially if it was a company that she hadn't heard of and it was BEFORE all the eBay/MUT drama. So, 3 hours, really?

 

[yousoldtheworld]

I will add, though, that despite my criticisms of the way she has presented herself and her business, I probably would be happy with and use the actual items I've seen in the pods so far, regardless of where they come from.  I just have a hard time supporting a business that misleads its customers.  I don't care if you buy the samples from ebay, from sephora, wherever, just  as long as you don't pretend to get them straight from the manufacturer! 

 

[glamourdolleyes]

To be fair, this forum is FILLED with questions about the items, Gina/Silver, etc so 3 hours on the phone to figure out if it is legit isn't that long. Depending on the answers and then questions from those answers, etc. She said she has the conversation on the 3rd of April, this thread was opened on 3-25 and the threatening emails from Silver came shortly after that.

Originally Posted by NutMeg19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

You know what else I find strange? And this may just be me, but why was she on the phone with "Silver" ("Gina" was there also) for THREE HOURS? Especially if it was a company that she hadn't heard of and it was BEFORE all the eBay/MUT drama. So, 3 hours, really?

I agree, apart from some of the "wtf" items, it was a pretty nice box. But BB has "wtf" items on a regular basis too. I feel like the whole "we have X brand on board" is pretty misleading, she may have the products "on board" but as a company, she shouldn't use that terminology.

Originally Posted by yousoldtheworld /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I will add, though, that despite my criticisms of the way she has presented herself and her business, I probably would be happy with and use the actual items I've seen in the pods so far, regardless of where they come from.  I just have a hard time supporting a business that misleads its customers.  I don't care if you buy the samples from ebay, from sephora, wherever, just  as long as you don't pretend to get them straight from the manufacturer! 

 

[nicepenguins]

The second vlog shows some of the packaging with posh pod stickers placed all over it. The petites nail polish had one wrapped around the applicator and the dollar store eye quad had one too. I think someone mentioned earlier that products had posh pod stickers placed over marker strikethroughs, like for clearance products or overstock.

I have seen the super freaky vlogger's stuff before, and found it useful previously. She has tried some unusual sample boxes, like the one from Canada that had like 5 lip balms in it and cheap earrings. This is weirder than her other blogs, though, because of the defensive tone and the calling out of makeup talk.

I also think the "make up your own mind--don't believe everything you read on the forums--spend the $30 if it makes you happy" conclusion is pretty bad too, even though I would agree with it in most other circumstances. I say it's bad because we aren't a bunch of people trashing a start-up; we're concerned about legality and want people to be getting legitimate samples from companies with legitimate affiliations. 

 

[nicepenguins]

Originally Posted by yousoldtheworld /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I will add, though, that despite my criticisms of the way she has presented herself and her business, I probably would be happy with and use the actual items I've seen in the pods so far, regardless of where they come from.  I just have a hard time supporting a business that misleads its customers.  I don't care if you buy the samples from ebay, from sephora, wherever, just  as long as you don't pretend to get them straight from the manufacturer! 

I DO care about where samples come from, though: these services are basically advertising for a company and companies have the right to choose how they are advertised. I don't support companies who use another company's name to make money for themselves when there's no affiliation. Do you think Nars really wants their brand to be stuck in a fake Victoria's Secret bag next to a bunch of motel soaps? 

 

[NutMeg19]

"To be fair, this forum is FILLED with questions about the items, Gina/Silver, etc so 3 hours on the phone to figure out if it is legit isn't that long. Depending on the answers and then questions from those answers, etc. She said she has the conversation on the 3rd of April, this thread was opened on 3-25 and the threatening emails from Silver came shortly after that." Ahh, ok, that does make a bit of a difference. The video still seems strange to me. And in the comment section, she is not only attacking MUT members as a whole, she is now alluding to Zadidoll being a liar. She says at one point that she doesn't recommend the service, has her own concerns (I cannot remember what she said/posted verbatim, unfortunately), yet she apparently is going to take their word about Zadidoll requesting a free Pod. I don't know, I am not trying to attack anyone. The entire thing is just strange.

 

[NutMeg19]

Crap...quote button didn't work correctly!

 

[yousoldtheworld]

Originally Posted by nicepenguins /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Quote: Originally Posted by yousoldtheworld /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I will add, though, that despite my criticisms of the way she has presented herself and her business, I probably would be happy with and use the actual items I've seen in the pods so far, regardless of where they come from.  I just have a hard time supporting a business that misleads its customers.  I don't care if you buy the samples from ebay, from sephora, wherever, just  as long as you don't pretend to get them straight from the manufacturer! 
I DO care about where samples come from, though: these services are basically advertising for a company and companies have the right to choose how they are advertised. I don't support companies who use another company's name to make money for themselves when there's no affiliation. Do you think Nars really wants their brand to be stuck in a fake Victoria's Secret bag next to a bunch of motel soaps? 


Oh, I definitely get why people care, and I don't disagree with what you're saying...just that I personally don't care that much...lol.  Probably should, but I care more about the dishonesty of the thing, you know?

 

[glamourdolleyes]

I just went back to Sheryl's video to read the "down bar" and it was never mentioned that she did put key notes in there about things that Silver/Gina have done. I will just paste them here if someone missed that:

Hey Freaky People! So there's been a lot of controversy surrounding this sample box company and the members of MakeUpTalk forum. In the interest of full disclosure here's some facts about both sides and what they've been up to and what I've been told about it from The Posh Pod.

The Posh Pod-
-Used pictures of other sample boxes in their teaser videos including Glossybox.
-Put up photos of fake Chanel products on both their website and facebook page
-Used and continues to use language that suggests that they're working with the companies in their pods, even though they are not and say they are not in their FAQ page.
-Has bought cosmetics on ebay and has used them in their pods.
-Has taken samples bought on ebay and shrink wrapped them and then called them sealed.
-Has included inexpensive items in a pod that is supposed to be high end and luxe.
HOWEVER...
-despite everything that was said about them my pod was worth well over the $30 it would cost and nothing in it was fake or expired.

MakeUpTalk Forum (as a whole)-
-Accused Silver and Gina of being the same person when they are not.
-Called The Posh Pod the next GoGoGirlfriend before the service had even launched.
-Alluded to the possibility that The Posh Pod was a towing company when they saw Silver's name on something called TOW and then when it was explained it was a cancer charity called Tree of Wishes said that it most likely was a lie and the cancer story was just told in an effort to get people to feel sorry for them and to leave them alone (Sorry MUT, I've seen the proof. Tree of Wishes is most definitely a cancer charity and Silver did some work and volunteered with them)
-Guessed that the pods would hold fake items, expired items, or both
-Debated whether The Posh Pod was a scam out to collect as much money as possible before they closed shop.
-(For my taste) Had a little too much fun finding spelling and/or grammar mistakes and pointing them out.
HOWEVER-
The members of the forum were great at doing research and finding things that were very unprofessional of The Posh Pod to do and put the information out for everyone to see, not to be malicious but because they we concerned about people losing money whether it be from a bad sample box or scam..

Things I think about the pod-
I think that Posh Pod has shown very unprofessional behavior but when asked about it provided me with a plausible reason as to why it wasn't something they were responsible for. Everything they have said to me sounded like it was most likely the truth and since they have answered every question I had without pause I had no reason to doubt them.
HOWEVER-
I have recently seen on MUT that the owners of The Posh Pod also have a website development business. If this is proven true then it is in direct conflict with something that was said to me and if I was lied to about that then maybe I was lied to about more than that. As of now I don't know and can't answer that question. I find myself in an usual position because after many conversations with Silver, I find I genuinely like her. That being said, my reputation for judging both the good and the bad about sample boxes means more to me than anything and after going back and forth about this in my head over and over I've come to only this conclusion. For me personally, the concept of this service is very intriguing and I think it might be worth the gamble to subscribe to it for a while to test it out as long as I can swing the $30/month and if my viewers care about seeing what's in the pods.

As for everyone else I can only tell you that you need to judge the merits against the risks for yourselves and see which side of the subscription line you end up on. In a few days, weeks, or months I might be more able to answer this question. I promise you as soon as I figure it out you'll all be the first to know.

The Posh Pod-
http://www.poshpod.com/

FTC disclaimer- This item was sent to me for review. All opinions are mine alone and I have never been paid for a review.

She agrees that Silver/Gina hasn't been professional and that we did a lot of research to uncover things. She isn't discounting what we have found in anyway, just has issues with some not so nice things that have been said.

 

[kawaiimeows]

I'm irked because it seems like her list of bullets about MUT are misleading.

such as: "-Called The Posh Pod the next GoGoGirlfriend before the service had even launched." and "-Guessed that the pods would hold fake items, expired items, or both"it kinds implies the people here were going around making fallacious statements.

People compared it to GGG because someone (silver or gina or whoever else) was making statements that implied that you "pay for the membership" so people had a right to question that. AND we know for a fact there is at least one fake item in the pods (the VS bag?).

I know she tells her viewers "go to the forum yourself to see what happened." But if people don't do that they're just going to see her statements that basically make it out like people of MUT were blindly accusing Posh Pod of things, when pretty much everything here was well founded.

 

[Playedinloops]

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion and what not, but what really struck me the wrong way was that she pointed out "there's a whole posh pod discussion and if you want to go read it, you go read it." 

Yes there is a posh pod discussion, but there is also a birchbox discussion, a julep discussion, a myglam discussion etc. 

I do hope she doesn't feel personally attacked, because I don't mean it that way, I just feel like her comments are obviously biased towards poshpod, as are her readers apparently based on the comments to that video. 

Obviously my comments are biased towards MuT, but I also have been here all a long and participated in the entire discussion and watched Silver or Gina or both (attempt to) hide things after we uncovered them. And that is what I find most shady about this sub. That and the fact that since we talked about in the subs thread that I've found the website to seem off. 

 

[glamourdolleyes]

I think not being a part of the conversation, you read what you read. Remember how Silver/Gina thought that we were saying something to the effect of her "hijacking" something. When you're not fully part of the conversation and just reading, its a different tone. Maybe that is what some people got from our posts.

The things that she bulleted are true. Silver/Gina did say you pay for the membership which to some, felt very GGG because that is what they do.

We did "guess" that there were fake items in the box because that's the impression that Silver/Gina was giving us.

When a new subscription service comes out, we always compare it to x y z.

 

[Playedinloops]

Wait...is she actually suspended from MuT?

 

[glamourdolleyes]

I think she said something about her comments being on moderation? I don't know if that is something MuT does. Maybe Zadi isn't around to moderate them, but why would they be on moderate anyways?

Originally Posted by Playedinloops /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Wait...is she actually suspended from MuT?

 

[kawaiimeows]

Originally Posted by glamourdolleyes /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I think she said something about her comments being on moderation? I don't know if that is something MuT does. Maybe Zadi isn't around to moderate them, but why would they be on moderate anyways?

They are moderated for new members. When I was a new member (well, i still am!) most of my comments (up to like even my comments in the 20s) went through a spam filter and weren't posted until Zadi went through and approved them.