Re: Bethlehem lights TSV Christmas tree....

FranandZoe · ‎03-09-2010

@dogsx3 wrote:
Well they got me again. My tree came today and i did not even take it out of the box. When i opened it it looked awful. It is all plastic junk. Bethleham lights USED to make such nice trees, soft and real like to the touch. I wondered why they never mentioned how real it felt....It's awful, plastic like home depot trees. Another BIG mistake.

Wow that's such a shame. I'm glad I didn't order one. I have smaller BL trees that I put next to my front door - they're beautiful. Same with wreaths and swags from years ago. Quality is going down on so many things - not just at QVC.

rms1954 · ‎06-06-2019

@dogsx3 wrote:
Well they got me again. My tree came today and i did not even take it out of the box. When i opened it it looked awful. It is all plastic junk. Bethleham lights USED to make such nice trees, soft and real like to the touch. I wondered why they never mentioned how real it felt....It's awful, plastic like home depot trees. Another BIG mistake.

You are correct. Opened the box that came today and didn't even bother to take it out. Did you return? Will you be charged for the label to return it???

little missy · ‎10-31-2010

YEARS AGO, I ORDERED A BETHLEHEM WREATH. THE SMELL OF THAT WREATH MADE ME WANT TO VOMIT. IT WAS SO LONG AGO, I DID NOT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS, SO I SPRAYED IT WITH PERFUME. I HAVE NEVER, NEVER, NEVER BOUGHT ANY THING THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH BETHLEHEM LIGHTS. NEVER!

RetRN · ‎10-01-2013

The way they carried on about how great that tree was probably convinced many to buy. It is a real shame that the tree isn't what you expected, having to return an item like that is a real pain. I think QVC has gone down hill of late.

rms1954 · ‎06-06-2019

@Kachina624 wrote:

@rms1954 wrote:
@dogsx3 wrote:
Well they got me again. My tree came today and i did not even take it out of the box. When i opened it it looked awful. It is all plastic junk. Bethleham lights USED to make such nice trees, soft and real like to the touch. I wondered why they never mentioned how real it felt....It's awful, plastic like home depot trees. Another BIG mistake.
Sorry you were disappointed. I'm waiting for my arrival. I can't believe that you say looks plastic as they did comment that it was soft and realistic. There wlll be many disappointed customers since they sold out so fast.
@rms1954 @dogsx3 So maybe it's soft, realistic plastic. What did you expect, wood?

No, not wood. Kind of sarcastic. I think, for me, we expected what they stated.

dogsx3 · ‎02-05-2011

@rms1954 wrote:
@dogsx3 wrote:
Well they got me again. My tree came today and i did not even take it out of the box. When i opened it it looked awful. It is all plastic junk. Bethleham lights USED to make such nice trees, soft and real like to the touch. I wondered why they never mentioned how real it felt....It's awful, plastic like home depot trees. Another BIG mistake.
You are correct. Opened the box that came today and didn't even bother to take it out. Did you return? Will you be charged for the label to return it???

Label said 10.95 to return it. I returned same day UPS. It was very plastic looking. I got one when Lisa R was selling them, i loved it, they are not the same anymore.

vaberry · ‎03-20-2010

I put up several trees and have several of the older Bethlehem Lights trees. The difference between the older ones and this newer one is this one has more of the formed branches. The older trees have more of the plastic strip pieces branches. Those older trees are softer. I for one like more of the formed branches because they are stronger and hold the ornaments better. Sturdy over soft is a win for me in a tree.

SEGardener · ‎09-09-2021

It's always disappointing when you have an expectation that doesn't materialize. However, the soft feel trees are really nothing but little strips of PVC wound around a wire. Nothing in nature looks like that nor feels like that. The technical advances in artificial Christmas tree realism is through the PE molded tips. Those are what you identify as plastic. Actual branches are pressed into molds and PE (Polyethylene) stems and branches are the result. PE Christmas trees are sometimes so realistic you cnanot tell the difference between them and real spruce, fir, or pine. There's also a price difference. The cheapest trees to produce, but they don't last very long, are 100% PVC soft trees. Then there are gradient mixes of 50%/50%, 60%/40%, 70%/30% and even 100% being the $2500-$8500 Christmas trees. All commercial trees are high percentages of PE because they last so long. You'll find the warranties also are graded based on the mix percentage of PVC and PE with PVC having no warranty and PE warranties 3-10+ years. There's also the aspect of realism - the fullness and needles filling branches to the center of the tree vs. what seems to be bare near the trunk. I purchased Martha Stewarts Long Needle Pine tree 6.5ft and so much like the realism of that tree. And by some people's standards the tree would look bare near the trunk. But that's how pines grow. The branches are so numerous and needles so dense the sun cannot get to the inside of the the tree. And, growing up in Minnesota we always had a pine Christmas tree over a spruce or fir so that tree brings real memories for me. I also like how BL captured the growth candles on the ends of some branches - another very real aspect of some long needle pines. So while I and many others like the realism of PE, I'm not sure casting negatives on Bethlehem Lights is fair in this case. Just send the tree back and look for one of the lesser brand trees and you may be able to find 100% or at least high percentage mix of PVC for a soft tree. Your better brands have moved forward with the PE Christmas Tree construction.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@FranandZoe wrote:
@dogsx3 wrote:
I don't know why but everytime i write a review, they ask for a new nickname, so not sure what mine is now... anyway i have been buying bethlehem trees since Lisa Robertson. I moved and lost my fav tree a 6 footer. I loved that tree with the crazy branches, and soft touch feel. I saw trees at Home depot and was shocked that they were all plastic. I thought for 600.00 i would be getting a real nice tree. Another brand here that has changed for the worse.
You don't actually need a new nickname - just use the old one/last one. It's some sort of glitch.

@FranandZoe and @dogsx3 - I went through this too. I don't want to change my nickname. I wanted to answer someone who posted. No one had yet, and I had the item and could answer her.

So I emailed the social team and asked for help. The team member told me to clear my cookies. It worked, but it wiped other things on my computer. And now it's back to not being able to sign on. So I just don't leave reviews much. If I really want to I will talk about something here on the forums.

Good luck!

DooneyGal2 · ‎04-09-2010

Well I'm very disappointed and upset, ugh - I too got this tree as the TSV - Not the flocked - and though I didn't like it quite that much when it arrived, I thought well, I'll give it a try - one thing that was disappointing, you CAN see "gaps" in certain areas even after shaping the tree, which I'm very familiar with shaping, ugh - however I found a 'fix' by special ornament placement throughout, which did help - but here's the *kicker* - I just noticed a few days ago that an ENTIRE BRANCH is no longer lit! All the bulbs have burned out or are malfunctioning, all on one branch - I'm concerned it might be a malfunction/ defect since it's all only on one branch?? I'm currently searching for where I thought I 'cleverly' lol put the extra bulbs that came with it (pretty sure they included some?), that silly me, thought I wouldn't need till next Christmas ~ and will see if that helps, saying I can even remove the old bulbs and install the new ones (I'm not all that great at that lol!) ~ but was wondering, has anyone else experienced this with this TSV BL tree?? I tried to look at reviews and handily, QVC is experiencing technical issues, wasn't able to look up any. This was my Christmas gift from the hubby, which makes it even more disappointing!
Thanks for any help!!

*** EDIT *** Well I actually found the replacement bulbs, tried 3 different locations on the branch just to make sure, and Nope, the bulbs STILL don't work sigh. I also took care to do a "test run" of removing a working bulb elsewhere on the tree and replaced it, with one of the replacement bulbs, and the replacement bulb worked FINE- so, it can't be that the replacement bulbs are defective. So disappointed, don't know what to do.

If it's due to a "blown fuse", is that an actual possibility for just ONE branch?? Guess I'll have to try and reach out to Bethlehem Lights!

I will say, I was a little suspicious that this tree was a Return when I got it, for various reasons - one being that the prongs of the plug didn't have the typical "cover" (plastic) that you usually see over the prongs of the plug ....