Why Gemstone Lights in Edmonton Beat Every Other Option | Permanent Lighting Experts
Thanks for joining us on Natural Light Edmonton‘s YouTube channel. Again, I’m here with the owner operator, Andrew from Natural Light Edmonton, and today we’re going to be talking about gemstone lights and how that compares with others. A lot of times in the marketplace, competition spurs on innovation, but if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. And that’s what we’re going to be talking about today. So maybe Andrew, you know, the reason we started this conversation was because like you’re out there, you’re meeting with people all the time and people are comparing quotes between your gemstone lights that you install and other other lights that are on the market that have come out. So maybe let’s have a quick talk about that.
Competition vs. Quality in the Lighting Market
I think kind of what’s spurred on this thought of having this conversation for me, we’ve had similar conversations about some competitive brands, not necessarily naming particular brands or anything and not disparaging them, but just as I’ve done more and more installs over the years, and especially lately, it seems like the architectural permanent Christmas lighting market has grown. It’s become more popular. You know, gemstone lights, I would say, is still kind of like the it’s kind of almost like the Kleenex brand of lighting and and there’s a reason for that. and as you mentioned, as things become popular, it usually spurs competition, which can often bring about innovation, which is a good thing. But with that often comes imitation and cheaper products where people are I don’t want to necessarily just say just trying to make a buck but they see there’s you know a business to be had or a profit to be made and you know not necessarily out of mal intent but there can be some pretty cheap products that come out there and the pricing is obviously usually quite different from ours and just addressing what it is you’re getting with some of the different products and being aware ware of those products on the market. That’s kind of what I want to address.
When you’re talking about something that’s going to be a permanent fixture in your home, right? You know, you want something that’s going to be essentially trouble free. Mhm. And will last for a long time. Kind of like a roof or siding or, you know, your doors and windows. You want it to last a long time without having a lot of trouble. And that’s where, you know, I find the difficulty with, you know, getting some kind of a knockoff product. Or a competitor. They don’t have the same quality. If anything, your product is getting better, but the price is coming down. Kind of like big screen TVs. When they first came out, it was like, you know, you got a 30-in plasma TV for 15 grand, where now you can get a 30-in, you know, LED panel for 500 bucks. . Or less.
So, and I think even on that note, I think something that I guess I would say for people to be aware of is, you know, Gemstone is the kind of it it is the premier brand for the permanent Christmas architectural lighting. And so, you know, to me, it’s like it’s great if someone wants to come onto the market. Again, like we said, that’s not a negative thing. Competition is a good thing. It spurs people to be better. If you’re running a race with no competition, you’re not that inspired to run that fast, right? So, it is a good thing. But in that, I think what I’ve been noticing is like people in their sales technique from certain companies will say things like, “Oh, this is gemstone lights but cheaper.” Like, “But at a cheaper price, or we, you know,” and it’s like to me, it’s like if you’re going to sell a product, you know, let’s say, for instance, it doesn’t do certain things that gemstone does. Let’s say it doesn’t have the color operations, the app doesn’t work as well. If you’re honest about that and you’re like, “Look, this this lighting, it looks like this. It performs like this and it’ll last, you know, however many years and you’re honest about that and then knowing that gemstone is significantly better and lasts that much longer, but your price is that much cheaper, then at least the customer is aware of what it is they’re getting. But often the sales come across like, oh, this is just the same as gemstone light cuz they look when the guy shows you the light bulb. a light bulb looks like a light bulb to most people, right? Let’s be honest. You go into the hardware store, you look at light bulbs, it’s like, okay, they all look the same pretty much. And the reality is they’re not. And so then people wonder why like the cost, you know, sometimes can be significantly different. Like a job that might be, you know, $4,000 for gemstone is like 3,000 or even less with another product. And it’s I can with 100% confidence say that it is not even close to the same product. like kind of joked earlier, it’s like you’re paying 25% less for 75% less the product. Like it is, it is substantially different. , and we’ll go into that in a little more detail, too. But okay, let’s get into some meat and potatoes of what we’re talking about. Okay, sounds good.
Product Differences: Tracks, Bulbs, and Appearance
We’re not doing an apples to apples comparison when it comes to the product. So, let’s talk about, you know, the structure that the lights are in, the actual LED lights themselves, the different components there. Then, you know, let’s start with those things there and then work our way out from there. How about that?
It’s a good idea, there is a range, not a huge range, but there’s a range of products on the market. ones that, like our lights for instance, are in a color match track. We have literally hundreds of different colors that we can match. So we will find a match for the soffits that you have or the fascia. And you know whereas certain competitors also do similar things. Sometimes they’re limited to their color matching. Some of them have like three different ones. You know it’s either black, white, or gray. but some of them do have a higher selection than that. I would say none of them have a higher selection than we do. And then there’s also some light brands that literally just it’s a wire light wire light wire. really not much different than a Christmas light. It just looks different. It’s just an LED that’s suspended underneath. So at night it gives a similar effect. even if it doesn’t have all the operations that ours do, it’ll give a similar effect to our lights. but in the day you’re still having wires hanging from your, you know, your soffits and stuff. So, to me that really does not scream a permanent product. Like that at that point it’s like there’s really no difference than having just a Christmas light hung up all year long. So, , I would say that’s a big part of it for you know the exterior look-wise like you mentioned in the track. When it comes to bulbs, you know, you might not visually notice the difference. If someone showed you both bulbs, you might even think they almost look exactly the same. One of the big differences with gemstone is we have what’s called RGBW which actually includes the W stands for warm white. No other bulb on the market has that true warm white. So it’s you know they can RGB so like the red red green blue if I can get my colors right. Like we learned in elementary school you combine the colors and they can make other colors but you can’t really make true warm white out of RGB. So, you know, you can have a similar color, but it won’t be true on white. And it is actually the highest used color. It’s actually pretty amazing for our app like on so we track that through the app. Because let’s be honest, you might buy the lights for permanent Christmas lighting, celebratory lighting. but one of the major functions and probably the most used is the architectural aspect which is like just kind of architecturally lighting up your home and the most popular color is warm white. So that is a very unique aspect of the gemstone lights.
Warranty, Installation, and Reliability
So let’s talk about the actual light themselves like what is your warranty on those lights? So , that’s another huge part of it too, like you mentioned not having issues with your lights. And , I would say I have very few service calls on our lights, but when we do, our lights come with a 20-year warranty, 50,000 hours for the actual bulbs and then 10 years on the rest of the product. So there’s no warranty in the business that even comes close to Gemstone Lights. And they back their product and then we as dealers back our work on the product and we go out and fix it if it needs to be fixed. So, you know, , the reality is like I install thousands upon thousands of bulbs, you’re going to have some bulbs that just, you know, whether it’s even on the install a bulb goes out and then I fix it right then and there, which so you probably would never even know that happened. But, knowing that it is so rare, that’s helpful. But then if it does happen, we come out and we replace it. So, , it is a very, you can check my our Google reviews, whether it’s mine on my website or even on Gemstone themselves, like the reviews are just astounding for a lack of issues and then when they do on the rare occasion happen, the the dealing with those issues and having them fixed is a huge part of it.
Another thing people should consider is the installation and the installer that’s doing it, right? Sure. When you have, let’s say, an electrician who’s kind of side hustling this kind of stuff and they’ve got found some product online from other sources, not Gemstone necessarily, how do you know that they’re going to actually stand behind the product and their installation to come back and fix it if something goes wrong, right? What is the criteria for you to actually become a registered certified gemstone lights installer?
So, at least in the Edmonton area, they’re actually not even allowing anyone else at this point in time to become a gemstone installer or dealer because they have enough in the area. And but , they do they do requirements for basically like now one of the requirements is you actually would need your electrical ticket. and , you have to have all your insurances and at the end of the day they can take your dealership away from you at any time. That is part of their criteria in handing out a dealership is if they have issues with you, if there’s too many issues, they reserve full right to just be like you are a negative to our product and so you’re gone. And so I think that’s a good thing. I think that like to me that does not scare me as a dealer. Like I, I pride myself in doing good work. So I’ve never had a call like that and I frankly would, you know, if that did happen, I’d welcome it. cuz I think that just keeps the level of integrity high knowing that you can’t just run around, you know, trying to steal a buck or two just because you have even the best lights. You know, not everyone can just become a gemstone dealer.
App Performance and Long-Term Support
Awesome. Let’s talk about the app. right. Because all of these LED lights, of course, operate using an application of some sort on their phone. Let’s, you know, dive into that because that is a bone of contention with a lot of people as well.
it really is. We live in the age of apps and I’m sure everyone has their experiences. some positive, some negative. Some people love everything being on apps, some people absolutely hate it. But at the end of the day, whether you love or hate it, when you hate it, it’s because most of all, when it doesn’t work properly, that’s the most frustrating thing is you open an app and something doesn’t work. And now the thing you’ve bought, it doesn’t work cuz the app that is controlling it doesn’t work. And so that is something again unique to Gemstone Lights compared to at least a lot of the competition is we actually have our in-house app designer developer and he fixes everything and so he’s literally based out of Calgary and that is his job is to upgrade the app, take information from clients and from installers and dealers how to improve the app, change it and that’s what he does full-time is just dealing with all those issues and and and making it a better product. And that I’ve really personally noticed that a lot.
Like I’ve actually had a lot of clients who’ve either had other products in the past who’ve either said, you know, the app wasn’t near as good as Gemstone or with even I’d say probably worse products where the app is just like outright quit. Like it’s not available anymore or it just does not function at all and it’s no longer supported, no longer updated. . . And so it’s like, you know, they and their system might only be like 2 or 3 years old. And it’s like there’s no app to function these lights anymore. So, you know, , they, you know, they’d be the first to admit that they probably paid a fair bit less for their lights than what Gemstone would charge, but they’re like, not that much less, you know, not not so much that if I would have known that, you know, that I would have wouldn’t have gone that direction. And so, , every year, I’ve mentioned this on other on other videos we’ve had, but every year I it seems like actually more and more cuz I’ve had it more recently again, people asking if I can hook up the Gemstone controller and app system to their existing lights and , unfortunately that is not an option. So, not an option.
Talk about potentially having problems and bugs and issues. , you are just a liability. You can’t do it. But honestly, as a sincere person , I don’t know. Like I warned, it sounds so extreme, but it’s not a cheap thing, you know? It’s not that you’re not buying a $50 product. You’re wanting something that you’re planning for. You’re expecting a lot from it and it really affects your house. Like it, it really does affect the look of your house substantially. And so when you’re investing that time and money and effort into something like that, you know, like for me, the odd job if I don’t get a job because someone chooses another product, I’m not, you know, it’s not going to make or break me financially. But honestly, like I often will go out to people just to show them like even if they’re pretty much set on what they want to do, I’ll just be like, “At least let me just show you the difference.” Because it is such a difference. And I just don’t like seeing people, you know, end up buying a product that they’re going to be really disappointed with. And , cuz that’s not good. That’s not good. Not good. No, it’s not good. Getting something that you don’t like. No.
Here’s the thing. like if the biggest problem that I have with you know some of these you know other products that are on the market is like if there’s builtin obsolescence in what they’ve made or they haven’t even thought about supporting it in the long run. You know they don’t have a 10 year 20 year you know 50year warranty or whatever. you know have a one-year limited parts and parts warranty on the product. and then they brick it because, you know, no, not enough people are buying it and there’s no support for the app. , you just bought a useless iPhone, you know, a first gen iPhone. Thanks. Right. It’s completely bricked. You can’t use the thing anymore. So having something and a company that actually wants to support it for long term, has a good warranty, has criteria for their installers, like it it kind of goes to show that, you know, you can have a little bit more confidence purchasing the the gemstone product over other options out there, even other ones that might be comparable, right? because, you know, let’s let’s face it, you know, if you’re not, if the company isn’t selling enough and they’re not, you know, getting a good reputation based on their stuff, it’s not going to be around long enough. .
Why Choose Gemstone Lights and Natural Light Edmonton
So, maybe talk a little bit about let’s go back to why you like Gemstone Lights and the company and all of that. So, that you know, it gives an impression to the people who are, you know, watching this video why they should number one choose Gemstone Lights. Number two, pick if you’re in the Edmonton area, pick you as their installer.
It’s actually been really cool. The longer I’ve been doing this, the more I’ve gotten to know kind of the behind-the-scenes people of Gemstone Lights, from the owner to their, you know, CEO and and different people. and just seeing their view of gemstone light, it’s not just simply to create a quote unquote like a Christmas light that you can hang all year round so that it’s hidden. It’s meant to be a permanent fixture of the house, right? So, I think sometimes they’re wanting a product maybe or thinking they’re getting or looking for a product that is just hidden in the house, right? So, you know you can get cheaper products that do that, right? Gemstone is not just trying to create something that you don’t have to take up and down every single year. They’re wanting it to be something you don’t have to ever take down. Like that’s their aim, right? Like as opposed to, oh, you know, this is something you won’t have to take down for a while, right? Right.
So, I think sometimes that’s what people look at. It’s like, well, even if I, you know, I’ll buy a product and it will be 5 years of not having to go up and down on the roof to take lights up and down like a gem. someone doesn’t look at it like that. They’re looking at it more like how often do you want to replace your windows. That’s kind of the aim we’re more looking at is like it’s a permanent fixture of your house, right? Like maybe not quite as far as a foundation, but you know, just this is not meant to be something that you probably would ever have to change in your ownership of that home. and so that’s the goal, you know, and so I think 20 years, 50,000 hours, it’s that’s a long time. It’s probably longer than most people will own their homes. So, I think that’s a good starting point. And really, there is only so long you can actually do certain things, certain products that you can guarantee how long they’ll last. But I think we do show that that is what they’re doing. It’s like they’re like we’re reaching for the max because we know that when we hit the max and I’m sure the next time they develop there because they’re always doing development in their products. Like if there’s a light that’ll last 50 years, that’ll last 100 years, you can be pretty sure that gemstone’s going to be the ones behind it. As long as it obviously makes sense to do that because that’s their goal. The goal is not just simply to create a hidden Christmas light that you don’t see during the day, right? But you don’t have to take down everything you know during the non-winter period.
Then beyond that I think why choose me? I think just in a lot of it its self-promotion always seems like a funny thing but I think for one you can use the evidence of things like Google reviews. Now lots of people have good Google gurus but they won’t be better than mine and what you see also actually from Gemstone themselves but my reviews are very high. And I do just care about what my clients get. Like I’m, I’m picky. I’m meticulous. I don’t just run a business because I want to get paid money. Obviously, that’s a part of it. I can’t do it for free and I need to. I have a wife and four kids at this point. So, but I take pride in what I do. to me to put something up that is going to be meaningful to a client that a client’s going to love that they’re going to appreciate for years to come. , it’s just there’s a sense of pride in doing that and accomplishment and I just truly do love working with people. Like it’s probably one of my favorite parts of this whole business is just being able to meet clients and I’ve said it before like the reaction that I often almost seems like at least every other job is just like people are just like literally stoked to use their lights and I love that. But I love being able to know that they’re not just stoked and then like they’re going to end up getting disappointed. Like they’re stoked and then I hear about it later and they’re sending me pictures of their house and then a year later they’re like, “Man, I just love the lights. I love the new update. I love what’s going on.” And so it’s just it is great to be a part of a great product. And I think that’s really what all people should strive for is to be the best at what they do. and that is what I try to offer. And so wherever there’s any areas that I need to improve, I always seek for better criticism and productive criticism, I guess. But , so awesome. That’s hopefully why you’d want to choose me. You’ll get the best results from choosing Natural Light Edmonton.
So , and you know, being a customer myself, I can attest to, you know, your workmanship, your attitude, and you know, your just willingness to go above and beyond. So I appreciate that. So, if you’re looking for a lighting solution for your house that’s not just for Christmas, but can be used year round to illuminate your home, call Andrew from Natural Light and he’ll come out and give you a quote. Thanks so much for joining us. We’ll see you on the next one.