Am Puzzled So Have To Ask - Why...

[AndyW]

I fully expect to be shouted at because I do understand about the evangelic QVC Army out there in the dark but I have to ask a question.

Apart from the usual issues (P&P, returns, used goods) I see a thread on the FB Visitor Posts asking for more plain, silver jewellery with no "stones" and in "interesting" designs. There are some replies about such-and-such a range having been good but no longer stocked by QVC.

So, given that QVC is an online retailer (stated by some as THE reason for using them), why don't people who want more plain silver (etc) research online elsewhere? I'm not talking about Links and other brands. There are some talented young designers out there in the UK trying to make a living with beautiful creations, who would happily take a bespoke order and who don't want to get in to bed with a US corporation. (Etsy is a good starting place.)

As I say, this will cause some foaming at the mouth for QVC zombies but I had to ask. (Goes & hides under stairs!)

 

[Targaryen]

I can only assume that it's the 30 day MBG or the fact that people can see the item being demonstrated on air that makes them want to buy from Q.
I agree with you, there are lots of silversmiths out there and designers who are willing to make bespoke pieces for reasonable prices. I had a custom made bracelet from a designer I found on the Not On The High Street website. Etsy also has some great jewellery designers too.

 

[Vienna]

Andy I doubt there`s many QVC zombies on this forum but I see your point. People obviously have internet access or they wouldn`t be able to post on Q`s facebook page so it beggars belief why they don`t search the web more. Yesterday someone asked Q were they going to restock a certain Joules top when a 5 second search on Joules own website would show them the top and also that Joules were giving a 25% discount off everything, so why ask Q for it ?
Lots of us can`t get our heads around those people who think QVC is the only place to shop.

 

[Julius]

Normally the more slick the marketing and presentation, the more in desperate the company. I don't think QVC is transitioning to the modern era that well, for its core audience are withering on the vine. It's not for Q's want of trying, though. They've got the app, a website and numerous channels. People can watch catch-up, yet despite these developments, their cashflow is waning.

I remember my grandmother would have to "send off" for items from catalogues by filling out a coupon and posting it. She didn't even like telephoning. I remember once she rang Grattan and was very irritated when they said: "And your next item?" She replied: "Did I say I had another item to order? So how DARE you assume that I do?"

 

[donna255]

Lazy, think QVC are the only place, the 30 day MBG, easy pay.

They watch QVC and think of them as their friends.

 

[AndyW]

I can only assume that it's the 30 day MBG or the fact that people can see the item being demonstrated on air that makes them want to buy from Q.
I agree with you, there are lots of silversmiths out there and designers who are willing to make bespoke pieces for reasonable prices. I had a custom made bracelet from a designer I found on the Not On The High Street website. Etsy also has some great jewellery designers too.

Ah, yes. NoTHS is another good one. Odd, isn't it, QVC and it's adherents slam the HS at every opportunity but there's another online site with that very name!

 

[AndyW]

Lazy, think QVC are the only place, the 30 day MBG, easy pay. They watch QVC and think of them as their friends.

The MBG is pretty thin IMHO as a plus point. As mentioned often by quite an aggressive QVC Guardian FB poster, all online is covered by at least what used to be called DSR. Also, if you buy from a new designer, you can ask as many questions as you like, get any number of photos or even, sometimes, a video of the item. As for the Easy Pay, well, yes ok but when I grew up, you had to save up if you couldn't afford it :mysmilie_59:.

 

[AndyW]

...I remember my grandmother...telephoning. I remember once she rang Grattan and was very irritated...

Oh goodness, I remember those catalogue days. My mother used to get them near Christmas and go through and plan what to get through the post and what needed doing in town. (And remember when there were jokes about young boys thumbing through their mothers catalogues looking at the underwear pages?! :mysmilie_17

 

[Mazza]

Lazy, think QVC are the only place, the 30 day MBG, easy pay.

They watch QVC and think of them as their friends.

Yes I agree that is why many people are so devoted to the Q, an attitude I don't think you will find in this forum to any great degree, Andy! The reverse if anything! Goodness knows why those with internet access don't look elsewhere for price comparisons. If you are just watching the shows though and have no access to decent shops, then they do foster this "we are such good friends" ambience, which is of course totally fake. I was shocked to learn that the MBG, so heavily promoted on air, is actually monitored and you can be excluded if you use it too much. That was the biggest eye opener to me and I only learnt about that on here.

 

[Vienna]

Thankfully we have the Reasons not to shop at QVC section where people can post about other vendors or bargain finds.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I think any site (and high street shop) will monitor high levels of returns for whatever items.

The consequences of being thrown out of the QVC club are a lot less devastating than the consequences of getting thrown out of, say, the Amazon club (particularly if you have Kindle/Kindle Fire/Cloud etc)... but at the end of the day, they are stopping you spending your money with them, so who is really the loser?

I think that for some of those posting suggestions on QVC's website, it's not so much that they won't look or shop elsewhere, but they believe there is a market for a better quality and less fussy range of jewellery (just as many of us would like to see clothing with less dreadful design features)... Suggesting such things does not automatically mean the suggesters are not looking and shopping in other places... but QVC often enforces rules about not referring to non-QVC retailers or brands, and perhaps they are phrasing what they are asking to avoid getting blocked, banned or otherwise shut down. Silly, really.

 

[shopperholic]

I agree Andy, I'm always gobsmacked when they ask for QVC to bring something that's sold elsewhere cheaper, it's almost as if the die hard QVCers want to pay more money. You can find good quality silver anywhere and everywhere, the daft buggers can't even be arsed to look then I'm afraid it's as the saying goes, a fool and their money are soon parted, harsh but true.

 

[Silver Fox]

They are having to try & try harder to sell---but how much is free p&p? My pattern of ordering from Q has changed drastically.Now I Return/ Return/ Return up to the point where I expected 'the letter'.I am very selective & my QVC orders must have gone down by 75%. Do I get any incentives from QVC?--NO! I am just one, probably fitting into their core customer by age/ disposable income etc. etc. but then I like to think being savvy is one of my traits!We don't always loose the ability to suss out insincerity/ sales techniques as we age! Need to work harder!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I agree with Vienna that no one on here falls into the groupie category- we are all far too disillusioned for that now although most of us will admit that it was a different story in our early days when Q had stuff you couldn't get elsewhere.

I do think that the FB poster was genuinely asking to see something less bling.

I hate claw set jewellery with a passion so no longer buy from Q but I did get some lovely pieces in the early days.

I have posted in another thread about trying to get a quality piece from a jeweller and the update on that is that he did get a gold bangle in for me to see - costing over £700 it was definitely not worth it so I'm still on the hunt.

 

[Julius]

Oh goodness, I remember those catalogue days. My mother used to get them near Christmas and go through and plan what to get through the post and what needed doing in town. (And remember when there were jokes about young boys thumbing through their mothers catalogues looking at the underwear pages?! :mysmilie_17

LOL! I remember that! I guess those catalogues have all vanished now. We used to get quite a lot of things from them. My mum was very diligent in never missing an instalment and so had a very high credit rating.

 

[Petespants]

I agree Andy, I'm always gobsmacked when they ask for QVC to bring something that's sold elsewhere cheaper, it's almost as if the die hard QVCers want to pay more money. You can find good quality silver anywhere and everywhere, the daft buggers can't even be arsed to look then I'm afraid it's as the saying goes, a fool and their money are soon parted, harsh but true.

I think the only reason some people stick with QVC is because of the easy pays. They can get what they want immediatelyeven though they have shocking p&p for the privilege. Also not always the ranges they want.I prefer to save and wait to buy the things I really want.

 

[whitesnake]

Andy I doubt there`s many QVC zombies on this forum but I see your point. People obviously have internet access or they wouldn`t be able to post on Q`s facebook page so it beggars belief why they don`t search the web more. Yesterday someone asked Q were they going to restock a certain Joules top when a 5 second search on Joules own website would show them the top and also that Joules were giving a 25% discount off everything, so why ask Q for it ?
Lots of us can`t get our heads around those people who think QVC is the only place to shop.

I think it's laughable that Joules is premiering on QVC the very same weekend that that with Joules online or in-store you can get 25% off everything. Great timing!!!!

 

[Mazza]

2 pairs of Tahitian Pearl earrings for £100. Take one pair as a gift when someone invites you to dinner, lasts longer than wine, says Jakki Kabler. How about as a teacher's gift says the Brand Ambassador! Best laugh on telly some nights this channel.

 

[Lemonpop]

2 pairs of Tahitian Pearl earrings for £100. Take one pair as a gift when someone invites you to dinner, lasts longer than wine, says Jakki Kabler. How about as a teacher's gift says the Brand Ambassador! Best laugh on telly some nights this channel.

:mysmilie_458::mysmilie_458:

 

[user 17461]

The thing with QVC (or any other retailer), is what they DON'T say.

QVC, as others have pointed out, likes to foster a "We're all chums" attitude. Or with the likes of Debbie Flint and secret FB groups, a feeling of "We're the chosen few", unlike lesser mortals they are privy to the private thoughts of their High Priestess of chunky legs, smutty ebooks and pointy fingers :mysmilie_48:

But then this illusion gets burst when viewer favourite presenters, guests and models get binned off without a word, long-standing customers receive snotty letters telling them that they have crossed some mystical total on returned items (which is never mentioned on screen, or indeed elsewhere) and warning them their accounts may get closed, and when one realises that QVC refuses to explain exactly why postage is charged per item and not per order.

People watch shopping telly as entertainment, and the more vulnerable DO get taken for a ride as they take the manufactured chumminess too literally. I know of one poor guy who was obsessed with Ellis Ward, and who went out of his way to buy stuff from her first shows on Gemporia after moving from TJC, just to "help her out" and "settle in". This guy was his mum's carer, had very little disposable income to spare, and had never met the woman. But he felt a connection with her on-screen persona, probably because he was lonely. It didn't matter to him that her behaviour was all part of her way of getting viewers to part with their cash, he just couldn't or wouldn't see it.