Postage thoughts

[Ellaaa]

Have we not been led to believe that it is the vendors who take the hit on the returns?

Yes but so will QVC ultimately as it is a sale lost, as they take a percentage of the items they sell.

 

[Vienna]

Postage charges have always been a bug bear to lots of people. I use a few sites which charge p and p but at least they have a system so I know exactly what it will cost me no matter how many things I order. One site caps p and p at £3.50 so you know whether you order one item or 10 items, it`s going to cost £3.50. Another site I use charges by weight and it`s £3.50 for any number of items up to 2 kilos and then £5.95 for up to 10 kilos and so on.
Q must make money out of their p and p charges. If they boxed items together and charged one p and p then that would at least help the customer. You could order a mascara at £2.95 p and p, a set of lip glosses with the same p and p, a jar of face cream with the same p and p etc and yet all 3 items would fit into one small box and charge the customer delivery charges once not 3 times over.
They should be far more flexible with the p and p costs for clothes and shoes. This is one area where even the big wigs at Q should know they`re going to have high returns and £3 to £6 delivery costs per item is going to make people think twice before ordering, especially with Q`s inconsistent sizing.
If they continue with their archaic ways then they`re bound to lose money. In many areas they simply`s can`t compete anymore and even their die hard fans must be buying less and less. Most companies move forwards and try to think of new ways to appeal to their customers, free or capped p and p being one of those ways but Q seems stuck in a time warp and even though the 30 day mbg is spouted on every show it still doesn`t encourage me to buy more or pay more for an item I can get elsewhere and then to add insult to injury, be charged more to have that item delivered.

 

[Marina]

I think that all items arrive prepacked in the warehouse as when I order two of the same thing I have two boxes strapped together with a label on. This would be too much for them I think to put different items in one box when they are shifting anything from 10 000 to 40 000 tsvs a day plus other orders and with Elemis Xmas tsv it's around 100 000 tsvs only. They just pull a box from the shelf, stick a label on and throw it an the post.

 

[Brissles]

Because QVC is a business - businesses (should) set prices that will cover their operating costs plus make a profit for shareholders and reinvesting.

Their current model covers their costs and returns a profit acceptable to them. If they didn't charge for postage, that loss would eat into their overall profit margin - unlikely to be sustainable without recouping it in another way. As they are a retailer, that is most likely to mean price increases.

Anyway, at the moment they have no incentive to change things - they are profitable, customers continue to buy, so (from their perspective) why should they?

Can you explain then, how this 'business' can be so diverse in their p & p charges ? I noticed yesterday that 3 very heavy large Yankee candles had a p & p of £5.95, and the same p & p £5.95 applied to a large Kipling bag.

There is a distinct 'loading up ' of postage on the smaller items, to offset the cost of the heavier ones - obviously so that customers wouldn't be put off buying.

 

[grovesy]

The p and p topic comes up time and again, and QVC never change.I feel that the slowness of some of the deliveries is more a problem/

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

Ian, do you buy much from Q? I imagine there is little to appeal to men but perhaps you buy for your family.

Do you think we ladies are a wee bit mean! Maybe we buy heavier items!

youd acutally be surprised how much i do acutally buy, from the beauty & collectables & candles ect for me & mum ect (i do like to treat her to some nice shower gels & yankee candle sets they have ect) ok im fussy over the prices as it has to be at the right price but il give a example even

yesterday on yankee candles they had red velvet & celebrate well i know for a fact ive seen red velvet selling for £30-£35 for a large jar since its been retired & it was in a set yesterday for £36 delivered for 2 large candles

so basically if i sold red velvet for £35 that would make the celebrate candle for free which i believe is a very good deal

 

[Autumn]

People wonder how Qvc get such great prices on YC (Sometimes), Well the likes of House of Fraser were selling the large Red Velvet jars for £5.99 not long ago , It was probably Q that bought all the stock lol

 

[lynnonthelake]

Never understood the popularity of Y C I don't like my money going up in smoke.

 

[candycane]

I paid £3.20 to return something that I had paid £5.95 postage for which is a bit naughty. I expect they will say their cost includes the packing materials and the cost of the warehouse/staff. I also notice if something is on a special offer or lower price, they postage seems unreasonably high.

CC

 

[Brissles]

Yes, you'd think with the "buying power" that Q has, it would transfer to the 'buying power' of all that postage too, whether it be Royal Mail or private contractor - they don't boast about that though do they !

 

[MrMarple]

If I'm paying £5.95 postage from anywhere else, I'd expect the goods guaranteed next day, but Q get away with making us wait a week. Why do we keep accepting it?

 

[Marina]

Can you explain then, how this 'business' can be so diverse in their p & p charges ? I noticed yesterday that 3 very heavy large Yankee candles had a p & p of £5.95, and the same p & p £5.95 applied to a large Kipling bag.

There is a distinct 'loading up ' of postage on the smaller items, to offset the cost of the heavier ones - obviously so that customers wouldn't be put off buying.

I think it's also £5.95 for a Revitalash that weighs 10 gram or something similar

 

[lynnonthelake]

If I'm paying £5.95 postage from anywhere else, I'd expect the goods guaranteed next day, but Q get away with making us wait a week. Why do we keep accepting it?

I agree Mr M I paid £5 postage from Space NK and they gave me the exact time it would be delivered the next day brilliant service.

 

[shopperholic]

that is excatly how i feel i dont mind the postage at all

Good for you, if I see something I like on QVC, I Google it and buy it elsewhere cheaper with free p&p. I do mind the postage because if I wanted to buy say, four tops the postage for them to be delivered to the same house, at the same time, on the same day would cost £20 to £30. I personally wouldn't pay that, but hey we're all different.

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

Good for you, if I see something I like on QVC, I Google it and buy it elsewhere cheaper with free p&p. I do mind the postage because if I wanted to buy say, four tops the postage for them to be delivered to the same house, at the same time, on the same day would cost £20 to £30. I personally wouldn't pay that, but hey we're all different.

to be honest the stuff i buy from Q usually cant be bought anywhere else like the big purity i use (946.2ml) cant be bought anywhere else & a lot of the yankee candles exclusive usa ones ect & even rare & retired ones like red velvet in that duo they had the other day as im on several yankee selling sites so i know how much its going for & its going for more than the Q duo with postage even & exclusive QVC only charlie bears cant be bought cheaper elsewhere

 

[Pandora]

to be honest the stuff i buy from Q usually cant be bought anywhere else like the big purity i use (946.2ml) cant be bought anywhere else & a lot of the yankee candles exclusive usa ones ect & even rare & retired ones like red velvet in that duo they had the other day as im on several yankee selling sites so i know how much its going for & its going for more than the Q duo with postage even & exclusive QVC only charlie bears cant be bought cheaper elsewhere

Have you had a look on ebay for the 946ml Purity SCW as there is one on there for £29.95 free postage as opposed to QVC's price of £39.00 plus £4.95 postage.

 

[lynnonthelake]

I've seen Charlie Bears for sale in Stratford On Avon much less than Q prices,not that I like them anyway.

 

[Autumn]

Sorry but the majority of items can be bought cheaper elsewhere , just takes a little time shopping around but Qvc will very rarely be the cheapest place to order from.

 

[Siandc]

I know everyone has an opinion about p&p and that it seems like a lot of forumites would like a change. What we have to remember is that yes there are a lot of members here and that could have some sway for some businesses but Q has millions of customers so unless there are millions complaining, things will never change.
I don't have an issue with p&p for the most part, as my nearest dept store is 10 miles away, I have to pay rediculous parking charges and I ALWAYS buy more than I should! So a bit of p&p for me is a bargain!

 

[shopperholic]

to be honest the stuff i buy from Q usually cant be bought anywhere else like the big purity i use (946.2ml) cant be bought anywhere else & a lot of the yankee candles exclusive usa ones ect & even rare & retired ones like red velvet in that duo they had the other day as im on several yankee selling sites so i know how much its going for & its going for more than the Q duo with postage even & exclusive QVC only charlie bears cant be bought cheaper elsewhere

What? Everywhere sells Charlie Bears cheaper, most other places offer Charlie bears delivered free p&p which instantly makes them £5.95 cheaper than QVC, from Amazon to ebay, but the best place I've seen is ConnaughtOnline.