The 'dreaded' high street

[Deleted member 3549]

Just a quick rant......
At the end of the day I know they are selling but......

Will they stop slagging the high street off. In particular, lori griener has never stopped!

So QVC...

A) yes you probably have the cost of the parking but guess what an hour of parking is better value than some of your p&p charges!!
B) sometimes folk WANT to go out to the high street. I would still want to enjoy the atmosphere, the Christmas decorations, the lights....
C) it's nice to wrap up and sit in Costa with your shopping bags
D) when I want to return something I can just go into the shop and the money's refunded much quicker than you do!
E) the high street is already suffering and it doesn't need you yattering on. The high street gives a lot of people jobs and puts food on their tables
F) yes you might come across the odd grumpy sales person but it's over in minutes. You give us the lovely Craig and we have to suffer him for a flipping hour!
G) the purchase is instant- I get it there and then and don't have to wait
H) you probably don't make splurge purchases eg I would never go into boots and spend £30 on nail varnish but it's easy with qvc. Therefore I save money!
I) I can save money and not have return postage as I get to touch and feel the goods first eg I don't fall for cashmere soft tsv cardigan rubbish and then receive it and think 'what tat'

Thankyou....that feels better........ Ps if I don't get a chance happy Christmas to you all....I said on another post the forum was lost earlier this week though my computer- I was gutted and thought it had closed. Realised how much I enjoy all your comments and am looking forward to a further year of qvc yattering between us! Take care xxxxx

 

[Huggles]

Good rant :nod: Totally agree with all your points, MissKat. If my working hours weren't the same as High St hours, I probably wouldn't use Q quite so much...it's the ability to shop late at night when I'm home and succespible to the selling tactics of my favourite products that I'm at my weakest. I do wish House of Fraser and John Lewis would open TV shopping channels...I'd defect in a heartbeat!! Can't see them using any American tat and they wouldn't have any of the terrible fashion that Q keep promoting.

 

[Itchy]

I am going in to the fires of hell shortly - I mean the High Street! I am going in with my friend. We will have coffee and poodle round the shops and take in the atmosphere and have a gander at the Christmas Market. Yes, we will have to pay for parking, the town will be packed and if we want to try any clothes on, we will have struggle in the tiny changing rooms, but at least if they don't fit, we can just hand them back to assistant without forking out god knows how much p and p. I am looking forward to it.

QVC presenters absolutely love running down the High Street, its a good sales pitch for them telling us how less stressful it is shopping from home. What makes me laugh is that so many of them start slagging shopping in town and then say "I was in the High Street the other day......" They then proceed to tell us how awful it was!! They really think we are stupid.

 

[donna255]

I don't have a car so its the bus £2.90 for an all day ticket. Thats a whole £1 cheaper than QVC's cheapest postage. I can try on things in real life before deciding to buy. I get to chat to the sa and perhaps even if not buying getting samples to take home and try. I can smell perfumes and not have to go by the nattering descriptions of the so called beauty expert, I can wander and decide if it suits my skin. Hey some high street stores will order an item not in stock on your behalf and tell you when to come back and collect it. Not having to wait perhaps months for it to come back into stock or worry someone has used it especially beauty products before me.

Okay I did order an Honora Floating necklace yesterday in the rose. But I can't get that on the high street.

 

[minim]

I seem to be accumulating store accounts like there is no tomorrow.

There is no doubt in my mind that such accounts make my shopping life easier & having two daughters in their twenties who lust after goods from the likes of Top Shop, Miss Selfridges, River Island, Wallis and .... others ... yup! I've signed up to them all. The bonus is I can home right into exactly what I'm looking for & if it's not there, move on to the next.

QVC on the other hand:
* has the most ANNOYING search facility ever :headbang:
*does not offer me the range of clothes I'm looking for. There is rarely anything under a size 10 and no petite!
*more popular items are often not in stock with no clue as to when they will be available again
*often there are no comprehensive views of the item & the videos disappear faster than ever these days
*P&P .... I'll say no more

Sometimes though, I just need inspiration, particularly when shopping for Himself (sigh).
Himself does not want anything for Christmas - the same routine every year. And every year I tell him the same thing,"OK, I'll spend it on me." In fact I operate a 'one for you', 'one for me' approach. I like to be fair.
That's when the High Street comes into it's own. I see things that I didn't EVEN KNOW I wanted! :biggrin:

 

[Wrongsideof40]

We may have to pay for parking , but we can go home with a boot full of parcels. Think what p & p we would pay for as many parcels off qvc.

 

[sausage]

The parking charges around here are high but, even if i stayed for hours and had to pay £15 it would STILL be cheaper than buying 3/4 items from QVC, i know this but i still buy from them, usually on impulse, and your comment about the nail varnish made me think, in the last few weeks i have bought the OPI and the Nails Inc TSV, i also bought the LD one back in Oct/Nov, and i would never go into boots etc and buy 15+ nail varnishes, i need to curb my nail varnish and QVC habit!

 

[Silver Fox]

Many time you don't have parking charges ( out of town shopping centres) I have made some mistakes on Q lately & have been disappointed when some things have arrived, then the expense of sending them back.I promised myself a long while ago I would not order shoes or clothes & have kept to that.I have ordered online from M&S & went into a store ( no parking charge) to collect.---& then there is one of my favorites, Amazon where I use the free P&P.Q have some tough competition these days & think they like most retailers are feeling the pinch & offering EZP a lot!Even the TSVs are not the value they once were.

 

[stratobuddy]

I just received a gift from Amazon that I already had. I discovered that I can return it and MY account will be credited, and the sender will not be told.

My only gripe is that I filled in all the information (straightforward but took a while) but when it went onto the 3rd page it said I needed a printer and that PC didn't have one. So I had to start all over again on a PC with a printer, but it all seemed to work OK (I was worried I would be told I had already returned the item).

The printer then printed a bar code etc to go inside the parcel, and a POST-PAID label to stick on the outside. They did say the cost of this, which they estimated to be £1-24, would be deducted from my refund. The PO said the cost would have been £1-23 so almost spot on.

 

[yesilkedi]

Haircare on the High Street!

I did give in to an Ojon TSV & when it arrived thought 'what have I done'? Yes it suits my hair but so do many of the dreaded High Street ranges and if I wait for a special in Boots I can get a good shampoo and conditionner for £6 which is only a couple of £'s over the p & p charges at QVC and I get Boots points too. As for fashion......I have sent so many items back to QVC that I now resist with every fibre in my body when I see something that looks quite nice. I shop in Bon Marche, Debenhams, M & S and Evans, knowing that if I decide I don't like something I can return it with no problems nor have the worry of it not arriving. The last item I bought on QVC was the Philosophy oto but only because it was such a good price and it would make 2 very nice birthday presents (for special people, NOT the teacher, dustbin man or countless other people we are supposed to be buying present for).
:bear:

 

[HoodedClaw]

Good rant :nod: Totally agree with all your points, MissKat. If my working hours weren't the same as High St hours, I probably wouldn't use Q quite so much...it's the ability to shop late at night when I'm home and succespible to the selling tactics of my favourite products that I'm at my weakest. I do wish House of Fraser and John Lewis would open TV shopping channels...I'd defect in a heartbeat!! Can't see them using any American tat and they wouldn't have any of the terrible fashion that Q keep promoting.

Why not just use their websites? They're available 24/7 :thinking:

 

[Breeze]

I've been waiting in all week for two parcels to turn up from QVC. That's another problem on top of the P&P, you never know when they will come, unlike Amazon & some others.

So this afternoon I thought blow it & drove to an out of town shopping centre where I managed to buy ALL the toys I wanted, many reduced to half price, no waiting around, no P&P & no parking charge.
And the QVC parcels still hadn't arrived when I got home.

 

[fwend]

I seem to have given up with QVC I have stopped the expensive toiletries they don't seem worth the money to me, as for the p&p it grieves me to pay it, the only thing I still look at is Honora , but even that seems to have jumped in price, it makes me laugh when Ralph says 'we only sell to QVC in the UK ' as in the states I think you can buy in other stores and the prices state-side seem cheaper by comparison . I like going to shops, seeing and feeling what your buying and especially
at this time of year the hustle and bustle !!!!!!!

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I will never give up the High Street but I do like shopping on La Q too. They do waffle on about the high street and things are not easily available on the high street but other than the QVC exclusives I can pretty much everything. I can go in on the bus for £3 and I can get:

Liz Earle, Lulu Guinness, Lola Rose, Bobbi Brown, Yankee Candles, Bare Escentuals, Decleor, Elemis, Thorntons, Kit Heath, Daisy Jewellery, Dower & Hall, Emu, L'Occitane and even Skagen.

 

[silversequin]

I was on the dreaded high street today and had a lovely time browsing the craft market where I got some great original stocking fillers for a few quid. Then I met up with friends and had yummy hot chocolate and mince pies in a local cafe. Came home feeling all Chrismassy. Have not done any of my Christmas shopping with Q. Amazon is so much better and they have some real bargains too.

 

[mariecat]

Loving the replies - thanks for starting this thread MissKat! I'm with Donna on this: I don't have a car either, so just get the fare into town and it's great actually seeing and experiencing the products. I mostly buy from the high street, but still do order from QVC too. As well as having a 'real' shopping experience, the high street is crucial for me so my credit card doesn't go into meltdown lol!!

 

[RedT]

The only thing I get from le Q is Laura Geller and Smashbox due to availability and price on QVC. Who doesn't really like getting all wrapped up, going into town before Christmas and coming home laden with stuff?? And more importantly being able to tick all of those things off your list RIGHT AWAY? Yes it can be stressful but in the UK I used to start my shopping October so by the time December came round it was more about the last few bits and plenty of hot chocolate and mince pies! No stress, no waiting in for the flipping postman or worse, Hermes and wondering if what you bought is actually going to be utter tat or not? Now that I'm in Oz I've done most of my shopping from Amazon and had it sent (wrapped!) to my family and friends in the UK and ireland. Mostly free shipping, £3 or less for wrapping and they've all arrived already, in perfect condition. If shops like Amazon, lookfantastic.com and many others can do free worldwide shipping then QVC can do a lot better within the UK.

I think QVC needs to remember that the high street has plenty to offer, not least some atmosphere, decent deals (Soap & Glory in Boots today anyone? Insane!!) and instant gratification = )

 

[Dibbles]

I'm getting the bus into town today to do my shopping. Yes, it will be packed, but I will be buying for several people and each shop I go into is P&P I don't have to pay, so I can save some very valuable pennies. We are waiting for a bed to be available for my little boy to have an operation at Glenfield (no room for him at the moment due to alot of emergency cases) so daren't order loads of stuff online in case we are called to Leicester for two weeks and won't be in to receive them.

I may have to take riot armour, but at least it will be done in one go.

 

[netscat]

I also use the dreaded High Street. I don't have a car either but can get to Leeds really easily by bus or train and buy just about anything from QVC that I would actually want to buy. Can go in Liz Earle, l'Occitane, get Avene/Lola Rose/Decleor/Bobbi Brown/Kipling in all the big Dept stores, can look at things, buy them immediately and browse special offers, I love it! Admit that sometimes it's too busy, especially now or on Saturdays but also the atmosphere is lovely at this time of year.

Although I do like some aspects of Q I'm cheesed off at moment as my Laura Geller TSV only turned up yesterday after 12 flipping days. And it turned up at 7pm last night, unfortunately half an hour after the person who I'd bought it for had gone home to her house 80 miles away and I won't see her again until April. I knew she was visiting on 16th Dec so thought I'd ordered it in plenty of time, great service there!! Have rung customer services several times in last week or so, they're always very pleasant and appear to be helpful but nobody seemed to know what had gone wrong with Hermes who seemed to be suggesting I'd restricted access to my house????? They did eventually agree to order me another one on Weds but goodness knows when that will appear, and of course now I'll have to send it back now anyway if and when when my label turns up. Glad I got all that off my chest...ooh I feel calmer now.

Apologies for going off track there, the High Street can be great, QVC can be great too when they offer great value but that doesn't seem to happen as much these days, the extortionate P&P must put people off buying, I know I always include that cost when deciding whether to buy. I don't really understand their attitude to this,as their internet rivals often have better prices and delivery eg. And the High St frequently compete on price, especially in this economic slump, they're all having to fight for customers now, so there are bargains out there.

 

[Capirossi]

Online shopping - t'is the only way!

Oh dear, I think I am alone in hating real-life shopping!! I do most of mine online, or out-of-town if I really have to make it real! Even then, the amount and rudeness of people really irritate me. Plus, in Wales you now have to pay 5p for a carrier bag! Not that 5p breaks the bank, it's just the principle of the bl**dy Welsh Government charging us (grr, but that's another rant I won't bore you with!!) I make use of John Lewis click and collect so can just drive in, park underneath, whip in and out with the minimum interaction with other shoppers, haha!! However, at xmas we do make an effort. Sunday we will be going into Cardiff for 9.30, having breakfast whilst waiting for the shops to open, going probably to a maximum of 5 shops and then heading home with three items (reserved in JL!) and some gift vouchers for the nieces and nephew. That is more than enough high street shopping for me thank you!! :cheeky:

I do agree with the advantages over QVC though, especially as a lot of places do a free hours parking (or more) at xmas. I guess I am lucky that I have a good variety of local shops and a few quiet'ish out-of-town areas. I still have to battle the hoards most days for work though, being a retail trainer. Oh the irony :tongue: hehe!!