Willingness to pay limits for beauty TSVs and products

[DrJude]

Starting a new thread to get your views on whay yours imuts are for beuty spending on QVC and elsewhere.

For me most beauty TSVs are too pricey. Once you factor in the products you actually want they are not good value for me. That being said a lot of QVC beauty products cost more than I'm willing to pay. I begrudge paying more than about £20 for a 50ml moisturiser and £10 for cleanser - preferably less...

What are your limits?

 

[Weathergirl]

If I know that I will use up all of at least 4/5 ths of a beauty TSV then I am usually happy to pay around £38 plus postage for it. I have been known to pay more for Elemis and L'Occitane but don't feel comfortable doing it so it's very rare for me to buy these and the TSV has to be almost tailor-made for me and on easy pay. I have bought most the Mally TSV's ( priced in the high 38's) but only one Elemis TSV since 2010 and only 2 L'occitane TSV's in 2 years.

 

[lynnonthelake]

I dislike beauty TSVs that have mini or travel sizes thrown in to make it seem good value,I don't buy many now as I very rarely use everything in them.
Lynn :mysmilie_48:

 

[boffy]

i find moisturisers last me 6 months for a 50ml pot. i dont use the more expensive ranges as they usually contain perfumes or essential oils both give me boils/spots. cleanser wise i use soap again because of reaction. £10 for l'occitane face soap this lasts me 8 months. so my regime costs me very little. i dont rely on tsv;s they can be a waste of money to get you to spend knowing that only one item in the kit is popular.

l'occitane is the only range i use constantly. i buy in the shop sales and online. i have boxes of body cream/lotions and some shower gel. i use bars of soap from l'occitane but buy on qvc only when they are cheaper than the shops and thats it for me.

in answer to the question my willingless to pay for beauty tsv's is zero. its a ploy yo get you to buy stuff that you dont have a chance of using and to keep you buying beauty ranges

 

[donna255]

Before I wised up I used to buy beauty TSVs and think well I could give this bit away or that. Then I thought I am spending the money on kits and only using 2 or 3 pieces. now if you wait you can usually get the bits you want on ebay. I did give the other bits away as birthday or christmas gifts. But they were not boxed and if person did not know the brand had no idea it was suppose to be high end. I started cutting back on the brands I bought, well I did develop mild roseaca so cut out buying lots of brands and products. Was it worth getting a rash and or spots and having to send back!!! No.

I buy very few beauty TSVs now. I still love Elemis and refuse to pay full price for items at a counter. But even those I think, do I want this product or that? Therefore I have not bought any TSVs this year. I think I even ruled out the last christmas one???

The problem with QVC and beauty TSVs now are the companies are less willing to give at lower prices. In the old days they seemed happy to give at a far bigger discount, I think QVC need the brands more than they need them. Look at Estee Lauder who own Bobbi Brown for one, apart from the odd kit everything else is the same price as you would buy at a counter. We will never get a TSV(QVC US have had quite a few), because EL will not agree. So many other places online sell the same brands or even ebay, people now know they can get it cheaper elsewhere. QVC UK want the big brands and names but these companies are not willing unless they want to get off the ground willing to give the big discounts.

The Elemis TSV two years back(?) the big christmas one, was the first to hit the £70+(yes it did sell out). I did say at the time this is the one testing the waters and the others will follow, as indeed they did. Suddenly the normal price for a TSV was £50+ and then shipping, now quite a few will be over £70. But its easy pay which will still make people buy in their thousands. So unless they stop then QVC and the brands will continue to higher and higher priced beauty TSVs.

For me, it depends what is in the TSV, if there is easy pay(and even then if I have the money at the time. I only have a debit card and prefer it that way), whether I will go to £70+. I will not pay more than £90+ for sure. I have paid £100+ for one bottle of perfume(not from QVC of course), but it was classed by me as a birthday present to myself and I really wanted it after using a large decant up(I couldn't get another one unfortunately).

 

[Bettyboo]

These sets of products are a great way for companies to get people buying products they don't want or use. They obviously make a huge profit from them as there seems to be plenty of them. I buy all my beauty products off the shelf in supermarkets and Boots, Superdrug etc and would never pay more than £10 max and under £5 is even better. Most of these sets on Q seem to have sample sizes in them and are a complete waste of money IMO.

 

[MrMarple]

I remember about 4 or 5 years ago that a beauty TSV costing more than £25.00 + P & P was considered ****** expensive on this forum.

Now, were lucky to get a TSV for under £45.00 all in, mostly they're over the £50.00 mark now.
Some are still quite good value (Liz Earle for example who are generally mostly full sizes), but the likes of L'Occitane are a total rip off IMO. Couple of full sized items bulked out with travel sizes.
Alexis says a travel sized shower gel will last someone for a two weeks holiday. I agree, they might, if you only showered every third day. Waste of time, even giving them as gifts make you look like a right tight bugger if you ask me.

 

[boffy]

i will never forget the first philisosophy tsv i swear it was 8 years ago. had the skincare and bath products. all full sizes and the presntation was beautiful. all the beauty tsv's were incredible.

now they are boring and wth the collossol postage prices far to expensive

 

[whitesnake]

Really I don't like to spend above £40.00 plus p&p anymore. I used to happily pay up to £60.00 plus p & P but anything around that price point is now a considered purchase for me and really would have to be something out of this world. There are far too many sample sizes in the beauty TSVs nowadays for them to be good value for money. The christmas L'Occitane was a prime example. The small 'tester' size foot and handcreams were a disgrace.

 

[louise66]

I find the beauty tsvs to e excellent vfm, so the price limit the OP has set, would make them affordable, imho. I remember watching a doc on young people who were in debt and had to reduce their sprnding. One girl spent nearly £400 per month on beauty. I spend nowhere near that in a year. Not because I can't afford it, but because I have to be able to see what I am getting for my money, and paying that on skincare is, to me, wasting money. But I am very canny with money, anyway, so perhaps others would put beauty at the top of their list when prioritising their money.

 

[Vienna]

I`ll only buy a tsv if I`ll use everything in it but I`m not a big beauty product follower so it`s few and far between. SBC, ABC and AD synergy are the only tsv`s I`ve ever bought. I love Mally eye sticks and mascara but I`ve never bought one of her tsv`s, I wait until she has a tsv and then look out on Ebay for any bits I need, mainly mascara or eye shadows.

 

[May]

These sets of products are a great way for companies to get people buying products they don't want or use. They obviously make a huge profit from them as there seems to be plenty of them. I buy all my beauty products off the shelf in supermarkets and Boots, Superdrug etc and would never pay more than £10 max and under £5 is even better. Most of these sets on Q seem to have sample sizes in them and are a complete waste of money IMO.

I agree Bettyboo ....I have been using Simple products ...special offer atm in sainsburys ..i do use Liz Earle tonic ...but that is my only Big Brand one i use lasts me ages .....i begrudge all the prices ....so far my skin is loving the Simple brand ....somebody out there is making big bucks from people and their insecurities ...and less face it ...we all have them ( pardon the pun) ....:mysmilie_17:....

 

[rainbowdottie]

I'm not a massive beauty junkie so this is quite an easy answer for me......no I refuse to spend that kind of money of beauty products.and the fact that qvc have so many make the situation even worse for themselves imo.how many claims can you make about effectiveness and value when another one comes round in the same week claiming to do the same thing???

I have bought one molten brown tsv in the past as a present for my MIL.....I didnt think it was anything special personally.I bought one L'Occitane tsv to split into gifts as recommended by the presenter and when I did, it was a poor embarrassment really considering the price I'd paid.I've bought a fair few Laura geller tsv's - I may not be a beauty junkie...but I am a make up one - and have never used all the products in every set.think the last set I purchased 2 out of the 5 items I gave away,so its hardly good value.I actually stopped lauras stuff for the simple fact that nearly every set is the same - and I dont keep it all....so whats the point.

I have had odd items from various shows over the years.I bought the sbc collagen when it first aired in a huge bottle....I quite liked it.....got some compliments actually on my tan legs when I didnt have any fake tan on..the collagen just gave it a smooth and obviously effective appearance...but I didnt really want to spend another £24 on another bottle......I had decleor cleanser and toner which I liked but not enough difference to buy again......I've bought 3 male shower gels from L'Occitane that no way were worth the money......I had an eye cream from L'Occitane that I REALLY liked but it was never repeated......I had a face cream from L'Occitane that I REALLY liked but was never repeated......I repeat purchased a couple of times the gingerbread scrub from philosophy but that disappeared too.So now I dont bother at all!!!

I'm lucky enough to live in London and I think living in a big city makes a difference.I used to buy liz earle although I dont think I've ever bought a tsv.personally I've stopped using the range now,but my son still likes the shampoo so I just buy that direct now or from john lewis.TKmaxx have a lot of qvc stuff and brands and TBH I'm paying in there much nearer to what the item is worth - and if I need a present (my MIL is a huge bath/shower junkie) thats where I will go.

I get if you dont have this sorts of stores on your doorstep that QVC might seem an attractive option.I also get that a lot of people buy their beauty from QVC for the 30 day MBG.Personally I think the MBG is over-rated - as a customer you are paying through the nose for the privilege (and for those who abuse it) - any worthwhile brand will give you a free sample on their beauty counter.

I have had however other "sets" and even on auto delivery.and boy they they arent worth the money!!!! I bought the 3 Yankee candles large sets when they were first aired as a tsv and on ad and I couldnt believe how much money I'd spent on candles that year.only this year I bought the peony tsv on ad - and I was so pleased with my first drop.Couldnt quite believe how considerably less I got in the second drop and I await my third drop in about a months time.if its a poor show I WILL send it back and cancel the last drop.as with beauty tsvs - people dont want the cost of sending things back - there was no way I'd send candles/bedding back - I did it once on emus out of principle and it cost me ten pounds.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I am not a big beauty/make up person due to having very sentisive skin - once I get something which I feel half works and doesnt cause problems I stick at it - no itchy rashes are far more important than dewy skin. although it would be lovely to have both!

So I have only purchased a couple of TSVs over the years and have never repurchased any of them - in fact one or two are still sitting in a box somewhere.

I dont know if I had no skin problems and able to use anything whether or not I would be more experimental and thus spend lots but as I dont use very much of even those I do use I think not.

Anyway I can be sucked into other purchases so dont need to have any more weakness spots.

 

[China Girl]

I've now given up on overpriced hyped skincare.

The problem I have now though, is trying to find a cheaper range that I could use. Everyone goes on about Nivea, I can't bear the smell of it, so greasy and sickly scented.
Olay is the same, even their unfragranced options smell sickly.
I'm just using up the last of my PCMC, I love it but it's too expensive now, and if I'm honest with myself, it's nice to use but not much else.

 

[Vienna]

I've now given up on overpriced hyped skincare.

The problem I have now though, is trying to find a cheaper range that I could use. Everyone goes on about Nivea, I can't bear the smell of it, so greasy and sickly scented.
Olay is the same, even their unfragranced options smell sickly.
I'm just using up the last of my PCMC, I love it but it's too expensive now, and if I'm honest with myself, it's nice to use but not much else.

I can`t stand any Nivea product because I find them greasy too and because I have sensitive skin they also break me out. Same as someone else mentioned earlier I find Simple skincare is good and I also buy from a site called Naturally thinking. They do basic unadulterated product bases, face wash, mosturiser, cleansers etc etc and they`re all unscented. Their face wash base is fantastic and reminds me of Clinique liquid face soap. They also do other skincare and body products which contain essential oils and ingredients. I stick with the AD synergy oil at night, love it and a bottle lasts for months. I`ve never bought expensive skincare but I do splash out on SBC propolis and collagen gels but they last ages too. The propolis is great for my sensitivity and I use the collagen on my decolletage once again because of sensitivity and also because the so called specialist decolletage creams are damned expensive for piddly liquid tubes.

 

[rainbowdottie]

my alternative to the liz earle cleansing polish is eurcin cleansing milk and I use it in the same way as liz earle with the muslin's.I have very sensitive skin and this really helps it actually and i've used it for a few years now.i cant use nivea either

 

[MinxyKitten]

my alternative to the liz earle cleansing polish is eurcin cleansing milk and I use it in the same way as liz earle with the muslin's.I have very sensitive skin and this really helps it actually and i've used it for a few years now.i cant use nivea either

NSpa also do a hot cloth cleanser very much like Cleanse& Polish. £7 I think, and very often on 3 for £10 in Asda. I bought the last LE tsv as nothing was making any difference to my skin at the time. I have noticed a vast improvement, but my face is so much shinier now too - which isn't a good thing! Am spritzing with the toner (haven't used toner since my teenage years) and using the light moisturiser. Can't figure it out.

I am very careful with beauty tsv's these days, and prefer the mixed face and body ones as shower gel, in particular, will always get used

 

[DrJude]

If you like the texture of pcmc Garrnier do some quite nice cream gel moisturisers - there's one in a green pot that smells quite fresh and is less than a fiver for a pot. No supoosedly anti- aging properties though.

 

[DrJude]

I am not a big beauty/make up person due to having very sentisive skin - once I get something which I feel half works and doesnt cause problems I stick at it - no itchy rashes are far more important than dewy skin. although it would be lovely to have both!

So I have only purchased a couple of TSVs over the years and have never repurchased any of them - in fact one or two are still sitting in a box somewhere.

I dont know if I had no skin problems and able to use anything whether or not I would be more experimental and thus spend lots but as I dont use very much of even those I do use I think not.

Anyway I can be sucked into other purchases so dont need to have any more weakness spots.

In my opinion quite a few of ranges QVC sell can be tricky for sensitive skin. Personally I'm not keen on strongly fragranced products with essentials oils and id like to see more fragrance free options.