topic Re: Shipping costs in Q Talk

Shipping costs

auggiedoggy — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:03:55 GMT

Does anyone else find the shipping costs to be too high? Why is it that, after an item is returned, I don't even see the original amount of the item refunded? Customer service has tried to explain it but, as far as it looks, I am paying the original shipping cost twice...once when I order the item, and then it is deducted again, along with the return label amount, when they "refund" my money. If you look at the original cost of the item, you aren't even getting that amount back. They told me, for example a Valerie item, that Valerie is getting that original shipping cost. Has anyone else noticed?

Re: Shipping costs

circles — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:17:53 GMT

Unfortunately its not just the Q...I ordered a jacket from Woman Within...it cost me $10.00 to get it to me...and then I had to return due to sizing...and it cost me $7.00 to send it back...grand total was $17.00 for the "pleasure" of trying it on...

Re: Shipping costs

Q4u — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:21:41 GMT

I know everyone complains about the shipping costs but shipping has become really expensive and has gone up again as of Jan 2017! (Rates Included in link) and we've had back to back increases for a few years now.

Just for general info:

http://www.stamps.com/whitepapers/2017-usps-postage-rate-increase-guide.pdf

QVC does not seem to give "free" shipping often, and shipping an item to you and then back to QVC are two separate events, both requiring a payment to USPS (or UPS) for both services. When they refund an amount to you for an item you bought and returned, they will deduct the cost of shipping from your refund because shipping is not part of the cost of the item you purchased and returned.

Re: Shipping costs

Quse — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:36:04 GMT

@auggiedoggy QVC set themselves up for complaints on this, imo. They used to refund the original shipping cost, which hardly any other stores did. They now charge the shipping costs to the buyers, which is what most stores did all along. Just because you return something doesn't mean QVC gets reimbursed by the Post Office or UPS, it's a cost to them, and whether they include it in the price of the item, or show an actual shipping charge, it's a cost to ship it to your door.
If you send it back, same thing, it costs $$. You aren't paying for shipping twice, you are paying for shipping, period. USPS and UPS don't offer "round trip" pricing like a plane ticket, it's pay per ship.
And yes, it's costly. Shipping charges just went up in January 2017 at USPS and will likely keep going up, not down.

Re: Shipping costs

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:39:21 GMT

Hi @auggiedoggy If you have questions about your refund please send your Q Account number and order information to QVCSocialTeam@qvc.com and we will be happy to look into this for you.

Re: Shipping costs

freakygirl — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:41:37 GMT

i rarely return anything to qvc, and when i do, it's got to be for a very good reason. last christmas, i bought a little surprise gift for my husband which he ended up not liking. i returned it and lost half of the total amount i paid for. that stung. i'll get over it, but i haven't yet. 😅

Re: Shipping costs

makena — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 17:05:30 GMT

@auggiedoggy wrote:
Does anyone else find the shipping costs to be too high? Why is it that, after an item is returned, I don't even see the original amount of the item refunded? Customer service has tried to explain it but, as far as it looks, I am paying the original shipping cost twice...once when I order the item, and then it is deducted again, along with the return label amount, when they "refund" my money. If you look at the original cost of the item, you aren't even getting that amount back. They told me, for example a Valerie item, that Valerie is getting that original shipping cost. Has anyone else noticed?

It's that way with MOST online ordering.... not just QVC.

Re: Shipping costs

mac116 — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 17:20:18 GMT

Ahh...the reason that I am an Amazon Prime member. I KNOW that I pay up front, but I purchase the majority of my online items through Amazon. I also watch programming on Amazon Prime using our Roku. I figure that between orders and TV, movies, original series on Amazon, I am WAY ahead money wise. I would gladly pay a yearly shipping fee to QVC if it was as resonable. Right now, my life is too busy for a lot of regular brick and mortar shopping.

Re: Shipping costs

brandiwine — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 20:36:35 GMT

I agree about Amazon Prime. Great prices when shopping, Super fast shipping, great customer service and I use the Prime music, movies, and other streaming options. There is very little I can't find there. The Q could learn a lot.

Re: Shipping costs

ChouChou — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 21:38:54 GMT

I used to shop a lot at the Q. However, the shipping costs have gotten out of hand. I realize that not all of this is their fault but, like the Q, I have to make financial decisions that benefit me and my family. I still like to see what items on TSVs and special pack ups that are not offered by other vendors. I am more amenable to purchasing if there is free shipping.

Just this past weekend I purchased a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer from Wayfair. The pack up was exactly the same as the Q and was a little cheaper. However, the clincher was the free shipping at Wayfair and $18.75 shipping here.

I recently purchased the Temptations Baker's Rack here. The shipping was $32. However, I couldn't find a baker's rack that fit my decor and size needs so I bit the bullet and bought it even though the shipping was high.

What this should tell them is that if the item they're selling is desirable enough for me I'll buy it even with the shipping. If I can find it somewhere else at the same or a lower price with no shipping then that's where I'll go.

Re: Shipping costs

NaomiN — Mon, 01 May 2017 18:56:19 GMT

I had the same question, but today I contacted my local post office. I wanted to know why a return I sent back to QVC took 6 DAYS to go from my town to another town, which is 10 miles away. They didn't have an answer; however, the postmaster DID tell me that although QVC charges $6.95 for the customer to return an item, they get "a huge discount from the post office so it is only costing them (QVC) about $2 to sent it back."

Isn't that interesting???? Charging me $6.95, yet it's costing them $2, so they are making $4.95 on each item returned. No wonder it's a billion dollar company. I am done shopping here.

Re: Shipping costs

NaomiN — Mon, 01 May 2017 18:59:59 GMT

I was just informed by my post office that QVC gets a "HUGE discount on shipping", so when I send them back an item and am charged $6.95, it actually only costs about $2 for QVC to ship it back. So they are making money on the returns, also.

Re: Shipping costs

Shanus — Tue, 02 May 2017 12:49:11 GMT

@NaomiN. I never have used Q's return label. They charge $6.95 to return an item & if I mail it myself, I can spend as little as $3.

It seems QVC is going to try to make extra money on us any way they can. It's up to us to look out for these "tricks".

Re: Shipping costs

BEEVPA — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 13:16:00 GMT

I shop at QVC much less than I once did because of shipping and return costs. Nordstrom always has free shipping/return. And many other online merchants offer free shipping or at least incentives with free shipping "special" deals. It disappoints me, but i just feel paying to receive and then return something(if needed) is way too expensive.

Re: Shipping costs

Ms Tink — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 18:46:46 GMT

Never pay anywhere else for shipping except the Q. I go online and try to find coupon codes. So far so good. With Amazon - Walmart etc if you buy a certain amount it ships free so with these I usually will not order an item below the set amt - I just wait until I need something else to get it for free.

Re: Shipping costs

Annabellethecat66 — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 18:55:09 GMT

I mail out packages all of the time and I can tell you the costs of sending something by UPS and the post office are unbelievable.

I send a lot of things to (boxes) to my daughters in Florida and Colorado.

You'd think I'd be used to the cost but I never get used to it because it's unbelievably expensive.

They don't just go by the weight, they get their ruler out and measure the entire box!

They have those boxes where they are prepaid but they don't hold very much. My friend uses them and she said she used to be able to put a lot in them, but now they aren't allowed to bulge.

It's stupid. I can see why (supposedly) the post office is loosing money, it just costs too much to send things, people either text or find another way.

Re: Shipping costs

CareBears — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 19:09:13 GMT

What I find with QVC, even when an item is damaged or returned because it just did not work, I am continually charged the $6.95 return fee, which should not be happening over and over. I today just returned a Kitchen Aid chopper, we even watched the video on line and no matter what we did we could not get it to work, I clearly stated that the item does not work, and I am almost positive I will be calling or writing to the Customer Service to get back my $6.95, and what about all the posts about free exchanges, we have seen post after post after post about people being charged $6.95 to exchange, or when people do not use the Q label to return, and are still being charged the $6.95 to return, how many people do not catch this, and it is just putting more money into QVC's pockets, and then they wonder why they have lost QVC shoppers, obviously no one is listening to the customers! One time I wrote a lenghty email about the problems I had experienced over a short time frame, I received an email stating that my concerns were being forwarded so that my concerns would be heard, guess what, no one bothered to get back to me over those concerns, so I was given the brush off, once again!

Re: Shipping costs

SusieQ_2 — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 19:11:17 GMT

@Shanus wrote:

@NaomiN. I never have used Q's return label. They charge $6.95 to return an item & if I mail it myself, I can spend as little as $3.

It seems QVC is going to try to make extra money on us any way they can. It's up to us to look out for these "tricks".

You're not going to pay as little as $3 if you insure your return, and mailing anything of value without insurance is just not a smart thing to do.

On 12/20 I returned a tiny gold chain to HSN. The package weighed 1.3 ounces which did cost $3 to return. Insurance, however, added an additional $2.65 so it cost $5.65 to return a 1.3 ounce package.

Using the HSN prepaid label would have been $7.95...the same price Evine charges for their prepaid labels for anything under 5 lbs. which is one dollar more than the label charge from QVC.

Re: Shipping costs

Meowshmarrow — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 03:09:21 GMT

I honestly think shipping & handling fee on QVC is very pricey.

Small business owners or even an ebay seller can get some discount through shipping carriers, so large company like QVC would get huge discount for shipping.

$5 for a small item is absolutely over priced!

Re: Shipping costs

Marie64 — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 06:33:36 GMT

While these companies get huge shipping discounts to ship the items to us, we have to remember they have to have someone pull, package, and prepare these items to ship. The employees don't work for free and they most likely have benefits, too. They also have to have warehouses to store these items and those buildings require electricity, rent, taxes, etc. This is all factored into the cost of shipping and handling. I agree with what others have said about shipping things back on their own nickel and being charged for a return label which is never used. It's just wrong and we, the consumer, should not have to go back and make sure we're not getting charged, but alas, we have to if we want to keep buying from QVC. I do like shopping with QVC because they offer items you just can't find in the brick and mortar stores a lot of the time and 98% of the time I end up keeping the items I order. For the other 2% I have to return something, I'll pack it up and ship it back myself and then monitor the return to see what items I'm getting charged the $6.95 and then call CS to tell them to give me back my return fee they've charged me.