topic Re: Financial Woes? in Suggestion Box

Financial Woes?

AddictedtoQ — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 22:14:58 GMT

Read the article written by the Philadelphia Business Journal about the financial woes at Q. One suggestion to help viewers and sales would be to totally revamp the return process. It takes forever to get a refund.

Q really needs to adopt the return model used by Amazon, not to mention the free shipping with Amazon Prime. Refunds are amazing too: Request the refund online, choose whether you want a refund to your credit card or an Amazon credit. (I always choose the Amazon credit for simplicity and speed.) Print out your mailing label, and take the return item to a UPS store where they scan it. In most cases, before I even arrive back home (20 minutes away) I get the text saying my purchase price has been refunded and I have my Amazon credit. I've usually spent that refund within a day or two. I really encourage Q to step up and adapt this model. A business needs to be competitive. Your customers would love it.

Re: Financial Woes?

Kachina624 — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:07:05 GMT

@AddictedtoQ. This ma6 come as a shock but QVC has a similar process. Have you read the return instructions lately? They've changed and now include using a QR code that's scanned by the USPS/UPS. I wouldn't say it's as fast as Amazon but it's much improved. Update yourself.

Re: Financial Woes?

KittySoftPaws — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 01:00:59 GMT

I disagree, on revamping it to the likes of Amazon. Too much risk for abuse by the buyer. As a business, it's a risk to refund someone before the product is returned and verfied. Amazon is way bigger and can afford some losses.

Aside from that, one thing I wish they would do is what HSN, their sister co. does, and that is the item can be exchanged right from their site. You select the exchange, they send it out, and then give you a certain amount of time to return the other item before you would get billed for it. So it's reserved right away versus returning it for an exchange like the Q does.

By the time Q gets the return/exchange, the item color or size you need will be gone. Or worse, they don't read the return slip that says "exchange" and simply refund you. They do this a lot. All that being said, returns cost a company a lot of money. And Q is no different than most companies in that it can take 7-10 business days to process a refund. Comparing them to Amazon is not fair or realistic.

Re: Financial Woes?

Bhvbum — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 01:04:43 GMT

Amazon doesn't have the same business model that QVC has. When you buy a shirt from Amazon, have you seen it modeled on TV in a showroom, with the designer/vendor talking about all its features, as a model wears it?
Is it offered in petite and tall? How about extra small all the way to 3X? do they put together an outfit of complementing pieces? BTW, nothing is free, you want free shipping then you're going to have to pay for it somewhere else.

Re: Financial Woes?

pdlinda — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 01:55:35 GMT

@KittySoftPaws You must have misunderstood the Amazon return procedure. You go on the app and indicate the item you want to return. They send you a QR code on the app. Then, you don't have to wrap the item or prepare any other paperwork. I take my return items to my local Whole Foods Mkt (where I normally shop). I RETURN THE ITEM and the clerk scans the QR code on my phone. By the time I return home, the credit is issued.

Re: Financial Woes?

KittySoftPaws — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 02:04:00 GMT

@pdlinda I know this is an option with Amazon returns, I have done it before. My point is, there are many who do not return items this way, and Amazon has had issues with boxes being returned empty or otherwise damaged and unsellable. So it's a situation that is ripe for fraud, and I imagine costs them plenty. My point was the Q is nowhere in comparison to Amazon in size or profit. IMO. Q is a small company compared to them, and would go bankrupt if they took on that kind of liability. Again, IMO

Re: Financial Woes?

Jaspersmom — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:49:54 GMT

We can debate Amazon vs. QVC, but we can all agree that QVC will have to do something different in order to survive. Their prices on most goods are no longer competive and adding S and H boosts costs even more. QVC once was the only game in town and yes, they stood for quality, VALUE and convenience. That no longer holds true.

Here are some things the company many want to think about:

1. Do we need a half hour for the first presentation of the TSV at midnight? Maybe for a computer, but sneakers? And talking about TSV's. Are they really? On the QVC home page, I'm STILL seeing the 17 inch HP laptop that was presented weeks ago. What's special about that?

2. Stop recycling the same items over and over again. This season was the worst in a many years. It seemed the same ten or so items were introduced in October and shown ad nauseum right up until this past week.

3. Prices are out of control. I tune in mostly for clothing items and everything is moving towards the 100 dollar mark. It really annoys me when I see an item that I have in my closet that I purchased years ago for well under 50 dollars that now is 70 plus. SAME ITEM. When LUG, for example, was first introduced a few years back, the prices were quite reasonable. They too are now 20, 30 and 40 dollars more.

I understand the cost of doing business has risen dramatically, but the consumers want to know that what they're spending is worth it. Nothing is particularly unique about QVC products as they once were.

4. And finally . . . something must be done about shipping and handling costs. I saw a Dooney and Burke bag yesterday and the S and H was nearly $13 dollars. Priced me right out of the game.

Re: Financial Woes?

ellaphant — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:57:10 GMT

@KittySoftPaws wrote:
@pdlinda I know this is an option with Amazon returns, I have done it before. My point is, there are many who do not return items this way, and Amazon has had issues with boxes being returned empty or otherwise damaged and unsellable. So it's a situation that is ripe for fraud, and I imagine costs them plenty. My point was the Q is nowhere in comparison to Amazon in size or profit. IMO. Q is a small company compared to them, and would go bankrupt if they took on that kind of liability. Again, IMO

Amazon now does all the return boxing, etc.. You hand the person the item, they scan your return code. That's it. No fraud.

Re: Financial Woes?

ellaphant — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:58:20 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@AddictedtoQ. This ma6 come as a shock but QVC has a similar process. Have you read the return instructions lately? They've changed and now include using a QR code that's scanned by the USPS/UPS. I wouldn't say it's as fast as Amazon but it's much improved. Update yourself.

" update yourself "??? Are you kidding with the rudeness?

Re: Financial Woes?

pigletsmom2 — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:21:38 GMT

I think the returns thing is interesting to debate. There are tons of people who buy just to return and with clothing being a big part of the Q items that can add up quick. There are probably a lot of people who would buy at least two sizes to try something ensuring constant returns and I can see why they'd want to keep that in check. Also I knew someone who returned like close to 20 boxes a week to the Q and HSN and it wasn't even clothing.

I do think the shipping fees are a different situation. If I'm buying something for 40 bucks and knew shipping was free at 50 then I'd probably just look around for something to add to my cart. I could spend close to 40 with shipping and tax and get nothing for that extra money or see if there's something for 10 dollars and I actually at least get something for it. People will absolutely buy more items if there's a reasonable minimum free shipping amount.

Re: Financial Woes?

Teddixat — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:23:45 GMT

@Jaspersmom prices of everything have risen exponentially everywhere as well as on Amazon. This is the world we live in. Grocery prices are higher than ever. I went on the Wayfair site to browse lamps and I was shocked at the price of a lamp that used to be reasonable. No longer is that a reality.

Re: Financial Woes?

geezerette — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:02:56 GMT

@Teddixat wrote:
@Jaspersmom prices of everything have risen exponentially everywhere as well as on Amazon. This is the world we live in. Grocery prices are higher than ever. I went on the Wayfair site to browse lamps and I was shocked at the price of a lamp that used to be reasonable. No longer is that a reality.

I agree.

To use the Lug example sited previously for instance, their bags on their own site have gone up even more than on the Q.

Re: Financial Woes?

haddon9 — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:08:10 GMT

@AddictedtoQ Are you familiar with QVC easy returns?

Qvceasyreturns@qvc.com

I send an eamil with the information about what I am returning and in normal times (not the holidays) I get a response within a day or two along with my refund.

Now it can take a week or more but it still helps getting a refund faster.

Re: Financial Woes?

Carmie — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 23:14:41 GMT

I read an article yesterday where somone finally got arrested for buying expensive electronics from Amazon.

He removed the product and filled the boxes with dirt and sand to make the box weigh the same as if the product was still inside before returning it.

This person stole millions of dollars doing this. He was stupid and used his real name and address for the transactions and it was easy to trace him.

An Amazon worker accidently damaged his returned box and found the soil. This had been happening for quite a while.

I doubt many companies are willing to trust the public to return items in good order with no damage and without checking the return first before they refund your money.

Amazon can afford to lose money, but QVC cannot. They are barely making profits and are in financial trouble.

Re: Financial Woes?

KittySoftPaws — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 23:11:40 GMT

@ellaphant Ummm no. You have several options to return an item. The way you mention is one of several ways items can be returned to Amazon. It is not the only way.

Re: Financial Woes?

Dazzlespaz1993 — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:02:28 GMT

if this stations is 5 billion dollars in debt then why r they still in business..

Re: Financial Woes?

KittySoftPaws — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:08:05 GMT

@Carmie Great example. Exactly the point I was trying to get across. This is what you get with that kind of policy, and I'm sure they have had many more like this one.

Re: Financial Woes?

CalminHeart — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 13:16:21 GMT

Q's financies are in the dumpster because they act as though it's the 1990s and haven't maintained their operations. I was an exec with a huge corporation and can see many easy ways Q could make changes without huge costs.

Bottom line for me is that I don't watch much because of

Constant repetition of products and variations of them
So much polyester and spandex
Non-competitive prices
Return delays and excuses they give for them
Aegist marketing
Unflattering patterns on clothes
Host antics
Rude comments by a couple of hosts
Personal stories
Mally

Re: Financial Woes?

Catch71 — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 18:30:36 GMT

@Jaspersmom

You make a lot of good points.

I might add, anyone comparing them to Amazon is missing the fact they are entirely different business models. And, people forget they pay for prime so technically it is not free shipping.

Even with Prime, not everything arrives the next day. I have had things take up to a week if they come from a third party.

That being said, I do not like QVC shipping costs being charged one day, lthen surprise free shipping the next day. jMakes customer feel they were cheated being charged lshipping. This is especially true when the item doesn't even ship for many days but you cannot cancel and reorder with free shipping. This especially annoying if you need to return you are out the original shipping and the cost to return. I know $3.30 for clothing is cheap for clothes, but many other things are $5.50 and more.

I have always said customers who spend a good amount should get a perk like many stores do; like a rewards system.

Re: Financial Woes?

Catch71 — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 18:34:14 GMT

QVC is the only place I know of that lets you wear an item of clothing or shoes for up to 30 days and still get a refund. This must cost them a ton of money with people returning worn clothes and shoes.

Who else has that policy?