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Occasional Contributor
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎07-14-2010

Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

I was watching Shark Tank last night (1/9/15) and Bantam Bagels was on. They said they sell to QVC at $19.80/unit and looking at the website, QVC sells them between $49-$53. Granted shipping is included so QVC's margin has to be higher than normal, but that seems really high. I always thought the manufacturer gets a 50% margin and the seller gets a 50% margin - so an item that costs $1 to make, would retail for $4. QVC's margin is a lot higher than 50% in this case.

Lori did the deal so I assume more will be coming to QVC - reviews don't look so good on what they sold so far.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

Wow, the reviews are terrible, aren't they? Lucky for me that where I live, I have access to freshly baked bagels of all shapes and sizes, and fresh deli whipped cream cheese, for far FAR less $$ than these overpriced ripoffs. Good grief!

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,230
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

I truly do not care about the margin - my job as a consumer is to care about my money, not that of the manufacturer or the retailer. If I don't like the price, I just don't buy.

I wouldn't buy those bagels and it has nothing to do with the margin. I can buy bagels locally where I can see the ovens they're baked in. I can buy one or a dozen. I bought Lender's bagels - once. Someone gave me a gift of bagels from Wolferman - once (and I'd not waste my own money), etc.

Margin is not the issue, price isn't even my issue. I want my bagels, my breads, etc. from local sources. If it's already in plastic, I'm not buying even if the margin is 10%!

Can't think of a single reason why Ishould care what their margin is - unless I'm invested financially for more than $39 in the company!

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,560
Registered: ‎12-31-2013

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

There is no set margin that most companies use when setting prices or that the manufacturer gets, like your 50% example. For most companies, margins for each of their products can vary greatly depending on a number of things such as the demand for the product. They can get a higher margin on a high demand product. In a restaurant, for example, the markup on all regular and alcoholic drinks is much higher than it is on the food items themselves.

You also don't mention what the $19.80 per unit means - how many bagels are included in a unit & exactly what does that amount cover. Does it cover just the bagels or are other S&H costs added to that amount, like the fancy looking cardboard basket for each dozen (from the Q pictures) and the dry ice when shipped. Those S&H costs may seem insignificant but will add up, and the manufacturer (or QVC) will recover whatever handling costs they have in addition to the base price of the product. That includes warehouse refrigeration costs, wages for packers, etc.

One unit (from manufacturer standpoint) may include less bagels than what is included in the QVC offerings For example a unit could be a dozen or 24 or any other number and QVC sells in lots of 36.

If I can afford the price for a product that I want or need, then I will buy it. For me, what the company makes doesn't matter unless I own stock in it. I've worked in the financial planning area of a Fortune 500 company and can tell you that it is almost impossible for a consumer to determine how much profit margin a company makes on a given product because there are so many costs and variables.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,935
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

Glad you posted who did the deal. I recorded the show & the dvr cut off the end of it. This show seems to run a few mins. late for some reason. I would set up to record a few mins. longer but I always have other shows set up to record. I know I won't be buying any. The price is ridiculous. I know when I worked at Zales when they sent out jewelry repairs they always added on an additional 2 1/2 to 3 times what they were charged. I know where they send some of their repairs & I go there instead of going through Zales.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,752
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

No idea what Q's margin is or should be. But I'm surprised they'd disclose Q's wholesale cost on Shark Tank. On the face of it though, the margin seems okay: Q pays $20 for product and $5 for shipping, then marks-up by 100% to cover its substantial overhead and promotional costs.

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

IMO - all the foods on QVC are greatly overpriced.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 30,238
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

Wow! I don't mind paying for convenience but that's too much of a profit margin for me.

There are fools who pay too much. Sometimes that's me, but when I do, it's because I'm aware of it and don't mind the profit margin.

However, I don't buy food products (except for the Honeybell and carmel apples). Noth worth it.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,204
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,578
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Shark Tank - Bantam Bagels - QVC's Margin

Since I live in the bagel capital of the the world NY/NJ

I can't imagine ordering bagels anyway or what the market might be for this product and can't you buy a bagel most anywhere now.