Q Talk

[handygal2]

As an aside, l often check out some of the shows that already aired, through the QVC program guide. Regardless of what type of products they are-- fashion, beauty, home items-- every show seems to air only a handful of items: 5 or 6 in an hour. That's way too few items, and way too much time on each item. It's not only the YOUNG viewer whose attention is being lost by doing this, IMO.

[Bird mama]

I knew something was up when Camuto came to QVC.  Last week I was all over HSN's site looking for Castro Convertibles - only to find they are now sold at the Q.

Unless HSN and QVC get a handle on their S/H and delivery chain, Amazon will grind them into the ground.  I don't have prime however my niece and her husband do.  They get what they order in 2 days, plain and simple.  

When I shop Amazon, I do so when I know I will be ordering enough to qualify for free S/H.  Sure Amazon drags their feet a little (trying to push me into prime) but within a week I have what I ordered and it didn't cost me diddly.

Also Amazon around here does not use the post office or UPS.  I tend to see a random vehicle pull up in my driveway and viola - there's a package.  Must be like UBER for packages, I don't know.

[2blonde]

@Bird mama  Yes, that's exactly what a guy in a minivan said to me as he was handing me my Amazon package (I was on my way out the back door of my condo as he pulled up).  "We're Uber for Amazon!"

[Alison Wonderland]

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@Mistreatedbycs wrote:

Beauty has a HUGE markup, big profits.

I am surprised at this decision, HSN and QVC are NOT my go to place to shop for makeup/beauty.

Besides, most of the manufacturers have their own websites, offer the friends and family discounts, offer special free kits and even the major department stores have the free kits.

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My go-to place is the one that's offering the best value at that time. That might be a brand's website, a brick and mortar store, a specialty store, or QVC. QVC does not have a lot of the brands I use, but when they have a TSV on a brand I do use, the deal is almost always better than anything else I can find. 

If they didn't include foundations in so many cosmetics kits, I might buy more beauty items from QVC. I'm always surprised a brand launches a brand new foundation in a TSV. Nope, that's a hard pass for me. It's not really a good value if I get it home and the foundation shade doesn't match and then I find out they don't even carry a shade that does match me.

[ALRATIBA]

No matter what I'm looking for - I check Amazon first.   I buy mainly clothes from QVC that I can't get elsewhere.

Avon gets all my  skincare and makeup money.  QVC sells stuff why beyond my needs.  I just have normal ordinary skin - no special products needed.

I've had Amazon Prime almost since it started.  I get my money's worth!

[software]

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@handygal2 wrote:

The younger audience they are courting-- women in their 20s as mentioned in the article-- not only don't have the time to watch these lengthly beauty presentations, but don't have the $$$$$ to spend either, IMO. The products are much more costly than drugstore beauty products. I'm no marketing expert, but l feel the Qurate people are wasting their time.

(Edited to correct typo, lol).

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BUT WHAT ABOUT EASY PAY!!!

(sarcasm)

[Vivian]

TV shopping may go the way of shopping malls. Young people do not want to spend the time, nor do they have the patience, to meander through the myriad of offerings. Time will tell where future shoppers spend their time and money, but one thing is sure. Change is in the air.

[Puppy Lips]

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@Tricolor wrote:

Thank you for the article. Very interesting reading. We are all seeing some of the changes but it was good to see actually what will be changing. My son and DIL both work in corporate offices for retail chains and Amazon is just killing everyone. 

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This is so  true -- that Amazon is putting a lot of retailers out of business.  Not only that, customers can be extremely rude about it.  Without giving too many details, I will just say that we are in sales.  My husband has seen customers find what they want from our selections, only to order from Amazon while standing in front of him, and announce proudly that they did so.  We have to PAY to be where we are selling and pay all our expenses whether anything sells or not.  It costs a lot of money to ship the merchandise.  If every customer saw what we had and ordered from Amazon, we would not be there to show what is available.  I understand trying to save money.  I do not understand being so rude as to announce you are ordering from somewhere else, and even tell other customers in the vacinity to do the same.  Beyond rude.

[stevieb]

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@handygal2 wrote:

As an aside, l often check out some of the shows that already aired, through the QVC program guide. Regardless of what type of products they are-- fashion, beauty, home items-- every show seems to air only a handful of items: 5 or 6 in an hour. That's way too few items, and way too much time on each item. It's not only the YOUNG viewer whose attention is being lost by doing this, IMO.

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@handygal2 I've been saying so too and for quite a while. Nobody wants to sit though a 20 minute, or longer, hard sell for a single product. Were they actually providing key information for that duration, it would still be too long, but they aren't, they're simply trying to beat potential customers over the head saying the same things over and over... 

When you couple this practice with the narrow branding leading to showing essentially the same brands and often the same products relentlessly, you not only drive a portion of your audience away from sheer boredom, but the variety offered clearly suffers... 

[stevieb]

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@Bird mama wrote:

I knew something was up when Camuto came to QVC.  Last week I was all over HSN's site looking for Castro Convertibles - only to find they are now sold at the Q.

Unless HSN and QVC get a handle on their S/H and delivery chain, Amazon will grind them into the ground.  I don't have prime however my niece and her husband do.  They get what they order in 2 days, plain and simple.  

When I shop Amazon, I do so when I know I will be ordering enough to qualify for free S/H.  Sure Amazon drags their feet a little (trying to push me into prime) but within a week I have what I ordered and it didn't cost me diddly.

Also Amazon around here does not use the post office or UPS.  I tend to see a random vehicle pull up in my driveway and viola - there's a package.  Must be like UBER for packages, I don't know.

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Yes indeed @Bird mama quick and accurate order fulfillment that doesn't include high shipping is among their weakest links. They know it and seemingly refuse to do anything about it because by most accounts, shipping for them generates profit. Another weak link is their lack of customer incentives. HSN was much better in this area than was QVC but I think many of us have noted that since Qurate took over, HSN isn't offering the same level of incentives they once did.