Q Talk

[gardensla]

LINK

[stevieb]

No way. I guess it's true what they say about shipping being a source of profit around here. That's just so wrong. You could probably ship these for the price of a few stamps and really, insurance shouldn't be a factor.

[millieshops]

On 7/29/2014 stevieb said:

No way. I guess it's true what they say about shipping being a source of profit around here. That's just so wrong. You could probably ship these for the price of a few stamps and really, insurance shouldn't be a factor.

Agree. If mom bought a pair of tights at Kmart and send them to daughter, the cost would be small - buy a small padded envelope and stuff the tights in. Add a bit of postage and you're done. Certainly less than $2.

If a company does it, they pay for someone to pull the order from the computer, they've paid warehousing expenses, they pay for someone to package the tights, they pay for the envelope and the postage, and who knows what else. That's why I try not to buy inexpensive items online.

Shipping is actually very expensive for companies. It's one of the reasons Amazon is losing almost a billion dollars a year! According to analysts right now their policies are geared to giving customers deals and cutting out other companies. Investors, though, are becoming testy, and Amazon may have to change policies. I wonder if that's one of the reasons Prime is going up 25% next year?

[stevieb]

Covering costs is one thing, cost centering shipping and handling to produce significant profit is something altogether different, though I do agree companies have overhead. Also agree that some things are best purchased in person or at a retailer that gives a break on shipping after a certain expenditure threshold is met. Regardless, $4.50 to ship a pair of tights is high, as are many of QVC's shipping charges, which is one reason I frequently back out when I see what it'll cost to get some items home. Along with turning a profit, which makes complete sense for any retailer, I wonder if that's also their goal? I sort of doubt it.

[ItsMe13]

I agree. I always thought QVC had high shipping rates. I thought shipping costs were based on the weight of the item. HSN always has lots of items with free shipping.

[stevieb]

On 7/29/2014 ItsMe13 said:

I agree. I always thought QVC had high shipping rates. I thought shipping costs were based on the weight of the item. HSN always has lots of items with free shipping.

This is a key point. If HSN can turn a profit and still offer occasional free shipping and certainly far more Easy Pay options and other incentives then why isn't QVC able to do so and also still turn a profit? Could the answer be that they simply don't want to? If not, is their profit margin so slim that these things would seriously impair their bottom line? If so, then what are they doing wrong that others, perhaps are doing better...?

[KYToby]

If people think the cost is too high or ridiculous, I have an innovative solution -- buy them elsewhere. Unless things have recently changed, QVC has not cornered the market on tights.

Sheesh -- is it really that difficult? Why take the time to complain when one could easily find another source?

[stevieb]

Hmmm... Really not all that innovative. Most of us have already considered the option and, gasp, even acted upon it... Of course, having options doesn't mean we can't advise the powers that be of our perspective and of the potential implications... It also doesn't mean we can't commiserate with each other... If the 'complaints' so rankle, one would think skipping "The Q Did What" forum might be worth considering. I mean really, why take the time to complain when one can easily not bother to read the complaints...?

[Lipstickdiva]

If people are going to complain about s/h but continue to buy, thus paying the s/h, they really can't complain. Well I guess they can, but it's kind of silly.

If I have an issue with the s/h, I just don't buy the item.

I have a problem with the $12.50 cost of the tights to begin with. I buy awesome tights from TJMaxx or Marshalls for a lot less money and some of them have lasted me for the entire fall and winter seasons.

[kittymomNC]

I wonder if anyone here who complains about QVC's shipping buys from eBay? If so, do you know that eBay takes 10% of the shipping charge from the seller? They didn't used to do that. But they thought that a lot of sellers were padding their shipping costs so that they could lower the price of the item they were selling, which meant that eBay was losing some profit. They also take 10% of the item sales price. So now, I guess some eBay sellers who didn't pad their shipping charges before, probably pad them now to make up for that 10%.

If an eBay seller does their shipping postage labels through eBay, the seller gets a discount on the final shipping cost. But the seller's final shipping cost and the shipping charged the buyer can be different, so the seller can still make money on shipping, and eBay also makes money on shipping.

Gets confusing doesn't it?? Just saying that QVC is not the only company making money on shipping and handling costs.....eBay is a much larger company and I'm sure they make a small fortune on the 10% they take from the seller's shipping charge...

And I still don't think that shipping is entirely free from any online company - they've got it in there somewhere......