Suggestion Box

[PeterDM]

I would like to suggest an Amazon Prime-type feature which allows customers to sign up to pay a yearly fee which allows them to receive their orders within 2 business days of placing the order.  Considering that Amazon has a larger volume of customers and items for sale, and they are able to accomplish this by charging a fee of $99/year, I would imagine that QVC could figure this out too.  Eventhough I only order from QVC an average of once a moth, I would jump at the chance to have this option, and I would certainly purchase more if I knew I could get the products quicker.

[aprimo]

I like the idea. It also needs to include free returns.

However, I am not sure QVC's distribution centers are capable of shipping that quickly on a large scale. Judging by the number of days many of my purchases remain "in process" before shipping, I think the Q has some serious issues in some of the distribution centers that would have to be worked out before that could be workable.

[jaxs mom]

I'd sign up for that, if it was the same as prime, FREE two day shipping. And free returns.  I've had prime for years and use it a lot. 

[ChynnaBlue]

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@PeterDM wrote:

I would like to suggest an Amazon Prime-type feature which allows customers to sign up to pay a yearly fee which allows them to receive their orders within 2 business days of placing the order.  Considering that Amazon has a larger volume of customers and items for sale, and they are able to accomplish this by charging a fee of $99/year, I would imagine that QVC could figure this out too.  Eventhough I only order from QVC an average of once a moth, I would jump at the chance to have this option, and I would certainly purchase more if I knew I could get the products quicker.

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Wow, can you imagine the amount of change that would have to happen for this to take place? They cannot even get most orders to leave their warehouses within two days of an order, much less get them to our doors in two days. This wouldn't be just about shipping cost, it would require an entire overhaul of their warehouse and shipping processes to enable this kind of thing.

[PeterDM]

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@aprimo wrote:

I like the idea. It also needs to include free returns.

However, I am not sure QVC's distribution centers are capable of shipping that quickly on a large scale. Judging by the number of days many of my purchases remain "in process" before shipping, I think the Q has some serious issues in some of the distribution centers that would have to be worked out before that could be workable.

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@aprimo, @ChynnaBluethe $99/year would offset the cost of employing more workers in the distribution centers.  if QVC announced that the service would be available in 60 days time, and that you could sign up ahead of time, that would give them a rough estimate of how much extra staff they would need, so they wouldn't be slammed on day one.  I'm sure there are also consultants who they could hire (someone at Amazon had to figure it out) to project what kind of upgrades, including staffing, they would need to make this work.  

[millieshops]

For QVC's impulse buyers, some kind of Prime could be a good deal which would perhaps make it a good deal for QVC.

But - I can't begin to imagine the logistics of setting this up in their warehouses.  Amazon barely manages it; they frequently offer those of us on prime a dollar refund (payable toward another purchase, of course, so it's self-serving!) to accept a longer delivery time.  I always take the dollar because the package pretty much always arrives within 2 days anyhow! 

At one time, Prime was a loss leader for Amazon. but I don't know if it still is.  I just know not very many companies can afford the losses.  Even Amazon's investors were pushing them for more profit just a year back.

One more thing -  as I read OP, the financial channel running on my TV now was doing a story on the problems companies are having in their warehouses - problems finding management, problems finding acceptable workers in spite of rising pay and benefits.  That would seem to point to high shipping costs one of these days rahter than lower.

[chrystaltree]

That might be an attractive idea to people who want speedy delivery.  I'm not one of those people, I get my purchases withing 4, sometimes 5 days.  And that's perfectly fine with me.  I order 3 o 4 things a week and can't even think of anything that I absolutely must have in 2 days.  I do have Amazon Prime but I didn't buy it for 2 day shipping; I bought it for it's other features. 

[millieshops]

@PeterDMSixty days?  Maybe after two or three years of work, but no way would they accomplish such a change quickly.

I remember years back reading that it took LLB three years of work to get ready for their free shipping move.  QVC is much, much larger and more unwieldly than LLB - and considering that finanical report I mentioned elsehwere about the general difficulties companies are having in their warehouses, I'm just not optimistic at all.

Further, I don't care.  I get my orders within 4 or 5 days and I'm not an impulse buyer, so that's fine.  As for Amazon Prime -  it's worthless to me for saving money buying the types of things QVC sells and with QVC's new shipping costs, I will not spend $99 on shipping in 2015 -one return cost about $10 and all the rest of my purchases shipped at $3.  I certainly don't buy 30/year!  Sorry, QVC, but I doubt I will no matter what you sell or how you ship.

[PeterDM]

@millieshops, I'm not saying that they set it all up in 60 days, I'm saying that in the final 60 days before the official launch, they make the service available for sign up, but you don't get charged until the official launch.  The 60 days gives them the time to hire the people they've interviewed and put them in place at the warehouses.  If Amazon, and as you pointed out LLB can do it, and mankind can put a man on the moon, we also have the capability of making 2 day shipping work at QVC.  Yes, it is a lot of work, but it's been proven that it can be accomplished.  

[ChynnaBlue]

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@PeterDM wrote:

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@aprimo wrote:

I like the idea. It also needs to include free returns.

However, I am not sure QVC's distribution centers are capable of shipping that quickly on a large scale. Judging by the number of days many of my purchases remain "in process" before shipping, I think the Q has some serious issues in some of the distribution centers that would have to be worked out before that could be workable.

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@aprimo, @ChynnaBluethe $99/year would offset the cost of employing more workers in the distribution centers.  if QVC announced that the service would be available in 60 days time, and that you could sign up ahead of time, that would give them a rough estimate of how much extra staff they would need, so they wouldn't be slammed on day one.  I'm sure there are also consultants who they could hire (someone at Amazon had to figure it out) to project what kind of upgrades, including staffing, they would need to make this work.  

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Whenever you compare any other company to Amazon, you need to consider that Amazon almost never makes a profit. It was huge news just a few months ago when they reported a profit because it's not the norm. QVC and its parent company, on the other hand, are profitable every year and keep growing. They run on entirely different business models. Amazon also Prime customers with much more than "free" shipping - streaming movies, music, and a Kindle lending library. When they only did "free" shipping, Prime was $50 a year.

Sephora gives customers free 3-day shipping if you spend over $50 for the order and free two-day shipping as a VIB Rouge reward perk, but you have to spend over $2000 a year at Sephora to earn the perk and it resets each year. QVC hasn't even been willing to offer free shipping if you spend $100. I just don't see them suddenly bypassing "free shipping if you spend X dollars" and jumping straight into an overpriced copy of Prime when they can't even match Amazon's normal level of service.