Farewell QVC - You've had your last from me

After a visit to the Shrewsbury QVC shop today, I must tell you that I was sickened.

Row after row of items I have previously bought at full price and some of them have even been on air tonight as current items.

The Markon buckle shoes in the shop for £4.99

The Protect a Bed mattress protector at £14.99

Silicone shelving for the oven at £1.99 and

Feather beds at just £19.99

No, nay, never again will I pay such over the top prices for things which obviously have such a huge mark up.

I am not saying I shall not frequent the shops but pay TV prices, not I.

Gem Genie said:

After a visit to the Shrewsbury QVC shop today, I must tell you that I was sickened.

Row after row of items I have previously bought at full price and some of them have even been on air tonight as current items.

The Protect a Bed mattress protector at £14.99

Feather beds at just £19.99

No, nay, never again will I pay such over the top prices for things which obviously have such a huge mark up.

I am not saying I shall not frequent the shops but pay TV prices, not I.

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Yeah but would you really be happy paying £14.99 & £19.99 in the outlet shop for bedding items that somebody has returned to QVC, having possibly slept, sweated, drooled & gawd knows what else on.......possibly for a nearly a month? :mysmilie_61:

Oh Lord know, but these were listed as overstocks.

Many of the other items are still tightly packaged as in the Northern Nights sets.

My daughter bought one of those damask fleece backed throws for £6.99 and they are nearly £25 on the TV. Hers was in its original packaging too.

No, there are many things I wouldn't buy but today's experience was a real eye opener for me.

Last time I went to Warrington most of the stuff was manky..Birkenstocks with feet marks in them,used bedding with pilling on.They were even selling a half burnt Yankee candle!
I am sure there are some bargains but it put me off seeing all the tat.

kitten_with_claws said:

Yeah but would you really be happy paying £14.99 & £19.99 in the outlet shop for bedding items that somebody has returned to QVC, having possibly slept, sweated, drooled & gawd knows what else on.......possibly for a nearly a month? :mysmilie_61:

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I am lucky enough to be able to stay in lovely hotels from time to time and I would imagine all the bedding has been slept, sweated, drooled on (not gonna think about the gawd knows what bit :mysmilie_701 but hopefully it is was :mysmilie_1588: between guests, I think it would be pretty much the same........wouldnt it??

I have bought bedding from Warrington and it was sealed, completely brand new and around a quarter of the price that they charge on the TV so I understand how angry Gem Genie is.

Gem Genie...you are lucky enough to live relatively close to the outlet shops and so able to take advantage of the bargains to be had there.

I don't drive so unfortunately the bargains wouldn't be quite so good when you factor in the travel costs.

That said most of the stuff I buy from QVC is from Last Clicks or clearance.

Yes, it baffles me why there isn't a QVC outlet nearer to the Capital?

And why Shrewsbury I shall never know.

I usually go to Birchwood when visiting Ikea.

Lemonsqueezy said:

Last time I went to Warrington most of the stuff was manky..Birkenstocks with feet marks in them,used bedding with pilling on.They were even selling a half burnt Yankee candle!I am sure there are some bargains but it put me off seeing all the tat.

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Gross, sounds like a jumble sale

I live in the wilds of Devon, 40 miles away from the nearest big town so there's no chance of me going to an outlet shop sadly:mysmilie_73:

BetLynch said:

I am lucky enough to be able to stay in lovely hotels from time to time and I would imagine all the bedding has been slept, sweated, drooled on (not gonna think about the gawd knows what bit :mysmilie_701 but hopefully it is was :mysmilie_1588: between guests, I think it would be pretty much the same........wouldnt it??

I have bought bedding from Warrington and it was sealed, completely brand new and around a quarter of the price that they charge on the TV so I understand how angry Gem Genie is.

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Isn't this just like buying something then later seeing it in a sale with a substantial reduction?

We have threads on here complaining about returned goods being sold again and in my experience a lot of stuff in the outlet shop is returns.

However I have seen NN items that look like they have never been unpacked, as I'm sure you couldn't repack them so neatly, and I'm surprised they aren't resold in the normal way.

The price at the outlet shop doesn't mean the mark ups are any bigger than any other retailer. If they have thousands of an item that they want to sell then they have to reduce to the price to a point where they will sell, even if that means making a loss, as getting something for the goods and freeing up warehouse space is better than keeping them.

Boris Bear said:

Isn't this just like buying something then later seeing it in a sale with a substantial reduction?

We have threads on here complaining about returned goods being sold again and in my experience a lot of stuff in the outlet shop is returns.
However I have seen NN items that look like they have never been unpacked, as I'm sure you couldn't repack them so neatly, and I'm surprised they aren't resold in the normal way.

The price at the outlet shop doesn't mean the mark ups are any bigger than any other retailer. If they have thousands of an item that they want to sell then they have to reduce to the price to a point where they will sell, even if that means making a loss, as getting something for the goods and freeing up warehouse space is better than keeping them.

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In a way yes. Most shops however do not have a 30 day money back policy, were you can wear it, sleep on it, use it and abuse it then send it back and get your money back minus the P&P.
Most threads on this issue tend to be about QVC sending out used goods for FULL price that have obviously been used by someone else and then sent out to them, re the waitlist. If you are going to an outlet shop then you know it will be a return. From QVC itself it should be new items sent out to customers.

I wish that I lived within striking distance of a shopping channel outlet store! They're all based in the North...it's not fair. I QVC is presented from London, so one would think they'd want to open a store a bit nearer. Ok, I don't fancy buying manky used bedlinen, but I'm sure I'd find some real bargains I'd like!

kitten_with_claws said:

Yeah but would you really be happy paying £14.99 & £19.99 in the outlet shop for bedding items that somebody has returned to QVC, having possibly slept, sweated, drooled & gawd knows what else on.......possibly for a nearly a month? :mysmilie_61:

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By the frequency of the threads about reported returned items being sent out You might get these anyway even if you order on air :mysmilie_61:

I thought the location of the outlets was influenced by their proximity to Knowsley where the returns/over-stocks come from. Shop rents and costs are probably a factor too. QVC would never pay to transport tat down south sadly. If I want to visit Warrington it means a visit to the out-laws (shudder)in Manchester; it isn't usually worth THAT! :mysmilie_81:

Isn't there a shocking mark-up on most retail stuff?

Jude xx

The outlets are great if you live near enough or are passing by and there are bargains to be had - but the only way to be certain of securing the item you want, when you want it, and in the correct size/colour/variety, is by buying off QVC online or TV when on air. I always buy online via Quidco these days so at least the 5% cashback helps a bit towards the P&P. I buy less than I used to though but just can't resist some of the beauty TSVs in particular.

yazrose said:

In a way yes. Most shops however do not have a 30 day money back policy, were you can wear it, sleep on it, use it and abuse it then send it back and get your money back minus the P&P.
Most threads on this issue tend to be about QVC sending out used goods for FULL price that have obviously been used by someone else and then sent out to them, re the waitlist. If you are going to an outlet shop then you know it will be a return. From QVC itself it should be new items sent out to customers.

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I agree with you, nobody wants returned goods sent to them so putting used items in the shop gives people a chance to examine goods and decide whether to buy or not.

Also prices aren't consistant and vary from both outlets plus what's on offer at any given time.

:mysmilie_698:

Gem Genie said:

No, nay, never again will I pay such over the top prices for things which obviously have such a huge mark up.

I am not saying I shall not frequent the shops but pay TV prices, not I.

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Surely all shops/stores/businesses mark goods up - otherwise they would make no profit and would not be able to pay employees? Standard retail mark-ups are probably a lot higher than you would imagine. Most jewellers, I believe, mark up around 80 percent (sometimes more) on what they had to pay wholesale when they sell at retail. In fact, I believe that is why QVC jewellery is not as pricey as many other jewellers - their markup is smaller! Most luxury goods would be the same. The least mark-up comes on food at supermarkets etc where sometimes they have a 'loss-leader' ie sell something at a loss just to get people in store to buy other things.
Also when businesses sell stuff off in clearance sales, outlets etc they often take a loss on what they paid - because it is better to get something for an item (even if it doesn't cover the cost you paid and so lessens the overall loss) than to get nothing at all and have loads of unsellable stock sitting around clogging up a warehouse.

merryone said:

I wish that I lived within striking distance of a shopping channel outlet store! They're all based in the North...it's not fair. I QVC is presented from London, so one would think they'd want to open a store a bit nearer. Ok, I don't fancy buying manky used bedlinen, but I'm sure I'd find some real bargains I'd like!

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Ditto Merryone

Akimbo said:

I thought the location of the outlets was influenced by their proximity to Knowsley where the returns/over-stocks come from. Shop rents and costs are probably a factor too. QVC would never pay to transport tat down south sadly. If I want to visit Warrington it means a visit to the out-laws (shudder)in Manchester; it isn't usually worth THAT! :mysmilie_81:

Isn't there a shocking mark-up on most retail stuff?

Jude xx

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I think you are right, there's no reason to move goods 150 miles or so when they can sell them much closer to Liverpool. Anyway there's loads of nice things in London so hands off the outlet shops:mysmilie_697:. Though to be honest half the time you go to Warrington it's full of carp so you're not really missing that much.