£1.51 Does Not A Saving Make.....

Why do QVC insist on doing this? It's cringeworthy. "Ooh" says Chuntley, "You're saving £1.51 on this bracelet". On some other items, you can save as much as £1.57.......

The excitement's just too much.

I know, you aint even saving the P&P on it.

I remember when the credit crunch first happened one night just after Christmas OH and I were watching News 24 and there was a report about high street chains reducing prices by 70-90% in their sales. We then flicked over to QVC who were in raptures in their clearance over a reduction on an already overpriced item of around 5%. We've never forgotten the contrast between the two!

ArtDeco said:

I remember when the credit crunch first happened one night just after Christmas OH and I were watching News 24 and there was a report about high street chains reducing prices by 70-90% in their sales. We then flicked over to QVC who were in raptures in their clearance over a reduction on an already overpriced item of around 5%. We've never forgotten the contrast between the two!

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Thats always the headline figures - when you get into it, you'll find that heavy reduction applies to a small part of the stock i.e. stuff they can never get rid of (yes, Next are the classic example, can't sell it then wait till next year!). Realistically, 5% - 20% is normal. Of course, they always stick "on certain items" so it is all a trick to get you in and buy anything.

sheepdog said:

Thats always the headline figures - when you get into it, you'll find that heavy reduction applies to a small part of the stock i.e. stuff they can never get rid of (yes, Next are the classic example, can't sell it then wait till next year!). Realistically, 5% - 20% is normal. Of course, they always stick "on certain items" so it is all a trick to get you in and buy anything.

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I'm not suggesting that all high street stores reduced all their sale stock by this much! I was simply highlighting the juxtaposition between QVC and many other retailers at the time who were making heavier than normal cuts into a larger than usual amount of stock. I haven't watched QVC for as long as some but I've never seen a 90% reduction from an original purchase price on there! QVCs value seems very hit and miss to me - some beauty kits are very competitively priced relative to buying them direct from the supplier (though that's very different to 'objective' worth - I won't pay £200 for a skin cream) but in my opinion much of their clothing and fashion jewellery is overpriced relative to the dreaded high street. That said, a few high street stores are reknowned for reducing prices by a fiver and acting like they're doing you a favour (Principles was a classic culprit on this score.) And we all know about loss-leaders to get you through the door. Reduced goods are, as you say, often the stock they couldn’t shift, and sometimes the result of over-stocking especially in the area of clothing if the weather doesn’t play ball. A couple of weeks ago I got two pieces I'd had my eye on in Give which were reduced from £99 to £10 - that's near enough to 90% for me!

another thing I've noticed is that in their clearance bit on the website they don't seem to make further reductions if an item has been hanging around for a while like shops often do. I went to Dunelm yesterday, the one near me has been done up and is lovely, there were some 20 and 50 percent reductions, I got some gorgeous curtains I have had my eye on for ages for half price and was very pleased.

So, what happens to the clearance jewellery if it refuses to shift ? Do the presenters get to buy it at an even cheaper price ??

Probably ends up in the outlet stores at 70% off.