Where's the value gone?

What has happened to the bargains that you used to be able to buy?

I joined when Molton Brown and Smashbox had amazing bargains! I can remember a Smash Box TSV that had about 9 pieces in it for £25! I bought loads of them, made great presents, but there's nothing like that now. :dull:

I did like a few of the Ronni Nicole dresses but the prices of them have really shot up, a particular one I bought, I wanted in another pattern sometime later and although it was still on introductory price it was about 30% more expensive?! When I contacted QVC to ask them how an intro price could go up, they didn't answer that bit but told me the price of materials had gone up! :thinking: It used to be gold bullion, but obviously the thing to get your mitts on now is reams of polyester!! :thinking: Same with Tiana B, £50 for a polyester dress??? Hang on, you can buy similar for half that price!

Birkenstocks - those sandals you either love or hate, were around £30, now I'm looking and they're around the £50 mark, not even including the extortionate P&P!

Just how many laptops or cameras does one person 'need'? Obviously loads because there's a weekly TSV for them!

I used to like the gardening shows as a novice gardener, but never learnt a thing! When the teeny weeny spiddly little plug plants arrived, I would then have to buy more pots to grow them on for a couple of months and would lose probably a good 25% of them as they weren't strong enough in the first place BUT that wasn't so bad because they would come in 48's or even more sometimes. Now they seem to be in a maximum of 12 at most. I'm no longer a novice gardener so buy my plants locally, I should really be supporting local producers anyway! The same with the meat programmes, the range which seems to have more name changes than Jordans kids!! :cheeky: Who buys meat off the telly? Obviously someone is! I'm trying to support my local butcher, at least they'll give me the quantity and cut I actually want and it's loads cheaper!

As for today's TSV, a 5 panel mirror?? One word only......... WHY????????? :taphead:

Considering we're still in a recession, maybe someone should tell QVC that? I don't tune if half as much as I used to. Will they continue to be the number 1 shopping channel? Yeah probably because they get fresh blood in, people that don't know about the previous bargains, people that aren't fed up with the same old shows and same old cr*p!! People that aren't jaded that the 30 day MBG only applies as long as you don't send back too much stuff! For example, I have just bought the Miele vacuum cleaner off them, couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else, but I sat there going through my account counting up exactly how many items I've returned, so that it's nowhere near the 50% mark should I want to actually exercise my right to return the thing and go for a Dyson afterall!

Sigh..... I suppose the positive outlook is, my house isn't brimming with tat I don't particularly want and my credit cards are breathing a sigh of relief!

totally agree, I hardly buy anything nowadays

Oh yes I do remember those days too.

Trouble is companies put up their prices, and QVC just don't seem to be the force they where getting deals etc for the customers.

Now to give credit where its due. The Smashbox items on QVC are alot cheaper than in stores here. The latest palette In Bloom is £44 to buy in Debenhams and QVC have it for £31!!!! But other brands its the same price as you can buy in a store, Bobbi Brown, Origins, Elemis, Decleor to name a few.

I have bought a few items recently but have returned things at one time I would have kept.Now if I see something interesting I think 'I'll have a look on the dreaded High St.'-- that's because I now have the time to do so.Not so if you are housbound or live in a remote area,or are a busy working person. Thats where Q will score & there is no escape from the high P&P.I use Amazon frequently, good prices & free delivery, & recently bought a small electrical item from the Co-Op on line.Best price, free delivery & arrived within 24 hours of ordering.I am the sort of customer that Q would not want to loose, but they have!

I remember the good old days too. Their prices have gone up so much now that I simply can't afford to buy. They used to pride themselves on being so much cheaper than regular shops but that seems to have fallen by the wayside now. For example, Gatineau Age Benefit serum. I like this and use it regularly but I notice that the QVC price is now over £60 with P&P. I purchased mine from a beauty retailer via eBay for £27! I'm sure that eBay seller doesn't have the sort of buying clout that QVC would wield, so home come they are so much more expensive. Even allowing for the overheads of running a TV channel, the markup is outrageous. One of the main reasons I don't buy now, however, is simply the lack of anything good. Prices do put me off but if they sold something really exciting, I'd still be tempted. The beauty channel looked promising but that's just a looped reel of the same old tired rubbish.

Also, I find it slightly unfair that people with 'net access get extra bargains. It's supposed to be a television channel, not a web retailer. The best bargains should be for those who can watch! Not all of them have access to a computer.

well I got paid on Friday and a big chunk has gone already on nasties such as the council tax, water rates elec, etc have done a big food shop and filled up the freezer, renewed my travel pass and frankly there is not much left to play with. QVC is very out of touch these days, prices are extortiante and the quality is dubious. Had half an eye on the Tiana B frocks and no way would i pay that money for a polyester frock. For those sort of prices I can get far nicer things at Next, M and S. I am off to Matalan this afternoon for some Summer work tops, they do a lot of cotton stuff at ok prices and no p and p. Agreee about Amazon, have never been let down by them.

Yep, its really noticeable now. I see there are more £60 plus frocks when they used to be around the £40 only a year or so ago. As for the pricing of Kim & Co ! that beggars belief, no way jose.

I regularly bought my ELEMIS products from an online store as they were cheaper than anywhere else. Now however, ELEMIS have clamped down and have stopped stores like this selling their products because they dont want it ending up on ebay . Thankfully I stocked up, but when it runs out, it will be back to the Nivea pot.

I think that prices have gone up in general. I noticed this in M&S too - I was shocked at how much the clothes have gone up, particularly the basics that I buy every year.