What was your "aha" moment?

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Jackanory

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When did you realise you were addicted to QVC? When did you start to wonder whether you were being ripped off? What made you decide to try and wean yourself off QVC?

I am new to this forum, but since stumbling across it accidentally (which I'm so glad I did) I have woken up to the reality of what I've been doing now for over 10 years i.e. blindly Q-cutting unquestioningly and spending thousands of pounds on things that were rarely the fantasic buy and amazing bargain that I thought they were. I loved QVC and would buy at least one TSV a week, usually beauty but also fashion, shoes, bags, jewellery, easiyo, northern nights, Yankee candles, I've got it all. I would excitedly wait up til midnight, phone in hand, ready to buy anything and everything, and all too often I did.

I see now that I was addicted to QVC, in fact I still am, Q-cut was my fix, it's taking an enormous amount of willpower not to buy stuff. I am finding it's best to not even watch and I am no longer tuning in at midnight.

So, what was my "aha" moment? Well it was when I bought the latest Prai TSV. Alison Young, the resident beauty expert with 20 years experience in the beauty industry, told me/us that Prai products are marvellous, the Prai serum contains only 2 ingredients - the miraculous Prai root and matrixil. I was so looking forward to receiving my TSV, I was going to look like a teenager again. Then I tried the products. I was shocked. It was rubbish. The serum was like perfumed petrol. I read the reviews on the QVC website and saw that lots of people weren't happy with it and in fact the Prai serum was acually made up of 20 different ingredients, mainly mineral oil. And that was my wake up call. I realised Alison Young is just a salesperson, trying to sell thousands of items to people per hour, and at least where Prai is concerned, she isn't telling the truth.In fact, why does she look like a woman in her mid to late 40s? Surely with using all the wonderful beauty products she does she should look 33! It's quite embarrassing to admit, but it was only at that point that I started to think about what I had actually been spending so much money on so frivalously

So for any other ex-addicts out there, what was the nail in the coffin for you? xx
 
Jackanory said:
When did you realise you were addicted to QVC? When did you start to wonder whether you were being ripped off? What made you decide to try and wean yourself off QVC?

I am new to this forum, but since stumbling across it accidentally (which I'm so glad I did) I have woken up to the reality of what I've been doing now for over 10 years i.e. blindly Q-cutting unquestioningly and spending thousands of pounds on things that were rarely the fantasic buy and amazing bargain that I thought they were. I loved QVC and would buy at least one TSV a week, usually beauty but also fashion, shoes, bags, jewellery, easiyo, northern nights, Yankee candles, I've got it all. I would excitedly wait up til midnight, phone in hand, ready to buy anything and everything, and all too often I did.

I see now that I was addicted to QVC, in fact I still am, Q-cut was my fix, it's taking an enormous amount of willpower not to buy stuff. I am finding it's best to not even watch and I am no longer tuning in at midnight.

So, what was my "aha" moment? Well it was when I bought the latest Prai TSV. Alison Young, the resident beauty expert with 20 years experience in the beauty industry, told me/us that Prai products are marvellous, the Prai serum contains only 2 ingredients - the miraculous Prai root and matrixil. I was so looking forward to receiving my TSV, I was going to look like a teenager again. Then I tried the products. I was shocked. It was rubbish. The serum was like perfumed petrol. I read the reviews on the QVC website and saw that lots of people weren't happy with it and in fact the Prai serum was acually made up of 20 different ingredients, mainly mineral oil. And that was my wake up call. I realised Alison Young is just a salesperson, trying to sell thousands of items to people per hour, and at least where Prai is concerned, she isn't telling the truth.In fact, why does she look like a woman in her mid to late 40s? Surely with using all the wonderful beauty products she does she should look 33! It's quite embarrassing to admit, but it was only at that point that I started to think about what I had actually been spending so much money on so frivalously

So for any other ex-addicts out there, what was the nail in the coffin for you? xx
Click to expand...

Great post :) in terms of AY yes shes a saleswoman, she may have been in the beauty industry for over 25 years blah blah but shes been stuck on Qvc for last 20years, if she was some incredible why isn't she on main stream tv ? why do every beauty brand need there onw guest? Why hasnt she got her own prodcts in shops and salons all over the country? I think her advice is very dated IMO she can only go by her skin and her friends skin, she inst giving treatments on a daily basis anymore so how the heck does she know who all theses products suite? Yes she may try each product for a few weeks but that's no gd to us if you bought a full size product which last 3mnts.

My aha moment was after spending a hell of alot of money on the different beauty brands and my skin gradually getting worse not better in fact it got worse, i stick to the high street now and order very little from Q now and when i do i shop around first before buying.

I think if everyone added up the amount they have spent on qvc i would imagine the p&p wouldnt be far off a fifth of that at total:cash:
 
Probably similar to you Jackanory,about beauty tsvs I mean. I have not bought a lot of things over the years but things like wintertrax have been brilliant buys.
The endless beauty ranges and the fact that few of the Q guests or presenters are a good advert for any of them was my wake up call. There's JF who uses everything and doesn't look good at all, as you say AY with all her beauty knowledge does not look youthful for her age, and the fact that brands such as Prai probably cost pennies to produce and have a million different products within the range that do not inspire confidence. I am not saying I will never buy another beauty tsv, just that I'll be very very choosy about them in future.
 
When I saw QVC/ QVC/QVC payments when I looked at my bank statements online.BUT more when I ordered something which I thought 'OK will see' (cost £4.95) then arrived NOT OK
( return £2.95) prices are approx. but you get my drift?Also for someone with main shopping centres within my reach I can buy off the shelf OR even on line without P&P.I rest my case!
 
Aren't you on the Lidl programme Strato? (it's like methadone for ex QVC addicts, but doesn't cost as much!)

Jude xx
 
My addiction was cured when I rang CS to ask for an item number (for a re-order) because I couldn't find it in my account. They offered to send me a print out of my purchases (all of them!) When I saw the total amount that I'd spent with them, that they'd very kindly (or not) enclosed, I went straight into 'cold turkey' mode! I buy very little from them now because most the items that interest me I can source cheaper elsewhere.
 
I'm on the Lidl program but so far only for vegetables, tinned goods, W5 cleaning products, nappies and wipes. None of the above competition for Le Q!

My Aah moment was yesterday (see another thread). I was totally gutted by the cost of returning 4 items. If it were not for Mally stuff Q would lose my custom as I can buy everything else I want from Amazon, Feel Unique, the Dreaded High Street and JW own website. After almost the entire 20 years I have had my lightbulb moment. At least I did not match my Q spending with spending elsewhere. I was fairly loyal to Q. Unless they do something drastic on postage and returns cost, I will be buying a fraction of what I have done. I won't stop completely because I dont want to cut my nose off to spite my face (there is still the odd gem) but that's how it is for me.
 
I was remarrying and moving house so had to sort every drawer, cupboard, wardrobe and item of paperwork. My bank statements showed me Q payments ( I was horrified just how many ! ), my drawers, kitchen, cupboards and wardrobes showed me lots of Q items and many of them were barely used and quite a few ended up being binned. To top it off I was made redundant just before my wedding and having no income was the final wakeup call on how much money I`d spent with Q and how that money would have been a nice nest egg or would have paid for something major in life such as a holiday. Since going cold turkey my total spend with Q in over 18 months has been around £60 on Wintertrax and Mally, nothing else and the few items i`ve bought in the 18 months have been items I`ve used. Nowadays I rarely watch Q, it actually annoys me these days, especially AY and the non stop hard sell of other presenters plus the hype.
 
Qvc entered my life when I was convalescing from a badly broken leg. Vulnerable and bored I got sucked in, fascinated by the friendly presenters, hosts, learning about products I'd never heard of before and wow the value for money (I blame the prescribed strong pain killers I was taking!!!) Needless to say, the northern nights, l'occitane tsv, diamonqeeek, liz earle tsv etc etc started arriving in truck loads. I looked forward to the next tsv, excited when the parcels arrived. Slowly, my aha moment dawned on me, tired with the same old same old sales patter, spending tooo much money. I stumbled upon this friendly, humourous and informative forum!!! So thank you forum members for helping my qvc addiction. Nowadays, I dip in some programmes with my favourite presenters and buy jewellery from clearance. The forum is my therapy and tkmaxx is my methadone. :mysmilie_7:
 
I think my 'aha!' moment was when the husband and I started properly saving to move to Australia. I realised how much I was spending on beauty products and when I opened my bathroom cupboard, much of it was still sitting there waiting to be used. I had so much of it there was more than enough to last me until I moved and that wasn't going to be for another year! Plus I suppose the more QVC you watch the more you realise that EVERY product they sell is fabulous, you can't live without it etc and of course, that just doesn't make sense so you cop on that it's all just sales guff, they don't give a fig whether you like it, whether it works, just keep buying it! I think telly shopping has it's place but you have to be careful not to get sucked in! Also I realised that local shops were closing hand over fist and so I started taking my business to the high street again. You go out, have a chat with the staff in the shops, get personalised advice, grab a coffee or lunch, try on stuff there and then..all things you DON'T get with QVC!
 
Addicted, go back many years. When they used to do on CeeFax like thing on a Friday and Tuesday(no photos in those days just described the items), you got the clearance items and BRILLIANT deals. Think 14ct gold diamonique rings for just over £20!!!!! Ex Aveda TSVs for around £12!!! I used to sit up waiting flicking back and forth. The Friday one was at 5 pm and I used be like a manic checking to see if the new stuff had come up.

When did the Ah Ha moment come?

When the internet really became big and I had access to it say early 00s(well for me), suddenly the brands QVC said exclusive to them and not totally over the top prices AY went on about.

The very famous time when Prescriptives came to QVC, suddenly AY told use she had been using the serum for years(yet use to tell us before, everything was the brands already on QVC.), oh and their perfume which she had worn since the 80s!!!!
 
The people on this site really opened my eyes a few years ago, I've not posted for a long time as I've gotten married, had a baby and moved house in the space of 2 years. The RCM debacle really annoyed me, I was glued to this site watching it all unfold, (I had ordered the TSV). Each time I called the 'award winning' call centre I got a different story and one member of staff tried to tell me it was my fault as I must have ordered the wrong colours. My name was also omitted from the list for the correct colours (as told to me by RCM, QVC insisted I just had to be patient),and it was Darren at RCM that sorted it out not QVC. I was so disgusted I rang them and asked them to close my account, the guy on the other end was lovely although he flapped a little when he asked why, as I had been a customer from the start of QVC's launch, and I gave him the truthful answer. Thanks to this site, I have been able to source the products I use elsewhere and cheaper. I am currently in love with ESPA and have alot of it, none purchased from QVC, it's actually cheaper from them direct and you get alot of free samples, if you join Debenhams beauty club you get free p&p too.
 
Mine was over a year ago. Someone on here was talking about not buying any more beauty products until they'd used up their stockpile, so I thought I'd do a list of what skincare I'd actually managed to collect in the last couple of years or so, Big Shock! I had absolutely loads of stuff enough, Liz Earle/Decleor/Gatineau/Elemis TSVs to last me about 2 or 3 years!

But the worst thing was realising I'd managed to also collect 5 Easy Payments running for the next 3/4 months, quite a large chunk coming out of my bank account every month for stuff to slap on my face!!

The good news is I finally had a moment of clarity, eventually paid off the easy pays, haven't bought any beauty stuff for months and the one time I did crack with a Decleor TSV I actually sent it back (at annoying cost to myself) and only buy things if I actually really need it which happily turns out to be be not very often in reality.
 
Yes, I am on the Lidl recovery cure from QVC, but now I have caught a really serious case of Lidlitus. I have far more unused stuff from Lidl than I ever had from QVC.

In case you don't know Lidl's system, they have twice weekly bargain selections covering a huge range of interests eg fishing, riding, electronics, kitchen gadgets, motoring etc etc etc and general houseware.

Their phsychology for selling and sucking you in is "When it's gone it's gone".

The prices of these bargains are really low, but very often you will never see the same items again, or, if you do, it may take a year to come back. Therefore, you buy it NOW just in case it will come in useful one day, and you won't be able to get it if and when you actually need it.

I could start a shop with my unopened Lidl "goodies" (as I call them).

PS Every now and then I really NEED something that I bought years ago from Lidl, but guess what, I usually can't find it!
 
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At least there's no p&p when you shop at Lidl - and they sell the best tasting shortbread fingers as well so it's a win-win situation!
 
My earlier post praises Lidl on basics, but I have to agree with stratto on the promotions they do. I have had great deals on childrens toys and socks and a safety gate- but I am yet to open the shredder I bought!
 
stratobuddy said:
Yes, I am on the Lidl recovery cure from QVC, but now I have caught a really serious case of Lidlitus. I have far more unused stuff from Lidl than I ever had from QVC.

In case you don't know Lidl's system, they have twice weekly bargain selections covering a huge range of interests eg fishing, riding, electronics, kitchen gadgets, motoring etc etc etc and general houseware.

Their phsychology for selling and sucking you in is "When it's gone it's gone".

The prices of these bargains are really low, but very often you will never see the same items again, or, if you do, it may take a year to come back. Therefore, you buy it NOW just in case it will come in useful one day, and you won't be able to get it if and when you actually need it.

I could start a shop with my unopened Lidl "goodies" (as I call them).

PS Every now and then I really NEED something that I bought years ago from Lidl, but guess what, I usually can't find it!
Click to expand...

I can sympathise Stratto, I've got a touch of Lidlitis and Aldiitis myself, which I unfortunately have infected Mr Jackanory with. Whilst rushing to Lidl one Thursday with Mr Jackanory in tow to frantically purchase tea tree face wipes and shampoo before they were "when they're gone they're gone" Mr Jackanory spied garden spades at an unbelievable bargain price and purchased two. Unfortunately whilst enthusiastically using the first of the said unbelievably bargain priced spades on Saturday morning it snapped in two, and then whilst using the second of the said spades exactly the same thing happened to it. Sadly I had thrown away the receipt and Lidl would not refund the money:angry: However I am delighted with the tea tree facial wipes and shampoo, a fraction of the cost of Australian Body Care products:clapping:
 
I bought one of those stainless steel spades (£9-99) but haven't used it yet. Years ago in gardening shops they cost about £70.

I hope mine doesn't break when I use it, it certainly looks strong.

ADVICE - - I had to take something back without a receipt, the manager refused. I went to another store where the manager was more friendly, he said to contact CS and they would send me a letter authorising the store to give a refund without a receipt.

I did this, and sure enough got the letter, then got a refund from the first store who initially refused but didn't tell me about this.
 

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