ZingB

I have never used televised shopping channels to buy anything. Do you ever get good deals? Is their stuff junk? What’s the 411?

Who here regularly purchases things from them? What did you buy? Do you like it?

my friend is an HSN junkie. Their entire house is filled up with with unnecessary items. I’m always being offered gifts because a lot of the stuff seems to come in sets of two.

I always turn it down because it’s always something that I don’t need.

They have great items at HSN and QVC. There's also ShopHQ. Yes there is junk too. I buy home and kitchen items. Origami shelves are great from HSN. Very nice if you need things like that. Great skincare items especially from ShopHQ with Isomers, Serious Skin Care and Active Argan. I but Andrew Lessman vitamins from HSN. Just awesome! You'll get your best buys from the Today's special. The one deal they have on sale for 24hrs. Coupons are good from HSN the flash sales at ShopHQ can be great. QVC not so much. Fyi, QVC also bought HSN a few years back.

Sometimes I have the ShopLC channel on as background at home. It's entertaining, less polished than QVC and HSN. And they have a Karen AND a Cheryl among their presenters! They sell mainly jewelry.

We've bought a few things - cheap, shiny objects for my husband the magpie; wind chimes - and they seem to be good value.

I buy brand name stuff like make-up.

Urban Decay Givenchy, yes, Givenchy Philosophy

I also have a Temptations baking dish that is fabulous.

I’ve bought candy and baked goods as well.

I’ve never bought clothes or shoes.

Hey, I buy Andrew Lessman vitamins too R2. They are cheaper on his own website! Unless it's today's special value or something.

R4 a baking dish with a photo of the Temptations on it? How cool! Can I see a photo?

r3, Cheryl is the blonde BIG D, right? She's on right now. Hit the "Live TV" tab. Big loud mouth.

My best friend's mom is addicted to HSN. She hoards individual loose gemstones that are sold through shopping channels. Some of them are gorgeous but she's definitely got a large stockpile.

Personally I can't dig it and the clothes and shoes they sell on HSN are ugly as fuck. The makeup and toiletries are usually overstocks that are well past their prime and very dated, just like the Karen hosts that are pushing them on air.

[Quote] The makeup and toiletries are usually overstocks that are well past their prime and very dated

Not true. Like any store they can not sell old expired or soon to be expired beauty items.

What about their jewelry and gemstones? Is the quality pretty bad?

Not true, R8.

Supposedly the Urban Decay eyeshadow pallets are brand new colors that aren’t sold in stores yet.

I don’t know how true those assertions are but i haven’t seen them in stores.

Don’t be an ass, R6. It’s stone-wear that’s pretty sturdy and heavy and so far, durable.

Not true about expired cosmetics, whose ass did you pull that out of? Algenist is an expensive line that has occasional sales. I bought a Bissell Air Ram vaccuum that I love, and some Keen shoes to walk miles on the vacation that I had to cancel.

R11, urban decay, while still a top name brand in cosmetics due to its legacy, declined in product quality back in 2011 or so. Especially their eyeshadow, which has since changed dramatically in its formula. I could believe they'd stoop to selling exclusives on frau shopping channels.

Ain't nothing like '90s and early '00s-era urban decay, lancome, mac and chanel. All of those brands have changed product formulas for the worse and increased their price point. I used to work for urban decay and chanel. It's simply not what it used to be, on both counts.

Sorry for sharing my life's story. My boyfriends miss old school UD, lancome, clarins, mac and chanel, too. Philosophy is also a great brand for toiletries, lotion and bath products but much like its cousins Origins, Bliss and Aveda, it's hella passe.

Love me some fucking Bliss, though. On God.

R13 whatever grandma. By many accounts, Algenist is trash and the packaging is butt-ugly. Just because it's pricy doesn't mean it's actually valuable. That shit irritates so many people's skin that it's not surprising their products go on sale.

They are so good at describing ordinary things and make them sound extraordinary

For entertainment purposes, I watch "In the Kitchen with David" (David Venable). It comes on 2X per week.

Only things I've ever bought from QVC was an Aerobed (blow-up bed) and a gift for a friend (a specific item that he wanted from QVC).

QVC used to pay for returns shipping. I don't think they do that anymore.

On a lark, maybe five or six years ago, some friends and I did the studio tour at QVC headquarters just outside of Philadelphia. Let me tell you, it might have been the most fascinating thing I have ever done. I think it cost $15, but you got a $10 coupon off anything in the studio store and a little gift. (Ours wound up being a branded tape measure I use all the time.)

The studio was gigantic and fascinating. The most interesting part was watching the hub where someone watches how much product is being sold. If numbers are down, the item is pulled quickly. If they are selling like hotcakes, hosts are required to keep nattering on forever. It's easy to make fun of the hosts, but that has to be a tough job. It can be a lucrative one as well, since the major hosts get a percentage of sales. (According to our tour guide.)

The best part is we were lucky enough to be there on a Friday afternoon, which is whn they open their "secret store." Only a few people are allowed in at a time since it is just a bare room in a warehouse. They sell all the items used on air they can't sell anywhere else. I wound up with a nice set of Temptations casserole dishes and nesting mixing bowls. Really great quality, and I think I paid $20 per set. (six bowls and four casseroles) No idea how much they actually were. I use them almost daily.

I know I sound like an old lady, and maybe I am in spirit.

Trust me, even if you have no interests in QVC, go take the tour. It's remaarkable.

sadly, the studio tour is closed now. qvc has a "reputation", but the studio tour was fascinating to see a television broadcast synced to real-time purchasing behavior.

the sample sale, at least, is preserved in non-covid times.

and the outlet store in frazer, pa has a lot of the merchandise that the studio store used to have at a fraction of the price.

[quote] It's easy to make fun of the hosts, but that has to be a tough job. It can be a lucrative one as well, since the major hosts get a percentage of sales. (According to our tour guide.)

I wonder if David Venable makes a percentage. He is "always closing." He's excellent.

[quote]Supposedly the Urban Decay eyeshadow pallets are brand new colors that aren’t sold in stores yet.

I believe Tammy Faye Bakker would the only person who'd buy eye shadow sold by the pallet.

R21, we're living in the age of YouTube beauty gurus and amateur makeup artists. Eyeshadow palettes sell like hotcakes. Nowadays, people like to buy makeup even more than they like to wear it, sadly.

Yes, I know my spelling was off, R21, so your “oh, dear” is justified.

I knew it was wrong and I couldn’t quite remember the correct spelling, but I just let it go.

I've bought a couple of items over the years from QVC and/or HSN. One was a Garmin GPS unit that came with lifetime map updates. It was a higher-end model that they wanted to clear inventory of, and I got it at a great price just after my other GPS died. Having insomnia and flipping through channels at 3am led to this lucky buy. I've also bought multiple colors of a sheet set, which were decent quality. The things I've bought have been good items at good prices.

Interesting side-story -- A friend was a clothing model on either QVC or HSN a few years ago. Flipping through channels and occasionally seeing her on TV was a hoot.

I've bought some spurtles and measuring cups from Lucinda Scala Quinn's company, Mad Hungry. There's not much available on qvc.com right now, but here's their own website. My favorite things are my chartreuse spurtles.

I once auditioned for a hosting job on QVC in Los Angeles. I don't think the talent scout was keen on having me because he was dismissive throughout. The first item he had me "sell" was a ruler. Yes, the kind kids take with them to school in a back pack. I did my best but didn't get the gig. Interesting postscript: on the way down to the first floor in the multi-storied office building, I shared an elevator with the talent scout's two teenage kids. Both had seen my audition and said I did a great job.

I'm amazed at how the QVC hosts can blather on for 15 minutes about a product and seem to never repeat themselves. One tic they all have (so it must come down from Host Training) that bugs me: They all say, "Let's look at your color options" or "Here's your pomegranate, here's your navy, here's your olive." They aren't *my* color options, they're *your* color options, QVC, so say "Let's look at our color options."

I've only bought a tiny handful of things from QVC, but I can highly recommend the Lock 'n' Lock kitchen storage containers.

R18 Your description of the studio tour is great. Ever since I saw the movie Joy (the story of how Joy Mangano sold her idea to QVC) and saw the 'backside' of QVC, I wanted to see for myself. And I had / have never purchased anything from them!

When my grandmother had gotten up in years and her health declined, she would watch QVC and HSN. Not to shop, but because she said that the hosts were cheerful and happy.

R27 fascinating! I have never heard of a spurtle before. Now I must buy one!

I've purchased a few items from QVC - a set of knives and chopper/dicer - that were great quality. Their sales people are exceptional! I didn't even know I wanted these things!

I have bought stuff from both QVC and HSN, I love Beekman 1802 soaps and shampoo bars. The Beekman boys have really branched out,

r33 Buy the silicone ones rather than the acacia wood. The wood ones' edges get funky, ridge-y.

I occasionally watched both QVC and HSN just because something interesting was on as I was flipping through channels. I got an amazing deal on a Vitamix blender that is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

There have been some other odds and ends, all good quality and all on sale.

If you use their Flex pay/payments option it will affect your credit with little benefit.

Those approvals register in your credit as "hard inquiries" and do not go from your credit for two years.

I just purchased the Dyson Oscillating Tower from HSN. I love it. It's perfect for my bedroom since I don't like to sleep with my AC on. It has a timer so I can set it to go off when I need it to. I bought mine for $249.99. Best Buy has it for $299.99.

First QVC item EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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