Shopping Around ... More of the Same

Scott Barnes cosmetics has been discontinued after a relationship with investors soured. Right now his products are still on the QVC website. I wonder if they will go on clearance soon.

Check out this site for some cheap Iman purses. Instead of selling for over a hundred dollars like on HSN, you can get them for only thirty bucks. Now that is a globally chic price.

This blogger believes all those stars at the Golden Globes managed to stuff themselves into those form-fitting gowns without having a muffin top by using various Dr. "hands all over the models' boobs" Rey shapewear. I found him mildly entertaining on Dr. 90210, but he just skeeves me out on HSN. Those poor models. And while I love the award shows, they aren't the same without Joan on the red carpet.

How YesPilates got started on HSN and the patent battle that ensued.

The "Not Available on QVC" contest (not horrible, but probably NSFW).

Some advice on how to get your product on QVC, but I'm pretty sure that they just want to keep showing the same old stuff over and over and over again.

Website customer satisfaction ratings for the holiday season look good for the Q, which came in third behind Amazon and Netflix and ahead of Walmart. HSN, on the other hand, had the largest decline in satisfaction by dropping nine points and landing below industry satisfaction standards. If other customers had the bad customer service this blogger did, I’m not surprised.

Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, was honored for her outstanding contributions to the fashion industry by the Fashion Scholarship Fund. HSN vendors, Iman and Patricia Fields, were presenters.

HSN has fired nine more people. This time in Virginia.

Not only are QVC customers in debt, so is QVC. Suze Orman would not approve. Where is their emergency fund?

MTV’s reality show “Run’s House” will feature some behind-the-scenes footage of Justine Simmons presenting her Brown Sugar jewelry line on HSN this season.

Tosca Reno, creator of the Eat-Clean Diet, is very excited that she was asked to be on the Q as a clean eating and cooking expert. What’s clean eating you ask? No sugar, white flour, alcohol, or processed foods. While I appreciate her passion for health, I couldn’t live like that and be happy. I’m curious to see how this type of eating will go over with the QVC audience or if it will be modified in some way. In any case, she changed her life around with her diet so kudos to Tosca!

Recently ousted ShopNBC host Kerry McNally quickly got a new gig as a traffic reporter. He must have seen this coming.

The It Cosmetics girls had a great time kicking off the new year on HSN.

Ever wonder what Christmas dinner would be like if it were catered by QVC? This lady did it and loved it. As much food as she bought, Yum-Yum Face David should have been her free gift!

Shopping Around ... Info Dump

So I've been slacking on the blog over the Thanksgiving holiday and my inbox overfloweth. This is going to be the biggest info-dump post ever. I just have to clear out some clutter! I can't take it anymore!




Kathy McGuire, inventor of My Little Weatherbuddy, got to meet Joan Rivers backstage at the Q after their 22nd Birthday Holiday Party. Kathy said Joan was "so nice and gorgeous" and that she had a great first experience on QVC, "I couldn't of had a better time in Disney world." I'm so jealous! I love Joan!


Finally! Someone is listening to me! I have nagging ad nauseum about high shipping costs and finally the-powers-that-be cleaned the wax outta their ears and listened. According to this Wall Street Journal article, it’s been all about the free shipping this holiday season.


Say bye-bye to bling-bling, electronics is now the Q’s most popular business (I wonder if this could this have anything to do with King George coming from Dell?) There's just one little problem with this: unlike jewelry, electronics has a very low profit margin.


Here's a warning that some of the coins sold on the home shopping channels might not be uncirculated as they claim. Basically this boils down to just buying what you love for fun and not buying because of some perceived future value. The best advice on the topic can be found on Steve Bryant's website (former QVC host). And while your there, take a quick listen to his song parodies (FYI--some are NSFW).


When the markets tanked last Monday (not to be confused with all the other days that it tanked), HSN dropped 24 percent to $2.84. That's in one day, folks. Wow.


Carol Alt is bringing her RAW beauty products to HSN and they are raw for real, y'all—as in not cooked. I knew about the raw eating trend, but I didn’t know that it extended into other non-edible products too. I could never do that whole raw eating thing since I (usually) love to cook! That would just suck too much joy out of my life. Oh well, to each her own.


Apparently iPhone is greedy enough to lower themselves to Walmart, but still too good for the Q. I guess you gotta draw the line somewhere, right?


This is a great article about not confusing home shopping hosts with real friends--even if they are nice people. Hosts are just doing their job by selling you stuff in an entertaining and friendly manner. And I really wish that the Q would stop all their talk about the big, happy QVC family--especially since they're canning hundreds of their beloved family members.


Here's a good write up for JTV’s watch website, which is much better than the regular Jewelry Television site--great pictures and easy navigation. I thought I'd post this since there hasn't been much good news coming out of JTV recently. Gotta take what you can get.


Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, was named number 28 on the 2008 Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Cable list. Why? Because HSN “has posted revenue growth during a time when most retailers have been challenged. Her reputation in the retail industry combined with her vision of HSN as a new retail frontier have made HSN a top choice for brands and strategic partners who had previously been averse to TV retailing, including Condé Nast, Sephora, Nate Berkus and Coty Inc. Her strategy of combining lifestyle entertainment and commerce has had an impact on the retail industry as well as on other media.” Forget King George over at the Q—all hail Queen Mindy!


This article details how Internet sales are becoming a bigger chunk of total home shopping sales. Personally, I never call to order anything. I am exclusively an online kind of a girl since I like to comparison shop and read reviews before making a purchase. I also do NOT like the pressure of the on-air sale (only two per state left!) I do, however, enjoy listening to the designer or inventor of the product describe and explain what they are selling. You just don’t get that kind of expertise from the eighteen-year-old at the mall. I think that the on-air and online compliment each other quite nicely and, really, the Internet is home shopping’s only hope for remaining a relevant shopping format in the future.


Here are some articles about some smart ladies with smart products who worked hard and got lucky by getting to go on QVC: Affirmagy, Butler Bag, and Lapper Trays. Congrats to all!


Interesting article about the science behind the Living Proof NoFrizz product, which won the Allure Beauty Breakthrough of the Year and is now sold on QVC. I checked out the reviews and they are definitely a mixed bag. We can fly a man to the moon, but we can't cure baldness or tame frizzy hair--go figure.


HSN's Terry Lewis gets a glowing review here for her line of "investment coats." Sounds impressive.


Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi has designed for Jacqueline Kennedy and now he’s launching a jewelry line on HSN featuring hematite, pearls, enamel and gemstones. I swear, home shopping channels are like Las Vegas—at some point everyone ends up performing there.

The Fur is Flying on HSN!

Per PETA, HSN has adopted a new and permanent fur-free policy. HSN will also donate all leftover furry items to PETA at the end of the year for use in their anti-fur campaign.

In a letter to PETA, HSN CEO Mindy Grossman wrote, "We and the customers of HSN share your concern about the treatment of animals in the making of fur products. As such, we no longer purchase any product that uses real fur, a strict policy that went into effect in the first quarter of this year."

ShopNBC, of course, refuses to give up the fur. If you are against the use of fur, take a few seconds to send ShopNBC an automated message urging them to follow HSN's lead by dropping fur once and for all.

I don't always agree with PETA's tactics, but I love animals and agree with them on this ... fake fur is fabulous! Come on, even Joan Rivers gave up real fur!

Go HSN!!!!!