Teleshopping, who actually buys from these channels?

[-]

neftza@reddit

South Park did a good episode about this. Not sure if the stat about these TV channels making the most profit is the day people receive their pension payments is true, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

But yeah, old people.

[-]

Own_Statistician5933@reddit

My grandmother used to. She used to buy from them at least once a month.

[-]

Few-Surround-7289@reddit

I did not buy anything. When I was a child I always watched such channels and imagined. I would grow up, earn lots of money and buy all these things.

[-]

LungHeadZ@reddit

Same vibe when we would circle everything in the Argos catalogue 😂

[-]

Willz093@reddit

You guys circled? ~~My mother~~ Santa required a page number, item number, product code, and price?!

[-]

Additional_Hornet953@reddit

My sis and I got one each and had to cut out the items we wanted and glue it into a card to Santa. I never understood why he shopped at Argos? Presumably for the Nectar points?

[-]

pipnina@reddit

I only had to do page and item number and of all the stuff me and my siblings added it was "random" which ones we'd get. From our perspective.

[-]

gimmeawhitecoat@reddit

Lol same for my brother and I, using Excel at age 7 to calculate the total costs to make sure we didn't go over budget for "Santa" 😂

[-]

beanymoon@reddit

I used to circle so much miscellaneous stuff so many times to the point my mother would pick up two catalogues, just so she could have a legible one.

[-]

Yeah that was the dream growing up too. It got so bad my little brother wrote his Christmas list using the seven digit Argos codes. Parents had to go to the store and type them one by one to see what he wanted lol

[-]

IamFilthyCasual@reddit

I remember trying to convince my mom some of the products are really good and we should get them. Safe to say the sales pitch works great on children

[-]

CassTitov@reddit

* I would like to send sincere thank yous to all the people writing the comments. I've sent it to my hoarder in denial mother who gets a minimum of half a dozen packages a week delivered from them (when she's skint) and many more when she's less skint.

The stuff I buy online is "crap" BTW. But teleshopping is good quality British business

[-]

TwoCitizens@reddit

My parents, 20 years ago

[-]

Bug_Parking@reddit

Pensioners.

[-]

TJae0120@reddit

This.

Disposable income and don't know better. Easy market

[-]

pintperson@reddit

Yeah my gran used to buy all sorts of tat off the telly. The worst thing is once they’ve got your phone number they sell it to telemarketers who then ring you up and convince you to buy stuff over the phone.

When you’re old and lonely, and a “nice” friendly young man calls you up, you’ll buy something just for something to do.

[-]

centzon400@reddit

My uncle (not a rich man) died just before the first lockdown; his will appointed me as executor. Going thought his financials was terribly sad— close to £100 per week in standing orders/direct debits going to various "charities".

Having known him, donations to the RNLI and Macmillan Cancer Support looked legit. The rest seemed like TV/magazine scams he got into but could not get out of.

Before you go all "haha, stupid Boomer", just think about whether— even though you can detect scams now— you will be able to do so when you get older/tech gets stranger/whatever. None of us are immune to the numerous ways that bad actors will try to fleece us.

[-]

Wallij@reddit

Nah dude, Boomer mentality is reserved for older generations who bemoan laziness of millennials or who claim it's easy to get on the housing ladder.

Anyone who sells or takes advantage of the vulnerable be it aggressive sales or scams is a proper wanker and one of the lowest circles of hell is reserved for them.

[-]

Boro_Seadogs@reddit

oh those charities were terrible, the worst one is Angel Fulfilment Services, worked for them at the height of the cost of living crisis back in summer 2022, i kid you not the amount of grief management gave staff for daring to not pressure the elderly into something they cant afford was insane

[-]

DarkangelUK@reddit

Yup, my gran bought earrings and rings off those channels and never wore them in the same way I buy games off Steam that are on sale and never play them.

[-]

0x633546a298e734700b@reddit

You'll play them one day sport

[-]

Still-BangingYourMum@reddit

For something to do? Like him in the bed, where your dear dear Albert passed away?

[-]

Sreezy3@reddit

Absolute pricks.

[-]

deiprep@reddit

My gran bought something off one of these channels once and i kid you not they phoned back about 5 times within an hour asking if she wanted to buy any of the other items that were to be listed.

10 year old me was getting worried as it was stressing my gran out so much.

[-]

Beanruz@reddit

I wad lead to believe that pensioners were poor and needed help.with their heating bills.

[-]

pysgod-wibbly_wobbly@reddit

Like the rest of society some have more money than others.

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

Not really, pensioners buck the trend massively. 25% of them are millionaires. The percentage of those living below the poverty line is lower than that of any other demographic.

[-]

Merc8ninE@reddit

Very interesting

Got sorce?

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

Link

[-]

Emotional_Ad8259@reddit

Primarily due to house price inflation.

[-]

Liturginator9000@reddit

That's assets though so the house counts? Just a reflection of property becoming ridiculously overvalued

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

Well yeah, millionaires rarely have £mills in liquid cash in the bank, they have assets.

Pensioners are able to do equity release on their properties if they’re struggling for cash. That is a luxury not afforded to the young.

[-]

CrabNebula_@reddit

Of course, if they do that then the actual equity in the house will be released to the bank instead of their children upon their death

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

So, the alternative is I have to pay for their heating so that their kids get a free house? Yeah, no thanks, their kids can work for their own stuff.

[-]

Jesters__Dead@reddit

What's wrong with a house handed down from one generation to another?

If you don't, you're condemning your children/grandchildren to a lifetime of paying rent because they can't get a mortgage in some towns and cities. So they're now serfs, making a rich person even richer

The problem is when people own multiple properties, effectively hoard resources, and use renters to pay off their mortgages

Anyone should be able to pass a single property on to their descendants

[-]

CrabNebula_@reddit

If you want capital to move to younger generations you have to keep it out of the hands of the bank. That’s just fucking basic mate. Don’t take it personally

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

So to increase wealth for younger generations, we make them pay out of their own pocket for older generations? Makes sense.

[-]

CrabNebula_@reddit

Fuck, communists really are stupid. The younger generation will be the ones to ultimately benefit when they have increased wealth once the house is sold after their old person dies.

If the old people release all the equity from their house now the. all this accrued value goes to the faceless shareholders of evil corporations. I assume this is fine with you comrade

[-]

ComradeAdam7@reddit

No, the offspring of the millionaire retirees will benefit, not ‘young people’ generally. Society doesn’t benefit from millionaires sitting on their massive pile of money until they die.

Society benefits when money moves around the economy.

[-]

pintofendlesssummer@reddit

Asset rich but no cash flow.

[-]

_DeanRiding@reddit

This is what really effing irks me about people moaning about pensioners all being these poor little biddies that need help heating their homes or getting discounted council tax/free TV license, free bus passes etc etc. Means testing (with actual reasonable limits) absolutely needs to be a thing for pensioners. My grandad gets all these benefits and still earns more than my dad who's at the peak of his career, despite retiring about 40 years ago.

[-]

WarmTransportation35@reddit

This is why I tell them to give me £5 if they want to take my seat on public transport. They can suffer without a way out for the first time in their life.

[-]

pysgod-wibbly_wobbly@reddit

I think it's the triple lock pension that reduces the amount of pensioners that experience poverty. But there still are many that struggle.

That will change as the next generation of pensioners come through as current pensions deals are not as good as they use to be.

[-]

Disastrous_Yak_1990@reddit

Are these the same ones idiots are passionately complaining about getting their winter allowance cut?

[-]

OStO_Cartography@reddit

I work in a bakery. Most of my pensioner customers never shut the fuck up about how they'll be 'destitute without the Winter Fuel Allowance, and then turn right back around and buy quite literally £30 worth of bakery goods EVERY DAY because they 'don't like'/'can't be bothered' to cook at home and 'don't like' cheaper options like making a sandwich. Honestly most of my pensioner customers are gross adult toddlers. I have zero idea how they've managed to make it to such a ripe age whilst carrying with them the mentality of a four year old for seventy years.

My parents are both pensioners are some of the most frugal misers on the face of the planet because they too fear Big Daddy State coming and taking away all the free shit us working people give them, but then will occasionally buy a brand new car, or campervan, or holiday to Madeira 'just because'.

[-]

MopoFett@reddit

Yeah, I work at a bank an I see what people spend money on and pensioners love this stuff.

[-]

TheDreadfulCurtain@reddit

Should be a law against these aggressive sales to elders. It is elder abuse.

[-]

Vivid-Pin-7199@reddit

So much for "with age comes wisdom". It's just the capitalist version of a darwin award.

[-]

alphagusta@reddit

Wisdom is just arrogance with a smile.

[-]

TheDreadfulCurtain@reddit

Not always but often with age comes vulnerability, infirmity, illness, severe isolation, loneliness and dependence. Sadly wherever there are vulnerable groups of people whether they be children, disabled people, elderly and infirm people you find abusers. That is the truth about humanity, unfortunately all we can do is make people aware of it and try to put a stop to it. Report it when you witness it. One thing we all have in common is we will at some point age, unless you die young, easy to dismiss with a Darwin Award comment but it is genuinely really fucking sad. Whether it is physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or abandonment by caregivers,financial exploitation., healthcare Fraud & Abuse.

https://www.thenationalcareline.org/AccessingHelp/ActionOnElderAbuse

[-]

LloydAtkinson@reddit

Never once have I heard people use the word elder in the UK and you’ve said it twice in the same comment.

[-]

TheDreadfulCurtain@reddit

That is because I am aware of the existence of Elder Abuse and it is really sad that you have never heard about it. It is really prevalent unfortunately Social services has a department to deal with Elder abuse and here is an example of a charity that deals with it. That specialise in it. It is a huge problem, the elderly can be extremely vulnerable members of the community. Remain aware ! it happens more than you would care to realise. https://www.thenationalcareline.org/AccessingHelp/ActionOnElderAbuse

Physical Abuse. ...
Emotional or Psychological Abuse. ...
Emotional or Psychological Abuse. ...
Sexual Abuse. ...
Neglect or Abandonment by Caregivers. ...
Financial Exploitation. ...
Healthcare Fraud & Abuse.

[-]

LloydAtkinson@reddit

Yeah I have heard of it numbskull. It’s called elderly abuse here though.

[-]

TheDreadfulCurtain@reddit

The charity is called Action on Elder Abuse. When I have discussed cases with them and other organisations and departments that is the term used, it is called Elder Abuse. Why are you being so unpleasant about it. Just say Oh I hadn’t heard it called that before and move on.

[-]

Competitive-Cat-1345@reddit

Hey, that guys a spanner! Ignore him you are 100% in the right here. Some people don't respect things like this until one of their family members is in the same situation as the elderly.

[-]

This_Aioli_5117@reddit

Similarly, I work at a gas company and the amount of money we take from pensioners is obscene. An entire generations inheritance is going into shareholders pockets instead.

[-]

Pr0letariapricot@reddit

Maybe if they weren’t so ridiculously averse to getting smart meters then they’d be better off

[-]

This_Aioli_5117@reddit

I'm in NI so they don't have that choice. Put gas tech is from the 80s.

[-]

tHrow4Way997@reddit

My gran has her hearing at 21.5 permanently all year day and night. Granted she lives in a well insulated bungalow, but the smart meter never reads more than 20p despite her house always being nice and toasty. She probably pays less to heat her house all winter than it costs to (try to) heat my drafty household to 18° on a single chilly January day.

[-]

Independent-Claim116@reddit

Wow! A serious kudos to YOU, for your bold and refreshing honestly!! How often do we encounter THIS, these days? -Not often-enough! -Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. KEEP POSTING!

[-]

mrericstevens@reddit

Yes, my mum goes crazy on this stuff.

[-]

KarlosMacronius@reddit

I did a self employed parcel delivery job for a few weeks, one day over half my drops were qvc tat to one house owned by a pensioner. Was a bloody brilliant day.

[-]

Active-Pride7878@reddit

Yep. I work for a delivery company and I have QVC parcels for the same old woman every week

[-]

DisneyBounder@reddit

My mother in law bought so much crap from these channels my husband had to start keep an eye on her bank account and phone records. Really ridiculous stuff like a Halogen cooker thing (she lives off mainly microwave meals) an expensive iron which she kept in the box and still used the old one with fraying wires, various bits of jewelry and overpriced creams and cosmetics.

Even without these channels her shopping habits are pretty bizarre. Tell me why somebody who doesn't even like eating bread would need a toasted sandwich maker!?!

[-]

Flat-Flounder3037@reddit

But they can’t even heat their homes can they!? /s

[-]

orange4me4@reddit

🤣🤣🤣🤣 the degree of it, a star in this pensioners. Make me day! Hilarious but true

[-]

Cle0patra_cominatcha@reddit

Yeah my nan was dying and left all her jewellery to me. I thought, how sweet. It was all this exact stuff, (the jewellery channel) and tonnes of it. It's all in a cupboard, it's all tat but it was important to her so haven't had the heart to deal with it.

We reckon she spent about £800 (a lot of money for her), most of it still tagged and wrapped. We figured she would call them and chat, and they were happy to natter knowing she'd eventually buy. Just lonely.

[-]

Thesoftdramatic@reddit

I was about to say, my grandmother, she’s obsessed.

[-]

0x633546a298e734700b@reddit

South Park hit this one on the head

[-]

Boring_Loquat7037@reddit

Yes was just about to say my 70 year old neighbours, they love that shit

[-]

Anxious_Ad6026@reddit

As a postman I deliver a lot of home shopping parcels to mainly older people

[-]

dickbob124@reddit

My mother's 75 year old partner has bought just about every piece of shitty gym equipment these channels have sold since the mid 2000s.

[-]

PatrickStardawg@reddit

My grandad used to buy all the gold and silver coins advertised from about the same time up until he passed early this year

[-]

Independent-Claim116@reddit

Were they genuine??

[-]

PatrickStardawg@reddit

Not a clue tbh, sadly one of my uncles took them all when he passed

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

My Nan bought loads of these, off the back of magazines. Fucking hundreds of them. Had them valued after she died and they’re mostly worthless tat.

Turns out no one wants an enamelled 50p with a picture of a spitfire on which is only valid in Jersey., especially when it was a “limited edition of 10,000 pieces”

[-]

inevitablelizard@reddit

I noticed there's a "London Mint" which is presumably trying copy the actual Royal Mint. Feels very dodgy.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

There a few “mints” about producing this sort of junk.

And to be honest, the royal mint isn’t innocent of this shit. Case in point: the Gruffallo painted coin for £75, made with about a quids worth of silver…

[-]

Limp-Archer-7872@reddit

I've just inherited a load from my dad. Rather heavy on the royalty.

Some proper coins too at least.

[-]

PatrickStardawg@reddit

AFAIK my uncle stole them all lol

[-]

nathderbyshire@reddit

https://www.tjc.co.uk/chains/designer-inspired-9k-yellow-gold-link-necklace-size---22-gold-wt.-15.30-gms-7592543.html

Found the website, the "hear from our customers" video is all old people lol

Also just me that think the design looks like linked penises?

[-]

b1tchlasagna@reddit

"Designer inspired" lol

But yes you're right RE: linked penii

[-]

nathderbyshire@reddit

https://www.tjc.co.uk/rings/950-platinum--aaaa--ethiopian-emerald-white-diamond--vs-ring-7.99-ct--platinum-wt.-11.92-gms--7.990--ct.-7769586.html#srule=priceDesc&start=1&sz=48

The most expensive product on the website, not sure who would buy a 90K ring at the same place you can get a £5 rainbow

https://www.tjc.co.uk/jewellery/multi-colour-austrian-crystal-and-simulated-diamond-rainbow-brooch-with-flower-3670260.html#srule=topRated&start=12&sz=48

[-]

LloydAtkinson@reddit

Is it a front for money laundering?

[-]

b1tchlasagna@reddit

Bloody hell. £86K. Chairman Ethiopian Emerald just screams conflict minerals to me

Tbh I'd rather buy this thing

https://novitadiamonds.co.uk/lab-grown-diamond-rings?setting-filter=8388608&page=1&type=price&sort=DESC&setting-selection=12325&current-screen=screen-setting-detail

[-]

Darkened100@reddit

lol that’s a awful ring and a nightmare to size or repair

[-]

Willz093@reddit

But if I buy that I can’t get it over 7 easy payments… thanks but no thanks, now let me buy my £86k conflict emerald in peace!

[-]

Independent-Claim116@reddit

Impressive! How many ppl would know the correct plural form of "penis"? I'm betting there'd be very few, among hundreds. Are you, by any chance, a fellow proofreader/re-writer?

[-]

b1tchlasagna@reddit

I would imagine there'd be a decent amount, no?

I'm actually a network engineer in my day job.

[-]

Remarkable-Ad155@reddit

I'd love to see you do s Rorschach test

[-]

b1tchlasagna@reddit

A what test?

[-]

JustLetItAllBurn@reddit

It's weird, they just show you a bunch of black and white images of Steve Buscemi's penis.

[-]

Still-BangingYourMum@reddit

That's strange, the "Therapist" I saw, worked in the community said he had misplaced his Buscemi's penis pictures, and wanted to look at his, and not just look, but I was told I could feel it aswell if it helped to cure my gullibility traits.

[-]

dingo1018@reddit

Mine was all Hitler arriving with a birthday card, I've never seen my therapist more aroused. That hurt in the old rejections cos I really put out!

[-]

MitchellsTruck@reddit

When I did one, it was just pictures of my parents fighting.

[-]

Imnothere1980@reddit

Wow 9k cannot be legally sold as gold here in the States. It’s not even considered gold.

[-]

MJLDat@reddit

I do now!

[-]

BlueTrin2020@reddit

Only you

But hope you enjoy the penises

[-]

LazyWings@reddit

South Park did a great episode on this issue. It's called "Cash for Gold" showing how it's a whole industry designed to scam old people.

[-]

NorthWestTown@reddit

Semi-related, but I used to work at a bank and pensioners loved spending money on this AND those shitty 'limited edition' ads in magazines. They were tricked into thinking what they were buying was 'worth a lot of money in the future' and used these things as investments!

Anything Royal (Royal Mint Coins, merchandise like commemorative plates, The Queen themed teddy bears....the lot)

Anything doll or teddy bear related

Anything to do with clocks, watches, etc

Ironically, I worked at a charity auction house a few years later. All this crap ended up at our place after house clearances because their family didn't want the tat.

We had so many bloody: teddies, Lily Putt Houses, Plates (bane of our f####g existence), Meerkat teddies, Royal Merchandise (Diana & Charles plates...oof...there were a lot), teapots, dolls, and figures of EVERYTHING they thought was cute. We had figures of toddlers doing 'cute' things like sitting on a potty or bending over showing a boo-boo on his bum. It was seen as cute back then but nowadays...yikes.

The amount of shit they spent their money on is insane.

[-]

Bug_Parking@reddit

I worked in the same building as the royal mint, or similar company.

Seems they gave themselves an official sounding name and people fell head over heels for it.

I think it'll die down over time- the older folk over the last 2 decades have grown up in the war/post war years and buy into the iconography on the time, that'll fade. Plus this boomer generation is extremely asset rich with generous af pensions, that'll also fade.

[-]

Unable-Demand3107@reddit

south park teleshopping gold cycle - Google Search

[-]

RainbowSparkles17@reddit

There’s a South Park episode about this.

[-]

tryingmybest_23@reddit

First thing that came to my mind!

[-]

BearMcBearFace@reddit

Can confirm. My wife’s nan buys from them all the time and will ask us if we’ve seen a particular thing on it, as if we spend all day watching QVC…

[-]

AgentCooper86@reddit

Triple lock state pension, let’s go!

[-]

Taxless-@reddit

https://youtu.be/kJEbyWT7gIg?si=TWHqnysbXm5QTlvt

[-]

B0b_Howard@reddit

£1500??? WTAF?
Just looked and 15.3 grams of 9K gold comes in around £350 retail.

[-]

SlightlyOTT@reddit

If you look at that screenshot they’re claiming to have sold 1 and still have 7 left, so they’re basically showing you the opening price. Nobody is actually going to pay that because they’ll drop it massively, that seems to be the point.

[-]

LockAByeBaby@reddit

Except it doesn't - you're looking at the scrap price. To purchase 9ct gold grain 15.3 grams would currently set you back £476 incl. VAT.

Jewellery generally has a 150-200% markup, so £1500 for a 9ct gold necklace weighing 15grams isn't actually outside of the standard range

[-]

ExpressAffect3262@reddit

My mum used to, especially 'Price Drop Tv'.

While not to the extremes of stuff over £1000, I do recall my mum buying an african elephant painting that would have probably been sold for £40 in Dunelms or something, for around £14.

[-]

jack_pow@reddit

Price Drop TV, now that’s a blast from the past.

[-]

oowhat@reddit

We had 'Price Drop TV' towels in our house growing up.

"Egyptian cotton, they get softer the more you use them"

I don't remember them being soft at all 😆

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

What a genius marketing ploy. "I know they're pretty shit now, but keep the faith. They get better after a year.*

*12 month warranty."

[-]

singeblanc@reddit

Give us your money now, and we promise eternal paradise, when you're dead!!

[-]

coastal_mage@reddit

I sure hope nobody hammers some paper to a church door over this

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

Yes Farher

[-]

lost_send_berries@reddit

If you use fabric softener or too much detergent it gums up the towel.

[-]

gag-reflexes@reddit

Still got one of those I use. I think it's part of some penance now since it feels like I'm drying myself using brambles.

[-]

Jetstream-Sam@reddit

Well, keep trying. Maybe one day they'll be worth it

[-]

Healthy-Grocery6055@reddit

I won't lie, I bought a football shaped black and white portable TV from Price Drop back in the day. I was a few sheets to the wind and the gimmick got me.

The product did arrive... but the plug didn't fit UK sockets and so my football TV became an ornament gathering dust. It was expensive thank God.

[-]

Nebulousdbc@reddit

Was the plug European or American style? Or was it for a 12v car ciggy lighter?

[-]

Healthy-Grocery6055@reddit

Neither, it looked British with the three pins but it was too big, it just didn't fit. Like the people that made it had just "guessed" the size of our plug sockets.

[-]

PupApophis@reddit

I bought a watch once from Price Drop TV. It was the last item it the night, went from £50 to .50p. With postage it was just under £10. It wasn’t a bad watch, it lasted a few years.

[-]

ExpressAffect3262@reddit

I used to find it funny them hyping a big drop and the available items only goes from like 950 to 800.

Then that's when they need to just clear the stock and it goes to like £2.99 and sells out instantly in seconds.

[-]

TungstenHexachloride@reddit

I know someone who used to present for them. Its a bit before my time, but it certainly is a weird niche of people who like auctions but are digital savvy enough to find the marketing tv channels.

[-]

CategorySolo@reddit

Your grandparents, and you won't find out until emptying their house

[-]

2W0PQU@reddit

My gran used to buy off PriceDrop when I was little, I’m talking 20 years

[-]

sparklesandroses@reddit

My MIL spends all day ordering from these. Tens of thousands of pounds, if not hundreds. The house to full to the brim of still-packaged boxes from QVC, JML etc. From food, to furniture, to teddies, it’s absolutely absurd. I’m bothered just by seeing a shopping channel on this post🤣

[-]

ScootyPoof@reddit

I’m about 80% certain the biggest customer demographic for these companies are suffering from early stage dementia, which is likely closely followed by chronic alcoholics and those suffering from acute psychosis.

[-]

Punk_roo@reddit

Yep. A long time ago when I was a student I had a job working on the order line for a tv shopping channel doing the late shift 18:00-00:00. Early on it would be old people and later people who’d had one too many ales. All of it interspersed with a few nutters and sex people. Strange job tbh but it didn’t last long as they went out of business pretty quick.

[-]

TomStreamer@reddit

These are sex people!

[-]

Amateur_Chiropractor@reddit

Lynn!

[-]

Particular-Bit-5153@reddit

What are sex people? 😂

[-]

ShortRun8026@reddit

"Size 22" is probably a ploy to try and confuse them into thinking it's 22 ct

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

That's the third time you've said that...

[-]

ARobertNotABob@reddit

So you're saying he's in his first demographic?

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

What you talking about?

[-]

singeblanc@reddit

"I've got good news and bad news" said my doctor.

"The bad news is that you have Alzheimer's", he told me.

"The good news is that by the time you get home you'll have forgotten about it."

[-]

Nightshader23@reddit

Ok whats the bad news?

[-]

qwe123rty456uiop@reddit

Hm, it’s more advanced than I first thought.

[-]

Snoo_44044@reddit

That’s the joke

[-]

markcorrigans_boiler@reddit

There is a pigeon in your bank account.

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

Good evening Madam. After years talking shite on here you're only the second person to recognise my name. Lots of love from me and cousin Benson.

[-]

PizzaInMyUrethra@reddit

the ugandan dollars 😱

[-]

Sam-Lowry27B-6@reddit

When did you meet my dad exactly?

[-]

B23vital@reddit

My aunty had a brain tumour, had to block her account after she was bed bound because she’d just spend a fortune buying crap off these scummy shows.

We was trying to give her some freedom as she was still there mentally just not making great decisions, rhe final straw was when she ordered a sofa to a care home. Pretty funny thinking back now. Absolutely no room for it, no way to get it in, and she couldnt even get up to sit on it anyway.

[-]

squeezemebae@reddit

I doubt most alcoholics could afford this stuff

[-]

ScootyPoof@reddit

You’re heavily underestimating the wealth of some alcoholics.

The owner of a restaurant I worked at for a while would quite literally drink an entire bottle of Macallan Gold (a £100 bottle) every single night at the bar, and would only stop if his wife came over and shouted at him to go home.

He did this quite literally daily for the 6 months I worked there, with the odd exception when we didn’t have it in stock and he settled for Clynelish or Talisker) at a personal cost of probably way over £18k which he exchanged almost entirely in cash.

[-]

wh0rederline@reddit

that’s literally just one dude. most alkies are broke.

[-]

CheesyJapsEye@reddit

Most are broke. But not all. Same can be said for drug addicts. You have your street addicts who are begging in the streets but you also have your wealthy as fuck drug addicts who are on it 24/7. Apply this logic to literally anything and you have the same outcome.

[-]

wh0rederline@reddit

some are addicts because of their wealth vs addicts in spite of their wealth

[-]

Terryfink@reddit

It's bored old people with expendable cash, I've no idea why alcoholics would waste money on jewelry when they could be getting shitfaced

[-]

cookiesandginge@reddit

Work in a bank with vulnerable customers and you’ve nailed it

[-]

literallymekhane@reddit

Can attest to 2/3 there, unfortunately

[-]

Such-Memory-7102@reddit

Chronic alcoholics would save their money for booze.

[-]

LettusLeafus@reddit

There are also those like my mum who've been using them since the 90s and have never fully moved on. I wonder if I'll be doing the same with Amazon in 30 yrs when everyone else has moved on.

[-]

LauraPa1mer@reddit

People with psychosis aren't buying this. But people on prescription drugs which have spending money as a side effect, are.

[-]

A-Grey-World@reddit

I know one person who went through a psychotic episode with bipolar and he bought a bunch of weird shit.

[-]

Zombiethrowawaygo@reddit

Ha

[-]

SC-Hathel@reddit

South Park did a whole episode on this.

[-]

Boredengineer_84@reddit

Some of the shit they sell on there….. particularly the cheap jewellery

[-]

KingAw555000@reddit

Those hands are so old. Don't let them take your youth friends.

[-]

Xaikarix@reddit

Back in the day I got really high with my Mrs. We watched a channel like this and ended up buying a super peeler that could literally shave wood.

It was advertised as indestructible and came with a life time guarantee.

We lost the life time guarantee and the peeler broke.

We've quit smoking since

[-]

myszka5@reddit

I was born in 2005, my mum used to watch these all day. She bought 1 or 2 pieces when she was 25. She still wears them today.

[-]

lottiegirl@reddit

The vulnerable

[-]

Darkened100@reddit

South Park did a episode on this

[-]

Redmanb11_87@reddit

I know, you walk by my stoh and you say "Oh, there's a nice Asian lady. I think I go in and I fuck hurh," you Asian-lady fucker you!

[-]

mastersmithson@reddit

I'm wearing a necklace now from one of these channels. Bidup.tv I think I was called.

Not sure how much it was but I got it for my 18th birthday. I'm 36 now and still wear it (infact my wedding ring hangs round it). I'm sure it wasn't the cheapest thing but it is full of memories and a precious thing I own :-)

[-]

cmclav@reddit

My father in law. He bought me a petrol lawnmower from it one Christmas. Still going strong after 6 years. Buys random, but interesting kitchen gadgets and garden tools.

[-]

Prize_Mycologist1870@reddit

Fools

[-]

i_nasty@reddit

Old people, there’s a great South Park bit on this exact topic

[-]

Infinite-Hedgehog516@reddit

In the UK teleshopping is always at 3am.

[-]

alsuperhero1@reddit

9karat gold for 15 grams? Are they taking the piss?

[-]

Lito_@reddit

You'd be surprised how much people buy from them. Specially QVC!

[-]

BansheeBallad@reddit

I used to love watching shopping channels whenever I had insomnia, but I never once wanted to buy anything. I would guess it’s mainly older people or people who are easily led who end up buying that junk

[-]

alecsped@reddit

Old people

[-]

PhallicStrawberry@reddit

My parents, once, 23 years ago and they bought me a Shiny Pichu Pokémon card

[-]

Bartoffel@reddit

Similar sort of time ago, my parents bought me a copy of a Pokémon manga that was signed by the voice actor for Meowth. Thanks QVC.

[-]

maidenyorkshire@reddit

I got that. Very cool.

[-]

UndertakersMum@reddit

My parents got me the exact same ones! I think they’d thought they’d be worth something later down the line.

[-]

Princescyther@reddit

My parents bought me a collection of viz Pokémon comics from QVC too.

No signature, though, I don't think.

I still have them back home in the loft, actually. I found them when I went home for Xmas in 2022.

[-]

SolomonGilbert@reddit

My brother that confused me SO much. You and I have different ideas of what a Viz comic looks like...

[-]

Princescyther@reddit

lol yeah it wasn't the British Viz brand. It was the American one that does Manga.

[-]

therikertechnique@reddit

Fat slags! I choose you!

[-]

SolomonGilbert@reddit

Aha that was my exact thought when reading the original comment.

[-]

Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

People do apparently if the Apprentice teleshopping episode where they somehow manage to sell products is anything to go by lol

[-]

margauxlame@reddit

These are always one of my favourite episodes it’s always extra painful to watch them try their best

[-]

prustage@reddit

My mother used to buy stuff every day from shopping channels. It would arrive and she wouldnt even open the boxes. It was an addiction. Whenever we went round to her house we had to parcel all the stuff up and send it back.

These c*nts rely on people like my mother, addicts who cant help themselves and who spend what little money they have on worthless junk. This is pure exploitation of the vulnerable.

[-]

cremedelapeng2@reddit

my neighbour does this with crap from temu.It used to be qvc/jml shite but now shes gone digital.

[-]

Reasonable-Horse1552@reddit

Oh god I bought a load of stuff from temu once! It was a load of old crap. Never again.

[-]

preaxhpeacj@reddit

I mean what were you expecting

[-]

margauxlame@reddit

Literally! I’ve seen loads of people say this tbh why would anything that actually works be on offer for 99% off or whatever their annoying ads are

[-]

sacredgeometry@reddit

Someone must be. But who? No idea. Everything they sell is garbage.

[-]

Dirty_Techie@reddit

I actually (past tense) used to work for ideal world who went under and then TJC bought them up.

All I can say is, shop elsewhere not these channels, some of the stuff they sell is questionable and of poor quality.

They tried to offer me a role at their HQ but after finding out their internal teams I dodged the bullet.

[-]

teebean21@reddit

Me as a 6 years old trying to get my mum a present. QVC actually sent me a membership card. They got a shock when my mum rung to inform them they’d just given a shopping account to a 6 year old. I just saw a pretty ring and thought mum would like it and I knew how to work the house phone from calling my nan to bring sweets under the guise of ‘mum needs milk’.

[-]

Partysausage@reddit

My Dad went through a rough patch after his divorce and as he couldn't sleep started watching shopping channels for about a week. loads of random shit turned up and I remember him being super excited. He bought me a new camera and it was dreadful considering what he paid for it. Everything he bought ended up being a POS so that phase didn't last long luckily.

[-]

vms-crot@reddit

My mum, before she passed away. She'd just sit and watch that shit all day. Bought all sorts of tat. Had to go through it all when we cleared out the house. None of it worth a penny. Lots of cosmetic jewellery, cheap watches, and crap bedsets.

No idea what her plan was with it all. Lots of it was still in its original packaging. I guess the shopping aspect just made her happy.

[-]

Different-Chapter-49@reddit

Lonely old people

[-]

mrdougan@reddit

My mum thinking she getting a bargain

[-]

Calm_Wonder_4830@reddit

I brought an air bed off of QVC years ago! And it was amazing it was at least 2ft Deep, and king-size. I used it for 7 months with no issues until I got a proper bed! When i had to move house, it was accidentally left in the loft 😭😭 It was a stupidly low price, so if it was crap it wouldn't have been anything to cry about.

[-]

Hardyminardi@reddit

Cocks.

[-]

dillydally1144@reddit

15 grams of gold for 1.5 thousand is criminal

[-]

EarthWormJim18164@reddit

This is the TV equivalent of scam emails

[-]

RoyalBodybuilder6938@reddit

A thing of the past

[-]

t1mberrr@reddit

Max and Paddy. “Shit i’m out of oxygen”

[-]

Qwayze_@reddit

First thing that came to my mind

Piagra

[-]

_dmdb_@reddit

I used to work for QVC many years ago, typical market was staying at home mum's, retirees etc. They used to bring in the valued customers for special days, these are people who are spending 5 figures a year. It is (or was) a very well oiled machine and very profitable although the UK operation is nothing compared to the US which was making an obscene amount of money at the time.

[-]

T-uK9@reddit

You gotta watch the South Park episode...

[-]

No-Discipline-165@reddit

We once bought something as a joke for my sister in law to cheer her up whilst she was battling some health issues. Great for that anyway.

[-]

Darkstrife4211@reddit

See, "Cash For Gold" South Park. Sums the whole process up pretty well.

[-]

WarmTransportation35@reddit

I feel like that business and similar companies have made phone, bag and petty theft more lucrative than ever. My road was so safe that residents who lived their whole life never heard of a burglary in the area but once cash for gold became accessible on the high street, a few houses got burgled and the residents were upset on their grandparent's gold jewelery being stolen. Every house now has a burgler alarm and all the naigbours work together to bring multiple reports on any suspocious behaviour.

It's frustraiting that nothing can be done about it as there will be illigal alternatives if cash for gold were forced to shut down.

[-]

Nightshader23@reddit

If you think the cash for gold shop has anything to do with it could you report to have them checked?

[-]

WarmTransportation35@reddit

I can't confirm if that specifically but I can say that burglery and theft was common before them but it was generally targeted and it took time for theives who were mainly part of organised crime to encash the profits. Nowdays it's as easy as stealing it then receiving cash the next day as pawn shops have made the system more effitient so they now rob indiscriminantly.

Phone thft was never a huge issue in London growing up even when people held thier mobile phone to their ear while walking. Something happened and now I can never feel safe taking my phone out.

[-]

Nightshader23@reddit

Yeah that is true. I know that there are eastern european gangs (albania specifically) operating crime rings and thats another thing wrong with our borders letting criminals in

[-]

WarmTransportation35@reddit

Yeah I don't know why we don't deport them easily as they are from a "safe country".

[-]

LilacMages@reddit

Aaaand now the song is stuck in my head

[-]

whiskeyislove@reddit

"put a gun to your temple and pull the trigger"

[-]

bejeweledman@reddit

Here is the clip for the song that says it all: https://youtu.be/kJEbyWT7gIg?si=_snPhzNRV1QsSxY3

[-]

Slay_Zee@reddit

I was gonna post the whole episode but realistically this shows rebirth

[-]

Rnewbs@reddit

Was going to say this. It’s predatory and should be banned.

[-]

singeblanc@reddit

"And you know what you're doing. And you should kill yourself."

[-]

tricenice@reddit

Careful buddy, last account got banned for quoted this exact quote.

[-]

Sayizo@reddit

"I'm not you're buddy, guy."

[-]

emilyannemckeown@reddit

I'm not your guuuuy frieeeend

[-]

Bobatron1993@reddit

I’m not your friend, pal

[-]

jfp1992@reddit

I'm not your pal, buddy

[-]

PitifulParfait@reddit

Aaaaaand now I've got that song stuck in my head

[-]

TheGiantCubeDream@reddit

I've been with my partner for 12 years, and we get along great, but any time I get that song stuck in my head I SWEAR she reconsiders lol.

Peak catchy nonsense tune. I love it.

[-]

CircuitouslyEvil@reddit

https://youtu.be/uhiUnavxTk?si=FexJBdRwBzxRtng

[-]

Feeling_Party26@reddit

South Park did a whole episode on it.

[-]

wingman80085@reddit

Pensioners, haven’t you seen South Park?

[-]

sm3g-h3ad@reddit

There's only 7 left, I'll buy one!

[-]

unsheenashashin@reddit

My old dears forever buying stuff from gemporia

[-]

BondageBox@reddit

Na. I buy shit online.

[-]

RumHoarder@reddit

I bought an mp4 player once. It was brilliant. Lasted me four whole days before the headphones port fell out!

[-]

BackgroundCookie752@reddit

My mum spends a fortune on there. She has Parkinson’s and one of the common symptoms / side effects is obsessive compulsive behaviour, which often manifests as spending for women.

I have rung TJC many times when she has spent huge sums on tat but they won’t speak to me as I’m not the account holder.

It’s her money and her well earned pension, she can spend it how she likes but it’s breaking my heart.

[-]

Nervouspotatoes@reddit

Stans grandpa

[-]

ListonBrooke@reddit

My fucking dad

[-]

NeferGrimes@reddit

Elderly people. I was a carer and one of the people I assisted had over £16,000 of telemarket jewelry in her bedroom. She would show it off to all the carers. I can't tell you the amount of times I asked her family to talk to her about keeping it private but you can't force them 🤷🏼‍♀️

[-]

SteeJans91@reddit

Not me that's for sure, now if it was a fine knife with a handle of genuine staghorn... not the cheaper manticore horn of course.

[-]

Such_Paper_2797@reddit

My gran single handedly keeps these channels going..

[-]

UGD_ReWiindz@reddit

These channels are scammers and should be banned

[-]

Ok-Quit1154@reddit

Grandmas

[-]

Denziloshamen@reddit

Buying something you needed or wanted is one thing, but what worries me is most people who buy this crap had no intention of buying such an item at such a widely inflated price. I’ve made a few impulse purchases over the years after seeing something on a shopping channel, but only a £20/30 useful kitchen gadget.

It’s crazy these channels are purposely scamming poor people out of their money with cheap tat at ‘reduced prices’ that isn’t even worth the lower price. Same as all these Bingo and gambling sites are targeting the non working bored people with false promises. People really need to learn about will power and consequences.

[-]

GingerGoblin275@reddit

long post, sorry! 😭

i haven’t and never would buy from them, but i watch them all the time. i have this weird nostalgia and cozy feeling about it which i do realise is insane

my sister and i used to watch it as kids when we were home alone, it was something we used to always do together. even as adults we will put it on to give us something to laugh at. we watched it the night before her wedding even, just to calm us down from the nerves.

my auntie used to buy jewellery from there religiously, and when she passed we got a few pieces, some weren’t that bad tbf. but she’s now also on my mind when i watch it. for some reason this blatantly trash tv ripping people off has become a strange comfort in my life 💀

OH and it makes for good background noise when you feel lonely cos it’s normally just two people yapping!

TDLR: teleshopping is pretty chill and can be fun to watch, just DON’T buy from it

[-]

Turbulent_Two_6949@reddit

Generally hoarders that believe theyre saving an investment for the future. My mother used to have loads of those shitty gem globes thinking she was gonna get rich 🙄

[-]

ThyHolyJebus77@reddit

I remember when I was younger there was a teleshopping show dedicated to Yu-Gi-Oh cards; I would watch the shit out of that with my breakfast.

[-]

FlowLabel@reddit

Only on Mega Day

[-]

VirginChud420691488@reddit

Wealthy boomers

[-]

gustomev@reddit

Picture looks like a giant chain hanging in Antelope Canyon

[-]

PlatformNo8576@reddit

Retirees

[-]

ZealousidealFruit386@reddit

Bored people with little to do with their time. I am surprised that most of these channels bar QVC seems to have vanished from the UK market in the last few years, probably most went out of business due to COVID or people realising most of the stuff they sold was utter rubbish.

[-]

GourangaToff@reddit

You’d be surprised at the amount of completely deranged, troubled, narcissistic people running and staffing these shopping channels.

Most presenters are failed actors with a cocaine problem, who use subtle NLP based speech patterns and hand gestures that engage the audiences right brain, creative impulsive side which makes people more inclined to make a purchase, and the crew are all too weird and creepy to work in proper telly. There are exceptions though, as the nice people work out what’s going on and make sensible plans to learn as much as possible before moving on after six months.

[-]

iiwhiteey@reddit

Isn't this just Temu with extra steps?

[-]

EveryDayA_Struggle@reddit

Oh nice, I need some paper clips

[-]

hockeytemper@reddit

I was in India a while back and paid a visit to a guy with 3 home shopping channels in UK. I asked who his customers are, "the old and the lonely". He actually appeared on UK TV nearly every night selling this garbage.

He did not buy our machine (to produce jewelry) , because he thought he was getting ripped off. $120,000 USD but he only wanted to spend USD$ 95k.

Meanwhile he drove an X5, lived in a mansion and his wife looked like a Kardashian, except more silicone.

I got out of there quick. Felt dirty/ greasy to be associated with him.

[-]

TeaDrinkingGuy@reddit

My nana has her head screwed on right and is 100% compus mentus, but she buys stuff on QVC alllll the time and has for as long as I can remember. Has never been scammed or anything like that, but she’s (practically) addicted to buying stuff on there.

[-]

71109E@reddit

1500 for a chain that looks like it’s worth 20 at most, nah. Also tele shopping is the worst form of shopping, they have no clue what you want, just go on google and search, jewellery for x, or best x for doing x. In a world of the internet I didn’t know people still bought stuff off tv.

[-]

Iamblaine1983@reddit

Pensioners

There is a whole south park episode about it

[-]

samuel199228@reddit

Teleshopping is a load of bollocks I always skip past these channels only stupid people but the stuff of these channels

[-]

fcukerz@reddit

Boomers

[-]

KingJacoPax@reddit

Old people who are feeling overlooked by their kids and grandkids who are just hanging around waiting for an inheritance and want to buy a bit of love. South Park did a whole thing about it like -5 years back.

[-]

OptimusPrime365@reddit

HOW much?!

[-]

tdr_visual@reddit

Used to deliver QVC shit. The answer is lonely old people.

[-]

Bigcatsrule27@reddit

Looks like the bike chain i use to lock my bike I don't care about up with

[-]

Cpt-Marth@reddit

I have experience with TJC in a professional capacity, and I cannot tell enough people not to buy the tut they sell. Much of the stock is made in India or China, and is generally poorer quality than a similar item purchased from a reputable Jeweller in the UK. There was also a rumour around who, and the age/legality of the workers who produced the stock.

[-]

Yellowclogs@reddit

Hoarders

[-]

Maleficent-Bee-4587@reddit

You’d be surprised!

[-]

yassbrendan@reddit

I imagine they make money from ad breaks and any sales are just a bonus?

[-]

zanazanzar@reddit

My dad and my best friends mum.

[-]

GenerationPea@reddit

My parents 😩

[-]

Kane_richards@reddit

pished da's at 1 in the morning after coming in from the pub, believe me.

[-]

Death_Savager@reddit

Me. I bought some nice Elemis skincare for my girlfriend.

We sometimes put teleshopping on because it's amusing, but she liked this stuff and it was a great price to be fair 🤷‍♂️

[-]

Duckstiff@reddit

I just bought two trickle chargers from their website, great value and function.

Absolutely no clue why they're selling them though.

[-]

lamestaff@reddit

God I used to love watching qvc back in the day, never bought anything, but could watch for hours

[-]

Leolou6@reddit

My gran does, she has done my whole life, the most random shit ever, she falls for how much they hype the stuff up

[-]

Commanduf@reddit

Go watch the south park episode cash for gold.

[-]

pintofendlesssummer@reddit

My neighbour, then tries to palm them off at Christmas to me....straight down the charity shop in the new year.

[-]

YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit

Either the old and senile people.

Or nobody. And they are just money laundering this weird way.

[-]

Charlieuk@reddit

My friends mum is obsessed with QVC

[-]

Zestyclose-Motor-581@reddit

My mother in law 😂

[-]

DiaryofAConfused27yo@reddit

I grew up in a really strict household and the tv was either on the news or telly shopping during the day on a weekend while my Mum was ironing (with the exception of TCM) so I literally grew up learning about gemstones, towel threadcounts and loved the makeup segment

[-]

SGLAStj@reddit

Billy’s grandad

[-]

Sm0keytrip0d@reddit

My mum does.

She's 67, retired and keeps throwing money at card crafting supplies from Ideal World and Create And Craft -___-

[-]

alexandriaweb@reddit

Oh god don't start me on Create and Crap! I swear my mam's house has load baring craft supplies (dad also obsessed with DIY and I don't know how the house hasn't fallen down around their ears at this point), you have to shimmy up a tiny sliver of hallway to go to the loo there are piles and piles of craft supplies she's never even opened that "magic hands" sold her, she also filled up mine and my brother's bedrooms when we moved out, their garage and two sheds are similarly full of crafting supplies. Constantly have to bite my tongue because my mam is constantly pleading poverty despite having a massive house full to bursting of stuff from Create and Craft, meanwhile my husband and I until recently were stuck living in a flat with a black mould problem and couldn't afford to move out (we have now thankfully).

[-]

rumade@reddit

I'm imagining you wallpapering over the black mould with 12 inch scrapbooking papers

[-]

alexandriaweb@reddit

Decoupaging over that decay! Jazz hands Nigel

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

As a crafter, create and craft piss me off so much. They peddle absolute junk and pretend you can make a fortune from it by being your own boss bitch babe and selling all your “crafts”. You’d have to sell your hideous cards made from a kit of someone else’s designs for about £9 a pop to turn a profit…

[-]

Sorry-Badger-3760@reddit

There's nothing better about crafting than buying crafting supplies. I can attest to having this issue.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

Absolutely agree. I’m a sewist and have literally every tool ever invented. Some of them still in the packet…

[-]

Grouchy-Nobody3398@reddit

Crafting and collecting Craft Supplies are normally two seperate hobbies....

[-]

Phyllida_Poshtart@reddit

My mum too, although no-one knew. When she died we found an entire chest of drawers stacked to the brim with QVC jewellery, and most of it tat. My dad was a bit surprised but said "I did wonder at all the deliveries"

[-]

RudeBoiiUK@reddit

My 50y/o mother bought a Dyson from a teleshopping channel, so we shipped her off to the retirement home

[-]

Flossandneedle@reddit

My aunty buys so much from QVC, I’m convinced she’s the sole reason they’re still in business

[-]

katemonster_22@reddit

My mom on disability.

[-]

yellowc1trusfru1t@reddit

From the podcasts I’ve listened to from prominent people in the e-commerce space… a lot more than you would think. Some of these infomercials have been running for decades. Objectively, these ads are only run because they work. If they run for years and years then guess what, they work really fucking well. I think for every person that thinks these ads are a pile of shit, there are probably 10 people who are rushing to buy the rubbish that they’re shilling. At least 75% of world’s population are thick as shit. Just look at the political parties that we as the UK (not to mention other countries) have put in power over the years. Collectively, the human race is stupid. The guys running these infomercials are profiting from that fact. It’s that simple. Unfortunately.

[-]

Lower-Dependent-3684@reddit

[-]

SadAnnah13@reddit

Blimey here's me feeling all sleepy after taking my night time meds, I saw the price of that and it's shocked me awake! Who in their right mind would pay 1500 for what looks like a glorified dog chain?!

[-]

SlightFinish@reddit

My MIL.

[-]

Roachpile@reddit

Coach McGuirk

[-]

shazoo123@reddit

My Nana keeps QVC afloat

[-]

Have_Other_Accounts@reddit

I visited my grandad once and he was super excited to show off some new lamp. I entertained him and was like "wow yeah it's amazing" (it's just a lamp).

I asked how much it was, thinking he was going to say £40. It was £450+. He got it off a magazine with those types of products. Apparently the light helps your eyes or whatever. They'd sell cheap slippers with a strip of copper in them for like £150 etc.

So yeah, pensioners who have money to throw around. Who also have myriad health problems they would love to "cure".

[-]

askoorb@reddit

These silly things: https://www.seriousreaders.com/ ?

I've no idea how they can be so expensive. Just buy a decent lightbulb...

[-]

Blue_wine_sloth@reddit

Someone I worked with who was around 60 used to get so many parcels from TJC.

[-]

misterhumpf@reddit

My wife loves a little QVC for all her lotions and potions. To be fair it is all very high end, branded stuff and they seem to offer decent discounts on it. Years ago I worked for a company that supplied technology products to QVC and I even presented a couple of times. It was a very slick operation.

[-]

SeamasterCitizen@reddit

QVC is pretty legit really. Branded products at decent prices, with an excellent (60 day!) return policy - and at least you can see it properly demonstrated before buying.

The food offering (meat boxes etc) at Xmas is decent and competitively priced too.

They do still have hours dedicated to tat and still engage in some (IMO) old-school shopping channel predatory marketing for jewellery etc, but since covid they’ve definitely pivoted their offering more to the WFH 30-something crowd in addition to the olds.

[-]

MelodicAd2213@reddit

Oooh I remember ‘In the Salon with Alison’ from decades ago. I was a student watching at parents home yearning for the day I could afford to splash out on such fancy products. I could afford Molton Brown shower stuff at the moment but am really happy with Nivea soap.

[-]

misterhumpf@reddit

I remember that show. Alison was a QVC legend! L'Occitane seems to be my wife's favourite. I can't remember the name of the lady that always presents for them, but she's been doing it for yonks and never seems to get any older.

[-]

mskubelik@reddit

My mum.

[-]

strongbowblade@reddit

Pensioners buy them as gifts for their family who then sell them at a cash for gold place, the cash for gold place then sends them to India where they are melted down and made into new pieces which are sold on teleshopping channels to other pensioners.

[-]

C64Nation@reddit

Diabetes.

[-]

MistressGxxx@reddit

My nan does 😂

[-]

Mushroominhere@reddit

A friend used to love watching these during a cocaine binge and buy loads of crap

[-]

tiptoes88@reddit

Worked for a home broadband/tv provider (rhymes with schmeee tea) and people would call up going absolutely mental when they switched from aerial to IP channels and the shopping channels were missing

[-]

mphemmo96@reddit

It’s a knock off Tiffany necklace, if you’re that desperate for a knockoff get one off like aliexpress for a fiver

Poor old people getting scammed

[-]

Snight@reddit

My grandmother spent a million between 60-80 on these. Left very little for her daughters.

[-]

PublixEnemynumberone@reddit

Say what?!

[-]

Snight@reddit

Yeah, crazy right. 1 mil on different tv sales channels and on catalogues

[-]

doxiesrule89@reddit

Let me guess the “similar” expensive necklace they showed was the 18k Tiffany hardware necklace that this is a blatant (and laughably bad) dupe of …

[-]

Fun_Chain_3745@reddit

My mum

[-]

piceofshitintheshter@reddit

Old people

[-]

TitleNecessary8707@reddit

That’s just what I’ve been looking for!!

[-]

ThePresindente@reddit

My grandad

[-]

huhwhatwhenwhy@reddit

Fuckwits. That’s who.

[-]

TheStargunner@reddit

I can lock my door with that

[-]

Candid-Bike-9165@reddit

I've bought a few things not much

[-]

TerribleDrama8081@reddit

A few years back my dad (pensioner, boomer, moderate amount of disposable income) got seriously addicted to buying off gemstv. He worked out that over the course of about 2 years he spent ten grand. Every birthday Christmas Easter my mum would get a whole new bag of garish jewellery she didn’t want.

[-]

CliffordThRed@reddit

She's been dead a while now but my grandma used to get all her shite off these channels

[-]

Bdublolz1996@reddit

Growing my best friend’s mother was addicted to this stuff. There was a few channels for it on Sky TV and it was on whenever I went over his house. Deliveries like once a week if not more and it went on for years. She must have spent thousands.

[-]

Fucky0uthatswhy@reddit

[-]

Psymon92@reddit

My partners nana used buy so much shit from QVC. Fortunately we managed to get her bank to stop any payments to them. But it was a long and tedious process. So much money wasted.

[-]

ThrowRAMomVsGF@reddit

My dad has Altzheimer's, for a while he was ordering things like that when we were not around...

[-]

lesposi8893@reddit

Tiffany dupe

[-]

fugigidd@reddit

I think there's an episode of South Park that covers this.

[-]

DeeRand84@reddit

I worked with a lady that used to work in a QVC call centre and they used to have a large number of returns….astronomically high. The pensioners were just lonely and wanted to have something to talk about and someone to listen.

[-]

Virtual-Technology-3@reddit

Isn’t that a chain bolt for a door?

[-]

Bubbly-Astronomer930@reddit

Boomers that’s who

[-]

Jamie_Win@reddit

My Nain does

[-]

Acrylic_Starshine@reddit

I would wanna touch and sniff before i bought anything at that price

[-]

FreyjaHjordis@reddit

My gran… got some nice Christmas presents from these teleshopping channels. I loved fairies as a kid, and she bought me beautiful pewter fairies that I still have to this day from Price Drop TV 😅

[-]

scummy71@reddit

TBF used to buy stuff off QVC years ago but it went out of fashion

[-]

Speedbird87@reddit

My grandad used to 😭 rings and watches showing up in delivery on monthly basis

[-]

--_---__---_--@reddit

FAUX SAPPHIRE EARRINGS

[-]

MrFeatherstonehaugh@reddit

Diamonelle Earrings

[-]

rumade@reddit

Diamonique!

[-]

BadPedals@reddit

FAUX IS A FENCH WORD, ITS GOT AN X THAT YOU DONT PRONOUNCE SO YOU KNOW ITS FANCY

[-]

coochiefrog@reddit

QVC has some well known brands at good deals, got an Emma mattress from them for a cheaper price. All the other channels are shite tho

[-]

Keedtalktoemm@reddit

I worked for TJC, the channel in OP’s post. Most of the customers are retirement age, and most of our top customers were either wealthy or vulnerable. Some of them also showed signs of early onset dementia.

The vulnerable ones usually lived alone and you felt would only watch TJC, i could hear their TV’s on in the background of our calls. The presenters were also influental in their purchases, some of them obsessing over how ‘they love Lucy’s outfit’ and that Dan is ‘very handsome’

They would very often pay for items in installments, some of them struggling to keep up with payments and there was no support system in place to help them out, and we would only call to ask them to make outstanding payments.

The quality of the jewellery and other products was a joke, especially some of their beauty/skincare products. I worked there on weekends during university and never worked overtime, always wondered how my colleagues who did full time felt about it. I enjoy reading their trust pilot reviews from time to time and pray on their downfall.

[-]

HackedTheGate@reddit

Don't watch it after you've been on a night out. We did at University and we got some random shit delivered to our house a week later courtesy of one of my flat mates 😂

[-]

Peac0ck69@reddit

My mother used to enjoy one of the jewellery channels. I don’t think she ordered that much from it, but she’d often be swayed with the “WAS £1,000, but we’re offering it for only £100!” type deals on products that would never sell for anywhere near £1,000 in the first place.

[-]

Abquine@reddit

It's pretty sad as I have a disabled friend who is home alone a lot and a complete sucker for this sort of stuff. I suspect she has a hotline to QVC also.

[-]

totesboredom@reddit

The old and also the hoarders.

A woman at my work had a sister with a hoarding issue and when she died, they found thousands of purchases from these channels all unopened.

[-]

Realistic-Ad1863@reddit

Used to work for Ideal Shopping before it went bust. You wouldn’t believe how many people are buying mattresses everyday! Everything was paid by flexi-pay instalments too

[-]

Terryfink@reddit

My great grandmother

[-]

GlasgowBAB@reddit

I dispise tactics like this and tactics like "We need to come to your house to speak to you to give you a quote on what your Mobility bed / Scooter / Replacement of a 1m long pvc pipe that is burst will cost. Because we have to know how much money you have and how clueless you are first. So we can get as much as possible.

[-]

TheChimpofDOOM@reddit

My Mother in law... she's bonkers

[-]

midlifecrisiscat@reddit

My former MIL used to buy off of these channels all the time. She had it on permanently once This Morning had finished. She is a poor pensioner (still alive afaik) and on benefits but still used to buy whatever she could. She was also a hoarder so that might have played some part.

[-]

aimforvenus@reddit

Near where I live, there's a house I pass while walking my dog. It's on a rural road, about 300 years old and it's HUGE. Obviously it belongs to people with a lot of money. Strangely, every single time you pass the downstairs window, whatever the time of day, they have home shopping channels on. Its confused me for years.

[-]

preaxhpeacj@reddit

Grandmas, I don’t think I’ve received an xmas present off any of my grandmas that wasn’t from QVC or similar

[-]

stevielfc76@reddit

Man united fans, they love a bit of Lizzy Duke coupled with Mam and Dad tattoos

[-]

Dependent_Effect_721@reddit

South Park absolutely nailed these fuckers! Scamming the elderly. Scum!

[-]

sookmaaroot@reddit

That's a £400 chain and that's me being generous by weight of gold

[-]

UnexpectedRanting@reddit

Without going into too much detail,

The people buying from these channels are addicts, pensioners or mentally ill people.

The main draw is the Pay in 3 or similar options so people can buy these nicely advertised items “for cheap” but they’re not financially aware that they’re not getting a good deal.

[-]

Tatopolois@reddit

I mean more detail is needed, because I used to work for the biggest shopping telly provider and this was absolutely not the case.

And they clear between £1 to 2 million a day in sales.

[-]

UnexpectedRanting@reddit

I also work for the biggest shopping channel (with 5 sister companies advertising at once) and this absolutely is the case.

[-]

Triton1990@reddit

Literally my grandmother. She retired when she was in her 60s but continued to work odd jobs to stay busy. Never in a million years would I catch her buying from JTB or HSN back then.. she'd say it's all a hoax. Now she's 83 and does nothing but buy crap at 230am and eat ice cream.

[-]

Human_Nerve7665@reddit

Southpark did an episode on this exact topic 🤣

Series 16 episode 2 - cash for gold

Cartman creates a JVC type jewellery network as he learns he can rip off old people for junk jewellery

[-]

Fedoradwarf@reddit

I love watching these - once they were selling a ring in the hundreds or even thousands and no one wanted it, and they kept decreasing and decreasing and got it down to £20 :')

There was another one where they were selling like a mattress or pillows or something, it was on around 3/4am and instead of talking up the product they just sat and chatted about the male hosts dog :'))

[-]

Fedoradwarf@reddit

I love watching these - once they were selling a ring in the hundreds or even thousands and no one wanted it, and they kept decreasing and decreasing and got it down to £20 :')

There was another one where they were selling like a mattress or pillows or something, it was on around 3/4am and instead of talking up the product they just sat and chatted about the male hosts dog :'))

[-]

Realkevinnash59@reddit

My mother in law!

She's constantly in and out of debt with tv shopping channels buying complete tat.

[-]

Pitiful-Raisin8723@reddit

Now it’s all about tick tock shop the new QVC 😂

[-]

ARJARJARJ@reddit

Old people who have undiagnosed Alzheimer’s.

Source: my nan.

[-]

xxhamsters12@reddit

Think of teleshoppings as the pensioners Shien

[-]

returnofjaggynettles@reddit

Dunno if those daft auction channels like biduptv are still around bit my mum was fucking obsessed with them.

[-]

extraterrestrial-66@reddit

Old people. Watch South Park Season 16 Episode 2

[-]

Cagliari77@reddit

85+ year olds

[-]

Krack73@reddit

QVC... Quick Value Cra... 😁

[-]

eve077@reddit

If that shocks you, check out the Bradford Exchange website… They sell the products you’ll see often advertised on the back of magazines, very much catalogue/teleshopping vibes. The prices on there are INSANE, I often wonder who buys the tat, but I’m guessing it’s the elderly.

[-]

jmffett@reddit

Remember before the Shark Vacuum blew up me and my watched a half and hour ad for it on tele shopping after having a couple drinks. We were there from the beginning!

[-]

Cfunk_83@reddit

I worked in shopping TV for the best part of a decade until fairly recently. You’d be surprised at how broad the demographics for customers actually is, but yes, it is mostly old people, people that are probably “on the spectrum”, and people that shop at Iceland.

[-]

JustmeandJas@reddit

Jean shops

[-]

notzaq11@reddit

My grandparents :(

[-]

TheArtfullTodger@reddit

Not me. I buy from temu. Seriously though I do have a silver plated chain necklace that I bought decades ago from China that's still pretending to be silver right down to the 925 stamp on it that I paid little over 3 quid for. Same shit you would probably pay 20 for one teleshop channel. Minus the dimonique set stones of course

[-]

JustmeandJas@reddit

Same here. I love Temu for all my sins. Some stuff is brilliant, some is shit but it’s cheap

[-]

DefaultText@reddit

My big sister. She buys something every day from these channels and has oceans of jewellery and crap she rarely uses.

[-]

jamiewh_@reddit

At least two Premier League footballers were in competition about 15 years ago to see which could by the biggest amount of shit.

The two I know of both played for England.

Source: Me. I worked there.

[-]

WrestlingFan95@reddit

This interests me, dm the two footballers names.

[-]

NoseApprehensive5154@reddit

There's a whole ass episode of South Park about it.

[-]

RebelGrin@reddit

To be fair, there is no jeweller in the world who sells jewellery at gold scrap pricing. So that's a bit of a pisstake from your end to mention that in your OP. My 900 euro wedding ring is worth 100 euro if I sell it back.

[-]

Soberdonkey69@reddit

My mum and she isn’t even a pensioner yet. Been doing so for years but she’s happy with the jewellery she buys from there while not splurging the cash.

[-]

mayonnaisemoon@reddit

I work in care and used to have a client who would buy a lot of stuff from these channels. When they unfortunately passed away they had thousands of iPads, Phones, Necklaces, Rings etc etc. I have no idea what happened to the stuff afterwards

Sadly, due to neglect from family members or loneliness combined with the inability to travel far outside of home this is a case for a lot clients who then sometimes get labelled as hoarders, self-neglecters or have a lack of capacity through MH.

[-]

Low_Calligrapher6127@reddit

My auntie blew thousands on bid up tv she bought cheap rubbish products massively over priced but she liked to see her name across the bottom of the screen

[-]

St00f4h1221@reddit

My dad bought me one of those pen sets from QVC where they stab cans with the ink pen to show it’s durability

[-]

certified4bruhmoment@reddit

Pensioners I assume south park has an episode about them and how they exploit pensioners

[-]

ZoNeS_v2@reddit

My mum spent 20k on shit jewellery from BidUp.TV a while ago. She left it to me after she died but it's absolutely worthless.

[-]

trypnosis@reddit

I found this interesting a little while back. When I dug into it the T&C are validated at time of purchase. As long as they explain the payments at time of purchase seems like they are covered.

What I found fascinating was reading there filings on company house.

The product mark up is a little under 50%

So no matter how much a deal they make it out to be it really isn’t. It works out poorly for the buyer. One could argue the buyer is paying for the connivence.

In defence of the company after costs so employees wages, licences, technology and rent. They only get a little under 7%.

My personal assessment was they were not ripping people off. But told every senoir citizen I know to stay away. As the mark up is kinda high.

[-]

ArtistOk6586@reddit

My father is 71 and you could sell him anything and he'd buy it. He watches these non stop.... its a problem

[-]

thxrpy@reddit

If I have to listen to the paid presentation for the octasmart mattress from dormeo one more time I’m going to go on a rampage

[-]

itsazoe@reddit

My mum used to, she used to watch craft shows

[-]

iGenie@reddit

My mum, she has always loved a bit of QVC. She tells me she doesn’t buy anything from there but every time I visit it’s always on TV and she always gets packages which were “on sale.”

[-]

SeaMolasses2466@reddit

Same ppl who read instructions on shampoo bottle.

[-]

JaundicedBallsack@reddit

The kind of people who buy second hand pyjamas on EBay at 3am.

[-]

NotRealWater@reddit

The unemployed who are also uneducated, and pensioners.

Nobody else.

Wait until one of your elderly relatives dies and you have the horrible job of clearing out their belongings. You'll find tonnes of random junk mostly never removed from its packaging. A lot of random plastic 'gadgets' and jewelry that is technically some kind of gold but is worth fuck all. Rings with 'rare gem stones' that aren't diamond or sapphires. Just costume jewelry.

Sadly a lot of those marks(victims) have been drawn to Amazon now.

Every week your poor grandad receives another 10 worthless plastic items from china courtesy of Amazon's marketing email's

[-]

JohnnyBigSpuds@reddit

‘It’s the Pilko Pump Pants.’

[-]

Other-Example-5066@reddit

My mother in law 🙃

[-]

phoenixeternia@reddit

Just basically vulnerable people.

Loneliness, sadness, idk. I'm not going to dispute that perhaps some of these channels do have bargains when they sell functional products because I don't know. But I do know they inflate their own prices and just bullshit you into thinking you have saved money or it will be worth more if you resell which neither are true.

It's low quality and poorly made. Often with not valuable gems which they will convince you they are rare and will be worth a fortune in future, they won't.

Con-men and kinda predatory.

[-]

TheBrassDancer@reddit

My mum used to buy tat often from QVC. She could spend hours watching it.

[-]

sbg_gye@reddit

My alchoholic stoner uncle, apparently.

[-]

GiraffePlastic2394@reddit

I bought an electric griddle from a shopping channel several years ago. They recalled it a little while after I'd purchased it because of a potential fault and sent me a new one. Still using it!

[-]

Dapper-Ad5268@reddit

That’s a clone of a $75,000 Tiffany necklace that Kamala Harris has recently worn

[-]

yermawsgotbawz@reddit

It’s pretty nice to be honest. Especially if they get it for a better price than what was on the screen

[-]

Brondster@reddit

remember not everyone knows how to use Amazon or eBay so TV channels like this still exist

[-]

yermawsgotbawz@reddit

Not being funny- that’s actually a nice chain.

[-]

ContributionLive3126@reddit

My friends mother bought 50ks worth of crap that she planed on reselling so got it evaluated and turns put its worth alot less. Luckily, we helped her get her money back

[-]

Mawijoga@reddit

My exgirlfriends gran, habitually spent on average £2k every two months on shite from these channels, use to come in waves of packages, you name it it was somewhere in her house...

[-]

AquariumEnjoyer427@reddit

My mother used to. Specifically this channel, TJC. She spent literally thousands. Hid it from my dad. Fucking psycho.

[-]

Rusty_Tap@reddit

My ex girlfriend's mother used to get blind drunk in the middle of the afternoon on rosé wine and watch Price Drop TV as a form of entertainment, every time I went round she had a new towel set/engineless lawnmower/energy saving lamp/crown/television in the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

This is your target market, and ancient people.

[-]

christopia86@reddit

My uncle got plastered at a family party and drunkenly bought a remote control helicopter from one.

[-]

HellenHell8@reddit

I used to work in the warehouse for 2 known jewellery channels. One of it mostly sold gemstones and all sorts of bracelets/necklaces/earring made by some ‘designers’ with their items. Since I had access to the full information of the goods in, out of curiosity I searched a couple of items. “Natural” pearls, were advertised on the tv for 1.5-2k on auction while they were buying them with 100-200£. Or some sort of “natural” gemstones were sold between 20-50£ while they buy them with 5-7£. I understand to make profit but some stuff is just an outrageous rip off. Not to mention the quality is china.

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

It looks like you've written the pound sign (£) after the number 200, but it should be written before the number like this: £200.

^(I am an annoying bot, so please don't be offended.)

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[-]

81misfit@reddit

Middle aged women with expendable income. Or was for the arts and crafting channels

[-]

Chatty_Introvert23@reddit

My great aunt and uncle did a lot, once they had retired. Apparently during family dinners they would bring out all their contraptions that they had bought via the teleshopping. My grandad, my mum and her siblings all struggled holding back the laughter😂.

[-]

SerNerdtheThird@reddit

Only person I know who even watched these channels is my granny, used to constantly be watching the arts and crafts telemarketing channel. They’re a fever dream

[-]

KirkinsteinGAMING@reddit

My mum got into so much debt back in the early 2000s, she was going through some shit so impulse buying off shopping channels was something she did, she would be at home taking care of me when I was a young child and I remember pretty much every day seeing QVC packages but the worst thing was that she didn’t actually have the money so she was a good few grand in debt for around 10 years because of this but thankfully she’s paid it off

TL:DR Mother brought stuff from these channels when I was a kid and ended up in a lot of debt

[-]

Significant_Curve216@reddit

My God, for some reason when I was a kid I used to love watching these shows late at night when nothing good was on. I think it was called Gem TV but seeing the different stones and sometimes the segments on the mining process was interesting.

[-]

nocandothx@reddit

I rarely watch television but I find these channels oddly relaxing

[-]

ohshaiW3@reddit

That’s where the winter fuel payments have been going.

[-]

ASpookyBitch@reddit

God I used to love watching these channels. It was the equivalent of scrolling wish/temu.

Sadly TikTok is now basically this on a speed run..

[-]

neverarriving@reddit

It's a form of addiction for many people unfortunately, there's plenty of research out there about the dopamine kick people get from the initial purchase and the package arriving.

My mother in law ended up with a hallway stacked with handbags bought off shopping channels, funnily enough this started after she left the cultish religion she had been part of for her entire life.

[-]

Dildoid90@reddit

South Park made a perfect episode about this. It’s targeted at pensioners

[-]

ItsIllak@reddit

My ex-mother-in-law was housebound and her daughter didn't really visit much (nor did anyone else). She basically treated QVC as therapy. When I had to clear the house out, it was full of unused bottles of overpriced moisturiser.

These companies should have a duty of care and be investigated for coercive practices. I'm guessing, if you watched QVC, she would have been one of those people invited into the TV show to chat and hype up the latest piece of junk they were selling. I helped with probate when she died and they chased for the outstanding balance that she'd racked up on credit.

[-]

NorthernKARMA22@reddit

My dad baught one of those ladders that can turn into a platform and bends at super weird angles. Tbf it was like 10+ years ago and it's still going strong. Also me and my sisters got a winnie the pooh, tigger and eeyore sleep onesie like 15+ years ago from the tv.

[-]

Sjuk86@reddit

My nan used to, she had boxes and boxes of qvc tat horded

[-]

Justanokmom@reddit

My mom.

[-]

aeon_ace_77@reddit

The real culprits are the people who still haven't made these illegal

[-]

EconomySwordfish5@reddit

Me and some friends once stumbled upon Gem TV while drunk and for some reason we found it fucking hilarious. They were showing closeups of the same gem but each time was slightly a different angle. This carried on for 10 minutes if not longer.

Gem TV while drunk, would recommend.

[-]

RPriestley@reddit

Shopaholics - it’s very easy to get drawn in with the price drops and exclusive offers, nearly sold out, once it’s gone it’s gone. Definitely get an adrenaline rush until it arrives and it’s shit along with a large credit card bill.

[-]

FranzLeFroggo@reddit

My nana before she died, constantly buying shit from these channels. Did mean when she passed away, I had a shit ton of actually useful kitchen gadgets lol

[-]

Milky_Finger@reddit

If these industries were forced to disclose more granular info about the demographics that buy from them, the government would intervene quickly because they would see just how predatory these TV shopping channels are to pensioners. It's the obfuscation that is keeping them in business.

[-]

NewBodWhoThis@reddit

My grandmother bought a set of really cheap hair clips some years ago. They were... fine, I suppose? When I was little, my mother bought one of those "fat melting" machines with a belt that vibrate your body to "melt the fat away", although she bought it from a physical shop after seeing it on tv. (It did nothing, of course, we're all still chonkers.)

[-]

Littledennisf@reddit

My mum. It’s on all day every day. She gets a parcel pretty much every day.

[-]

secretusername555@reddit

My gran and grandad used to love watching these. It’s mainly junk and keeps people entertained for a bit.

[-]

pysgod-wibbly_wobbly@reddit

I have never, but a colleague once told me she bought a watch for her husband with a gold strap.

They went to get it adjusted and the jeweler who adjusted it for them baught the links he removed of them and it was more than she paid for the watch.

Sound unbelievable but I she seemed like a believable person

[-]

ldchannel@reddit

I used to work for a credit card company. There were a lot of pensioners who would just spend thousands every month on these shows. It's like an addiction

[-]

Gaimes4me@reddit

My ex MIL

[-]

sockpony@reddit

350 pounds worth of gold for 1,500 pounds…bargain 😑

[-]

BigfatDan1@reddit

I did back in the 00's. They used to have great deals on trainers. Copped a few pairs of Vans in the same style that I wore anyway, and for cheaper than I usually paid. Also got a pair of Nike SB Dunks that I loved.

Haven't looked in about 20 years though!

[-]

Wrong_Duty7043@reddit

It’s on their website for £299. They just put these insane starter prices on the tv segments to make people think it’s too much of a bargain to miss.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

For 15g of 9ct gold, that’s actually not a terrible price for £299 at retail. Scrap value would come to about £250, so it’s not a massive markup like a high street jewellery has.

That £1500 price is purely marketing though!

[-]

SomeGuyInShanghai@reddit

Kamala Harris apparently.

[-]

Reasonable-Horse1552@reddit

Hers is a genuine Tiffany hardware necklace, not some crappy knockoff.

[-]

originalcandy@reddit

Vulnerable people sadly

[-]

VixenRoss@reddit

Pensioners. Shopping channels and mobility aid retailers pray on them.

We had to intervene once because a mobility aid seller wanted to sell a basic riser recliner to a friend for £6000. My partner took his wife to HSL where she chose a custom made one with all the bells and whistles for £2000.

[-]

BednaR1@reddit

Isn't that what Kamala was wearing???

[-]

Reasonable-Horse1552@reddit

She probably had a genuine Tiffany one

[-]

TeePea@reddit

My mum! Frequently. She plays the system a bit and has got some good stuff from TJC for a good price. It is very scummy though because if you don’t know how to play it you can get fleeced.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

Playing the system and the loopholes are there to make you think you’re getting a bargain. That’s the whole marketing system they have.

[-]

shpondi@reddit

what system? 😂

[-]

TeePea@reddit

Haaaa why did I make it sound so mysterious?!

Basically all of the sellers follow the same rhythm. It is always dirt cheap in the end and sometimes they show it more than once. They also talk about the actual good stuff in a slightly different way.

She’ll have it on mute in the background for ages while she irons or reads or whatever and then buys what she wants. She’ll then take it to a jeweller who will tell her if it’s any good.

Sometimes it will be an actual massive bargain and she’ll keep it but most of the time it won’t be and she will return it.

She’s 73 which is how she has time to do this.

[-]

kc43ung@reddit

The welfare system?!

[-]

knightsbridge-@reddit

My aunt.

Seriously, she became embroiled in a serious shopping channel addiction for a few years and accumulated a lot of shit jewellery. We had to have an intervention.

She was convinced (she's not really a deep thinker and is quite gullible) that she was genuinely buying valuable heirlooms that she could pass down to me and her other nephew, and that they were a genuine good way to store wealth.

I have no idea why she thought that. I have to assume she was convinced by the channel and the nebulous idea that precious metals and gemstones are valuable things to own.

These channels are designed to prey on uninformed people.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

Precious metals and stones arn’t a totally terrible store of wealth, they will always have a scrap value. They’re just nowhere near worth the retail prices jewellers (or telly shopping channels) charge for them.

People also forget about VAT on these sorts of purchases too - essentially 20% of the cost to you is literally tax.

Put it this way, no financial advisor worth their salt would tell you it’s a sound financial decision. But the telly channels are not financial advisors lol.

[-]

dadoftriplets@reddit

£345.90 is todays price for 15 grams of 9k gold. Add a bit on for design and production, so call it a total of £500 fopr the raw materials and production and add a bit of profit, so another £100 - where exactly is the other £900 on the price coming from?

[-]

Original_Bad_3416@reddit

They also own Ideal World. Tele shopping is a huge market.

I’ve got a few bits from there. Chunky silver bracelet, gold chain etc.

It’s cheaper than the high street jewellers

[-]

BlueFox1978@reddit

Ideal world are bankrupt. It’s Shop on TV now. Same studio, same employee’s, same bad deals purported to be a bargain. Scam central.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

It entertains me that they went bust. They must be making money hand over fist, yet they still went bust. I never have been able to find out quite what happened to cause it - I’m guessing some sort of regulatory thing that caught up with them.

[-]

Cfunk_83@reddit

TJC bought the remains of IW after it collapsed due to incompetent management by Hamish Morjaria and the Fraser Group.

Shop on TV is operated by IW’s former CEO. It’s a totally separate entity.

[-]

Scouse420@reddit

Your nan

[-]

Achieve2Receive@reddit

My nan

[-]

Maleficent-Walrus-28@reddit

Their nan

[-]

Razno_@reddit

Our nan

[-]

ThatIsNotAPocket@reddit

Not mine though, she's passed on.

[-]

Worried_Bowl_9489@reddit

Rest in peace, pocket nan.

[-]

therikertechnique@reddit

And it's gonna be a long long time...

[-]

Worried_Bowl_9489@reddit

Til touchdown beings me round again to find

[-]

GuyFromWoWcraft@reddit

Not like that! She just changed the channel

[-]

garyh62483@reddit

Keema nan

[-]

iTheNineTailedFox@reddit

Good scam for pensioners

[-]

iN50MANiAC@reddit

My mum used to be obsessed with them, always buying shite from there.

[-]

kloudrunner@reddit

Sigh

My mother lol.

I'm sorry everyone.

[-]

CthulhusEvilTwin@reddit

I bought a Roomba from QVC while drunk once- my cat also purchased a £1600 platinum ring by sitting on the remote. When I rang to cancel they said don’t worry his happens a lot

[-]

1HeyMattJ@reddit

Can’t believe I bought Oasis tickets off these guys

[-]

Cumulus-Crafts@reddit

It's definitely pensioners.

However, I've been listening to an ASMR channel to fall asleep recently, Sleepy Keys ASMR, and all of her videos are her roleplaying as a teleshopping host from the 80s and 90s. She rambles on while showing off her various wares. It's very good for falling asleep to.

Here's one of her videos - https://youtu.be/UxkBVTu4f1k?si=JlGGF2GoThBYn1Mz

[-]

alexandriaweb@reddit

Oooh that channel is actually really cool

[-]

useless_debian_user@reddit

watch South Park: Season 16, Episode 2 if you can cash for gold

[-]

Otherwise_Living_158@reddit

A friend of mine was in a manic phase and spent £500 on jewellery from QVC

[-]

Lazy_Butterscotch857@reddit

My mother. She is 60 and has been buying from Gems TV for about 20 YEARS. Doesn't wear any of it, it's just stored away for out 'inheritance'. No idea if any of it is legit. Probably not.

[-]

shiksappeal@reddit

Is it really any different to the type of tat other people buy from Amazon? Or Temu?

[-]

55caesar23@reddit

I used to work with a guy who would regularly buy fragrances from shopping channels. He was about 50. He was getting them cheaper than the usual places like boots and the fragrance stores. I think it’s mainly people who aren’t great with the internet

[-]

Bungeditin@reddit

Another of these ‘deals’ is the daytime ‘coins’ from companies with names on the variations of ‘mint’ ‘royal’ and ‘sovereign’.

Only 5999 will be ‘minted’ and so it’s a rare chance to own this unique ‘coin’

You’d be better off binning your cash and saving the hassle.

[-]

i_love_cocaine89@reddit

South Park did an episode on these types of channels. Very much worth a watch.

[-]

ZoidbergNick@reddit

My mum buys the most stupid stuff from these. Never uses/wears them. I never understood it.

[-]

FloorOdd4770@reddit

When my nan passed and we cleared her house out, we found about 100 boxes of stuff from TV sales in the spare room.

So, old people who are stuck inside a lot.

[-]

starlinguk@reddit

I used to buy Kirk's Folly pins and brooches from QVC, but they kept getting nicked off my bag so I gave up on getting more.

[-]

Salt-Evidence-6834@reddit

Reminds me of this (sorry about a Reach site): https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/hoarder-stole-370000-blew-tv-12430816 - 'A hoarder stole more than £370,000 from her bosses – and blew it on “worthless jewellery” from TV shopping channels.'

It sounds like the TV shopping channels are a bunch of thieves too.

[-]

TuMek3@reddit

I’m also flabbergasted by who buys from these avenues but basing somethings worth on its scrap value is weird. Why buy a car for £25k when it’s scrap value is £250.

[-]

CurmudgeonLife@reddit

£100 a gram is disgusting.

[-]

CamillaBarkaBowles@reddit

A friend of mine grew up extremely poor in Philadelphia. One of 8 kids. He made it! Big time on Wall st.

He bought his mother a recliner and gave her a credit card and she sat in that recliner all day and bought whatever she wanted from the TV. She loved the card and the recliner. It was her dream to never worry about money ever again.

[-]

Soldarumi@reddit

I mean, when gems TV used to drop used to drop gemstone rings to a fiver or sometimes a pound, who cares if it's crap. There's still a chance to get the odd nice looking thing for cheap, even if it isn't crown jewel quality.

But broadly, yes, watching mum buy an overpriced waterproof caulk, or yet another pair of Skechers, or stretchy trousers marketed at middle age mums, was pretty infuriating.

[-]

matweat@reddit

All that money and it’s not even proper gold 😂 9k

[-]

YourLocalMosquito@reddit

My mates mum. Purely addicted! It’s a family joke. She’s not spending money they don’t have thankfully but she fricken loves all this stuff!

[-]

thehewguy1888@reddit

My mum.......... She is now convinced the jojoba oil will cure anything

[-]

alexandriaweb@reddit

My mother is absolutely hooked on teleshopping, gets really mad if you try and point out how much of a scam it is. Her hoard is terrifying at this point.

[-]

risingpostsupporter@reddit

My 72yo mother. And somehow, she always manages to buy 2 of everything (including from those Shein type sites) and says THEY sent me 2! She never sends anything back. Fuck knows where she gets all thos cash.

[-]

Marinaraplease@reddit

I spend hours watching, it's hypnotic

[-]

god_im_lazy@reddit

My gran

[-]

Delicious-Cut-7911@reddit

I bought a lot from QVC. The presentation was very good. I visited the outlet store near Warrington and the goods were thrown all over the shelves which looked like a bargain basement rubbish clearance. Prices were giveaway from dresses sold on air £50 down to £3.

[-]

GreenCache@reddit

I guarantee that if people who bought this stuff looked hard and found the same thing elsewhere the price difference would be huge, TV shopping channels tend to price their stuff at extortionate prices.

[-]

olibolicoli@reddit

Honestly, QVC is great. I love the deals on expensive skincare and beauty products and often buy them as Christmas gifts for the family. Deals on tech can rival online offers occasionally too but you need to do your research.

And their real plants are good quality as they come straight from the nurseries to your door. Some of the flowering plants they sell tend to be from the cut flower industry - so the plant blooms at the beginning of the season, flowers get cut for sale to florists and then the plant is sold on to the general market for flowering the following year. I think that’s super neat and better than just wasting healthy plants in the cut flower market.

Also live shows can just be completely unhinged lol.

[-]

firecow745@reddit

I got black out drunk one night and a week later woke up to a new canon digital camera on my front step.

[-]

4dham@reddit

my mother in law.

[-]

Raecheltart@reddit

My Mum.

Since the mid nineties she’s been buying monthly off QVC.

All kinds of tat that she convinces herself she needs and is actually good value.

[-]

ukguy619@reddit

Looks like someone just put paperclips together a d spray painted them gold..

[-]

BloodyRedBarbara@reddit

My Nan used to always buy from Bid Up TV or whatever it was called so yeah like the top commenter said...pensioners.

[-]

yoilf@reddit

I think south park covered that a while ago

[-]

Praetorian_1975@reddit

Given the current price of 9k gold is 21,49 that makes the gold value of that monstrosity 328,79. GBP. That’s a difference of 1171,20. Now accounting for designing and smelting etc say 400.00 GBP (and that’s being generous) that’s still a hell of a markup.

[-]

Gold_Hyena4935@reddit

I was a Postman for almost ten years. Pensioners, the perpetually unemployed and alcoholics get landslides of this stuff delivered everyday.

[-]

Elegant_Way_3991@reddit

My dad went through a phase of buying tatty overpriced wares for a few months once. Every time I got home he was watching a shopping channel, fortunately he grew out of it.

[-]

Civil_opinion24@reddit

very relevant video

[-]

throwmeinthebin93@reddit

Hoarders.

[-]

Sgt_Fox@reddit

Pensioners, and generally the elderly with mental decline.

South Park did an episode about the whole thing called Cash for Gold

[-]

AubergineParm@reddit

My mum was addicted to these channels in the early 00s.

[-]

VelvetGlimmers@reddit

personally, i’d steer clear and do some research before buying anything.

[-]

prctup@reddit

I am in the US so we have QVC but it’s the same concept. I was a caregiver for this 94 year old lady and one time she had me shred like 400 pages of qvc receipts on copy paper. Each paper had like 15 orders on it. Insane to me that people actually buy this crap lol

[-]

Cleveland_Grackle@reddit

It works something like this

[-]

SiteRelEnby@reddit

Senile boomers.

[-]

inflated_ballsack@reddit

dumb boomers, who else

[-]

1__ju@reddit

Bought a le creuset pan from here for a great price tbf. Can’t knock a bit of QVC.

[-]

jasilucy@reddit

9k gold for 1.5k!!!! Wtf

[-]

Darkheart001@reddit

There’s a lot of lonely old people out there many who have dementia or other conditions that make them easy to exploit. I think these channels should be banned, they serve no useful purpose beyond defrauding the old and vulnerable.

[-]

calmcatman@reddit

My partners Grandma died a few weeks ago, by the sheer amount of random stuff she was buying from these channels I'm fairly certain they may go bust without her business.

[-]

lxttiewithaph@reddit

I've bought really REALLY good skincare deals on the qvc website before

[-]

Healthy-Grocery6055@reddit

I posted a bad example of something that I bought just now from TV shopping, but I did get something quite good. It was called an EZ bed and it was an inflatable double bed on a frame that could be folded away to suitcase size when not being used. Actually wasn't a bad buy, it had it's uses. (Before my friend and her fella had sex on it and somehow punctured it. They woke in the morning lying on a deflated air mattress on top of an uncomfortable bed frame)

[-]

TryNo8062@reddit

My nan.

[-]

blxxp@reddit

Every grandma.

[-]

HannaaaLucie@reddit

That's weird.. I was certain these channels would go out of business once my grandma went into a care home. I guess she wasn't the only pensioner keeping them in business.

[-]

CyronSplicer@reddit

The south park episode Cash4Gold explains this industry to a tee

[-]

mediocrenight412@reddit

I thought it was known it was for the elderly when they bring out the hideous single cream sofa

[-]

Competitive_Pool_820@reddit

Old people. Thats what they watch all night. They saved their pensions to watch QVC and spend.

[-]

Forgetful8nine@reddit

My dad and I used to enjoy watching DIY with Harry Greene on a Sunday morning on QVC.

He/mum bought a couple of things from them. One was a Karcher pressure washer that was broken on arrival (no pressure) and "Du-All sanding discs" that really should've been called "Du-Fuck-All discs"

I might still have the remnants of one in an old drill box.

[-]

True-Register-9403@reddit

Is Harry Greene the old fella who used to over enthusiastically jump in and fuck up the pitch while the person actually selling the crap floundered on? We used to watch that every Sunday as u intentional comedy 😂

[-]

MelodicAd2213@reddit

Wasn’t he Sarah Greene’s father?

[-]

Forgetful8nine@reddit

That's the chap lol

[-]

Hallelujah33@reddit

Old people with no one to talk to.

[-]

MelodicAd2213@reddit

My mum went through a bit of a QVC phase when she was in middle age and a housewife. She would quite avidly watch but not buy much at all, even if she was a bit tempted as my dad might have hit the roof at frivolously spending on stuff off the telly, which for mum was a novelty.

[-]

Sway_RL@reddit

My dad once bought a globe for about 400 when he was drunk one night. Still got it 20 years later.

[-]

AberNurse@reddit

My friends grandma was a lottery winner. She spent all of her winnings on QVC and lottery tickets. She had piles of expensive hair products that she’d never use, boxes of trash jewellery and random kitchen items. A drawers full of losing lottery tickets. Stuffed full.

[-]

Kwayzar9111@reddit

Reseller for high street shops.

[-]

Anonymousgamer98@reddit

I feel I’m in 2008 looking back at this, when I should have been in bed, I was staying up past midnight changing channels and this was just on all night and me wondering who even buys this stuff.

[-]

bertieqwerty@reddit

If I couldn't see the fingers I would think that chain was sat on a piece of wood.

[-]

Ok_Concentrate4260@reddit

My wife's nan.

[-]

shelbee05@reddit

My grandma unfortunately

[-]

NoClub5551@reddit

This is a ripoff of the Tiffany and co hardware necklace.

[-]

Teaboy1@reddit

My nan fucking loves QVC. Although in fairness to her she doesn't very often buy shite.

I think their skincare stuff is pretty good and shes had some lovely jewellery that she's purchased here and there off them over the years.

[-]

fairkatrina@reddit

I did once, it was a looney tunes clock a friend and I bought for another friend who was obsessed. We were students at the time, hence watching the shopping channel. We called about 9pm and they called us back for payment info about 3am. It was overpriced for what it was but still not expensive and she loved it. Never again though!

[-]

ClassicBookkeeper255@reddit

A mug I can make the same chain for 5.99

[-]

kc43ung@reddit

My favourite is when they sell the health cleansing crystals.

[-]

billyryanwill@reddit

My Grandad was one for these. I always remember another 'top watch' that he got for a steal. As with anything predatory, people from poorer backgrounds are attracted to these things because of their aspirations to have things they can't afford normally.

[-]

FlatTyres@reddit

My mum (68) for years. Still does.

I don't know why and I haven't asked.

[-]

True-Register-9403@reddit

Insane, I've just read this thread and now I'm getting links to this same crap jewellery (same picture - tjc,co,whatever-bollocks) all over my local news page...

[-]

Booboodelafalaise@reddit

Late night confession here - but I buy things from QVC fairly frequently.

It’s the only place I know where you can buy Make Up and Hair products, use them consistently for an entire month and then decide they are crap and send them back for a refund.

I wouldn’t buy their jewellery though. Also their house decoration ideas are horrific/hysterical. If you’re looking for a present for someone you hate, I highly recommend it.

[-]

Pretend-Jackfruit786@reddit

Why is there a fucking lamp blocking the TV???

[-]

SundaePuzzleheaded20@reddit

They did this on the apprentice , it was shambles

[-]

LockInBeforeIts2Late@reddit

My mom…..

[-]

Ayyyyylmaos@reddit

Old people who won’t realise and don’t know that they’re getting scammed. It’s a good idea to put parental controls on your elderly relative’s devices.

[-]

faeriekenz@reddit

Every piece of jewellery my auntie owns she got from teleshopping

[-]

ManLookingToBeFit@reddit

Me Nan

[-]

SirGeorgeAgdgdgwngo@reddit

I find them pretty entrancing when under the influence.

Their ability to talk non stop without really saying anything is to be admired.

[-]

turdinabox@reddit

Oh my word, me too. I find them absolutely fascinating. The nonsense chat is am art form.

[-]

Worliny@reddit

My dad bought me a remote control car from one about 22 years ago. I’ve still got it today.

[-]

joeschmoagogo@reddit

Middle-class pensioners in their massive homes with nothing much to do and too much money.

[-]

IndividualCurious322@reddit

My mom used to. She bought some of those hand crank ultra bright LED torches once for £15. It's been 20ish years since and one of them (I don't know what happened with the other) still works brilliantly. It's like turning on a floodlight.

[-]

LordMogroth@reddit

My mum.

[-]

Impatient_Impala@reddit

My mums boyfriend.

[-]

IcyMushroom2639@reddit

If you can't sleep, watch this shit. Out cold in minutes.

[-]

Rochken@reddit

I’m convinced these channels are some sort of scam now, but can’t figure out how.

Only thing that comes to mind is that the products don’t actually sell, the channel isn’t a legit business, but just exists to take ad revenue from anyone that advertises on it 🤷‍♂️

[-]

willyonthewebs@reddit

Pretty cool chain that. What channel was it?

[-]

Golrith@reddit

My mum used to, but the amount of stuff that had to be sent back (at her cost) and my nagging about it all being tat, she's finally stopped buying, but occasionally she does watch it.

[-]

littlebutters1@reddit

My parents bought an old school games arcade for my kids off there. Had old games like Pac-Man, was pretty cool, me and my dad played it, kids never bothered

[-]

Western-Mall5505@reddit

I used to work at a warehouse that had a contract to send stuff out for one of these channels.

A lot of drunk people would order.

[-]

freakstate@reddit

Oh I have a family friend who's house is full of crap from these channels and she's in mega debt. It's not even funny, lord knows how much she watches them. She's not that old, she has a job, just addicted to tv retail I guess?

[-]

elladeehex33@reddit

I bought so much jewellery from Gemporia during the covid lock down.

[-]

Womjack@reddit

That person gets paid in part to be a hand model

[-]

Remarkable-Ad155@reddit

Isn't the whole point of these you wait right to the end and they actually sell it for 20 quid?

[-]

BlueFox1978@reddit

I worked for a firm that sold on these channels, they actually increase the price to cover the overhead of appearing in the show. Blatant rip off. Shouldn’t be legal.

[-]

reverandglass@reddit

My ex's mum. I'd frequently get woken up by a delivery man (I worked lates) with another bit of exercise tat or another really good cleaning device for a really specific use case and nothing else.
Turns out she only watched the soaps when we were in the room, otherwise it was shopping channels!

[-]

MFA_Nay@reddit

The Olds.

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

Please help keep AskUK welcoming!

Top-level comments to the OP must contain genuine efforts to answer the question. No jokes, judgements, etc.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.