Never Shopped on QVC Before? Here's Why You Should

Years ago, when my college roommate and I would find ourselves struggling to fall asleep, we'd sometimes watch TV as a way to pass the time. And in the absence of stellar content after midnight, we'd commonly turn on QVC simply to have something to watch.

Fast forward to real adulthood, and I'll admit that for many years, shopping on QVC wasn't something I really considered doing. To me, QVC was about unique but ultimately useless products you bought in a sleep-deprived stupor at 3 a.m. when your brain was barely working well enough to call in with the right credit card number.

But a few years back, a friend of mine mentioned that she'd found some great holiday gifts on QVC and encouraged me to check out the website. I was intrigued. And lo and behold, I managed to find a few items that interested me -- and eventually made a couple of purchases.

Now I won't pretend that I shop on QVC as much as I do on Amazon. But here are a few good reasons to give QVC a try.

1. You can find products you won't find elsewhere

One of the first items I ever purchased on QVC was Landies chocolate-covered pretzels. Landies is a candy maker based out of Buffalo, New York, and while you can now buy products directly from its site, years back, that wasn't an option. Rather, you needed a site like QVC to facilitate that purchase.

Of course, you may be someone who doesn't need jumbo chocolate-covered pretzels in your life. The point, however, is that QVC carries a wide range of products you won't find anywhere else. So if you're looking for a super unique holiday gift, for example, QVC is a good place to start.

One thing you should know is that you won't necessarily find lower prices on QVC than on another site. But sometimes, there can be opportunities to save money if an item you want is marked down. If you're willing to track prices, you can score your share of discounts. However, to be clear, QVC is not a discount retailer per se.

2. You can see live demos of the products you're buying

QVC's website is loaded with live product demos so you can see exactly how a given item works. This isn't necessarily a must when you're buying something like chocolate-covered pretzels; the instructions there are basically open box, cram pretzels into mouth, try not to eat all 24 at once, and you're done.

But let's say you're interested in a specific floor mop or cleaning gadget. Seeing a demonstration of how it works could help you determine whether it's a good buy or whether it's too complicated to bring home.

3. You can commonly pay for your purchases in installments

When you shop at QVC, you generally get the option to pay for your purchases in one fell swoop or in installments, kind of like a "buy now, pay later" plan. That could come in handy if you can generally afford your purchases, but want the leeway to spread out your payments over time.

That said, don't use QVC's pay-over-time feature as an excuse to buy items you really can't afford. Let's say you're buying something that costs $100, and you're able to pay in four separate $25 installments. You may prefer to do that rather than take $100 out of your savings account in one fell swoop. But do make sure you have that $100 in the bank before committing to a purchase like that.

QVC shopping is something I once assumed I'd never try. But I now find myself browsing the site here and there to see what's available, and you may want to do the same. Just do yourself a favor and be careful with those Landies pretzels -- unless you don't mind scarfing down a few thousand calories in a single sitting.