One of the most interesting phenomena to sprout up in America over the last 50 years has been shopping networks. Surely you know what shopping networks are, they are those television shows (and sometimes television stations) that run for hours and hours, selling all sorts of different items that are always “one of a kind” and “at the lowest possible price.” There were (and still are) all sorts of shopping networks on tv. One of the best known shopping networks is QVC. QVC stands for “quality value and convenience, and has been the mainstay of shopping network channels for decades now. They offer all sorts of direct shopping network deals ranging from home networking shopping to the jewelry shopping network. Their brands cover everything from knives, to necklaces, to swords. In a word, they sell everything. Direct shopping networks and home network shopping has become a mainstay of the American shopping experience. All the shopping networks support an attitude that is uniquely American (although it does permeate to some European countries). This attitude is one of convenience, where the customer does not want to be bothered having to get up out of the house and go search down the best deal in town. What they want is to have the best deals thrust upon them while they can sit comfortably on their couches and choose which items they want. In many ways the home shopping networks were the precursor to the online marketplace spawned by the internet, but there is a huge difference between the two. With home shopping networks, you have a limited amount of vendors to choose from to purchase your products. You have to rely much more on brand loyalty, and the idea that the shopping networks you would buy from are actually giving you the lowest price possible. With the internet, there are so many different vendors across the globe that are able to reach markets never before possible, that it opens up the consumer to a staggering number of choices for almost any item. Now you don’t just have to take QVCs word for it that their kitchen knives are the longest last, most affordable around. You can go google that and get an international listing that will show you if where the best deals are actually at. Maybe they’ll still be with QVC, maybe not, but not the choice will truly be there.