The many facets of QVC

Before I moved to Glenmoore last September, I lived right down the block from QVC...for those of you who have been 20 years on Jupiter, that's the grandma of shopping channels. Although I thought it added a touch of class to my rather bland suburb, I never took the time to drive by and tour. I didn't even really spend more than a couple of minutes watching it. It's not that I'm a Puritan. I do a lot of online shopping, and I will sometimes indulge in a nice skirt at Bluefly or in buying used designer clothes on E-Bay. But, until now, I'd never had a real reason to take a look at QVC. Since my reason is irrelevant to this little meditation on the shopping network, let me just say that it has been fascinating. I've watched too many burned pots get cleaned, but the cookware does seem very high quality. A couple of days ago they had some neat misters (not guys, I wish) that would have been wonderful on a hot day outside. I am told by someone on the inside that the "merch" is very good, and I see no reason not to believe them. The anchors handle questions and chat with callers, usually women. They praise Philosophy (the make-up) chat about how they lost 49 pounds on NutriSystem, ask questions about Dell computers and are generally extremely enthusiastic about the products. Yet after a while, I get dazed by the amount of merchandise and I have to turn it off. I watch more like a journalist than a shopper-why is she holding her hand that way? What does she do when the comments get inane? Is there a reason for photographing that bread with a slice cut out? You QVC shoppers- I'd love to hear how you decide when to watch, and what to purchase. Do you go on binges? Do you like particular anchors? Dish the dirt.