Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutTwitterGoogle+LinkedInPinterestPosted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. NEW YORK — Take a product on a home shopping channel and sell out in a matter of minutes— it's the dream of many entrepreneurs.Lori Greiner, who's sold her jewelry organizers, home decor and other products on QVC since 1998, encourages other entrepreneurs to try to get on air. Greiner, who's an investor on the ABC program "Shark Tank," has also brought some of the products she's invested in to QVC."The products that do the best solve a problem — there's a need for them," says Greiner, who's been called the Queen of QVC.A home shopping appearance is also a way to advertise to a large audience. QVC says it reaches nearly 100 million households in the U.S. and 300 million worldwide through broadcast, cable and satellite programming. QVC rival Home Shopping Network says it reaches 95 million U.S. households and another competitor, Evine, reaches 88 million.
About 850 to 900 products appear on air on QVC weekly. , has tens of thousands of products, most of which have also sold on air."You get to show people within minutes what your product is, and you can sell thousands of units within minutes," Greiner says.HOW TO GET ONEntrepreneurs can try to sell to QVC even if they don't have finished products. Greiner showed buyers a prototype for her first plastic organizer for earrings in 1996. After she inked deals with Home Shopping Network and J.C. Penney, he began making her product.HOW DO YOU FIND A BUYER?Exhibit at trade shows like the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago or the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. Another way in is to send a pitch to the company via its website or hire a salesperson known as a manufacturer's representative. Networking also helps: Some of QVC's current vendors have introduced other business owners to the company's buyers, says Ken O'Brien, QVC's senior vice president of merchandising.Kitchen gadgets and other products that can be demonstrated play well on TV.
Clothing or beauty products that a model shows off also appeal to viewers. DO YOUR OWN MARKET RESEARCHMarket research is important and it doesn't have to be expensive. Greiner took her earring organizer to the streets before marketing it to companies."I went up to people in all different types of neighborhoods," she says. "They answered basic questions: Do you like this? What would you pay for this?"THE GREINER EFFECTCordaRoy's bean bag chair sales quadrupled after Greiner invested in the company and brought it to QVC in 2013. It was owner Byron Young's second try with QVC; an agent helped him get his first appearance several years earlier, but the chairs didn't sell well and he wasn't invited back.Greiner offers mentoring and advice to help improve sales, Young says. She has recommended that he change fabrics to make the bean bags look fresh to viewers despite repeated QVC appearances."Her experience is really helping. I probably wouldn't think that way," he says.AND THEN THERE'S PLAIN OLD LUCKFor other entrepreneurs, being in the right place at the right time was key to selling on QVC.
Jamie Kern, who hasn't worked with Greiner, got her IT Cosmetics on air after QVC buyers and one of the shopping channel's hosts saw her products at a trade show in 2010. Kern had tried unsuccessfully for two years to sell to QVC, submitting samples. During her first appearance her products sold out and IT Cosmetics was on air four more times that year; in 2014, they appeared more than 250 times. Kern won't say how much of her sales come from QVC, but her revenue, which also includes sales from the IT website and Ulta cosmetics stores, has increased from about $1 million in 2010 to $200 million in 2014.THE PAYOFFGreiner remembers her first time on a home shopping channel, when she had 2,500 earring organizers to sell. "I sold out in four minutes," she says.Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Convertible BeanBeanbag BedPouf BedBeanbag CoverIndoor BeanbagChair BedBed SofaBeanbagsMancaveForwardBean2Bed Beanbag - brilliant!
I saw this on QVC and Shark Tank and it looks like a great idea!BEST BEAN BAG CHAIR IN THE WORLD - FEATURED ON SHARK TANK KING, QUEEN and FULL SIZE BEAN BAG CHAIR/MATTRESS: Corda-Roy's Bean Bag Beds were designed to be the absolute best foam-filled bean bag chairs in the industry. Our goal was to reinvent this popular form of cool furniture and finally replace those vinyl bags of Styrofoam for good! Corda-Roy's Bean Bag Beds are the only multi-functional bean bag chairs on the market - the only bean bags that have BEDS inside! Filled with shredded, polyurethane foam, our Bean Bag Mattress has a lifetime warranty and never go flat. $260+ Online PLUS SHIPPING - I sell them Wholesale starting at just $199 (you pick the cover color) Call 303-933-2900 to see in personConvertable BeanWriter'S GetawaysTank InvestmentsLiving WisdomLori GreinerShark TankPillow BedsBeanbagsBean Bag ChairsForwardCordaRoy's - The ONLY beanbag that turns into a bed! The usefulness of Shark Tank inventions goes far beyond the transformative powers of the Squatty Potty and the unrivaled cleaning abilities of the Scrub Daddy.
There are also edible cups, foldable kayaks, and so much more. For our latest installment rounding up all those newfangled products you haven’t yet heard about, we decided to focus on giftable items: Things anyone on your list will appreciate, including a nose de-stuffer and beanbag-chair-slash-bed. It’s a pillow … with a hood. A folding seat that attaches to any rolling suitcase. Strap in an 8-month to 5-year-old child and make the holiday airport haul just a little bit easier. One for you, one for your partner. When you kiss the flavors combine. A system of LED lights that attach to both wheels of a bike for increased nighttime visibility because it’s already getting dark earlier. When it’s too cold to go outside, but the dog only goes on real grass. For the (incredibly lazy) friend who doesn’t have a washer-dryer: a fitted sheet with seven peelable, disposable layers. An extension cord isn’t a sexy gift … until it is. Give them the gift of an un-stuffy nose.
A portable gizmo that takes your standard can of Coors and makes it taste like a draft brew by enhancing the flavor and fizziness. Unzip the cover, pull out the inside, and the beanbag chair converts into a full-size bed. It is filled with the same material that pads pole vaulters’ landings. Because keeping your chin warm shouldn’t be limited to those who can grow facial hair; the beard is detachable. For a step-up from the typical pile of pillows, Fort Magic comes with sticks and connectors to build a sturdy castle fort. It can’t make calls, it can’t surf the internet, it can’t take photos—but it feels like the real thing. High-pressure nitrogen-gas springs offer resistance for this training machine that has four modes and over 100 exercise variations, so they never have to walk outside to workout. The Strategist is a new site designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape.