10/30/07 Infomercial Scam

[sommerstern7]

I don't by infomercial crap--usually; but I am a severe asthmatic, and put down @ $1,000 for a couple of ionic breezes (air purifiers) for the house and a large one for my vehicle from Sharper Image--the store (I didn't mail order/ my parents picked them up for me when I was on bed rest for my pregnancy a few years ago). I don't know WHAT I would do without them. It has helped me immensely.

[Jokelly]

Besides owning a magic bullet that was a disapointment my same son bought us a "set it and forget it" rotisserie oven from an infomercial. We used it a few times and I found I did not want to be bothered cleaning all the parts and the inside of the oven to get all the chicken off the glass. I could save time and energy buying a rotisserie chicken already cooked at the market.

Don't say that around my sister. She's gone through two of them in the past 15 years. The first one she dropped down the stairs a few times and it never broke. She left that one up at her camp and it went missing. Then she took my parents' rotisserie because we never used it much. I think she wore it out. The food is really good in it, but for me I could never find a good place to keep it out all the time to use. She cooked everything from burgers to roasts and even vegetables in it. She could do an informercial on it herself.

Does anymore remember years ago the craft infomercials they used to show? They used to have one on the punch needle embroidery and also the sweater machine one. I do have a sweater machine, but my mom bought it at a department store on sale.

I also have used ProActiv, but it never worked for me.

[havanaholly]

The only item we ever bought from a TV ad was a sort of food mill, made by Mouli; my parents ridiculed us for it, but I wore that little puppy out!

There was a "not sold in stores" store in the outlet mall near St Augustine, FL, several years ago where you could look at & buy the "as seen on TV" products, and a very few of them were actually well designed, decent products. I got an El Cheapo magnifying visor for mini needlework that worked fine for most 1:12 projects until I wore it out. Now I have a truly first-class model with four interchangeable magnifying lenses and a light! that I found at Hobbytown USA, or my jewler's loupe (I replaced the old, worn out one with a new one from Harbor Freight). It's all a matter of caveat emptor.