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Old 08-02-2008, 08:03 PM   #1
RM
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Default Survey : Infomercials

I was wondering if any posters or lurkers in this forum has ever ordered any products that are usually presented in 30 min infomercials, and how satisfied you were with the product.

You know the ones........."If you order "The Gizmo" now, you'll also receive "The Gizmo" attachments 1, 2, and 3 at no additional charge".

Has anyone had any luck with these things ?
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Old 08-02-2008, 08:21 PM   #2
BILLW
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

We ordered a "Sonic Scrubber" and so far so good. But to order it I had to wade through about a dozen "add-ons" and special offers, etc. Which all look good but would triple your price.

Years ago I ordered a Merle Haggard cassette from a commercial - forgot I had done it until it showed up C.O.D. - the things that sound like a good idea at 3AM, LOL.

Bill
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Old 08-02-2008, 08:29 PM   #3
RM
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

"Sonic Scrubber' ? What is that dang deal ? I"ve never heard of it.

Yep, 3 AM......"In the Early Morning Rain".....
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Old 08-02-2008, 10:17 PM   #4
joveski
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

Quote:
Originally Posted by RM View Post
I was wondering if any posters or lurkers in this forum has ever ordered any products that are usually presented in 30 min infomercials, and how satisfied you were with the product.

You know the ones........."If you order "The Gizmo" now, you'll also receive "The Gizmo" attachments 1, 2, and 3 at no additional charge".


and if you ring in the next 6 and half minutes, we'll double the lot for you!


i've never trusted these things. i prefer the shops
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Old 08-03-2008, 01:49 AM   #5
Nightingale
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

Yes, quite a few years ago I ordered a vacuum sweeper in the middle of the night...lol.
It worked ok but not the miracle that they claimed. It was so loud and everyone else hated it so I sold it in a rummage sale.

I want one of those steam mops...lol. I watch that at least twice a week but I am always very comfy and don't want to get up and make the call.
Oh yes, it's always on at four in the morning....sigh...
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Old 08-03-2008, 06:15 AM   #6
jj
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

never ordered but watched many on the golf channel and was tempted

as gifts, I recently received the grip and flip, and the cold heat soldering gun

http://www.seenontvcanada.com/

I tried the former with some decent results but I think it would be better suited for removing poop from the litter box

I haven't opened the cold heat thingie yet (misplaced it in the dim basement) but sounds too good to be true if it does actually work, and actually hold!

the As Seen on TV store is at the mall now...so instead of having that naive purchase, telephone order remorse, you can now experience the more traditional buyer remorse

I recall watching an interesting W-5 episode on Philip Kives of K-Tel fame...seems like K-Tel started all this sort of cheap plastic junk craze


billw, is the "sonic", the creeper crawly thing that cleans your pool bottom?

for some reason the Bikini touch trimmer product link doesn't take me there - was just curious if it was similar in operation to the classic Flowbee device

http://www.flowbee.com/info_testimonials.htm

Last edited by jj; 08-03-2008 at 06:32 AM.
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Old 08-05-2008, 06:31 AM   #7
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

Quote:
Originally Posted by RM View Post
"Sonic Scrubber' ? What is that dang deal ? I"ve never heard of it.

Yep, 3 AM......"In the Early Morning Rain".....
Well RM & jj I'll tell you, LOL. The Sonic Scrubber is basically an industrial strength electric toothbrush. For use in the bathroom and kitchen, etc. Different heads for different uses. So far I'm pleased but you have to turn it on and work it...

The thing at the botoom of MY pool is called a Polaris but there are quite a few brands. I couldn't live without it. Set it to come on for an hour or so each day and it keeps leaves and dirt, etc. nicely picked up. Have to empty the catcher bag once in awhile but that's no problem. So you can come home and swim, not clean the bottom.



The Polaris is on the left, our bullfrog who rents the pool at night is on the right, his name is Bob.

Bill
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Old 08-05-2008, 10:16 AM   #8
geodeticman.5
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

jj - Its my understanding that the cold heat soldering iron is actually an old principle, rare application outside of certain fields ( not mine LOL - my Dad's). Dad, before he passed ( obviously) said the cold-heat is actually an old tool in aerospace electronics from his experience, and of course the physics involved older still..... here is the principle he said:

* Its just as hot as a regular soldering iron, BUT.... it has a comparitively massive and FAST heat-sink in it when the power is swiched off, or the trigger released, etc.

It cools down almost instantaneously, via highly thermally conductive materials to the heat sink, and ceramics are involved (can't help there). Thus, you melt the hell out of the solder or what have you, which gets sucked in by capillary action and surface tension like a regular soldering iron, then you back off the switch or trigger etc. and it cools so quickly from the heat sink and highly conductive soldering tip, that the heat is drawn seemingly instantaneously into the heat sink, buried in the grip, and the tip does in fact get cool - right away..and does not burn you.

But, place the tip on your finger, turn it on, or depress the trigger and you will still burn the cr** out of yourself. LOL.

Hope I remember that one right - out of my area. As far as the basement goes - thats Murphy's law third corollary 2nd derivative: That which is placed in a basement of a regular guy ( as opposed to anal retentive man on SNL) will in fact spontaneously incur a matter-into energy transportation (like Star Trek), the moment you look away from it, and will inexplicably be found years later.

It will be found only when you do not need it, in a different part of the house, in such a manner as to cause you the most embarrassment, ribbing, and "I told you so" arched eyebrows and smug smile from your wife, but she will say " I won't say it jj"
and you will feign the lovable but forgeful professor bit and mutter something about your kids "science fair" you just wanted to help on......

- corrolary to the axiom: all seemingly useful hand-held technology on TV will be:
1. $19.95 + "Shipping and Handling" - another $8 - which really costs them $1.19
to handle and ship it... and intrinsically,the device if priced on a cost and
overhead x 2 basis, should only cost $6.

2. You will see it 3 weeks after you order it in Walmart for $5.50, with no S&H

3. After which it will arrive in a total of 6 - 8 weeks, long after you need it, and
Walmart reduces it to closeout at $4.

4. No matter what it is, 50% of it will bemade from a mysterious material referrred
to reassuringly as "High Impact Polystyrene" - meaning a: your kids can impact
one another's heads with it highly, and b: you intuitively know it must be more
valuable than "low-impact polystyrene" - except there is no such thing.
and c: you vaguely are concerned that styrene sounds like that open cell foam
board your wife got at the craft warehouse to place Frosty on for a Christmas
decoration, and you remember how fragile that foam board is, and are worried
your gizmo is as fragile, and you are correct.

5. If instead of High-Impact-Polystyrene , the gizmo is made of ABS, even more
cryptic and arcane sounding, that means it is "Acrylo-nitrile-butadiene-stryrene"
and you are still screwed cause that styrene fragilr cr** is in it. Also, you do
NOT find it reasuring to know that, as they advertised, the ABS plastic is 100%
recycled,because while at the real hardware store, the one old guy that knows
his sh** says ABS is used for DWV, you inquire, he responds - drain waste and
vent - you now, sewage. Recycled. Greeeaaat.

6. If they say reassuringly that it is made out of a further cryptic and arcane-
sounding polybutylene plastic, the guy at the real hardware store says "oh,
that cr** was banned back in the early 80's, it turns brittle from UV sunlight,
and gets dry and cracked before you can even run anything throught it, and
ALL compression-fittings for it have o-rings made by Norton Thiokol - which you
vaguely recall as the company that made the o-rings that failed in the space-
shuttle Challenger. And, he says, all polybutylene has been banned from sale
for leaking and ruining new houses.

7. The ad says re-assuringly the gizmo is made from PVC - which the guy down at
the hardware-store who thinks you're brain-dead by now says smarmily "OK...
THAT is made from "Poly-Vinyl-Chloride". Not knowing of this is good or bad, the
Machiavellian salesman bent on ruining people's day says "its only for fraudulent
underground sprinkler systems, but it turns brittle, cracks and leaks, and freezes
when it tuens 32 degrees F for 1.5 seconds"

and "what is worse, my unfortunate
friend, is that you really needed CPVC - "CHLORINATED-POLY-VINYL-CHLORIDE"
and he replies "what the hell do I know - you're the bigshot woth the white shirt
and tie, and the dress shirt is short sleeve, or even more dead-give-away - 1/2
sleeve (white only) with tie - so i know you'se one of them Engerneers, so "YOU
TELL ME MR. MUCKETY-MUCK" - I've got a family to feed on minimum wage. YOU
figure out your little plastic problem.

Oh - and code recently change at the city
building department - white PVC is no longer legal or safe for "pottable water" -
it has to be BEIGE CPVC. So you buy that, adn he then says, "course, the CPVC
has SO much chlorine in its chemical muckey-muck that they say it is a slow
poison now, because the CHLORINATED -P.V.- CHLORIDE is twice the CHLORINE
OF PVC" and you respond slightly irritated "didn't I just ask that a few minutes
ago?" - to which he says "look Mr., I just work here, what do I look like , MR.
Chemistry Lab" "I got a family to feed", and you are the MUCKETY MUCK - go
do something with your slide-rule or whatever it is... and you say 'they stopped
using those in the mid 70's, and use calculagtors now...' and he says "well there
you go.... didn't you know Mr, Engineer that Hewlett PACKARD makes the
whizbangers of calculators, and THEY use "HIGH-IMPACT-POLYSTYRENE" - and
demonstrate it by throwing the calculators against a concrette wall as hard as
they can - and they still work.

So why don't you buy High-Impact blabberty blab
plastic, and throw it around hard like they say MR. ENGINEER . You, resigned to
classic fallacy of logic of the circular argument that begs the question, beg it any
-way. "WHY didn't you say that to begin with ?" - and he says, shuffling away,
" 'cause you didn't ask the right question, meathead".

You, rightfully steemed,
say , "listen. you are not a friendly sales-person, what is you name" while you
officiously whip out your pocket flip-notepad,,,,, covered in "vinyl" plastic. Its
lasted three years in your pocket, behind your pocket protector and 6 writing,
measureing - ( inside and outside mini-calipers), a mini engineers-scale of dual-
core anti-expand/contract plastic with cork core......., and a sharpee leeking
out of the cracked PVC plastic barrel of the pen into your shirt......and a click-
to advance ABS plastic pencil, and it is broken, but you can still write some,
if you hold the lead in by the way you write....) and demand his name again,
and he says "Oh thats great - here I am making 1/6 what you do, trying to
feed my family, just trying to warn you about plastics, and you want to get me
fired"......"say listen, no, of course I don't want that."

And then he says -
"here, we are giving away the gizmo you bought with the purchase of 3 pieces
of any plastic pipe". You seem pleased, and say, OK, I'll take three of the
cheapest pipe you have" And he says "we are all out of plastic pipe, maybe you
can come back next week, or find the kid that looks twelve, he always knows
where we get stuff and how long it takes" "OK where is he?".

"He's in the
plastic pipe aisle. He knows all about it" "And, he has the gizmo for $19.95"
"well I allready have one, I jst wanted to know about the plastic". 'listen mister
we make up all our answers anyway" aaaghhhhhhhh. 'cept the kid. He looks up
the answers" - "why don't you?" "they are afraind we'l ge sued if we give advice
so we have kids give it, cause no one will sue a kid" "Least, thats what they
figure". Go figger.....


-geo steve

Last edited by geodeticman.5; 08-05-2008 at 10:23 AM. Reason: too long paragraphs for ease of reading
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Old 08-05-2008, 10:47 AM   #9
charlene
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

I gotta buy a 12 foot pipe to hang my drapes on...plastic's ok with me...
lol

sure wish I had one of them fancy pool suckers Bill..altho I find it nice and relaxing walking around the pool deck and vacuuming..I like the silence of it as opposed to the vacuum in the house and there's extra bonus of working on my tan..
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Old 08-05-2008, 12:28 PM   #10
RM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BILLW View Post
So far I'm pleased but you have to turn it on and work it...
What ?! "Work it" ? Oh man.....you got scammed.

Say hi to Bob.
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Old 08-05-2008, 08:41 PM   #11
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Default Re: Survey : Infomercials

I have only bought music through infomercials.

I can't stand those half hour,thinly acted segments for prodcuts I'll never use.

I'd sooner watch re-runs I've seen 100 times.
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Old 08-05-2008, 08:55 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joveski View Post
and if you ring in the next 6 and half minutes, we'll double the lot for you!


i've never trusted these things. i prefer the shops
And they're always for $19.95 or $19.99, they never go on ahead and make it twenty dollars. How stupid. (They say it's because it'll seem like you're only paying nineteen for it when you're really paying twenty, but what's the difference? We all know what we're paying anyway, might as well give us the regular price).
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