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Vita-ware cookware? engagement scam w/ vaca?

post #1 of 19
10/11/08 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
Hi,
Basically I want to know if anyone has or knows anyone that has vita-ware cookware... my fiance and i went to a cooking show last night, and purchased a high priced set of "waterless" cookware and also received a cruise with it... they are part of celebrity china.... but i cannot find barely anything on this name of cookware, although the sales guy says they've been around for years. i have, however found things online regarding royal prestige cookware and it seems that it is the same thing, different name. i'm thinking that the cookware is legit, but invested over $1000 for it, but thought it was a good deal since we got the cruise too. i'm just worried and want to back out and just want to know if any one else has had any kind of experience like this. it seems they prey on engaged couples...
anyways, just worried
thanks,
christina
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post #2 of 19
10/11/08 at 8:14am
Is it like the 'bodyshop' parties you get , where you can buy products from them and sample them ect. Also you can get Ann summers parties cant you ,where erm well ya know lol..

I would do some more research!!!

Jess x
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post #3 of 19
10/11/08 at 8:36am
My wife bought a set of RevereWare when we got engaged. It was a lot of money, but we've used it ever since (35+ years!).

You'll find the cruise is basically worthless, and difficult to take, requiring you to pay "handling fees" or some such that will come up very close to the cost of the cruise, and it will probably be one of the "overnight" cruises to the Bahamas, etc.
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post #4 of 19
10/11/08 at 8:41am
I've never heard of that cookware, but it appears to be legit.

http://www.vitacraft.com/rfiq/home.html

Though $1,000 seems really over priced to me. I bought an excellent set of Stainless Steel cookware (not waterless) for $500.00. It came with a stock pot, with a lid that also fits the saute skillet, 2 large pots with lids, 1 small pot with a lid, and a steamer that fits on top of the large pot.

However, the catch will be in the cruise. Bet it doesn't cover air fare, taxes and all of the fees that go along with it to get you to and from the cruise ship. Is it a one way cruise or a full cruise that brings you back to where you started from?

How long is the cruise? Where is the cruise too? What company is the cruise through? What about accommodations on the ship? Food? How many port stops?

I remember my friend got sucked into buying a whole bunch of pens for her business because she was excited about the free cruise that was being offered in conjunction with it. I didn't find out about it all until after she had purchased the pens, but that "free" cruise wasn't so free once she started to look into the air fare and all of the hidden costs.

Companies often use enticements such as "free" cruises, or bonus products etc to make their sales.
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post #5 of 19
10/11/08 at 12:36pm
I think this is the brand along with the Royal Prestige that is peddled at home and garden shows with high pressure tactics.

I don't know how many pieces are in this set-remember a cover counts as a piece.
But I looked in my William Sonoma catalog for their top of the line cookware-All Clad which has a 15 piece set for $1099.95. 10 piece set at $699.95. This is stainless steel.
A Le Creuset 12 piece set is $999.95. Calpahlon One 12 piece for $ 629.95.

I don't think the quality of the stuff you bought is anywhere near the quality of these brands (I have some pieces so I know these brands).

I would cancel your order you have a 24 or 48 hour right to cancel?? Dispute it with your CC company too.

I concur about the "cruise". Its not going to be totally free. Feel free to report to BBB too.
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post #6 of 19
10/11/08 at 2:49pm
http://www.steelmaid.com/guarantee/index.html

The warranty looks good, so I followed the "Find a Distributor" link. I know the one distributor in my area, and it's a good little cook shop, with lots of excellent lines -- but not enough space to waste carrying garbage. This leads me to believe that the product is probably good quality and worth the money.

However, as others have said, I would be really leery of the cruise. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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post #7 of 19
10/11/08 at 4:46pm
If the cruise influenced your purchase one iota, I would cancel the deal... these cruises are notoriously bad for all the reasons mrblanche cited.

And gosh, I have a hard time imagining what kind of cookware could possibly be worth $1000! I have a Revere spaghetti pot and two saucepans, plus a nice big nonstick skillet, and that's all I've ever needed.

What's the supposed benefit of "waterless" cooking?
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post #8 of 19
10/11/08 at 5:13pm
Years ago I had someone try to sell me "waterless" cookware. I was supposed to get a free set of stainless steel flatware just for watching the demonstration. It wasn't truly waterless, just used less water than conventional cooking. The advantage was supposed to be that you didn't boil things like vegetables to death, and lost less of the nutritious value. This was back in the dark ages before anybody ever heard of steaming vegetables. As far as I could tell from the demonstration, the technique would have worked with any heavy-gauge stainless cookware with tight-fitting lids.

I did not buy the cookware even though it looked like good quality, mostly because I was a poor college student and didn't have any money. I had to remind the salesman a couple of times that he was supposed to give me the flatware. I finally got it--a really nice set--with no hidden costs and am still using it today.
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post #9 of 19
10/11/08 at 5:53pm
I can't help you with the cookware issue, but I do know quite a few things about "free" cruises, as I've worked for a timeshare company, and the "free" cruises were a major incentive there.

No free cruise is ever totally free. It is, however, a very good deal. You wouldn't believe how many people go from time share company, to timeshare company just to collect these brochures. If they were bunk, no one would subject themselves to 2 hour long time share presentation horrorfests.

You will have to pay "TAXES", and "PORT FEES". These will be listed (probably in small print) on your cruise brochure. If they aren't, I'm sure there will be a number you can call to ask. These fees usually add up to a few hundred dollars, which is really nothing compared to buying a cruise ticket (for a heck of a lot more), and having to pay those fees on top of it anyway. You will also have to find a way to get to the boat, but if you make arrangements early, you are likely to get a good deal on plane tickets.
There are a lot of different brochures for free cruises, but usually there is something you have to fill out, and mail in by a certain deadline, to recieve further information, or itinerary options.

Anyway if you have any other questions about cruises, weather it's about cost, planning, packing or anything else, feel free to pm me.
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post #10 of 19
10/12/08 at 6:20pm
We bought a lot of stainless steel cookware and china sets from Carico with the free trip deal, but never got the trip. They couldn't give us the dates we could take, so we paid for the cookware, and didn't get the trip at all.

However, the cookware IS high-quality, the china pattern is guarunteed to always be available, and we're actually really thrilled with the purchase.
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post #11 of 19
1/28/11 at 7:34pm
My ex and I were lured into one of those shows several years ago. (I believe David's Bridal gave out my information ) Anways, we went and there were quite a few other couples there at the time as well. I'm pretty sure they scamed a ton of people out of their money that night with their loud talk and demos! We decided not to spend any money on their items and instead went home and researched it and found out it was a scam. Sooo glad we didn't fall for it, but I was quite upset I wasted an entire night attending their stupid demo!
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post #12 of 19
1/28/11 at 9:13pm
Be careful with free cruises! I did a timeshare thing and got a free cruise for it. Ended up on some no name boat. The boat smelled like urin and sulfer. The rooms were filthy. And it was so small I was scared for my life as we rocked side to side with those huge waves.

I ordered a veggie salad for dinner. I got a piece of lettus and half a cherry tomato. Yeah....yum.

We had 90$ pp port fees. Not bad, but not free. Cost $300 total.


I will never do it again. I'll stick with big names and pay fill price tyvm.
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post #13 of 19
1/29/11 at 5:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GailC View Post

I don't know how many pieces are in this set-remember a cover counts as a piece.
But I looked in my William Sonoma catalog for their top of the line cookware-All Clad which has a 15 piece set for $1099.95. 10 piece set at $699.95. This is stainless steel.
A Le Creuset 12 piece set is $999.95. Calpahlon One 12 piece for $ 629.95.

I don't think the quality of the stuff you bought is anywhere near the quality of these brands (I have some pieces so I know these brands).
While I don't know much about the brand you're thinking about purchasing, I agree with Gail as to the quality of both All Clad and Le Creuset. I have several pieces of All Clad and I love the stuff. It's heavy and I've never burned anything in either my sauciers or my saute pan. Easy to clean and lovely to use. My understanding, although I've never had to do so, is that if you have trouble with a piece of All Clad, the company will replace it at no charge.

I have several pieces from Le Crueset and enjoy using them, too. Also, Staub is a good quality company. My cast iron roaster (that's shaped like a chicken....I had posted about it last summer) is from Staub. All three of these companies have very good quality cookware and bakeware.

And as the others have said, check the details of the "Free" cruise very, very carefully. Often there are a lot of expenses that the company won't tell you about.

Sometimes, if an offer seems too good to be true, there's a problem somewhere.
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post #14 of 19
1/30/11 at 5:09pm
I'm no expert on cruises nor cookware, but the Martha Stewart cookware was very good, and reasonably-priced. DH had his for about 3 years before I met him; he got rid of it last year (we've been married over 6 years, BTW) only because he's a compulsive kitchen gadget buyer. It still was going strong when he replaced it with Le Creuset.

Also, I recommend buying cookware with METAL, not coated, handles so you can throw it in the oven as well. DH forgot about THAT when he bought the new stuff, and regrets it!
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post #15 of 19
1/30/11 at 5:57pm
Regarding All-Clad, I have a few of their pots which I received for free. Its good, but overpriced IMO. I notice no difference in cooking quality over a gas stove to quality pots costing a quarter as much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JulieJerks View Post
No free cruise is ever totally free. It is, however, a very good deal. You wouldn't believe how many people go from time share company, to timeshare company just to collect these brochures. If they were bunk, no one would subject themselves to 2 hour long time share presentation horrorfests.
There are over 300 million Americans and rapidly climbing, with new generations having to learn all over again. I think the right answer is, "no one would subject themselves to the horrorfests twice". And I don't think most do.
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post #16 of 19
1/30/11 at 6:25pm
I just bought a 13 piece set of Circulon Premier at Costco for $199. It is fabulous! I would never trade it for $1000 set and a cruise!
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post #17 of 19
1/30/11 at 7:10pm
LOL I just looked at the date that this thread started. It was over 2 yrs ago! I wonder if the op got her cruise. I just have a cheap set of pots and pans. They do a good job. I do have a nice set of 3 knives I got from the Food Channel. You do need a good set of knives.
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post #18 of 19
1/30/11 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Catkiki View Post
LOL I just looked at the date that this thread started. It was over 2 yrs ago! I wonder if the op got her cruise. I just have a cheap set of pots and pans. They do a good job. I do have a nice set of 3 knives I got from the Food Channel. You do need a good set of knives.
After I got cats I started washing the sharp knives immediately after I use them, before I eat my meal. Makes me wonder why I ever thought I needed three sets of knives.
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post #19 of 19
1/30/11 at 7:34pm
Strangely enough, my sister was visiting us this fall and looked over Dottie's cookware. As I said, she bought it in 1973, before we got married, and it's still looking good. It's only 37 years old. How many pots and pans do you have from 37 years ago?

Anyway, my sister bought a set at the Texas state fair. It cost about $2000, which, on a time-adjusted basis, is about the same price.
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