"As seen on TV" products?

I've always been extremely skeptical of As seen on TV products. I still look at Oxi-Clean with suspicion. My pillows and I suddenly stopped getting along and a few months ago I broke down and bought a MyPillow at a local store. I like it! I don't think it is as amazing as they make it out to be on TV, but it's definitely better than the pillows I had. I also still have some green bags around that I use when harvesting from my vegetable garden. I really do think those work.

Do you have any success or horror stories about "As Seen on TV" items?

I don't know if it's an As Seen on TV but it was in that section of Walgreens: the brush thingum that straightens your hair as you brush. I know it's a knock off on the really expensive one. I'm tempted

i use the green bags! i've found them to be very good at keeping my produce 'going' for much longer than it would without using the green bags.

i'm generally pretty skeptical about the 'As Seen on TV' products too.

I bought the Copper Chef pan then came home and read the reviews.  Don't know why I didn't do my research first.    Long story short, I returned it the next day. 

I am very skeptical of the 'as seen on TV products'.  I haven't tried any of them.  I also won't get caught up in anything with auto ship.  

Denice said:

I am very skeptical of the 'as seen on TV products'.  I haven't tried any of them.  I also won't get caught up in anything with auto ship.  

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It's a good thing you don't. A lot of it is just false advertising check this out:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

And for the record I can say shamwow does not work as the commercial claims. I had one and it would barely dry a damp table. It just smeared the water all over and after a couple days it started to smell and the smell wouldn't come out even if washed.

I love OxyClean. As a Mom; it's been a major laundry saver.    Plus it's in the grocery stores regular laundry isle now; not just on TV. 

I won't order from the TV commercials; but I think I have a few other things.  I have one of those towel turban things. It's ok. My hair is usually too long to fit in it tightly or properly. My cousin has a thicker version that might work better.  We have some kind of vacuum attachment for cleaning out the lint trap on the dryer.  DH says it works. It also does a good job getting the dust and things that collect under the refrigerator.  

DH ordered some kind of RFID blocking wallet once.  It was so cheap looking when it came it went right back.  It didn't look like it would hold together for long at all. 

There was some kind of egg cooker that looked great.  I think it made hard boiled eggs without the shell.  The thought of having to wash out cooker was a detraction for me.  Peeling hard boiled eggs is a pain sometimes though. I've tried enough tricks and none work all the time. 

I got some mineral makeup (Sheer Cover) a few years ago. This was before mineral makeup went mainstream I just wanted something really low effort for the odd times that I do wear makeup (mostly when I'm at craft fairs). Part of the reason I went for it was the special offer that was running - meaning I got full makeup (4 eyeshadows, blusher, 2 lipsticks, 2 shades of foundation, a dual shade concealer, primer, mascara and brushes) for just £30! It's not as wonderful as they make it out to be, but it's pretty damn good for the most part. The only issues were that the mascara wasn't great (largely the fault of the wand, I think), and I'm not keen on the lipstick texture. I still use everything else (and yes, I know that's pretty bad of me re hygiene :anon: ), and the brushes are still going strong.

I've had a few things from QVC too, if that counts, but mostly mainstream brands (L'Occitane, Emu, Nails Inc etc) that happened to be on special offer. Oh, I got a back-stretcher thing too (Body-Tek Back Magic) - when I manage to use it, it's really good at helping release spasms and 'pop' my pelvis back in line (with an audible click ). I'm just very bad at taking the time out TO use it :rolleyes2 I have a lot of self care/pain management things like that

I also used to buy a lot from a jewellery supplies shopping channel (gemstone beads, silver findings, tools etc etc), but rarely use them now - they've expanded and their quality's taken a nosedive

About the only thing I have ever bought from TV commercials that actually was good were the 'My Pillows". They are pricey, but so is a good pillow. I went through SO many that flattened or got all lumpy after being washed, so I went through quite a few. I asked for them for Christmas this time, I needed the king size instead of the regular. You can get them BOGO and free shipping so not too bad.  They don't let me sleep all night like they claim, I don't go into that 'deep REM' sleep like they claim all night, but they don't flatten, and they wash up beautifully. I also love a Elite Platinum electric pressure canner I saw on Tv and ordered over the internet, it cooks 10 pounds of chicken up for my cats in 30 minutes and also pressure cans a few quarts or 6 pints of vegetables from my garden. Just push a few buttons and walk away! I love it for when I only have a few green beans or a dozen ears of corn to can, I don't have to lug out my big canners. The next time my local grocery has chuck roasts fro 2.99/lb I'm going to can some of that too, there is nothing better than canned roast with a package of brown gravy mix added and poured over a bed of noodles or rice, quick for company too!

I don't think we've ever ordered anything from tv. I asked Rick and he doesn't remember ever doing so. Some of the outlets we've gone to have "As Seen on TV" outlet stores and we've perused the stores, but never bought anything. 

I was kind of interested in that Amish furniture stuff, but after reading some reviews on it, I changed my mind quickly.

If QVC counts, I have bought a few things from there: some cookbooks, WEN hair stuff (yeah, I fell into the WEN hype....worst thing I ever did for my hair!), some grill pans that I've ended up using quite a bit, a pair of Clarks shoes that fell apart in a couple of months. I quickly realized, though, that QVC's shipping costs are outrageous and I'm better off to use Amazon in the long run. For the most part, the prices are cheaper at Amazon and we have Prime, so most of the time, shipping is free. I haven't bought anything from QVC now in years. If there's something I want from QVC, I'll check Amazon; if I can't get it there, then I don't need it.

I can thank QVC, though, for the idea for my pressure cookier and for the air fryer. I didn't buy them from QVC, but after watching the commercials for the items, I got interested. Bought my pressure cooker through Amazon and my air fryer from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I've not regretted either purchase. That pressure cooker rocks and I'm thrilled with the air fryer.

QVC was the background noise of my childhood at my Grandmother's house on my dad's side.    I have bought a few things from them; but I know I own more thanks to my Grandma and Aunt!  I miss the old Northern Nights sheets they used to sell. The reviews online say they aren't as nice as they used to be.  Thats a real bummer for me. 

I loved the old Northern Nights flannels.....I did buy a pair several years ago and they are wonderful. I heard, too, that the newer ones aren't nearly as nice.

Oh, and I also bought some Temp-tations dishes. A salad bowl with the little bowls. I would never buy more now because I've heard too many horror stories of them exploding in the oven. One woman said she had a Temp-tations casserole, full of food, in her oven and the whole thing exploded when she tried to take it out. It was really dangerous. The paint is really bad, too, and is crazing all over the place. 

QVC seems to be selling a lot of junk now. And lots of processed foods. (That being said, they had a 5-pound Junior's Lemon Coconut Cake that I would have sold my soul to order. I didn't. But I wanted to. $56.00 plus shipping. I keep thinking I could make one.)

Quite a few years ago, DH decided he wanted to make some pillowcases for those sobakawa buckwheat pillows he had bought. I HATED THOSE PILLOWS. They were an "as seen on TV" thing too. It was like trying to sleep on very small pebbles. 

So what did he get? The Handy Stitch. A hand held sewing machine. What a piece of junk that was. It went back to the store the next day. 

This is it


The stitches came out immediately. He tried and so did I. What a piece of junk. 

I also got the Magic Bullet not long after it first came out. Another POS. It was a glorified coffee grinder. One day I was grinding coffee and the plastic piece under the blades cracked- and then it was garbage. The may have improved it since then but I would never buy another one. 

Years ago they advertised something called a Flowbee. It attached to your vacuum cleaner and you could cut your hair with no mess using it. We didn't order it on TV, but found it in an upscale department store (Filenes, when they were still around). Since I cut my kids hair at the time and one was so ticklish it was a major battle, we decided to try it. I loved it! I was sad when it was worn out - we had it for years. I used it to cut my own hair too.

posiepurrs said:

 
Years ago they advertised something called a Flowbee. It attached to your vacuum cleaner and you could cut your hair with no mess using it. We didn't order it on TV, but found it in an upscale department store (Filenes, when they were still around). Since I cut my kids hair at the time and one was so ticklish it was a major battle, we decided to try it. I loved it! I was sad when it was worn out - we had it for years. I used it to cut my own hair too.

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I remember the flowbee and Filene's! I never had the flowbee. I also remember Filene's Basement. 

I remember Filenes! My sister LOVED their stuff!! We don't care for Macys.

Ok I bought the workout stuff that P90x...it was a spin off of insanity I think. but it's something else=the one that you do for weight lifting. It came with some door frame thingy you could use for chin ups. I bought it off eBay if I remember correctly. I didn't care for it so sold it on eBay lol. I have seen all kinds of workout stuff that looks interesting but from someone who has been around weight lifting since I was 10 none of it is new. Just repackaged with models running in place making it look easy. I almost bought zumba package but once I watched a few of the DVDs on YouTube I wasn't impressed.

Jon is always buying stuff off the tv. The latest was some fish oil crap that is still unopened on his dresser. his brother got him into watching those coin shows..BORING. needless to say...oh and he bought a juicer or some funky thingy but he won't use it-because it's picky about cleaning=he keeps saying he has nightmares trying to wash the parts..so now whenever I look at something to buy if it's got lots of crevices and corners  I rethink it. In my younger years I used a juicer with carrots=it permanently colored it orange. The magic bullet is anther thing I bot. It's still new in the box. I just never got around to opening it. I bought it when Floey was sick last year..oh well something else for goodwill!

I have not bought anything lately but those pillows look interesting and I want a craft matic bed for my sleep apnea. I sleep sitting up on my couch with about 4 to 6 pillows behind me.  Some mornings I wake up with the pillows on the floor and my throat all closed up guess I wanted to lay down.

Some of the stuff on QVC is ok. I used to buy some brand they sell of clothing if I saw it at goodwill. They washed well and didn't fall apart but I would NEVER pay those prices. I can't remember the brand but if I saw it I would recognize the brand. They focus on plus size. I found a ton of these size 16/18 clothes back when I was a size 12 but I loved their shirts and knit pants.

And I miss Filenes basement. I used to find the coolest stuff at the Boston store back in my teen years. My sister used to bring me there but then I wanted to go in Woolrich and she got mad LOL. So Filenes needs to come back. They had the best clothes and just nice all around.

posiepurrs said:

 
Years ago they advertised something called a Flowbee. It attached to your vacuum cleaner and you could cut your hair with no mess using it. We didn't order it on TV, but found it in an upscale department store (Filenes, when they were still around). Since I cut my kids hair at the time and one was so ticklish it was a major battle, we decided to try it. I loved it! I was sad when it was worn out - we had it for years. I used it to cut my own hair too.

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Look at this! The Flowbee still exists!

https://www.flowbee.com/

Kat0121 said:

Look at this! The Flowbee still exists!

https://www.flowbee.com/

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I know a guy---a young guy, 23 or 24 I think---who does his own hair with a Flowbee :lol3:. I guess his mom did it for him when he was little and when he got to a certain age he learned how to do it himself.