Don’t Believe Everything You See On TV

August 06, 2013

Have you ever been tempted by one of the many infomercials shown on TV for some electronic device or other product that claims to make our life so much easier? Whether it’s the Thigh Master , Snuggie, or MagicJack, it can be yours for a bargain price plus shipping and handling. I’ve typically resisted the temptation to buy due to that added cost of shipping and handling, but when my local department store added an “as seen on TV” section, I couldn’t pass up the chance to buy a few items I’d seen advertised over and over on TV.

First was the ear vac. “Ouch, don’t stick a Q-Tip in your ear, vacuum it out!” I know that sounds gross, but sometimes I get swimmer’s ear so I figured this was a medical necessity for me. After paying $9.99, I was disappointed to find that batteries were not included, which added another few dollars to the total cost. Five minutes of vacuuming my ear canals (the maximum time suggested) yielded no evidence of moisture removal.

Next was the pasta maker.  How could I pass up a cooker and strainer all in one? I figured that since this handy gadget claimed to cook noodles in the microwave, it would be a time saver. However, the box of thin spaghetti that would normally take me 8 minutes to boil on the stove took 20 minutes to fully cook in my new pasta maker, so it now has found a place in the back of the cabinet where I will most likely never use it again.

My third strike out was with the miracle bug screen. This two piece curtain of black screening is meant to provide easy in and out access to the great outdoors and is supposed to close up automatically through the use of a magnetic seam. Too bad the magnets aren’t strong enough to hold the two sides together.

Almost $30 later, none of my items really worked as I had seen on the TV commercials. And I am not alone, as I discovered after doing some research on Ripoffreport.com for complaints.  So if it sounds too good to be true and you think you just can’t do without it, buyer beware. Be sure to check out sites like Ripoffreport.com or Google the name of the product before you buy it because it may not be what the commercial promised.