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Barbara L

Traveling Welcome Wagon
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
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15,716
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Somewhere, US
I sometimes enjoy watching the stupid commercials for all the "must have" gadgets they advertise all the time. Once in awhile I even buy one. Have you tried any of the oft-advertised gadgets? Did they work like the ads said they would? Would you recommend them?

Here are a few that I have tried (some gifts, some I bought), along with my opinions on them (I can't remember all of their names so will describe the best I can):

Flip'n Fold (not sure of the name--you use it to fold t-shirts): I was skeptical when I bought this. It was cheap enough that I figured if it didn't work I wasn't out much. This thing works great! It is one of the few things I have seen on these ads that work just like they say it does. I would definitely recommend this.

That thing you flip over to bread your meats, vegetables, etc.: This is another one that works great for me. I wish I could remember the name of it! It is in 3 pieces. You put your flour, bread crumbs, etc. in one part, put the center part on it (it has holes in it), then you put your meat, etc. on that and add the 3rd part. You just flip it a couple times, and your food is evenly breaded.

One-Touch can opener: This was a gift. It works, if you want to wait all day for the can to open. It jammed easily, and the batteries don't seem to last very long. I was actually given two of these. I will try the second one to see if it works any better. So far though, it is faster and easier to use my hand cranked one.

Wonder cloths (something like that--the one Billy Mays is pushing right now): Nothing at all like they show on TV. As far as I can see, these are just big pieces of felt and are not super absorbant as they advertise. If I notice any improvement after washing them, I will let you know.

Okay, your turn to share!

:)Barbara
P.S. This is not a thread to advertise your products. We can tell, and blatant advertising will be removed. This is all about the much promoted gadgets shown all the time on TV commercials.
 
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The Bloomin Onion Maker. The corer takes a lot of force to cut all the way thru, but the part that cuts the onion open into a flower works just fine.
Not worth the money though, you could do just as good a job by hand, and with the cutback in fried foods it never gets used anymore.
Those mircowavable egg thingys. They never ever ever worked the way they were supposed to work. Except the removable piece that strained the egg white from the yolk if you wanted. Kept that and still use it. But the rest don't work. It won't cook an egg properly in it like it says, and the piece you add to scramble it never works right either.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the wonder clothes. I use micro fibre cloth on my bike and it works well. I was wondering about the miracle powers these things have though...

I'm sure I've boughten a few things I've seen on TV, but probably the one that comes closest to working like it did when first advertised is one of those "Chinese hand hammered woks". I don't think they make them anymore or they would still be advertised. Hard to mess up a wok, but it seasoned well and the indentations did seem to grip the food you were trying to move up the side a little. While I don't stir fry anymore, it's right above my stove if I want to. I still have all the utensils that came with it, too.

Back when I used to golf I used to kid my foursome (or would the other three guys be called a threesome?) about buying all those golfing gadgets that were guaranteed to knock three strokes off your game. I figured for each gadget I bought, I could lop those three strokes off my game. Sounded good in theory anyway....
 
Gosh, Barbara, I'm soooo the worst when it comes to buying things because of TV, radio or print advertising. I mute the TV when commercials come on, tune them out when I listen to the radio, and tear out all the ads that are in my magazines before I read the magazine.

If manufacturers/producers depended on me to buy their things based on their ads, they'd all go bust.

When I am interested in something new, I try to go to a store that has one or more of the item and see it hands-on. I've always been one to research things at least mildly before buying.

Having said that, I do have quite a number of kitchen gadgets but, because I'm cheap (not frugal), the greatest number of them were purchased at thrift stores, eBay or from an online discount seller.

I'm such a non-typical female because I really don't like shopping of any kind. I make my list, check it twice, and get out as quickly as possible.

My real shopping game is efficient shopping at the best price possible.

Sometimes I think I might like to understand the "shop till you drop" concept but not enough to try it.:rolleyes:
 
unopened cans

i bought the auto can opener. barbara was right. didn't work worth a hoot.

also bought an eraser stick supposed to remove gum where labels were. all it did was put a coat of wax on it.

babe:wacko::wacko:
 
I bought a great mopthat I really miss. It picked up everything, you didn't need to sweep and it dried to a solid rock. I left it in California when I moved, I miss it.

I bought an Aerogarden, that things going back. It's annoying me.

I bought a hand chopper thing that you throw your veggies in and crank the blades. I love it to the point I went to the "As seen on TV" and bought a second one.

I bought "The Perfect Pancake" maker, that was a waste.

I can't remember them all, a lot of stuff I bought at the county fair but you also see them on tv.
 
Long time ago , I bought Ronco Pasta Machine but bought it at Sam's club instead of thru Ronco . It was cheaper at Sams. I used it a lot when I first got it and now I hardly use it. I do miss having fresh homemade pasta.
 

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