I keep seeing one for Orange Glow and OxyClean and it seems to work. But they never let the stain dry. I can get most stains that aren’t dried, out with cold water.
I bought Didi 7 when it came out and although it did take the pink out of a white coat of mine that got died, I certainly coulnd’t use it in place of bleach (like the ad said). It didn’t whiten clothes as well.
A few years ago Dave Barry did a column about the hair in a can stuff. He said it looked like crap and wouldn’t fool anybody - kinda like fuzzy spray paint.
Which is weird because I hate @#%$!@ infomercials! I don’t pay for cable t.v. to see 18 of the channels full of commercials.
Anyway…
I bought a product from “amazing Discoveries” it was similar to Didi 7 and it worked well. But it stunk like gasoline to high heaven! I threw both tubes away.
I bought the Susan Powter “Stop the insanity” diet program. I’m using it now in combination with a catabolic diet and I’ve lost 28 pounds in a little over a month and I’m not hungry at all. In fact, I tend to skip the snacks the diet allows because I’m not hungry!
I bought the “Beer Machine” from an infomercial. it’s a simple form of home brewing. It makes good beer but there are 2 problems: It takes 2 weeks to make the equivalent of one case of beer and it is not cost effective. I can buy good beer cheaper than this thing makes.
About 8 years ago I bought a direct marketing program from an infomercial. It came with a lot of material including books, videos, and cassette tapes. But they didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know or could have found out at the local library. Useless basic information.
I bought this excersize ball for reducing a double chin. It works so-so. The first 2 weeks my jaw hurt like crazy. It was only $19.99 though.
I bought a cd set of 70’s songs from one. Good deal and great quality.
I bought a Dura Lube kit from one infomercial. I used it in a car that now has 135,000 miles on it with no engine repairs. I honestly believe the Dura Lube is a major factor.
I know what you’re all thinking: for a guy who hates infomercials so much, I sure bought enough shit from them! :rolleyes:
Anyway, I’d say about have the time the products are quite good at a good price and half the time it’s bullshit. It’s a coin toss. I would stay away from the marketing or real estate programs as they are usually rip offs and you can find the same information at the library or a good book store.
No kidding, I’ve had an eye peeled for a Salad Shooter for quite some time. I have a weird idea I want to someday pursue about the Gulf War and the commercial marketing that went on during that unusual event. Riiiiicolahhhh!
We also have two interesting posts that Didi 7 (or its clones) actually worked, which is almost as miraculous as the claims they made. I’m particularly interested in pkbites’ comment about the substance’s nature because when I was in the car-cleaning biz gasoline was known as a stain-killer to some of the old-timers I worked with.
Another trick I used often, particularly on carpets, was turpentine, which to the olfactory-impaired (such as myself) smells similar to gasoline. Sometimes the turpentine would chemically react with the fibers in the carpet, and melt them, so the “test spot” was always a dodgy issue.
I downloaded… I mean… “bought” Kevin Tudeau’s Mega Memory, and I can now remember lists of up to 50 things forwards, backwards, in and out of order no problem.
I remember David Letterman (so you know it’s accurate) several years ago had some guy on who was supposed to be an expert of some sort on TV-advertised consumer products. He said that of all the things you see hawked on TV, Ginsu knives were the best deal out there. Absolutely would do what the commercials claimed, and worth every penny. Which, if you check Ebay, is about all they cost anymore.
Just remembered, my supervisor at work has a Ronco Showtime Rotisserie cooker and swears by it. He also bought a “JuiceMan” juicer which he never uses, because it takes about ten pounds of vegetables to get one glass of juice…give or take. I’m still tempted every time I see a food dehydrator come on the screen, but haven’t gotten around to getting one yet.
I have Ronco’s pasta machine. Although I haven’t used it in a while when I do use it I make a mean whole wheat, lemon pepper with garlic pasta. Top it with my favorite tomatoe sauce (posted on line here a couple of times) and I am enjoying a hell of a meal.
Technically I didn’t buy it from the infomercial but from QVC. Since QVC was featuring it and guarranteed the products they sold at the time, I figured I would do it. It’s loud but I prefer it over dried semolina pasta.
Also I have purchased the “Smart Chopper” what I consider as the “Poor Man’s Food Processor”. I love it. I can’t chop onions for crap. My eyes are super sensitive to onion’s chemical interaction with air but I love onions. I have made some excellent egg salad with celery and all, guacomole (yum), salsa and a few other things that need chopping up.
LOL, an infomercial came on just now…something about some facial excerciser. This is one I don’t think I would buy.
Since everyone is throwing things in and around in the thread-
Could someone tell me if those food sealers that suck the air out of the bag actually work? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve actually wanted to buy one of those.
I will actually speak out in favor of Oxy Clean. Basically it is oxygen bleach that contains hydrogen peroxide to clean stains. I found it works great on organic stains, especially underwear.
It must work because now you see major detergent brands containing it (i.e. Tide and Surf).
The truth is while Oxy Clean works; it is very expensive for what it is. There are a lot of sources to purchase oxygen bleach, where the prices are a lot more reasonable.
My Too Blave tried the Aussie Nads stuff. I myself tried to pay as little attention as I could (the thought of waxing in general, and in highly sensitive areas specifically gives, me some fearsome heebie-jeebies) to the application / removal process. She said it worked out very well, and most importantly, it was much less painful than she thought it would be.
I have always wondered about that Epi-stop (sp?) stuff for unwanted hair. I’m telling you, if I could stop shaving my legs for a better solution that would last I while (other than waxing) I would be all over it. I figured though, if it did work as well as they say, it would take the hair-removal industry by stor, it hasn’t, so I figured it doesn’t.
Having worked 15 years ago for a direct-mail company that sold the ginsu knives (or gave it away with the Chef’s Tools set, depending on the commercial), I can vouch for it’s effectiveness. Ok…so the handle is cheap plastic, but that blade can slice through anything. We’ve got one now that’s 20 years old, and still cuts great.
GINSU KNIVES KICK BUTT!!!
We got a set for christmas last year and I am extremely happy with them. I have yet to cut through a can and see if they still work as well but I will let you all know when I do.
We have also bought the shelf master system once and it did work as advertised. However, what seemed like a useful idea on TV did not turn out as useful at home and has been in the closet for the past year.
My suggestion is to not buy impulsively. Wait a few months, then stop by a Waccama store or Target. They seem to get the “as seen on TV” products pretty quickly.
I went to waccama this weekend and they had a new product that I had not seen before. It is a bag that you pack your clothes into, hook a vaccuum cleaner to it, and suck all the air out. The result is a much smaller package to put in your suitcase. Very cool but how about after you get to your destination and unvacuum pack your clothes? Do you have to ask a maid to borrow her vacuum? How else could you shove all those clothes back into your bag?
