Here is part of an ad from the Christmas catalog of a very reliable hardware store:
“When you add ordinary tap water, the clock uses water’s naturally occurring positive and negative ions, producing clean energy that will keep the clock running for 4 to 12 months. … When the clock’s [LCD] display begins to fade, simply pour out the old water and refill.”
What is going on here? I realize tap water isn’t pure and may have a Ph slightly above or below 7, but where is the energy coming from and how can the old water differ from new water?
That’s almost comical. It’s similar to the shake powered flashlights fakes that also had a hidden battery and no shake power circuit at all. Imagine how many worldwide hours were wasted shaking a dummy charger.
I see the product on Amazon is ‘currently unavailable’ - which is what sometimes happens when enough people complain about a product being a scam.
I thought this was going to be one of those clocks where you’re basically adding an electrolyte; for those, the clock is not really so much powered by the liquid, but by the corrosion of the immersed metal parts.
Lee Valley is quite often guilty of selling fanciful pieces of crap, despite their fully deserved reputation of high quality.
Oftentimes too, their super-deluxe-handcrafted-from-the-best-in-the-most-remote-region-of-Moldovakia-by-120-year-old-monks version of things is not worth the exuberant prices.
One example being their finish tool pouches, the $120 german version is smaller and less robust than the $45 dollar BOSSA from IHL. Lacking rivets in key places, a hard to adjust belt, and other minor differences.
Gripes aside, I LOVES me some Lee Valley, it is definitely on the “only go there when I need to” list. (Otherwise I buy things I don’t actually need!)
They mainly stock the best of the best, highest quality things they carry. Things come at a premium price, but quite often they sell seemingly cool or unique things that turn out to be shoddy, or somewhat spurious, like the aforementioned water clock.
Otherwise they are a fantastic chain, I carry their wares with pride.
Yes, although I am slightly confused as to the significance of it.
A subject normally known for having a high percentage of quality items is also known for having a low percentage of its wares be of questionable quality/value. Due to the volume of wares they carry, this happens often…
Sorry, if a retailer has a reputation of high quality, that means you can have confidence in everything they carry, not just a low chance of getting crap.
I’m not trying to be rude or anything, my apologies if it seems such. Written grammar is not my forte, but is it surprising to you that a company known for good standards once in a while slips up?
Perhaps peruse their website, read a few reviews?
Lee Valley has a good reputation, even the OP states them as very reliable.
Me too, though I would have said “(im)precision” - not a jab, just a friendly suggestion as this is a pet peeve of mine (using a, usually longer, version of a word when an existing version already exists, e.g. “burglarize” instead of “burgle” for the act of breaking into a house and stealing).
Since I’m on a roll, I think you meant ‘exorbitant’. Again, not a jab, just thought I’d mention it. It was perfectly clear what you meant. I also agree with you that it’s possible for a chain to have a reputation for good quality despite slipping up occasionally. If those slip-ups become more frequent, the reputation will change. Maybe for some people one slip-up is too many.
But there are certainly any number of retailers over the years who’ve built up a high reputation for quality products at (perhaps) premium prices who then had craptacular management move in (or buy in) and destroy the brand’s value by trying to cash in by selling junk at the same premium prices.
Sears did it with their lesser line of not-Craftsman tools. LL Bean & Land’s End each did it with clothing, etc.
Lee Valley may well be in the middle of just such a management-led assault / scam on their prior reputation.
I seem to recall digital watches being made for 3rd world countries that would work by dunking them in water. A quick Google search failed to find anything to confirm my memory.
Lee Valley is sells items in four primary categories:
Woodworking tools, especially hand tools
Cabinetry hardware
Lawn and garden tools
Miscellaneous kitschy novelty items
The first three categories of items are almost universally excellent quality, and often they have items that can’t be found elsewhere. For example, searching for hand planes at the Home Depot, I get 5 results, only 3 of which are actually woodworking planes. If I search for hand planes at Lee Valley, I get this: https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/hand-tools/planes
16 pages of results, including 60 planes, many of which are specialty tools.
If you use the search function on that page, you can also find the “water clock” from the OP.
The miscellaneous novelty items are a complete crapshoot, and have very little bearing on the reputation of the items in the other categories.