As we all know, nothing is truly as we see them on TV. You see a big fat burger on TV that would take two hands to hold, but when you get it at the restaurant... it barely fits one hand let alone two. It would be the same for "as seen on TV" items as well. So what attracts us so much to these items to want to buy them. Is it the excitement of the sellers or the great deal we get from ordering from TV? I notice that in the past that "as seen on TV" items were not found in stores. Now they are found in stores for the same price as on TV just not the same deal. So is it really worth buying these items?
I really think it all depends on the product. I know plenty of people who have bought things like Snuggies and loved them. I have a friend who bought the Slap Chop and thinks it's a piece of crap. My mom even has a Magic Bullet that she loves. Personally, I think that you can find similar products (sometimes even better quality) at retail outlets. I've always been quite hesitant when it came to "As seen on TV" products.
These days you can get reviews for each item much easier so I do think that it's much better to buy these products now more than ever, especially considering that the producers of these items also are aware of the online reviewers so they are much more determined to make their product as smart and useful as possible. You get a lot of silly items but at the same time there are also a lot of other very nifty and unique inventions that you otherwise would not have seen in the aisles of department stores.
You can get really sucked in by the infomercials and there must be a lot of psychology being used in them. Generally though, better quality products can be found elsewhere. I do agree that a few of the gadgets cannot be found anywhere else I have a particular fondness for my ancient V-slicer!
Generally speaking you can also find a better product elsewhere. I know that recently they were pushing this digital antenna in my area that was supposedly "better than cable". I literally had to explain to my family that all it is doing is picking up local stations since we don't run on analog anymore. The whole thing was a big gimmick and dare I say a borderline scam for people.
As Seen On TV products are meant to be cheap and mass produced. They're supposed to entice consumers to buy them once and either forget about them or replace them every time they break, hoping those items will live up to their promise. Consumers are more than gullible when it comes to infomercials, and it's really not surprising that so many people buy these items, even though they've proven time and time again to be nothing more than crap.
One of the best courses of action when it comes to As Seen on TV products is to research them online before buying them. A great place to do this would be Amazon but there are other websites as well that review these products. I have to admit that this has helped me to realize that I shouldn't buy a product. I have also discovered that some products are worth the investment because they actually do live up to their hype. This is the best course of action though, never just listen to the hype on TV because these infomercials are designed to make these products sound great. So, in order to find out if these products really are this great, do research online to find out what customers who have purchased the product are actually saying about it. I find that As Seen on TV products are a crap shoot, they are either worth the investment or they aren't worth it.
I have bought a few of the itmes seen on tv and some of them have worked an others havent. The bad news for these products is that once you leave the store it is such a big deal to get a refund or return the item if it doesnt work the way that you thought it would. I have had to return three items and one of which was a frying pan that is supposed to be non stick which did not turn out to be that at all and the seller told me that you need to buy a cleaning liquid for that specific product but they failed to let me know when I bought the item in the first place. I like buying from reputable stores so that if there is a problem you can return it with no hassles.
I've never really thought that as seen on TV products were worth it. Once in a while something really great comes out, but even then I usually don't go out of my way to actually buy it. They opened a store with strictly this stuff in it in our mall near me, and I am shocked as to how it's still opened a few years later.
As Seen On Tv products are mostly junk but they do advertise a lot of good products too! I most certainly like my Ninja Kitchen Products, because they all work almost exactly as they were shown. Research what you buy is the most important thing to do before buying, which many people neglect to do.
I have seen some as seen on TV products that are really tempting, but I never buy anything unless I can see it in person. I also don't want to give out my credit card information to random companies. I noticed stores like Bed Bath and Beyond are carrying a lot of the products, and I have purchased a few things from there. I really like the camisole inserts, they come in very handy. I can't say anything else I have purchased has worked very well for me. At least if you buy it from a store, it is easier to go in and return rather than hope you get a refund on what you have paid to ship out.
Marketers use techniques to trick us into buying stuff that's not as seen in the ads. It's a fact of life these days, and I'm not sure the proper authorities can do something about this type of misleading advertising even if they tried to. The most disappointing thing I've bought is one of those kiddie plastic pools that looked like it will be the size of my car on the package but when I opened it it was barely three feet long.
Most of those item's as seen on TV are not really with buying. At one point in time it was really cool to see a product on TV, but times have changed and the fact that it's on TV doesn't equal quality of the product.
I've never found any "As seen on TV" items to be worth buying. I've bought the Space Bag, the Snuggie, and the Bedazzler, and they were all cheaply made and didn't function nearly as well as they did on tv. The Snuggie was just a felt robe that you wear backwards! The Space Bag did not shrink at all, and just turned my pile of clothes into a big ugly lump, and my clothes came out smelling like rubber. They're definitely not with the $19.95 plus $7.95 for shipping. Sure, the ads make the product seem amazing, but they're all disappointing. Also, be careful with whom you give your credit card information to through the phone. Many of these companies give your number to telemarketers, whose frequent calls can be extremely frustrating.
I think that the reason people buy "As Seen on TV" objects is because of good advertising. If a company can advertise their product good enough, at least one person will buy it. These objects are so glamorized on TV, but in reality they're usually bad. In my opinion, if someone really wants to buy an as seen on TV item, they should wait until it goes into stores. Even though 99% of "As Seen On TV" commercials say that this is a limited time offer and it will never be in stores, it usually is a month or two later. They want to make profit, and they can't do it by advertising on TV alone. I ended up buying a Snuggie, but not from the commercial. I bought mine in store. Actually looking at the product before buying it made me feel a lot better about my purchase. Another plus about buying in store is that they don't try to throw in the "buy one get one free!" deal, even though it's not free because you have to pay for shipping and handling for both. Overall, I believe people should stay away from "As Seen On TV" items, at least until they're in stores.
I've rarely been sucked in by the "as seen on TV" approach to marketing. My brother was a bit of an addict with QVC and looking at some of the rubbish he bought from the shopping channel was enough of a turn off for me. I'm guessing the quality of the stuff is probably getting better, as we stop getting sucked in as much, but I'd rather use my own judgment on whether I see value in a product.
"As Seen on TV" items are not really worth-buying. The advertisers are just tricking the people into availing those products. However, there are some items advertised on television that are actually good. You've just got to read some reviews of those products on the internet before spending your money on them or you're going to end up disappointed.
Well, as I said above not all these products are junk. Some do live up to their hype and do work. I have bought a few and can say that some did work some didn't. Here is some of my experiences. Orgrenic: Does work, but read instructions about preparing the pan and caring for it. Waxvac: Works but not a good as advertised. It is good though for removing the water from the ears. Slap Chop: Don't bother Sham Wow: Works but again need to follow instructions of how to clean and care for it after use. Magic Bullet: Works but beware of cheap immitators. Music Bullet: Works great. So, these are just some products that I have used in my home. As you can see there are some that worked and some that didn't.
The only things I've actually bought off the TV was the snuggie when it first came out and bare minerals. This was before you could find them in stores. I still use bare minerals but usually buy them from Sephora now so I can get points on my card there. I actually still have the snuggie, my dogs love it!
This is a tricky question because there are some as seen of TV offers that actually work, like the Sodastream and the Ninja Blender. I work at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I see many customers buy these items, and absolutely loving them. I also have a Ninja Blender at home and it works perfectly! People come back to the store for their refill of CO2 canisters for their Sodastreams, so judging by that alone, I should say that they enjoy them, and as I said, I have heard good things from people concerning that. We sell a lot of as seen on TV merchandise at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I would have to say that probably most of it works well, but some of it may not. We have Frozen Snackeez as well, Hide Away Pets and Dream Lites, and they all work just fine and people buy them. It is not very often that I see them returned.
