As-Seen-on-TV Culinary Crap Wiz-Kid Gadgets.

How many of you are sometimes tired of all of those As-Seen-on-TV culinary crap WIZ-Kid gadget ads that often clog TV airwaves practically every time you want to watch a program?

They cover everything from kitchen gadgets to micrwave cooking containers to pots & pans to kitchen knives to storage containers and even some of the fancy-shmancy kitchen appliances!

Here are a few on the sponsors;

Chef Tony, Ron Popeil, Kathy Mitchell, Billy Mays, Mr T, and others.

The thing that I hate most of all are those infommercials or paid programs that come on from about 3 in the morning to about 9am - wasting up and monopolizing way too much TV air time! Who comes up with this stuff?

Honestly, and no offense at all to anyone here, but are there that many people out there who are that gullable enough to believe that all or most of this stuff might work?

Yes, I was one of those gullable ones who used to buy some of the stuff, but some of it worked and some of it didn't. Your thoughts on this, please.

Its all a matter of economics for the stations. You can have dead time where you are making no money, or sell 1/2 hour blocks at a discount so you can run the station with one person usually a technician or engineer for the off hours. It sounds like a winning deal for the stations to use get paid for non-prime hours.

When those infommercials come on, or even BEFORE they do, I change the channel to something more interesting to watch. I DID watched on the other day though about that new electric turkey fryer.

When nothing is on that I'd like to watch, then I pop in a prerecoded VHS or a DVD.

I don't really see the need for a half hour long pitch to sell a gadget. If you can't convince me in 1 minute, you never will! I just can't watch that long.
I did buy the spinning rack of storage containers a few years back and am still using
them. An excellent buy!
But stuff like the "Set it and Forget it" cooker, the Slap Chop... I can accomplish the chore just as well with what I have. Not a big gadget fan, I guess.

When I can't find something to watch I also like the use of hulu.com for catching up on missed programs. Because of my job hours I rarely am up at 10pm to watch one of my favorite shows (Sons Of Anarchy) so I keep up with it on hulu. Even if I were up at 10, odds are strong I wouldn't make the whole show. I haven't got digital cable yet so I don't have the DVR to make it easier for me.

Let's see, bought the Bloomin Onion, the original chopper not the Slap Chopper, the microwave egg containers, and the latest was that hair removal pad for women.
The Bloomin Onion maker works great, and I have just about worn out the chopper from extensive use. The microwave egg containers never worked right at all, and neither did the hair removal pad.
So, I guess hit or miss on these things LOL.

Oh, forgot the pet nail trimmer that was little more than a dremmel with a plastic guard on it. Supposed to sand down your pets nails quickly and easily.
IT DID NOT WORK. And the dogs did not talk to me for two days over that one...

Sherman said:

The thing that I hate most of all are those infommercials or paid programs that come on from about 3 in the morning to about 9am - wasting up and monopolizing way too much TV air time! Who comes up with this stuff?

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3 till 9? Seriously, I don't even think about watching TV until the stock market opens at 9:30. Even then, I'm wasting my time, but the coffee is good.

Yeah, it's just that those infommercials are on way too long! And a waste because half that stuff is pure junk.

I bought a Titan peeler...works great. It not only peels the potato but puts small ridges in it so the potato doesn't slip out of your hand

Um.... Billy Mays doesn't advertise much lately.

Lefty said:

so you can run the station with one person usually a technician or engineer for the off hours.

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you said it!

actually, even for a big network, all you need is 3 people. a tape monkey, a control room recluse, and a transmitter/uplink nerd.

The simple fact that those shows are always filling those dead time slots, tells me that they are working. Even discounted air time gets expensive real quick if you are not seeing some kind of ROI.

"There's a sucker born every minute."

"There's a buyer for EVERYTHING!"

television stations have a choice of trying to sell advertising time for syndicated shows, be it sports, news, or entertainment for the wee hours, or just putting up a show that is an advertisement. the latter is far easier and cheaper to do, therefore the return is better.

i agree that 9am is way too late in the a.m. to be showing infomercials. i'm amazed that the food channel does it that late most days. you'd think advertisers would be interested in affecting the demographic that gets up early to food shop.

If infomercials were all like this, they'd be much more interesting...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWRyj5cHIQA[/ame]

RobsanX said:

If infomercials were all like this, they'd be much more interesting...

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Excellent, Rob. I'll take two. LOL

Sorry to disagree, but I actually enjoy those cooking infomercials - even if it's just for entertainment value - lol. And if you use some common sense & reason coupled with a little adventure & a few bucks, you can end up with something really useful.

I've owned my "Ron Popeil" pasta maker since it first came out back in the 1980's. Still works great, is easy & fun to use. Is it a high-end snooty pasta maker? No. But it performs exactly as it was supposed to. And it's now over 20 years old. I do have fun using it to make different-flavored pastas without having to do manual roll-out.

I also own a "Ron Popeil" "Showtime" rotisserie. Originally bought as a joke gift by my husband in the early 1990's, it has a permanent space on my tiny counter because we use it so often. Juicy, crisp-skinned chicken & duck every time - mmmmmm.

Also own a cheap infomercial mandoline that cost $14 back in the 1980's & is still sharp as a razor & makes absolutely fabulous paperthin potatoes for gratins, julienne vegetables for salads & stirfries - you name it. A lot of bang for my $14 buck.

The only thing that bothers me about infomercial kitchen gadgets today is the screwing they now give everyone with the idiotic "get another set FREE - just pay extra shipping & handling". That "just pay extra shipping & handling" amounts to you actually paying twice the amount of the value of the product. I'm amazed - & also saddened - that most likely far too many people fall for this borderline fraudulent practice.

And if you're ever interested in a "seen on tv" product, just wait a bit & then visit your local chain stores (WalMart, KMart, Walgreens (or any large chain drugstore). All of them around here now carry everything you've ever seen on tv at lower prices & without the necessity of paying for two.

Don't get the idea that I spend my time sitting up in front of my tv till dawn salivating over this stuff. I'm just saying that not everything is junk, & some items do perform the way they're supposed to. I'm sure some very functional items get started this way.

I have the popular spinnng rack of plastic storage containers... love it!

My wife is dying to get a "Set It and Forget It" rotisserie cooker...

But I'd be the one cleaning the moldy mess out 2 weeks later, when she
finally REMEMBERED IT.. haahhahahaahehehehahah he ha ha ..... ha

I know what you mean, BC. There are a few of them that I have gotten that were very good purchases. (Although I always buy them at Frey's or Walgreens - where they have an "As Seen on TV" section.) I have a knock-off Slap-Chop that is great for letting kids help in the kitchen. I always wanted the Rotisserie because everyone who has one raves about it.

Kimchee said:

My wife is dying to get a "Set It and Forget It" rotisserie cooker...

But I'd be the one cleaning the moldy mess out 2 weeks later, when she
finally REMEMBERED IT.. haahhahahaahehehehahah he ha ha ..... ha

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Oh Kimchee - how seriously uninformed you are in the ways of the Ron Popiel Showtime Rotisserie - lol!!!

Cleanup is a BREEZE!! Even though I line the non-stick bottom tray with foil, without it it's still easy to clean. And the rotisserie rods are also non-stick. AND - you can stick everything into the dishwasher. What else do you want? Hired help? LOL!!!

In all the many years I've had this product, I've NEVER had anything even remotely resembling a "moldly mess". Unless that's your usual mode of kitchen cleanliness, I wouldn't worry about it occuring in this appliance. It's TERRIFIC!! I rarely roast chickens or ducks any other way these days.

Fisher's Mom said:

I know what you mean, BC. There are a few of them that I have gotten that were very good purchases. (Although I always buy them at Frey's or Walgreens - where they have an "As Seen on TV" section.) I have a knock-off Slap-Chop that is great for letting kids help in the kitchen. I always wanted the Rotisserie because everyone who has one raves about it.

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Fisher's Mom - I have the very basic cheapest first model they came out with. It's still going strong & I LOVE it. If I were you, I'd go for it. Ask for it for your next birthday or Mothers Day or something if you don't want to buy it yourself. Unless they've changed it somehow, I can't believe that you'd be disappointed. It's a great product.

I got one of those Titan Peelers in my Chirstmas Stocking this year. It came from one of those As Seen On TV aisles at Wal-Greens so it didn't come with that little board to make it a mandolin. But I can mail in a check for 3 dollars and get the board (free shipping).

I've got to say, the Titan Peeler is the sharpest and most efficient peeler I have ever used. I'm pleased with it.

Breezy....
I forget that my sense of humor is sometimes a bit.... off LOLOL

Set it and FORGET IT ...

I envision a housewife spicing up her roast and putting it in the machine to cook,
then going off to continue her chores. Later on, she whips out a pan and cooks up
a quick dinner.... because she FORGOT the roast.... as directed, LOLOL

So, two weeks later, while cleaning the kitchen, she opens the machine, and there
is the forgotten roast.... ewwwww!

LOLOLOL