I tend to buy these products at a store as well because I find I prefer being able to test and hold the product before buying it even when the tv commercial has made it so enticing that it makes me want to buy the item then and there I'd usually hold out and wait until I make a trip to the mall and see if it's being sold in our stores yet. I also prefer this because I have more confidence in being able to return the
Yeah, I learned a long time ago that they get you with the shipping. Some of these companies also stick you with a monthly recurring payment for some service that you didn't want or ask for. And then shipping takes forever. It's such a headache. I don't trust ordering from these companies online, so I just wait for the products to hit the As Seen On TV section at Walgreens. That or I go to Amazon and get it for a good price. Either way, it's better than ordering directly from the company. I love As Seen On TV stuff but never order from their sites or phone numbers.
It is a good habit to buy new products in stores instead of in online shops. There are so many fake goods aside from the real scam products like food supplements that will make you grow taller or will get your breast bigger. We once bought a car wax as seen on tv that did not put a shine on our car albeit it messed the gloss of our car so we had to shampoo it again and apply ordinary wax. Now we have learned our lesson.
In my area mall there's a physical As Seen on TV store, they have literally all the products you see on TV. They sell them in my Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens as well. The only reason the commercials still run is because of the poor souls who haven't figured out the products are cheaper in-store. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do for them.
Thanks for the heads up, I'm not really a fan of buying stuff from infomercials, although my parents did buy a few of them before. Now I know better and I should be wary of the shipping costs and the suppposed "free" stuff that's just meat to lure in more customers.
Something else I discovered about infomercial products, is that they are sometimes different depending on where you purchase them from. For example, there was some knife by Ming Tsai being sold on infomercials, but after reading the reviews, it became apparent that the one being sold on TV was different from the ones being sold in store. People were sharing close up photos of their knives and you could clearly see the ones being sold in stores were actually more cheaply made - the blades on them weren't sharpened at all, they just look like they had been punched out of a sheet of metal, whereas the ones ordered on TV were sharpened in addition to being serrated. In fact, if I recall correctly, the ones sold on TV Shopping Networks were also different from the other two versions of the knives. I've also seen people make similar complaints about Wen products - depending on where you purchase them, the ones sold in salons are different from the ones you get when buying them over the phone or online. They are made by different manufacturers and have different ingredients in them.
I believe that buying at the store is the better option because I am able to test the product for functionality, and know the correct size beforehand. If there is a problem with the Item after purchase I can return it to the store without the hassle of return shipping and waiting period. Another important factor is that I won't have to use my credit card online.
The Seen on TV items to me are not worth the money, some people will purchase them because of convenience not price. People don't want to go out to purchase something just have it delivered. The Bed and Bath stores carry many of the Seen on TV items
I have noticed this as well. A product is advertised on TV claiming you have to order it. The shipping is just outrageous so I don't really care about the extras being thrown in. Then I end up finding such product on the stores of walgreens, CVS, target,ect. Like for instance i remember when I first saw pillow pets on tv. Now you can get them in stores and even cheap look alikes.
The other advantage of buying As Seen On TV items in stores is that you can pay in cash. I've seen a lot of complaints online from people who have said that their credit card was charged extra shipping for the "bonus" or "BOGO" item shown in the infomercials. They'll tell you that the extra blender or whatever is free and then charge your card $40 shipping. At least when you buy the items in person, you know up front what you're actually paying.
Definitely always buy it instore - the advertised prices on television can make it sound like the biggest steal in the world, but if you look at those shipping/handling prices .... yikes that shit is crazy.
