Sunday, June 3, 2018

As-Seen-On-TV

True Confession--I love "As-seen-on-TV" products.
Next confession--I am baffled about how to get the spacing correct on my blog today.

Back to "As-seen-on-TV" products.
They had me at Ginsu knives and our affair has never ended. I love:
  • watching the infomercial
  • the shopping channel presentation
  • the wacky late night ads
  • the You-Tube(TM) videos
I get a little thrill hearing that one low price will solve problems I never knew I had and bring products to my home that I never dreamed possible.
What I really love is an entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial spirit. In many cases, someone, somewhere, had an idea for a product that people might really like and use. They took an idea and they put it out there.

The Pitch
I spent a large portion of my working life in sales. I wore many different job titles, but they all came down to sales. I love a "good pitch." An infomercial or online presentation is a pure undisguised sales pitch.
I love a good online pitch too. The combination of writing, graphics, and videos is wonderful.

Fine Print
Yes, there are some companies who specialize in grabbing your cash without providing a decent product. In my experience, the most unscrupulous companies are using online advertising and web sites now instead of the more traditional (and expensive) television advertising. After all, if they want to rip us off, then online sales has the lowest up-front cost for the seller.

Do Your Research

YouTube
James White has a You Tube(TM) channel that is devoted to ASOTV products:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTCpOFIu6dHgOjNJ0rTymkQ
Blog
I found a blog recently that reviews ASOTV products called Does it really work?
https://doesitreallywork.org
So far, their reviews match my own for the products I have tried and now I'm ready to try purchasing a few more based on their feedback.
HighYa
Another site that has done research and collects reviews on these products is HighYa https://www.highya.com/ Highya also reviews products and services from many companies beyond the As-Seen-on-TV genre. While I have not reviewed this web site extensively, it strikes me as a decent consumer advocacy and research reporting site.
So far, I am impressed with their articles related to products such as the article "6 Ways to Naturally Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity" linked to a review of the brain exercise app Lumosity(tm).
Buyer Buy Smart
Many stores carry ASOTV products in the store. When possible, buy them in the store to avoid shipping costs and make returns easier. If you use Amazon Prime(TM) shopping, that's another way to find products, avoid shipping, and do free returns.

Sometimes there are rotten eggs, but sometimes
there are just cute chicks...
There's always a few rotten eggs
Unfortunately, there are scams everywhere. Be wary and check out articles like this one "Top Online Scams and How to Avoid Them."
https://www.highya.com/articles-guides/117-scam-hacks-all-the-tips-you-will-need-to-avoid-popular-scams