I think it is Harriet Carter! Thanks!

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Originally posted by jvsmom

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Originally posted by EliseT

There is a small catalog that has all this junk in it…and I can’t think of the name! It is a pamphlet-sized catalogue, with a woman’s name…can you guys think of it? They’re always around except now when I need something stupid like an air-conditioning-vent-cover, which is exactly the kind of thing they sell. They also have hotdog storage tupperware shaped like a pack of hotdogs.

You don’t mean Lillian Vernon by any chance, do you? That may not be it, but I know just the catalog you’re talking about. There actually may be a few of them – a few different names, but the selling the same stuff. (Kind of like "Swiss Colony" and "Figi’s") I always get those during the holiday season – different name, same stuff.

Or is it Harriet Carter? That one popped into my head today. I think that’s the one you mean.

I actually ordered something from the venerable Johnson Smith- the talking Homer Simpson bottle opener,and a trick pair of Santa ‘legs’ to hang out your trunk or car door….haha

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Originally posted by EliseT

There is a small catalog that has all this junk in it…and I can’t think of the name! It is a pamphlet-sized catalogue, with a woman’s name…can you guys think of it? They’re always around except now when I need something stupid like an air-conditioning-vent-cover, which is exactly the kind of thing they sell. They also have hotdog storage tupperware shaped like a pack of hotdogs.

You don’t mean Lillian Vernon by any chance, do you? That may not be it, but I know just the catalog you’re talking about. There actually may be a few of them – a few different names, but the selling the same stuff. (Kind of like "Swiss Colony" and "Figi’s") I always get those during the holiday season – different name, same stuff.

There is a small catalog that has all this junk in it…and I can’t think of the name! It is a pamphlet-sized catalogue, with a woman’s name…can you guys think of it? They’re always around except now when I need something stupid like an air-conditioning-vent-cover, which is exactly the kind of thing they sell. They also have hotdog storage tupperware shaped like a pack of hotdogs.

I actually got an excellent deal on a kitchen aid 6qt professional mixer from QVC. Not a refurbish job either….

Other than that, I must admit I almost bought a fryer off of there once…[:I]

My family (not me, you understand) thinks of Ron Popeill as a lesser god. I have been lulled into a blessed state of hypnosis by his pitches. We have an original Pocket Fisherman at home somewhere.

Has anyone seen the infomercial fakes…like the one for the amazing frying pan, that, when you put it over a burner, actually melts butter! Wow! That’s terrific bass!

I bought two things off of TV. First, an ab roller back in 1996. It was used exactly three times and now sits in the basement. The second was these bags that were supposed to cook things like chicken breast and fish in the microwave. Somehow the air was supposed to circulate and make it more like it was baked rather than coming out all rubbery. They even claimed that they were easily cleaned out and could be used more than once. I think I used one and i’ve never had more rubbery chicken in my life. And I have no idea how they thought you could clean out a bag that had chicken juice in it. Luckily that experince has kept me from buying many other kitchen gadgets as I love to watch the infomercials. I was especially tempted to buy a Turbo Cooker but so far I have resisted.

Has anyone seen "Chef Tony" selling those cheap knives? I wonder if he’s a real chef. In case you haven’t seen the ads, the knives feature a little plastic knob in the middle of the blade to help with chopping.

My wife just gushes about the Tilia FoodSaver I bought her.To me it seems like an unwieldy beast and makes a noise like something out of the bowels of Hell.But it seems to do the job.Kinda expensive and you have to pay to buy the refill bags.But hey,whatever works.
My own favorite infomercial buy was the RoboChef,I dont use it very often but it seems to do what is advertised to do,chop the stuff up.Less hassle than the electric food processor.Dont know how long the blades will last,at my minimal rate of use,probably long past I am dead and buried.
I also cant complain about the Braun hand held "boat motor" mixer.It really can whip milk.Not that I do that very often.
How bout that Nancy Nelson,she is a cutie pie.

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Originally posted by Pwingsx

And this wasn’t tv, but that stupid mail order Signatures place — hint: don’t bother. I bought a set of cheap non-stick pans and pots. Hey, $15, I thought maybe they’d last a little while…..ha!
They started dropping their non-stick service after I got them and put them in the DISHWASHER!!!!

Never bought anything off TV, other than one of the ‘premiums’ that I get when I make a pledge to the local PTV station, but I’ve been following this thread for days trying to remember that mail order place – Signatures. I actually did order several things from there once. Can’t remember what they all were except for a ‘herb mincer’ that was about 8 circular blades side by side in a plastic holder that you were supposed to chop herbs with by rolling back and forth over them. Didn’t work all that great because the blades weren’t sharp enough and they just tended to mush the herbs and it was nearly impossible to clean. I eventually lost the pin that held the blades in the holder, but I still have the thing anyway because hermits are packrats, too [:I].

Interestingly, I used to get mailers from Signatures every couple of weeks, but I dutifully filled out their consumer survey when I sent in my order and I only hear from Signatures about 2 or 3 times a year now – and I throw their mailers directly in the trash.

My Mother was a Pampered Chef rep and she got me everything. Some of them are actually quite useful and well-made, but many have never been taken out of the package they came in because they’re just unnecessary.

My real weakness is the gadget wall at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I can spend 30 to 45 minutes mesmerized in front of that thing while a voice in the back of my head keeps whispering to me ‘there’s something I’ve been wanting to get next time I come here, now what was it?’ Seldom do I leave B,B, & B without buying some new useless gadget [:(].

I believe that when Ron Popiel’s father started hawking the Veg-O-Matic prototype in grocery-store live demos (pre-TV), he always used beets to show its many uses because beet juice disguised the bloody cuts it used to give his fingers.

Seems like a lot of us have bought items hawked by Ron Popeil. My mom bought a "Veg-O-Matic" and "The Buttoneer" back in the early ’70s. The "Veg-O-Matic" was used once; it made a mess of a tomato she tried to slice. From then on, it stayed in its box, until she donated it to the Good Will. "The Buttoneer" was used quite often. But the thing I remember the most from that era were the TV ads for the "Pocket Fisherman". Anybody ever buy one of these? If so, were they as impractical and as crappy (no pun intended–my grandpa loved to catch crappies[:)]) as they seemed in the TV commercials?

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Every type of cheap kitchen appliances known to man, garden stuff, car stuff and even cheap motorcycles that seem to be popping up everywhere that sell for $99 bucks up.

Hubby and I were in Pigeon Forge for the hot rod show last month, and we checked out one of those "as seen on tv" stores. You’re right, they have everything in there from ginsu knives to those worthless tongs and pasta pots, all for the same price as on tv. Most interesting item I saw in the entire store was a key chain shaped like a large butt that made a farting noise when you squeezed it. I wanted to buy one, but hubby talked me out of it, LOL.