Retirement News & Advice

The Product: Gyro Bowl
The Price: Online offer: $14.99 plus $9.99 shipping and handling
The Claims: Kid-proof snack bowl. It never spills!
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 2.5 out of 5

The Product: RoboStir
The Price: Online: $10 plus $6.99 shipping and handling
The Claims: It stirs, so you don't have to.
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 0 out of 5

It's hard to watch TV late at night or early in the morning without seeing those most braggy of commercials. It seems like every As Seen on TV product is the best ever.

So, here at Consumer Ally we like to put them through the paces. Our own Lisa Kaplan Gordon lives in a veritable As Seen on TV house, cooking and cleaning and even grooming her dogs using As Seen on TV products. We feature a new review every week.

Here are some products she liked, detested and didn't think much of one way or the other, including Pasta Boat - of her favorites.

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ShamWow, PedEgg and Snuggie are true As Seen On TV classics -- and goldmines -- that celebrate the innovative, outlandish spirit of the industry; and the impressionable, impulsive issues of people who buy these things -- like me.

So Consumer Ally asked the question: Do they work?

Jack LaLanne, the fitness visionary who died recently at 96, will never again nag us to drink our vegetables. But Jack LaLanne, the brand, will continue to pitch his Power Juicers on long- and short-form infomercials ... indefinitely.

Tristar Products Inc., makers of the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer line, will continue to use jumping Jack in infomercials postmortem and ad infinitum.

The Contenders: Sobakawa Pillow vs. Total Pillow

The Battle of the As Seen On TV pillows pits the chubby Sobakawa Cloud against the Total Pillow. Which contender deserves a place under your head?

The Product: Sobakawa Cloud Pillow
The Claims: "It's like sleeping on a virtual sea of clouds."
The Price: Online offer: $19.99 plus $7.95 shipping and handling. In stores, $20.
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 3.5 out of 5



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The Product: Magic Bullet
The Price: $50 in stores; Online two for $99.99 plus $39.98 shipping and handling
The Claims: Does any job in 10 seconds ... or less
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 3.5 out of 5

On the heels of my favorable review of Pasta Boat -- I gave it a perfect score on the Buy-O-Meter -- consumers are complaining that the online ordering process is confusing and tricks them into buying products they don't want.

I love the Pasta Boat, made by TeleBrands, which nukes pasta faster than you can cook it on the stove.

In stores, the product costs $10. And I always say buy As Seen on TV products in brick-and-mortar stores whenever possible. You save huge shipping and handling charges. And most stores easily refund money if there's a problem with the product.

Still, I am not happy that so many Consumer Ally readers say they are being mislead during the online ordering process.

The Product: Snazzy Napper
The Price: Including shipping and handling, $23 for orginal; $33 for extra large
The Claims: A snazzy way to sleep while you travel
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 4 out of 5



(Become a fan of Consumer Ally on Facebook.)