The "Do not purchase this product" thread (credit cards, cell phones, pricing)

[Coolhand68]

Often we see threads on which products we should buy based on positive experiences. What I'd like to see is your list of products consumer's should not buy. Sort of a buyer beware thread or products to avoid. Could be anything--car care products, appliances, tools, clothes, electronics, foods, as seen on TV products, home goods etc. Items that have fallen short of their advertised claims, or you've been disappointed with. Prefer to keep this from getting political or boycotting products do to activism, let's keep it on terms of quality, overrated, or perhaps warranty problems.

I'll start:

Any type of mosquito repellent for outdoor usage, whether it's candles, spray, foggers etc. They never seem to work. The off spray is only good if you cover every square inch of exposed skin, if you leave even a dime sized patch of skin untreated, they will find it.

Flashlights that require no batteries, just crank them to charge them up. Yeah, and after you've exhausted yourself cranking the damn thing, it stays lit for about ten minutes if you're lucky, and it's a very dim light at that.

Cheap plastic flashlights--at the very least invest in a decent Maglite LED version with some good batteries from Duracell or Energizer.

Bose Wave Radio--nice sound, but overrated. For almost half the cost you can get a Cambridge Soundworks or other brand radio with just as good sound and features.

[gentlearts]

Sham Wow does not do much of anything.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

My experiences with Sony products over the years lead me to believe that the brand is vastly overrated. Their products are reliable, but overall performance doesn't warrant the premium pricing.

[Travel'r]

I have to submit the most disgusting, deceitful candidate(s) of them all.

There are Lemon Laws, the BBB, Attorneys General ... even our credit cards will back us up when we purchase a bum product.

BUT, speaking strictly from a consumer's standpoint: Sure sucks to be a companion animal-owning consumer!

Anyone ever look at the ingredients in the most popular/advertised pet "foods"?

Going to list some fun facts first, to put this into perspective:

-Dogs and cats are carnivorous mammals, right? -- cats being the strictest of all carnivorous mammals.

-Cats' jaws can/do not rotate, as in to chew, as most mammals, including humans, are able to do.

-Cats teeth are designed to shear and tear -- a cat is not capable of grinding food due to the shape of its teeth.
(Don't take my word for this if there's not an encyclopedia handy -- watch a cat eating; open a cat's mouth and look!)
How can it eat kibble?

Ever wonder why cats vomiting is so common?

See this Harvard Law Paper:
Incestuous Pet Food Regulation Allows Consumers to Feed their Pets Ring Dings and Krispy Kremes

More facts we'll never be informed of by people who should be doing do:
What’s Really in Pet Food

From Dr. Michael W. Fox, aka "The Animal Doctor"
His letter submitted:
Conflicts Of Interest In The Veterinary Profession And The Origin Of (http://www.twobitdog.com/drfox/specialreport_Article.aspx?ID=f78aec92-0b02-47f3-9575-cb1778647ad5 - broken link)


Anyone have a companion animal which hasn't suffered from these ailments?
Thanks to Dr. Fox for statistics (shared with his "OK!"):
"A 2004 listing in order of frequency of the ten most common claims of over 6,400 medical conditions that Veterinary Pet Insurance Inc received from cat and dog owners certainly reveals a high incidence of the most probable ‘junk food’ related diseases in the dog and cat population of the U.S., with the exception of bite abscesses in cats and soft tissue trauma in dogs, (both conditions being associated with animals who are allowed to free-roam).

For dogs: Ear infection; Stomach inflammation; Skin irritation; Tumors/growths; Skin infection/hot spots; Urinary tract infection; Osteoarthritis; Hypothyroidism; Inflammation of the intestinal tract; Soft tissue trauma....

For cats: Urinary Tract Infection; Stomach inflammation; Kidney disease; Bite Abscess; Diabetes;Hyperthyroidism; Inflamed colon; Conjunctivitis; Ear infection; Skin irritation....

... As for the contribution of highly processed commercial diets to the sickness and suffering of cats and dogs, the fact remains that animals often make spectacular recoveries, not when put on special prescription diets, but when taken off all such ‘junk’ convenience foods, and are instead fed balanced diets appropriate for their species (e.g. no cereal-based diets for carnivorous...) - Michael W. Fox, B. Vet. Med., Ph.D., D.Sc., M.R.C.V.S

Think it's just the advertising $$$ fueling this scam?

A well-known "prescription" food for dogs: Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Peanut Hulls, Chicken by-product Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Meal, Soybean Mill Run, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Oil, Corn Gluten Meal... preserved with BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin ...
While the "nutritional" value of these things for a carnivorous mammal is quite obvious, might I suggest you research the bolded especially. Hint: Banned for use in human food for good reason. (Oh, and you won't find any healing agents or medicine in there, considering the price-tag on that stuff.)

And people wonder why pets are on all kinds of drugs all the time?

Cats: Ground Whole Grain Corn, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citricacid), Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, SoybeanMill Run, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Sulfate, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt...

Time to rush Kitty again for the blockages (and don't forget the teeth cleaning!!)

They'll keep getting away with it, too, because the revenue and incentives (and advertising $$$) from the Big Brand conglomerates who own these "foods" keep everybody rich at the expense of the sucker, clueless pet owning public who hasn't dug for the facts yet.

Tip on the iceberg. Why not do some fact-searching on who "oversees" all this while we're at it. The Freedom of Information Act is a beautiful thing!!

Again, speaking strictly from a consumer standpoint here -- won't even touch on the emotional aspect/attachment to said pets (that's for the Pets Forum.)

[Sparklez_304]

lmao...the wind up flashlights. i have one of those. it is pretty stupid. my dad collects flashlights though so ive got better ones. i have one that you could light up the frigin forest with, its awesome lol. the wind up one is in a junk drawer 100% neglected. maybe ill add it to the garage sale pile lol.

the best thing i cant tell you not to buy would only apply to girls...unless you're a guy that wears makeup lol...in which case...well...i dont know what to say to that lol. i love sephora and spend a lot of quality time there lol...the sephora brand products suck. all of them. you can buy drugstore makeup up way cheaper that works better lol.

oh, and cell phones without an actual keyboard. i have a phone thats ALL touchscreen and i think its kinda retarded. it takes a long time to type anything because i have to correct everything the phone messed up lol. i like a lot of things about my phone, the fact that it has no buttons though is something i cant stand.

[redjan1225]

I bought one of those magic steamers from TV. I think mine is called "Monster." I bought it shortly before my wedding. I wanted it to use for sterilizing things like sink and tub fixtures. For some reason, I was under the wrong impression that you could also steam clothes with it. I hoped to have it before my wedding to use on my dress. Well, unfortunately, it took literally 4 months to ship. I was told it was "backordered." Then, they continuously ship the magic cleaner to you on a monthly basis (and charge your cc each time) so I got about 3 months of cleaning solutions while I hadn't even received the machine yet. Getting through to someone to cancel was ridiculous. The steamer and about 8 unopened bottles of solution sit in my garage unused. The steamer would be great if it actually worked and if you weren't continually mopping up the pools of water it leaves behind. Waste of money.

Like Sephora products, I also find ULTA-brand products to be terrible. I tried them as an alternative to spending three times as much on MAC products. I promptly returned to MAC and tossed all my ULTA products (except their nail polish, which I actually like).

[Sparklez_304]

they're getting ready to open an ulta in the next town over...im excited to check it out but ill stay away from their brand of stuff lol. thanks for the advice. but i do love nail polish so ill try some of those

[bjornb17]

BOSE. Crappiest speakers for the money by a longshot.

[DanBev]

I have a Kipor Generator,KGE5500E,on a maintainence run,flywheel was damaged.Beware there is no service nor parts available in USA or Canada.There internet site has various email addresses which no one will reply.A product of China.Unit has only a few hours of use.Does not seem right a product can be sold without available services.Amazon and ebay sell them.

[Sparklez_304]

Originally Posted by bjornb17

BOSE. Crappiest speakers for the money by a longshot.

i have bose headphones, its one of my favorite things i own. i sometimes forget to pee when i have them on...even though im mobile. lol