ideavillage.com Idea Village Smooth Away smooth away charged $27.96 to ship less than one pound 59 miles over about a 10 day period. Pacoima California

I purchased Smooth Away one night a couple of weeks ago. It looked like a good product and the actors were convincing. Even my husband was looking forward to using it, as all men who care about grooming have extra hair to remove.

Fast forward a couple weeksaside from the fact that Smooth Away didn't work at all, no matter how many times we tried it, Smooth Away way over charged us for the stamp.

The shipping charge, well, I'll give them a little creditits shipping and handlingwas $27.96. So, I checked to see the mileage between the Smooth Away address and my address. It's 58.93 milesokay, 59 miles. I could have driven up to their office and picked it up for about $5.00 in gas. I also did an area check to see what's around their address. All of the buildings are storage companies with big storage warehouses. So, I'm pretty sure that the product is stored and shipped from that location.

Idea Village, the parent company, is headquartered in New Jersey, so there was a chance it came cross country. Now, let's talk about Idea Village. They claim to have pioneered the TV to retail model. Well, maybe Andy Khubani, president and CEO, started putting as seen on TV on his packaging in 1990, but that doesn't mean he invented a new way to purchase product. It's not like it's mobile marketing, iTV or pTV.

The other products that Idea Village sells are: Handy Switch, Wallet Pix, Clever Clasp, Spin Spa, Finishing Touch, Micro Touch, Purse Brite, Just A Trim, Salon Bronze, Laser Straight, Pet Groom Pro, Smooth Away, Loud N' Clear, Aqua Globes, Strap Perfect, Point N' Paint, HD WrapArounds. I've never used any of the other products but I'd love to get some feedback going if anyone who reads this has.

At first glance, the company name reminds me of Idealab. But I can promise anyone who isn't familiar with Idealab, the two are nothing alike except they are both umbrella/incubator companies. It saddens me that Khubani can have his company's name so close to Bill Gross's company. And I don't care whose company came first!

I met with Bill Gross on several occasions when Idealab was very small. As a sales person selling advertising, they were tough, but they were always honest. Comparing my experiences that I had back in the late 90's with Idealab to my first experience with Idea VillageI can tell you, I'll never buy one of Idea Village's companies products again, I expect a full refund, and as a professional, I'd never want to work with them.

By David Lustig
Success in the DRTV world is usually a combination of a good product, smart planning, proper positioning and the skillful use of language. A sprinkling of good luck doesn't hurt, either. The exact degree that each part plays in the success varies every time, but when it all comes together, fireworks can be sure to follow.

That is the first paragraph of a press release for another product called Finishing Touch. In my opinion, I would emphasize the part about a sprinkling of good luck. This man has money and does a great job marketing and that's all he does. As far as I'm concerned, he's a con-artist and he's what gives the Internet a bad name.

Consumers expect not only security and a superior product when they shop on the Internet, they also expect a little bonus because you trusted them with your personal information.

He claims he's partnered with Walmart, Target, JCPenny's, Kmart, Sears, CVS, The Home Depot, Lowes and more. I'm surprised that these highly respected companies would be associated with a company as disreputable as Smooth Away which is owned by Idea Village. Someone should take a second look.

Ideavillage?...not!
Irvine, California
U.S.A.