Tristar Productions, tvinventions.com would not refund replacement warranty and sales tax. Wallingford Connecticut *UPDATE, got refund

Unless you really need various infomercial products right away, do not buy anything from tvinventions.com. They sell the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer, Pan Partner and other "As Seen On TV" products. Wait until the products show up in cheaper liquidation catalogs or at your local Walgreens or Walmart.

On 4/12/02, I ordered a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer on the internet from tvinventions.com: $149.85 - juicer, $24.00 - replacement warranty, $29.99 - shipping & handling, $9.99 - rush shipping, $13.91 - California sales tax = $227.74 total. I bought the replacement warranty in case the motor fails and I paid extra for the rush shipping because I did not want to wait 4-6 weeks even though the regular shipping is an outrageous $29.99. My credit card showed the product was shipped on 4/18/02. I received the juicer around 4/25/02.

While waiting for delivery of the Power Juicer I discovered that cooking.com sells a comparable and in my opinion, a better, whole fruit juicer (Hamilton Beach, $129.95, standard shipping $16.95). I received the Hamilton Beach juicer in about four days from internet order and one day after delivery of the Power Juicer. I did not use the Power Juicer because there was no receipt or shipping invoice included nor documentation of the replacment warranty that I paid for. Also, the user manual for the Power Juicer is much inferior to the Hamilton Beach Juice Fountain Juice Extractor. The Power Juicer comes with a 90 day warranty while the Juice Fountain comes with a 1-year warranty. The Juice Fountain also comes with a cleaning brush.

To my surprise for which I regret after I disposed of the shipping carton for the Juice Fountain, I discovered Sam's Club sells the Juice Fountain for $99.99. I could have bought my juicer in person and saved SH. Also, HSN.com sells the Power Juicer also for $99.99 and their shipping is $14.95.

I mention all the above to point out you need to really shop around to save money. Well, I returned my Power Juicer on 4/25/02 requesting a credit of $187.76 (Power Juicer - $149.85, Replacement Warranty - $24.00, CA sales tax - $13.91). Today I checked my credit card account and tvinventions only credit $160.71. I called customer service/Christine. She spoke with her supervisor and they do not know why I was not refunded my replacement warranty and that they do not refund state sales taxes. I told her state sales tax has always been refunded to customer whether the sales was in person, mail or internet. She said I would have to fax my request for the missing $27.06 203-679-3293 (in Connecticut) rather than route my request through their sales mailbox at sales@tvinventions.com.

Bottom Line: Shop around for the cheapest and best product whether in person and by internet. Check Costco, Sam's Club and HSN.com before buying from these informercial companies. A lot of these infomerical products will eventually show up at your local drugstore (Longs, Walgreens, etc).

Wilson
Walnut Creek, California