Thoughts on the Precision Induction Cooktop from Hearthware

I ordered a Precision Induction Cooktop from Hearthware after seeing their infomercial several times. Now, I've had a Flav'r Wave oven, now sold as a NuWave, made by this company for almost 20 years of trouble free cooking from frozen quickly and with lots of flavor. I have recommended them to several friends.

Now I must question the ethics of this company. They offered a buy-one get one free deal on the cooktops. I did that, though I didn't take their other offer for a full set of cookware and probably should have in hindsight. Well, the cooktop came last week. In the box was also a letter explaining that the second cooktop was on backorder and would be shipped at a later date. (they didn't charge the shipping and handling either)

I called their customer service to see when the second cooktop might arrive. Customer Service told me that they have NO IDEA when they will get those in, BUT THEY HAVE ENOUGH TO FILL ANY NEW ORDERS THEY GET. Something is wrong here in addition to horrible customer service.

IFirst off, they charge $10 more shipping and handling for the second piece of the same item, making it not quite free. I'm sure they pay more than that for it. It's just that I like complete disclosure on the infomercials.

They also "forget" to mention that the cooktop only works with cookware that can be magnetized, i.e. no aluminum, glass or clay cooking containers will work on it. That is OK since they do sell a set of cookware with it for $49 that is the right kind to work. I still would like to have known that the appliance would only work with steel, iron or clad steel cookware. I will give them that they did explain in great detail that the cooktop works by magnetizing the cookpot and thus heating it up which then heats the food to the exact temperature set. The top does stay cool except where it contacts the bottom of the pot as they stated.

Oh, and it cannot be used on a metal surface as it will magnetize that surface and, I assume, make it hot as well. That's another thing they neglected to mention in their infomercial. The third thing they didn't mention there is that the cooktop needs to be at least two feet away from electronic devices--- microwaves, burglar alarm control panels, their NuWave and Flav'r Wave ovens --- when operating or it will disrupt the

I really like my Precision Induction Cooktop! I can set an exact temperature and that's what the food will come to and stay at for as long as I set the time for on the unit. This is great! I can cook eggs or an omelet slowly without burning them, or can up the temperature and do them quickly. I love that versatility.

I'll keep everyone posted on my attempts to get my second cooktop from them. I really don't want to have to pay out the $39.95 for it this month, but it will be worth it to have my complete order. I am also considering not paying the final payment on the cooktop until and unless I get that second one. I have to check with my legal eagle buddy out in San Jose before I do that. It would be a Federal case since the company is located in another state. I just wanted everyone to know that part of the Precision Induction Cooktop infomercial offer might be a scam even though the appliance is really nice and cooks as it claims to do on the infomercial.

The High Cost of Eating

I don't have enough money left in my bank account to make my bills this month. I have enough to make either my electric bill or my phone bill but that is all because I need some to buy a bit more food. Payday isn't until June 14th.

I am working to earn some money online and I have lots of jewelry to sell on my site, http://www.jemyl.net/Jewelry. The problem is that I have no working vehicle so I have to pay someone to take me to the store or order from amazon.com. It ends up being about the same cost.

Right now I have enough meals on wheels food to make my dinners, but I need some more stuff for breakfast and either sandwiches to go with my ramen noodles and/or some soup and some more craisins to put into my oatmeal or grits. I actually need some more oats too as I like to use my quick oats for breakfast and save the regular oats for use in breads, the occasional meatloaf and in cookies. I have some special, not very sweet cookies I want to try to make soon and since I'm about out of dessert items, they are likely to get made sooner than later.

I think I have just about enough canned cat food, plenty of treats and dry cat food for my housemates. My kitties keep me going as many days they are the only contact with the world I get ---live contact that is. Everything else is through the computer or on TV. The exception to that is those UPS, FedEx and USPS delivery people who bring me my amazon.com stuff. They have a lot of things. The only problem is that they are kind of in bulk. That will be great as time goes by. It does, however, deplete my bank account in the mean time.

Having to refill four of my medications this month, plus buy my over the counter allergy stuff since Medicare no longer will cover them, even the generics, since they are offered OTC. That means my main allergy medication costs me $30 to $45 for the 60 day amount I used to get for $5.20 for 90 days. That is a lot, but without it I cannot breathe. As it is, it got so hot today that when I went out to check the mail and do my water and look in two boxes for my jewelry boxes (I didn't find them) I ended up choking and wheezing to he point of dry heaves. Thank God I had one of my throat lozenges (That is another $4or so a month) in my shorts pocket so could get control long enough to close the garage doors and get back into the house A/C. (I hate to see what my electric bill will look like next month.)

All of this extra allergy and food expense is what has led to my being short of money to pay my bills. I have to find a way to pay my mortgage bill of $259.64 by the end of the month or they will start to foreclose as I run one payment behind. That is why I am so desperate to get my van sold and a better vehicle that runs.

I need to be able to get to the farmer's markets and monthly yard sale places to sell my jewelry as well as all of the books I have that I have already read so need to get my 50cents or $1 for them. I have found a way to be able to make money online making and selling websites or flipping them. To do it, though, I need enough seed money to be able to buy the domains or option the already made sites. I've been learning how to do it.

I also have found a way to build my online list but I need the money to be able to pay for my autorespnder series and to purchase some solo ads so that the traffic I get to my sites is targeted instead of general or someone just reading emails and clicking on them to earn credits on a safelist site.

Last month, some 400 people looked at my jewelry site. I had no sales. I am wondering why as everyone who has purchased my stuff has come back to me saying it was even more beautiful than what the photos looked like. I know I have it priced affordably too, for what it is. I use quality metals and silver backed or copper backed wire for my coated wire stuff. The parawire is silver under the coating and the plastic coated wire is copper underneath. With prices from $12 to $120 and both big statement pieces (all the rage now!) as well as smaller pieces and even custom work available I don't understand why so many would look and not buy. Is my site working right? I think it is and I take PayPal or money order or even CASH IF YOU LIVE WHERE YOU CAN PICK IT UP YOURSELF. I don't charge a shipping fee either except for foreign shipments and that is because they cost me $10 to $15 more for those packages.

Ravan helps me when she can. She and Sarah have their own stuff to pay for and I'm sure are still playing a bit of catch up because Ravan was out of work for so long.

Can you help? My paypal account is jemyl41@gmail.com, and I think most of my other email addresses are on there too. I will be adding them if I see that they are not. I have my jewelry up on my site and will be adding some crocheted items as giftware this weekend with a new page. If the weather holds I think I wll be doing some more and maybe some new pictures of my jewelry to see if I can get the site to load more quickly. That may help. I will put my piano on Craig's List again for Northern Florida people. Thanks for listening. Peace