Deceptive marketing regarding failed self-cleaning feature
346043
The self cleaning feature does not work, a fact that was either well-known when the "aqualift" technology was advertised, or else was never tested.
Otherwise, this unit doesn't offer anything special to overcome this incovenience.
1945868
I picked a neutral 3 star rating here because this is only an informational update on this product's manufacturer, not the product itself. Buyers should be aware that although the product is still being sold the manufacturer, a South Korean company, filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of a fraud case against its executives in October, 2014 [...]. Users on the products Facebook page report that the site is no longer accessible and customer support numbers have been disconnected [...]. Please be aware that you may not be able to receive manufacturer support on this product. I am uncertain whether the optional warranty extension coverage will be usable either, since the situation implies that spare parts and engineering support may not be available. Too bad, the product seemed like a great home cleaning automation option.
725533
Ignore the low price -- you'll more than pay for it seveal times over by the scandalous "automatic self cleaning" mechanism that drinks ink like a wino drinks ripple.  I hardly ever use color and have "run out" of color ink 3 times in six months.  I'd be happy just to use B&W, but the printer won't work unless you replace all the cartridges.  This should be illegal...

There is no solution to this problem. Even if you turn off the machine, it automatically cleans itself. If you unplug the machine, it cleans itself when you plug it back in. My cat doesn't clean himself this much.

The machine also developed a software glitch early on, where it would print half a page of what you want, spit it out, then print all of what you want.  Another design to waste ink?

Finally, the paper capacity is miniscule, so you'll be constantly moving the flimsy, easily breakable paper tray in and out.

In other words, DON'T BUY THIS MACHINE!!!
1517336
I want to share my experience with this company and their products in the hope that it will save you from wasting your time and money as I highly, HIGHLY recommend you steer clear. I purchased this item for a house I had purchased and had it professionally installed by my plumber who was also re-piping the whole house and installing a tankless water heater. When he saw the filter and softner from Pelican Water Technologies the master plumber told me he didn't recommend I use them or install them. I only wish I had listened to his expert advice at the time but instead I told him to go ahead with installing them.

The performance of the water softner was marginal at best when it was first installed. I will say I didn't see hard water stains on our dishes when washed through an automatic dishwasher, but a water test I ran after installation still showed moderately high hard water results--surprising for having a water softner installed! A little over a year after installing the unit, however, I noticed the softener had lost any effect and particularly noticed hard water stains appearing on the dishes. I contacted Pelican Water Technologies who asked me to check the color of the media inside the softner unit. I did and when I told them the media was blue they said that the pipes going into and out of the softner should have been grounded, and that the media was now ruined and it would cost $699 to get new media. The support rep said it was "extremely clear" it was stated in the manual but when I reviewed the installation guide it only says it's "highly recommended" very generally with no indication as to the possible consequences.  I think that's completely inadequate as the guide should really state if you don't ground the unit it will the media will become corrupt. There's no reasonable explanation why it's not stated more clearly to that effect. My opinion is that they want to force consumers to have to shell out another $700 to buy replacement media!

I called my plumber to run this all by him who told me they had grounded the unit which I verified by visual inspection. I also had a friend who is an electrician check that there is no current running through the pipes servicing the water softner. So what am I left to conclude? This appears to be a shady company offering a product which fails after a year and gives duplicitous explanations as to why their product fails. They don't seem to have a product that works 100% brand-new and fails completely after only a year. They also don't seem to have competent support staff nor do they stand behind their product. My advice is to stay far away from these guys. I checked their company registry in Florida and when I looked the Secretary of State's office has their incorporation status as inactive. It all seems like a great Florida swampland swindle.
4461256
Not user friendly for clean installation.  Ends up replicating entries with horrendous customer service.
299082
I purchased this software to do readily-restorable image backups for disaster recovery, if ever necessary.  I immediately encountered a problem because the program asked for a 16-digit Product ID and Serial Number of my Windows XP installation CDs.  Like many people who have purchased systems (mine is a Compaq Presario), the operating system was pre-installed, and I did not receive any Windows XP installation CDs.  The recovery CDs supplied with the system had no Product ID or Serial Number.

E-mail from StumpSoft (which was returned in 24 hours) indicated that this was a common problem -- with Dell, HP (others?) -- major computer distributors.  The alternative suggested was a more elaborate restoration process, which would involve my recovery CDs, file backup, and a "system stamp."  It was not the one-step disaster restoration that I was looking for.  I might say too that this significant limitation was documented neither in the manual nor in the advertising material.

So, I decided to uninstall the software.  The uninstall process did not work properly.  When I rebooted, Windows was now looking for a missing file for the StumpSoft Update Manager (which supposedly was uninstalled).  I was able through Windows Add/Delete Programs to do a "Change," reinsert the StumpSoft CD, and get the missing file back -- fortunately.

I give two stars (instead of one) for the prompt E-mail response with a clear explanation of the situation.
4807858
This vaccum cleaner does not hold up to cheaper vacuums.

It cleans but no where near the ability of the other ones I have had. As of winter 2011 a demostration comparing this bagless vacuum to a cheaper bagless Windtunnel was held at a local mall.  Cocoa powder was poured onto two different sets of carpets.  The Windtunnel Anniversary edition performed flawlessy, while the Dyson DC25 could not clean all the particles up.  Both high and low carpets were used as well as hard floors.

The marketing has fooled many people into thinking this vacuum is a miracle device and it it far from it.

Consumers reports even rate this product low due to its terrible performance. Dont be fooled by people with buyers remorse or the fancy commercials. Don't be a sucker! Dont spend the cash for image or marketing!  You will regret it.
728968
I was looking forward to using this. It arrived and the package had moisture in it ( previously used? ).
One review said it was as powerful as his pressure washer...a lie. I've used many hose nozzles which cost 1/3 the price all of which have just as much pressure. This product is a prime example of false advertising. The supposed original price of $135 makes people think they are getting a bargain. I will be returning this item.
3787530
Unscrupulous retailers on the Amazon web site like evitamins are knowingly trying to hood-wink you into buying "Organic Toothpaste" then substituting "Natural Toothpaste". evitamins insisted I got what I ordered when I questioned the discrepancy. Shameful too that Amazon seems to be looking the other way! Kiss my Face was required by FDA to change the label LONG AGO but this place - and some others too - continue to use the old image and false label. Don't let them get away with this scam. While this stuff seems to have organic Aloe - according to the small print on the package - the toothpaste is 70% or less organic or the label change would not have been required.
3724240
I love steam cleaners,this was my fourth machine,all from different manufacturers. I use them for all my hard surfaces, on a daily basis and expect them to burn out within a few months. But this one failed on day one. It was shipped with a crink in the hose, still, no big deal as these things happen, and when I contacted the service rep, I was offerred both sympathy and an opportunity to send for a new hose, without charge, except it never came. So I sent a check to the address listed on the owners manual which was returned as undeliverable. The address was correct, but these things happen, so I sent another one, which was summarilly returned as undeliverable. Sooo, after contacting the service rep and recieving another sympathetic, and baffled apology, I waited four months before I took the hose apart, cut out the kink and put it all back together,no  leaks everything firm and correct, except it spits hot water instead of steam, so it is, effectively un-usable. Here I should say that I've been purchasing items online for six years and have never found a reason to offer a complaint. But this little machine has not only been a waste of money, it has been a waste of time and an active irritant, and deserves a warning to others.
107596
Don't be fooled by carefully worded marketing claims.  After 6 weeks of normal use we have a logo permanently burned into the lower right of the screen.  We didn't watch programming with said logo to excess but it seems a few hours is enough.  We've attempted various fixes to no avail.  This is an issue reported by other customers as well.

Panasonic's warranty expressly excludes returns for burn in.  Let the buyer beware.
634066
I first came across Swash when I was at CES (Consumer Electronic Show) earlier this year in Las Vegas. The machine seemed to be the answer to all my needs in the comfort of my own home...

When the item arrived, I opened up the box to inspect the machine of my dreams. It was then that I noticed the machine looked dirty, but I excused that for probably being in a warehouse and being such a light color (linen). I pulled open the machine door and noticed some gashes on the top. As I continued to look more closely, I saw that there was sticky liquid in the place that the pod goes into. I looked further down the inside of the machine and I saw dots all over it. This machine was USED!!! I wanted to do a compete inspection at this point, so I look at the bottom of the machine and I notice that there was some metal tape on it. Naturally, I peeled it back... and saw a hole! Then I noticed that on the bottom plate, one side was screwed on perfectly and the other side had screws in it, but they weren't holding the other side of the plate down flush. The machine that was sent to me was not only broken and covered up, it was used? Yes.
2114588
The sdxc 64gb Sandisk Pro ate some of my pictures once before. As I was shooting HDR, I just processed the batches minus a few pics. No big deal.

This time, I have lost a few hundred NEF files. I somehow saved the retail box, found the  download serial number card for the rescue software sold with the card, downloaded the software and the serial number does not work.

I took a picture of the error message on the screen next to the printed serial number card.

[amazon edited out the picture link above. Edit to put back in. Note: it is HTTPS]

As a result of this snafu, you have to create an account on their web site, input your name, address, email and other personal info. They make a mistake and get a free sales lead on somebody who owns a very expensive memory card and must logically have a very expensive device to use it in. Hmmm.

For a $160 card, they could have burned a serial number into the chip itself so they could identify it as their product and not make customers jump through hoops and coerce them into divulging valuable, private info in order to get the software advertised with and sold with the card.

This is a low quality product. If they can't even install the rescue software, how can one have any confidence that it will work. Demanding extensive personal information to get the promised software changes the terms of the contract after they have your $$. Very questionable!
3680918
Dishonest company; Buyer beware as they may be going under very soon. They originally promised many features "unrestricted" for free, and later changed their business model to require a monthly subscription  to retain said features. They refuse to support their original customers, and appears to be bleeding money requiring them to screw over old customers.
1502973
We recently purchased the Air-O-Swiss AOS-7144.  On the first night of using it there was a highly noxious and metallic smell.  We kept running the machine for 24 hours to see if that would remove the smell and it did not.  After reading further about ionic tools we found this is common.  While many of the articles referencing problems with ionic machines reference the problem to air cleaners, the described symptoms are the same.  Additionally of concern, this ionic process apparently also creates additional ozone which can be damaging to lungs.

Once we discovered these problems we attempted to return the product.  Because it was a third party seller Amazon would not initially refund the product and referred us to the seller.  After going to the seller's website they indicated they would not provide a refund unless we first contacted customer service.  We tried for a couple of days and waited on the phone for up to an hour with a voice mail saying an agent would be right with us (apparently when they are closed their voicemail does not indicate this and simply lets you wait on the line).  Finally, we reached a customer support person who said they would not refund us the money because we purchased the product through Amazon.  It took several attempts to get the customer service person to provide this policy in writing (she repeatedly said she could not do so and refused to let me talk to a supervisor until she realized I wasn't going away until she did so).  Finally, I talked with a supervisor (Desree) who said they would provide the policy in writing after consulting and going through the corporate office (will wait and see).  I re-contacted Amazon who said they would take steps to try and help us collect the money but would not specify they would reimburse.  Additionally, Amazon stated they would not help with the refund for another five days from the date of this review because it was still within the expected day of delivery for the product (even though we have had the product for over a week).

Hopefully, this details out about a potentially dangerous and certainly noxious smeling product which has extremely bad customer support from both the seller and Amazon.
3465565
Truly one of the great marketing scams of all times. No wires? Nonsense. There's wires everywhere. The one to connect the mat to the wall and the one to connect your phone to the mat. Yes, that's right, unless you buy yet another accessory (some items sold separately!) you have wires everywhere. Further, to only half take advantage of this "wireless" technology, you must buy a dock device for your mobile phone or MP3 player THAT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE ON A REGULAR BASIS! You can't even use this product on a regular basis FOR WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED AND INTENDED to do.

The chutzpah of this company and it's marketing team is world class, especially for a product that only does a quarter of what it promises at a premium price. Unless you have a tech gadget freak for a friend, this is a useless product or gift for any discerning consumer.
405668
I bought one of these rakes five years ago and really liked it.  It did not clog at all. When I bought the rake it was labelled "Lifetime Warranty", but I see they have reduced that to a "10 Year Warranty". Still, not a bad warranty, right?  Wrong.

After three years the wooden handle broke, which I replaced on my own.  Then last year the tines started to break and split.  When I called Ames to see about getting the rake replaced I was told the warranty was ONLY for manufacturing defects, not for use!  What kind of bogus warranty is that?  That is not a Lifetime Warranty in my opinion.  After I argued they did agree to send me a new rake, but "only this once".  Ames True Temper brazenly advertises long warranties they have no intention of ever making good on.  It's a deceptive business practice in my opinion.

So I rate this rake 3-stars: 4 stars for the rake (it isn't durable enough for 5 stars) and 1-star for the deceptive business practices of the manufacturer who tries to trick people into buying a product with a long warranty that does not actually exist.  Shame on you Ames True Temper.