Customer Reviews

But Wait ... There's More!: Tighten Your Abs, Make Millions, and Learn How the $100 Billion Infomercial Industry Sold Us Everything But the Kitchen Sink

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read Steve Salerno's superb review of "But Wait" in the WSJ on March 25, instantly downloaded the book to my Kindle2, and dug in (after setting the font size much larger for my older eyes).

The author had me laughing many times, but, more seriously, there are countless tip and tricks revealed about the infomercial business and selling in general that make this a highly worthwhile read.

I also love talking with friends about the book because everyone knows or remembers the gadgets, get rich quick seminars, and celebrities who hawk pimple treatments and swamp land in Arkansas.

About a third of my way into "But Wait," I began having a strange fantasy: maybe we're all living inside one giant, massive informercial. After all, I bought my kindle2 based on the infomercials at amazon's website!

I thought this book was great. Written in a very engaging style. The chapter on how the infomercials are created is worth the price of the book all by itself. Parts of it were a little depressing though, such as how easy it is to sucker people who don't have money and the long list of dishonest people who have "gotten away with it", in that, even if they had to pay some fines, it was nothing compared to what they earned. A photo section would have been nice. Also, I would have been interested to know if there were or are ANY infomercials advertising products that really are truly innovative or useful. The author would have you believe that the answer is no, but I wonder...

About: Stern takes us a tour of the infomercial industry. The cast of characters includes legends like Tony Robbins, one of whose ads brought in $50,000 a minute, unsavory characters like Kevin Trudeau and his bogus "cures" and celebrities who seem to hawk most anything for a buck or to hold on to the last vestiges of fame. A glimpse behind the scenes gives us a look at the QVC "house" where they broadcast 24 hours a day. A few unsurprising "secrets" are revealed as well: The Magic Bullet has a $39.95 charge for shipping, the "other" knife is shown slicing an under ripe tomato while the infomercial knife cuts through an overripe one and don't be surprised if the product with a 30 day money back guarantee arrives on your doorstep on day 29.

Pros: Well-written, interesting look at the industry

Cons: While there is a references section in the back, there are no in-text citations.

Grade: B

I bought this book because I thought it would provide some valuable insights into the direct-response television world, but it proved to be more of a history book than a book of tips on infomercial marketing. The content proved to be a bit dated, but if you are looking for a history of the infomercial world, then you may enjoy this book.

I'm glad to see there are quite a few new infomercial marketing books now available on Amazon.com. Be sure to read the book descriptions completely before purchasing, because there are several different types of books, from histories to how-to's to biographies.

Just as some buy infomercial-advertised products on a whim, noticing Remy Stern's BUT WAIT . . . THERE'S MORE! - TIGHTEN YOUR ABS, MAKE MILLIONS, AND LEARN HOW THE $100 BILLION INFOMERCIAL INDUSTRY SOLD US EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK on a bookshelf, I picked it up on impulse. Its $25.00 price was crossed out as the book was "available now for the low price of $24.99," so how could I refuse?

Written with both affection and contempt for the direct response hucksters that have especially since the mid-1980s permeated television, BUT WAIT . . . THERE'S MORE! is author Stern's first-person narrative, starting with his teen-age purchases of infomercial products such as Didi Seven stain remover. But while others would let it go after placing their overpriced, ineffective infomercial items in the closet, Mr. Stern's journey continues as he investigates the stories behind some of the industry's most renowned products and personalities.

With sales techniques such as long copy and a call to action, direct mail is advertising's most cost-efficient way to get people to open their checkbooks. The infomercial proves to be that selling medium's fraternal twin, broadcasting at off hours and running as long as 60 minutes to make better sales than primetime T.V.'s 30- and 60-second ads. BUT WAIT . . . THERE'S MORE! takes us backstage at the nonstop infomercial programmer Q.V.C. television, where sellers live and die by the volume of orders coming in as the sales pitch plays. The people sending that direct mail solicitation to sell something or ask for money know how well they did, as do the infomercial producers who remind us to call now, as what they're offering is not sold in stores.

Remy Stern's inclusion of Q.V.C.'s success leads to BUT WAIT . . . THERE'S MORE!'s most salient conclusion. Q.V.C.'s success hinges on its sales people's personalities earning trust, similar to the faith famed infomercial hosts Billy Mays, Tony Robbins and Kevin Trudeau won with their infomercial viewers. Direct mail advertising proved the information-packed, long-format presentation the most economical way to get people buy or donate. The 24-hour infomercial channel Q.V.C. does all that and, as hosts such as Diana Perkovic make you think they care, you are even likelier to reach for the phone.

Read BUT WAIT . . . THERE'S MORE!.

A fad for deregulation hit our country in the mid-1980s, and whether you think this was a good thing or a bad thing, it inarguably brought us late-night advertisements for: the miracle Food Dehydrator, the Ronco Automatic Pasta Maker, spray-on-hair for balding persons, the Snuggie, and colon cleansing based on Biblical principles. Everybody has seen these cheesy commercials, and there is a reason: they work. Last year, 30% of Americans ordered something from such "infomercials". (Don't try doing your own survey - my guess is that people don't easily admit to such things.) An original and amusing history of the infomercial industry is given in the appropriately-titled _But Wait... There's More! Tighten Your Abs, Make Millions, and Learn How the $100 Billion Infomercial Industry Sold Us Everything but the Kitchen Sink_ (Collins Business) by Remy Stern. The cover of the book even has the ambiguous seal-of-approval on it: "As seen on TV." Stern is an editor and publisher who admits he has bought a pasta machine and the German miracle cleanser Didi Seven in his youth, and for research purposes he has ordered books and video tapes that were guaranteed to make him a millionaire in thirty days. It's rather a good thing that such schemes have not worked for him and he has stuck to the extensive research for his book. It's a serious look at a distinctly American commercial phenomenon, but since so much of the subject is downright silly, it is funny inherently, and is enlivened by many of Stern's jokes.

Of course, Stern starts with a visit to Ron Popeil, the "Grandfather of the Infomercial, whose demonstrations on TV for his Ronco gadgets like the Veg-o-Matic, the Chop-o-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and Mr. Microphone made him a household name. Popeil got his start as a pitchman for Woolworth's and uses the same techniques on TV that he uses in person. "Although his ads weren't very glamorous," says Stern, "they earned plenty of attention (and a measure of annoyance) thanks to their in-your-face salesiness." Stern makes the point that Ronco's gadgets were not miraculous or even clever inventions - they were usually modifications (or downright steals) of previous sellers. Popeil's gadgets work, sometimes completely, sometimes only somewhat, but they aren't ripoffs. Stern singles out especially the businesses that promise tapes, books, and seminars that will make you a millionaire, especially in real estate, or the cure-alls, like Fat Trapper, Hair Farmer, Lifeway Vitamin Spray, or Exercise in a Bottle. Even worse are the ones with healing powers against cancer. Of course, the ads have tiny letters speeding by to say the product does not cure any disease, but the ads themselves try hard to give the opposite impression. They may not be poisons, but if they keep people from getting proper treatment, they might as well be. The big problem is that the Federal Trade Commission or the Food and Drug Administration may eventually take action against the worst liars, and may issue a fine of a million dollars, but companies that make a million every week don't mind that minor fee. "Only the exceptionally unlucky end up in prison," Stern reports of these scammers.

Still, as Stern says in his chapter on QVC, "This is real reality television." The pitches work, and they are a huge business. It says something for our species, however, that television pitchmen quickly found out that the same ads got more results when they were aired at night. At that time, people may be bored with what's on TV, they may be sleepy and off guard, they may even be drunk; the result is advertising success! And maybe an automatic pasta maker to gather dust in a closet. _But Wait... There's More!_ isn't a volume to inspire confidence in either salesmen or in the consuming public, but Stern has written an often hilarious examination of a big business. Order his book now; if you are in any way dissatisfied with it, I am sure he will want you to return it to him for a full refund, no questions asked.

This is an entertaining walk through those commercials we'll never admit we love to watch and the celebrities whose bring them to us. Come admit it, who HASN'T been able to resist the siren call of "Just Set It and Forget It" and now has a Showtime rotisserie (no longer available) oven sitting in the basement somewhere? Or who has a few "Stick Up Bulbs" in a closet, batteries long since dead? Or what about the Ped Egg or PediPaws? Or the Slap Chop? What salesman or marketing rep doesn't wish he or she had the confidence, nerve, energy, enthusiasm, and sheer chutzpah of a Ron Popeil or Matthew Leskew? This book will take you through the good, the bad and often seedy underbelly of late night television known as the "infomercial". You'll probably learn more than you wanted to know, confirm your suspicions that even YOU can be talked in to buying almost anything. And wish that you had, perhaps, just a touch of that sales ability.

You do learn a fair amount of information from this book. My main reasons for giving it only two stars are, first, often the book seems to belabor a point or a person. Page after page are often devoted to one person while the point was made in the first couple pages. I had wished the author would have moved on to other examples and not be so repetitive like I just was. The whole first chapter is basically devoted to Ron Popiel (while a infomercial God, that's a lot) and I really don't care about his house too much or the houses other infomercial types own, I get it, many are rich. Often topics simply go on for too many pages with no other examples, I wish more topics or examples had been covered. Am I being repetitive?

Second, the book almost seems to be written for insiders. Its as if you are supposed to know who everyone in the industry is, where they live, what they sold and so on.

The book really only covers a few topics/products in depth (Proactiv, real estate scams and medicinal cures), in my humble opinion, to the detriment of the ability to cover more information. You wonder if the review from Publisher Weekly above really read the book, The In-The-Shell Electric Egg Scrambler, Power Scissors, the Miracle Broom, etc. mentioned in the review are mentioned in the book basically in one line just as examples.

There are some gems in this book and you may find it worthwhile, but be prepared to be saturated on some topics/people/scams.

This poorly-written book is from a writer who thinks he's clever and above the material that he is writing about--but he fails to cover the subject adequately and does nothing more than put together a lengthy term paper on the subject of infomercials.

The author starts out talking about himself. He then writes more about himself and interjects himself throughout the book instead of focusing objectively on the subject. He looks down upon the infomercial form (implying that pretty much all of them are marketing bad junk to naive viewers) and manages to slam Dr. Phil and Donald Trump along the way (even though those two have nothing to do with the subject!). Namely, Remy Stern is an annoying know-it-all who knows little of which he writes.

He also doesn't have a clue how the FCC operates and appears to not know the difference between the rules for broadcast TV and the rules for cable TV.

There are stories and stats in the book about infomercial crooks that you could find on Wikipedia. It's virtually all rehash and nothing original. The author skips over a number of major names in the infomercial business and in the end he certainly has not told much of the infomercial industry story. This is a major failure.

Stern has done a fine job of chronicling the infomercial and home shopping industries, citing both positive and negative aspects alike and offering such fascinating material as:

- Interviews w/such industry giants as Ron Popeil, Donald Barrett, A.J. Khubani, Stephen Karian, and Greg Renker
- A look at what became of such 80s infomercial mainstays as Tom Vu and Dave Del Dotto
- Careful examination of the techniques used by infomercials to make their products more appealing to the viewer
- Profiles of some of the industry's shadier pitchmen (how real estate guru William McCorkle's empire fell apart, Kevin Trudeau's shady past that led to a stint in prison, how John Beck's "Free and Clear" real estate system nearly ruined the life of a wounded US serviceman, etc.)
- The humble beginnings of HSN, and how it (along w/competitors QVC and ShopNBC) grew to become a worldwide phenomenon

All told, it's a fascinating read for anyone who's ever wanted to know more about the industry and how it became an essential part of television...check it out!