Customer Reviews

Nostalgia Electrics OFP-501 Vintage Collection Hot Air Popcorn Maker

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(58)

 

 

The makers of this popcorn maker should be banned from creating any additional products. It is apparent that they did not give much thought to the design other than trying to make it look like an old fashioned popcorn cart. The first problem that I encountered was the fact that the wheels of the cart were put on the wrong side. They are located on the same side that the popcorn comes out. Because of this, you cannot put a container underneath to catch the popcorn unless it is small enough to fit between the wheels. But a container that is small enough to fit between the wheels won't be large enough to catch all of the popcorn. As a result, a large amount of popcorn ends up on the countertop and on the floor. It's astonishing that anyone would sell a product which such an obvious design flaw.

The next, and most annoying, problem is the one that another reviewer mentioned. When it is popping the corn, most of the kernels are thrown out before they pop. Some end up in the container and some end up on the floor. Making popcorn is a multiple step process. First, I will pop a batch. Then I separate the popped kernels from the unpopped ones. I then put the unpopped kernels back into the popcorn maker and try to pop them again. I usually have to repeat this 5 or 6 times before most of the kernels are popped.

This popcorn maker may look like it's fun to use, but don't fall for it. It is by far the worst popcorn maker that I have ever used. Don't even think about wasting money on it.

I have been looking for a good popcorn maker for some time, and when I saw this one, my eyes widened. It looked nice and it was only $30 so I did not think twice about getting it. However, after using it according to the instructions, I was disappointed for several reasons.

When popping, the kernels flew everywhere, despite using a large bowl. Even though I measured 100 grams of popcorn kernels, as recommended in the manual, more than 50% of the kernels remained unpopped and wasted when the batch was made.

The machine looks nice, but it is an absolute piece of junk.

On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, this item deserves a -10. Yes, it's that bad. I bought this item for my sister for Christmas as a way to steer my nieces from that buttery microwaveable mess they get in the box to a more healthier regimen. The only healthy thing about this popcorn maker was the fact that you could eat the kernels raw because they didn't pop! I poured in the amount as I was instructed and as my nieces and I waited excitedly to hear the poping sound, nothing happend. The machine started fine and the kernels were turning, then one kernel popped. After that one popcorn, the machine stopped. After 20 minutes it turned itself on again and popped another. After another 20 minutes the fan turned on again and the rest of the kernels burned (without popping). Needless to say, this burncorn maker was definetly a waste of time and effort. I would have more success popping the kernels outside in the sun during Boston's winter season.

The Movietime Popcorn Maker is larger than need be, making storage a problem for those with limited space. This is a particular problem with this item because after a few uses, it's probably going to stay in storage until your next yard sale. Whatever the freshness or brand of popcorn you use, it has a high rate of unpopped kernels. The design of the unit makes it impossible to catch many the popped and unpopped kernels that spew forth -- some as far as 5 feet from the machine. The height of the ejection shoot prevents the placement of a bowl deep enough to contain the popcorn without flying about and the ersatz wheels prevent all but the tiniest bowls from getting close enough to the unit. If you get the popper, save the many unpopped kernels. Odds are there's nothing wrong with them and many will pop on subsequent attempts.

This is by far one of the worst products I ever purchased. Only about one-quarter of the kernels pop and when they do pop its usually as they are leaving the maker and end up all over the floor. You have to use two bowls - one to catch all the unpopped kernels and a much smaller bowl to catch the popcorn.

This is a really neat looking popper and when I got it out of the box I was very excited with the thought of all that wonderful popcorn. What a MAJOR disappointment. First of all, after carefully following the instructions, this popper began shooting out VERY HOT unpopped kernels. It did not matter how large a bowl I used or at what angle the bowl was placed (the cute wheels get in the way), unpopped, and later in the cycle, popped corn shot out all over the place. The unpopped corn shot out with such velocity that they bounced off of the bowl and into my face, on the floor, on the counter, everywhere!!! I used this popper 5 times and in every case less that half of the kernels were popped (most exited at high velocity and with a few popping outside of the machine!). Some of the hot kernels landed on the floor and damaged my floor covering leaving burnt marks! I returned the popper for a refund.

I recommend that you not waste your time or money on this popper...

This popcorn popper looks neat and thats it. Don't waste your money unless you want it for decoration. It makes a mess with the popcorn blowing out. It leaves a lot of seeds in your bowl that gets thrown away, and a small amount of popcorn to eat. Most families would need to make several batches but you have to wait 15 minutes before you can make a new batch. LOOK FOR ANOTHER POPPER!

I bought this popcorn popper for my parents as a gift. They hated it and so did everyone else that witnessed it's performance. We all concluded it is possessed. First of all, it left at least half of the popcorn kernels unpopped everytime, which was very disappointing. I know this is not due to the quality of the popcorn because I have successfully popped the same brand of popcorn in my own popper (different brand popper) at home with great results everytime. Second, this popper is not safe. Hot kernels come flying out in all directions and burst outside of the popper becoming a hazard for anyone who is within a few feet of it. Although the design is charming, please do not let it fool you. My parents insisted I return the gift.

Hubby is the popcorn freak in this family and he really liked this as a present. We are both film freaks so the design was perfect. Best of all, no grease is used in making the popcorn so it takes the health problems of eating it down. I notice some reviewers here report they had problems with popcorn behaving weirdly yet other reviewers had no such problems. We had no problems with it and I have no weird behavior to report, no popcorn flying all over the kitchen while popping. I wonder if perhaps there was a bad "run" of this product, where some people got ones which were flawed while others got machines made on a different day which are fine. It happens with car manufacturing so why not with popcorn poppers? I would probably email the manufacturer to ascertain if it has sorted out this problem and if the flawed machines are all now off the market before buying it. I was unaware of the problem so just was lucky on the particular machine I bought.

The inexpensive price and visual appeal of this hot air popper was enough to make me purchase. Wish I read the reviews on this site first. I agree with all those folks who were unhappy with the performance of this appliance, and I am sorry to say that I had similar experiences. Just about as many corn kernels spit out of the machine unpopped as popped, many ending up on the counter or the floor -- and it took a very long time to get really just a handful or two of popcorn. I am returning it for a refund in the morning. Very disappointed in the product. This is certainly one more example of why its important not to judge a book by its cover.