I've managed to not have any of these sales guys come around. But a friend of mine's gf agreed to listen to a pots & pans sales pitch while I and another friend were over. Keep in mind that at the time we were all poor college age kids making at best $9.50/hour. The sales guy tried to get me in on the sales pitch too. He handed me the smallest pot to look at and the damn thing was pretty heavy. I hefted it and said something along the lines of "You could bash someone pretty good with one of these"...he looked a little concerned :)
Then he came around with the price: $6k for the set....aka FOUR MONTHS GROSS INCOME for any of us at the time. No thanks, I'll keep using the free hand-me-downs from my mom
Gee, would that be the "Waterless Cookware"? I got suckered into going to that presentation b/c I had won a "free" vacay for attending a bridal show, many moons ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation, b/c I had spent the better part of a decade as the store manager for a gift shop, so I knew my stuff. Challenging their lies was so much fun!
They showed a box of Calphalon cookware, and then the fine print that it "only" had a 10 year warranty. I raised my hand and explained that was the cheaper, non-stick version, and all their other lines did indeed have a lifetime warranty. Deer in headlights. :)
They were throwing in for free a 6 place setting china set, which never got discontinued, unlike Lenox, that discontinues every year! My hand shot up, and I reminded them that the presidential line never gets discontinued, so if that is really a concern, stick to those 25 classic patterns. Then I asked how much the other 6 place settings and the serving pieces would cost. They changed the subject.
By the end of the presentation, most of the attendees were looking to me for the truth. Gotta give the salespeople credit though, they quickly figured out who I was, and called us up first for the final pitch & to give us our free vacation vouchers. They wanted me out of there fast! The sales guy barely made an effort, I shut him down anyhow. He handed me the voucher and we left. Reading the fine print, it was a timeshare resort, so we never went - I can only imagine the harassment if you took that "vacation"!
Oh, and for the record - my cookware is the Kirkland brand from Costco - Calphalon private labels it for them. 14 years later and still looks new - paid $199 for the whole set! The china was purchased from Mikasa at their factory sale, I got the whole thing for $250, and proceeded to never use it, like most fine china. I eventually sold it on Ebay for a small profit. Hubby was actually interested in the waterless cookware, and I found a set for him, for $50, on Ebay. He eventually used it to soak things in vinegar, or to catch a random leak under the kitchen sink.