The Chia Pet Shopping Trap

     Christmas time brings an onslaught of commercial advertisements for things no one needs, but everyone buys this time of year. I'm talking about Chia Pets, Clappers, and other products peddled to unwitting shoppers via their televisions during the late night, peak impulse buying times. I fell victim to an infomercial many years ago. While the products can be very useful, they are often of limited use. I bought snap hooks after seeing an ad when I was tired and feeling under the weather, which is the perfect combination sneaky sales pitches. The deal was buy one, get one free. Who can beat that? I would buy the amazing product for myself and then have one to give to my roommate. However, when the snap hooks arrived I quickly learned that the attributes of the product had been exaggerated and the it would not be as widely useful as I had thought. I was duped.
     I don't know how Chia Pets is still in business, aside from the obvious novelty aspect of the sprouting heads. Each year, the company adds new pets and/or notable busts to its inventory. The gifts are great for children because they can easily watch something they made grow. They work as gag gifts because the jokes about the products are endless. However, I do not see much of a market outside those two segments.

     In addition to drug store shelves, there are websites devoted to selling products like the Chia Pet and the Clapper. The "As Seen On TV" website has all kinds of seemingly great products that on the surface appear that they would make life easier. However, like the Chia Pet these products are a novelty and their usefulness. There are a few items on the website right now that I think are clever and at a weaker moment I would be tempted to purchase, like the Forever Comfy cushion.