Cooking Club Of America

[GlorifiedRice]

Anyone have any comments about the "Cooking Club of America"?

Does anyone ever get to "Test" products?

I get email telling me "To become a product tester click here" and when I do,

it is a blank page or a 404 error etc...

Its happened 5 times.

Theyve sent me 2 issues of the magazine so far, but I still cant test and keep

Kitchen Products for free...

Is it a scam?

[dockhl]

Not entirely. I was a member for a year or so, got the magazine (meh) and I think I was sent one thing to test (a little plastic storage container, if I remember correctly). The magazine wasn't good enough for me to keep subscribing, so that was it.

[gfron1]

That's one of the nicer things I've seen written about the club. Everything I have read says to run, not walk away from it. Accusations of predatory marketing, non-stop "deals," and minimal and cheap test items.

[onehsancare]

My experience was exactly the same as dockhl's. I got to "test" silicone food loops--I already had some and didn't like them to begin with!

[Smithy]

I think the testing opportunities may have declined due to the rising membership. I've been a member for 7 years, I think. In that time I've tested some things I didn't especially care for - spice mixes and the like - but I also tested (and got to keep) a set of LampsonSharp knives. I use those daily.

I have learned a lot from the magazine over the years, but now I may be past getting much from it. I'm not sure whether it's because the magazine has declined or my skills have improved; it might be a bit of both. I don't know whether I'm going to renew the membership this year.

The marketing could be worse; I only notice 2 offers per year. There's the annual Life Membership invitation - pay an outrageous sum and never have to pay for membership again, and get the bonus of some stuff I definitely don't need. There's also the annual "try before you buy" marketing campaign, in which one can test-drive certain products for a month before deciding to buy them. They are wildly overpriced. I'm chagrined to admit that I didn't realize how badly overpriced their products were until after I purchased a fine nonstick electric "dutch oven" that I really don't need anyway. I could have gotten it for far less money elsewhere.

In short: I may not keep the membership up, but it was a good way for me to start learning about cooking.