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"The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog"

Kim Shook

By Kim Shook
in Food Media & Arts

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maggiethecat

maggiethecat

Posted
Posted

Chuck Williams brought me to my knees, oh, fifteen(?) years ago with his giveaways of the white chocolate peppermint bark. After spending too much for too little I learned to make my own.

The prices are a joke, a third of the products are a joke. What W-S is good for is a half hour walk through on the weekend, just for fun. And truth to tell, back in the day I'd buy a tablecloth from the sale table in the back.

I'm not sure the biz model is working out. Two W-S stores in my lovely GOP neighborhood suburbs have gone belly up.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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rancho_gordo

rancho_gordo

Posted
Posted

Chuck Williams brought me to my knees, oh, fifteen(?) years ago with his giveaways of the white chocolate peppermint bark. After spending too much for too little I learned to make my own.

The prices are a joke, a third of the products are a joke. What W-S is good for is a half hour walk through on the weekend, just for fun. And truth to tell, back in the day I'd buy a tablecloth from the sale table in the back.

I'm not sure the biz model is working out. Two W-S stores in my lovely GOP neighborhood suburbs have gone belly up.

Back in the day.....it was the first place you'd look if you needed a larding needle or a mortar and pestle. It's such a sad place now, reserved for newlyweds and the newly rich.

Visit beautiful Rancho Gordo!

Twitter @RanchoGordo

"How do you say 'Yum-o' in Swedish? Or is it Swiss? What do they speak in Switzerland?"- Rachel Ray

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HungryC

HungryC

Posted
Posted

What's up with the ridiculous rotary iron at W-S? It has to be the single most ludicrous item in the catalog: $2,000 so you can iron napkins and tablecloths? http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/miele-rotary-iron/?pkey=e%7Ciron%7C75%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C2&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Feature_Recipe_Rule-_-

--Celeste

Bouillie: eating in south Louisiana

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judiu

judiu

Posted
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Pretty funny, but I've been doing these same reviews (but not as family friendly) out loud WHILE walking through Williams Sonoma for years.

Jerry, that PROVES that at least the sales staff and managers the company hires have a sense of humour, otherwise they would have chucked you out!

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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ruthcooks

ruthcooks

Posted
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I'm wiping the tears off my face with my sleeves. I haven't laughed this hard in ages!

What she said.

W-S is the only place I ever bought a cookbook where they put a sticker over the "suggested Price" so they could raise their price--by $11.00!

Ruth Dondanville aka "ruthcooks"

“Are you making a statement, or are you making dinner?” Mario Batali

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rotuts

rotuts

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I do gotta tell ya, If I had the 30 bucks, I bet that fruit cake would be well worth it, after taking a look at the with-it crew! from them of course.

now on that 3K iron: its for the Downton Abbey folks that have had to massively downsize. I wonder if it does the morning Newspapers? soon too to be Dinosaurs.

think NYTImes with no inky hands!

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SylviaLovegren

SylviaLovegren

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What's up with the ridiculous rotary iron at W-S? It has to be the single most ludicrous item in the catalog: $2,000 so you can iron napkins and tablecloths? http://www.williams-..._Recipe_Rule-_-

Ironing machines used to be fairly common and they're very popular with vintage fabrics folks who are always on the lookout for the old ones. But the old ones are becoming less and less available and more and more expensive if you can find one. Still, I'm not sure that most vinties would be able to fork over a couple of grand for a new one.

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bigkoiguy

bigkoiguy

Posted
Posted

I have to seriously quesiton WS business model as well. Years ago, before the Internet when gourmet cooking was new, they were the place to go for odd-ball things - Cuisinarts when they first came out, for example.

Now, Amazon and others are a click away, with free shipping, and appropriate prices. For heavier items or for immediate purchase, most cities have a decent, local specialty cookwares store.

Somehow, I'm on the electronic mailing list for both WS and Sur la Table.... I'm one step from putting them on my spam list...

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