Bought for $19.95. With shipping and "handling", was $196.55!

Got in mail. Lousy knives. Cannot be put in dishwaher, or water any any extended time. Will break if you cut into bone or hard cheese! Not that sharp. Will not hold edge. This is just another TV informercial scam where they try to get suchers to buy things that stores will not sell. Think about it. if a store will not seel an item, they are probably pretty bad to start with. Do not even waste your time with these POSs cheap knives.

Returning by insured mail on Monday.

Ordered the blade plus free blade and peelers. Within a half hoiur I tried to cancel and was told that they couldn't handle cancellations until the original order ws transmitted to their worksit - took four days they said. When I finally checked my Visa Card the originalk cost of $19 plus shipping the billing was $159. for twelve knives, upgraded. When I told them I had originally cancelled the original order they informed me that the goods were already shsipped and what I shoiuld do is refuse to accept the delivery. Or take it back to the post office and refuse it.

This is nothing more or less than a scam to talk you into anything they can, quickly charge your Visa and then run you around by telling you the information was not received by them, it is another location, it was alreadyd shipped, and finally to take it up with the US Postal Service. I cancelled the order for the third time and am refusing to accept; also I am disputing the charge on my Visa. Underhanded, slimey, SOBs who give yoiu numbers to phone and no one answers their phone number. They later blame the time zones although I called on Pacific time. Rotten rotten scumballs that I will continue to fight.

After seeing all the complains on this board, I checked out the Yoshi Blade website to see what was going on.

1) It is true that you have to first give valid personal information including your name, credit card number, etc.
2) There is fine print at the bottom of the first page that describes the shipping charges, you pay shipping on the first knife, then you pay additional shipping for the second knife and two peelers. That brings the actual total to almost $40.
3) It is easy to double the order if you do not pay attention to the drop down box on the first page (this has already bitten a few people).
4) Its true that ceramic blades are extremely sharp but, you must use then with extreme care. All ceramic knives are very brittle so if you drop them, or tap them against something hard they can chip or shatter. You must use the knives on "approved" surfaces or you will damage the edge, don't know what are approved cutting surfaces? That is exactly my point. These knives can snap in two or shatter if you store them in a drawer and place something heavy on them (they do not flex like a metal knife). Or they can snap in two if you put them in a knife block and bump the protruding handle hard enough. You cannot sharpen these knives at home, you must send them back to the factory for sharpening, but what happens if these guys go out of business next year? What happens if the blade falls out of the handle? The warranty/guaranty only seems to talk about sharpness not how well they are attached, since these are not steel knives they cannot be riveted so you cannot see how well its been bonded to the handle.
5) Here is how to save $5, if you get to this company's webpage, close the webpage, you will get a message to click cancel on the next window to get a special offer, click OK to close this first pop up window, then click Cancel on the next window to stay on their site. You will then get a new page that offers a $5.00 discount (at least it does this at the time I wrote this).
6) Amazon (at the moment of this writing) has a better deal, its more expensive but it includes 6 knives and two peelers.

I ordered these knives in June and have yet to receive them. I have called several times and they have told me they are in receiving to be sent. It is now July 8th and I still have not gotten them. I am reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. I am very aggravated with this bunch of thieves. May they all go to H ---. The people that want me to submit this won't accept it unless I post 100 words. This is even more disgusting and aggravating. I didn't know that I would have to do this.

If you order from this site, you will have to give your credit card and personal information BEFORE selecting any products. This should be your first red flag. If you use an American Express card, you will get a warning that if you use this card to place your order you may not be eligible for "special offers" at the end of your order. This should be your second red flag, as American Express, in my experience, is very diligent with their credit dispute process. Once you've entered your credit and personal information, you are presented with the "as seen on TV" offer of one knife and peeler for $19.99 (+ $9.99 shipping and handling). You are then presented with several other "great deals." I chose to accept a second yoshiblade knife and peeler for $0.00 + $6.99shipping and handling.

You are then asked if you want to upgrade to the "Deluxe Set" of three knives (6", 4" and 3"). If you select this upgrade, and ordered the second yoshiblade earlier, know that it will upgrade BOTH of your knife sets to theDeluxe Set and charge you $14.99 + $5.99 shipping and processing TWICE without giving you an option to decline!

There is no way to tell what you have in your shopping cart while you shop and there is no confirmation screen at the end of the ordering process. You are given a non-itemized receipt that provides an "estimated Grand Total."

Note that shipping charges increased my order by 58% over the cost of the knives.

The website directs people to wait two days before calling customer service "for records to be updated." This is another red flag, but at this point, it is too late. In two days, it is likely you will already have been charged for the purchase and will have to ship product back (at your expense) in order to get a refund. Some people are not likely to do this and decide to eat the loss. I am sure IdeaVillage knows this.

IdeaVillage's customer service number is 1-800-722-2748. According to the website, customer service is open 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, Pacific Time, but the phone recording says they are only open Tuesday through Friday. I will wind up wasting valuable time asking IdeaVillage to cancel this order. If this doesn't work, I have already notified Amex that I will be disputing this charge if I am unable to get the company to cancel the order.

These may be the best knives in the world, but there is no reason a company should go so far out of it's way to dupe, inconvenience and frustrate people who, with good faith, are buying their product. I will continue documenting my experiences with this firm and will ensure I inform my family, friends, the BBB and the FTC of the unacceptable business practices IdeaVillage Products Corp. are using to sell these knives.

Now you know. Buyer beware!