If you read the Sunday Times, you saw it. It's there again today and in papers all over the USA. A full page advert for an electric fireplace made by picturesque Amish people that's actually being given away free in pairs to lucky entrants. It looked like something out of an earlier time when you'd think people were gullible enough to believe all this hokum. Because it's a recession, does this mean we're dumb as well? So what's going on here?.....
Hey, this is a great pitch!
"These miracle fireplaces have what's being called the "Fireless Flame" technology that gives you the peaceful flicker of a real fire but without any flames, fumes, smells, ashes or mess. Everyone is getting them because they require no chimney and no vent. You just plug them in." (our emphasis)
Dig a little deeper and it seems that it's a weird combination of a few things:
1. An electric fireplace designed by an "engineering genius from the China coast" called the Heat Surge Roll-n-Glow electric fireplace
"The HEAT SURGE miracle heater is a work of engineering genius from the China coast, so advanced you simply plug it into any standard wall outlet. It uses about as much energy to run, as some coffee makers. Yet, it produces an amazing 5,110 BTU's."
2. Wood mantles made by the Amish who, ironically, don't use anything electric:
Real Amish Craftsmanship goes into each mantle The Amish take extraordinary pride in their innate craftsmanship ability. That's why each and every Roll-n-Glow mantle is specially crafted to last forever.
3. A sly pitch that offers to give you a heater for free if you buy an Amish mantle, but this is only viewable in the paper.
Dig a little deeper, you can find all sorts of people talking about this and the shadier it gets:
"This is extremely shady. Anything that uses electricity to produce heat consumes alot of electricity. Your coffee maker actually DOES consume alot of electricity even though it’s small."
>> Heat Surge fireplace - what’s up with that? - 532 comments.
"...So I used that figure, took the new firgure on my meter and found out that I (in 10 days) more than doubled my normal electric bill that I would have had FOR A WHOLE MONTH.
I was never so upset in my whole life. I called and told them and was told that it only uses 12cents per day. I told them they better look at their figures more closely. I do not want it and will return them."
>> Heat Surge Fireless Flame Fireplaces Complaint - 100+ comments
"This ad has run at least twice in our local paper as well. The "48 hour order deadline" and other hurry-up restrictions mentioned in the ad are obviously lies."
>> Amish Build Miracle Fireplace Using Steam-Powered Adobe Photoshop - 27 comments
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Comments (29)
I've not come across the print ads, but they're running commercials pretty frequently. Ugly AND Scammy, great combo!
Def. not Amish considering they can't use electricity.
What a horrible photoshop job ! look at the client's leg and especially its shadow on the panel behind it... and the fire is exactly the same in all the fireplaces! Sheesh they could have at least made an effort for the picture...
MCH the Amish don't make the heaters, they just made the cabinet...allegedly. You pay for the cabinet and the heater is "free". Can you tell I've seen the commercial a gazillion times?
Some Amish use electricity.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_left_story/20080920_Amish_turn_to_solar_power_for_electricity.html
Another myth shattered.
They can use electricity, they just don't connect to large scale electrical grids. A lot of them use generators to power equipment.
I've seen the commercial dozens of times. My favorite part is at the end when they show a horse and buggy riding away with one of the fireplaces. I always think to myself, it's a good deal, but the shipping must take FOREVER. :-)
Let me change my statement: The Amish use electricity, but only electricity that they themselves generate. I grew up around them so the Amish are just normal people to me. As a kid I never quite understood the tourists that lined up to take photos with them.
Many Amish have exceptions for using phones, electricity at work, where they may not have it in their homes. They may even have computers at a shop. They are allowed phone booths if they are far from the house.
It is amazing how many things are being sold now as "Amish" since it implies higher quality.
My grandmother's brother was in Public Works in a largely Amish area, and he told me that in most cases the Amish are required by dairy boards to have at least one working phone (Which usually is kept in the barn, and thus out of temptation). They also tend to have some minor electricity that *can* be accessed. Wind power, however, is totally acceptable as there's a historic precedence.
One town over, we have a shady bunch selling "Amish" sheds & gazebos. Last time I checked, south-central Virginia didn't have a massive influx of Amish.
The commercials have been showing for months down here in Virginia and we constantly crack up over them. Seems that throwing an Amish person into almost anything sucks some people in.
Guess what community is behind many of the puppy mills in the country?
Sorry, I'm burnt out on the Amish. They know their reputation and they milk it for all it's worth.
These abominations showed up in print ads here in Austin in the fall. Austin utility bills are high in the winter, and someone knew enough to try to exploit the move towards using space heaters to cut down on the meter readings.
I thought it was a sure con job.
Don't come down hard on the Amish. Anyone can dress up like he or she is Amish and exploit their reputation for honesty and workmanship.
I'd like to know if some enterprising local district attorney has gotten to the bottom of this?
The menonites run the puppy mills. (I just rescued my rotty Nash from one here in the area... I live in Kansas.) I don't think menonite and amish are the same, are they?
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=BD319EB12181301A72E959821DB15CB0?contentId=8315935&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1
The Amish are, indeed, behind the biggest puppy mills in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It's considered to be just another "cash crop".
Disgusting...
Im not amish and i feel exploited by this so called amish fireplace! Something fishy about that commercial.
Does anyone here actually have this...Maybe i'd replace my vortex heater with this amish fireplace to save on bills
Funny how the posts topic became bout puppy mills :P
Honestly, It actually looks like one of those fake Fireplaces you can get from magazines like fingerhut!
Just been reading up on the Amish and Mennonite puppy mills -- I had no idea!
Both groups are Anabaptists (believe in adult baptism). Mennonites came first, and are followers of a Dutch Catholic priest, Menno Simons, and the Amish are followers of the Swiss Jacob Amman, who advocated shunning. So they are closely related, but not the same.
It's funny how similar both groups are to Swiss farmers ...
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2051497600015397682jxRwur
I saw these ads in the local paper and I honestly thought they were some weird type of satire because I live near Amish Hills, a big furniture store where real Amish people make real Amish Furniture. I had no idea people were actually BUYING these things.
My plumber was RAVING about his. He was really giving me the sales pitch. I kept telling him my $30 heater worked just fine but he was absolutely convinced that his $400 Amish heater was going to save him big bucks on his elec bill.
My fiance's parents totally have one of these! They live in NJ and drive to Amish country in PA all the time to buy stuff. They brought back one of these for their den...it's weird to look at and does not throw off that much heat. It really is a glorified space heater, but doesn't work that well. I don't know how much their electric bill has been impacted by using it, but they offered to get one for our condo in DC and I just said "No thanks, we don't have the space."
Go onto youtube and search for "Amish" and "puppy mill" and you might get your parents to stop making those trips.
Lancaster County is a hot spot for puppy mills.
SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE!
All Amish are people and all people are different. I would expect these generalities (based on ignorance) on a more mainstream blog but not on this one.
Replace Amish with Black or Latino in any of the above comments and what do you get?
I am friends with many Amish in Kentucky near where I live. They are by and large wonderful. Are they all the same? Hell no!
My main problem with the ad is that they are allegedly photographing Amish, this is a no no in most any Amish community I have heard of. Something about graven images... Mennonites are different and are more integrated into the modern world. unless they are from a conservative sect, then they are similar to Amish in the avoidance of certain things.
Lay off the Amish or I'll kick yer butt, as they say here in Kentucky.
I see this commercial several times a day as they run during the Remington Steele reruns on American Life TV (a fave on my Tivo!) All I can say is, we have a weekend home smack dab in the middle of Amish country and most of our furniture for the house was purchased directly from the Amish ... and all I can say is their stuff is not cheap. (And rightfully so ... the craftsmanship is amazing! I have a dining table that is put together without any nails or screws and even has this rube goldberg-type pulley system for the extra leaves!) I can't believe for a minute that you're actually getting a real Amish-crafted mantle for that cost, let alone getting a "free" fireplace with it.
Plus, they just don't look that fantastically made anyway.
And Cupcakelady, thanks! I was a little upset at the Amish generalizations above. I can't speak for other communities (and I don't know if ours has puppy mills or not, so I can't speak for that) but as far as milking a cash cow or whatever ... I can tell you that other than one town a few stops over from ours, the Amish community that we're in the middle of is not commercialized at all. In fact, the most you see of them in public is when the women come into town to buy things like fabric. Other than that, they all stay on their farms which aren't open to tourists.
KTG, the Amish are super rich. And so are Mennonites! They hire some expensive-ass lawyers, too. Most young Mennonite kids around here drive really expensive cars- stupid ones, but still expensive. Amish people spend plenty of money on livestock, farm equipment, building materials, etc. That stuff isn't cheap! And they're totally making big bucks off of puppy mills. I live in Lancaster, PA, and it's the worst as far as puppy mills go. It's also an Amish operation- just because they are a religious community does not mean they have morals- I mean, they use their own kids like slaves, and adopt foreign kids to use the same way. This is a general overview; I'm sure not EVERY Amish person is like this. But it's quite cult-ish if you ask me!
We first looked at these last year. The company has a very aggressive sales technique and the photos in the adverts and the web site are amusing to say the least, some of the best ones have been taken down. It does really insult our intelligence to show them been polished when switched on in the factory, sorry barn. We opted for the Arrowflame electric fireplace logs instead and have been very happy with them.