In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In article , "Jim Lewis"
wrote:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

I'd be glad to pay a buck a month for bad tools & random seeds just out of
idle curiosity, but it does seem like this is some sort of
come-on-attraction for a hidden scam, so best left untouched. They are
probably part of a "club" factory that is often in hot water with the
better business bureau for vile service: Cooking Club of America, Handyman
Club of America, Health Club of America, Guns/Hunting Club of America, &
so on, with a staff that is never going to be very helpful in exchange for
your $12 membership because talking to you even once would eat up whatever
profitability you may represent. If you're satisfied with the generically
topical newsletter for $12 a year probably you'll be happy; but if you
expected to be a member of a club which lives up to sundry promised
services & bonuses, probably you'll end up annoyed.

They sell "charter memberships" which are "exclusive" since 1997.
Dishonest ad campaigns don't bode well for honest services or products.
One of the strangest things, too, is how many UseNet posts & bulletin
board boasts begin "I have received a mailing from the National Home
Gardening Club" or "Has anyone had experience with National Home Gardening
Club," invariably careful to banner the whole name. It kind of makes one
wonder if these hundreds of queries aren't themselves stealth spam, which
would be in keeping with the dishonesty of calling random subscriptions
"exclusive charter memberships." I don't think that's at all what Jim
Lewis is doing since he has a posting history in the Bonsai ng, but it's a
little odd to say the least that these queries are so common & seem to be
slight variations off a template.

This past thread:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...04ax.com#link1
indicates that some people have had serious problems with them rebilling
for things already paid for or for things never actually received.
"Rebilling" is a standard method of bad companies hoping bills are just
paid by people who don't actually keep very good records & don't ever
realize they're paying multiple times for each thing or for things they
didn't actually get.

Checking quickly sundry complainers around the web, one person complains
that after a full year she still hasn't gotten the free sheers or any
other free stuff but is being billed to rejoin (she perhaps failed to look
close enough at all the ad enclosures; you have to read all the crappy
little bits of paper full of pitches in order to figure out how to get the
sheers. Sending your money that one time won't do it automatically). Even
so, she thought the magazine was worth the money anyway. Another person
claims she has become a regular product tester for them & has never been
asked to do anything but fill out forms about each product, which is how
it would be with a legit research company. But yet another soul complains
that she received products she never requested, returned the unrequested
items, but was hasseled for months to pay up or get turned over to
collections, while all her attempts to communicate with them about the
error failed (again, probably did not read all attached flyers; some
"clubs" demand that you explicitely inform them beforehand you don't want
to buy a product or it will be sent automatically & you will have to pay
up. This is arranged so that the average human being that does not read
every scrap of junkmail, but just tosses junkmail summarily, can be billed
& threatened until they cave in & pay up). As they also sometimes
threateningly bill for things never even sent, they seem to have worked
every possible gambit into their system, all of it designed so they can
credibly deny it was anything but a mistake, every time the Better
Business Bureau gets involved.

Yet some people seem honesty to like the magazine itself, & can't find any
agregious accounts of people feeling more than the most mildly duped.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

The magazine they send is worth the dollar a month, they do send out things to
test, or seeds to test, or not. I always got stuff to test...and you have to
send in the review in a timely manner if you want more things to test out.
Other than the magazine, they have nothing much to offer.


On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 21:13:01 -0500, "Jim Lewis" opined:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The magazine they send is worth the dollar a month, they do send out things to
test, or seeds to test, or not. I always got stuff to test...and you have to
send in the review in a timely manner if you want more things to test out.
Other than the magazine, they have nothing much to offer.


On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 21:13:01 -0500, "Jim Lewis" opined:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Jim Lewis" wrote in news:bvn06t$lh5$1
@news.utelfla.com:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I signed up for one year around 1999. I wasn't too bad of a deal. I
didn't renew because they jacked up the membership fee to $15 IIRC. The
introductory book they send you (unsolicited??) "Gardening Essentials" is
not bad for ~$13 for people who don't know manure from manola and it was
easy enough to cancel further shipments of books (which cost considerably
more ~$25). They also sent me a product to test (even though you were
supposed to sign up first). It was a ooh ah wow! packet of coleus
seeds with absolutely no planting instructions and a germination rate of
5% (or I could just be really bad at planting coleus, which is entirely
possible). The pruners weren't too bad either (although mine was a
freebee and not for test), but I busted it cutting up too thick wood
after a hurricane. I didn't get any plant food, though I might have
gotten something else instead. I did get the poppy seeds, baby's breath
and maybe cornflowers or something else but I didn't bother to grow any
of it. Magazine only comes like 10x per year, though (some months are
combined).

BUT THEN GUIDO CAME OVER TO MY HOME AND DEMANDED THAT I SIGN UP FOR
ANOTHER YEAR.

j/k (about Guido)

"Jim Lewis" wrote in news:bvn06t$lh5$1
@news.utelfla.com:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I signed up for one year around 1999. I wasn't too bad of a deal. I
didn't renew because they jacked up the membership fee to $15 IIRC. The
introductory book they send you (unsolicited??) "Gardening Essentials" is
not bad for ~$13 for people who don't know manure from manola and it was
easy enough to cancel further shipments of books (which cost considerably
more ~$25). They also sent me a product to test (even though you were
supposed to sign up first). It was a ooh ah wow! packet of coleus
seeds with absolutely no planting instructions and a germination rate of
5% (or I could just be really bad at planting coleus, which is entirely
possible). The pruners weren't too bad either (although mine was a
freebee and not for test), but I busted it cutting up too thick wood
after a hurricane. I didn't get any plant food, though I might have
gotten something else instead. I did get the poppy seeds, baby's breath
and maybe cornflowers or something else but I didn't bother to grow any
of it. Magazine only comes like 10x per year, though (some months are
combined).

BUT THEN GUIDO CAME OVER TO MY HOME AND DEMANDED THAT I SIGN UP FOR
ANOTHER YEAR.

j/k (about Guido)

I have to agree with winkydinky and Salty Thumb. I subscribed for 3 or so
years. The magazine was okay, I received the free pruners and several small
items to test (tomato seeds, fertilizer and powdery mildew spray). I
probably would have remained a subscriber had their rates not gone up.

Cheryl
"Salty Thumb" wrote in message
...
"Jim Lewis" wrote in news:bvn06t$lh5$1
@news.utelfla.com:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I signed up for one year around 1999. I wasn't too bad of a deal. I
didn't renew because they jacked up the membership fee to $15 IIRC. The
introductory book they send you (unsolicited??) "Gardening Essentials" is
not bad for ~$13 for people who don't know manure from manola and it was
easy enough to cancel further shipments of books (which cost considerably
more ~$25). They also sent me a product to test (even though you were
supposed to sign up first). It was a ooh ah wow! packet of coleus
seeds with absolutely no planting instructions and a germination rate of
5% (or I could just be really bad at planting coleus, which is entirely
possible). The pruners weren't too bad either (although mine was a
freebee and not for test), but I busted it cutting up too thick wood
after a hurricane. I didn't get any plant food, though I might have
gotten something else instead. I did get the poppy seeds, baby's breath
and maybe cornflowers or something else but I didn't bother to grow any
of it. Magazine only comes like 10x per year, though (some months are
combined).

BUT THEN GUIDO CAME OVER TO MY HOME AND DEMANDED THAT I SIGN UP FOR
ANOTHER YEAR.

j/k (about Guido)

I have to agree with winkydinky and Salty Thumb. I subscribed for 3 or so
years. The magazine was okay, I received the free pruners and several small
items to test (tomato seeds, fertilizer and powdery mildew spray). I
probably would have remained a subscriber had their rates not gone up.

Cheryl
"Salty Thumb" wrote in message
...
"Jim Lewis" wrote in news:bvn06t$lh5$1
@news.utelfla.com:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I signed up for one year around 1999. I wasn't too bad of a deal. I
didn't renew because they jacked up the membership fee to $15 IIRC. The
introductory book they send you (unsolicited??) "Gardening Essentials" is
not bad for ~$13 for people who don't know manure from manola and it was
easy enough to cancel further shipments of books (which cost considerably
more ~$25). They also sent me a product to test (even though you were
supposed to sign up first). It was a ooh ah wow! packet of coleus
seeds with absolutely no planting instructions and a germination rate of
5% (or I could just be really bad at planting coleus, which is entirely
possible). The pruners weren't too bad either (although mine was a
freebee and not for test), but I busted it cutting up too thick wood
after a hurricane. I didn't get any plant food, though I might have
gotten something else instead. I did get the poppy seeds, baby's breath
and maybe cornflowers or something else but I didn't bother to grow any
of it. Magazine only comes like 10x per year, though (some months are
combined).

BUT THEN GUIDO CAME OVER TO MY HOME AND DEMANDED THAT I SIGN UP FOR
ANOTHER YEAR.

j/k (about Guido)

On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 21:13:01 -0500, Jim Lewis wrote:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home Gardening Club.
It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds and a second packet
containing about one tsp. of "all purpose" timed-release plant food
(14-14-14). If I join, they, promise I'll get more loot and get to "test"
garden goodies -- starting with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo
pruner -- on a monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this
for (apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy the
poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No micronutrients
in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not too good as a pot
fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of the human
race will be that it will eventually die of civilization -- Ralph Waldo
Emerson


I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will
enjoy the
poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients
in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not too good as a
pot
fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end
of the human
race will be that it will eventually die of civilization --
Ralph Waldo
Emerson


I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the
pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free
merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.


Yeah. Well, as I said above. I'm gonna give it a pass. Just
thot it was a curious bit of unslolicitedness (is that a word?)
(My spell checker says "NO!).

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have to agree with winkydinky and Salty Thumb. I subscribed for 3 or so
years. The magazine was okay, I received the free pruners and several small
items to test (tomato seeds, fertilizer and powdery mildew spray). I
probably would have remained a subscriber had their rates not gone up.

Cheryl
"Salty Thumb" wrote in message
...
"Jim Lewis" wrote in news:bvn06t$lh5$1
@news.utelfla.com:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home
Gardening Club. It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds
and a second packet containing about one tsp. of "all purpose"
timed-release plant food (14-14-14). If I join, they, promise
I'll get more loot and get to "test" garden goodies -- starting
with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo pruner -- on a
monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this for
(apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy
the poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not
too good as a pot fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of
the human race will be that it will eventually die of
civilization -- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I signed up for one year around 1999. I wasn't too bad of a deal. I
didn't renew because they jacked up the membership fee to $15 IIRC. The
introductory book they send you (unsolicited??) "Gardening Essentials" is
not bad for ~$13 for people who don't know manure from manola and it was
easy enough to cancel further shipments of books (which cost considerably
more ~$25). They also sent me a product to test (even though you were
supposed to sign up first). It was a ooh ah wow! packet of coleus
seeds with absolutely no planting instructions and a germination rate of
5% (or I could just be really bad at planting coleus, which is entirely
possible). The pruners weren't too bad either (although mine was a
freebee and not for test), but I busted it cutting up too thick wood
after a hurricane. I didn't get any plant food, though I might have
gotten something else instead. I did get the poppy seeds, baby's breath
and maybe cornflowers or something else but I didn't bother to grow any
of it. Magazine only comes like 10x per year, though (some months are
combined).

BUT THEN GUIDO CAME OVER TO MY HOME AND DEMANDED THAT I SIGN UP FOR
ANOTHER YEAR.

j/k (about Guido)

On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 21:13:01 -0500, Jim Lewis wrote:

In the mail today comes an epistle from the National Home Gardening Club.
It contained a small packet of red poppy seeds and a second packet
containing about one tsp. of "all purpose" timed-release plant food
(14-14-14). If I join, they, promise I'll get more loot and get to "test"
garden goodies -- starting with what looks to be a knock-off of a Feclo
pruner -- on a monthly basis (and I can even KEEP the goodies!). All this
for (apparently) $1.00 a month.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will enjoy the
poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No micronutrients
in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not too good as a pot
fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end of the human
race will be that it will eventually die of civilization -- Ralph Waldo
Emerson


I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.

Dunno what the kicker is, but I'm gonna pass. But I will
enjoy the
poppies ;-) and use the fertilizer in a pot somewhere. No
micronutrients
in the fertilizer, though, so it's probably not too good as a
pot
fertilizer on a regular basis.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The end
of the human
race will be that it will eventually die of civilization --
Ralph Waldo
Emerson


I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the
pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free
merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.


Yeah. Well, as I said above. I'm gonna give it a pass. Just
thot it was a curious bit of unslolicitedness (is that a word?)
(My spell checker says "NO!).

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 10:31:11 -0600, WiGard opined:

I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.

This instance is not one of those. They never say you will definitely be a
product tester, but that you MAY be chosen to test products. I always received
this or that to test out for them. LIke I said, if you send back the completed
questionnaire, you are sent more product. If you don't send it back, you never
get another thing.

On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 10:31:11 -0600, WiGard opined:

I was once suckered into buying a fishing magazine under the pretense that
subscribers would become product testers and receive free merchandise. In
the 2-3 years I had the magazine, I was never contacted once.

Caveat emptor.

This instance is not one of those. They never say you will definitely be a
product tester, but that you MAY be chosen to test products. I always received
this or that to test out for them. LIke I said, if you send back the completed
questionnaire, you are sent more product. If you don't send it back, you never
get another thing.