Sharper Image Power Tower 200 - Motorized CD Storage Rack

Description

The Power Tower 200 by Sharper Images is a motorized storage rack that rotates 200 CDs for quick, easy selection. The ingenious design securely holds CDs throughout the entire 360 degree rotation. A built-in LED lamp turns on automotically to illuminate the CD jewel boxes for easy vieweing, even in a dark room. The lights turns off about 20 seconds after rotation stops. Review: This CD Organizer Is A NIGHTMARE! Avoid This Unit! - This was a Christmas gift that my now husband received from his sister. It was purchased from Sharper Image and we picked it up in one of their now defunct mall stores. I put this together properly as per the instructions. There are a lot of pieces and is extremely time consuming. The belt like mechanism would continuously just fall apart when we tried to move the track to pick a CD. I spent the entire day screwing around with this unit and after the third try I gave up. My personal experience with this unit. It is several individual pieces that snap together and they form a loop on each side. It was difficult to get this thing together and it would start falling apart as soon as you started adding the disk. I read the directions and followed them exactly because I knew that it was expensive. I thought maybe I was missing a step in putting this thing together. I got it fully loaded after three failed attempts with CDs. I was rather happy as I had finally beat this puzzling contraption. I called my husband in and he was very happy to see it together and loaded with CDs as well. As soon as I tried to make it move the track just slide off into a pile of plastic and CDs. Then the other side just gave way as well. I boxed it up and we went to the Sharper Image store the following day. All of this happened in mid January just after the holidays were over. We took it back to the mall and we actually let the salesman talk us into trying a new unit. He said that since it was a gift and we did not have the receipt that it was really our only option. He also added that the unit had been redesigned. I knew that was not exactly true. We both though it was exactly like the first one and the one we were receiving was not a redesigned model. We just took it home. I knew that it was just a good sales pitch and the second one was exactly like the first one. I hoped that maybe there was a problem with the first one and that I would have better luck with a different one. No such luck! I would get it together and it would just unload the CDs all over the floor like the first one. My husband called his sister and told her what was going on with this device. She found the purchase receipt as she had ordered the item online and she emailed us a copy of the receipt. We took back the second one and while waiting for a salesperson to help us another disgruntled customer was returning the exact item. I could not believe it that another person showed up with identical issues as we were having. Not only was she having the same problem with the track coming apart she also had a bag of broken CDs that she was dead set on getting the store to replace. A different salesman than the first came over and asked if we were together. My husband said no. But he was really mad about the time wasted on this device. The salesman wanted to give us ether a third unit to try or store credit. My husband said No Way. He demanded a full refund. The salesman was young and said he could not do it because it was a gift and the credit card used to purchase the item would be needed. My husband asked to talk to the manager. The salesman was reluctant and my husband said Get him out here now! The longer it took the manager to come out of the storage room the madder he got. Finally the manager appeared and after a few words were exchanged she gave him back the purchase price plus tax in cash. The woman who was behind us with the same unit was next up. She had heard the entire conversation and she demanded a refund as well as the cost of the broken CDs she had in her bag. We hung around for a minute or so and she got her refund for the device. She had purchased it with her own card. She then insisted that her broken CDs be replaced. I do not know if she was successful as we left. I really have doubts she had any success with getting the value of her broken CDs. I would give this ZERO stars if possible. Sharper Image actually had great ideas. However everything we ever purchased or received as a gift turned out to be useless junk. Their products were not cheap either. This item in particular would have been a great space saving unit but it was an epic failure. The item was purchased in 2004 or so and it was $350.00 brand new plus 8.5% in sales tax then. Texas has high sales taxes, but we don’t pay State taxes. There is no doubt that poor customer service and overpriced items that did not perform properly are exactly what killed Sharper Image! I am pretty sure they are no longer in business. Their products started being sold in another store with similar items and they use to have an ad in the Skymall Magazine on flights. I haven’t seen Skymall on any of my past few flights so I think it’s gone as well. The 5 star rating here is either one lucky customer or he received a much newer and redesigned version as I just happened across this item and remembered what a terrible piece of experience time consuming junk we had received. Review: Works fine for me! - My rack works fine. It is made of modern materiels, which makes the construction perhaps a little lighter than I would care to have it, but it is quite sturdy enough. I run it on plug-in power as I have no need to operate on batteries. I have only one criticism and one that I consider important - it should be geared to rotate at half the present speed. As it is, it "flips" the CD's too fast requiring a start - stop operation. A slower operation, half the present speed, would allow you to slowly review the collection and not have to put up with this jerky operation. Other than that, it is everything it said it would be - no more crawing along on your hands and knees getting a crink in your neck trying to read and find an album. The speed thing is the only reason I shorted it the one star. I'm lovin' it! ~Bruin~