Handyman club scam or not?

[Paul Williams]

About every 6 months I get a mailing from "Handyman Club of America" based in Minnetonka Minnesota. It always includes a come on to "test tools, answer a few simple questions, and then keep the tool for your own use." Today I bothered to actually read the mailing it appeared to be a magazine subscription to a magazine titled "Handy." Has anyone had any experience with this outfit? Good or bad?

[Greg Heppeard]

I had an old boss that signed me up for that....all I ever got was the magazine and they always wanted more money to extend my subscription...I have never renewed in over 10 years and I still get their junk mail.

[Cary Falk]

I got a free subscription a couple of years ago. The magazine is worthless. You will never get to test a real tool. They bug you every week to become a lifetime member and for years after. It wasn't worth the price I paid for it.

[Bert Johansen]

I concur. Junk. I get their stuff and don't even open it--just dump it into the trash.

[Tom Baker]

Had a subscription for a year, hated the magazine.
Did get a couple of cheap tools; Speed Square, carpenter's pencils, micro screwdriver set.
Sill get mailings and lifetime offers.
I wouldn't go there.

[Lee Schierer]

They make great spaghetti sizers and glue spreaders. I was a "charter member about 10 years ago. Magazine was so so. Never got any free tools to test, never knew anyone that did. If they have 10,000 subscribers how many tools would they need to get per month for every member to get a free tool to test in five years?? Answer 166 tools per month! Not likely to happen.

I did get lots of renewal notices and offers to buy members only stuff with their classy logo on it. I even got another "charter membership" offer two years after I canceled my original subscription.

Save your money buy Workbench , Fine Woodworking or Wood if you want a decent magazine.

[scott spencer]

It's not a scam, it's just a bad magazine with an angle of being a club and reviewing free tools....like the ever popular plastic hole template or the mini pad- locks from the "3 for a dollar store" ... :rolleyes:

[glenn bradley]

I found it useless and it took nearly a year to get them to stop bugging me.

[Jim Becker]

"Scam", not particularly in the literal sense of the word. But as others have stated, it's largely a way for some folks out there to make a lot of money off people by making them feel like they are in a "club" and providing a few trinkets and a largely mediocre magazine. Yea, I fell for it many years ago... ;)

[Don Bullock]

Like the others, I tried it and found the magazine to be mostly worthless. The email address that sends out their email is permanently located in my SPAM filter so I don't get any more duns for money. I did, however, get a product to test. It was some soap in a packet designed to clean hands. Hardly something that anyone would actually spend money on. But, the cheap tape measure that I got when I joined turned out to be pretty handy. Even with that figured in, it was a waste of money.

[chris dub]

I just threw away something from them 10 minutes ago that I had gotten for the first time. I was just about to search the forums to see if anybody hadd heard of them. I'm glad my instincts were right.

[Bill Franklin]

Been there too, definitely better things to spend your money on. Like almost anything.

[Ed Howe]

I received a subscription as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. As others have said, the magazine is mediocre at best. They got me to buy their overpriced books. Their form of marketing is rather sketchy. They send you something like a book or calendar without asking, which you may keep if you pay for it, and they'll send you more in the series. You can always return it, but it is annoying. Your money is definitely better spent elsewhere.

[Mark Patoka]

I received one of their lifetime memberships years ago. They are a legit company but I would save your money. I've gotten to test a few things but they were only valued at a dollar or two, things like sandpaper and caulk tube condoms, never the big ticket items. The Handy magazine is OK but Family Handyman, Workbench or similar is at least as good or better. They make their money trying to sell you their own line of tools which are not top of the line. They also try to sell you books and DVDs on how to build stuff.

Their parent company also runs the North American Fishing Club, Hot Rod Club of America and a bunch of others.

[Rob Will]

Sort of reminds me of Sam's Club ---- where you have a perceived sense of value buy buying a "membership". These "members" with all the special privileges get to show their ID at the door (oooh la la). It is marketing genius.....how to get people to pay you for the privilege of buying your industrial size box of Cheerios or gallon of Mayonnaise.

I thought the Handyman Club was really weenie. I generally stay away from this sort of thing.

Rob

[Jim Becker]

I thought the Handyman Club was really weenie.

Technical term??? :p

[John Lucas]

when I receive questionable mail, I google for "scam" and the name of the product...in this case "scam Handyman Club of America". There is a wealth of information.

[Rob Will]

Technical term??? :p

Well, I thought there would be some sort of official technical sounding definition out there so I referenced the Urban Dictionary online....only to discover that most of the 14 assorted "definitions" for "weenie" cannot be discussed here:o.

In Kentucky, we think weenie actually IS a technical description....it usually refers to fake or otherwise undesirable accessories. Commonly found in automobiles and trucks with loud pipes and at least one color-mismatched body panel. Individual specimens have been observed with giant fiberglass hood scoops and poorly tuned V6 engines..... hence the phrase "that hood scoop is so weenie".

Much like the Handyman Club, a big ole hood scoop puts on the pretense of something substantial inside. Once you drive it, you discover it is actually a weenie.:eek::p

Rob

[Mark Rios]

Well, I have to disagree with all of you. I've found that I thoroughly enjoy every mailing that I get from them, roughly once or twice a year. I Don't know what I'd do without the free mailing labels that accompany each amazing offer that they send me.

Oh, and I always look forward to seeing if I get a new color of screw and bolt sizer. I haven't been lucky enough to get that elusive red one yet but, I keep hoping.






:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Curt Harms]

Well, I have to disagree with all of you. I've found that I thoroughly enjoy every mailing that I get from them, roughly once or twice a year. I Don't know what I'd do without the free mailing labels that accompany each amazing offer that they send me.

Oh, and I always look forward to seeing if I get a new color of screw and bolt sizer. I haven't been lucky enough to get that elusive red one yet but, I keep hoping.


Well if You'd spring for the Super Lifetime Elite membership.....:D:D

[Eric Franklin]

I have to admit I joined for a year and have the same feeling towards it that everybody else has. I always find it funny that the product testing never shows anything negative about them.

I am a life time member to Cooking Club of America and those magazines actually have good information in them. Product testing isn't any better though.

[Mark Engel]

Well if You'd spring for the Super Lifetime Elite membership.....:D:D

That's me! I am an official Life Member of the HandyMan Club of America since 1996. Got a 'free' leather jacket out of the deal.

[Mark Engel]

I always find it funny that the product testing never shows anything negative about them.


Just to clarify, the products shown in the magazine are "Member tested and approved.", so you will not see negative comments. Products that don't get a positive response don't get listed in that section of the magazine.

Also, since I have been a life member for 12 years, I have received several items through the product testing program. Most were pretty worthless, and/or low end products. I did however get an Accuset A2N125 brad nailer/stapler kit to test several years ago. That is a very nice tool that I still have and use quite frequently.

As for the magazine, although it has gotten a little better recently, I can't argue with any of the previous comments about it.

For the most part, it seems like the company running this 'club', and all of the others it runs, is just trying to build a massive mailing list that they use to hawk some overpriced, low quality products.

By the way, I just got another product to test yesterday. The Inhibitor VCI Pro Chips. They are supposed to prevent rust in tool boxes, tackle boxes, etc. They sent me a 5 pack to test. The product sells for $5.99 for a 20 pack. Woo Hoo!

[Bill Wyko]

I got one in the mail too. I use it for kindling.:D

[Brian Dormer]

Mag is junk - and the "freebies" were pretty much junk. They bug you forever. In 2 years I never got offered a tool to test. But I did get some stuff I had to send back (overpriced, cheap tools). HOWEVER, I have a co-worker that bought into their woodworking book series (reminded me of the Time-Life books) and he raved about the books. He eventually discovered that he could get the books off ebay and avoid the club altogether.

[Mark Engel]

I think a lot of people are not really aware of how the tool test program works. You do have to sign up for the program and fill out a form. Years ago, you had to ask them to send the paperwork to you, but now you can fill out the form on the web site.

And , again, not everything in the testing program is junk. In addition to the Accuset nailer, I also recently received a Wrangler Riggs brand utility vest to test and keep. Very high quality item from Wrangler. They sell for about $45.00.