What court papers? Bankruptcy court papers!
From Bloomberg:
Sharper Image Corp., the seller of $300 electric shavers and $1,999 massage chairs, filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it was running low on cash.Consumer Reports first busted the expensive "Ionic Breeze" air fresheners for being ineffective and potentially dangerous back in 2003, at which time Sharper Image sued the organization unsuccessfully, finally giving up and paying court-ordered attorneys' fees and costs totaling $525,000. More recently, the Sharper Image lost a class action lawsuit in which plaintiffs claimed that Consumer Reports was correct when it found that the air filters provided "almost no measurable reduction in airborne particles." A judge recently threw out a proposed settlement in which consumers who bought the expensive air filter would receive a $19 coupon.The retailer will shed 90 of its 183 stores and is seeking a $60 million loan from Wells Fargo & Co. San Francisco-based Sharper Image plunged as much as 80 percent in Nasdaq trading.
``Sharper Image is in a severe liquidity crisis,'' Rebecca Roedell, chief financial officer of San Francisco-based Sharper Image, said in court papers filed last night in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. ``The foregoing has been compounded by the ever-tightening and volatile credit and financing markets.''
Sharper Image air-purifier class-action update [Consumer Reports]
Sharper Image Files For Bankruptcy As Cash Dwindles [Bloomberg] (Thanks, Charlie!)
I wonder if there is some useless crap manufacturing place that sends the higher junk to SI and the lower end to LV.
]]>Chapter 11 is reorganization, NOT liquidation. Its most likely Sharper Image will still exist after the bankruptcy proceeds although probably not under the same owners.
]]>I got stuck on the Sharper Image catalog and email list but I kept on it because sometimes they have interesting items to look at. Regardless of their ever-increasingly desparate bids to get my attention, I never bought anything there. The products aren't nearly different enough from what you can get at Target and the prices, well let's just say that the (actually really functional) Swiss-made humidifier they sell was something like $60 more than at my local Home Hardware. Going out of business? No surprise here.
]]>Sharper Image has $700,000 in the bank and $200 million in debt. Mind boggling.
]]>I'm glad those stores are closing. They seemed to have some pretty expensive crap in there anyway.
]]>Anyone who graduated from high school or college with competent knowledge of science would see through them. They had no fan to move air across the unit's collection plates, so their effective radius is probably about several feet. Once the collection plates are dirty, you have to clean the unit.
Sure it may actually 'lower' the dust content in home. But not in the way you think. With no fan to move air across and no HEPA filter to accumulate allergens and particles-- what happens? The dust falls (going 'lower') to the floor and is less noticeable than a dusty bureau or table.
I agree with REDHELIX just get a good HEPA filter vac and steam cleaner unit and you'll go a long way in reducing, 'indoor pollution', isn't that how SI put it?
Even that guy from ORECK, made a unit with a HEPA filter and a fan.
]]>@tripnman: That's the wonderful liquidator, Gordon Brothers. I'm sure they're taking over Sharper Image stores as we speak.
]]>Compared to Ionic Breezes, they're inexpensive, powerful, and proven to work.
]]>After some googling I found that there is a small circuit board in the back of the unit that connects 2 cables together that tends to rot. Upon farther inspection it seems the circuit board serves absolutely no purpose, the board is basically blank other than a thin strip of solder that connects the two cables. I soldered the two cables together and the unit work again. Won't buy anything from them again, but I do like visiting.
]]>Oh, no! Where am I going to buy my Trump Steaks now?
]]>@DCGaymer:
yea now its turning into Century Plaza.
]]>@neega: I too am an idiot. I got a refurb ionic breeze and it does as promised. My allergies are less bothersome, and there's a nice neutral "scent" in the room it's in. No headaches, no bleeding from my nose and anus, no cancer so far.
]]>We figured out our new apartment was mold infested when the rains hit. My husband is very sensitive and was having life threatening symptoms. While we were breaking our lease and looking for another place, I bought the Breeze GP out of desperation. It was the only thing with that technology at the time (they sell the UV lamp separately now). It really helped! Plus while we were cleaning out the place, we left it on as the last item to pack up. I figured we only had some last things to carry out and some basic cleaning to do so I turned it off and put it in the car. Back in the apartment, it took about 5 minutes for a massive migraine to attack from the mold. I brought it back in while we finished packing the rest of the stuff...the migraine went away 10 minutes later and we were able to finish out the job and leave. The Breeze came with us after everything else was done. Placebo, perhaps, but I was convinced after that.
My point is, not all of their products suck. I'll be looking for the UV only model on (a real) clearance at one of my local stores.
]]>I never understood Sharper Image, but at least at one point they stayed in shop centers that catered to the upper yuppie classes. Then they started showing up in every mall over 500,000 sq. ft., and they looked out of place.
Yeah, their stuff is cool, but pricey, and probably often overpriced. (The sliding-door CD player should have come down a long time ago.) And probably don't work nearly as well as they look (ditto).
Sounds like they banked hardcore on the Ionic Breeze, which seems to have satisfied both of those criteria as well.
]]>Whenever I'm around one of those IonicBreeze purifiers I always get short on breath and I get a bad headache. Glad to see their BS tactics are finally f'ing them over.
]]>Woot!
]]>@airren:
Groovy, thanks! (I love Costco.)
@woodenturkey: LOL...Galleria was "The Shit" ... LMAO.
]]>First Wilson, now SI. The mall is dying. Even at the "Galleria" (which used to be the shit for Yuppies ) here in Birmingham stores are closing left and right. It seems the new upscale strip mall is the new way to get fools to let go of their money.
]]>@backbroken: HAHA!! My boss has one in his office!
]]>In a city like Las Vegas, dust gets EVERYWHERE. It's like sand at the beach getting in all the cracks.
I don't claim that it helps my breathing any, but it does sure trap a hell of a lot of stuff.
]]>I believe the exact comparison consumer reports used was that it was as effective at pulling crap out of the air as a half grapefruit. The killer was the lack of a fan.
Definite idiot test. Definite junk science product. Probably a decent proxy for lottery ticket purchasers.
]]>The PS3 has sold 10 million units 4 months ahead of XBOX360 with no super block buster games even, what will happen when GTA4 & MGS4 & FF13 come out? I'll be buying one for sure =]
]]>yeah isnt it amazingly easy to be a monday morning quarterback after all the reports come out.
oh I forgot no one here ever makes a consumer mistake, lol
at least I admit my gift of an ionic breeze was a mistake. are you going to admit to those 400 dollar monster cables?
heh
]]>If only they had tried selling stuff that worked.
I am -glad- to see a company that systematically defrauded comsumers going bankrupt. I hope the ultimate settlement in the Ionic breeze cases finishes them.
The company that makes Enzyte should have the same.
]]>I can't believe how many people here have reported being sickened by this ionic breeze contraption. When I saw how much they cost I couldn't help but laugh my ass off at ANYONE who would rationalize the purchase of this so-called "air cleaner".
]]>@Sherryness: OH, you can get the lighed pepper AND salt grinders at Costco for under $20 (for both!).
]]>Oh dear, where will I get my lighted pepper grinders in the future?
]]>The Sharper Image is still around?How 1980's is that!
I wonder if they still carry the limited edition Members Only Ferarri Jacket and Porsche Design sunglasses????
]]>When is someone going to sue Head-On?
]]>@NO.NO.NOTORIOUS
Wait, is that the model with the USB connection that hooks into your computer that can pull up news from some 3rd World country becuase they want you to believe the corporate giant cares if some poor kid it doesn't know gets fed or not?
now i can get that coffee machine with ipod speakers that are also compatible with blue tooth!!!!
]]>A true Monster Cable of Air Filters!
]]>@hi: Yes, but Sharper Image sells the ionic air 'purifiers' under their name.
I got a small one for a xmas present one time, and one day I randomly searched and found out that it produces ozone. I threw it away right after.
]]>It was a fun place to visit but I never actually bought anything there.
]]>I've always thought of those Ionic Breeze filters as an idiot beacon. When I walk into a home or a business and see one, I know there is an idiot somewhere in the vicinity.
]]>Hey folks, guess what's coming?
STORE LIQUIDATION SALE. EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!
:P
well damn!
]]>Shouldn't the company that makes the air filters be responsible if they don't work?
]]>And the only reason people thought their ionic breeze "worked" is because it made the room smell like bleach, and it caught enough dust particles to make the metal plates look black. Beyond that it was useless.
]]>They used to swear about how lead used to cure gout, or how mercury could cure your veneral diseases.
]]>@ChrisC1234: Wouldn't you swear by your Ionic Breeze if you were dumb enough to spend $600 on something that is a health hazzard?
]]>I hope they don't close the store where I live. I rarely (if ever) buy anything there, but they're fun to go in to.
]]>