Complaint Review: SHARPER IMAGE - San Antonio Texas

The original writer has some incorrect information about the ISIS puzzle in question and Sharper image.  The following are items that will be discussed: the puzzle itself (including the rules, prizes, and clues), creation and manufacturing of the puzzle, and lastly sharper image's policies and returns.

i also bought the isis adventure puzzle from sharper image and found that every thing that was said from sharper image was in fact correct. The Puzzle is in fact a puzzle. The puzzle is a fully operational mechanism with in the ball that must be put in to sequence in order for the ball to open. I my self have cracked the puzzle with in as well as many people online. also if any doubt that the isis ball fake please refer to the isis adventure web site based out of the U.K. from their you can find that the silver ball is in their product line up so as for Sharper Image Saying its from U.K and others saying its made in china that is false it is indeed hand made form the U.K. I had my Isis ball shipped to me due to an unexpected short supply in the Sharper Image Store. When i received my Isis ball i was happy to see that with in the box was the address form the Uk at which it was shipped from not from china. as for the small Writing on the isis box saying made in china that is true THE BOX WAS MADE IN CHINA. if noticed the box is a very simple and cheep construction which holds the ball but thats all it is A BOX not the actual puzzle ball. as for the reason of being unable to return the isis it clearly stated on the original box in bright red labels once opened unable to return. THis is due to the unusual fact that if some one was to open the ball and register the code with in the opened ball then the ball would be useless and unable to be resold. As for the cryptography on the out side that is a fools way of looking at it once held the ball is easily described as a internal puzzle due to the rattle of the the 2 balls in side and its unique magnetic properties the hieroglyphics are hints on how to solve the internal puzzle. and yes it is not fun that it costs extra to find the hints but they can be and have been solved with in forums on line and some simple research. Also thats part of the puzzle, they are just hits not the solution. I believe that sharper image was true to every thing they said and it is a shame that even though some people cant beat the puzzle they insist they have been beaten by the company.

Sorry Gabe, but the puzzle is said to be one of the hardest puzzles ever which it is. I never heard anything about paying S.I. to get any encryption clues, if it is true that is would be a scam, but you shjould't have to buy anything else other than use your brain. When you bought it you knew what you were buy and it even said on the website that you can't return the product after you buy it. I would agree with S.I. on no returns since somebody could try to open it, get the code, close it up and return it, which is just not right. If you wanted to complain about it you should have done some research and talk to the manufacture about it. They are made in the U.K. but the box came from china.

Once again, the solvability was far from my biggest complaint on this. And I never claimed it was MADE by magicians, only that S.I. claimed it wes DESIGNED by a magician from the U.K and made there by master craftsman. The thing is made in china like it says on the box, It is ludicris to believe otherwise. And has it happens I ordered mine over the phone from a local S.I. store. It appeared brand new but may have been their demo. Their was certainly no "seal" of any type on the product I recieved,just the manual which clearly states a liberal return policy. To many lies. It is interesting to note you can no longer buy this at S.I., Bacccccck-ordered doncha know. I am also pretty sure that the FTC is investigating the origin of these things. Import goods are required to have the country of origin on the container load and master carton of the goods. Sharper Image has been in this position before with their "ionic breeze" air freshener which when tested proved to be completely bogus. Another very interesting fact was written up in Newsweek magazine several weeks before the holidays, it is archived under the heading . Dim outlook for the sharper image? And goes on to give the facts and figures on S.I.s stock performance, which had sunk to an all time low and looked like the end was near for them. Instead of having the stock run its course, S.I. called on all shareholders to buy more stock themselves in order to project a false comeback to stimulate their fantasy land economy. This reminds me of how the off track gambling rings adjust their profits. In every illegal large bookmaking operation they wait until all their bookies have called in their stats,just before post time and calculate how much they will have to pay out on any given horse, if the odds are against them they already have plants at the track who can make 50-100 thousand dollar bets across the board if necessary but usually only to blow the wind out of the sale of tickets at the track because thats what they have to pay out on,they dont care who wins the race,but if they unload larg ammounts of dollars on certain horses this changes the payout odds in their favor. Same thing big businesses do,remember enron, how about Montana power and light? It would be real easy to name many more swindlers,but I think you get my drift.

The Isis is a great puzzle. I got mine a couple weeks ago and solved it in three days. You need nothing more than the clues they give you, which are encoded in a simple cypher that takes 5-10 minutes for each one. Once you've done that, its a simple matter of following directions. Many, many people have opened their isis. Many people have already won prizes. As for where it is made, the Isis is hand crafted in England. The BOX is made in China, smart one. It is a really fine box any way. And for being made by a magician, well no !@*& its not made by a magician. Do you think they actually are trying to make you believe that it is made by a magician? As for the return policy, there is a stick seal ON THE BOX that says, 'If you open this, you cannot return it'. Thats pretty clear. You knew what you were getting into. The product description says, "The Hardest Puzzle ever". What, did you think it would take five minutes to solve? Great puzzle; I'd buy another one.

Fraud is fraud, whwather it comes in a package of foriegn origin other than what is claimed is sure proof of this. By the way I just got the latest S.I catalog yesterday and it seems they no longer sell the Isis. At least not in print. Maybe someone else got wind of this. Gabe

Well first of all, your main point was that you couldn't "find any cryptography that would read these," which means you didn't even look. I just got one, and within the first night of google searching "encryption," I had 8 of the 10 clues fully translated. The clues are not the hard part. As for the seal, it's no more than a red piece of tape saying, if you break this, there's no turning back. If you ordered it online and it came in an official box, you might have just popped it open without seeing it. If not, then it SHOULD HAVE had a seal, but that's not your problem since you got your money back. If it's made in China, it's still a nicely crafted puzzle. It seems to me that you're a stubborn person, from your immediate defense of the first rebuttle, and that's probably how you convinced S.I. to give you your money back. I, also, don't see what you're complaining about. Don't ruin the puzzle for people that want to actually do it, rather than just complaining about it being a "fraud."

To reiterate I never said I could not decipher the cryptograph, it was just not worth the time it takes to do so. I don,t have the slightest idea of what "breaking the seal" means. The isis came to me in a box witin a box no seal of any type, If I had known these things were supposed to come sealed I would,nt have accepted it in the first place. But can now only add that to my list of complaints. Also the warranty complaint stands, my instruction manual said liberal return policy, and the store said they would not give me credit on this. I had to have long session with the manager to effect this, when I confronted him about the itemization as a puzzle which it is not he admitted that it was indeed a combination lock saying "thats part of solving it" sorry charlie that is misrepresentation. And I will always stand firm against saying made in the U.K. when it is made in china. this is fraud. Gabe

I can't comment on country-of-origin, but the business about encrypted instructions is not deserved. (I am an Isis owner, not affiliated with TSI or the Isis manufacturers). The instructions are encrypted with a simple substitution cypher, trivial to solve (I knocked out all ten clues in about an hour). It's a nice touch for the hard-core puzzlers at which the Isis is aimed (like me). Regardless of its qualities as a puzzle (I've made some progress but not solved it yet) the Isis is stunningly well made. The machining is precise and a pleasure to manipulate. A big part of the puzzle's charm is that it is a beautiful object in its own right, as well as a difficult puzzle. In fairness to TSI, they *do* seal the box with a "don't break this seal unless you really want to do the puzzle" seal. The usual warranties on workmanship etc. seem to apply but my copy appears extremely well constructed. Based on your story, it appears TSI was more than fair with you -- you bought the puzzle, broke the seal, and then decided you didn't want your nicely working puzzle after all. They gave you back your money despite the broken seal. What more could you want?