‘Tis the season to be jolly. Or at least that’s the way the old Christmas carol goes. Caught up in the excitement of the season, television viewers are barraged mercilessly with infomercials and commercials hocking products in high rotation across the satellite or cable channels.

Whether it’s the “clap on, clap off” pitch, the ceramic creature that grows green hair of fur, or that “structured settlement” the announcer’s hammering away to separate you from your dollar, the advertising is nonstop. In the magic pill, cream or treatment arena, the consumer can “lose weight effortlessly,” “enhance that certain part of the male anatomy,” or make those facial wrinkles disappear. It can all be done effortlessly – of course, for a fee. Just pull out the plastic card and call.

Do all these products work as advertised? Consumers should remain skeptical. The oft-repeated adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” is inexpensive advice worth remembering.

The diligent consumer can also do a little quick research online, to see what is out there for customer satisfaction. Google.com, Yahoo.com. and Ask.com are just a few of the search engines that can save a little time and money and keep the consumer away from an unhappy experience. Key words should include the name of the product, consumer reviews or other relevant search words.

Don’t tarry at the company’s Web site; spend your time seeking actual people who have direct experience with the product. Often, it only takes a few clicks of the mouse to determine that the product tickling your fancy is a turkey with literally hundreds of unhappy purchasers weighing in online to save other consumers from making the same mistake.

The prospective buyer should weigh a large number of sites and then make the final purchase decision for his or herself. If you are still willing to proceed with adding the infomercial product to your estate, at least you are doing your best to make a well-informed decision. Use your credit card, as credit card companies offer more protections than ATM cards or personal checks should there be a problem with the delivery or quality of the product.

The infomercial appears on your television because this type of marketing technique works. Infomercial products are a $91 billion-a-year business – very healthy, when one considers that Wal-Mart sells well over $312 billion annually at its big boxes around the world.

Consumers should also be concerned about other family members who may be well into their senior years or disabled, who frequently have little resistance to the siren’s call of these products. Consumers are encouraged to monitor the purchases of their loved ones who may be at risk of falling prey easily to these overhyped sales pitches.

Federal regulatory agencies need to monitor and regulate infomercial industry more closely and verify the outlandish claims often made in these 30-minute pitches. While we are more than 125 years beyond the glory days of the wild, wild, West – complete with snake oil salesmen selling useless products in a bottle to the unenlightened from the back of his covered wagon – with today’s infomercials the wagon has been traded in for the television airwaves. Everything else remains essentially the same. Clap on. Clap off.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s membership funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. Interested and motivated prospective volunteers are always needed and welcomed to apply to help with our mission. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for more information, write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.