Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was delighted when I found this item and ordered it to replace my treasured old Melitta 6-cup porcelain drip pot that had been dropped and broken. The original pots were made in Germany and had a nicely sculptured shape. Most important was their uniquely designed spout with its small hole that prevented coffee from dripping down the side of the pot when it was poured. I don't know whether that spout design is patented and often wondered why its simplicity and effectiveness was never copied. The item that I received from Amazon was a very poor Chinese imitation of the original. I would have returned it but it is not returnable (buyers beware!). The shape of the pot is clumsy and thicker than the original. The spout drips when liquid is poured from it. Detailing of the filter is less refined and it may not work as well. Even the box with its ersatz Melitta logo is too small for the pot, lending evidence to my assumption that this pot was made in a factory with poor quality control and under the direction of someone who doesn't understand why people valued the design in the first place. Melitta introduced the pot as an inexpensive item with the apparent marketing strategy of using it to sell its filters. After they stopped producing it, the originals became collector's items. The one we broke recently was purchased used by my German aunt from a thrift store in Germany to replace one we had lost in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. I would have been satisfied with a good imitation from Amazon, but the one I received was a waste of money.