It stinks that you all have had such bad experiences with it. Ours has been wonderful. I spent a fortune on the deluxe set because my dd wanted it so badly. She is 10 and loves to cook. She has made all 20 of the mixes and the whole family ate the cupcakes.....they weren't too bad! It took her a couple of tries to get the consistancy right, but she worked at it and the final product came out beautifully. She did it on her own and had a blast. It has definitely been a winner for her! Ali