THE BIG BREAK HUNDREDS OF INVENTORS AUDITION FOR SHOT AT QVC STARDOM.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

Can a new twist on the lava lamp hypnotize the mass of armchair shopaholics watching QVC?

Gerald Lapuz hopes so after pitching his rotating lamp to the shop-at-home cable channel's buyers Tuesday as the road trip to find America's best undiscovered products rolled through Los Angeles.

``It captures part of the nebula cloud. It's safer, and it's just $40,'' said Lapuz, already sounding like a TV salesman while demonstrating the hypnotic powers of the NebuLite.

The Ontario inventor was one of 850 applicants who preregistered to have their wares screened by QVC, which is touring the nation in search of 100 new products to be featured on its ``Decade of Discovery'' shows this summer.

Just what invention will strike a chord with viewers to become the channel's next runaway star is a mystery.

It could be a tote bag that unfolds into a beach blanket, or perhaps a temple massager that releases stress. Or it could be a propane-gas barbecue shaped like a giant golf ball.

``It even sits on a giant tee,'' said Richard Ethridge, the Anaheim man waiting patiently in line with the contraption for his chance to wow QVC buyers in a screening room set up in the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near LAX.

``Every one of these products is someone's baby. People are staking their lives on them,'' said Marilyn Montross, QVC's director of vendor relations.

For struggling entrepreneurs and inventors, a spot on QVC could prove a windfall.

The channel reaches 96 percent of all homes with cable, putting it in 85 million households nationwide. Featuring everything from cookware to jewelry to cleaning supplies, QVC sales reached more than $4.8 billion in 2003.

The ``sweet spot'' of QVC's demographic is the ``baby boomer woman living in affluent suburbia,'' Montross said.

So what's the magic QVC scouring the nation for? ``Something that's demonstrable, that will come alive on TV,'' Montross said.

It's no wonder food products are often big sellers. One of the channel's biggest runaway success stories is Chesapeake Bay Gourmet's crab cakes. Since its launch on the channel in 1995, the once struggling vendor has sold more than 22 million crab cakes.

In the 10 minutes applicants had to impress buyers Tuesday, many quickly set up elaborate spreads of caviar, shrimp, smoked salmon and grilled vegetables they'd brought along in coolers and placed on fine china.

Manny Fineberg of Vista's Basiltops urged the QVC buyer screening his product to taste the various pesto sauces he's been selling to vendors like Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. His partner even asked the screener for a hug before she left.

Two men flew in from Idaho for a chance to pitch a 28-pound exercise machine called TargitFit - ``the greatest overall fitness item of all time,'' they claimed.

After being questioned about his product, TargitFit inventor Matt Siaperas said he was confident he'd be contacted by QVC in the near future.

``This is where it all begins.''

Despite seeing hundreds of products week after week, there is hardly ever any repetition, said Abby Schaefer, QVC spokeswoman. ``These are people's hopes and dreams.''

Among the dreamers Tuesday was Joseph Meisch of Sonoma County, who invented the Temple Massager six years ago and has been nursing its growth into the retail world ever since. If Meisch lands a spot on QVC, he plans to quit at least one of his many part-time jobs.

Jimmy Liu of Los Angeles is hoping he'll ride his Vibration Bike on-air in the months ahead. ``It shakes your whole body. Even your face and teeth shake,'' he said.

The bike, which Liu said intensifies exercise and helps digestion, is already a big seller in Japan and Korea.

QVC's final stop will be April 22 in West Chester, Pa. Applicants will be notified by March 18 whether QVC is interested. Selected products could be on the air as early as July.

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Anthony Kest of Pacific Palisades demonstrates his exercise device Tuesday at the QVC Product Search in Los Angeles.

(2 -- color) Joseph Meisch shows how his Temple Massager works for a QVC buyer Tuesday at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Above, QVC buyer Tracy Neill, left, examines Susan Neves' product, the Litter Loft, during Tuesday's QVC Product Search. Richard Ethridge, left, of Lake Forest shows off his Golf Ball Barbecue. ``It even sits on a tee,'' he said.

(5) Ray Lapuz, Anthony Alvarez and Gerald Lapuz, from left, display some of the NebuLites they hope to pitch on QVC.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer