Fry Pan Sets-Your Choice Price: $19.99 - 54.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Tuesday, Mar 31 to Wednesday, Apr 01) + transit Condition: New
Poking around Amazon, it looks like the 12" Cuisinart pan is $42 minimum, and as much as $52, just by itself. That makes the 3-piece set a pretty good deal (assuming you don’t need lids, which I don’t; have plenty leftover from previous sets.)
The $52 12" Cuisinart pan you are referring to is the stainless steel non-stick version. The one selling here is a Hard-Anodized Nonstick 12-Inch Open Skillet, selling for $36.
I bought the 4pc Cuisinart set last fall when they were listed by themselves (and were $42 for the pair of skillets w/lids). They are excellent skillets, very well made with a nice heft. The non-stick surface is really nice. The included care booklet says they will work with induction cooking surfaces (since the skillets are primarily stainless steel, that makes sense). They have an aluminum core in the bottom to absorb and spread the heat evenly, but the outer surface is all stainless steel.
I bought the red T-Fal set in Feb and am happy with it. Apart from the nonstick cooking, I like that it’s not super-heavy. I used to cook with cast iron and this is better on my wrists without being at all flimsy. I ignore the ‘heat indicator spot’ which seems useless. But I recommend the pans, for sure.
I’ve been looking at this too long, but I think this is the 4pc Cuisinart set. Great reviews and compared to the other dozen makes/models I have looked at, you don’t see the barbell curve on the reviews where people love it for the first month, but give it one star after that. I’m in. http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-722-911CNS-Classic-Non-Stick-Skillets/dp/B00K7JV9J0