Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 33

Advertising Scams
(Part 7 – Deception Through Addition)

Billy Mays was a super salesman. His products may have caused some of us to blink twice, and his $19.95 prices rarely varied. Whenever you saw him you’d wait for the punch line, “But wait, if you buy now….” He’d throw in a second item, or sometimes something totally unrelated. But Mr. Mays was always honest about the price. You saw the cost of shipping and handling right in his advertisement and the free items never created additional costs.

Mays and his partner, Anthony Sullivan, have had many imitators, and some of them practice deceptive advertising. They are easy to spot if you are paying attention. One item for the set price (usually $19.95, far below the value they say it’s worth) and lots of added bonuses. The catch comes at the end, and rapidly, “for additional shipping and handling.”

Thus the product, at perhaps $19.95 and $6.50 S & H, may be something you want, and the extras may be nice, but there may be three added items, each worth a few dollars, and each with an additional $6.50 S & H. There have been several of these deals where the total cost is over $50. While you can return the items and get your original $19.95 back, you cannot get the S & H refunded and you have to pay return costs (and possibly a restocking fee).

Another deception through addition practice, one that works so well that we’ve seen more than 100 companies use it, is to offer a product for free, with a small S & H charge. They only accept credit card purchases. In the small print, possibly not even in the original ad, but included in the documentation you get with the product, you have become enrolled in their “purchase club,” and will continue getting the product until you cancel it.

ProActiv, a skin care product, offers their product on television, in newspaper and magazine ads, and through web sites. You purchase their main product, get free bonuses, and you believe that’s the end of it. What you may not see is their small print, usually two to five levels down on pages you may never consider visiting. What you eventually find is:

“When you order our 3-Step System, alone or with additional products, you're automatically enrolled in the Proactiv® Solution Clear Skin Club: your passport to a variety of exclusive benefits designed specially to give you a clear advantage over acne.”

And…
“There's no minimum number of kits to buy, and you can cancel at any time.
· Never worry about running out or forgetting to reorder
· Every 60 days, receive a 2-month supply of your Proactiv Solution kit (less your free bonuses). Your credit card will be billed, plus shipping and handling, for each 60-day supply.”
Perhaps you did not expect to get another shipment, ever. But if you do not cancel prior to the second shipment going out, you’re stuck with it. ProActive may be an honest company with a good product. We do not make such judgment calls. What we do not like is their sales technique.

Yet it works so well that it has been imitated by companies that are very deceptive, yet stay within the law. Enzyte, “the number one selling supplement for natural male enhancement,” offers a free 30-day supply with $5.95 S & H. Only if you look closely you will find…

“*With your trial order today, you are enrolling in our free ViaLife Rewards Program. Approximately 1 week before your current cycles run out we will begin shipping you regular bi-monthly 60 day cycles and your credit card will be charged $79.90. Membership includes guaranteed free shipping plus special offers on other Vianda brands.”

Notice the asterisk? That tiny * will be very easy to overlook in their huge ad.

Before making any purchase from a television, print, or web advertisement, do your research.