Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 35

Advertising Scams (Part 9 – Words that Deceive, part 1)

We all recognize them: the sensationalized words that advertisers use to attract our attention. Remember, they have to get you to look at their product before they can sell it to you. Here are a few favorites along with their true meaning:

New! - (First warning – the exclamation mark is your first indication that they are trying to trick you.) – Does “new” mean better? Many recently released products are subject to recall or upgrades. Ask yourself: What about this is “new”? Is it a totally new product? Is this an old product with some new added?

It is frequently the second choice. In such cases it may be a new package (whoopee) or it may contain a new ingredient. There probably is no explanation on the package to explain why they had to change the contents – so research it first. The new ingredient may simply be a new preservative, a substitution, or some over-the-counter additive that may sound good but in reality does little or nothing. Accompanying “New!” is usually a higher price.

Better – (or Improved) - The first thing I wonder is why were they selling an inferior product to begin with. Is it “better” because it contains something “new” or because they changed the taste? Reread “New!” and you’ve just about covered this topic as well.

Guaranteed – (or Warranted) – In most cases this phrase is useless. The product itself may be guaranteed to work if you use it exactly as described, in a specific environment, at a certain time of the day, or when your in-laws are visiting. Never will the terms of this promise be spelled out on a package, and rarely in an advertisement. The Web site may have the details, but it will take you 10 minutes searching the site to find it and three hours of reading to understand it.

Guarantees always contain exceptions. There are always time limits (1 year, 3 months, 10 days, until you open the box) and usage limits (Pronghorn toothpaste is guaranteed to prevent cavities if you use it four times a day, with a Pronghorn Superior Toothbrush, along with daily flossing, with Pronghorn Super-Glide Floss. You must also prove that you visit a Pronghorn pre-approved dentist for cleaning at least once a month.).

Even if you meet all the requirements, what sort of satisfaction will they provide? They may only replace a certain part or it may have to be brought or mailed in to a certified repair store (at your cost usually). They may repair it or substitute another repaired product – rarely will a company give you a completely new product to replace a malfunctioning one.

Some guarantees are “money back if not completely satisfied.” In most cases you have to pay shipping and possibly a restocking fee, which, together, may come to more than you originally paid.

Better Than – My dog’s better than your dog. Our car has a larger glove compartment… get better mileage than…. And has a lower price than… If a product’s only quality is that it has some feature that is better than other products, look at those other products. Very few things have only one or two features. Car ads tout a couple of great items, yet they contain thousands. Just because a few are better may not mean it’s a better product.

Doctor Approved – (or Clinically Proven) – Almost every company that sells medical or medically related products have physicians on staff. They can easily get their company doctor to approve the product. They can even get 9 out of 10 of their company doctors to approve (and the 10th will be fired).

Similarly, such companies pay to have their products tested. They might even hire a dozen or more independent labs. Their ads, though will only describe the results of those that have good things to say about the product.

Imagine, FDA approved drugs have an amazing testing program, yet hundreds of them are recalled each year. Over-the-counter, homeopathic, and “natural” remedies have no such legal obligation. They frequently set up their own testing labs, give them fancy names, and then say how good the product is. (Also see “Listen to What Our Users Have to Say “ which will be in next week’s blog).

Sale – Do not be fooled into thinking that everything you see in a sales advertisement is ”on sale.” A recent examination of a supermarket weekly ad showed that 23% of the products had reduced prices while 8% of the items shown were price increases (compared with the previous week). Buy-One-Get-One ads may also be deceptive, with the store selling the product at higher than normal prices or at “list price,” which is usually more than you’d normally pay.

Starting at only… – (and For As Low As…) – A sure bet that what you want will be considerably higher. This is especially true with cruise, airline, and hotel prices. The one-week cruise for $699 may be for one room, located on the inside, lowest level, next to the laundry room. Also watch for vacation prices that are per-person, rather than per-room. Two people will pay twice the price.

Save up to – This is the same at the previous one. The ad may say you can save up to a huge amount, but then again you might not. This is especially true in auto ads that use the undefined terms “for qualified buyers.”

For Only – You have no idea what the value of this product is, so when you are quoted “only” $24,000 for a bathroom makeover or $43,000 for a time share, what do you have to compare it with. Become an expert before you shop. In fact, print out sales ads from the Internet and take them with you.

We once visited a time-share that wanted to sell us a week “for only $29,000.” The pitch ended when I showed them that there were more than a dozen of their units currently selling on the Internet for under $10,000.

Continued next week.