Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

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Muscling In on Your Pocketbook

  PRNewswire, a respected firm that companies hire to disseminate their press releases, published an unusual one last year with the headline: “ScamOrNotReviews Announces Muscle Xlerator Review for 2014.” The release purportedly was announcing the publication of test results by this consumer group of a pill to help build muscles.

The summary of the release reads as follows:

ScamOrNotReviews, a consumer advocacy group, has announced the release of their 2014 Muscle Xlerator review. The company examines claims made by product manufacturers to ensure their validity, and in the case of Muscle Xlerator, they have found that the manufacturer’s claims are accurate.

ScamOrNotReviews? A consumer advocacy group? Gee, MrConsumer never heard of them. Who are they?

The answer, according to a press release about a different product published the same day, is this:

ScamOrNotReviews is a consumer advocacy group with the goal of testing products for consumers, preventing companies from successfully misleading them with regard to products or services that may be offered. For several years, the review company has helped consumers sift through the many accurate and inaccurate claims made by companies in order to sell a product or service.

Wow, Consumer Reports has competition.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Googling ScamOrNotReviews did not turn up a functioning website for this consumer group, nor any of their reviews. Links in the press releases purportedly to the reviews themselves went to what looked like advertisements for the products. In the case of Muscle Xlerator, it showed a young woman speaking in a heavy Russian (?) accent saying that the product will help build muscle mass. And beneath the videos were links to the websites that sell these products.

The press releases came from a company called AfterHim Media, LLC, a web design and search engine optimization company. Who do they really represent here? The illusive consumer group or the sellers of these products?

As to the product itself, Muscle Xlerator, the website claims that these capsules will “build muscle mass and get ripped quickly.” They offer a $5.95 trial, but in virtually unreadable type in a footnote it says:

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you are satisfied, do nothing and you agree to be charged $89.95. Plus you agree to be enrolled in our Auto-Ship Membership Program and 45 days from your initial order date and every 30 days thereafter, you will be shipped a fresh supply of MuscleXLerator for $89.95, plus $5.95 shipping and handling.

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T.J. Maxx Sued for Phony “Compare at” Prices

  Two California consumers are suing T.J. Maxx for using deceptive price comparisons on their price tags. [See lawsuit.]

T.J. Maxx price tags looks like this:

TJ Maxx pricetag

It shows a higher “compare at” price and the lower T.J. Maxx selling price. Average consumers, like the plaintiffs, might believe they were saving that amount of money on the items they were buying because the same item or a similar item was selling elsewhere for the stated higher price.

As it turns out, T.J. Maxx defines “compare at” on their website (and they say on signs in their stores) in a bit of an unexpected way:

*MOUSE PRINT:

What do we mean by “compare at”?

The “compare at” price is our buying staff’s estimate of the regular, retail price at which a comparable item in finer catalogs, specialty or department stores may have been sold. We buy products from thousands of vendors worldwide, so the item may not be offered by other retailers at the “compare at” price at any particular time or location. We encourage you to do your own comparison shopping as another way to see what great value we offer.

T.J. Maxx seems to be saying that its “compare at” prices are merely estimates and not actual prices that it has found for comparable merchandise in the marketplace.

This does not square with state or federal guidelines that seem to require substantiation that a reasonable number of sellers are actually offering a comparable in quality item at the stated “compare at” price.

In T.J. Maxx’s defense, the actual selling price for their merchandise tends to be as low or lower than some of the best prices being offered elsewhere for the same item. And, in many of the cases that we checked, the compare at price that T.J. Maxx uses is conservative and sometimes less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

For example:

Nautica luggage

In this case, Nautica claims the list price of the 20-inch (not 21-inch as T.J. Maxx asserts) suitcase is $320. T.J. Maxx says the “compare to” price is $140, and they are is selling it for $69.99. Who knows what other brand is comparable to this particular item, but this very item sells for no more $99.99 at other stores.

So real life savings are $30 rather than $70 (at least for an identical item).

None of this excuses the company, however, for using estimates instead of basing its “compare to” prices on actual products and their real prices in the marketplace.

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Disney’s Frozen Had a Hidden Disclaimer

  This week, a little cool summer humor…

The Disney movie, Frozen, has been a runaway success. And despite many parents watching it multiple times with their kids, they probably missed the unusual fine print buried in the credits.

During the movie, Kristoff, the male lead, declares that “all men eat their own boogers.”

Disney, for whatever reason, posted a disclaimer about this at the end of the movie.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Disney disclaimer

Now it’s your turn to add a chuckle: add your own clever explanation in the comments of why Disney included this disclaimer, other than the obvious one — that it was a joke.