Paul has written extensively about various underhanded tricks that supplement companies use to manipulate the trust of their customers… in fact, he’s written an entire booklet about it, called “Dirty Rotten Tricks” (if you haven’t downloaded it yet, you should.  It’s excellent!).

As noted in the booklet (as well as in this video), one of the most common online scams is the so-called “free-trial” offer, wherein the supplement marketer charges only a small shipping and handling fee for a full month’s supply of the product.  It looks like a great deal… but there’s a catch.  One of the ”Terms and Conditions” you ”agree” to when you accept the free trial offer is enrollment in an ”autoship” program. Unless you cancel the “agreement” within a relatively short period after ordering the free trial, you’re on the hook.  Needless to state, a LOT of people never read the “Terms and Conditions” before signing up, and are shocked/angry to discover they’re receiving product shipments – and credit card charges – they didn’t expect (and often can’t stop).

And yes, I’m quite sure about the “shocked/angry” part, since a fair number of the victims show up at UltimateFatBurner.com, to demand that “we” stop charging them and refund their money immediately.  This was a daily occurrence until we put a stop sign on the contact page.  Nonetheless, a few still get through… some people are so furious, they completely ignore the sign!  I can’t blame them for being upset, however.  They’ve been had, and they don’t like it one bit. 

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the victims we’ve heard from are women.  Women endure more social pressure to be thin, so they’re aggressively targeted by supplement marketers.  The bodies of sexy, lean women routinely adorn the ads for many of the weight loss supps on Paul’s “Wall of Shame“ (Lipozene, Extreme Acai Berry, Ultimate Trim are examples), so it’s pretty natural for women to be drawn to them.  We’ve heard from a few men too, of course, but – as a group – they’ve largely been spared… at least as far as weight loss supps are concerned.

That may be changing, however, as men – thanks to our Photoshop-addicted media culture – are developing body image issues too.  Not coincidentally, anorexia and bulimia are becoming more common in men, as well as teen/pre-teen boys.  Unfortunately, scammers are adept at preying on people’s fears, so the rise in male body anxiety is already drawing them… like sharks attracted by the smell of blood on the water.

So now we have “equal opportunity” free trial scams targeting young men eager to get shredded.  These two sites - David’s Ripped Combo and Jason’s 300 Workout – are perfect examples.  In fact, they resemble each other so closely, it’s a good bet they’re from the same marketer.  Both are faux sales-sites masquerading as “logs” by y’know, just a couple of average guys, looking out for their fellow dudes. 

Yeah, right. 

It’s just a coincidence that both “David” and “Jason” ran into ”one of the trainers from the gym”/”this guy from my gym” – who just happened to know how Hollywood actors get cut for movies like “Wolverine”/”300″.  And then they both ran home, did some “research” online, ordered the products and transformed from doughy-to-Dyn-O-Mite in only 4 weeks!  The kicker is, they both were able try this stuff for free!!! FER REAL!!!  And you can too, but you’d better hurry, ’cause – as you can see from the dates (helpfully printed in red) – that “free trial” offer is just about to expire!!! 

(FYI: just so you know, the dates keep advancing every time you visit these sites.  This is a well-known internet marketing trick designed to encourage impulse buys).

What are these magical “secret” supps known only to Hollywood actors… and David and Jason?  Jason is pushing “Max Acai Extreme” and “Acai Force Max”.  David, on the other hand, prefers the combo of  “Acai Force Max” (called “ForceMax” on the site) and “ColoTrim.”  Care to guess what happens if you click the links and sign up for one of those free trials the “bros” are pitching?

If you guessed, “I’ll be automatically enrolled in an autoship program”, you win a cookie!  The US Federal Trade Commission calls this “negative option marketing“ and while a few of the more flagrant abusers have been prosecuted, it’s not explicitly illegal.  So if you order a “free” sample of ColoTrim, for example, you will be sent – and billed for – additional product(s), unless you opt out within 15 days of the shipping (NOT receiving) date.  Max Acai Boost offers a 17-day trial that begins on the day you place your order.  Acai Force Max’s trial lasts only 14 days (and the impressively impenetrable “terms and conditions” page isn’t clear about when it starts, either).

Sneaky, eh?  14 – 17 days is hardly sufficient time to assess the value of a supp, and since the trial periods begin before you even receive the product, this makes the so-called ”free trial” even more of a (bad) joke.

And just like the women’s supps, these products ain’t cheap!  A month’s supply of ColoTrim runs $79.90; Max Acai Boost goes for $79.62; and Acai Force Max will set you back $87.62.

They aren’t worth that kind of money – not by a long shot.  As noted in this post, you should run – not walk - away from any diet supp with “Acai” in the title.  And – as we’ve (also) discussed before (here, here, here and here) - “detox” and colon “cleansing” products (like ColoTrim) are a waste of time/money.

Guys, trust me… this is one case where “equal opportunity” isn’t a good thing.  Jason, David and their ilk aren’t doing you any favors… rather, they (or whoever is behind them) are trying to cash in on your fantasies. The target audience may be relatively new, but the deceptive tactics aren’t.  Don’t fall for it.

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