Exercise

January 5, 2010

The Ugly Side of Infomercial Fitness Purchases

You’ve no doubt seen them. Fast-talking pitchmen hawking “must have” products over the airwaves. The ads used to be relegated to late-night TV, but now they’re on morning, noon, and evening. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that keeps getting bigger — which is unfortunate for you, the consumer.

As reported by the New York Post, Consumer Reports recently issued a scathing indictment of products sold through infomercials. In a nutshell, they found that most are simply junk. This is particularly true of fitness equipment, which are notorious for making exorbitant claims that have no basis in reality. Not all infomercial-based fitness products are bad, mind you, but the good ones are few and far between.

Understand that infomercials rely on impulse purchases. The producers of the infomercials craft the ad to make you feel as though you need the product now. Before and after photos are used to suggest amazing weight loss and muscle development (read the fine print to see that “results are not typical” — and usually have nothing to do with the product). Celebrity endorsements often help to lend credibility (the celebrities are well-paid for their endorsement and what does an actor really know about fitness, anyway?). The ads invariably culminate by making an “irresistible” offer, throwing in freebies that you have no use for and sometimes cost additional shipping. And then of course there’s the ubiquitous “money back guarantee.” Great, no risk, right? Think again. Not only is it a major hassle to return a product, the consumer also is responsible for return shipping costs. Moreover, by the time you figure out that the unit is crap, the money back guarantee has expired.

My advice is to stay clear purchasing any fitness product you see on TV without checking it out first. Jot down the name of the product and do a search on the internet. Read unbiased reviews (I’m in the process of adding more “As Seen on TV” reviews to my site, Lookgreatnaked.com). See if any complaints are lodged against the company selling the product or the product itself. And if everything checks out and you still want to purchase the unit, evaluate your options. A trick used by many infomercial companies is to keep the price of the unit modest and then charge outlandish shipping fees that are far in excess of actual costs. Instead of purchasing direct, you might be able to get it in a store or through a reputable e-tailer such as Amazon.com. Bottom line: Be an educated fitness consumer and you won’t get burned by hucksters looking to make a quick buck.

Stay Fit!

Brad

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