As a reader of mine, I know you’re health-conscious. And you probably take dietary supplements to boost your health.
But I must warn you: Please don’t try to save a few pennies by buying cheap, mass-produced supplements from large retail stores or internet sellers. As I’ve told you before, the products sold by these purveyors are always inferior in quality. In fact, it’s extremely rare that they contain the right dosages, ingredients, forms, and combinations to support optimal health.
And now, we’re discovering that some of the dietary supplements sold by one online retail giant are downright fakes…
Amazon consciously sells counterfeit supplements
Hedge fund manager Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com in 1994 as a way to cash in on the skyrocketing consumer traffic on the world wide web. Initially, the online retailer priced its books so low that it undercut honest, independent booksellers and publishers, putting most of them out of business. This cut-throat strategy prevented Amazon from making any real profits until 2001.
Since then, Amazon has taken over many other sectors of the retail world—including dietary supplements. In fact, according to recent data, Amazon now has its fingerprint on 77 percent of all online vitamin and supplement sales!
The problem is, most of Amazon’s total sales—58 percent to be exact—now funnel through so-called “third-party” sellers.
These third-party sellers are independent vendors that sell merchandise made by other companies through the Amazon website. So, for example, when a consumer searches on Amazon for “vitamin C,” most of the products available are actually being sold through third-party sellers…not directly from Amazon.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know which (if any) of these third-party sellers are reputable and which ones aren’t. In fact, some of these hucksters are actually peddling knock-offs and passing them off as well-known, brand-name supplements.
But worse yet…Amazon knows about it!
Amazon, you have a problem
Get this: Wired magazine recently published a story about a woman who ordered a dietary supplement that’s made by Proctor & Gamble from the Amazon website.
Two weeks after the woman got the product and started taking it, she received an automated email from Amazon warning her that the product was from one of their third-party sellers and most likely counterfeit. The impersonal robo-email said she should immediately stop using the product and dispose of it, and a full refund would be issued back to her account.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed that the email had been sent and that they do, indeed, offer third-party sales of that particular product on their site. But they refused to identify the number of people who had been defrauded. And they seem very slow in making any significant changes to stop this same problem from happening again!
Of course, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which I and many others worked closely on in 1994 with then-Congressman Bill Richardson in Washington, D.C., closely regulates dietary supplement sold through reputable channels in the U.S. But fake products sold through third-party sellers completely circumvent DSHEA’s regulation process. Which is only part of the problem here.
Indeed, the problem with fake supplements reaches much further than just Amazon…
Know and trust your source
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the market for counterfeit and pirated goods now pulls in more than $500 billion per year. (My sister actually worked for this organization in Paris during the 1990s.) And these bad supplements can harm your health.
In fact, a few years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that counterfeit supplements can sometimes contain harmful prescription drugs, including steroids or antidepressants.
I’m glad to learn, though, that the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year that Amazon is liable for the harmful products sold by third-party sellers in some circumstances.
However, Amazon is appealing the decision.
So, my advice remains the same…
Never buy supplements (or anything else) from Amazon or big retail outlets. Instead, I urge you to do your research and purchase high-quality supplements. And while you’re doing so, check out my own line of supplements under the “Shop” tab of my website.
We base each and every formula on the most up-to-date scientific research available. And when creating a new product, we always look to human control studies first. That helps us build products that deliver real, life-changing results.
Plus, your purchases with Smart Science Nutritionals are always risk free. We stand behind every single product we make with our 100% Money-Back Lifetime Guarantee. So, if you order one of our formulas and it doesn’t meet your expectations, simply return it for a refund of the full purchase price (less shipping).
So, in 2020, make this positive change for yourself: Choose quality supplements. And leave those deceptive retailers out to dry.
P.S. I’m always working diligently to bring you the latest science. And that includes which dietary supplements I believe are—and aren’t—the best for your health. In fact, I spelled it all out for you in the January 2018 issue of my monthly newsletter, Insiders’ Cures (“Ring in the New Year with the right supplements”). So if you haven’t already, consider signing up today. Click here now!
Sources:
“Amazon admits it sold fake supplements.” Mercola, 8/9/2019 (articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/08/07/amazon-selling-fake-supplements.aspx)
“Online vitamin Sales are growing faster than the rest of e-commerce.” The Brief Blog, 2/23/20. (rakutenintelligence.com/blog/2016/online-vitamin-sales-growing-faster-rest-e-commerce)
Amazon Warns Customers: Those Supplements Might Be Fake.” Wired, 7/19/19. (wired.com/story/amazon-fake-supplements/)