Maybe I Care Too Much About This...But I'm Calling BULLSHIT. Again.

Power Bullshit.

There's a young girl on a local selling site selling these..."Power Balance" bracelets...for $15 each, claiming that they were given to her free for a promotional thing...she says she's sponsored by Power Balance in tennis.

Well, I have been waiting for her "new, free" bracelets to arrive (she said she gets them as a promotion) so I could get some more pictures of them from her.  Shocker of the day...LOL...they aren't genuine "Power Balance" bracelets.

I knew as soon as I saw them that they were fake.

Note the color of the bracelets and lettering.

Fake.  It even looks cheap!

So, because I'm a skeptic, I already found out that "Power Balance" is being sued over their bracelets.  They're a scam.  People want their money back.  They hold no more power than a rubber band.  Shocking.  LOL  Sorry, but from the second I saw them I had to take a minute and look into what it was that they said was giving these rubber bracelets their "power".  Well, it turns out it's the hologram.  Seriously.  LOL  Oh that's some good stuff there!  XD

Anyway, the girl selling THESE bracelets has lied from the start.  Again.  Shocking.  LOL

The bracelets she's selling are NOT from "Power Balance"...they're from eBay.  And they're not genuine.

Fake.  Buy 10 for $20 on eBay.  

See?!  See the bracelet colours?  See the lettering?!  Same thing.  Exactly the same thing.  It took me all of three minutes to seach eBay for "Power Balance Bracelet Lot", and found this at the top.

From the website.

I'm no detective, though I play one in real life.  I know a scam when I see one, and I knew this was one the second I read about how the hologram (a sticker) improves strength and balance.  Seriously...does someone need to say that out loud to hear how insane it sounds?!

I put a picture from the "genuine" Power Balance bracelet buying page...and as you can see, they look completely different.  See the plastic cover on the hologram?  It's missing from the ones she's selling.

The hologram looks nothing like the "real" bracelets...and for shits and giggles, I punched in different colours offered by Power Balance, and saw that the black bracelets offer three choices for lettering...black, white, and yellow.  Not red.  Not green.

Another dead giveaway was the clear bracelets.  The website offers two colours for lettering.  Pink, and white.  Not purple.  Not blue.

And hey, I know I probably DO give WAY too much of a shit about this...but I HATE seeing people being ripped off.  If someone is buying something believing it's a genuine product, they should be GETTING a genuine product.  I hate scammers.  I hate seeing people scurrying to buy these bracelets for $15 each when they could get ten of these for $20 on eBay if they love them so much.  And really, if it's the BRACELET they love, that's fine.  Whatever.  But no one is going to pay $15 for a "Power Balance" bracelet for fun.  It just irritates me.  Badly.

So again, don't buy ANYTHING until you've researched it.  Know wtf it is that you're paying for.  Don't be scammed.  And please, for the love of all that is good and holy, HAVE MORE SENSE THAN DOLLARS.

That is all.

"Power Balance" Bracelets Are Power Bullcrap

So, since I'm something of a skeptic when I read things online about plastic bracelets doing wonderful things like improving strength and balance, when I saw some advertised on a local selling site, I did the unthinkable. I Googled that shit.

This is what I found...


"Power Balance Bracelet Company Hit With $57 Million Settlement, Expected To Go Bankrupt"

UPDATE (11/22/2011): Power Balance filed for bankruptcy in federal court on Friday, but laterposted a tweet saying they're not going out of business.

Angry consumers who sued Power Balance, the company that makes those hologram-plastered athletic bracelets, will soon be winning a whopping $57 million settlement from the company, reports TMZ.

The famous bracelets shot to popularity a few years ago and were soon spotted on the wrists of various celebs and pro-athletes. Costing about $30, the silicone jewelry featured a thin polyester film hologram that purportedly "enhanced the body's natural energy" and promoted balance in a design that was supposed to mimic Eastern philosophies.

The claims seemed dubious from the get-go, even as California-based Power Balance began to swell in size and income. The trouble started for the company back in January, when disappointed consumers first filed a federal lawsuit claiming the bracelets packed no more power than a rubber band. Josh Rodarmel, 28, and his brother Troy, who founded the company, were forced to release a statement acknowledging that the bracelets' alleged magical power had no ground in science:

In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility.

We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund.

But the refund offer only had six months to percolate before today's massive settlement delivered a $57 million dollar blow. TMZ reports that the company will now be declaring bankruptcy and scrapping the Power Bracelets for good.

Read the original story at TMZ, and check out some celebs sporting their Power Bracelets below. Attention, Kate: start putting yours on eBay now!

So, the reason I'm writing this post is to make people aware.  Don't buy anything before you research it...even just GOOGLE it.  Just sayin'.  It took me all of five seconds to find this...which explains why these bracelets are being sold on Amazon.com for .99 cents.  LOL

If you fell for it, I'm sorry.  Live and learn....and get your money back.

Read more:
http://blog.standupandeat.org/post/2011/04/PowerBalance-Bracelets-e28093-FINALLY-SOME-RESEARCH!.aspx

http://gizmodo.com/5723577/powerbalance-admits-their-wristbands-are-a-scam