Why I Don’t Take Live Calls During My Shows.

This is a question I have been meaning to answer for quite some time and with my shows coming up, it seemed like a perfect time to respond.  I know that many of you would like to call-in and share your experiences live during my shows and I enjoy nothing more than answering your questions and hearing your praise for my products, but it is not something someone can ethically and legally do on live-TV when selling health products.  I know that some folks even feel it is disrespectful of me to ignore the people who are so devoted to my products and who have years of experience to share about those products.  For obvious reasons, nothing works better for product sales than an enthusiastic live call, but sales is not my focus and because we are talking about health products, I can’t take live calls.  Out of respect for you, the integrity of the shows and the law, live calls cannot be ethically taken with health products.  I’m sorry if I seem unfair, but it is my desire to be fair that prevents these calls.

As you know, virtually all my products are “Customer Picks” with wonderful reviews on HSN.com.  I am grateful and proud of the praise they receive, but those incredible reviews give an idea of the potentially inappropriate praise and medical claims that occur when taking live calls during shows.  There were a number of past live calls praising my products that prevented me from continuing to take calls in the future.  The calls were great – in fact, too great – and their praise crossed into areas that were medical claims.  In the eyes of the law, the well-intentioned but medical claims of a caller are just as if I made those claims.  They are not made legal just because they are made by a well-intentioned caller.  I can’t undo a medical claim once made even by the most well-intentioned and enthusiastic user of my products.  In other words, if I cannot make medical claims during my shows, then the law also considers a medical claim by a caller the same as if I had made that claim.  It is a pretty strict and harsh rule, but live TV is a unique place to offer health products, which comes with serious responsibilities that I take very seriously.  It would be foolish of a broadcaster to think that they are immune from the legal consequences of their claims because they are made by callers.  And when you think about it, the law makes sense, since folks suffering from health conditions can be very vulnerable to statements about treatment and cure of their disease or condition.  It is important to protect these folks from being mislead and leave medical issues for their relationship with their medical doctors.  The law also prevents unscrupulous advertisers from being “cute” by using callers to make claims that were otherwise illegal for them to discuss directly.

I hope that was not too “legal” of a discussion, but let it suffice to say, I would love nothing more than to include live calls during all my shows.  Taking these calls was always my favorite part of my shows in the past, but my respect for the law and for everyone who watches my shows prevents me from doing so now.  Nothing sells products better than the wonderful enthusiasm and emotions of a genuine, live testimonial caller who has used my products for decades; however, my ethics and respect for you and the law, prevents me from taking live calls.  As much as I’d love to talk to you during my shows and as beneficial as that might be from a sales standpoint, it would not be ethical to do so.  It is ironic that precisely because my customers’ experiences are so remarkable and my products so well-liked that I cannot take live calls, but regardless, I still make sure to share your words using thousands of Customer Experience charts and I always make sure to encourage to learn more by reading reviews at HSN.com.  In closing, I hope you understand that although I would love to take live calls, I must preserve the integrity of my shows and protect your right to make informed, independent decisions.

Best of health,

Andrew

Atlas Shrugged…why I have not written a blog lately.

The title of this blog probably does not make sense, but I will do my best to explain below.  Unlike many blogs, I write my own blog.  There is no ghost writer, so when I run out of time, I can’t write and recently, a project for my nonprofit has consumed a large amount of my free time.

Many of you know that I am fluent in French.  I speak, read and write it as easily as I do English.  Many of you might also know that one of the most influential books in my life is a novel entitled Atlas Shrugged, which was published in 1957 by a woman named Ayn Rand who had the misfortune of growing up in Russia at the horrific times of the Russian and Bolshevik Revolutions in the early 1900s.  Those tumultuous times gave rise to Communist Russia and the Soviet Union as we knew it.  In this book Ayn Rand praises what a uniquely wonderful creation America is.  I guess that is not surprising coming from someone who lived through the horrors of those times in Russia, which gave her a unique appreciation of what makes America great.  She admires our wonderful freedoms and the bold, creative individual spirit that defines our great country and she reminds us of how blessed we are to be here.  Each of the three times I have read the book in my life, it has influenced three of my most important business decisions.  First, when reading it back in 1986, I was encouraged to close my law practice and devote myself full-time to my passion – my then 7 year old vitamin-hobby.  And then, when reading it in 1996, it reinforced my decision to leave QVC and then reading it again a decade later in 2007, it reminded my why I should not return there.  This book has positively influenced three of the most important business decisions in my life and as a result I have always felt an enormous debt of gratitude to its author, which is why I now find myself translating this American novel into French - to both repay a special debt of gratitude to its author and as a gift to the French people who need to read it so desperately.

The translation project started about 4 years ago when I decided to reread the book in French, but much to my surprise, the book had not been translated into French…German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, etc., but not in French.  Apparently someone began the French translation 50+ years ago, but never finished.  I then contacted the author’s estate (Ayn Rand is now deceased) and I acquired the rights to perform the translation.  The French translation is now complete, having been translated by a wonderful French translator/writer, and I am repaying my debt to Ayn Rand by editing it – going through it word for word to make sure that it is faithful to Ayn Rand’s English.  The book is over 1,400 pages long in French so this is no small undertaking.  It will be done in the next few months and it will then be distributed in France.  It is not a profit-making venture, but it will repay my debt of gratitude to Ayn Rand for the creation of the book while enabling the French to also read this important American novel that many Americans say is their second most influential book – only to the Bible. 

I hope you now understand why I have not blogged recently and that things will soon return to normal.  As I said, I am so dedicated to this translation because without it I would not have a vitamin company, nor would there be any shows of mine to watch on HSN, nor hundreds of millions of prenatal vitamins to donate to needy mothers, etc., etc.  I thank God and this book (and my parents J) for insuring that my life followed its intended path. 

Healthy New Year!

Andrew

Live Remote Today’s Special Revealed at Your Request.

I have to get ready for my shows, but I have seen your questions and rest assured, ALL my products have Special Pricing (even Healthy Hair, Skin and Nails) during this visit and due to popular request, the Today’s Special during my live broadcast from my facilities in Nevada will be Resveratrol-100 with Pomegranate 40:40.  Tonight will be Circulation and Vein Support for Healthy Legs, along with Energy and Fat Metabolism Factors and Sunday is my Secure Complete Meal Replacement with Special Pricing on ALL my other products on TV and on HSN.com. 


See you tonight! 


Andrew

2011 is Here with Three Amazing Today’s Specials!

A great deal of work has gone into creating all three of this year’s Today’s Specials and most importantly, we have managed to make them available at what are likely their best prices ever!  I hope everyone understands how difficult it is to continue to offer improved versions of your favorite products at better values year after year after year, but this year I think we have truly outdone ourselves.  Just to give you an idea, the Economy Size Secure Complete Meal Replacement on Sunday will be less than 50 cents per Meal.  That’s right!  Less than 50 cents per Meal for 7+ grams of Heart, Bone, Brain Healthy Soy Protein, which has proven to be the best protein for weight-loss.  It also includes 26 vitamins and minerals and it is also low in fat, low in sodium and contains zero cholesterol, zero saturated fat and zero trans fat.  It also contains less than 8 grams of carbohydrate per meal for those watching carbs and just over 70 calories per serving.  I am not aware of any meal replacement that even comes close in terms of offering the lowest calories, best taste and highest quality – yet ours is a fraction of their cost!  I can go on and on, but I hope the fact that my Meal Replacement is so affordable is not considered a compromise, since there truly is also nothing like it in terms of quality, taste and most importantly – affordability!  By the way, even the smallest Try-Me Size of Secure will still be less than one dollar per meal!

On Friday, you will have a choice of Today’s Specials: 

Either a new and improved version of everyone’s favorite Circulation and Vein Support for Healthy Legs or another New Year’s Favorite – Energy and Fat Metabolism Factors.  We have added an exciting new ingredient to Circulation and Vein Support – of course keeping everything you love, but just making it an even more powerful and effective formula.  Best of all, despite the new addition, the product can be purchased at its best pricing ever!  Speaking of best pricing ever, that is what you will also find with our Energy and Fat Metabolism Factors, which provides all the instant energy of my Urgent Energy with all the ingredients from my original Fat Burning Factors to support the most difficult and important form of energy metabolism we seek – Fat Metabolism.  We all work hard at weight-loss this time of year and the most important thing we can do is manage what we eat and my Secure Complete Meal Replacement makes that easy and enjoyable while Energy and Fat Metabolism Factors helps sustain the energy necessary to make those sound decisions on diet and exercise.

The good news only continues, since ALL my products will have Special Pricing whether on TV or at HSN.com and ALL my products will come with FREE Shipping and Handling.  It will be the perfect time to reorder or try something new since everything is at Special Pricing and with Free Shipping and Handling.  It will be a great way to celebrate making this the Happiest and Healthiest of New Years!

I will see you tomorrow!

Healthy New Year!

Andrew