Is USANA Health Sciences a Fraud?

USANA (USNA) is a health and beauty company. It produces, researches, and sells health and beauty products mostly through a Multi-Level Marketing operation (direct selling). Its growth has been phenomenal and it has been publicly traded since 1992.

Its stock has appreciated from $.60 a share in 2002 to a high of over $60 a share just within the past few months. In the past few months all sorts of negative news have come out, the biggest being that ex-convict Barry Minkow has published a 500 page negative report on USANA basically saying it's a fraud, and the SEC has opened up an investigation into USANA. There were also new class action lawsuits announced late last month.

Addressing the Multi-Level Marketing Scheme Accusation
When I read about and watched a YouTube video of how USANA has supposedly lied to new associates about the money they can make, I just thought to myself of all the same schemes or businesses my friends/associates throughout the years have offered me. Some lie, some just only talk about the positives, no one ever talks about the negative aspects and how tough it actually is to make it as an associate and make a lot of money (for Usana, the top 3% of distributors make 70% of the commissions). When I did ask a question about the risk involved, there is a change of topic or somehow the question is not answered. If the new associate/distributor does its own research or actually thinks about what it's being told, there would be a lot less people signing up. I have never been involved in a MLM operation, but I would guess there are specific directions they follow when answering questions regarding risk. There obviously is an issue with USANA's MLM, but I think it will pass, it is just temporary negativity.

Click here for an interview with an actual USANA Distributor or “Victim” as Barry Minkow calls her.

Regarding the Product Problems
I am more worried about the product issues. Barry Minkow said in his report that some of the products fall short of the claims made on the labels for ingredients. This is from Barry Minkow’s report for the Usana’s product Essential Mega Antioxidant:

Folate (as folic acid) claimed 500 pgs per serving and only tested for 390
pgs per serving.

Vitamin B-12 (as cyanocobalamin) fell significantly short from the claimed 100 pgs per serving and only tested for 63.8 pgs per serving.

Alpha Lipoic Acid fell short by 8% from the claimed potency on the box.

By far the most serious and significant shortage resulted from the mega antioxidant ingredient Coenzyme Q-10, which scored only 14% of the “guaranteed potency.”

The other issue with the products is that, according to Barry Minkow, the prices are extremely high compared to similar products. One example is USANA HealthPak 100, taken from Barry Minkow’s report:

The Usana product has a regular wholesale price of $118.89 for a 28 day supply, while
the Animal Pak product has a price of $18.50 for a 22 day supply.
Usana 28 day supply @ $ 118.89 = $ 4.25 daily cost
Animal 22 day supply @ $ 18.50 = $ 0.84 daily cost
As you can see, the Usana daily cost of $4.25 is $3.41 more per day than the Animal Pak,
or 406% more expensive.

There are a significant amount of other products that laboratories compared and the USANA product was clearly more expensive when the potency of the two products were similar. There were also issues where the potency did not match the label claims.

Valuation
Its trailing price/earnings ratio is 17.07 and its forward price/earnings ratio for fiscal year 2008 is 13.32; both are great numbers for a company growing as fast as USANA. The PEG ratio is .86. Its gross margins for the past 3 years have increased from 75.2% to 76.1%, most of its costs are associate incentives/commissions and SG&A expenses. Its operating earnings have been 16.6%, 18.1%, and 16.6% for the past 3 years. It has a very strong balance sheet with over $32 million of cash and cash equivalents on its books and no debt. Its growth has been phenomenal with sales going from just over $133 million in 2002 to just over $374 million in 2006, that is over 29% per year. Just recently on April 10th, it announced an increase in its stock buyback program to $65 million.

Technicals
To put it mildly, it’s been trending down in the past few months. Volume has been big in distribution days, all of the momentum is down. This is not the place to buy. USNA is close to support from last summer at around $37.50 a share, which is a good level to keep an eye on it. The down trend is not confirmed yet by the moving averages, but the 50DMA is getting ready to cross the 200DMA this week and that will be the confirmation.

Conclusion
The negativity this company is currently experiencing is tremendous. The stock price is definitely displaying it, some of it is definitely unwarranted. The issues I am worried about are its products, some of which do not support its claims and which are much more expensive than comparable products for other brands. If what Barry Minkow said in his report about its products is true, I expect to see margin pressures from USANA trying to increase its products' potency to match the claims on the products and from price pressure since comparable products are so much cheaper (Its 1st quarter results had no signs of these pressures as gross margins increased by 220 basis points compared to its 1st quarter results in 2006).

I would avoid this stock for now and wait to see what happens to its sales, earnings, and margins in a full quarter after the accusations. The technical picture does not look great at this point either.

USNA 1-yr chart:

Disclosure: I don't have a position in USNA.

Comments

[terrihamel1:]

Alex, you need to contact USANA Health Sciences! Talk to Dr. Myron Wentz yourself. You will understand that what Barry Minkow is saying about the dosages is absolutely incorrect! PLEASE ASK THE SCIENTISTS THEMSELVES! They support all their claims through long-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies published in mainstream medical journals. Dr. Wentz just won the Albert Einstein award in Jerusalem. They're affiliated with the Linus Pauling Institute. And Barry Minkow is a convicted felon. Alex, please connect the dots!
Sincerely,
Terri
terrihameldotusanadotc...

2007 Jun 29 02:47 PM

[terrihamel1:]

USANA: Straight Up

If you're not aware of the recent 'controversy' surrounding USANA Health Sciences, you've been missing an interesting series of articles. I am writing here as someone who has been taking the products for nearly a decade, so I'm not unbiased. I've recovered my costs in marketing USANA vitamins to friends and family, but have yet to make a serious stab at the business. I don't know if having consumed their products is supposed to disqualify me from making comments or asking questions, but I'm going to take a stab at it anyway. In spite of the fact that I'm not a stock analyst, self-proclaimed or otherwise, I'd like to share my perspective from an 'inside' point of view. I'll keep it simple, so even the most intelligent can grasp it. Don't look for technical brilliance, but I think it's a story worth hearing.

I'm a teacher. If you know anything about schools, they're germ factories. For a variety of reasons, genetic and otherwise, I've never had a strong constitution. Plainly put, I used to catch everything the kids brought into the building, and then some. One day I was visiting my older sister, and noticed a product catalog for a nutritional supplementation company sitting on her coffee table. Everything in it was footnoted and referenced back to long-term, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies published in mainstream medical journals. Having completed six years of university, I was curious, and asked her about it. She told me flat out that the people next door, who had left her the catalog, were pushing a pyramid scheme. I nodded knowingly, having no idea what that was supposed to be, waited until they left the house, hightailed it over to the neighbors' place and banged on the door.

They were happy to see me (you probably guessed that already). I sat down with them for over an hour as they told me their story. Their daughter had been suffering from a certain health problem that traditional medicine hadn't been able to help. Someone told them about the products. Their daughter took them and, over the course of several months, her health dramatically improved. Causation or correlation? I didn't care. What was there to lose? Not my health, that was for sure. There was one catch, however. These people wouldn't sell me any product. They wanted me to sign up with them in their business.

Big mistake. I've since learned that this goes against on of the most important aspects of building a network marketing business, which is to have a solid base of preferred customers (these people were not following the company's compliance protocol: USANA is relentless in emphasizing the importance of bringing in loyal product users. I wanted the product badly enough, however, that I signed up with them to get my initial order. Once it arrived, I quit... but I had my vitamins).

Within a matter of weeks, taking the product religiously, I experienced a profound change in my health. Colds didn't seem to stick. I slept better and had more energy. Did taking the product cause, or merely correlate with, the changes in my health? Who cared? All I knew was that I wasn't getting sick all the time.

Then I ran out of vitamins. Not only did I run out but, before too long, I was catching colds again. Seriously. By this time, I'd twigged onto the fact that ordinary people could actually sell this stuff. Now I was curious about the whole enchilada. I somehow ended up in Vancouver, British Columbia at a marketing seminar led by one Michael Oliver (google away for more). I sat in the back of the room with a bucket of school assignments and starting grading them as he began to speak. Fifteen minutes later I put up my hand and told the group that I was putting the bucket away. I'm sure there were people in the room who thought I was a plant. The fact was that his seminar was complete devoid of hype. I'm proud to say that Michael Oliver eventually became a deeply respected friend, but that's another story.

Six months later, I chose a different person with whom to sign up. Any teacher can explain why I never did get around to building much of a business. Evenings and weekends were recovery time. I loved my job, as well as my students, but I simply didn't have time for anything else. Ironically, I now realize that, during those years of taking the product each month but doing little to sell it, I was one of thousands who were dragging down the company's distributor earnings ratio. You see, I qualified as an associate but, as far as USANA's computers knew, I might as well have been out there trying to build a business and failing miserably (if it was truly a pyramid scheme, I might have been raking in some money simply through my position on the totem pole). The truth was that I wasn't getting paid (much) because I wasn't doing the business (much).

Last year I moved from Canada to the United States, having met (at the 1999 USANA convention, of all places) and married the man who became my best friend, a wonderful American whose story closely parallels mine. I've recently been training with some of the most successful people in USANA (it's free, and available to all associates), and I'm planning on giving the business a serious go this time. But I'm under no illusions that anyone's going to do this for me. "If it's to be, it's up to me." (I understand that some people, having ignored USANA's Business Development System and tried to reinvent the wheel, haven't done so well and are now jumping on the lawsuit bandwagon).

One thing: I've yet to read a posting where one of your analysts, citing the allegations of Barry Minkow (a convicted felon, no less) has approached USANA's founder, Dr. Myron Wentz, for his response to such allegations as, for example, the alleged inaccuracies in product labeling. It's curious, given that Dr. Wentz's ongoing work continues to be published in mainstream medical journals, that your commentators are relying on the words of a convicted felon rather than going to the source and asking for documentation. That would require a bit more work, but don't you think it makes sense (particularly when you learn that USANA is affiliated with the Linus Pauling Institute, that Dr. Wentz just picked up the Albert Einstein award in Jerusalem, and that the company has garnered numerous other accolades of which they could rightfully boast)?

But then, I'm not a stock analyst. Nonetheless, I still think a teacher should be allowed to express an opinion. And stories are the backbone of life.

Terri

CatchingWaves@excite.c...

2007 Jun 29 07:02 PM

[catkins:]

I am a nutritionist - the reason why your health improved after taking the supplements is because you were deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. You could have bought the same items far cheaper and still had the same results. Many of my clients have used/are using Usana but do equally well on store bought supplements. My issue with Usana is that ANYONE can sell it. However, there is no consultation or identification of need and very often people are spending a fortune on something that they do not need and will be of no benefit to them. Worse still, there are certain medical conditions where mis-prescribing particular supplements can lead to serious health issues. One of my clients had a serious bowel condition, made much worse by the supplements he had been recommended to take by a Usana agent (confirmed by his specialist at the hospital). I am not saying that Usana is a bad product but the focus is on selling as much as you can, rather than identifying what the individual might need, or (more importantly) what they should avoid!!

2007 Nov 03 03:33 PM

[3rdstreethouse:]

I was a USANA rep, and I have to say I regret the day I joined the company. Weather the products are good or not is really beside that point. The main thrust of USANA is that it is an MLM company much the same as Amway. I know the leaders in USANA will say its not like Amway but in reality, it is completely modeled after Amway. Everything from the pin levels to the conventions to chasing your friends and family. Or if you are in the "Internet" mode of USANA, you are shelling out cashola for "marketing" by buying google ads or leads. But I digress. USANA = Amway plain in simple. If you want to be one those people that are so consumed with greed that you will carry on USANA's culture of non-disclosure, knock yourself out. But I would urge all struggling USANA reps to read a free ebook called "Merchants of Deception" (just google it and yes, it's free). It is story of an ex-Amway rep but if you read it, and you don't get a very sick feeling in your gut as you see your MLM expericene with USANA unfold in this man's story, I'll give you 100 bucks!

2007 Jun 30 12:56 AM

[The Shadow:]

Hi 3rdStreetHouse,

Judging from the number of incorrectly spelled words, wrong words, and typos in your post, I find myself wondering if you really studied hard to work your Usana business professionally. Perhaps I'm mistaken. Did you work hand-in-hand with your upline and others on a daily business for months? Did you study closely USANA's "Policies & Procedures"? How long were you in USANA?

Your blanket comparison of Amway/Quixtar and USANA is way off base. Even a casual glimpse of the differences between their compensation plans, the quality of the products, the ratings given them in independent sources of comparison, the science behind USANA vs almost nil for Amway/Quixtar, and so on would have instantly revealed USANA's vast superiority!

Personally speaking, I've never spent a single cent on "leads" from any source. Never found them necessary! Nor have I spent much money at all buying marketing tools. By the way, CDs and DVDs in USANA cost around $1 or less up to $1 and a half or so...whereas, from what I hear, Amway's materials costs a lot!

I've also never had to "chase down" my friends and family. They know I'm knowledgeable in wellness promotion and disease prevention and can trust me to give them my honest opinion! As a result, some have decided to use the USANA products and/or do the business, while some have not...both of which are super fine with me since they did so as a consequence of being informed.

Wishing you the best!
The Shadow

2007 Nov 02 03:55 PM

[USANA vitam...:]

Anyone can say anything in a report....show the actual studies /tests
This is a great time to buy usana stock, its at a low point with upward tendency

the usana vitamins are of great nutritinal quality fully tested by the most prestigious labs in the world such as Consumer Labs

wealthclub.usana.com

usana mexico
usana canada
usana taiwan
usana singapore
usana china
usana australia

2007 Oct 02 03:05 PM

[elva:]

Overall USANA is a caring company with many great people and alliances. It's by far not perfect, but overall it’s a good company. They have a 250,000 square foot manufacturing facility that voluntarily manufactures its products to pharmaceutical standards. They do use a legitimate network marketing go to market strategy of direct sales.

hsb.usana.com

2008 Mar 05 07:48 PM

[User 169945:]

To Alex: You really ought to do your homework before you write articles such as these. First of all, Usana is a network marketing company, not MLM. (Yes, there is a difference.) But in any case, NM and MLM are legitimate business models, not "schemes". It's true that there are some MLM/NM companies that are run illegally and unethically -- but then, that is true of all types of businesses.

What I have the most problem with is that the bulk of your analysis of Usana relies on the say-so of Barry "The Rat" Minkow, a known felon and scam artist who was hoping to make a killing by discrediting MLM/NM companies and then sell those stocks short.

To 3rdstreethouse: I have been in Amway, and I am currently in Usana. There is NO comparison as far as I am concerned! In Amway, I found non-disclosure and deception to be the norm, probably due to the fact that it was nearly impossible for the average person to make any money under their compansation plan. Usana, on the other hand, has a top-notch compensation plan, and I've never been given false claims or gross exaggerations by the management or any other distributors.

2008 Mar 29 12:46 PM

[SavvyOnline...:]

News Release

USANA Health Sciences Announces Settlement of Lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 2008--USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:USNA), Barry Minkow and the Fraud Discovery Institute (FDI) today announced the settlement of their lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. USANA has agreed to withdraw its lawsuit and Mr. Minkow and the FDI have agreed that they will not trade in USANA's stock in the future, will remove information regarding USANA within their control from the internet, and will not publish any further statements about USANA. All outstanding issues have now been resolved to the parties' satisfaction, and USANA and FDI look forward to putting this litigation behind them and moving forward with their respective missions.

Barry Minkow stated: "For us this was a business decision. Considering the size of the Fraud Discovery Institute, we had to make an allocation of resources and we decided that rather than continuing a lawsuit we would devote our efforts to our primary mission - the investigation and uncovering of fraud. We look forward to continuing that mission with vigor."

A spokesperson for USANA stated: "We are happy to achieve this result without the distraction of ongoing litigation."

About USANA

USANA develops and manufactures high quality nutritionals, personal care, and weight management products that are sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. More information on USANA can be found at www.usanahealthscience....

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including reliance upon our network of independent Associates, the governmental regulation of our products, manufacturing and marketing risks, and risks associated with our international expansion. The contents of this release should be considered in conjunction with the risk factors, warnings, and cautionary statements that are contained in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

2008 Jul 28 06:59 PM

[hoho:]

Yes it is an MLM. Just talked to USANA agents a couple of days ago. I'm still in the point of deciding whether to join the group or not. I'm highly skeptical with the cash flow structure of the company in terms of long-term sustainabilty albeit the firm has existed since 1992 [more than the efficacy of the products]. For instance I could not find a good read on what happened to its stock prices in 2002 and its connection to the company's decision to expand in Asia. I can't also seem to swallow the idea of making money out of the efforts of my recruits or otherwise without contributing anything apart from taking them in. Indeed, the big guys appear to have set up a mechanism wherein they would digest a significant portion of the pie at the lowest possible cost.


On Mar 29 12:46 PM User 169945 wrote:

> To Alex: You really ought to do your homework before you write articles
> such as these. First of all, Usana is a network marketing company,
> not MLM. (Yes, there is a difference.) But in any case, NM and MLM
> are legitimate business models, not "schemes". It's true that there
> are some MLM/NM companies that are run illegally and unethically
> -- but then, that is true of all types of businesses.
>
> What I have the most problem with is that the bulk of your analysis
> of Usana relies on the say-so of Barry "The Rat" Minkow, a known
> felon and scam artist who was hoping to make a killing by discrediting
> MLM/NM companies and then sell those stocks short.
>
> To 3rdstreethouse: I have been in Amway, and I am currently in Usana.
> There is NO comparison as far as I am concerned! In Amway, I found
> non-disclosure and deception to be the norm, probably due to the
> fact that it was nearly impossible for the average person to make
> any money under their compansation plan. Usana, on the other hand,
> has a top-notch compensation plan, and I've never been given false
> claims or gross exaggerations by the management or any other distributors.

Feb 10 10:22 AM

[User 368162:]

To 3rd Streethouse and Alex:

USANA is very upfront with every aspect of the company. They have nothing to hide and want nothing more than to help people. People that fail or fail to accurately research companies are the ones that give network marketing a bad. Network Marketing is a very viable way to create income, and when you couple that with a company like USANA (who is full of intergrity) it becomes a win win. I have been to USANA and have met several members in management, to include Dr. Wentz, and they are truly passionate about helping people. I am fully aware that people are skeptical, and they should be, but the facts speak for themselves. I did a weeks worth of homework before I joined USANA 18 months ago and I now have the ability to do things I would have never gotten to do had I not joined. On the way to my success I have helped so many people with their ailments.
There was a comment made earlier about we are not physicians or licensed to offer proper products. The fact of the matter is, we don't have to be, all the information is there for us! I agree, if there are associates out there just focused on making money, then they might mislead someone, but that is the individuals fault. The company, management, training, compensation plan and simplicity of this business just makes absolute great business sense!

Realist


On Jun 30 12:56 AM 3rdstreethouse wrote:

> I was a USANA rep, and I have to say I regret the day I joined the
> company. Weather the products are good or not is really beside that
> point. The main thrust of USANA is that it is an MLM company much
> the same as Amway. I know the leaders in USANA will say its not like
> Amway but in reality, it is completely modeled after Amway. Everything
> from the pin levels to the conventions to chasing your friends and
> family. Or if you are in the "Internet" mode of USANA, you are shelling
> out cashola for "marketing" by buying google ads or leads. But I
> digress. USANA = Amway plain in simple. If you want to be one those
> people that are so consumed with greed that you will carry on USANA's
> culture of non-disclosure, knock yourself out. But I would urge all
> struggling USANA reps to read a free ebook called "Merchants of Deception"
> (just google it and yes, it's free). It is story of an ex-Amway rep
> but if you read it, and you don't get a very sick feeling in your
> gut as you see your MLM expericene with USANA unfold in this man's
> story, I'll give you 100 bucks!

Mar 02 05:02 PM

[User 372999:]

The Shadow, criticising anyone's spelling or grammar mistakes does nothing to give your argument more validity. The other person may sound like unintelligent, but now you sound like a total prick!

Also, criticising their blind dedication to the company does not do anything for your credibility either. You can say that to anyone who doesn't sell well, regardless. It's like someone who doesn't like rap music telling someone else the reason they don't like it is because they aren't trying hard enough.

Like it or not, subjective information on the internet is not, and will never be adequate justification for anything unless you trust the person who is writing the information. This means you should never really trust what anyone is telling you. So far USANA seems to be relying only on such information, and has yet to put out any qualitative evidence. I'm sorry, but you lose.

Stop bullshitting. Seriously.



-Anonymous
(We do not forgive. We do not forget.)

Mar 09 11:30 PM

[valentine:]

The founders of Usana and Mr Wentz can get rich, because of people who do not have enough intelligance to figure out when they are getting scamed. The ones who believe in the company and Mr. Wentz followers are not going to see the company as what it is. Just look at the amount of money the company made from people thinking that taking Usana products they are going to be healther and live longer, and the reps selling it are thinking they are going to get rich, the only one getting rich is Mr. Wentz. I take hebs and even grow my own, have done tons and tons of research in herbs, they are as natural as you can get, and it cost me pennies, you really do not know what is in the products from Usana. Usana is a pyramid business no matter how you look at it and the only ones making money is the one the top. I checked into this months ago and what I found out is pretty scary. I decided this type of business is not for me, if an internet business wants you to pay to work for them to me it is a scam, that is how these internet business can stay in business by using your money having you believe you can sit at home, on the computer and make $$$$$ every month.

Mar 25 02:04 PM

[MIA99:]

A USANA rep has asked me to join now for about a couple of months and I have tried to understand exactly how the vitamins work, how much a person really should take(because everyone is different) and USANA'S pay scale is very strange.
All of the information I come across seem's to be very ,very confusing. USANA doesn't clearly explain what real income other's have made and how you can also make that type of income in the same amount of time. Instead at one of the meetings I attended all they talked about was "get everyone you know to get on there products." Okay, they are selling a vitamin, not a terrible thing, but everytime I go to compare there lables with other brands the other brand's are beating them on a couple of things:

Quality, Price, and Size.

All of these things are very important when looking at a famliy member or friend in the face who know there vitamin's Quality, price and size. There vitamins seem to have more of what they need for half the price than USANA'S.
I have spoken to many other people about USANA to see if they have heard about the product's and current USANA user's say that they love the product's, however the product's are too expensive, and often cannot afford to order the product's every month other's that tried USANA said they saw no difference and wouldn't buy the vitamins again. Also,I have also spoken to a couple of USANA rep's who are no longer in the business because they claimed they didn't make much profit and invested more of there money than, they actually made.
All of this negative information about USANA on the internet: "How USANA effects the body badly" scares me, what if a person is on some type of medication that doesn't do well with a product from USANA, and that person die's because of drug interaction with a vitamin and let's say I was the person who sold it to that person.
I would feel so responsible for there death and that's how anyone who doesn't have a lic.. to sell vitamins should feel. what if that was my grand-mother or grand-father seriously, I get more and more creeped out just thinking about this product and all of there negative attention: USANA, talks about GNC and other vitamin places that don't compare to there product's quality, I have been to a GNC and I have seen pretty good nutritional product's for less than what USANA was offering there products.
Also GNC and other vitamin stores are at location's within a local city that you can physically go to and decide on different product's that they have to offer no pressure.
The person working at these location's are making money, not working to pay for there position. I am pretty sure that GNC or any other vitamin store didn't ask there employee's to pay a fee to work at there stores.
I am not a doctor, I am just a person trying to make a living by selling a healthy product that helps other people and all of this USANA, lawsuits stuff, just doesn't convince me to join.
I think that each person's body is different and because of this factor a doctor is going to carefully diagnose a health problem and give the person being treated the right dose of medication. The same I believe should be with vitamins as sometimes viatmins can interfere with medications. Oh, in case you were wondering I have always been a top-sales-performer. I don't like to play with a person's health, because I wouldn't want anyone to play with my health, not for a second.
Yes, I did agree with something I heard at one of the USANA meetings and it's the statement about that doctor's all say "to eat right and take a multi-vitamin," but the doctor doesn't say take a vitamin that is going to break the bank.

Thanks For Reading
MIMI

Mar 29 03:31 AM

[amyjo:]

Barry Minkow is an idiot, he does not know his elbow from his foot, what ever that means, is what describes the man. He has a big belly ache and he blames Usana. He lost against Usana in the court last year. If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme Usana is not for you, if you are want to look and feel healthy that's rich, and if you want to share this amazing product with friends and family and turn it into a successfull business that is even richer . Consumer.com and ComparableGuide.com are Independant bodies, none profit organisation for the consumer,says it is the best of the best. Top athletic trust their health to Usana. if Usana is good for them then it is better for me. Any one reading Barry's blog can feel the hate he has against Usana, he must be a very sick man. I have one piece advice for Barry, take Usana it will decrease your stress level and lengthen your life. If any one wants to know about this amazing product go usana.com and read the news, dig deep see the acolades for Usana and read of the recent associate who are making it into the million dollar club. Remember you cannot expect your enemy to say nice things about you so there!

On Jun 29 02:47 PM terrihamel1 wrote:

> Alex, you need to contact USANA Health Sciences! Talk to Dr. Myron
> Wentz yourself. You will understand that what Barry Minkow is saying
> about the dosages is absolutely incorrect! PLEASE ASK THE SCIENTISTS
> THEMSELVES! They support all their claims through long-term, double-blind,
> placebo-controlled studies published in mainstream medical journals.
> Dr. Wentz just won the Albert Einstein award in Jerusalem. They're
> affiliated with the Linus Pauling Institute. And Barry Minkow is
> a convicted felon. Alex, please connect the dots!
> Sincerely,
> Terri
> terrihameldotusanadotc...

May 02 08:46 AM

[Vincent Perez:]

I'm truly amazed by the almost religious fever in which USANA groupies try to protect the image of this "cult" I have attended an event with a current usana member just to see what it was about before passing judgment. Excellent presentations, it was flashy it was fun it was set to play to the demographic of the recruited "guests"

It was complete and utter bullshit. NEVER EVER EVER pay a company, firm or group, to be allowed to sell product for them.
By doing so you’re now committed to following the bullshit till you make the money back you spent. and the only way to make that money back is buy selling there inferior product thus making them even more money off your time and labor just so you break even.

There is a good point to this usana company.
With all the sneaky tricks of the trade and cheap sales tactics, you’ll be able to get an entry level sales job just about anywhere.

So for the cost of one Business center or BC you’ll get trained in the art of the used car sales person.llllllll 500$$

oh i have to mention this,. to further lock down his control of his minons this 8 star diamond director ( i love the titles) brought around his rented dodge viper. so funny.

Jun 05 11:04 AM

[Tammy92:]

When you say NEVER EVER EVER pay a company, firm or group to be allowed to sell a product for them does that include franchise owners like McDonalds, Chick-fil-A, Super Supper, Baskin Robins etc.? They have huge monthly fees to the guy at the top of the pyramid just to continue to sell a product and their initial investment is unatainable for the average guy. I have a friend who has $38K a month in overhead and doesn't expect to see a profit for three years and his initial investment was close to a million. I made my money back and began to see a profit within the first 4 months without the stress of any overhead. In fact the antioxidants (which are stressed by many health care companies as essential to optimize health) I take helped to reduce the stress on my body.

As far as calling it an inferior product, explain how, then, it has found it's way into the Physician's desk reference. What other non presciption nutritional products can say that? Show me a product that is produced under the stryngent standards of a drug when it doesn't have to for resale. I have no way of knowing what is actually in my hamburger because under the "food standard" the distributor does not have to reveal every ingredient and levels of them. How by self imposing "drug standard" processing can USANA products be considered sub standard? It's just not logical.

All the negative comments I read seem to be anger based not logically based. Instead of disputing personal experiences just look at the facts. Don't let the propaganda of someone with a personal agenda, like Barry Minkow be the bases of your understanding. When, under any circumstance, would you give more credit for the truth to a convicted felon than to your friends, family, Albert Einstein award winner or a perfect stranger for that matter.
On Jun 05 11:04 AM Vincent Perez wrote:

> I'm truly amazed by the almost religious fever in which USANA groupies
> try to protect the image of this "cult" I have attended an event
> with a current usana member just to see what it was about before
> passing judgment. Excellent presentations, it was flashy it was fun
> it was set to play to the demographic of the recruited "guests"<br/>
>
> It was complete and utter bullshit. NEVER EVER EVER pay a company,
> firm or group, to be allowed to sell product for them.
> By doing so you’re now committed to following the bullshit till you
> make the money back you spent. and the only way to make that money
> back is buy selling there inferior product thus making them even
> more money off your time and labor just so you break even.
>
> There is a good point to this usana company.
> With all the sneaky tricks of the trade and cheap sales tactics,
> you’ll be able to get an entry level sales job just about anywhere.
>
>
> So for the cost of one Business center or BC you’ll get trained in
> the art of the used car sales person.llllllll 500$$
>
> oh i have to mention this,. to further lock down his control of his
> minons this 8 star diamond director ( i love the titles) brought
> around his rented dodge viper. so funny.

Jun 19 10:23 AM

[Tammy92:]

Valentine, of course Dr. Wentz can get rich. He produces a product and created a business model. By following through with his goals he was rewarded with a solid income earning business. So did my 98 year of grandfather who will soon have his product advertised on TV and I hope he makes the money he deserves because of his time and financial investment. That's what makes this country great is we all have that same equal opportunity when we have a dream and don't give up on it. Why is that viewed in a negative light? Do you feel the same way about the men who started all the fast food franchises out there and are their consumers duped? They don't even offer a product to improve our health on the contrary they have created a huge stream of income for themselves on the hopes that we won't care how unhealthy of a product they sell.


On Mar 25 02:04 PM valentine wrote:

> The founders of Usana and Mr Wentz can get rich, because of people
> who do not have enough intelligance to figure out when they are getting
> scamed. The ones who believe in the company and Mr. Wentz followers
> are not going to see the company as what it is. Just look at the
> amount of money the company made from people thinking that taking
> Usana products they are going to be healther and live longer, and
> the reps selling it are thinking they are going to get rich, the
> only one getting rich is Mr. Wentz. I take hebs and even grow my
> own, have done tons and tons of research in herbs, they are as natural
> as you can get, and it cost me pennies, you really do not know what
> is in the products from Usana. Usana is a pyramid business no matter
> how you look at it and the only ones making money is the one the
> top. I checked into this months ago and what I found out is pretty
> scary. I decided this type of business is not for me, if an internet
> business wants you to pay to work for them to me it is a scam, that
> is how these internet business can stay in business by using your
> money having you believe you can sit at home, on the computer and
> make $$$$$ every month.

Jun 19 10:46 AM

[User 438205:]

At 29.5% sugar, how can any doctor, of any company use the word Nutrition in their product name. Nutrimeal is not healthy at all. Pick up an apple. Be skeptical of anyone who puts on a white lab coat and pitches their 1/3 sugar product. How stupid are people who buy into this crap?

(2009). The average American consumes 280 grams of sugar per day. One hundred years ago, the average was 12 grams. Can you say Diabetes? Man cannot evolve in one hundred years to take on this amount of poison. Dr Mryon Wentz should be jailed, disbarred, regardless of his MLM scam.

Barry von Steinen

Jun 29 11:50 AM