Sanoviv is in danger of shutting down according to the Sanoviv Dinner that was held at USANA's 2009 Annual Convention. Low attendance is the reason. The cause? Well, USANA, I mean Sanoviv is blaming it on three factors. The Swine Flu, The Drug Cartels, and The Economy.
I have another suggestion. How about the astronomically high prices for their phony treatments! All of their "alternative" treatments are banned in the United States because no evidence is out there that those treatments have any effect.
- Complete Diagnostic Program (CDP)----$8,500 –Six nights
- Comprehensive Medical Program--------$14,600 –base cost for Two weeks
- Medical Spa----------------------------------$7,550 – One week
- Rejuvenate-----------------------------------$13,200– Two weeks
- Holistic Oncotherapy----------------------$39,000- Four weeks at Sanoviv, two weeks at home
- Cardiovascular health---------------------$17,000- two weeks at Sanoviv, two weeks at home
- Neurological Repair------------------------$23,000 – Three weeks at Sanoviv, three weeks at home
What a rip-off is I ever saw one!!!!
ReplyDeleteLearn how to spell. "Low attendants"??? How about "low attendance"???
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction! I could use someone to proof read my blog.
ReplyDeleteI attended the Sanoviv weekend special when I was an USANA associate. It was under a thousand dollars for that special. It was only about 6 people in attendance. It was depresssing because some of the people were terminally ill. It was advertised as an Health Retreat. They have all Mexican doctors there with questionable testing procedures. The staff is Mexican. The facility is in BAJA Mexico. It is the old mansion that use to belong to LEVI Strauss so it was converted to the medical facility. The place is very nice. It was a lot of pressure for USANA asssociates to attend. You have people trying to recruit you for the business and peddle USANA products during your stay there. I do not think it is worth the money. Because I do not believe that they can help the people who are ill. I know people who have spent a lot of money to stay for an extended trip so I do not see in any improvement in their health.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the testimonials that are out there saying that the treatments they received changed their lives. They don't sound like they got scammed?
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the facts.
1) Are the doctors Mexican? If so, is that a bad thing?
2) Are they pushing the MLM Business while you are there for health diagnosis and recommendation? If so, that is NOT appropriate. Now if they are offering a legitimate, highly regarded brand name for their patients, that is their obligation. Just like a normal doctor has the choice to prescribe Viagra OR Levitra OR Cialis. His obligation to give him what he feels would be best for him, right. Sadly those decisions are often influenced by the financial benefit of speaking a particular BRAND name with a patient.
Anonymous,
I'd like to hear more about what you saw that you considered "doctors with questionable testing procedures". Uncoventional, probably, the tell you everything on their website, and some of those techniques are "unconventional.
USANA is an affiliated business to the things they do there. I get it, and can appreciate a smart business.
The overwhelming research I've conducted has yielded almost completely positive remarks.
My research continues . . .
Kerwin
Thanks for the pricing information!! That info was the one thing that was hard to find on their site.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking over your site and would like to comment. I've been with Usana for over 10 years. If there is a problem with MLM companies its a lack of training for new recruits. The MLM industry needs to understand that people need to be trained properly. To blame a company like Usana for the mis adventure of distributors who failed is misleading. The associates fail because they are unwilling to learn the business.
ReplyDeleteThe personal development needed to achieve success in the MLM industry requires work. Most people who fail didn't put the effort out that is required to be successful. Usana has out performed my expectations consistently and my journey has been a challenge to say the least. I'm sure glad I joined and have received outstanding value in every dollar I've spent.
The company is stellar even though a lot of people fail. The products need to be available to help people and MLM and direct sales is the only choice Dr. Wentz had in order to keep the quality high and the prices affordable.
You make a claim that only $2.00 out of every $12.00 for the contributions to Children Hunger Fund are actually being received by CHF. I would advise you to recheck your sources and post what you find. Dave Phillips of The Childrens Hunger Fund would never allow a company to mislead people like this. I know most of the people at Usana and have found them to be genuine and the ones who are questionable usally weed themselves out of the company.
Instead of being a watchdog maybe you could consider being an advocate of companies who are working hard to bring credibility to the direct sales and MLM industry.
Bill,
DeleteWhen 99% of participating distributors never make a profit, you can't possibly put the blame on them.
USANA is 100% to blame because they deliberately designed a scheme to fail the bottom 99% of distributors so USANA could afford to pay the top 1% of distributors. Distributors have no retail customers. The way distributors make an income is by recruiting more distributors into their downline. Since all participating distributors are required to personally purchase 100 or 200 PSV worth of product every 4 weeks, USANA is able to make billions of dollars in net sales while 43% of that gets paid out to distributors as commissions. Around 30% of USANA distributors ever actually receive a commission check and only 1% of USANA distributors make enough to call it a profit.
Heck, 200 people are part of the million dollar club and 10 of those are part of the 5 million dollar club. That's over $240,000,000 paid out to just 200 people out of about 222,000 active associates. So about 14% of the price of USANA products goes toward funding 200 of their distributors. What I'm describing here is a vast product-based pyramid scheme almost identical to the MLM Fortune Hi-Tech which was shut down by the FTC earlier this week. USANA could cut the price of their products by 14% overnight if they got rid of their overhead and terminated those 200 distributors. So much for "quality" being the justification for USANA's absurdly high prices.
You certainly don't know much about marketing. USANA's biggest expense is "Commissions", at about 43%. That percentage could be knocked right off the price of all their products if they put their products on store shelves instead of through MLM. So a $114 Healthpak100 would only cost retail stores $65 to purchase. Then retail stores could put a 15% to 30% markup on the Healthpak100 and would still sell to the general public for only $75 to $85. You see, that is already $30 cheaper than what distributors can get it for and a whopping $52 less than USANA's suggested retail price.
How much do you want to pay for your Healthpak100? $85 or $114? This is why USANA distributors have no retail customers. Most people are smart enough to know when they are about to be ripped off.
The point I'm making about the Children's Hunger Fund is that USANA distributors are purchasing a $12 bottle of Usanimals (now even more expensive) and having that donated through USANA to the Children's Hunger Fund. It only costs USANA about $2 to manufacture a bottle of Usanimals. So USANA makes $10 off of every bottle of Usanimals that distributors donate. Do you understand this? So if a USANA distributor simply donated $12 worth of CASH to the CHF through USANA's True Health Foundation, then USANA could use the $12 to donate 6 bottles of Usanimals instead of just 1. USANA would simply break even so it isn't like it would cost USANA anything to do that. Instead, USANA is only interested in making money by any means necessary. I just think that is extremely unethical and immoral the way they are running this charity.
I have no qualms with DIRECT selling. My issue is with MultiLevel Marketing. The primary customers are the distributors themselves whether they realize it or not. Direct selling is the sale of products to persons outside the network of distribution centers. MLM is a fraud and profits off the backs of the 99% of distributors that fail because they are running a product-based pyramid scheme.
10 years and only a Silver Director? Anyone can become a silver director and can do so within their first week of joining. Organize 10 people to join under you when you sign up. Sell them all a $1200 Startup Professional Pack. At the end of the week you have 10,000 total points. Whahla, you are a Silver Director and you make $1000 commission. When did Alliance International, Inc. become a Silver Director?
It's going to literally be impossible for some people to succeed in multilevel marketing. You have to be a certain kind of aggressive with a lack of or seriously compromised sense of morality. Direct selling of something is a very different concept.
DeleteOMG!!! Ohh Bill, grow up, I know what you are going to say, Dr Wentz should be named Pope and all Usana workers should be Saints!!! Get a life Bill, Dr Wentz got a life and make money from people like you!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, telling you to get a life. That is so USANA professionato of you.
ReplyDeleteSo I just got off the phone with my friend who is currently at Sanoviv. She has stage 4 lung cancer and has been there for about 4 weeks and will be there another 3 weeks to finish. She said that the medical care is excellent but the staff leaves a lot to be desired. There has been mixups in her medications. She has a nutritionist who tells her the type of diet her body needs but the kitchen staff won't provide that diet for her. Unfortunately I didn't get to speak to her extensively before she had to go. But she feels the treatments she is receiving outweighs the difficulty with the staff. She has to pay a lot of money for the treatments. She is not well to do. She and her husband decided to sell their house to afford the treatment. She is not a Usana distributor but I am and I did go to Sanoviv in 2006 for treatment and recommended it to her. I 'm not sure what to think anymore about them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very sad issue. Your friend will be wasting 7 weeks at a phoney medical facility that uses holistic unproven pseudoscience to treat deadly diseases while charging her over $50,000 for it. I hope your friend gets better. I'd recommend reading the two pages of this article at Don't Take Your Vitamins. May I ask you, how much USANA vitamins does Sanoviv force down their patient's throats? Let me also ask you, do you think the treatments at Sanoviv are worth $20K, $40K, or ever $50K? You do realize just about everyone at Sanoviv are USANA distributors as well?
DeleteUSANA Watchdog - I feel like you are an ill informed Human. So, fact, I know 4 people with serious neurological issues, 2 with MS that were taking Western Medicine, you know the medicine American Drug Cartels push that don't heal you, just keep you alive to make more money. Anyhow, they ALL 100% are doing GREAT after Sonoviv... Who gives a FUC*** About MLM, they treat and cure
DeleteHas anyone talked to Dr. OZ? He appears to be very supportive of USANA Health and their institute. Perhaps he too should be investigated bearing false witness to this apparent crime.
ReplyDeleteMaybe those 600 plus Olympic medalists who are taking USANA are all bearing false witness too.
ReplyDeleteMaybe 600
ReplyDeleteI don't think 600 Olympic medalists are bearing false witness, only the ones that are Usana distributors. Where do you get the number 600?
Do you know who was put into your up-line today?
I have also been to Sanoviv in 2011. I went there on an ambassador program to find out about their treatments (after a friend of mine dropped dead at 49) :-( I found both the staff and the practitioners were very professional and the treatments they offered were amazing. Yes they are considered "alternative" but that's only because most people are brain washed by pharmaceutical companies to think that "drugs" are the only way! Sad really, when the body has the ability to heal itself given half the chance and proper nutrition. About the pushing of Usana products and signing people up while you are there, it was STRICTLY forbidden!! We weren't even allowed to buy the products as it was considered a conflict of interest and Sanoviv is a place of healing not a business center. In the five days that I was there I lost 3kg and a life long allergy. I was amazed at how much stronger my body was too. If ever I got sick, Sanoviv is where I would go for treatment.
ReplyDeleteI have been to sanoviv. There alternative treatments have been scientificly researched. They have given me hope and a future with recovery where in Canada and only traditional medicine said I was faking my symptoms.
ReplyDeleteThey also use traditional medicine to diagnosis and treat. They're not opposed 100%. If you look into their philosophy of treatment it makes total sense.
I'd recommend anyone to go there, especially if the current local medical system is failing to produce results or answers.
Both my wife and I have been to Sanoviv. My wife had triple negative breast cancer stage 3. I was her companion through the seven and a half weeks. They moved us into and out of the health program and intensive cancer program to save us the costs of paying for treatments one program covered and the other did not. All of the employees were very professional. My only comment on the down side would be that treatments and care were at the minimum on weekends. Not a 24/7 program. If it was it could cut out a week in the schedule. Total cost of treatment and surgery for a radical mastectomy was just over 100K
ReplyDelete