Myron Wentz's “The Healthy Home” makes NY Times best seller list by being sold as raffle tickets in lottery drawing held by USANA.

Myron Wentz (founder of USANA) and his son Dave Wentz (CEO of USANA) authored a book called “The Healthy Home” which was released on March 22, 2011. Their book made it to number 7 on the NY Times best selling book list for “Hard Cover Advise and Misc”. What is not mentioned on any press releases is the fact the book is being sold as raffle tickets to win an iPad in a lottery operated by the authors.

USANA is currently running a lottery drawing exclusively for their distributors and preferred customers to win iPads. In order to participate in this lottery drawing, the USANA distributor or preferred customer must purchase Myron Wentz's new book “The Healthy Home” from Amazon.com for $13.19. Distributors can enter as many times as they wish, but are advised to do so during different weeks of the contest to help bolster the book's best seller rankings.

USANA explains this contest in a document on their Ask Andy website which is used by their distributors to access important information regarding USANA: http://obs.usana.com/UPLOADS/usana/2011/87/87-1_CAA.html. (A copy of this document is provided in full at the bottom of this blog entry)
 

"Here’s how it works—Purchase a copy of The Healthy Home on Amazon.com between March 27 and April 15 and e-mail a copy of your electronic receipt to contest@myhealthyhome.com. Not only will you receive a special Healthy Home pin at USANA’s 2011 International Convention, but your name will also be put into one of three special drawings for a chance to win one of three iPads!

…

* Week 1: March 27–April 2 (we need to sell 1,000 copies of the book this week)

* Week 2: April 2–9 (we need to sell 1,500 copies this week)

* Week 3: April 10–15 (we need to sell 2,500 copies this week)

...

Q. Who can participate in the drawing?

A. This drawing is only for USANA Associates or Preferred Customers living in the United States."

Distributors interested in participating in the lottery to win a $500 iPad only need to purchase a $13.19 raffle ticket from Amazon.com called “The Healthy Home”.

Amazingly, USANA's CEO Dave Wentz made the following statement regarding their position on the NY Times Best Seller list in the following article:

"The response to our book has been incredible," says Dave Wentz. "Although the book was released less than three weeks ago, we have gotten calls from reporters and TV and radio stations from all over North America. We have received over 3,000 'likes' on Facebook in a short time and gotten a lot of great feedback from our readers. Clearly, the topics we address in The Healthy Home are a huge interest to the general public." (my emphasis in bold)

What GENERAL PUBLIC is Dave Wentz referring to? Dave knows that the book is primarily being sold to USANA distributors who purchase the book in hopes of winning a $500 iPad in a lottery drawing. The general public has nothing to do with the purchases of The Healthy Home. Clearly, the statement made by Dave regarding "interest to the general public" was an attempt to mislead the general public.

I believe the authors are conducting a highly unethical method to appear on Best Seller lists. It would be very interesting to find out what Amazon thinks about this lottery system. Also, what about the other outlets that sell the book? What do they think about the fact the authors are holding this lottery exclusively with Amazon.com?

Below is USANA's Lottery Information found on their Ask Andy website: http://obs.usana.com/UPLOADS/usana/2011/87/87-1_CAA.html

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Amazon.com Contest

The Healthy Home launched with a bang, but we're not done. Our sights are set at the top of the best-seller lists, and we need your help. Purchas at Amazon.com, and you could win an iPad!

 
Buy Copies of The Healthy Home at Amazon.com by April 15

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Participate in USANA’s efforts to help make The Healthy Home a best seller and you could win an iPad!

The Healthy Home launched on March 22 with incredible success, but the journey is just beginning. To make this book a truly powerful vehicle for spreading Dr. Wentz’ vision and for building your business, we need to make it a best seller. To do so, we need you! And in case you need a little extra incentive, we’ll be awarding incredible prizes to those who help.

To become a best seller, we’ll need to sell a certain number of copies of The Healthy Home on Amazon.com within the next three weeks.

Here’s how it works—Purchase a copy of The Healthy Home on Amazon.com between March 27 and April 15 and e-mail a copy of your electronic receipt to contest@myhealthyhome.com. Not only will you receive a special Healthy Home pin at USANA’s 2011 International Convention, but your name will also be put into one of three special drawings for a chance to win one of three iPads!

There will be an iPad drawing at the end of each of the three weeks during which Amazon.com will be reporting sales of The Healthy Home for possible inclusion on the top best-seller lists. 

• Week 1: March 27–April 2 (we need to sell 1,000 copies of the book this week) 
• Week 2: April 2–9 (we need to sell 1,500 copies this week)  
• Week 3: April 10–15 (we need to sell 2,500 copies this week)

The number of books we need to sell is not impossible. We can do it, and any help from you will make a big difference. So talk to your Preferred Customers (because they can participate, too), talk to your downlines, and talk to your uplines—spread the word and create a strategy to determine the best week for each of you to make your purchases. And if you plan on purchasing more than one copy of the book from Amazon.com, buy them one at a time and during different weeks to help bolster our chances of making the best-seller list and your chances of winning an iPad.

Together, we can make a difference. Many of you have already bought copies of The Healthy Home, and your efforts are reflected in the early success of the book. But with a little more help—even the purchase of just one more copy through Amazon.com by April 15—you can help make The Healthy Home an even greater sales tool than it already is. Let’s spread the vision of Dr. Wentz to the world together.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Who can participate in the drawing?
A. This drawing is only for USANA Associates or Preferred Customers living in the United States.

Q. What do I win?
A. Anyone who purchases a copy of The Healthy Home from Amazon.com between March 27 and April 15 will receive a special Healthy Home pin at USANA’s 2011 International Convention. The name of each entrant will also be placed in a drawing for one of three iPads.

Q. Can I enter the drawing multiple times?
A. Yes, as long as you have more than one receipt. Multiple copies of the book shown on a single receipt will only be entered into the drawing once. Therefore, it is important that you purchase each copy of The Healthy Home separately during this period.

Q. Where do I send my receipt?
A. E-mail an electronic copy of your receipt from Amazon.com to contest@myhealthyhome.com.

RULES

1. This is an individual-based promotion.
2. Participants must reside in the United States.
3. Only one Healthy Home pin and/or iPad will be awarded per distributorship.
4. No purchase necessary. Participants can be entered into the drawing by mailing a postcard with their name and Associate or Preferred Customer identification number to the following address:
   
   Healthy Home Contest
   c/o USANA Health Sciences
   3838 W. Parkway Blvd.
   Salt Lake City, UT 84120
5. Employees of USANA and their family members may not participate in this promotion.
6. Any manipulation of this promotion, i.e., sponsorship manipulation, downline purchasing (placing a sales order in a Business Center other than where the sale was generated), forgery of receipts, etc., will result in disqualification from this promotion, in addition to any sanctions under the Associate Agreement.
7. By entering, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these rules and by the decisions of USANA, which shall be final and binding in all respects.
8. Taxes, if applicable, are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. The fair market value of all prizes will be reported to the IRS pursuant to IRS regulations.
9. Prizes are non-negotiable and cannot be redeemed for cash.
10. No substitutions or transfer of prizes is permitted. USANA reserves the right to substitute a prize for one of equal or greater value in the event that an advertised prize is unavailable.
11. USANA is not responsible for lost, late, or misdirected online entries or transactions for incorrect, inaccurate, or incomplete entry information whether caused by a contestant, equipment, or technical malfunction or for any human error, technical error, or malfunctions. USANA reserves the right to halt or modify the promotion at any time during the promotion period if events beyond their control compromise the promotion's fairness or integrity.
12. USANA, in its sole discretion, may disqualify any entrant from participating in the promotion, refuse to award prizes, and require the return of any prizes if entrant engages in any conduct USANA deems to be improper, unfair, or otherwise adverse to the operation of the promotion or detrimental to other entrants. Such improper conduct includes, but is not limited to, falsifying personal information required during the promotion.
13. USANA reserves the right to modify these rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the promotion.
14. This promotion may not be used for any form of gambling.
15. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of USANA which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this promotion, USANA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the promotion.
16. USANA assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries or transactions.
17. USANA is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail entry or transaction to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to, or resulting from, participation or downloading any materials in this promotion.
18. USANA reserves the right to use names, images, and likenesses of promotion winners for printed and online media to market USANA products and promotions.