IQ Derma and the Grand Illusion

The vast majority of direct marketers want happy customers who buy again and again, and yield what's known as high lifetime value.

Then there's that other type.

Look at this landing page from IQ Derma, with one of the wiliest before and afters you'll ever see. You may find yourself saying "No effen way" and wondering how they're able to depict such an impossible transformation without incurring the wrath of some governing body.

I'll tell you how. Take another peek at the photo and zoom in on the right-hand side where it says, "simulated imagery" in vertical type. They're actually saying it's bullshit!

But wait, there's more. Click the "CLICK HERE" button and fill in the required fields to reach the payment page. Notice the "FREE TRIAL" for as low as $3.95 with standard shipping. Great deal, don't ya think?

Before you click "Place Order," read the oh-so-fine print in 7 1/2 point type. Basically, if you don't return the product within 30 days, you pay the "discounted price" of $95.70 -- and because this is a negative option offer, they'll automatically ship you nearly a hundred bucks worth of miracle cream every 60 days until you say "STOP."

You may be wondering why IQ Cosmetics placed such critical terms near the bottom in tiny type. I'll take a stab at it: They were hoping you'd miss it. And apparently more than a few people did.

The Better Business Bureau said, "On September 24, 2007 we wrote to this company requesting they make modifications to their websites and pop-up ads to clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms and conditions of their free trial." You tell me if the owners, Intelligent Beauty, adequately addressed the problems.

To date, the BBB has received 42 complaints relating to Intelligent Beauty. In almost 100% of cases, they agreed to make a full refund or "perform according to their contract." But if a small fraction of buyers complained to the BBB, that's a lot of dissatisfied consumers.

Question for my direct marketing colleagues: Do you think this approach is misleading?

Comments

[Ron Shevlin]

Caveat emptor, baby. The "simulated imagery" disclaimer is pretty clear to me (it's larger font than "Valerie's" quote). If people are going to fall for this, than you KNOW that some marketers are going to spoon feed it to them. Would I do it? Nope. But then again, I don't sell the fantasy known as "life without wrinkles".

[Robert Rosenthal]

Thanks for commenting on that landing page, Ron. You may have a better eye than most for those details. One thing's for sure: If they wanted everyone to see "simulated imagery" they could have made the words way more prominent. And the buried mention of the negative option offer was clearly out of bounds, in my humble opinion.

[Ron Shevlin]

I'm not trying to defend the ad. The product is a scam. Would you expect a legit ad for a illegitimate product?

[Robert Rosenthal]

Understood -- and no, I wouldn't.

[Suzanne Obermire]

Of course it's misleading. In my opinion, it's these kinds of ads that give direct marketers a bad name.

Wonder if it works??? :)

[Robert Rosenthal]

Suzanne: I'm seeing their advertising everywhere, so that tells ya something.

I wonder how many IQ Derma customers vowed to never buy from direct marketers again?

[Robert Rosenthal]

IQ Derma customers: Quite a few people are finding this blog post through the search engines. Please share your experiences with this company and its products for their benefit. Thanks.

[Paula]

I remember purchasing the initial order for $3.95 but I did not authorize any other future orders. Now I have received 2 orders ($84.50 each) I have tried contacting them but the hold time is around 20 minutes. Who has time to hold for this long for something they didn't even ask for. Has anyone had this problem? Has anyone received a refund?

[Veena]

I got a free trial offer for a iq 24 hour age-defying face therapy cream and i only has to pay shipping,so i got it.I pay for it with a gift card.When i got it there was a form came with mark YOUR 30-DAY RISK-FREE TRIAL END ON 3/3/2008 AND YOU WILL BE BILLED $95.70.

What should i do?

[Robert Rosenthal]

Veena: If you don't want to be billed, click through the landing page link on this post (you'll need to fill in some information to get to the payment page), and check out the return policy that appears in tiny type. If you return the product in time but remain dissatisfied, you may want to contact the Better Business Bureau (you'll find a link in this post as well). Good luck.

[Maria]

Thank you so much for having this available!!! I saw their ad and wondered how effective the product truly was so I did a search for IQ Age Defying forum and this link came up.

I did not see the print about how if I dont return in 30 days I would be charged more but than again I didnt passed the intial info cuz I wanted to know if it truly worked.

Some times things that sound too good to be true usually is but the curiosity gets to me so I always do a search for others options :)

THANKS AGAIN! I will not buy!

[Sharon Sumner]

I agree. I needed more time to try the product and also didn't read the fine print too good, either. They ended up charging me $135.00 for their two creams, which didn't do much of anything that I could tell. There are a lot better products out there, for a lot less money. Save your money and try something else. They hook you in by getting your credit card info, then charge you at will. I also urge others to contact the Better Business Bureau about them. Might as well save some other people the grief of dealing with these scammers.

[Sharon Sumner]

To Robert Rosenthal:
I have taken Business Law and I do know you don't have to pay for anything you didn't order. I would contact the Better Business Bureau in Valencia, California, and file a complaint against them. I'm going to do the same thing.

Sharon Sumner

[Mickie Hershaft]

didn't like your product. I broke out into a rash.

gave it to my friend, if she likes it she will let you know. I called customer service a week after trying it and told them to cancel. I also sent an email. DO NOT MAKE ANYMORE CHARGES TO MY CREDT CARD. THEY HACE BEEN INFORMED NOT TO ACCEPT.

[Robert Rosenthal]

Mickie: Thank you for adding that comment. I'm sure Freaking Marketing readers will find it useful. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Freaking Marketing isn't affiliated with IQ Derma. You'll need to contact the company, Better Business Bureau, or an attorney with any complaints.

[just me]

thank you so-so much, we were about to spend a buck but were puzzled with that image they show "before and after". thanks once again.

[Mellinda]

Now Intelligent Beauty LLC, Raw Natural Beauty is scamming people with a free trial on makeup using someone elses name. They are using the name Raw Minerals, and the real company Raw minerals is getting hit with hundreds of phone calls asking for their money back. Look what I found on the real Raw minerals website under disclaimers:
RAW minerals™ All Natural Mineral Makeup is in no way associated to RAW Natural Beauty whom recently has changed their name March 23,2007 to RAWMINERALS. We have received hundreds of phone calls asking for refunds for a free offer that has been given by RAW Natural Beauty, now calling itself RAWMINERALS & Signature RAW

RAW minerals™ All Natural Mineral Makeup has never, and will never offer a free trial offer for our products. It is not a necessary ploy of ours to have to do so. We maintain the right to keep our products salon and spa formulated, and refrain from such business tactics. If you need to get a hold of this other company, please do so with the following information. We are glad to provide it for you.

Raw Natural Beauty ; Signature RAW

Intelligent Beauty, LLC
2301 Rosecrans Ave.;

El Segundo, CA 90245
(866) 381-4203, or, (866) 906-3458

or

Dan Williams
(866) 603-9151

BBB of the Southland
(Colton, CA)
315 N. La Cadena
Colton, CA 92324-2927
Phone: (909)825-7280
Fax: (909)825-6246
Email: info@labbb.org
Web: http://www.labbb.org

Thank You for your time.

[cindy]

RAWminerals make-up, Try for 30 days, pay for the shipping only.. so, check this out...i ordered their "try for free" upon receiving my "free" trail was the shipping invoice which stated i would be billed $90.00 after the 30 days, unless i returned the product of course. one must wonder...if you have to trick people into buying your product...how good can it be???

[MLS]

It's a huge BS scheme to get you to try it. You only get 30 days to send it back and most people don't bother and figure that maybe they have to use it a little longer to truly benefit from the amazing results that they see in the ad. How do I know? I'm ashamed to say that I fell for it but hey, who doesn't want non-surgical miracles? Let me tell you that I kept the stuff and have been using it well over 30 days and will continue until it's finished since I ended up paying $100.00+...No change, nothing more than I could have gotten from stopping by my local CVS and buying a jar of Nutragena or Oil of Olay or Johnson's Baby Magic for that matter.

What we won't do to try to look younger and what they won't do to get to that weakness and sell us a bill of "no goods"

The only thing I look now is dumber and poorer.

[Alania]

IQ Derma is not to be trusted. I authorized the shipping/handling charges to be posted to my credit card. All of the sudden, I get two separate charges from this company, one for the trial (full price of $96.35) and another for a box of their crap that I didn't order. I received a RMA number to return the unauthorized shipment, with a disclaimer that if they didn't receive it by a certain date, they wouldn't take the charges off my credit card. This company is a scam and should not be trusted. Do not order a thing from them.

[Lisa Jacobs]

I also ordered IQ Derma, but I read the fine print and returned it within the 30 days and received confirmation from the post office it was received.

They still charged me....However, I called, spoke with a representative and indicated I had confirmation from the post office that it was received within well within the 30 day time period. They finally credited my account.

You all are right....It's nothing but a BS scam.

[Mary C. More]

Yes, it is misleading & deceptive. Why do they mark their box clearly "Cannot Return to Sender", but the ad has small print. Guess my eyes are not so good & my brain must have been out in the cold that day! I really was expecting a couple little tubes or packets in an envelope as other REPUTABLE companies have sent out on occasion.
Followed the instructions with THEIR label & number marked with a permanent marker the very next day! I, too, have sensitive skin & more so since receiving chemo. Even my Oncologist told me to try products before you pay out $100 so thought I'd take advantage of this offer.
Guess I just wanted to look healthier & realized too late it was probably not a good product with a company who would pull this sort of scam! Thank you for this page & hope y'all who have had this experience follow up with the BBB & Attorney General of CA. Is there anything else we can do? Good Luck! Mary moron of MN.

[Don Lawson]

I just got billed the $95.00 even though I got a Ra from them and shipped it back. They said they never got it. Right !!! What is the BBB's number that I call in their area. I'm also calling them in the morning. What a rip off. They are praying on people who want to feel better about themselves.

[Lisa]

With ANY "just pay for S&H for the "FREE Trial" " product..when you return, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get a receipt confirmation ticket to proooove they recieved it and when. Also, I have unbelievably sensitive skin but tried HydroDerm. I ended up getting the usual break-out like with everything else I've tried but, guess what, I REALLY COULD SEE A DIFFERENCE!! (for the better by the way) It DID decrease the appearance of fine lines. I just had to stop using it cuz of the pimples..damn. Just when something really does work.
If you don't have sensitive skin and are looking for the "quick-fix of fine lines" (not deep wrinkles tho)..go with HydroDerm...seriously!

[Denise Nipper]

Once I clicked on the button I realized it was a rip-off. I tryed immediatly to contact these people before my product shipped and I was told they have no one to contact on a week-end. We sent back the product 3 weeks prior to when they said and they told me they just received it after four weeks. If they come after me for $95, they will have a fight on their hands. Biggest scam (don't call this marketing) I have seen. Stear clear of IQ Derm!

[ilovemakeup]

Thanks for all the comments, I just ordered IQ Derm! YIKES!!! I have to call to cancel in the morning!!! Alot of negatives reviews on them out there.

[Linda]

I realised once I got their confirmation email what I fool I had been. I contacted my bank and they advised canceling and replacing the card that I had used immediately. This process was quick and easy. Apparently better than trying to deal with these scam artists. I have never tried to contact IQ. If they want their product back, let them come and get it!

[JP]

Thanks to this blog, I discovered today the pending authorization on my credit card for $95.00. I called (866) 381-4203 and cancelled all future shipments and also received a return authorization number to write on the box (unopened) when I return to sender. The person on the phone was very cooperative. As a precaution, I notified my credit card company that the pending authorization was not approved by me. I'll look more closely in the future at the fine print.

[Paul]

Hi, Came here after seeing the ad at Cnn.com and started to find out about this garbage. What a bunch of con artists. Cnn is worst for letting the ads run on its website.

[loisc07]

This is a SCAM!!!!

[Turtleproof]

I just received this in the mail today. I placed no order and am a male in my 20's. I'd like to know how they got my address in the first place.

[Shyne David]

I ordered the trial products with IQ derma, when i receive the merchandise, they gave me $20.00 gift card that I can redeem at Redpoint Beauty. I tried to use the gift card but it was decline! After all the negative issues I read about IQ Derma, I don't know if their products really works!

[Agnes]

I ordered the free trial. I tried to contact them; I needed their return address....and never heard anything from them. They also charged me $ 89.95. SCAM!

[corinna]

I did IQDerma a couple of months ago. I tried the SkintensiveXcel and the eye cream. The eye cream was nothing special but I did like the Skintensive serum. I have problems with break outs and with this stuff that ended. It did burn a bit the first time I used it so I was a little concerned that it contained harsh ingredients but I stuck with it for the trial period (too short) and my skin was smooth and firm. I returned the whole kit though because the price is outrageous. There are plenty of equally effective creams that cost less. Unlike most people here, I had no problem with IQDerma receiving the returned items or with any unwanted charges to my credit card - I paid for shipping and handling, nothing more.

[carmen]

I've been wanting to purchase the IQ Derma products but after all of these comments i'm not to sure now can you please advise me.

[vanessa]

If you create an account, you can go in there and cancel, get an RMA and mail the stuff back!

[annie drummond]

I have been using IQ Derma for over a year and have been very pleased. I knew the pictures were enhanced-too dramatic-but my skin is smoother and wrinkles lessened. Once you get past the first order, the price drops dramatically so that it is actually cheaper than Loreal. Sorry to see so much negativity.

[Beth]

If you signed up for the RAW Signature "free" offer and want to return the item, please note: 1) You must return it within 30 days; 2) You must get a Return Merchandise Authorization # (RMA) on-line or via telephone; 3) You must put the RMA on the package as the company won't accept packages marked "Return to Sender"; 4) The company must receive the package within 14 days from the time the RMA is issued (even if this reduces the 30 days you have to return the product) or else you will be charged the $90+ and receive store credit; 5) The company has 14 days to process your return after receiving the package. Yes -- that would mean the RMA expired and you are going to charged the full amount anyway. None of the return information provide in the packaging or on-line has all of these steps listed; instead, you must read everything and follow the different instructions listed on the different pages.

[Alexander]

Greetings all.
First of all. Thank you for saving me money.
I am a cautious shopper and I always check what others have to say about product. I also found this article on how to get your money back from this scam. Since I did not buy it, I did not have to through any of it, but may be it will help:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/281/RipOff0281493.htm

[marge parker]

Ihave a comment --whenever you see the trial amount and they do not reveal the actual price look at the bottom of the page and under quarantee and you will be able in most cases see the amount you will be charged if you keep the product and you will also find out if you actually get to try it for a full 30 days before you can return it- I have found under the guaratee info sometimes they only give you 15 days but you don't know this until you get it and I have also seen where it is 30 days from the day you actually ORDER the item which means you have even less time to try it - how can you try it for 30 days when they only give you 15-- this is very deceptive advertising -- the old saying of Buyer beware fits most if not all these trial items--been there done that-- never again-

[Roz]

I can't say I loved the product, but I can say that their customer service is very responsive and went beyond expectations when they made a mistake and auto billed me. They immediately refunded me, apologized and let me keep the order sent to me.

[Kay]

Forget that the advertising image is misleading! It is the UNETHICAL Marketing practice that is misleading the most. I just went over my credit card statements three months later to be sure the "refund" was issued when I got that unexpected shipment 30 days later. What I found was two charges on my Credit card and one refund. When I called I was told that I was supposed to send back my "free trial" within the original 30 days and I would avoid being charged the full price. I told them that I was going to dispute this with my Credit Card company because it was very misleading. They assured me they had their "Dispute" department in place waiting for me. Of course with practices like this they would need their own dispute department. I made some comment about how I'm sure they receive plenty of complaints the Customer Service Agent told me only 15% of their customers complain. I have a hard time believing that there are only 15%. I don't know how it will go with my dispute, because they are likely all legally covered, but I don't plan on remaining silent. People need to be aware that this company is very misleading. They refused to refund my money but told me if I sent the unused product back they would issue me store credit. I have absolutely ZERO trust in this company. In my dispute I mentioned that this Company charged me twice for the same shipment. 3.95 for the "free trial offer" and another 96.35 30 days later for failure to read the small print and return the "free trial product."

[Mary Bratvold]

I thought the product was free you had to pay for shipping. Ordered it on a weak moment and got auto e-mail.stating I would have to return by 1 15 09 or be billed $96.plus dollars. I called right a way said CANCEl that is not FREE. I have had with these hoax companies. sorry I did not look for this web site beofer ordering.

[Chris]

Same problem....I "fell for" the FREE TRIAL and I DID read CAREFULLY. Nothing in the ad I responded to indicated anything about a REQUIRED RETURN to end the trial...... Sure there is an asterisk about customer responsible for return postage .... but...again....NOTHING about a return being REQUIRED . . . * Product is free to try for 30 days. Pay only a small shipping & handling fee. Customer responsible for return postage. ....that is ALL it states..... Then, there was a BONUS GIFT that NEVER ARRIVED: https://beauty.iqderma.com/dms836/index.cfm?action=checkout.main&utn=5

[Tammy]

Same thing here. FREE TRIAL in huge letters, I ordered it and it arrived about 5 or so days later. When I got my bank statement I realized I was charged $96.00 for the 2 creams. Which are not worth it, because they do NOT work.... And to top it off, the day cream is seperated~ meaning that the cream part and the oil part inside the jar are not mixed. I tried to stir it up, but nothing works. I guess that's 96 dollars down the crapper.!!

[Jessica]

Just went through this... my advice... follow instructions, put RMA# on box, send out asap, send it out with a receipt confirmation... take a picture of the boxes to prove you put RMA # on them... and CANCEL your card used to make purchase - this is the only way to ensure you don't end up paying!!!

[mia casey]

i have purchased this product a big scam it does not work and they mainipulate you into buying
it with the free trail. Thers is nothing free about thos very expensive and useless product. please do not purchase it. Just more thieves ripping you off of your hard earned money. AWFUL!!

[Billie B.]

You've confirmed my suspicions! I must admit though, the info necessary to make an informed decision is all there, and legible - NOW. But would it be if it weren't for sites such as this one, where honest comments are shared? The maddening thing is that they are still getting away with calling this a 'free trial offer'. What a waste of time! As others said, buyer beware - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Scam artists are anywhere a dime is to be made, and it's up to us to do the homework BEFORE giving out our credit card numbers - especially online. Thanks for making it easier to do so.

[Danna Richardson]

CALL 1-(866)381-4203 TO CANCEL YOUR ORDERS!!

I was upset that I didn't see that I would be receiving future orders.
I try not to order on-line because of scams.
This experience just reminded me why I do not order "FREE" items on-line.

[Barbara]

I just cancelled my credit card charge. They said to always take it up with the merchant first. But she said you should "never" give your credit card on a "free sample" because if they can afford to send you 90$ worth of stuff why cant they pay the extra 4$ for postage? its just a way to get your # to keep billing you and putting you on the hook.
Free samples are not unusual - a lot of people start up businesses by giving you a "first taste" of the product - but they are up front about it.
Also - as far as the product? It is not any better than Regenerist or many of the products I can get on discount at a store like Marshalls or even a good grocery store!