Friday, October 26, 2007

Vitamin Questions Answered

I've had quite a few questions from my readers after my last post about the best vitamins at the best price. So here are some answers:

Several of you asked how it is possible for Puritan's Pride to have high quality at a low price. The reason is actually quite simple. They sell direct over the Internet. They keep their profit margins reasonable. And they have a high volume loyal customer base.

Now for the details.
Most retailers sell vitamins and related items at a minimum of a 50% profit. This means that if they buy a product for $1 they will sell it for $2. ( I know, I said "50%". Retailers calculate their profit margin based on the retail price, not the cost price.)

Most (if not all) MLM health suppliers sell their product at huge undisclosed margins. How can I say "huge"? Just go to their websites. Look at the promises of wealth to all the associates. Where do you think the money is coming from? The owner wants to be a multimillionaire. The staff want to be rich. And the associates want to live the life of their dreams. Just how is this going to happen without a huge profit margin?

Check out Puritan's Pride:

Puritan's Pride Logo
(Click on the logo)

Their founder wants to give quality product at a good price.
They pay a modest 10% commission to all Internet advertisers.
They pass on savings to the customers.

Now I'm sure that the head of the company is doing just fine. He just knows how much is enough.

So what about Quality?

Here is what the company says:

"Puritan's Pride is headquartered on Long Island in New York and for over 40 years has manufactured over 1,400 high quality vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements in our own state-of-the-art facilities. The manufacturing facilities total over one million square feet and we produce supplements in every available form, including tablets, two-piece capsules, softgels, powders and liquids."

They also get audited by third party independent labs to make sure their quality is as high as they think it is.

Why is this important? Well, because the refined ingredients come from all over the world. With the latest quality scares from China, you have to wonder just what is in anything! The only way you would know if your nutritional supplements were full of toxic ingredients is if they were tested by independent labs. Imagine a company buying tons of product. Would they really want to know if it was contaminated? Or would they hope that everything was fine and turn a blind eye? I've heard of local manufacturers starting out by mixing product in their bathtubs!

Puritan's Pride has in-house testing and third party auditing. And they curb their desire for profit so as to build loyal buyers.

So here is your homework. Go to your local Vitamin Store. Select your favorite supplements. Find the manufacturer that has the highest quality controls. Write down the prices. Then compare them with the same items from Puritan's Pride using this search box:















Or..... if you are like me. Just go to their site and order up your favorites.

Note to Canadians: I was impressed and surprised to find that there is a distribution point in Canada which saves in all the lengthy customs hassles.
( ever tried to get any "white powder" shipped across the border?)

I hope this answers some of your concerns. Please keep the questions coming in.