Flexcin vs. Elations

After receiving many email inquiries from customers & readers asking my opinion on the confusing claims of many, many producers of joint pain remedies----I directed the staff to research the various claims and promises presented on the Internet. Here is a review of these products:

Altogether, we found that there are currently 21 web sites that currently promote joint pain pain relief solutions. Here’s what we’ve found out…

We utilized an evaluation system that employs a 5 Key Point Evaluation Criteria, as follows:

	Length of time the product has been sold
	Verifiable references
	Customer Service
	Guarantee of satisfaction
	Privacy Protection

Our results were highly disappointing. Most of the sites failed to meet even 2 of the above criteria. Quite a few were individuals involved in multi level marketing (MLM) programs, who did not offer the professional presence that one should expect when putting a health substance in their body. Several refused to participate in providing answers to a few simple questions, or couldnot provide a live voice answering their phone during business hours, or even failed to submit a paragraph explaining & proving how their product worked. Many sites offered references, but when asked to verify them, they refused to do so, making us wonder if they were really the words of their favorite brother- in-law. A few even scored a ZERO on this 5 Key Point Evaluation System, and were, in fact, little more than scams.

An incredibly high percentage of the web sites demonstrated the following defects and problems:

	Outdated Information
	Non-working Links
	Links that lead to other parent company sites
	No help section
	No live support

However, as in all businesses, there were a couple that we found to pass our Evaluation. Of those two, only one scored a perfect 5, in our Key Point Evaluation Criteria. The only one that scored highly enough to recommend was Flexcin w/CM8™, and they earned our 5 Star Approval. Our runner up, Elations, a joint pain drink, ran a distant second, but with reasonable ratings.

When contacted, we found the staff at Flexcin International to be readily available by phone or by email, with a live voice offering pleasant response to our investigator's' various questions. Support calls and phone orders are taken by company employees during normal business hours, and they have 24/7 hour phone ordering via an outsource call center. Of course, sales via the Internet can be placed anytime.

They have been selling their non-prescription joint pain treatment product mainly via a network of over 800 Independent Health Food retailers across the USA, and via television commercials for nearly 10 years, as well as for the last several years on the Internet. Their Internet Sales are via Secure Socket Encryption, so no personal information can be gleamed by others, and they have a very strong Privacy Policy protecting the customers' email address. Their Privacy Policy states that they never sell email address under any circumstances.

When we called directly, the company was very open about themselves and their product. We were even able to schedule an interview with the President on short notice. He speaks of his product with absolute pride, and tells the story of how he developed it some 10 years ago personally, for his suffering grandmother. After obtaining our assurance not to divulge them further, he provided contact information to several of the people who are featured as Video References on his web site. (More on this later.)

Every one of Flexcin's competitors is a glucosamine/chondroitin based product with some additional vitamins or minerals added in, and Elations is no exception. But the lynchpin of Flexcin's claims of effectiveness is CM8™, which is their trademarked derivative of cetyl myristoleate. According to the President of Flexcin, and Wikipedia, CM8™ (cetyl myristoleate), functions in 3 different ways. First, it's an anti-inflammatory agent that helps reduce inflammation in the joints. Second, it an immune system modulator which helps with arthritic conditions in the joints. Third, it acts as a lubricant for the joints and muscles of the body. Like Glucosamine (which is also found in Flexcin) it is also a man made component that offers the ultimate in pain relief for not only joint pain, but other osteoarthritic pains. Others cannot obtain it, and cannot afford it in their products, leaving them with the Glucosamin ingredient base alone. CM8™ was developed in the 60's by Dr. Harry Diehl while working for the government at the National Institute for Health in Bethesda, MD.

When contacted, Flexcin's references were actual, factual, pleasant and very enthusiastic about what Flexcin had done for them. Many of them are featured on the company's You Tube page (www.youtube.com/flexcin). One of them was even featured on CBS with Katy Couric. Unlike others, they do not rely on a paid celebrity endorser of their product, preferring to invest their money in R & D.

Although Flexcin International has been in business very close to 10 years, we found no complaints of any nature, either resolved or unresolved, with any Better Business Bureau or any other regulatory agency.

Here’s what this means…

If you are suffering from joint pain pain, the last thing you need is to invest in a product that is not clinically approved, and does not or might not work. Offering clinical approval of a unique ingredient not available elsewhere, and from a company deemed reliable, & offering a money back guarantee, you really don't have much to lose. When you look at the Industry as a whole, Flexcin rates out head and shoulders above the others.

Here are our finding, Key Point by Key Point:

1. Flexcin w/CM8™

1. Length of time the product has been sold.–Ten full years is plenty of time to establish that a product works, and establish a company reputation.
2. Verifiable References– Easy to find and all that we spoke to were legitimately enthusiastic about the benefits of Flexcin, had been using it for years, and each assured me they were not compensated for their endorsement.
3. Customer Service – All emails were answered courteously in less than 24 hours and in a straightforward manner by the support desk. A live support person is always available by phone during normal business hours, and orders are accepted 24/7.
4. Guarantee of Satisfaction – The company offers a "no questions asked, 100% Money Back Guarantee, by simply returning any unused portion to them.
5. Privacy Protection –We signed up with a special apartment code in our address to track if they would pass our information to junk mail companies, but Flexcin passed this sneaky little test.

Final Grade Visit Website

 

1. Elations

1. Length of time the product has been sold.–Elations is a brand new product with no real sales history or proven history of effectiveness. It is sold by TV Commercial and online, by Brand Power. Our research shows it was originally developed by Proctor and Gamble, who chose not to bring it to market. Instead they sold it to J.W. Childs, as part of a package deal with Sunny Delight in 2004. Subsequently, Elations (MSRP $7.99 for a six-pack) was test-marketed in Louisville and Lexington, Ky., then moved to the larger Sunny Delight distribution facility in the Cincinnatti area last September. It currently sells for $31.96 per 24 Bottle Pack.
2. Verifiable References– As a new company, they have only a few anonymous references on their website.
3. Customer Service – Contact via Toll Free Customer Service number with a live voice responding. They also publish their mailing address and email prominently on their website.
4. Guarantee of Satisfaction – We could not locate any Guarantee of Satisfaction of any type at all on their website. A call to their customer service number advised us to take it back to the supermarket where we purchased it. The supermarket refused to take it back since there were some missing bottles from the case and refused our request for a prorated refund.
5. Privacy Protection – They do have a strong privacy statement online, with constant references to Sunny Delight. Leads to the logical quesiton, "is this the same Sunny Delight the kids drink, only with glucosamine thrown in for Grandma"?

Final Grade Visit Website

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