I will not judge this reply by its appalling paragraphing and misuse of "there"

Dear Jack,

Thanks for your email about Power Balance. 

We saw the product at a Trade Expo Show in New York last year and like you where very  sceptical at the beginning.

Do go on...

I have read all the positive and negative feedback on the product that is available.

When we saw the Bands in the USA we sort out people over there who were wearing them as well as  the owners of stores in the US who sold them

and discussed the ins and outs of the product with them.

Finally  we decided to purchase 30 and do our own trials as simple as they maybe so that we could decide ourselves if we thought

the bands did anything for us or not ..

(1) So let's see... to find out if it worked, the only people you asked were those who were already selling it? Did you talk to the store owners who didn't sell it? Who was there presenting the case against it?
(2) And your methodology was...?

Over a 4 month period we had people in a variety of different sports from Golf to Surfing to top level  Rugby players wear the

Bands and give us there feedback.

Very scientific. "Here take this. It'll make you feel more balanced." "Oh cool, I'll try it out, I hope it works." Four months later "I reckon it does kind of make a difference."

Yeah." Give half of the people fake, but identical in appearance, ones, where the person conducting the trial does not know which ones are which, and then if you get a positive result you might be onto something.

Of the 30 people involved of which I was one every person came back very positive and said they would continue to wear

them and believed the product had benefits to them. Most have recommended them to their friends because they believe the product is of benefit

to them.

The Golfers and Surfers just raved about the product and both had major improvement in their chosen sport.

If, as seems to be true here, the golfers were among the most positive about it... that's extremely consistent with the "placebo effect" - seeing as golf is a confidence sport (I imagine surfing would be too). Believing that you have better balance gives you confidence - and with confidence, you play well!

I have instructed our staff to make sure they tell people who are interested in buying the product that there is  as much negative as there is positive feedback out there on them and it is up to each individual person to test the product and decide if they believe that the product is of benefit to them.

Kindest Regards...

That's not good enough, unless you are also telling them that there is no scientific evidence that it works, and that the product description is undoubtedly utter nonsense.


Anyway, I'll send in a reply to the email this evening.

EDIT: My reply:

[the guy's name]

Do you have any evidence that the effect of these bracelets is anything other than the placebo effect?

It is all very well and good to say that people report a difference, but in sport confidence is a massive factor, and the mere belief that a bracelet might improve blood flow (or whatever it claims) could very easily give people the confidence to push themselves a little further. Studies on magnetic therapy conclude, every time, that the effects of it can be explained by the placebo effect. It is easy to test this; all that is needed is identical in appearance, non "magnetic" bracelets. Give (say) ten magnetic bracelets to ten people (selected at random from twenty), and ten non-magnetic bracelets to other ten, and ask each group whether they notice a difference. If there turned out to be a significant difference, then further research could be carried out on larger groups, by researchers. My point is, if the bracelets actually do something, you'd be able to find proper evidence for it - and it would be revolutionary. Sadly, I suspect evidence would have been found by now if there was any.

Short of that, you cannot claim that there is any evidence that these bracelets work. The product description is still nonsense; it still makes a complete mockery of physics and chemistry.

Consumers who buy this product are still not being informed even when you tell them that there is "equal negative and positive feedback." For them to actually be informed, they would have to be told that the only plausible reason that it might work is the same reason why we might offer to "kiss it better" when our children hurt themselves very slightly. (Would it be right to sell "kisses better" on the street to small children for five dollars each?) Short of that, selling this product is preying - consciously or not, (I don't think that you're quite aware of it) - upon the gullible and the credulous. This is still deeply unethical.

Regards, Jack

"When Power Balance comes in contact with the body's energy field, it resonates at a low-level frequency that improves the flow of energy throughout the body and helps regulate its static energy."

One of the hallmarks of total, utter, woo, is sentences such as the title. If you can't understand what's wrong with that title, then ... well ... put it this way. I'm betting you can't understand what it's on about. Take my word that I don't have a clue either. Further, take my word that not a single scientist in the world would understand it, because it makes no sense. It's part of the description of a product called "Power Balance Wristbands."

POWER BALANCE bracelets contain two Mylar Hologram's which are embedded with frequencies that react with your body's electro-magnetic field. When the static POWER BALANCE Hologram comes in contact with your body's energy field, it begins to resonate in accordance with each individual's biological energy system, creating a harmonic loop that optimizes your energy field. This maintains maximum energy flow while it clears the pathways so the electro-chemical exchange functions like the well-tuned generator it was designed to be!

This results in immediate improved balance, increased core strength, greater flexibility, increased range of motion and overall well-being
How Does Power Balance Work?
When Power Balance comes in contact with the body's energy field, it resonates at a low-level frequency that improves the flow of energy throughout the body and helps regulate its static energy. 

Like a tuning fork, Power Balance creates cellular harmony that allows you to perform at your optimum level.  The high density Disk acts much like a switch, resonating within your system and turning on your energy field while it clears the pathways so the electro-chemical exchange functions like the well-tuned generator it was designed to be. 
Energy Balance & Systemic Harmony Are the Keys
Optimal health and peak performance occur when your body maintains ionic balance (the exchange between negative and positive charges) and free flowing energy pathways (harmony) at the optimum frequency
The Power Balance silicone wristband comes equipped with two, visible Power Balance holograms. The 3mm thick wristband is made from 100% Surgical Grade Silicone that is extremely durable , featuring a 40% stretch feature for extra stretch over the hands. It is built to last.
Is Power Balance safe for everyone to use?
Yes. Research conducted by Yale University Professor & Independent Laboratories

Obviously this isn't a unique product - this sort of thing pops up all over the place. None the less, it's definitely worth a complaint. My brother was brief and vicious:

The "power balance wristbands" (as retrieved from http://www.shoeclinic.co.nz/power-balance-wristbands.html?lnum=17994720&C=2018849937) are a pseuodoscientific hoax and it is a disgrace that a respectable company such as The Shoe Clinic should take advantage of peoples gullibility by selling them a piece of plastic at an inflated price on the basis of a pseudoscientific bombardment of misapplied chemistry and physics principles. This sort of product is highly unethical and you should distance yourself from it

I wasted even more time with my complaint, which I directed straight to head office;

To the manager

I am concerned to learn that your store is selling the product "Power Balance Wristbands." My brother has submitted feedback on this; I would like to complain slightly more directly.

The product is clearly a sham. A clear effort is made in the product description to make it sound scientific; scientific buzzwords such as "resonate, electro-chemical exchange, energy field, frequency, energy flow, biological energy system, ionic balance, energy pathways" and so on. However, the explanation is completely empty; the words simply make it sound impressive (it always sounds impressive when people talk about energy fields. On closer inspection,  for example, if you search Wikipedia for "energy fields," (I am a physics student; I have never studied or heard any physicist talk about energy fields) you get to a page talking about spiritual and alternative medicine, not a technical science page that you might expect. This clearly reveals, then, that the effort the writer of the description goes to to make the wristbands sound scientific is misleading, because this product is not based on any of the sciences it wantonly abuses - physics, chemistry, biology - but is an "alternative medicine."

Although the scientific principles the product description scratches the surface of are clearly totally mis-used, this does not fully address what the most important question clearly is: does it work? The description claims, firstly, that the product causes "improved balance, increased core strength, greater flexibility, increased range of motion and overall well-being."  This claim receives no support - it's not even a "studies have shown the product creates improved balance..."

So, there is no science behind the product, and the best evidence that it works is a link to an article in a surfing magazine, which turns out to be an interview with a company representative - not an "independent review" as your page claims (please change that. it is false and deceptive).  The sad truth is, thousands of products like this turn up, and they do get tested, and not a single one has been shown to work. The only effect they have is the placebo effect - people are influenced by their belief that they work. I'm not sure how much the wristbands cost, but unless they are exceptionally cheap they are too expensive for a placebo.

Products such as this should not be sold. They are useless and deceptive, and are bought by the gullible and the credulous. I suspect that the only crime your store's management is guilty of with regards to this product is the same gullibility and ignorance - but to sell this product in the knowledge that it does nothing would be deeply unethical, and I urge you to remove it from your shelves and demand a refund from your suppliers.

With regards, Jack Cowie

So I'm looking forward to receiving a reply full of corporate-speak.