The DeLuxe version — only $249.95
Put the Q-Ray bracelet on the shelf along with purported baldness cures and feel-good tonics after a federal judge ruled on Friday the jewelry did not quell pain as advertised.
U.S. District Judge Morton Denlow ordered QT Inc. of Mount Prospect, Illinois, and its owner, Que Te Park, to refund more than 100,000 buyers of the bracelets — priced up to $249.95 — and forfeit profits of $22.6 million earned between 2000 and 2003.
The ruling supported a 3-year-old complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and rejected the defense’s theory that if people believed they were helped by the product, why not advertise?
“With the Q-Ray bracelet, if defendants had represented that the bracelet possessed no pain-relieving properties but was simply an interesting piece of wrist jewelry, there would be no placebo effect,” Denlow wrote in his ruling.
Of course, Q-Ray healing stats are the same as “the power of prayer” and any other faith-based panacea. That’s what the placebo effect is all about.
Anybody who bought this product for any reason other then a piece of jewerly got what they deserved. 22.6 million in profits. I guess there are a lot of stupid people out there. No wonder spam is so rampant.
If he invested that in the past three years, and agreed outright to the refunds he could still come out on top.
1: What if they actually got some benefit out of it?
Out of using the bracelet, I mean.
This story gets the “No shit?” award of the week.
Gotta get into informercials. Either selling slock or just producing ’em. Who is with me.
4. Let stupid people stick with prayer. It’s cheaper than q-ray.
Unless you tithe, of course.
Didn’t they follow the directions:
APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD!
APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD!
APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD!
If only the inventors added RFID to the bracelet. Then they could have claimed the braclet was really a public service: moron tracking. Imagine the uses!
The funny thing is, it is certain to work to some degree based on the medically-valid placebo effect.
“Careful studies have shown that the placebo effect can alleviate pain.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_effect
And I would guess this brilliant scam targets exactly the kind of people who would see some benefit: (fill in your own creative description here).
The judge appears to be saying, regardless of success, you can’t take advantage of this phenomenon to make money.
As for those who are certain there were no positive effects, Q-Ray joins a huge range of garbage products offering the usual unwieldy “satisfaction money-back guarantee” in the finest tradition of marketing hocus-pocus.
RBG
I’m not a doctor, but just from playing a Shaman on Everquest I could have told you a Quack-Ray bracelet doesn’t work as well as casting a level 10 “mezz dumbf$%k into thinking he’s cured” spell. Damn I’m agroed, gotta zone.
Sadly, people who live with pain get desperate for cures, not just treatment. And unless you walk in with a knife sticking out of your ribs, HMO quality doctors often don’t have a clue. Quacks have been and will be around forever.
well my Walmart Golf Braclet works $4.99 for me, looks the same with 2 magnets; use(d) it on both wrists whenever pain would start from stupid computer keyboards. 5 bucks and no surgrey required, don’t take a Brain surgeon to figure that one out. please note: the “placebo” local Arizona Indian solid copper braclet did not work for me, but this did …go figure
Hummm…i wonder if lawyers will figure a way to make a buck sueing for the “power of prayer”
Praise god and pass the placebos…
Was there any reason to add on the “prayer” comment? [read comment guidelines]
There is one born every second, and with the birth rate in some regions I’d say suckers drop several a second. Snake oil is, and always will be, a growth industry.
Was there any reason to add on the “prayer” comment? [edited]
Yes. Simply because the two work on the same principle. If you want to believe prayer will heal your heart attack, pray on. If you think prayer will bring Terry Schaivo back to consciousness, they pray away. If you think prayer will enhance that snake oil sold on the religious channel, then please pray hard.
And amature, ??? (did you mean amateur)
Hey Ed, do you get paid to edit this blog or volunteer? I ask because Dvorak is very LUCKY to have men like you, Dave, Steve, Alex, Keith, and John Jr doing what you guys do.
That’s nice that my comment got edited. I see people rib the editors on here all the time. What made mine any different? Religion? Let’s hope not.
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