When I heard about cloth pads I was pretty squicked – who really wants to deal with that? Ew, right? I’ve heard about them for years, some of my friends use them, and I have been told time and time again that I needed to change over to cloth.
As always, click the jump to read the rest of the article. Nothing explicit or gross, just wanting to cut this for uninterested readers.
So, a few weeks ago a company called C’elle, a company who offers pricey stem cell harvesting and storage from menstrual blood, was offering free menstrual cups to those who signed up.
Today, this email from C’elle starts going around:
We sincerely appreciate your interest in completing the C’elle survey online. Due to overwhelming demand, however, the free “Go Green”gift set supply is no longer available and we apologize for any inconvenience. In appreciation of your interest in C’elle we would like to offer you one complimentary free year of C’elle annual storage valued at $99.
Absolutely everyone I know who signed up to get a free cup is getting this email. Is anyone getting their cups? We are leaning towards “No.”
I think most of us are leaning towards “scam” here, a way to get emails and set us up with a “$99 off” store stem cells. Let’s not even TOUCH on the fact it costs $499 (but that’s $200 off!) to harvest the said stem cells, and from what I heard they don’t even know what to do with them yet – does anyone have any info that says otherwise?
They also seem to be preying on a woman’s possible insecurities to care for herself and her loved ones:
Actually, the healthier you are when your cells are collected and preserved, the more viable the cells may be for future use. One smart move in the right direction is to collect and preserve your C’elle menstrual stem cells now, and on multiple occasions in the future as a potential safeguard for you and those you love.
This is just setting themselves up for awesome reviews. Screw a bunch of women over on menstrual cups, but wait! There’s more! – offer us a “deal” for a mere $99!
Just FYI – here is their facebook page. Feel free to leave them a note.
And edit: It was brought to my attention that this note was actually sent out on the “monthly newsletter” – which most of us explicitly remember NOT SIGNING UP FOR.
Son of edit: Now there is a C’elle Scammed Me group on Facebook!
Grandson of edit: Thank you, Martha, for the info on their BBB page – they have been around since 1989! Makes me wonder how they got their start? I have gotten info that there has been a very select few who have received their cups – but the number is low. Something isn’t meshing here – most sample sites have a program that halts sign ups for free samples when demand is met. You always stand a chance of notgetting the product – but usually most people receive one. Why the dis-proportion?
I have decided to start the Women’s Health series with one of my favorite scams, ever.
Pregnancy tests.
Yup. Those of you who know me knew I couldn’t go long without talking about vaginas. But when it comes to saving money, knowledge is power. And women don’t talk about women’s health nearly as much as they should, and it is still a very taboo topic to some. I will be writing about ways to cure infections, find out your pregnant (or not), and healthy ways to take care of yourself for pennies on the dollar.
Click the jump to read more. Nothing gross, nothing graphic. But just cut for those who would rather pass over it.
Saving in Cincinnati 