Watch Out When Buying Acai Berry Products

Native to South America, the Acai berry has been advertised as a "superfood" that can help you lose weight, keep fit, and possibly live longer. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you have more than likely heard about the Acai berry.

Acai berry juice is high in vitamins and antioxidants and, when used as part of a responsible diet with regular exercise, can help you drop unwanted pounds and stay healthy. While claims of dramatic weight loss often are nothing but hype, there is some evidence that Acai berry juice is good for you.

A sizeable percentage of the American population suffers from being overweight, so it would seem that any product that offered health benefits to those who used it properly as part of a healthy lifestyle would enjoy a good reputation.

Unfortunately, the benefits of the Acai berry have been offset by the evils of questionable marketing tactics. Many Acai berry products are offered for sale with a "free trial" offer, which provides a small supply of the product with only a nominal postage fee for the buyer. Such offers are quite legal, but many unethical marketers are not revealing on their Web page that ordering a trial offer will register you for regular monthly shipments of the product, often at a price of $50 or more per month.

Credit card company Visa recently announced that they will no longer do business with some 100 companies that are failing to disclose to buyers that they are purchasing a product on a subscription basis, or "forced continuity", as it is known in the marketing world. Visa's refusal to do business with these companies stems from the thousands of complaints they have received from customers who ordered trial products, only to be billed repeatedly for monthly shipments that they do not recall ordering.

As a result of this unfavorable publicity, the public has begun to take a dim view of all Acai weight loss products, when the problem isn't the product itself, but rather with those who market it.

You can purchase Acai berry products without becoming a victim of a scam. All you need to do is take a few simple precautions and some common sense. Here are some tips that might help:

Consider using a prepaid credit card to make your purchase. These cards have a fixed value and cannot have charges placed against them that exceed that value.

Read the sales page carefully. Forced continuity is often stated on the sales page, so be sure to read everything. If the Website has a link to another page with "terms and conditions", make sure that you read that page, too.

Check your credit card statement regularly so that you can be aware of any strange charges immediately.

Many people have reported that they are fit, happy and healthy as a result of using Acai berry products. Thousands of people have also lost excess pounds while using Acai berry products in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise. They may very well help you, too. Just make sure to read the fine print carefully when you make your purchase, as you want to lose fat, and not your money, too.