It seems like you can buy anything on Amazon. But there are actually a large number of products that the company doesn't allow in its online store.
Amazon(AMZN) has a list of 32 banned or restricted categories of merchandise, each with its own laundry list of specific items that can't be sold.
An honest Plexus Review – is Plexus safe? Because I do a lot of honest product reviews, I've received a ton of requests for a Plexus review. I've had several people tell me it's 'all natural' and offer to send me some. This proves just how uneducated people are regarding these products. And that's why I do these reviews. These packs used to be sold on Amazon, but Plexus's products are currently banned there. No customer reviews means no way to tell if the product is legit or not. These are the most critically-acclaimed nutritional shakes for meal replacement and fitness.
Many of the products that Amazon bans are illegal in many or all states.Think gun silencers, drugs and stolen goods. Others pose safety concerns, such as refrigerants, black powder, gasoline and snap caps. And other products serve dubious purposes, including cell phone jammers, drug paraphernalia and wiretapping equipment.
Some products tread a thin line that Amazon monitors closely. For example, alcoholic beverages can be sold -- but only by pre-approved sellers. Some lasers are allowed, but Amazon limits who can sell laser pointers on its site out of concern for customers' safety.
And some of the banned products are outright obscure. Sable antelopes, human body parts and media featuring pornstar Traci Lords created prior to May 7, 1986 are also prohibited.
Notably, Amazon also bans 'offensive products,' which include 'products that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views.'
On Tuesday, Amazon followed other major retailers, including Wal-Mart(WMT) and Sears(SHLD), in banning sales of the Confederate flag. Google(GOOG) also announced it is removing the flag from its ads and Google Shopping. The Confederate flag has once again become toxic in the aftermath of a shooting last week at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Amazon had more than 29,000 listings for Confederate flags, posters, knives and other memorabilia.
On its website, the company says that it 'reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of listings on its site, and remove any listing at any time.' Amazon also says it encourages customers to report listings that violate Amazon's policies
'We will investigate each report thoroughly and take any appropriate actions,' the company said.
Despite Amazon's policies, banned items continually slip through. For instance, Amazon has had something of an on-again / off-again Nazi problem over the past several years. Though the company has banned Nazi flags, swastikas and other symbols, items keep popping up on the store.
As of the publication of this story, customers could still purchase swastika pendants, Nazi eagle emblazoned knives, SS armbands, swastika rings and Nazi propaganda signs.
Part of the problem is that the majority of items sold on Amazon are posted and delivered by third-party resellers, not by Amazon itself. The company uses a combination of computer algorithms, monitors and customer reports to stop banned items before they're listed. But some still get through the gates undetected.
'We work hard on this issue every day because we know that our customers trust that they are buying safe and legal products when they shop on Amazon.com,' the company said.
--MJ Lee contributed to this report.
People trying to lose weight might be willing to try anything as long as it promises to give them the results they're looking for. Unfortunately, not all of them deliver. We made it our mission to look at these different diet products and see which ones are safe, which ones work, and which ones to avoid. We just concluded an investigation on one recent one that's popped up of recent – which you can read in the article below.
Plexus Slim Overview
Plexus Slim is a nutritional drink that promises to help you lose weight more quickly. It contains probiotic bacteria in addition to various plant extracts, and is non-GMO. It comes in boxes of 30 packets, and is meant to be mixed into water. Customers are told that it must be used once or twice every day for results to be seen. One box costs $87.95 when purchased through the main website, but you can also get 5% off when you sign up for an auto-shipping plan.
Plexus Slim is made by Plexus, a multi-level marketing company which is based in Arizona. We did some digging and found that the company doesn't have a very good record. According to their Better Business Bureau profile page, they have been served a warning by the FDA for falsely advertising their products as treatments for illnesses. We also found a staggering 682 customer complaints – the most we've ever seen for one company – mostly for 'problems with product' and 'billing/collection issues.'
Plexus Slim Claims
Plexus Slim claims to increase your fat loss by introducing positive probiotic bacteria into your digestive system. They say these claims are backed up with scientific studies that demonstrate them to be true. We checked out this claim, however, and there's a problem: the study they claim showed an increase in weight loss is not linked to (so we can't verify if the study was conducted properly) and the other study referenced (Yang, J et al: 'Xylooligosaccharide supplementation…' Front Physiol, 2020) only says that xylooligosaccharides can help 'reverse changes in gut microbiota during the development of diabetes' – not that it helps digestive health overall for ordinary people.
Click here for the best meal replacement shakes on the market.
Plexus Slim Ingredients
Plexus Slim has a very small list of ingredients, which are listed below:
- Chromium
- Xylooligosaccharide
- Green coffee bean
- Garcinia cambogia
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Mulberry extract
Chromium is a mineral used in the body's transferal of blood sugar from the blood stream into the cells, and while it's claimed to affect the amount of fat burned by the body, 'this has not been proved' (WebMD). Xylooligosaccharide is a fiber that promotes positive gut flora. Green coffee beans are supposed to be able to affect the metabolism, but there's 'insufficient evidence' (WebMD).
Garcinia cambogia is a fruit that's supposed to be able to prevent the formation of new fat cells (lipogenesis). Alpha lipoic acid is supposed to be able to increase the breakdown of carbs for extra energy.
The Science Behind Plexus Slim
Plexus Slim claims to help your digestive health with a 'prebiotic' ingredient – xylooligosaccharide – but the one test they linked us to wasn't very conclusive. Green coffee beans are put in there to boost the metabolism for extra fat burning, but there's little proof that they actually work for that purpose. There's some evidence showing that garcinia has an effect on preventing fat formation, which is probably the only decent claim Plexus Slim has at the moment.
Word on the Street About Plexus Slim
There really aren't any places to find reviews for Plexus Slim, as far as we've seen. The main website doesn't have a customer review section, and so we looked around for other places where it's sold. It isn't sold anywhere else at the moment, because Plexus is a multi-level marketing company where you have to buy it direct from a 'distributor' who has to buy Plexus's products and then sell them to family and friends.
These packs used to be sold on Amazon, but Plexus's products are currently banned there.
No customer reviews means no way to tell if the product is legit or not.
Is Plexus Slim Worth Trying?
There are red flags all over this thing. First off, you have the FDA's public warning to the company, accusing it of marketing their products as treatments for illnesses without proper certification. Download 3ds roms for pc. There's the hundreds (hundreds!) of customer complaints on the company's BBB profile page, and the fact that the product has been banned from Amazon. Then you're left with the ingredients, one of which (garcinia cambogia) has some evidence to support it, but the rest of which either have little or no evidence that they work. There's also the fact that the one study that 'clinically-proves' the product works is nowhere to be found.
Plexus Amazon Reviews
We don't recommend Plexus Slim.
Plexus Slim vs Advocare Slim
As of the publication of this story, customers could still purchase swastika pendants, Nazi eagle emblazoned knives, SS armbands, swastika rings and Nazi propaganda signs.
Part of the problem is that the majority of items sold on Amazon are posted and delivered by third-party resellers, not by Amazon itself. The company uses a combination of computer algorithms, monitors and customer reports to stop banned items before they're listed. But some still get through the gates undetected.
'We work hard on this issue every day because we know that our customers trust that they are buying safe and legal products when they shop on Amazon.com,' the company said.
--MJ Lee contributed to this report.
People trying to lose weight might be willing to try anything as long as it promises to give them the results they're looking for. Unfortunately, not all of them deliver. We made it our mission to look at these different diet products and see which ones are safe, which ones work, and which ones to avoid. We just concluded an investigation on one recent one that's popped up of recent – which you can read in the article below.
Plexus Slim Overview
Plexus Slim is a nutritional drink that promises to help you lose weight more quickly. It contains probiotic bacteria in addition to various plant extracts, and is non-GMO. It comes in boxes of 30 packets, and is meant to be mixed into water. Customers are told that it must be used once or twice every day for results to be seen. One box costs $87.95 when purchased through the main website, but you can also get 5% off when you sign up for an auto-shipping plan.
Plexus Slim is made by Plexus, a multi-level marketing company which is based in Arizona. We did some digging and found that the company doesn't have a very good record. According to their Better Business Bureau profile page, they have been served a warning by the FDA for falsely advertising their products as treatments for illnesses. We also found a staggering 682 customer complaints – the most we've ever seen for one company – mostly for 'problems with product' and 'billing/collection issues.'
Plexus Slim Claims
Plexus Slim claims to increase your fat loss by introducing positive probiotic bacteria into your digestive system. They say these claims are backed up with scientific studies that demonstrate them to be true. We checked out this claim, however, and there's a problem: the study they claim showed an increase in weight loss is not linked to (so we can't verify if the study was conducted properly) and the other study referenced (Yang, J et al: 'Xylooligosaccharide supplementation…' Front Physiol, 2020) only says that xylooligosaccharides can help 'reverse changes in gut microbiota during the development of diabetes' – not that it helps digestive health overall for ordinary people.
Click here for the best meal replacement shakes on the market.
Plexus Slim Ingredients
Plexus Slim has a very small list of ingredients, which are listed below:
- Chromium
- Xylooligosaccharide
- Green coffee bean
- Garcinia cambogia
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Mulberry extract
Chromium is a mineral used in the body's transferal of blood sugar from the blood stream into the cells, and while it's claimed to affect the amount of fat burned by the body, 'this has not been proved' (WebMD). Xylooligosaccharide is a fiber that promotes positive gut flora. Green coffee beans are supposed to be able to affect the metabolism, but there's 'insufficient evidence' (WebMD).
Garcinia cambogia is a fruit that's supposed to be able to prevent the formation of new fat cells (lipogenesis). Alpha lipoic acid is supposed to be able to increase the breakdown of carbs for extra energy.
The Science Behind Plexus Slim
Plexus Slim claims to help your digestive health with a 'prebiotic' ingredient – xylooligosaccharide – but the one test they linked us to wasn't very conclusive. Green coffee beans are put in there to boost the metabolism for extra fat burning, but there's little proof that they actually work for that purpose. There's some evidence showing that garcinia has an effect on preventing fat formation, which is probably the only decent claim Plexus Slim has at the moment.
Word on the Street About Plexus Slim
There really aren't any places to find reviews for Plexus Slim, as far as we've seen. The main website doesn't have a customer review section, and so we looked around for other places where it's sold. It isn't sold anywhere else at the moment, because Plexus is a multi-level marketing company where you have to buy it direct from a 'distributor' who has to buy Plexus's products and then sell them to family and friends.
These packs used to be sold on Amazon, but Plexus's products are currently banned there.
No customer reviews means no way to tell if the product is legit or not.
Is Plexus Slim Worth Trying?
There are red flags all over this thing. First off, you have the FDA's public warning to the company, accusing it of marketing their products as treatments for illnesses without proper certification. Download 3ds roms for pc. There's the hundreds (hundreds!) of customer complaints on the company's BBB profile page, and the fact that the product has been banned from Amazon. Then you're left with the ingredients, one of which (garcinia cambogia) has some evidence to support it, but the rest of which either have little or no evidence that they work. There's also the fact that the one study that 'clinically-proves' the product works is nowhere to be found.
Plexus Amazon Reviews
We don't recommend Plexus Slim.
Plexus Slim vs Advocare Slim
What Is Plexus Products
These products claim to do similar things – namely, help you manage your weight. Plexus Slim claims to help you burn fat, while Advocare Slim claims to help control the appetite as well. Plexus contains a prebiotic ingredient that helps promote healthy gut flora, while Advocare Slim does not. Advocare Slim is much cheaper at $32.95 (compared to $87.95). Both come from companies that are recognized as multi-level marketing (MLM) companies, and neither have many customer reviews.
Plexus Slim vs Spark
Again, we have two products from multi-level marketing (MLM) companies, as Spark is also made by Advocare. Spark is mainly intended as a way to increase energy and 'focus' and contains lots of vitamins and minerals, while Plexus Slim is an herbal/plant product that is meant to not only help you lose body fat, but also develop good digestive bacteria levels. Both are quite expensive, with Plexus Slim costing $87.95 and Spark costing $54.99. Both seem to only be available from 'distributors' and not directly from the company.
Plexus Slim vs Isagenix
Plexus Banned On Amazon
These products are both from multi-level marketing companies, which means you can only buy them from sales reps, or 'distributors,' and not from the company itself. Plexus Slim is a drink mix, while Isagenix's weight-loss products seem to come in 'packs' or 'plans' where you have to buy more than one at once. Apparently Isagenix insists on putting customers on an 'auto-ship' plan where customers are charged for items monthly, which can lead to a lot of money being wasted, while Plexus Slim can be bought individually, with auto-ship options clearly marked.
Is Plexus Bad
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I read Plexus Slim reviews?
We haven't found any, so if you do, let us know. - What are the ingredients in Plexus Slim?
Chromium, Xylooligosaccharide, Green coffee bean, Garcinia cambogia, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Mulberry extract. - Is there a 'new' Plexus Slim?
The most recent Plexus Slim product was the subject of our review above. - Where can I read Plexus Slim reviews by doctors?
We haven't seen any like this. - Do you know where to buy Plexus Slim?
From a distributor that 'works' for the Plexus company. - Are there dangers to Plexus Slim?
Not that we know of, beyond possible insomnia from the caffeine in the product. - What's the cost of Plexus Slim?
$87.95 for 30 packets. - Are there side effects from Plexus Slim?
We haven't seen any (besides the possible side effects from the caffeine in the green coffee bean) because there are no customer reviews to speak of.
So What Really Works?
Our of all the different drinks and shakes for fat loss and dieting, but the best one we've ever seen is one called 18Shake. This shake has got quality, natural ingredients, and hass no artificial flavors or ingredients like other nutritional shakes. It's also manufactured in a facility that's been GMP-certified for quality and vetted by the FDA for quality.
This product is low in sugar, sweetened instead by the natural non-sugar sweetener stevia. The company offers a money-back guarantee if you return it in the first 30 days, so you have little to lose.