Keeping the Consumer Dumb and Ignorant - Missing Performance and Physical Information for Bedwetting Alarms.

For almost two years we have been attempting to make manufacturers of bedwetting and enuresis alarms provide the public with complete and accurate information about their alarms with some success but also substantial resistance by some manufactures. Perhaps these manufactures are afraid to disclose how their product hype does not correspond with actual product characteristics. Leaving out performance measures may prevent embarrassment, but should also serve as a warning to the reader that these missing facts may relate to product deficiencies.

We therefore decided to look at the most prominent site for selling bedwetting alarms (Amazon.com) and the alarms on the first page using the search term "bedwetting alarm" and compare claims and missing information with the data on the most complete and comprehensive sites providing very detailed characteristics of these bedwetting alarms at

http://urinealarms.com/Wired_Alarm_Chart.html  and  
http://www.bed-wettingalarms.com/wired-alarms-comparison-chart.html 
for Wired Bedwetting Alarms
and at

http://urinealarms.com/Wireless_Alarm_Chart.html  and
http://www.bed-wettingalarms.com/wireless-alarms-chart.html 
for Wireless Bedwetting Alarms.

Alarms not on the Amazon.com first page or not in the detailed reference site are not included.

As we are examining the absence of "hard" facts, we shall be looking at missing or "suspect" data in
Effectiveness
Weight & Size
Cost
Required Certifications and Registrations

Please note that we are only considering bedwetting alarms on Amazon.com's first page, and listing them in alphabetical order (as in the reference sites).

Chummie

Claim: Loud alarm            Fact: No measures of loudness provided

                Alarms Loudness at 4" (10 cms) from ear: Not Provided

                Alarms Loudness at 8" (20 cms) from ear: Not Provided

Sensor Cable Length: Not Provided

Weight of Alarm Box with Clip and Batteries: Not Provided

Chummie Elite

Claim: Loud sounds         Fact: No measures of loudness provided

                Alarms Loudness at 4" (10 cms) from ear: Not Provided

                Alarms Loudness at 8" (20 cms) from ear: Not Provided

Sensor Cable Length: Not Provided

Weight of Alarm Box with Clip and Batteries: Not Provided

DryBuddyEZ

Complete Data Provided 

DryBuddyFLEX Wireless System with Magnetic Sensor

Complete Data Provided 

DryEasy

Sensor Cable Length: Not Provided

Weight of Alarm Box only (with and without batteries): Not Provided or Not Clear

Required Certifications and Registrations: Not Provided 

Dry-Knight

Volume Control: Not Provided

Connector from Sensor Cable to Alarm Box: Not Provided

Required Certifications and Registrations: Not Provided 

Dry-Me

Claim: Loud sounds         Fact: No measures of loudness provided

                Alarms Loudness at 4" (10 cms) from ear: Not Provided

                Alarms Loudness at 8" (20 cms) from ear: Not Provided

Volume Control: Not Provided 

Malem Ultimate 1

No measures of loudness provided

                Alarms Loudness at 4" (10 cms) from ear: Not Provided

                Alarms Loudness at 8" (20 cms) from ear: Not Provided

Volume Control: Not Provided 

WetStop3 
Claim: Loud alarm            Fact: No measures of loudness provided

                Alarms Loudness at 4" (10 cms) from ear: Not Provided

                Alarms Loudness at 8" (20 cms) from ear: Not Provided

Volume Control: Not Provided

Connector from Sensor Cable to Alarm Box: Not Provided

Weight of Alarm Box with Clip and Batteries: Not Provided


We hope that the above will provide a guide to consumers to investigate further, and to manufacturers to provide missing information and keep consumers correctly and completely informed.

Theos Medical Systems - the Consummate Snake Oil Salesman, and Chummie - Theos Medical System's Snake Oil.

From Wikipedia :

Snake oil is an expression that originally referred to fraudulent health products or unproven medicine but has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is himself or herself a fraud, quack, charlatan, and the like.

And from davemanuel :

A "snake oil salesman" is somebody that sells an item that claims to have some miraculous powers. This product is usually accompanied by a tremendous amount of hype.

The term refers to a person that is pushing a product that is deemed to be overhyped at best, and fraudulent at worst.

Does Theos Medical Systems qualify as a "Snake Oil Salesman?"

Is what they are selling "overhyped at best, and fraudulent at worst?"

Is Theos's representation of their product Chummie "usually accompanied by a tremendous amount of hype?"

The reader can look at the large number of entries in this blog relating to Theos Medical Systems and Chummie to verify the extensive hype and even outright bad behavior of Theos, and why we believe that they very much represent a "Snake Oil Salesman" and his "Snake Oil."

Let us look at a new example which exemplifies the continuing Snake Oil Salesman behavior and attitude of Theos Medical Systems.

From day one, Theos has claimed that they had over 100,000 Chummie units sold (or in use) worldwide. Perhaps due to the pressure of this blog, they recently removed this gross exaggeration from their web site and also from their claims about Chummie on Amazon. But when one has spread deceit so widely, it is often difficult to remember where this deceit may exist and remove all traces of it. So here it is today on Chummie's false Snake Oil promotion on eBay, copied below from eBay before the Snake Oil Salesman changes it:

1. Highly Effective  Confidence Booster
     Equally effective in stopping bedwetting in boys and girls of all ages

• Chummie is highly effective in curing bedwetting in children    
• Chummie has no side-effects unlike the side-effects caused by bedwetting medication  
• Chummie is a complete treatment system
• Chummie will boost your child’s confidence and self-esteem multi-fold
• Over 100,000 Chummie’s have been sold worldwide (the bold emphasis is ours)

From the same promotion, but mentioned everywhere else, is the claim:

Urine detection is 50X faster than all other bedwetting alarm sensors. Faster Detection = Less Mess = Rapid Treatment = Quick Cure (the bold emphasis is ours)

Let us assume, for the moment, that Chummie is "50X faster than all other bedwetting alarm sensors" in detecting the presence of urine (though we have seen no verification or scientific proof of this claim. Overly hyped?). Let us assume that Chummie miraculously sounds its alarm within one-one hundredth of a second after urination begins, while the "other bedwetting alarm sensors" sound their alarm  in one-half of a second after urination begins. Does any reasonable and rational person who is not susceptible to hype really believe that it makes any practical difference to the user or the caregiver? We very much doubt it.

Making over-hyped, unrealistic and impractical claims, is all part of the Snake Oil Salesman's pitch.

Theos has been using their Snake Oil Salesman's pitch extensively in America for the past approximately two-and-a-half years. The momentum generated by their Snake Oil Salesman's pitch has obviously slowed down. This is best exemplified by their success (or lack of it) on eBay, which is probably the second most effective and well-known site for internet sales. This has been pointed out earlier on this blog with entries in November and October, 2013. Since then, Theos is selling their Chummie "Premium" alarm on eBay at an optimistic rate of three (3) units per month. This really doesn't pay Theos's bills.

The Big Question:

So what does Theos do? Does someone at Theos say "Let's go after the international market!" (our quotation)? And how does Theos approach this? Will they be honest, straightforward, try to build their "international" business ethically and truthfully and truly on the merits of their product(s)?

The Big Answer:

Now we examine another example of "overhyped at best, and fraudulent at worst" which has come to our attention.

Theos Medical Systems, desperate for customers and sales, has made another Snake Oil Salesman's pitch, this time on Alibaba. Again, in order to present the relevant materials from Alibaba before any possible changes are made, we copy it below:

Trade & Market

	Main Markets:	11.11% North America 11.11% South America 11.11% Eastern Europe 11.11% Southeast Asia 11.11% Mid East 11.11% Eastern Asia 11.11% Western Europe 11.11% Northern Europe 11.11% Southern Europe
	Total Annual Sales Volume:	US$10 Million - US$50 Million
	Export Percentage:	31% - 40%

As pointed out above/previously, Theos has recently abandoned its overly hyped claim of 100,000 units in use worldwide. Now Theos claims annual sales of US $10 million to $50 million. Working with the lower range of this claim, Theos would need to be selling over 100,000 units of Chummie at an approximate price of US $100 each during every single year. If they were doing so, then they certainly would have 100,000 units and even much more sold and in use worldwide! And they have abandoned that well-tattered hype! Snake Oil Salesman's pitch? Relating this to their actual current sales rate on eBay is stretching one's imagination beyond belief! We can't even hype ourselves into believing it!

Now examine Theos's claim for its Main Markets:

Main Markets:

11.11% North America 11.11% South America 11.11% Eastern Europe 11.11% Southeast Asia 11.11% Mid East 11.11% Eastern Asia 11.11% Western Europe 11.11% Northern Europe 11.11% Southern Europe

Does any sane and rational reader believe this, or is this a very convenient piece of presenting absurd and unrealistic numbers to what Theos hopes are highly gullible readers? Snake Oil Salesman's pitch? We also wonder about the actual abilities, credentials and qualities of Theos's people who conceive and publish such nonsense for public consumption!

And finally, at the bottom of the above excerpt:

Export Percentage:

31% - 40%

It seems as though Theos's basic mathematical faculties are also in over-hype mode, and they cannot think straight or be reasonably consistent. Adding up their market percentages for markets outside North America (let alone just the U.S.) comes to almost 89%. And suddenly they modestly claim that their export percentage is 31% - 40%? Huh? Is this believable? Or is it more Snake Oil Salesman's pitch?

We can learn a simple lesson from the above. Snake Oil Salesmen remain Snake Oil Salesmen! "Overhyped at best, and fraudulent at worst" remains a constant part of their character and activities! Snake Oil remains Snake Oil!

Buyers beware!

Again, we repeat:

We have referred to Theos Medical Systems and Chummie as the fountainhead of deceit for the bedwetting alarm industry, and they are doing everything they can to maintain their position. We doubt that they have the ability or inclination to learn or do otherwise. As we have stated earlier, but with the time period being extended:
"This is a truly sorry state of affairs, that Theos/Chummie spend so much of their time and effort on trickery and deceit. It may also be indicative of the sorry state of their legitimate business. We also note that all of our recent blog entries in over SIX months have been exclusively about Theos Medical Systems and their continuing buffoonery. We credit every other manufacturer of bed wetting alarms for not blatantly bringing themselves to our attention as Theos consistently does."

Theos Medical Systems & Chummie Continue their Farce and Deceit in False Propaganda! Note: Possible Explanation - DyBuddyEZ is thumping Chummie on eBay!

Theos Medical Systems (Chummie) is incorrigible. They are currently in a phase of trying to imitate this blog and attack their self-proclaimed chief adversary Enuresis Solutions and their products DryBuddy and DryBuddyEZ. They are doing this through a blog they set up using the author name "DryBuddy Bedwetting Alarm." Hah, Hah! They still have not realized that their efforts are absurdly crude, false and senseless. As we have suggested on numerous occasions, this is depictive of their lack of moral and ethical coherence. Although it is not our intent to be partial towards any manufacturer, the continuing saga of Theos & Chummie's false expositions about DryBuddy and DryBuddyEZ do cause us to point out some of these absurdities. In every instance, the false statements (and expectations) are intended to suggest that the Chummie is superior to the very inexpensive DryBuddyEZ. The only thing that we note that is higher for the Chummie is its PRICE! This is more than three times higher than the DryBuddyEZ, which provides more functionality than the Chummie. We refer the reader to the impartial and very complete and detailed site https://sites.google.com/site/comparebedwettingalarms and its comparison of wired bedwetting alarms https://sites.google.com/site/comparebedwettingalarms/wired-alarms for comparing features and costs. The evidence of properties/functionalities and value is very obvious.

We can only attribute Theos and Chummie's continuing absurdity to DryBuddyEZ's obvious inroads into what Chummie thought to be its territory. Desperation leading to desperate and, in the case of Theos, unethical reactions. But then Theos will be Theos, and their hyperventilation is probably hurting them more than they are capable of perceiving.

DryBuddyEZ's obvious success is most evident at eBay, which is the one major selling site that provides hard numbers about actual sales. It is very interesting to note in less than 5 months on eBay, DryBuddyEZ has outsold both of the Chummie premium bedwetting alarms TOGETHER which have been sold on eBay for about 30 months. 180 DryBuddyEZs compared to a combined total of 162 Chummie Premium alarms, in one-sixth the time, as of this moment in time. No wonders Theos and Chummie are imagining whatever suits them and trying to present this fake information to readers who, by now, recognize that Theos/Chummie have very poor credibility in such matters. As we have said before, desperation can lead to desperate acts.

We have referred to Theos Medical Systems and Chummie as the fountainhead of deceit for the bedwetting alarm industry, and they are doing everything they can to maintain their position. We doubt that they have the ability or inclination to learn or do otherwise. As we have stated earlier, but with the time period being extended:
"This is a truly sorry state of affairs, that Theos/Chummie spend so much of their time and effort on trickery and deceit. It may also be indicative of the sorry state of their legitimate business. We also note that all of our recent blog entries in over SIX months have been exclusively about Theos Medical Systems and their continuing buffoonery. We credit every other manufacturer of bed wetting alarms for not blatantly bringing themselves to our attention as Theos consistently does."

Theos Medical Systems and Chummie Continue their Deceit and Trickery.

We noticed Theos and Chummie are being tricky again. They fussed and fumed earlier this December when their favorite adversary, DryBuddy (self-professed by Theos/Chummie) had on their eBay posting for DryBuddyEZ the following warranty:

Warranty:

The DryBuddyEZ alarm box comes with a one year limited warranty. The sensor has a 90 days limited warranty. Batteries and physical breakage and damage are not covered by the warranty.

Customer must contact DryBuddy Service at 912-352-8854 providing details of the problem and providing customer's telephone number and email address. DryBuddy Service will discuss matter with customer. If the item needs to be returned for testing. repair, or replacement, a Return Authorization (RA #) will be emailed to customer's email address. Customer is responsible for shipping the defective device to the address on the RA email and related shipping costs. Instructions for shipping will be provided in the email.

NOTE: DryBuddy only warrants and supports the DryBuddyEZ and other DryBuddy items sold directly by Enuresis Solutions, LLC (DryBuddy) and authorized resellers. This is the only legitimate offer for DryBuddyEZ on this site. Any other offer for the DryBuddyEZ on this site will not be warranted or supported by DryBuddy.

Theos and Chummie were bellicose (they usually are) that there was no warranty or support offered! As often stated by us before, Theos/Chummie's cognitive abilities are quite limited. Whatever facts may be presented to them are only interpreted and absorbed in a manner that suits them, even if their interpretation is blatantly false. It is quite clear to us that DryBuddy has a one year/90 days limited warranty for their product. What Chummie dislikes is the last part, starting with NOTE: which says that any other listing of the DryBuddyEZ on eBay is illegitimate and that sale will not be warranted or supported by DryBuddy. The reason for Theos/Chummie's bellicose behavior is now very apparent, as the DryBuddyEZ is now being offered for 2 dollars less by a seller with unknown address. Interestingly, this seller by the name of "savingsforyou" has the following identity as stated by eBay:

User ID Effective Date End Date savingsforyou Oct-04-09 Present sumansbhatia Sep-16-08 Oct-04-09

Note that before changing his ID, the owner of this User ID shares the same last name as the owner of Theos Medical Systems, not a common name in the U.S., and certainly not if it relates to bedwetting alarms. It is therefore extremely likely that "savingsforyou" is closely associated with Theos/Chummie.

One may well ask what may be the logic or rational behind this behavior by Theos/Chummy? Of course, this assumes that you can credit them with even a modicum of logic and ethics! We can only assume that Mr. Bhatia is attempting to convince eBay viewers that he can supply DryBuddyEZ for a lower price than DryBuddy. Even though, if he provides a legitimate DryBuddyEZ product, he would be effectively purchasing it from DryBuddy at a higher price and selling it on eBay at a lower price and the cost of eBay's commissions, etc. Not very sensible in our opinion, but then we have completely given up on Theos/Chummie being sensible. And we seriously doubt that their effort to be mischievous is doing anything for them except making them look foolish.  Our attitude towards Theos/Chummie's continuing foolishness is that they should sell a thousand DryBuddyEZs for even less. DryBuddy would probably enjoy selling them to Theos for $29.99 each.

Weird people do weird things!

Now let us examine the eBay listing for the DryBuddyEZ by "savingsforyou" and see how they leave out significant relevant issues that DryBuddy shows on their listing and which they believe would be negative for their Chummie alarm. Following is a list of omissions by "savingsforyou"  (we are copying the omitted items from DryBuddy's legitimate listing, and making them bold):

Hold-Tight StainlessSteel Clip:	616E Connector won't fall out.
Attach to Shirt with Clip.:	Attach to Shirt with Safety-Pins.
Hold-Tight SS Clip:	Dual attachments to Shirt. Hold-Tight Clip
UPC:  661799400930

The newly developed Hold-Tight sensor is a stainless steel clip which is easy to attach, detach and clean. It grips about 50% tighter than the most-used clip.

Don't waste your money and time on tape, pads, supplies or much higher prices.

Another Affordable Innovation from DryBuddy.

DryBuddy^TM , both the name and the stylized logo, is a trademarked property of Enuresis Solutions, LLC.

Shipping:

Free shipping by First Class U.S. Mail (USPS) to domestic (U.S.) addresses only. Optional Priority Mail service available to domestic (U.S.) addresses.

Warranty: 

The DryBuddyEZ alarm box comes with a one year limited warranty. The sensor has a 90 days limited warranty. Batteries and physical breakage and damage are not covered by the warranty.

 

Customer must contact DryBuddy Service at 912-352-8854 providing details of the problem and providing customer's telephone number and email address. DryBuddy Service will discuss matter with customer. If the item needs to be returned for testing. repair, or replacement, a Return Authorization (RA #) will be emailed to customer's email address. Customer is responsible for shipping the defective device to the address on the RA email and related shipping costs. Instructions for shipping will be provided in the email. 

NOTE: DryBuddy only warrants and supports the DryBuddyEZ and other DryBuddy items sold directly by Enuresis Solutions, LLC (DryBuddy) and authorized resellers. This is the only legitimate offer for DryBuddyEZ on this site. Any other offer for the DryBuddyEZ on this site will not be warranted or supported by DryBuddy.

Notice how Theos/Chummie have selectively omitted all aspects of the official DryBuddyEZ listing that illustrate why it is superior to their Chummie device, or tend to diminish the impact of their phony eBay listing (the NOTE: above). Also, in line with their limited abilities and their usual disregard of any rules and ethics, they have copied DryBuddyEZ's eBay listing, which is in flagrant violation of eBay's listing rules.

It may interest the reader to know that Theos has tried this same foolish trickery with the Dry-Me and Malem Ultimate alarms in earlier months. Ultimately, as with DryBuddyEZ, they end up selling one or two to themselves or their cronies so that they never have to actually buy or ship the product or have to pay eBay any commission.

This is a truly sorry state of affairs, that Theos/Chummie spend so much of their time and effort on trickery and deceit. It may also be indicative of the sorry state of their legitimate business. We also note that all of our recent blog entries in over four months have been exclusively about Theos Medical Systems and their continuing buffoonery. We credit every other manufacturer of bed wetting alarms for not blatantly bringing themselves to our attention as Theos  consistently does.