Melabuild – Page 2

Customers for 18 Years Now!

April 15, 2024 By Melabuild

This April marks 18 years that we’ve been Melaleuca customers!

During that time, not surprisingly, there have been many changes: product improvements, new products, expanded product lines, more product and service choices, enhanced loyalty incentives, and many other positive changes that have kept us loyal for so long. One thing we’ve seen very little of are price increases and most of what we have seen is very recent. I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen more of that in the last 3 years than the previous 15 years, but even then, significantly less than we see elsewhere.

Melaleuca currently manufactures over 400 products — Melaleuca currently manufactures well over 400 products

Some very important things have not changed. Melaleuca’s core values, like every product must be safe, effective, and affordable, and their lean practices to keep prices reasonable and value as high as possible, remain as secure as ever. The $19 a year enrollment fee and the 35 product point monthly minimum to continue receiving 30% to 50% product discounts has never been raised even though it’s easier to achieve with so many products. The fact that we would be spending about the same amount or more elsewhere for significantly inferior (even toxic) products continues to remain true.

Also, every year Melaleuca publishes their actual income statistics, and one factor that fluctuates very little is a form of the “80/20 principle” which is true in many areas of life. These reports are unique in at least two important ways: 1) I haven’t seen non publicly traded companies willing to openly reveal this type of information, and 2) it clearly demonstrates that Melaleuca is a product quality and customer satisfaction driven company. Roughly 80%, with deviation never more than a couple percentage points, are strictly happy customers who remain loyal to ordering products. Only about 20% take advantage of the income incentives and there’s no need whatsoever to coerce the other 80% to do anything unnatural to them.

It’s strangely ironic that such sensible attributes that ought to be common in a free market are actually unique.

Melaleuca does everything possible to take good care of the entire 100% and we’ve been here for 18 years of that effort. For the first 13 years, I was part of the 80% and the only (and still optional) persuasion skill needed now is finding people willing to simply try the products. Melaleuca has plenty of mechanisms to help make that easy for every new or potential new customer, and that also hasn’t changed. There’s yet one more percentage fact worth mentioning; that 96% of those willing to try the products end up reordering.

Those are some pretty good non changes.

To close with just one more actual change that is also highly positive, our experience as Melaleuca customers keeps getting better!

What Does Blue Do?

March 15, 2024 By Melabuild

If we were talking about the sky, it cheers us. If we were talking about water, it would invite refreshment, recreation, and relaxation. If we were talking about music, it expresses sadness and/or the overcoming of such to the degree that it lifts our spirits. If we were talking about food, then contrary to common belief, and George Carlin, blueberries really are blue, and offer delight to summer celebrations—they’re only purple after processing.

But when it comes to glass cleaner, somehow we got conditioned to mostly expect it to be blue. That might be fine if blue simply did nothing but provide eye appeal and symbolism. Technically the blue itself mostly does only that. There’s another ingredient in glass cleaner that’s anything but inert; it poisons anyone who uses it! The leading brand that we all recognize used to brag about it…proudly emphasizing the words “With Ammonia D” on the labels and in the advertising, as if it were a good thing. Ammonia is toxic!

The irony is, we normally don’t think about glass cleaner as being a health hazard but it is. Not only does a user breathe the harmful fumes, it’s not common practice to wear protective gloves during use either, so it also gets absorbed into the skin.

Melaleuca’s EcoSense Clear Power Glass Cleaner has no blue and it definitely does NOT contain ammonia or other caustic/toxic ingredients.

Is it inferior to blue? Actually the opposite is true in every way. It’s more effective, less expensive, and greatly reduces wasteful packaging. The 8 oz. 12x concentrate fills the reusable 16 oz. mixing spray bottle six times! For Preferred Customers who receive 30% to 50% discounts, the price is currently $6.99. In our area you typically pay about $3.00 for a 32 oz. store brand (significantly higher for brand names) and you would need three of those to equal one bottle of Clear Power.

This product works best if you mix accurately according to the markings on the mixing spray bottle and if you use microfiber cleaning cloths, which Melaleuca does sell, but they’re not shown by default unless you expand the Accessories option on the Clear Power product page. I’ve also found that “spring cleaning” type projects with extra dirt and grime are best started with a rag to remove excess soiling (or paper towels for glass or metal) and then finish with a microfiber cloth for an easy to achieve clean and sparkling shine.

Let’s leave the blue to where it serves good and useful and healthy purposes!

Acne Spot Treatment Upgraded

February 15, 2024 By Melabuild

We used up the last of our supply of Clarity Acne Spot Treatment last month and have been using the upgraded version long enough to post our review and assessment. The previous version was featured 2½ years ago.

The first point I would make is that I have always liked the roll-on dispenser for the previous version and that same sentiment is demonstrated in some customer reviews of the new product. As for effective performance, the reviews are mostly favorable and my own response is likewise. The new packaging shown here is somewhat like a syringe at the tip so it’s very easy to dispense a tiny dot or bead on your index finger, apply to a “zit” and work it a little bit to absorb into your skin.

I find it just as (or more) effective in how quickly most pimples heal, especially when treated early as mentioned in my mid 2021 review of the previous version. The majority of reviews so far concur but not all, which isn’t surprising given so many skin types. One definite caveat for some is sensitivity or allergy to benzoyl peroxide but that caution is stated on the product page and packaging.

Also included on the product page is to avoid contact with dyed fabric and hair but one reviewer obviously missed that and posted a negative response about bleaching of her towels and a pillowcase. I’m left wondering how a spot treatment from finger tip application could do that kind of damage but it had to involve extremes…perhaps teens forcing the precision applicator tip off, using towels to wipe the excess, and not telling mom.

As for me, I’ll give it a great review like the majority.

Guy Stuff 5: My One Year Review

January 15, 2024 By Melabuild

The last time we had a month that begins with a “J” I offered a six month review on my experience with the new and revised line of Alloy men’s products. Now I’m at a full year of having used them and my review will be very positive!

There are mostly only a couple of items worth mentioning since my post a year ago, along with the six month review, cover the products plenty adequately.

For one, when I predicted a year ago, combined with my update a month later at the bottom of the post, I expected the two cologne fragrances would last me about 3 years. This prediction was based on the larger size of the new fragrances compared to the previous “classic” version, and several years experience with the metered sprayer and how long those bottles lasted. It was not a proverbial stab in the dark guess and it’s safe to say now it’s accurate to within a couple months or so, almost certainly a bit beyond three years.

That will actually now get extended to over 4½ years (minus the year that’s gone by) since I took advantage of a “checkout special” last month. Also mentioned in my February Update last year was that I had no immediate plans to order the third fragrance and even noted the bold attribute in the product description since I prefer being tastefully subtle. The checkout special knocked $20 off the price for that fragrance which suggests others had the same uncertainty I did and Melaleuca apparently wanted to sell some inventory. I went for it and the scent was not too much for me and I’m really liking it. Most importantly, so does my wife!

I had also mentioned a year ago that the three fragrances were specifying limited time availability. They never specified an expected end time but it happened less than a month ago. As of composing this post, no new fragrances have been announced. I can tell you that the Sandalwood & Amber that my intuition had me choose first turned out to be the most popular and was the first to sell out. I can also tell you that customer reviews were begging Melaleuca to make it a permanent choice. That could happen. But for now, everyone like me with one of each fragrance has a long lasting supply complete with variety.

Steve’s Money Saving Tip

Alloy men's Matifying Moisturizer lotion money saving technique — Money saving tip being employed – surplus pump top lying down is empty and upside down bottle is draining into another bottle inside packaging box

Like all products in a pump dispenser bottle with lotion or gel consistency, the pumps quit dispensing before the product is truly empty. Three out of four of these Alloy men’s facial care products are pump dispenser bottles and two of those are very small containers. I do like how all of these products have a rounded top which means an upside down bottle will completely empty out when left upside down placed over another open bottle.

The following trick will work very well for the larger sized Alloy facial cleanser bottle but is especially nice for the small facial serum and facial moisturizing lotion bottles. It’s very simple too! When a bottle and pump top stops effectively dispensing product and you switch to a new replacement, place the old one in the box in which the products are packaged. Later, two partial bottles can be combined. Just remove the pump dispensers from each bottle and insert each in the box so an upside down bottle can empty into a rightside up bottle. If left undisturbed, the box is stable enough to not tip over.

Within a couple days, the upside down bottle is completely empty and the box serves to align both bottles so it’s not messy (this technique can potentially require “burping” if upside down bottle won’t empty due to trapped air). The end result is zero waste, especially if you empty one of the pump tops into the rightside up bottle before disposing of the unneeded pump. To me, zero waste is a very good thing. It would have been more difficult to make this work had I not thought about using the packaging boxes, so this simple little trick works wonders.

How My Wife Was Won

December 15, 2023 By Melabuild

My wife Sheryl and I celebrated our 38th Anniversary last month but this post is not about how I got her to marry me, though I’m very glad I did! Next month will be a full year since I was able to order and begin using the new Alloy men’s products announced a year and a half ago but not made fully available until the end of the year.

In my post of that mid 2022 announcement I had mentioned that I’ve been using facial care products for well over 30 years even though they weren’t made specifically for men like the new Alloy line is. I still had a plenty ample supply of the Sei Bella as shown in the reposted image below (the last two on the right were leftover remnants of a previous version of Sei Bella facial care products):

That ample supply of the current Sei Bella line was still very much true at the beginning of this year when I took the plunge to order the newly released men’s facial and personal care products shown below:

Here’s a part of the story not yet told about what happened to the stock of Sei Bella facial care line we had on hand. I ended up gifting it to Sheryl. That will no doubt make you wonder, what was she using before? Well, she was using products from a company whose initials are MK. She has been using a good number of Sei Bella cosmetics for many years but not the facial care.

In her defense, the person she buys MK from is a very close friend of well over 30 years so the loyalty is admirable. The MK system though only uses a two step facial care regimen and since every system I’m familiar with uses three or more I had been telling her for years I didn’t think the MK products could be as effective. Well, she accepted my gift and she felt noticeable, positive differences immediately—on the very first use! And then there are even more skin nourishing benefits she’s experienced over time. She was won over and has since used the Sei Bella facial care exclusively!

It’s yet another case for her wondering, “Why did I wait so long?”

Melaleuca Marketplace

November 15, 2023 By Melabuild

Melaleuca Marketplace has been a round for several years but hasn’t been heavily promoted recently and isn’t readily apparent while browsing their site. But the holiday season is a good time to mention it because additional Melaleuca rewards can be earned while shopping at more than 1700 well known retailers that have partnered with the Melaleuca Marketplace.

These are names and brands you’ll recognize like Kohl’s, Lands End, Overstock, Cabella’s, GAP, Dell, and Staples, just to name a few. Melaleuca Marketplace includes special deals on services like home security and identity protection and savings on things like movie tickets and restaurants.

There’s no need for me to elaborate on the details because you can begin your discovery here to see how it works.

Happy shopping!

Such Ironic Timing!

Within literally just hours after publishing this post, we got a phone call from a Melaleuca rep letting us know about a recent bonus attached to the Melaleuca Marketplace. My statement above about them not heavily promoting is no longer true. The new Melaleuca Deals takes the benefits to a significantly higher level. Whereas Melaleuca Marketplace adds Loyalty Shopping Dollars to your Melaleuca account to use for Melaleuca product purchases, Melaleuca Deals instantly saves you extra money on many types of purchases.

The examples above of movie tickets and restaurant dining are just a small part of that. Melaleuca Deals also offers savings on travel and popular destinations, oil changes and auto service, tires, numerous local businesses, Amazon purchases, and much more. Since you’ll be using an app with the service, there’s no coupon clipping (I personally abhor coupons). Simply show your phone with purchases. You can even be notified of deals close to your current location.

I originally thought this would be a shorter post but the ironic timing was worth sharing. I suspect the Melaleuca Deals will provide more to share as we experience it over time. As the rep shared with me over the phone, Melaleuca wanted to make their customer experience provide even more value than just their own products and help ease the increasing costs of living.