Oxygen4Energy Review: Will people pay for oxygen?
Take a breath.
That breath, right there amongst other things is part oxygen. And as long as there are trees on the planet to provide it to us doesn’t cost a cent.
Well, unless you took that breath from an Oxygen4Energy canister… in that case you’re paying for what the rest of us are getting for free.
Combining oxygen with a MLM compensation plan, comes Oxygen4Energy. Read on for a full review.
The Company
Oxygen4Energy launched in January 2011 and is headed up by President Craig Inaba. For some reason there’s no information about who’s running Oxygen4Energy on their website, and instead you have to hunt around yourself to get the information.
Make of that what you will.
Craig Inaba appears to have been selling oxygen related products through traditional retail channels for a few years before trying his hand at MLM. Oxygen4Energy appears to be his first network marketing venture.
The Product
Oxygen4Energy’s flagship product is a canister with 95% pure oxygen (and 5% air?). Each canister contains ‘approximately 4 liters of oxygen enriched air‘ and is good for about 50 shots of air.
Oxygen4Energy claim use of their oxygen cans are beneficial for
- relieving stress
- warming up for exercise faster
- relieving tiredness and fatigue
- enhanced performance in sport
- mental clarity and focus
- relieving a hangover
- alertness
- coping with a headache
- sleeping
- aiding breathing at high altitudes
Oxygen4Energy cans retail at $9.95 each and cannot be shipped by air, meaning it’s limited to a US domestic market only.
The Oxygen4Energy Compensation Plan
The Oxygen4Energy compensation plan works of a unilevel style system and features a fast start bonus, retail and unilevel commissions.
Here’s a rundown of each;
Fast Start Bonus
All new distributors who join Oxygen4Energy are encouraged to purchase one of the four Fast Start Packs on offer. When this happens, you as the referring distributor earn a Fast Start Bonus.
This Fast Start Bonus is dependent on which Fast Start Pack is purchased:
- Fast Start Pack 1 – $10
- Fast Start Pack 2 – $20
- Fast Start Pack 3 – $45
- Fast Start Pack 4 – $90
Note that there is also a sponsor’s sponsor Fast Start Bonus too. This means that if someone you’ve personally enrolled into Oxygen4Energy enrolls someone, you still get a portion of the Fast Start Bonus. Sponsor’s sponsors bonuses are as follows:
- Fast Start Pack 1 – $2
- Fast Start Pack 2 – $5
- Fast Start Pack 3 – $10
- Fast Start Pack 4 – $20
Retail Sales
Oxygen4Energy offer a 20% retail commission on all retail sales (via a supplied replicated website).
There is also a direct retail sales commission (where you sell the Oxygen4Energy product directly), but this I believe is a variable commission margin as you have to purchase the product from the company for as low as $5 a can (this is the minimum wholesale price and is fixed to a volume amount, buy less and this cost is higher), and then set your own retail price.
When it comes to direct retail commissions, it’s up to you what you want to set the price at and how much product you buy wholesale from Oxygen4Energy, thus you set your own commission margin.
Unilevel Commissions
At the heart of the Oxygen4Energy compensation plan is a unilevel organisation that you build by attracting new distributors and customers to the company.
A unilevel structure means that for each customer or distributor you enrol, starting with you at the top, a new leg branches out to begin a lineage tree.
Retail customers are obviously only 1 level deep but if a distributor you’ve enrolled recruits a new distributor, that distributor forms level 2 of your unilevel organisation.
If that level 2 distributor enrolls someone, that distributor forms your level three and so on and so forth.
Oxygen4Energy pay you out a commission of the customer sales volume generated by distributors within your unilevel team. These unilevel commissions are dependent on your Oxygen4Energy membership rank and, along with each ranks qualifications (personal volume = PV and group business volume = GV), are as follows:
- Bronze Membership – $30 PV a month requirement and pays out 10% on levels 1 and 2 of your unilevel organisation.
- Silver Membership – $50 PV a month and 2 bronze distributors recruitment requirements. Silver pays out 10% on levels 1 and 2 and 5% on levels 3 and 4.
- Gold Membership – $70 PV and $2000 BV a month with 1 bronze and 2 silver distributor recruitment requirement. Gold pays out 10% on levels 1 to 4 and 2% on level 5.
- Platinum Membership – $100 PV and $10,000 BV a month with a 3 gold distributor recruitment requirement. Platinum pays out 10% on levels 1-4 and 5% on level 5.
- Diamond Membership – $150 PV and $30,000 BV a month with a 5 gold distributor recruitment requirement. Diamond pays out 10% on levels 1-4 and 5% on level 5.
Oxygen4Energy also offer a ‘Breakaway Infinity Bonus’ at Platinum and Diamond membership levels (1% and 3% customer sales volume) but they don’t specify what this is.
Given it’s tied into customer volume I’d say it’s an additional percentage payout of your entire unilevel combined sales volume for the month for levels 6 and deeper to infinity.
Joining Oxygen4Energy
Those looking to join Oxygen4Energy have the option of purchasing one of four ‘Fast Start Packs’ ranging from $50 to $399. Note that all Fast Start Packs come with an additional $19.95 Distributor Fee.
Fast Start Pack 1
- Cost: $50
- 6 cans of Oxygen Energy
- 50 Oxygen postcards
Note that with Fast Start Pack 1 you are ineligible for your first month of unilevel commissions unless you make an additional product purchase.
Fast Start Pack 2
- Cost: $99
- 12 cans of Oxygen Energy
- 100 Coed Fitness Postcards
- 100 Portable Oxygen Postcards
- 50 Hangover Postcards
Fast Start Pack 3
- Cost: $199
- 30 cans of Oxygen Energy
- 50 Coed Fitness Postcards
- 50 Portable Oxygen Postcards
- 50 Hangover Postcards
- 1 Countertop Display with Stickers for use in Different Target Markets
Fast Start Pack 4
- Cost: $399
- 70 cans of Oxygen Energy
- 50 Coed Fitness Postcards
- 50 Muscle Postcards
- 50 Portable Oxygen Postcards
- 50 Hangover Postcards
- 2 Countertop Display with Stickers for use in Different Target Markets
Sidenote: I have no idea exactly what the postcards are, but I think they’re marketing cards you’re supposed to hand out or something to generate buzz or some such.
Conclusion
From a compensation plan standpoint, Oxygen4Energy is grounded in customer sales volume which is good to see. There are small recruitment requirements built into the upper end of the plan but realistically, nobody is hitting those business volume targets sticking a bunch of people on autoship.
That means the volume has to come from retail sales if your Oxygen4Energy business is going to be remotely succesful.
Unfortunately that brings us to the weak point of the Oxygen4Energy opportunity, and that’s the Oxygen can product itself.
First and foremost is the acknowledgement by Oxygen4Energy that
All research indicates that oxygen toxicity only occurs after breathing virtually pure oxygen for hours at a time.
The company then goes on to reassure you then that, although their oxygen can product is 95% oxygen,
There is no research indicating that short bursts of oxygen can be detrimental to your health.
In addition, Oxygen4Energy does not have an airtight delivery system, so even though the cans contain 95% oxygen, that is not even close to what you are getting in your lungs.
No research? Well that’s reassuring…
And what on Earth is point of hyping up the 95% oxygen thing if what you actually get ‘is not even close’ to what you’re inhaling from the product.
Surely a more useful percentage would be a comparison between a standard breath of air.
Finally, throw the fact that Oxygen4Energy
is not a medical drug and thus is not approved by the FDA.
Oxygen4Energy is for recreational use only and is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Medical oxygen is not used in the production of Oxygen4Energy.
In addition, none of the statements made on our website have been reviewed or approved by the FDA.
And by and large I believe you’ve got yourself a pretty difficult product to market there with this oxygen in a can stuff.
Make no mistake, the first thing people are going to ask when you tell them you’re selling oxygen in a can is ‘why would I buy it when I can get oxygen for free?’
Looking at the above, it would appear all you’re going to be able to offer them is a bunch of benefits and claims that haven’t been researched and validated by anyone. Not exactly marketing magic.
Add to that the Oxygen4Energy company also competes directly with its distributors by encouraging retailers to sell the oxygen cans and marketing the product just got even harder. Moreso again when you consider that due to the fact Oxygen4Energy can’t be shipped via air, you’re limited to a local US market.
Convince people they’re not getting enough free oxygen though and you might have some luck… but other than that you might want to give the Oxygen4Energy opportunity a miss.
To be honest, because it’s NOT regulated by the FDA, they *have* to put that sort of disclaimer “does not treat disease, blah blah blah” or else FTC sues them for misrepresentation.
Kevin Trudeau was hit by FTC a few times (and actually served jail time) for making such claims at his seminars and whatnot and eventually decided to write books (which is NOT covered by FTC).
The problem with “oxygen therapy” is it’s a pseudo-scientific fad. A while back there was talks of “oxygen bars”. However, technically this is ILLEGAL based on FDA rules, as ALL air delivery system (including oxygen concentrator and CPAP machines) are prescription only, and this clearly is NOT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_bar
Unless FDA had been documented to have changed their mind, this business is illegal in the US of A.
I think they are trying to argue that this is “self-administered” to claim it is NOT regulated by FDA. This sounds like a legally gray area that no real business should be involved in.
I appreciate the whole ‘covering our asses’ thing with the FDA notice, but it seems kinda pointless to list a mountain of benefits of inhaling pure oxygen if none of it is verifiable.
Then there’s the hilarious ‘well there’s no research to suggest our product harms you, so puff away!’
All up, and taking your FDA quote into consideration, there’s one too many red flags with the Oxygen4Energy product for my liking.
FYI, this was a fad back in… 2006!
And more FYI, this company, a competitor, use reusable can
http://www.oxiausa.com/
They supposedly do about 100-120 shots of air and cost $15.95 to refill (first purchase cost more as you’re buying the container).
Check Amazon for prices… It’s “slightly” below market as the 50-shot bottles are worth about $10.
Doubt you’ll be able to resell it and make much money THAT way. Those post cards seem to be just advertising shpiel that you send to fitness clubs and whatnot trolling for interest.
Craig Inaba’s apparently been retailing oxygen products for a few years, so 2006 doesn’t surprise me too much.
Meanwhile yeah, at $15.95 for a re-fill (excluding shipping both ways) Oxygen4Energy’s product doesn’t seem all that bad priced.
But at the end of the day you’re still paying for what? OXYGEN!
There was also a report that a couple MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters or boxers used this before a match and almost got disqualified for using a performance enhancing substance. They eventually got cleared as there’s no regulations against oxygen apparently.
(which basically says: oxygen don’t do jack, so we ain’t banning it)
Here
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/262340/Oxygen4Energy-President-speaks-out/
The portable canned oxygen, which was cleared from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substance list as of this year…
If WADA says it doesn’t do anything to help with performance, it doesn’t. 🙂
Just for grins, I named it one of the “Top 7 most hilarious products pushed by MLM”
http://kschang.hubpages.com/hub/7-Most-Hilarious-Products-Sold-Through-Multi-Level-Marketing-fuel-additive-magnetic-disk-oxygen-in-a-can-and-more
A UFO MLM? Now I’ve heard everything…. outside of TVI Express where do you research these other opportunities?
The internet, where else? 😉
Syntek I got it from your website. So did Oxygen.
That disc thingie? Off “health fads and scams” I think.
UFO MLM was off Linkvark.
The finger scanner was personal experience.
And Bioperformance was a big prosecution in the US back then when it happened. I still occasionally see ads for similar products.
Just curious if you think that adding oxygen to a body lacking it is not helpful? Or do you think that normal air, whichis at about 21% O2 (Oxygen) enough for recovery?
As a Professional athlete I am curious if you think that O2 to help create ATP was a placebo for me? And would u mind commenting on hyperbaric oxygen treatments, thank you
I didn’t say it. WADA removed it from banned substance list. Thus, the obvious conclusion is it doesn’t do anything.
Or are you calling WADA (who managed to ban Lance Armstrong) a bunch of incompetents who can’t tell banned substance from placebo?
Why ???
Does Oxygen4Energy sell them via Multi Level Marketing ??
I am MS PATIENT I used this oxygen.
THAT WAS GIFT FROM ONE OF MY FREINDS THAT CAME from us @ it was excellent it help me to breath nicely @ be fresh thanks for wonderful product.