It’s All About Trust

Always remember that your fur baby trusts and relies on your sound judgment to make purchase decisions on his/her behalf. In support of our corporate mission, here are a few considerations to help you make the best decisions for them.

CAN YOU PUT A PRICE ON TRUST?

Unlike other sellers with a “virtual presence” in the USA (beware!), we are an A+ rated US Better Business Bureau accredited company based in McLean, VA. Our A+ rating speaks to our commitment to quality and customer care. Buy with confidence knowing that your dog nail clipper is imported and distributed by a responsible US corporate citizen.

*Caution: AMZ has made it easy for anybody in the world to sell to the US consumer. This is why their website is mined with non-us-based sellers that get access to your personal information. Buy with confidence from a responsible US corporate citizen.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WHEN BUYING ONLINE

To protect the exposure of your personal information, make sure to only buy from US-based sellers whose location can be objectively verified.

With a few exceptions, be cautious of sellers whose location is a US P.O. Box or that use the words “USA Inc” in their company name as this is oftentimes used intentionally by non-us-based sellers to mislead the US buyer. Some even use a "US Company" seal on their product pages.

When buying from Amazon

On the product page of Amazon, click on the seller’s name located under the “Buy Now” button. The seller’s business address will show up under the detailed seller information header.

Then click on AMZ’s policies located to the right of the feedback option to learn about how non-us-based sellers have access to your personal information (all of it!). Keep in mind that this applies to all sellers, even those non-us-based for whom AMZ fulfills orders. Many of these products will even show up as “prime” or "fulfilled by AMZ."

Rules of thumb:

Believe it or not, buying on AMZ takes skill. It is a jungle dominated by non-us-based suppliers that can steal your personal information. We recommend buying from US-based suppliers only.

1. Stay away from products with excessively high number of reviews. Instead, look for average reviews.Category leaders usually buy reviews. This should not be a secret to anyone. When faced with an excessively high number of reviews, sort them by "most critical." You will be surprised at how much you will discover about a seller.
2. Be cautious of product labels such as "best seller" or "AMZ's choice." Best seller does not equal best product. Labels do not mean what common sense dictates.
3. Avoid product packages that offer 2, 3, or 4 items at an "irresistible" price: Again, only remote non-us based sellers use this tactic. This is usually an indicator that the main item is such poor quality that they need to increase its perceived value by adding other items around it which usually are also of very poor quality. These products also tend to be stuffed with thousands of great "earned" reviews. This whole scenario defies basic economic principles of supply and demand. If the product is so great that it has so many great reviews, why is it so cheap? shouldn't great product demand drive prices up instead? It's like defying gravity, nothing falls upwards. Bottom line is, if it seems too good to be true, perhaps it is.
4. If you cannot conclusively verify the US location of a seller, odds are the company is a non-us-based company.Some sellers even list a full US address but when you Google it, a UPS or DHL Mailbox address pops up.
5. Before you place an order, make sure to contact the seller about a return address. If you do not get a response, this is a good sign that you are dealing with a non-us-based seller and, that you are very likely to be left hanging with any issues after you purchase.
6. Don't fall for the "lifetime" or "a year" guarantee gimmick. Virtual non-US based sellers use this trick a lot. Did you know that these warranties are not AMZ's warranties? These are third-party seller's warranties. Unless the third-party seller you are buying from is a real US based company, with a physical location, a website, and a real phone number, your warranty is worth nothing. Stop and think of this for a minute. Once the AMZ return window expires, unless you have a way to contact the seller directly (outside AMZ), you will be stuck with your defective product. Beyond that time window (usually 30 days), your product is not AMZ's problem anymore. In fact, after the 30-day return window, it is almost impossible to communicate with AMZ about a specific purchase. This gimmick is used to mislead customers to believe that they can trust the seller/brand and that they could return their products for life. The truth is that because these sellers have no physical presence in the US you will be stuck with your defective product for life with no way to claim your warranty. Smart hmmm?
7. Don't fall for the "a portion of our sales go to charity/animal shelters" gimmick. Once again, a very clever trick used mostly by non-US based virtual sellers. Stop and think of this for a minute. This gimmick is used to appeal to the heart of consumers. In the end, we all want to do good right? Here is what you can do to avoid it. Challenge the truthfulness of this claim before you buy or, at least do not let this claim influence your purchasing decision. Post a question on the sellers frequently asked questions forum: "What charities or animal shelters do you support?," please be specific. When was your most recent contribution? Sit and wait for an answer. If you get one, then contact the organization to verify. Our advice is, if you really want to contribute to charity, then find ways to do it yourself, directly, with no intermediaries. You will have the certainty of where your money went.

Just our two cents to help educate pet parents.