Athletic Greens Myth

We get a lot of feedback on this website. Most of it is positive and affirming but we do get our fair share of criticism and some of it is deserved. The nature of product reviews invites debate.

When reviewing products we try and be objective and focus on the ingredients, potencies and cost while trying to avoid subjective stuff like “it made us feel good”. That is not to say that quality green drink powders don’t have an impact on the way people “feel”. They most certainly do. But people are different and they “feel” different. No one however, can debate the label. The label never lies. The ingredients and the potency of ingredients in a product determine the quality and the price for those ingredients determine the value.

There’s no product that we’ve come across that has inspired more controversy, more strong opinions, more spirited comments than Athletic Greens.

Rarely do we allow ourselves to be baited into drama as it relates to something as benign in nature as superfood green drinks. But lately, we’ve been getting bombarded with people asking us this question: Is Athletic Greens a Scam? And other folks weren’t asking the question at all but making the firm statement that it is a scam. This article is to debunk that silly myth.

We’d like to respond to these statements and in doing so hopefully bring some clarity into the nature of why people are targeting Athletic Greens with negative reviews and comments.

The Athletic Greens Scam – Debunking the Myth

Scam Definition:  a dishonest scheme; a fraud

So often we throw around words without really investigating the true meaning and it leads to ambiguity. Calling Athletic Greens a scam is simply ridiculous. AG happens to be a superb green powder drink formula that is chock-full of some of the best nutrient-dense ingredients that you’ll find.

What’s more, and I’m sure frustrating to other green-drink manufacturers, is how they made it taste so good. For what’s in it, it is perhaps the best tasting formula out there. (Oops… taste is subjective and we try and stick to the facts.)

So why all the talk about it being a scam? In our opinion, there are two main reasons why people are suspicious of this product.

Athletic Greens Cost

Up until recently we’ve strongly felt that Athletic Greens was a bit over-priced at $97 for a 30-day supply. And if you read our Athletic Greens review we go over this in depth in the “Value” section of the review. This part of our review really hurt the overall score but the other categories scored extremely high. When we did our review the cost for a 30-day supply of AG was $97. Currently, it appears that it is $89. [Update April 2015: Athletic Greens has a special introductory offer for $48.50. Use THIS LINK to access this offer.]

Being expensive doesn’t make it a dishonest scheme though. What would make it a dishonest scheme would be if they said it had certain ingredients when in fact it didn’t. Or, if they made ridiculous claims such as “Athletic Greens is scientifically proven to grow hair.” Or, if when you placed an order the money was funneled to an offshore account and they failed to send you the product. Those would qualify as dishonest schemes and fraudulent behavior.

Athletic Greens has the right to charge whatever they want for the product as long as people are willing to pay for it. iPhones are expensive too.

Athletic Greens Auto-Ship Program

The second reason why Athletic Greens is a magnet for criticism is their “Loyalty Program”.  The term would imply that this is some type of reward that is given by AG to their faithful customers. But in reality, this is nothing more than an auto-ship program that in the past you were enrolled in when you placed an order “like it or not” until you canceled.

It appears that they have backed off this a bit and now you have the option to be enrolled in the “Loyalty Program” and what’s more, they have now discounted the price of the product significantly if you choose the auto-ship. ($69.95)

Final Verdict

Athletic Greens is a great product and is not a scam. You can read the comments on our Athletic Greens review page and get a good feel for other people’s experience with the product and the company’s customer service. Actually, they call it the “Customer Happiness Team”.  Yes, a little cheesy.

Sure it’s a bit overpriced but believe us when we say that there are a lot of people that absolutely swear by it. (And swear at us for not ranking it #1.)

[Update April 2015: Athletic Greens has a special introductory offer for $48.50. Use THIS LINK to access this offer.]

Some folks like the taste of Athletic Greens so much it justifies the cost because they otherwise wouldn’t use a product they couldn’t drink.[hr]

ORDER ATHLETIC GREENS AT 50% OFF

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Trevor Ross

Trevor has been writing about superfood greens drinks and general nutrition sine 1995 and since has reviewed 1000’s of products that help people live happy and healthier lives.