Therasauna is threatening to sue me over infrared sauna reviews of their Therasauna and Therasauna Classic. Apparently there is some monumental difference between the two saunas, but the comparison sheet sent over by Therasauna themselves shows confusing comparisons about the nature of “Made In USA.”
At the end of the day, you guys are free to choose to buy whatever sauna you want. I’m not sure how I feel about a company that sues it’s past customers in order to sensor their opinion. All in all, my experience with the Therasauna model I bought, wasn’t good. This is reflected in all my reviews and opinions about the product, and is accurate and honest.
Proof is in the prior videos showing me having to use a sawzall to get the sauna to go together… since the pieces weren’t cut right from the factory. I did get it together, but the sauna still did not perform well once I did. Hissing in the stereo, lights flickering right our of the box, etc… I ended up sending it back, and in my highly opinionated review of the Therasauna, I clearly said the product was not made in the USA.
I purchased a Therasauna Classic. QCA Spas claims the “Therasauna” is a different product, and that I need to stop mentioning it. Only problem is, you can’t say “Therasauna Classic” without using “Therasauna.” It’s not my fault a company is using a branding play on words to differentiate a product Made in USA compared to another one of their models made in China.
I believe the marketing material to be confusing and a bait and switch play on words and the Therasauna brand, but apparently some models are made in the United States.
After reviewing the letter provided by Therasauna, it’s still difficult to understand, especially since the very sauna Therasauna claims is not “Made In The USA” is carrying the seal for it.. Now you have the information, some Therasaunas are made in the USA, some are not. You can now make your own informed decisions. Good times.
Video Transcript (AI Generated)
Alright, so today’s gonna be kind of interesting.
TheraSauna, better known as QCA Spas, is apparently suing me over infrared sauna reviews, so this should be interesting.
Now obviously I’ll include a copy of these documents for anyone that needs to see them in the YouTube description below or on the accompanying post.
Basically, this is kind of funny to me, the first line is “I want to start this letter out by saying thank you for purchasing the TheraSauna Classic model.”
This is a very interesting way to approach people.
As a general rule, you don’t acknowledge that someone is a customer before you sue them.
But I digress, this is a very interesting way to approach this.
Not what I would have chosen, but hey, what can you do.
Let’s just get right to the chase, shall we?
Down here, I’ll just read it to you.
It says, “We at TheraSauna do not wish to censor your opinion.
If we do not satisfy our customer, which would be me, it is our job to make it right with that customer to improve their opinion of us.
Every time you mention TheraSauna in your blog/vlog, you were talking about the TheraSauna Classic, which is a separate product.
This is no longer your opinion, it is inaccurate information.
We would greatly appreciate you removing all references to the TheraSauna on your website.
If you do not, we will have no other choice but to get the lawyers involved, which we do not want to do.”
So basically, we don’t want to censor your opinion, but if you don’t take down everything that you’ve ever published about us, we’re going to sue you.
Rather interesting way to put it.
Not to mention, it’s not possible.
I mean, I can’t go back to videos that are years old when I’m assembling some sauna and I say the name.
You just can’t physically take that out.
There’s just no way to do that.
And also, saying that the TheraSauna Classic is a separate product than a TheraSauna, the company itself is choosing to take advantage of a play on words or a branding play there.
So it’s not my job. 98% of consumers are never going to be able to figure out that there’s a fundamental difference.
And we’ll get to that in a second, because they sent over this handy-dandy sheet that shows which TheraSaunas are actually made in the USA and which ones are made overseas, like the one that I bought.
And based on the name alone, you’re never going to figure out which one is which.
But anyway, they go on to conclude the letter with, “Attached, we are including screenshots of our website, therasauna.com.
We have included the product description page as well as the sauna comparison sheet.
In neither location do we mention that the TheraSauna Classic is ‘made in the USA.’
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for purchasing a TheraSauna Classic.
I hope that one day we can get you into a TheraSauna.”
You’ve got to be shitting me.
“Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.”
Yeah.
All right.
Yeah, I’m definitely going to want to use one of their products after this.
If you guys don’t know, the largest sauna companies in the world offer to fly me around their country, fly me to their manufacturing facilities overseas, fly me to their sales headquarters, basically anything I want.
I don’t take advantage of any of that, but the opportunity is there.
As a general rule, if you want somebody to use your product, you don’t threaten to sue them and then suggest that perhaps you…
Never mind.
This is a waste of time.
It looks like they’re going to sue me.
It basically says if I don’t take down everything that I’ve ever done, they’re going to sue me.
This is a form of legal posturing, better known as bullying.
If you caught me at any other time in my life, I would probably make 17 videos about this company today and upload them all and basically just get the lawyers to draft a response letter.
But to be honest with you, I just don’t care.
I don’t care right now.
I just can’t be bothered.
It kind of sucks because this is not going to affect me either way.
If I take down all the stuff, it’s not going to change my life in any way.
The thing that sucks about that is that it might change yours.
So this video is going to do two things.
Number one, if I did make an error or I need to correct something, I’ll do that immediately.
Even though it’s not outlined in the demand letter, this is a poor excuse for a C and D.
There’s no actual dates or anything on it.
You know, when do they want this done by?
Is it five days from now?
Is it five months?
Is it five years when I no longer test saunas or you know what I’m saying?
Like this is just a bunch of bullshit.
So, but this video will be for two things.
Number one, I’ll correct any mistakes that I’ve made immediately.
I’ll film a subsequent video right after this one, clarifying the difference between a Thera sauna and a Thera sauna classic.
Since one of them is made in the USA and one of them is not as advertised or proclaimed by the company themselves.
So we have the facts right here.
It’s not my opinion.
It’s not going to come from me, but it will be correct information.
Next thing is this video will just be to let you guys know.
I mean, I’m not going to do anything.
This letters like this require no response, no action on my part.
However, you know, the attorneys may have me take stuff down.
Counsel will never advise you to make videos like this one here.
However, this is my first rodeo and never been down this road before, so I don’t know any better.
Right.
But at the same time, I want you guys to have a little bit of warning.
If you see changes in the sauna reviews, if you see stuff that is non-existent from here on out, maybe that is not a reflection of the accuracy of the marketplace.
It could be that I’m forced to do things or I just don’t feel like fighting it.
Like earlier this year, I chose to change the sauna reviews.
It was the best thing for everybody.
It’s worked out very well.
It was the right thing to do.
However, from here on out, if you see sauna reviews change or if you see products represented in a different way than they are right now and that previously wasn’t like that, you know right up front that I was forced to do that and it’s not really my choosing.
However, you’d be hard pressed to actually — I’d love to see this go before a judge.
I would love to see this presented in such a way where it’s like, wait a second.
This guy was a customer of yours and he had a really bad experience with one of your products and it didn’t show up as advertised?
Yes.
You have his phone number?
Did you call him?
No.
You have his email?
Did you email him?
No.
You could have sent him another product or reached out to him or chosen to approach this in a bunch of different ways but yet you want to sue him to take down his opinion of your products?
Yes.
I don’t know.
It’s an interesting way to go about it.
So while we’re talking about factual information, it says right at the top that at Thera Sauna we sell a variety of different saunas.
Thera Sauna, Thera Sauna Classic, Better Life, and Sunrich.
We have never represented — actually, I don’t need to say anything else.
If you heard those brand names, now you know.
If they’re not on the list that says they are a Thera Sauna and they’re made in the USA, they’re obviously not.
Self-admitted by the company themselves.
So that’s not in my opinion.
That’s not my research ability.
That is directly from the company themselves.
Our strategy has never been able to — so they go on to say that in my blog, infrared saunas not made in the USA, you present the Thera Sauna Classic as the Thera Sauna, which is inaccurate.
You also refer to our strategy as bait and switch, which is also inaccurate and doesn’t make logical sense.
Our strategy has always been to satisfy the customer.
Well, not really.
Because when I bought my Thera Sauna Classic, and it was a heaping pile of shit, and it had a terrible control panel, the roof was broken, you can see the YouTube videos.
I had to cut the sauna with a sawzall in order to get it to go together because there was poor quality control from the factory.
There were — there was a hissing in the stereo system.
The lights flickered right from the factory.
I mean, this is all cheap quality components.
And it took over an hour to heat up.
So if you fix the things that I didn’t like, it’s still not going to be a satisfactory sauna.
And those are some of the same components that are in the model that is made in the USA.
But you know what?
By no means do I mean these guys any ill will.
I don’t really care that much.
It’s not that big of a deal.
Like I said, if you caught me at any other time in my life, I would probably respond to this extremely aggressively because that’s just my personality and because of the fact that I paid $3,000 for one of their products and it was shit.
But you know what?
I was — I just haven’t been back from Maine very long.
I was just there.
The trip did not go well.
You know, my — I’m frustrated.
My land deal for the 100 acres for the Clever Compound did not go through.
There’s no recourse for that either.
So I’m frustrated about that.
My personal life sucks right now.
When I got home from Maine within a week or so, my uncle passed away.
So we had to do his services.
And now, you know, it’s just like every week there’s just something — you know, I often wonder to myself, with all the bullshit that I put up with, with doing this, you know, these sauna reviews and putting out this information, is it really worth it?
Like I just don’t care enough right now.
I’m just beat down.
I’m frustrated with other stuff.
You know, for months now I’ve been struggling with which direction to take the content.
Should I set up separate YouTube channels?
Should I go back to what Clever Leverage and the YouTube channel was originally supposed to be about before I had health struggles?
You know, all this stuff.
And the last thing that I want to deal with is this.
I mean, this really isn’t that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
But it could also be a waste of time.
It’s a huge waste of time.
And I just don’t have the energy to fight it.
It’s definitely not a — I mean, you could defend something like this for less than 30 grand.
But it’s like if you’re going to pay Uncle Sam, who cares?
But at the same time, it’s just emotionally draining.
This isn’t a company that I want to work with.
This isn’t a company that I really think — you know, it’s kind of ridiculous that they even know who I am; right?
I don’t know if you guys know this or not, but QCA Spas, the primary company that manufactures the Thera-Sana — oh, I better say both the names — the Thera-Sana Classic, since customers can’t figure out which actual sauna they’re talking about unless you say the full name, even though it’s the same brand.
The QCA Spas company, they have hot tubs and hot tub stores all across America; right?
So it’s a pretty large sector.
It would be pretty ridiculous to argue that one guy could even make a dent in their marketing efforts or — you know, if they’re doing a good job themselves, they shouldn’t even know who I am.
You know what I mean?
So I don’t know.
I just don’t care.
I hate to say that because some of you guys are going to be pissed off, especially if I delete all the Thera-Sana reviews or if I just take down all the stuff altogether; right?
Because the easiest thing to do to respond to something like this is to take all the information and stick it behind a paywall.
And then you have the attorney’s draft, some TOCs to where as soon as you swipe your credit card, basically abolishes all legal issues after that.
And then things aren’t public.
You can’t argue that there’s defamatory damages and things like that because you’re not out there speaking to anybody.
This is a private, closed-door, you know, sector, members-only group.
And if you choose to come in, you’re abiding by these guidelines.
And the information that we say in here is, you know, blah, blah, blah.
There’s tons of ways that you can craft that to fix that.
But some people are going to be really upset if I do that because this has been incredibly helpful.
And I have an ask.
I’ve got an ask for this one.
I never ask anyone for anything, really, on the channel or privately.
But people over the months and years that I’ve been doing this, tons of people have either emailed me or called and said, “Hey, if you ever need a testimonial, would you like me to write something for you?”
And I always say no because I’m not in it for that, right?
But this kind of changes things.
And I have an idea on something that I can put together that may help situations like these in the future.
So if any of my videos have ever helped you in any way, if you’ve ever gotten anything from any of the sauna stuff or any of the other content, would you please comment down below this video on the YouTube comment section, tell me how I’ve helped you, put your testimonial there, and then please, right after, just in one sentence, say, “You have my permission to use this as a testimonial, Matt.”
You’ve got to put that in there.
If you could do that, I’d greatly appreciate it.
I’m going to start a collection of things that have made a difference for other people that they tell me privately.
Maybe we can do something public with that.
So you can do it anonymously if you want.
You can put just your first name.
You don’t have to identify yourself.
It’s not about that.
Just share your experience, how my content has helped you, how the sauna reviews have helped you, or anything you want, basically.
And then just let me know that I can use it as a testimonial.
So thanks guys.
I really appreciate it.
I want to make a follow-up video to this one specifically on the Therasona and the Therasona Classic.
So if I did make any errors in the past, that will clear that up immediately.
Even though that’s not really in the demand letter, I’m going to do it now just because I don’t have the energy to deal with this.
So hope you guys are doing well.
Have a great day.
We’ll see you in tomorrow’s video.
So I don’t know.
It’s not my job to police a company’s marketing.
In the very top of this letter, it says, “The Therasona Classic as well as the Therasona are available for purchase on several third-party websites, including the Home Depot.
If you’ve ever seen or can provide evidence where you feel our dealers or we misinformed you, we would appreciate your cooperation so we can correct this problem.”
It’s not my job to go out and find this stuff.
I mean, why the fuck do you think I bought the sauna in the first place?
Obviously, I thought it was made in the USA because the one that I bought from Costco was clearly made from China.
So if I just Google Therasona Classic made in USA, what do we get?
I mean, this is…
What’s the date today?
Today is the 7th.
Come on.
Focus, focus, focus.
This letter was sent out on 7/8/2019.
I almost didn’t even see it.
It was 2,000 miles away.
This was two days from being returned.
Ridiculous.
These people could have just called me, emailed me, anything.
But no, they chose to threaten to sue me.
So whatever.
So as soon as you pull up Therasona…
I mean, all I’m doing is Googling Therasona Classic made in the USA.
The first thing that pops up is the Therasona website with a “Made in USA” sticker.
This obviously isn’t going to focus on it very well.
Let’s just pull up their own website.
I mean, I haven’t checked this stuff.
It’s not my job to check a company’s marketing to make sure that it’s compliant with what they’re threatening to sue me for.
So this is the Therasona Classic page.
Wow.
I mean, if this isn’t telling, I don’t know what is.
So hopefully that will focus.
This is the Therasona Classic page for the exact sauna that I bought, I believe.
I don’t know if it’s the same model number, but you can clearly see that it’s a Therasona Classic.
If you just scroll through, what do you see at the bottom?
Made in USA, right on the company website.
I mean, shit.
Actually, it says “Made in USA” on every single page of the company website.
So it’s not my job to…
Let’s see some other websites.
UShealthandwellness.com, which is, I guess, a Therasona reseller.
Therasona Classic.
Again, let’s scroll down and see what we find.
It says right here, “The only differences is the wood type between the…”
You may be wondering what the difference is between the original Therasona line and the Therasona Classic.
One of the only differences is the wood type.
Both the Therasona Classic series and the original Therasona series are made from natural, non-toxic, non-fermented woods.
But the Therasona is made with Aspen hardwood from their tree farm in Wisconsin, USA, making the Therasona the only legitimate USA manufactured Sona on the market.
Therasona Classic is made of natural hemlock.
See, that’s a clever play on words.
That is a bait and switch.
This is clear as day.
I mean, they’re basically saying how the Therasona is made in the USA on a Therasona Classic page, right?
And then at the very end, they’re baiting and switching you by saying, “Oh, this is made out of natural hemlock,” but they don’t say that the natural hemlock is made in the USA.
So it’s very…
I mean, if you can’t figure out that that’s a bait and switch, I can’t help you.
Let’s see, Hot Tub Outpost.
Hot Tub Outpost is the same.
I mean, I don’t know.
I’ve already spent way too much time on this.
This is stupid.
Great solutions.
I don’t know what this is.
I mean, I’m just randomly Google searching this.
This is a month after they sent me the letter, so if they really wanted to clean this stuff up, I’ve had ample time.
Let’s see, product description, Therasona Classic, blah, blah, blah.
I don’t know, dude.
This is a total waste of time.
We didn’t even get to the EMF stuff.
They advertise the Saunas as low EMF.
If you consider something under 10 milligauss to be low EMF and pretty much the worldwide standard is 2 to 3, I mean, we didn’t even touch on that.
That’s one of the things that pissed me off about the product.
But whatever.
None of this stuff really matters.
It’s not my job to do this.
And then obviously we have this sheet right here, right?
So you can clearly see that the Therasona on the left, I guess, is made in the USA.
And then these other ones are made overseas.
I mean, it says right on the page, they’re not made in the USA.
So I don’t know where this came from.
There’s no URLs or anything at the top of this page.
Like I said, this is not my job to figure this out or to police how a company or their dealers.
So there’s something interesting in the actual description of the product that I didn’t catch before.
So it says the Therasona Classic is assembled in the USA and imported Hemlock wood and the USA made patented stable heat system that allows our Therasona Classic to consistently reach blah, blah, blah.
Okay.
So the cabinet is made overseas.
Some of the other parts of the sauna are made overseas and it’s assembled in the USA.
So if that’s not a…
I’ll let you…
And actually right from the manufacturer on the last page that they included in the documents, it says made in the USA.
You’ve got to be shitting me.
So on these pages that are stapled together for the product description that they are claiming to be accurate, and then my information does not reflect on the last page of that, that they printed out from their own website.
It has the seal, the made in USA seal.
I’m done.
Thank you.