Don Lapre - Infomercial King

[james1977]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/03...est=latestnews Dead and gone, he wasted himself. I admired the guys enthusiasm, it was a con. I have seen his ads for years when he was selling some H.U.D con for like 19.95 then he went to selling classified ads, then super vitamins, now the Feds zoomed in and he killed himself. Wasn't he aware of mail-fraud laws ? R.I.P. Don

[atomicbettie]

I remember the name and I'm sure I've seen him on TV but I just watched a YouTube of his tiny classified ads and its not ringing a bell.

[Jason]

One can only hope that Kevin Trudeau follows suit. Tired of that guy telling me what the government is hiding from everyone. Idiots are always buying his shit.

[RaRaRamona]

When I first saw his picture I thought he was the guy who sold "secrets" to sell real estate years ago.

Sad that people still fall for this shiz

[Jason]

I think he did sell more than just the vitamins, I remember him selling other types of shit back in the 90's.

[atomicbettie]

Yeah, tiny classified ads for one thing. You take out one ad and make $30 profit. Then imagine you put that ad in 3000 papers and you are rolling in dough! You can get the secret of these tiny classified for the special price of $39.95. That was about the stupidest informercial ever.

[Jason]

once I wish these guys would just go on a normal talk show and pitch their shit. It's much harder to get through your spiel when the interviewer isn't paid to be in awe of your garbage product. Go on Howard Stern and try to pitch "the greatest vitamin in the world" see how far you get before Howard is talking about your penis size and how it must be small to make you think a product like this would actually work. Okay, maybe I got off track, but you get my point.

lastly, you would think a guy trying to be taken seriously would have a better website than THIS
edit: ok I just realized this website is almost like a suicide note and has pics of Don with his family, ok, I'll let it slide.

R.I.P Don, 2am and credit card debt will never be the same without ya

[pkstracy]

It is a sad situation x 2, that he cheated so many people, but hey if they were dumb enough to believe him, second that he didn't think of his wife and kids before he killed himself,

[Jason]

yeah, after seeing his site it made me think of how sad he didn't consider his family. I guess he felt the charges would have put him away for a long time and they would be better off, who knows.

[deanfan]

I remember him. Wish the the other 2 guys like him I see all the time would crawl back in their holes. Scammers praying on desperate people.

[Vtwin]

Damn shame he had to do this to his "Best Buddy" Guess he was thinking of himself FIRST this time!

[johnny]

i guess selling all those 'tiny newspaper ads' wasn't the secret to financial nirvana after all.

one of his pitches involved having you place ads in newspapers and then just wait for the money to roll in.

[atomicbettie]

once I wish these guys would just go on a normal talk show and pitch their shit. It's much harder to get through your spiel when the interviewer isn't paid to be in awe of your garbage product. Go on Howard Stern and try to pitch "the greatest vitamin in the world" see how far you get before Howard is talking about your penis size and how it must be small to make you think a product like this would actually work. Okay, maybe I got off track, but you get my point.

lastly, you would think a guy trying to be taken seriously would have a better website than THIS
edit: ok I just realized this website is almost like a suicide note and has pics of Don with his family, ok, I'll let it slide.

R.I.P Don, 2am and credit card debt will never be the same without ya

OMG no kidding, give these guys someone to fucking answer to! It's too bad that people get scammed but I don't know how anyone could watch let alone buy that tiny classified ads bullshit. And omg, that website, suicide letter indeed.

yeah, after seeing his site it made me think of how sad he didn't consider his family. I guess he felt the charges would have put him away for a long time and they would be better off, who knows.

After reading that and seeing his pictures of his best buddies and how he always thinks of everyone else first, he must have thought this was it.

Damn shame he had to do this to his "Best Buddy" Guess he was thinking of himself FIRST this time!

I know. It's terrible.

[johnny]

here's Don Lapre's famous ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mubCkCAEiDQ

i guess he got tired of people asking him, 'if you need some dough, why don't you do your making money package tiny ads?' LMAO

of course, he got a lot of guys at two am who were too busy looking at this lady's breasts to pay attention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqG7t2Mhreg

here is a newstory on victims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0fLXQnfLXY

[johnny]

this guy is a favorite informercial of mine, Tom Vu. infomercials so bad, they're good...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnda41lj6go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K853GykeGH0

[RaRaRamona]

lastly, you would think a guy trying to be taken seriously would have a better website than THIS
edit: ok I just realized this website is almost like a suicide note and has pics of Don with his family, ok, I'll let it slide.
a

Aw sad

[Buttercup]

One less scam artist to worry about. I knew somebody who did the ad thing. Got nothing. Surprise!

Yeah, Tom Vu cracked me up. The boat and all the bikini clad women. Very bad, but you had to watch for the giggles.

[Crabby Appleton]

FLORENCE, Ariz. â?? Embattled Arizona TV pitchman Don Lapre was found dead in his jail cell Sunday morning, myFOXphoenix.com reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Lapre was being held in federal jail without bond, awaiting trial on charges of defrauding at least 220,000 people out of nearly $52 million. Prosecutors accused him of selling worthless vitamins that could not live up to advertising claims.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/03...#ixzz1ZkPCG83o

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/03...al/?test=faces

[philbert_wormly]

Full on lack of gonads on that dude's part, eh?

I always have wondered why folks who think of these far out cons, just never use that intelligence toward a common good. This coward alone could have earned an MBA and found a decent job if he so chose.

[atomicbettie]

So what kind of ads were they supposed to place to make this money, do you know? I am insanely curious how this was supposed to work.

[Kyouya Ohtori Ouran Host]

With a product name with a tag of "the greatest vitamin in the world," I just don't know how anyone would buy into that. The scamming and the con seems almost right there in the title alone.

[johnny]

So what kind of ads were they supposed to place to make this money, do you know? I am insanely curious how this was supposed to work.

ah damn, you're not suppose to ask questions about it but just send Don Lapre the dough and wait for those tiny internet ads to start bringing you 'checks'

[Desert Ghost]

The Feds claim there is tens of millions of dollars still missing that he had but he was arrested in a gym near my home. If this guy had millions and millions I don't know why he didn't leave the country but was hiding in a changing area of the 24 hour gym for about a day and half.

[RaRaRamona]

The Feds claim there is tens of millions of dollars still missing that he had but he was arrested in a gym near my home. If this guy had millions and millions I don't know why he didn't leave the country but was hiding in a changing area of the 24 hour gym for about a day and half.

yikes that sounds miserable & pathetic

[Jenivere2011]

I hope I'm doing this right... http://www.hollywoodmemoir.com/don-lapre

On June 27, 2011, Don Lapre was arrested at a Lifetime Fitness location in Tempe, AZ, with serious self inflicted knife wounds to his groin, and had reportedly lived in the Lifetime Fitness location for 2 days. OUCH!

[RaRaRamona]

DUDE! Yikes what the heck??

[1karenhb]

Hmmm, I've never heard of the guy or his vitamins. Lucky I guess. Nothing says guilty like offing yourself just before your trial starts.

[SomeChick]

Don Lupre will no longer be making money, placing tiny classified ads from his one-bedroom apartment.

(If you lived in Phoenix in the late 80's to early 90's, that'll mean something to you.)

I met this guy very briefly in a club in Tempe around 1991. I was there with some friends and he strolls in with two bodyguards and a small entourage, looking very pleased with himself, yet his eyes were darting all around the place. He starts to walk by me, stops, looks up (he was pretty short. I'd guess maybe 5'5"'ish) at me, smiles and I remember thinking, 'It's Mr. InfoMercial. Well, well, well.'. But I said nothing and just walked away.

[Jason]

not sure if this is true, but I read that he repeatedly slashed at his groin area while in jail. Not sure with what or if that is even true, but this was the cause if his death.

[james1977]

not sure if this is true, but I read that he repeatedly slashed at his groin area while in jail. Not sure with what or if that is even true, but this was the cause if his death.

He cut something, went right towards the major veins. His line was bullcrap. Make 30 dollars from 3000 newspapers, even in 1994, no one was reading newspapers and today. No one does nothing. The sales market is saturated in thousands of ways. Where did all of the money go ? Millions are still missing. Just a snake oil salesmen, but what did him in was- the Ponzi Scheme- When will anyone ever learn. If someone knew how to make a lot of money they sure wouldn't tell anyone. It's a con.

[RaRaRamona]

Everyone was reading the paper in '94; even I read the paper.

[Paulination]

not sure if this is true, but I read that he repeatedly slashed at his groin area while in jail. Not sure with what or if that is even true, but this was the cause if his death.

He slashed his groin area while hiding out. He slashed his own throat in jail.

[SomeChick]

Everyone was reading the paper in '94; even I read the paper.

Yes, we were. Not the least of the reasons for that being this little trial, that we didn't all have time to watch on TV or video tape.

[Jason]

This made me think of Ol' Don, R.I.P

[Miho]

Ugh the website is just crap regardless.

[Bbeelzebub]

I've never heard of him at all. When I saw the headlines, I instantly thought, "Please don't let it be the ShamWow! / Slap Chop guy".


I can now rest assured that my favorite methed out, hooker slapping tv pitchmen is still with us.

[RaRaRamona]

I can now rest assured that my favorite methed out, hooker slapping tv pitchmen is still with us.

Whew!


So what makes this lose the King? WOuldn't that title rightfully go to Ron Popeil?

[KristinEileen]

WOuldn't that title rightfully go to Ron Popeil?

Absolutely..I loved his pasta maker infomercial!! Speaking of, is Popeil still with us? I haven't heard anything from him in a long time!

[RaRaRamona]

I think he's selling chicken rotatoes in the sky

[AllyTheHag]

Absolutely..I loved his pasta maker infomercial!! Speaking of, is Popeil still with us? I haven't heard anything from him in a long time!

As far as I know he's still alive, but mostly retired (he's 76 years old). He sold his company back in 2005 for about 50 million dollars. I think Popeil is from a different sort than many of the others who came after. Popeil actually had a product to sell and an innovative way to market it. IMO, people like LaPre are just con-artists.

It's still sad about Lapre, though, even though I honestly don't remember the guy. He must have been pretty desperate toward the end, to take his own life the way he did. I would think there had to be another way out of the situation.

[RaRaRamona]

Oops sorry. I thought he was a goner

[ichabodius]

Yes, we were. Not the least of the reasons for that being this little trial, that we didn't all have time to watch on TV or video tape.

The quality of journalism was much better back in the day. Too bad technological advances leading to greater information access is the main cause for the decline of investigative work and journalistic integrity but hey we have tabloid fodder to make the balance. Quantity vs. quality. Most are happy.

[johnny]

Whew!


So what makes this lose the King? WOuldn't that title rightfully go to Ron Popeil?

Ron Popeil is the King in my book as he sold an actual product that worked reasonably well. In fact, that darn 'set it and forget it' rotisserie oven is pretty damn cool and I've made many a prime rib, roast pork, or chicken on mine. Very tasty. Not sure about his other products, haven't tried them.

Don Lapre was just a rip off artist. If his 'internet millions' was so darn good, why didn't he just avail himself of those 'secrets' when he needed the cash...lmao

[neilmpenny]

70/20/10

70% How you look.
20% How you say it.
10% Content.

I must say, Lapre was an annoying little fucker. Mr Vu, on the other hand, was a total scream.

Here is another scam merchant.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqSZh...eature=related

[Dangitbawb]

this guy is a favorite informercial of mine, Tom Vu. infomercials so bad, they're good...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnda41lj6go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K853GykeGH0

Man, that is just bad on ALL levels! But gawd it made me laugh! Mr Lapre definitely won't be missed, scamming little fucker!

[Saddletramp]

I have fond memorys of the little fucker. I worked for him when the "making Money" thing was going on. He had rented an entire floor of a down town office building. What a lovely place it was. Me & 399 other smucks were pitching his "product". I had gotten fired from collecting bills by phone. Management didn't like me telling dead beats I was going to send 2 goons over to molest there wife & kill there dog. No sense of humor. Anyway 2-9 P.M. were great hours for me. Only called the targets that had bought the 19.95 Money Package. 350.00 a week was damn good $ for a gig like that. Yea, he was a bastard, but so am I. To quote one of my favorite Heros of all time, "Never give a sucker an even break" W.C. Fields. For those that now hate me, Keep in mind I was married, and was days away from eviction when I found the job. You will be shocked at what you will do when you have no choice. We also got all the free soda pop, coffee, or OJ we wanted. Cookies on Friday.

[JimC]

Scammers are everywhere; especially in this internet age.

I don't remember Don or his commercials from the 90's; I guess I had to go to bed too early so that I would be ready for work the next morning.

I've watched some of those Tom Vu vids; yeah; so bad that they are funny; kind of like Plan Nine From Outer Space by Ed Wood.

I started doing some internet marketing back around 2005; made a little money here and there promoting products that I actually reviewed or tested and found solid; but's mainly been a tax write off.

It's been a learning experience; when I put up my first website I had no clue as to what I was doing; I've learned much since then.

Health, Wealth and Romance are called "evergreen"; because as long as there are people; there will be interest in those three subjects.

I've recently gravitated toward focusing on "local" SEO; it's easier and less competitive.