Updated 5 July 2019: I received feedback that people think Eight Stars is not doing honest business, and I disagree. After 3 months and a lot of new customers, it seems Eight Stars is doing rather well in its sales and marketing, and I see many customers taking up this offer without any issue. Eight Stars have also provided the water sample report from Setsco Services which you can download here.
I recently received a “free” alkaline water system through word-of-mouth referral. Eventually, I find that it is just clever marketing. Was I scammed? Read on.
Alkaline Water For the Home
For the longest time, my family wanted to get an alkaline water system, but gawked at the prohibitive prices. Then one day, my wife sent me a screen capture of a “free alkaline water system” from her colleague who signed up, and asked if we should get it. I looked at the offer: free water system of Korea technology but pay for the filter priced at S$168 and installation charge S$50. I replied, sounds like a deal.
Neither did I expect to receive a call a few days later and that the caller on the other end told me I was recommended to receive the free alkaline water system. She reiterated that the system is valued at S$1888 but it will be completely free, except to pay for the filter system at S$168 and installation charge of S$50. Also, I have to create a Facebook post to share the news, and to send her the screen shot so that she can “claim against Korea for the free machine”.
The appointment was made the following day. I informed my wife who was surprised that they could deliver at such short notice. She was told by her colleague that there were over 1000 requests so a direct referral would receive priority attention. This is beginning to sound like a “con job”.
Installation and Revelation
The installer came on the dot, and proceeded to install the alkaline water system. He was very skilled at the job, and was very helpful in explaining the “sales strategy”, which is, by doing this “free promotion” of an “older product”, the company hoped to build the brand awareness that could help when their new products are launched.
During installation, he opened up the “machine” to reveal the 4 cans of filters linked one after another for the tap water to pass through. This is also known as the “reverse osmosis” system, and the “machine” is merely a plastic container to house the filters and definitely nowhere worth the S$1888. No electricity is required.
This is what each filter does:
- Sediment filter removes dirt, other minute impurities and rust scales.
- Pre-Carbon filter removes chlorine, pesticides, herbicides and other harmful organic chemicals. It also gets rid of bad taste and odour.
- Alkaline Filter contains ceramic balls that raises hydrogen ion concentration and helps in detoxification.
- Post-Carbon filter further removes harmful chemicals that may still be present.
Before the installer left, he issued a proper receipt and a warranty card with 2-year warranty. The company printed on the receipt is “Eight Stars Pte Ltd”.
Further Online Search
Now that I have inside-out information about this alkaline water system, I went online to do some searching about this brand and the type of filtration system (at time of publishing). Here are my findings:
1. No search results on “Eight Stars Alkaline System“.
2. I found images of the same looking machine under the brand “Ocean Dolphin”.
3. Ocean Dolphin happens to operate from the same office address as Eight Stars Pte Ltd.
This 4-stage alkaline water filter system is readily available in the market and priced around mid-S$100 with the filters alone.
Updated 5 July 2019: Eight Stars has provided an updated test report from Setsco Services dated 22 March 2019 to show the alkalinity of the filter. Eight Stars added: “Online filters supplier don’t dare to provide customers Singapore Test report. Our filters are exclusive and custom made from manufacturer and it provide the true results as shown in your Part 2 review.”
I’m not implying these filters are the same, though the price is similar. At the end of the day, we buy things not just for the product quality but also the after-sales service. Eight Stars Alkaline System offers 2 years warranty for the product and even replaces the filters if the alkalinity drops abnormally fast. Indeed, buying from Eight Stars as opposed to online platforms gives you some assurance.
Not a Scam, Just Clever Marketing
I would like to feel that I am conned, but maybe not. The sales team is very clear upfront about the purchase of the water filters and installation charge, so technically, they did give the “container system” free. At least I am paying a fair market value for the reverse-osmosis alkaline water system, even the S$50 installation price was arguably reasonable given he spent 30 minutes of his time doing professional work. I think the company is genuinely trying to run a business, but is such an alkaline water system really worth S$1888?
Apparently so! I came across AOX, a Singapore company, who specialises in filtered water dispensers. They also have reverse osmosis alkaline water dispenser similar to the above, and they do cost almost S$2000! From the photos of the user manual, the filter design appears to be similar, but AOX have received awards for their products so it’s definitely more established than Eight Stars. I guess indeed there are different quality levels of the water filter cartridges, and from that, I cannot assume that the Eight Stars filter system is poor quality.
But then again I wonder: creating alkaline water is as simple as running water through alkaline ceramic balls which can be bought off any hardware shops or online shops for US$11. And the carbon filter and sediment filter are also public knowledge. It’s a matter of whether you want to pay a premium for brand, R&D and features, or will you go for OEM.
Besides the RO system, the other types of water system produces ionised alkaline water through electrolysis using electricity. These systems might have some fanciful features, like able to adjust the pH level to use for washing (acidic) or for drinking (alkaline).
Is It Really pH 8.5 Alkaline Water?
Update 24 Mar 2019: I have bought the pH meter and tested the water. Read my article “Free Alkaline Water System Part 2: Testing Water Quality” for answers. Eight Stars have also provided a test report dated 22 March 2019, which can download here.
Do I Recommend Getting This “Free” Alkaline Water System?
After my Facebook post, many friends have been asking me if it’s worth it. Right now, I am waiting for the pH meter tester to be delivered so that I can verify the alkalinity, but will not be able to confirm if the water really delivers what they claim. Read Part 2 of my post to see the results. The same goes for all other alkaline water systems in the market: how can you conclude which brands produce better water and gives you better health?
One thing is for sure: at S$218, it’s cheap enough for me to try it out, and since I’m already in it, let me assess over the next few weeks or months to see if I notice any changes in my wellness.
If you know of any tests that can verify the properties, drop me a comment. I can even pass you some water samples to experiment.
Updated (5 July 2019): Eight Stars have reached out to me in hope to clarify their business.
We have received feedback from customers that they feel uncomfortable after looking through your first review and claimed it as a spam mail. We would like to clarify that we are not doing clever marketing as we are using our advertising Budget to give away free machines to consumers as a reward to help us create awareness and build branding in the market. We are also not a fly by night company as we do have a customer service care on our quality and honesty of service offered. Our product has been proven from Setsco tested for safety consumption too.
Based on the above clarifications, I have updated my above post.
3 Months On: Genuine After-Sales Support
Given the recent revived attention to the alkaline system, I went to test the alkalinity again and found that the pH level dropped to almost the same as tap water. After giving my feedback to the original sales person whom I got the deal with, they arranged for an on-site inspection using their liquid pH test kit. After verifying that the alkalinity has worn out, they replaced a new system. Check this out: a new design!
The on-site installer added that on top of a new design, the filters are also improved. I did not open the cabinet to see the interior, but in any case, if the alkalinity drops too fast again, I’d be happy to call them back.
3 months after my purchase, Eight Stars are still around and doing good business. For now, there is no reason to doubt their alkaline water system and their ability to deliver after-sales service.
18 comments
Thank you for the post. I was “selected” too. I haven’t decide if i want to install yet, cos it seems to go to be true kind of thing. i did the same like you search online and found nothing related to eight stars. i’m glad your post came out.
can you please share your findings once you have the ph reading. thank you.
Hi! Thanks for reading and sharing your comments. Do subscribe to my blog so that you will receive updates once I publish my follow up article!
Me too. Await your findings.
excellent CSI work! Just to share alternative views on alkaline water. I’m not a fan of Mercola but when he is negative on something I tend to take notice – https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/11/12/hydrogen-water-vs-alkaline-water.aspx
Hi Chester, thanks for sharing this article. I saw 2 of my Fb friends already sharing the post. I hope to hear your results on the alkaline water too.
Regards
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn! Thanks for your comment. I have already tested the alkalinity on a separate blog post here: https://musicphotolife.com/2019/03/free-alkaine-water-system-part-2-testing-water-quality/
Ocean dolphin and eight stars actually is same company. They use customer fb to promote their product. Actually u zoom back and see the filter picture there is got life time for each filter 3 month 6 month and 12 month but this company say change filter every 12 month . I have take alook my few fren got install there is got 2 type of filter . This company is scammer. Actually the modal is KT3000 not S3000. If u wan more picture i can email to u. This product actually no official letter from singapore goverment. I have check this product actually from malaysia. For malay customer i really dunno this product HALAL or not ?
Hi Hanz! Thank you for sharing your findings!
Some of it say free alkaline water system bit u still need to pay sgd218. In water filter most important thing is the filter. Why they say free ? But u still need to pay for the filter and installation ? This company juz free a cover for u only. After i research ocean dolphin is previous company that too much complain from customer so now change to eight stars…….i cant post the picture here. Haiz…..
Hi Hanz, what do you mean 3 months, 6 months and 12months? do you have a LINK to support this? Hope to understand more, thanks!
I’m asking the company many questions too, but some things seem amiss. I read online that drinking too much alkaline has a risk too. but I currently am using a NOVITA normal filter just for impurities due to my old pipe/tap system in an old HDB.
Yes I suspect Ocean Dolphin and them are the same, if not there will be copyright infringement in terms of product design. it’s extremely similar.
I too was contacted as a selected customer and machine was installed on Tues. I find it strange that the installer didn’t leave behind the product instructions manual or even the box. I did not make the Facebook post as instructed and the eightstars person didn’t follow up with me for my FB screenshoot till now. Doubt his claim that they need to claim from Korea is true. There isn’t any written agreement that states this even so don’t think I want to be their free advertisement. I find it taste weird also. Anybody can comment on the taste?
I happen to be in the science industry. Real alkaline water is found only in the mountains like Alpine etc. The system in most commercial alkaline water dispenser uses are electromagnetic charges with positive and negative ions produce. These alkaline water does not maintain for long. Our body is basically design to take in only about pH 5 to pH 7.5 range of products. Anything beyond that is going to change our body system, thus some claims of effects like headaches, stomach discomfort, etc. In the long run, this is not good for our body. The water coming from PUB is good enough for our body.
Hi Chester, thank you for featuring our dispensers (AOX) on your blog. I happened to see this blog on FB because and was interested because it contained our system. Just a minor correction, our alkaline filters do not use a reverse osmosis process. Rather, we send the water through the filters which are packed with minerals so that ions are exchanged. This is a similar process to how natural spring water is alkaline as they exchange ions with the rocks underground. In a way, our filters are patented so the ingredients is unique to AOX. Otherwise, as you mentioned, anyone can purchase a set of cheap filters and fix it to their taps.
I believe a question that you raised just now is the crux to everything. How do we know that the alkaline water we are drinking is good for our health? At AOX, we are able to show you with our health check system. You would be able to visually see the effects of before drinking our water and after drinking. This is our assurance to our customers that the water you drink is indeed, important.
I would like to ask for your permission to feature your blog on our FB and if you are interested, we would like to invite you to our office to do an AOX Health Check. This would answer your question whether there is any benefit to drinking alkaline water.
Hi Lester,
Can I get the contacts of the person? I tried to search in the website but shows no contact details of the company. Tkz
Veron
I had one of the filter installed in March 2019. Few months ago, I noticed rust forming at the tip of the water dispensing sprout. Since filter is also due for change after >10 months, I reached out to eight stars by sending multiple emails (4 mails), submit enquiry via their website (eight star website) 3 times, sending message to the lady whom I had liaise with for the filter installation. There was no response at all. Started sending all these enquiries since Dec but to date, I have yet to hear response from any channel. I believe the company no longer exist or it’s a scam or has customer service is terrible. However, taking into consideration that I paid $218 for the use of a filter action system for one year, I decided that it was a good trial and I should just pay more and change the system to a reputable alkaline system.
That’s odd. I just received a Whatsapp message from them this morning that my unit was due for free servicing. I am contemplating to contact them though, because I was not prepared to pay for the filter.
Anyone still using Eight Stars one year now? My under sink filter spoilt and considering whether should call them to replace the Eight Star for filter? Or buy another new brand? Thanks
Hi anyone still using it now? Or change their filter regularly? I have not change since and hardly used it as I have existing under sink filter which spoilt recently. So considering reusing this but concern whether their alkaline is true or not.