Free webinar about FTC compliance - Tuesday 26th, 10am PST

This is gonna hurt a lot of affiliate networks who rely on that rebill money. I'd suggest all you networks that rely on this rebill money to get off your high horses and start working more closely with your AM's to work something out. Do what copeac is doing and start building compliant pages and start giving them away to show what is acceptable and what isn't. Your revenue depends on affiliates so don't leave them in the dark and expect them to change over night and still bring in that money for you while you sit back and expect affiliates to figure it out for themselves.

Hopefully this will scare a lot of the noobs away who throw up copy LPs for a quick buck, But im also hoping this will bring in more legit products.
 


let's call a spade a spade for a minute-

it's not JUST the claims of weight loss or XYZ ingredient being amazing that's the core underlying issue that for some reason we're all dancing around - how about the, uh, COPY which most of you didn't even bother to tweak yourselves, typos and all, being absolutely ridiculous.

Claiming that a fictitious reporter that is portrayed to be real used a product months ago that only hit the market last week?

Claiming that said reporter ONLY paid the shipping/amount where neg. option billing is, and has been, at the VERY core of this whole issue for the last 2 years since 'issues' started?

Claiming that the results of the nonexistent and literally impossible (sans time machine) test were absolutely amazing?

Dynamically changing the date on completely false comments that real users never contributed when this also isn't disclosed?

Continuing to blatantly obviously lie to use scarcity on your aff page when again post 09 this isn't kosher (since it's not real)?

I'm stunned that people are at all suprised - unless all of these posts of ignorant shock are an ebook approved initial defense strategy.

Um, big apple and orange from a review site where the voice of the author states that THEY used the product and XYZ happened (and in weight loss this doesn't mean 40lbs in 2 weeks), discloses the material relationship between parties (again following Dec '09 guidelines) AND where you bother, PRE PUBLICATION to document an actual order of <product> so that your site now realistically tells the story of your experience?

You let me know when people go down doing that. Oh and LULZ about "can't profitably convert" - what you really mean is can't profitably convert at $2.50 CPC's from a traffic source on a comscore top 100 site? Well you know what, neither can a ton of niches and prices over the last 2 years have been insanely over-inflated due to everyone pushing the line further and further.

But obviously everyone quickly forget the Green Tea/Acai days pre 2-step, pre flog and pre farticle.

Yeah, nothing converted, nothing at all. No one made any money. Margins weren't 80-100% at scale instead of where they've been squeezed to now. I recommend you all ignore everything and hopefully get sued out of business, you'll finally free up some fucking traffic.



flame away - BIG props to Smax for setting this up, much respect to A4D for the way they've always spent their own resources to help the community.
 
You guys all trying to find the holy grail for slinging flogs and farticles when it's damn obvious whether that 2 step combo is a scam or not...

All this wouldn't have happened if they were legit products at a reasonable price.

But this is a good thing as I can finally compete without selling myself out.
 
It's only a matter of time before acai berry is sold in big, well known shops in the US for a couple of dollars for a bottle.

If you don't believe me, it's already happened over here. Search acai berry on google UK and look at the sponsored listings.
 
-joe- said:
It's only a matter of time before acai berry is sold in big, well known shops in the US for a couple of dollars for a bottle.

If you don't believe me, it's already happened over here. Search acai berry on google UK and look at the sponsored listings.
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I've seen them in the stores in the US. Not much but I've seen them
 
-joe- said:
If you don't believe me, it's already happened over here. Search acai berry on google UK and look at the sponsored listings.
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It was sold before the big Acai rebill party, Joe. In mid '08 most ads on Google for Acai, in the UK at least, were from the health food shops. Back then I used to run the only UK Acai offer I could find, through eAdvertising, and had hardly any competition (1 person). It's only now that because most rebill shit is dead, the original ads are back competing again.
 
Sonny Forelli said:
let's call a spade a spade for a minute- ....

Dynamically changing the date on completely false comments that real users never contributed when this also isn't disclosed?
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Solid Gold all great points that most guys are just blatantly doing wrong.

Your point about the false comments is dead on, in the case of flogs/farticles its obv they are fake.

But how does someone say, Jeff Walker, who gets 1,000s of comments on his product launch sales pages prove the comments are legit. Most likely the majority of the comments left are true, but how can he prove what is real and what is not?

Again I agree its completely wrong that flogs/farticles use false comments but I don't think there is a way to police them. Do you need to get anyone who leaves a comment to sign and affidavit?
 
dowork said:
Do you need to get anyone who leaves a comment to sign and affidavit?
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Hehe...

All comments must be notarized and sent registered mail to my lawyer with two valid forms of identification with supporting documentation for any claim or opinion.



I'm all for ending the blatant scams, but this whole thing is a slippery slope. We are moving towards a communistic government with more loss of freedoms each time one of these do gooder agencies goes on a power trip. All in the name of protecting us.

Dumb people have been getting scammed long before and will keep getting scammed long after.

Meanwhile, 'news' networks, and presidents lie and mislead with immunity. Bush sold a war based on lies and deception, while being told the truth by the inspectors. This seems a little more harmful than joe bob affiliate posting information that all his research has deemed to be true but that he hasn't actually invested the time and funds to run his own clinical tests on.
 
Sonny Forelli said:
let's call a spade a spade for a minute-

it's not JUST the claims of weight loss or XYZ ingredient being amazing that's the core underlying issue that for some reason we're all dancing around - how about the, uh, COPY which most of you didn't even bother to tweak yourselves, typos and all, being absolutely ridiculous.....

.....Yeah, nothing converted, nothing at all. No one made any money. Margins weren't 80-100% at scale instead of where they've been squeezed to now. I recommend you all ignore everything and hopefully get sued out of business, you'll finally free up some fucking traffic.
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Your entire statement was beautiful, especially pointing out the fact that we should call a Spade a Spade.

As an advertiser with my own products, I feel I have always had to make major adjustments for lazy ass pubs who are ridiculously catered to by the networks. We can't run our offer on a network unless it converts at "x"%. I was shocked when I first entered this industry of receiving sales for my products via CPA and anything below 22% conversion rates on first time hits was considered shit? I soon realized of course it is when a PUB is marketing a "free" gift by answering some fake poll and the gift is our product just pay shipping. Or, traffic coming from a blatantly fake site highlighting you'll only pay $5 then yes anything below 22% is shit.

Even the continuity program for a product was a MUST as straight sales were simply not an option. I fucking HATE the god damn model because of processing nightmares (getting shut off with a huge outstanding invoice that basically was due to lazy ass pubs and having money tied in reserve accouts). I was pretty much told to FUCK OFF at adTech when searching for networks who would run an attractive straight sale offer. I was asking because I knew this was about to go down.

I plan to adapt and change with our products and offers, hopefully this weeds out the low quality pubs who caused this mess and rises the quality marketers to the top.

I do advocate that dumb people who want dumb ass products have the right to buy shit they don't need with money they don't have; and I have the right to fulfill their "need" to buy. But those of us who rely on this industry for a FAT pay check need to stop defecating in the pool.
 
I'm all for providing good products at a fair price. Either we regulate ourselves or the feds will regulate us. Thanks, jason, for moving it in the right direction.

It was always tough to run as an Advertiser. There is always the next Advertiser that will pay $1 more. When working with the networks, the conversation is always "well, Advertiser X will pay $2 more," or "Advertiser X converts at 20%+." Even when you do have a good page that converts, some Networks will take it and give it to an Advertiser that is willing to pay $1 more. They didn't even bother to remove our logos when running the pages.

We had Networks that would ask us to report less clicks just to inflate EPC's so more pubs would jump on. Or, pay a $45CPA but shave 10% off so you can be closer to a $40CPA. Turned into a big rodeo. It's a lose-lose scenario for everyone no matter what piece of the puzzle you are.
 
dont you think that even with straight sale models that are compliant to the letter of the law the damage has been done and a straight sale acai deal is gonna go down like a fart in a space suit?
 
barman said:
straight sale ain't all sunshine and rainbows either

Firm to Pay FTC $250,000 to Settle Charges That It Used Misleading Online "Consumer" and "Independent" Reviews
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$5M in sales and too stupid to roll with "Individual remunerated for testimonial" , and have actual signed affidavits regarding these? Couldn't have tossed applebees dinner paper for a few vid uploads to youtube as well?

Yeah, I'm sure every other stupid fucking thing in the book was also done.


I'd be willing to bet lack of good and or lack of honoring claimed return policy had a huge chunk to do with the initial eyes on him - last I checked I hadn't heard of the FTC simply going after guitar courses that no one complained to them just because you didn't end up playing like Eric Clapton after spending $59.99

But maybe I'm wrong.
 
D.T.F. said:
Was anything said about email rebills?

I'm still sending out acai to my weightloss list, and it's still converting.

How long till I get fucked?

Oh, and will the webinar be uploaded so those of us who missed it can see it again? Or was it a one time shot.
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You are also at risk. The guy that sounded as though he had some cheese lodged in his throat stated, that they used actual consumer complaints to find sites which were non compliant. Emailing a news lander to your list doesnt protect you from this, in fact I'd say it makes you way more of a target than people who are using display because they have the actual email you sent to your list as proof.
 
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