Earl Dunbar   Great cell phone bargin save$$$$$
Great idea!
Jul 14th 2007 16:27   

Earl Dunbar   Great cell phone bargin save$$$$$
That was one of the reason I started my group.
Who is making money Please join if you like
Jul 14th 2007 16:29   

Amy Thompson   
Yes, I think it is a good idea, except who is Apsence going to speek with or coordinate with to find out the ACTUALS about each company? That is, without spending the money to find out for themselves. Amy
Jul 14th 2007 16:29   

Karen Weir  Local Internet Advertising Consultant
Bottom line is that you have to do your due diligence. You can't expect APSense or anyone else to do it for you. Check out the group How to Choose an Opportunity for great ideas on this topic.
Jul 14th 2007 16:33   

Amy Thompson   
But that is always the hard part when you live in a world where everything looks too good to be true and they hide behind masks.
Jul 14th 2007 16:43   

Douglas Coone   
Unfortunately, there is no way of telling if an offer is genuine or the person offering it is legit, without spending a lot of time doing due diligence. Now, as far as what "due diligence" is and how much is necessary, well that is entirely up to the individual. There is no definitive way to say you have done adequate due diligence.

AS far as Apsense doing the rating for us, well, let's just say that I appreciate the low cost of Apsense for what it does provide already. Not sure I would want to pay thousands a year for an Apsense membership to do due diligence on every biz opp that is here.

As far as looking at 'service exisence' as a rating factor, well Google just tried that with their latest algorithim and it backfired. Last I knew, it was being scrapped this weekend. Also, by the time they have a suitable service existence, it is basically too late to get in to make any real money.

Having been a financial consultant for over 30 years, the paradigm, risk=return, holds true here. What I mean is that the best opportunities are with brand new companies, but there is substantial risk in doing that. When I join one, with a free trial period before having to pay a membership, I look for how much interaction my upline has with me. I a not talking boilerplate autoresponder messages, but personal one on one emails or phone calls. If that is there, then I have a lot more confidence in the program and am willing to take the risk.


Jul 14th 2007 16:54   

Amy Thompson   
Another idea that comes to me is Why are we here in this group? To meet people and get to know them. This is a relationship business! If you get to know people, and really know them one of them will pop out of the croud as being honest and dependable. What business are they doing? Ask questions and get to know the person and then get to know the business. It just might save you a few dollars in the end.
Jul 14th 2007 17:02   

Karen Weir  Local Internet Advertising Consultant
If it is hard to get information on a company or business, then move on. Legitimate companies are open about giving information. In my business, I invite interested people to my team trainings and meetings and let them meet real people in a conference room and get real time answers to their questions. If you are looking at a business ask the person if you can come to a meeting and meet the team. Ask questions. If they are hiding behind a mask, you got the information you needed.

Karen
Jul 14th 2007 17:13   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
You can find out alot of information on a business simply by doing a search on them. You can usually find out alot about a company through posts of people who have dealt with them first hand, there is usually buzz about companies going on at marketing forums. You also can check for complaints throught the Better Business Bureau. But, when a company is new, it can be hard to spot a scam, sometimes someone might catch that is is owned by people who have run scams before. But, with alot of new programs you must take a leap of faith. We all have our personal guidelines that we follow. As far as apsense rating a business, what would the criteria be? As some programs work for some and not for others. Some people are willing to put forth more effort than others. So some will succeed with a program, while others will not. There would be alot of variables to be considered if they were to do this. This is my opinion on this topic. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Lynn
Jul 14th 2007 17:20   

LaMar DeSpain   
These are all really good comments. I have been around this sort of thing for many many years and I have seen hundreds of opportunities come and go. Along with many hopes and dreams.

One of the best things you can do is to follow the money. Find where the business in incorporated. Find out who and what the owners have done in the past.

What about the product, is it real and genuine or is it something you can buy at the local market for about the same money?

If it is a heatlh product then how are the claims validated?

Often times these opportunities are replays on chain letters, pyramiding ebooks and "education material"

Many times you will find the company in a small office with few staffers and they are big on dreams -- small on capital and destined to fail.


Jul 14th 2007 18:00   

Sheri Stuart   
What works for me is to do my own research about any new business. First of all, if it sounds too good to be true, I don't bother. I just delete the message. Second, if I am interested enough to look further, I copy ant paste the whole link into my Google search box, add :scam at the end, and run a search. Believe me, if anyone anywhere has posted anything about a program, this will catch it. I will always carry this one step further if I get a lot of hits to this search criteria. I will post a discussion or bulletin to every social network I belong to so tha others cna know my findings. I feel this is my social responsibility. Too many newbies get ripped off for me to stop doing this, as well.
Jul 14th 2007 18:00   

Sheila Sultani   
I've only been here one day and the first thing I saw was an ad on the frint page that I know is a scam. Well, maybe not a scam but definitely streeeeeeeeetching the truth! My thought was, wow I just logged in for the first time and this is the first thing I have to see? You you see something like that you want to scream to the world: DON't BELIEVE IT, DON'T BUY IT! I was hoping it might be a little different in here.


Sheila
Jul 14th 2007 18:09   

Douglas Coone   
I have been reading these posts, and kept shaking my head. Something was missing in all these comments, all good, and all different. Then it dawned on me what was missing, and I kicked myself for not thinking about it earlier.

AS a financial consultant/advisor for years, the first question I always asked a client was, What is your goal, what are you trying to accompolish.
That same question holds true here.

If you are looking to spend some time on the computer to earn some money to help with some bills and groceries, then yes, by all means, search out the well established documented companies, For the most part, they are safe and wil give you what you want with some effort on your part.

But, if you are looking for replacement income of any significance, you are going to have to look hard and long, and probably pay dearly for a chance to make that type of money with an well established and documented company.
Risk=reward. Let me give you an example, Apple Computers. THis is still a good solid company that many are investing in. Today, it closed at over $137 a share. You could buy it now, feel pretty assured it could grow, but there is no guarantee and still some risk to do so.
Or would you rather have been back in the garage in the early 80's when Apple was created and got in then? Remember, it was just a "fly by night" idea at that time. No Google searches available, nothing known much about the founders, no documentation or anything, but look at it now.

So, to sum it up, before you even start looking for an online biz opp, ask yourself, what are you looking for? What are your goals?

For me, I am willing to take the risk, and try to find another Apple idea being hatched in a garage.
Jul 14th 2007 19:13   

Ahmed A.   
Hi guys,
thanks for your input.
have anyone of you heard the great economic depression that is coming in 2010?
economic recessions come by every 12yrs, while depressions every 60 yrs+/-. from 1950 onwards, add 12 yrs and then 60 yrs, you get a major world event that had transformed the world we live in today. When economic recessions are around the corner, scams increase and so on. I came across this interesting article few days ago.
Mr Doug, with your experience, how true this is?
From you i learn
thanks all
Jul 14th 2007 21:00   

Bj aka Bill Brown   Hosting and Backup Service provider
Hi Digg3000,

In my opinion the only way APSense could protect us from scams, which appear daily on the internet like mushrooms in the early morning, would be if some one has undisputable proof that a program is a scam and then turned over the evidence to APSence for assessment.

One of the biggest problems on the internet is that there is always some that will scream scam no matter what the program is simply because they do not want to see a program succeed. There are those that do it because they have nothing better to do and do not want others to succeed then there the less scrupulous owners of programs that are running similar programs and want to discredit the competition.

The only protection you have is as previously suggested and check out as much as you can. Don’t take one persons word for it but compare what others are saying.

A good guideline is, if they say you can earn X amount and you don’t have to do anything except join for free to get it, then it is a blatant lie. Lets face it if no one has to do anything or pay anything where is the money going to come from? Some one has to spend something for you to make something.

Bj
Bill brown aka Bjantiques

Jul 14th 2007 21:17   

Douglas Coone   
Ahmed,

Not knowing the citation of the report you mention, I would say initially it sounds like another chicken little. Also, not sure I understand the dates you mention. You state this "cycle" dates back to 1950. First off, 50 some years is hardly enough time to base a financial cycle on with the economy changing as fast as it does and to the degree it has become an international economy over the last two decades. If we do use 1950 as a point on this economic cycle, and go back 60 years, according to the cycle, would bring us to the end of the 19th Century, one of the most prosperous times economically. Also, how does the Great Depression of the late 20's and early 30's fit into that cycle?

Recessions and depressions are dependent on any number of reasons. The "depression" you talk about of in 1950 is more acuarately described as a recession, brought on by the shut down of the massive global war economies at the close of WWII.

Again, just taking the info you gave on the report you read, I would initially conclude that the author was trying to support this thesis for some other alternative reason. If you want to give me the full citation of the report, I would be happy to review it when I can.
Jul 14th 2007 21:52   

Lateef Oladeji   Internet Marketer
Digg, you raised a valid point. They get me confused about offers, some ostensibly genuine and others evidently deceptive. If Apsense will hold its own in integrity rating, it must design a means of checking frivolous ads. Any ads not backed by proof of performance of the program being advertised, in terms of credibility, should be discouraged. Apsense cannot afford to become a dumping ground for spams and junks.
Jul 15th 2007 10:49   

Jenny Stewart   
You have raised a very good point - what do we do about scams or quasi scams here at ApSense?. The answer has been given clearly - we have to do our own due diligence. It is not ApSense's job. - they give us a place to network free or at low cost. They unfortunately cannot remove something because it ldoesnt havre a good reputation.

There are a couple of highly dubious programmes promoted by members here - but without proof - ApSense's hands are tied - especially when the members themselves who promote them do not think they are scams and are not here to scam anyone..

If a scheme is PROVED to be a scam - obviously it can be reported to the owners to take action to stop it be promoted here - but I mean proved. As Bj rightly says - there are some people who scream scam whatever happens. and the problem is not with proved illegal programmes, but the unproved ones.
It is no good if it looks fishy -. it has to be fishy.
There are however a lot of highly risky programmes - some of which are genuine - and then, as Doug has pointed out - it is up to you to decide to take the calculated risk or not. AND I use the words CALCULATED RISK - which has little to do with blind faith in what might have been a good idea.

There is a very big difficulty on the internet with the legal and quasi legal scams - there are many and they are often run and promoted by experienced professionals. These are the hardest for the newbies (and oldbies - lol) to crack, although Karen has given a very wise piece of advice

"If it is hard to get information on a company or business, then move on. Legitimate companies are open about giving information"

and note she says legitimate not legal - some of the worst scams appear legal and have good lawyers protecting them.

and as she suggests - take a look at the How DO you Choose your Programme or Opportunity Group - there is a lot of good advice there on how not to get duped.
Jul 15th 2007 11:20   

Chuck Bartok   Veteran Entrepreneur now Sharing
I'll chime in.....

Many have stated fine direction on diligence when investigating Opportunities...

And you are right, it isn't Apsense responsibilty to monitor.
IT IS YOURS

But why don't more of you realize YOU have the POWER, ABILITY and ASSETS to Market your own products, be in control of your Income.

I'll be interviewing a 23 yeard old Monday night 9 Eastern, who has been on the Net less than year, has been able to quit a very comfortable mid-management job and is growing HIS business Daily.....

HOW?
He was

Honest
Open-minded
Willing

TO GO TO WORK!!!!!

And he Called and put himeslf in front of others who
"were already there"

Amazes me how few people call for advice and direction.

All of my associates and partners fully disclose private numbers,
e-mail addresses and mailing addresses on our sites and Direct Mail

Those who do... get it.

Networking is nothing more than practicing the principles set forth in Proverbs...

Whatever you want , be prepared to GIVE



Jul 15th 2007 12:23   

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Jul 15th 2007 12:40