There are scammy and spammy products launched into the “make money online” niche all the time. I’ve given warnings and done various product reviews over the years, but there’s so much junk out there that I couldn’t cover it all if I wanted to.
I’m also not primarily in the business of being an Internet watchdog. It’s not really all that fun. So I tend to ignore most of the scams that land in my inbox, and try to stay focused on delivering value through my own business, and making money in ethical ways online.
Once in awhile something will really catch my attention or make me mad, and that’s the situation today.
The Prelaunch Hype
Over the past week or two, I received several “JV invitations” for a product launch called Free Commissions. I get those kind of invitations all the time, and it basically just means that someone wants me to promote their product as an affiliate. Some of those invitations came from Clicksure (the payment processor), from a JV broker, and from a 2nd-tier affiliate.
According to one of the invitations, the launch is being conducted by Tim Atkinson and Zak Meftah. The JV invite page contained a video of Tim Atkinson, and was signed at the bottom by “Tim Alexander”.
I’d give you a link to the page, but frankly it’s an embarrassment to the Internet marketing community (although it is sadly typical). There is no mention of the product itself or the value that will be provided to customers. It’s only about how much money they made on their last launch (over a million), and how they’re going to make more this time. There are affiliate prizes including a BMW.
| Before I continue, I’ll give the first of a few disclaimers that I’ll offer throughout this review (to add perspective, and hopefully avoid being called a hypocrite). I’m not against product launches. They are a big part of my own business model, and I also teach how to do them. I’m also a fan of affiliate contests. I’ve participated in many of them, and held plenty of my own. |
What I’m NOT a fan of is when marketers utterly disregard their customers, and that’s the feeling I got from this launch before it even started.
The Emails
In spite of the above hype, I really didn’t give this launch a second thought. After all, I’ve seen it all before.
Then the emails started hitting my inbox. Again nothing new, but what caught me by surprise was two things…
– The number of people promoting it, including some that I’ve associated with in the past.
– The outrageous lies contained in the emails.
| OK, time for my next disclaimer. I’m an email marketer too, and I’ve pushed the envelope with my marketing at times. But I ALWAYS make sure I can substantiate the things that I write.
Unlike many of the emails I saw for Free Commissions… |
“I just saw this sick video on YouTube and it’s received already 1,539,922 views in the last 5 days.”
Really? That’s funny since it’s not on Youtube, and the sales page just went up today.
“This video was shared 189,294 times on Facebook.”
Really… the moment it was launched?
“Good news! Your application has been accepted! Please review the details of the position here:”
What application, and which position was that? LOL
“Your Payment has been approved. Set Up Your Payment Information Here”
Uh huh. I could go an and on with the variations of fake payment notifications, and I’m not even going to bother getting into all the ridiculous income claims.
The Sales Page
After receiving this barrage of emails, of course I clicked one of them to check it out for myself.
www.freecommissions.com (NOT an affiliate link)
Here we have a typical scammy sales video complete with the so-called zillionaire, the cars, the yacht, the girls, the clearly fake testimonial videos, the bank account screen shots.
But here’s what really made my blood boil. The guy, Tim Alexander, goes on and on about all the fakes and scammers. He even goes so far as to say that he’s NOT an actor!
Of course the fine print at the bottom of the page says “In some cases actors have been used.” So I guess that makes it OK for the actor to say he’s not an actor!
The worst part was the ridiculous income claims. Folks, I’m not even going to waste my time, or yours, by quoting the outrageous claims made in the sales video. I’d be typing them up for the rest of the day. The gist of it is this…
You will make hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, with ZERO work.
This is the message that is given over and over and over again throughout the video.
| Yet another disclaimer. I’ve got nothing against sales videos. In fact, I’ve been known to write very persuasive sales copy and create very persuasive sales videos. But there’s a huge difference between persuasive copy, and outright lies. These guys didn’t even use qualifiers in their script, such as “you could” (make money), or this has the “potential” (to make you rich).
They just flat out said you will make tons of money with zero work. |
The price was $49…
But when I clicked to leave the page, I was given an exit splash page with a $20 discount. As I continued to attempt to leave the site, I encountered no less than FIVE exit pages.
The final one took me directly to the shopping cart, with an offer to buy Free Commissions for only $9. At that price, I figured it was worth it just for the entertainment of seeing what was behind the curtain…
The Payment
The payment was processed by ClickSure. From what I understand, their business was birthed as a result of the scammiest of products/vendors that got kicked out of ClickBank, who needed a new way to sell.
According to ClickSure’s website, they are based in China and Mauritius. Because of this, it seems to me that they are not afraid of the FTC, or anyone else who might come against them for making false claims.
Last time I purchased something through ClickSure, my credit card company’s fraud department called me within minutes to verify the transaction. That didn’t happen this time (yet), but I was certainly surprised to see this statement on the thank-you page AFTER I paid:
“ClickSure.com is an International Company and therefore due to fluctuated Currency Exchanged Rate, the actual amount that appears on your credit card statement will be slightly different from your order amount.”
Well that’s nice to know.
The Upsells
These guys truly redefined “upsell hell”.
| Here’s my final disclaimer. I’m not against upsells. I do them and I teach them. I usually do an upsell and a downsell. On a couple of occasions I’ve used multiple upsells and downsells in a sales funnel, but I’ve always treated my customers with respect, and there’s always been an easy way out. |
After making the initial purchase, I was presented with SEVEN additional offers prior to reaching the members area.
The first One Time Offer, which purported itself to be “streaming live” was $297. There was no way to bypass the video! I had to watch it until the price button appeared until I could decline. Worse than that, it was totally insulting. It included phrases like…
“Hit the “no” link and go back to your pathetic life of struggle”
and
“You’d be a complete moron to not take this offer right now”
Upon declining I was taken to the 2nd offer, which was the same thing for $197 (but called it a 50% discount). More ridiculous claims, such as….
“$110k a month. All you have to do is copy and paste a link. Literally all the work is done for you.”
From there I was taken to another $197 offer in which Tim Alexander (along with his very busty model friend) said,
“I want to give you my exact website that makes $238,793.14”.
And no, he doesn’t say it’s a copy or a replica of the site. It’s THE site, and he even says he is going to “transfer the site to you.” Again I had to watch this video before I could decline the offer.
From there, I was taken to another video, in which the busty model friend offered to give me the same website for only $97!
From there, I was taken to yet another offer which I was forced to endure before I could decline. This one was $175, and offered…
“Free commissions for life, without ever doing any work, without even lifting a finger.”
Yes that’s a quote, as are these:
“The only thing you have to figure out is how to spend the money. This is no hype, no gimmick.”
“All you need to know is that when you wake up in the morning you’ll see commissions like this, for life, for free. The money never turns off.” (While showing a screenshot of $68k/day commissions)
When I declined that offer, I was offered the same thing for $75. As we were obviously getting toward the end of this funnel, the insults continued to get worse:
“If you’re going to say no to this, do us both a favor and just quit. Go back to your pathetic life. You don’t have what it takes. Are you the loser that most people think you are?”
Apparently I don’t have what it takes, because I said no… and was taken to yet another offer! This one was for a $1 trial. I’m not sure of the total price, as I didn’t stick around to watch the full video.
The Product
The membership area is laid out in an organized fashion. Unfortunately, it seems to be organized in such a way that its primary objective is to get more money out of you.
Here’s a screen shot:
Step #1 is to register for the member’s only webinar (Better hurry, there’s only 10 seats left). Nothing wrong with webinars, or selling via webinars for that matter, but most likely the objective in this case is to sell you something expensive. I made the mistake once of allowing someone to conduct such a webinar with my customers. I will not make that mistake again.
Step #2 is to schedule your strategy session via telephone. Hmmm, interesting that the signup form asks you how much money you have available to invest in your business training! A classic tactic, and a sure sign that they’re going to be selling you some expensive coaching. (The more credit you have available on your card, the more it’ll cost).
Step #3 is to claim your “free website”, which is actually just a video that leads to a web hosting affiliate link. The strategy itself is not a bad one. I’ve got no problem with offering incentives for web hosting referrals. But I wouldn’t exactly consider this to be something worth paying for. If it were my member’s area, I’d call it an “unadvertised bonus”, as I often do with such offers.
Beyond those three steps, most of the members area consists of advertisements. So where’s the product?
There is a web-based squeeze page builder, and a couple of plugins and videos. Those tools and information are OK, but certainly do not even begin to fulfill the claims made in the sales video.
I didn’t find ANYTHING that required zero work. For example, the squeeze page builder has templates, but you still have to write your own copy. Even if it DID do all the work for you, I don’t see any possibility of making the volume of “hands free” income that the sales video promises.
They do deliver something. I would even go so far as to say it’s “possible” to make money with these tools. Squeeze pages are a great component of a permission-based marketing model. I use them all the time, and I make money with them. But that doesn’t even BEGIN to justify the marketing.
I call this a scam. I’m very sensitive about using that word, because it is often not justified by those who use it. I’ve been called a scammer simply for being in the business of teaching others how to make money, and it never feels good.
Often what we’ll see in this industry are hyped up sales pages and products that do not meet all the expectations of those who buy them. That does not necessarily make something a scam.
In this case, the blatant lies, combined with utter disregard for the customer’s experience leads me to label it as an actual scam.
The Bottom Line
Watch out for this one, and others like it. I’ve been warning about these kind of scammy products for years, and we’ll be seeing them for years to come. They will always find another payment processor, etc.
I was really disappointed to see so many well-known marketers promoting this scam. Most of them are not scammers themselves, but in this case are guilty of blindly promoting something without checking it out first.
I thought about publishing their names here (there’s over 30 of them listed on the JV page alone), but I don’t want to muddy the waters and turn this into a hate-fest. Some of them have promoted my products in the past, and/or I’ve promoted theirs. These are guys with huge influence… the combined power to contact millions of people almost instantly. That’s partly why I felt it was important to call out this scam; since I know many of my readers are on those lists.
I do expect some flak from this review, and there will obviously be some fallout from former JV partners when it comes time for me to launch my next product (which is soon).
If you were someone who promoted Free Commissions, I’m asking you to do something brave. Send an email out to your list and retract your endorsement. I’ve avoided naming names (you know who you are), so just do the honorable thing and renounce this scam.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, these kind of things are not fun to write. I do not intend to make a habit of it. But I just couldn’t stay silent on this one today.
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below 🙂
Have a great day!
Great catch, Eric.
Keep up the good work!
Good work Eric
–
It is a bunch of Bla Bla
Sounds like the same kind of rubbish that Anthony Morrison uses to suck the unwary in!
Decent article. Thanks!
Eric,
Thank you for the honest review.
Too many of these guys out there.
You are certainly one of the good guys!
I love it! We need more honest reviews such as this one. I don’t know how these guys can get away with some of the claims they make. I guess I have to read the fine print.
I just checked out their JV page and will be unsubscribing from every person that promotes this garbage.
Thanks again Eric for standing up for the people trying to make more than just a “buck” in this industry.
Thanks for the heads up Eric. Let us know the good stuff too.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
I’m glad you didn’t hold back on this one, Eric. For those who did promote it and are angry at your review…well, if the shoe fits.
Wow! That’s what I call a real service to our industry and much needed. That took some work and serious time.
thank you
Eric,
I’ve been getting your “Tips” for a long time now – THANKS for all the help you have given this Newbie! I’m aligned with Eric Bechtold now (Website above) and T.J. Rohleder (M.O.R.E. Inc) and doing quite well with their guidance too.
I also got a link from this scam but didn’t even bother to click it – now with your Heads Up I never will. Again Thanks! I too hate Upsell Hell and all the OTOs (One Time Offers) that go with them. Everyone out there who reads this: Just learn the word NO – it’s probably the most powerful word in your vocabulary…
To Your SUCCESS,
Bill Patterson
Thank you for your time and effort here sir, this is really highly appreciated. Will email this information to ALL my friends and to ALL our list.
I hope you don’t get tired doing this. There are a lot more decent marketers out there to follow your goal – uphold decent and valuable products.
Again, thank you.
Thanks Eric.
Here is a free idea. I have been searching for a good information source about how to market nearly anything. I have not found anything that even approaches marketing for the new person. It should include a check list, action plan and resource guide. And the bottom line it should be cheap–less than $50. It needs to work. I have found nothing that meets this criteria An example would be to market a kindle book or any other epublication.
Thanks for the great review and warning Eric.
Now I know where all the Clickbank garbage went. Wow!
Take Care,
Allan
ahahaha I got one of those (spammed) in my inbox and I chucked simply because the acting was so fucking bad. If you have to hire actors to say you’re a “god” – then you’re really just a narcissistic asshole.
Hey Eric, nice analysis! TBH I think the key players have been here before so it’s not a shock to see this. 7 OTO’s though…? That’s so over-the-top predatory it’s (almost) funny…
Hi Eric, Kudos on standing up against this garbage. Its marketers like this that give the rest of us who are just trying to make an honest living a bad name. Here is an article i wrote about something very similar.
Fleecing Newbies has to stop!
Hey Eric,
I normally just browse though my e-mails not really paying attention to them, but I would like to say thanks for sending this one. It’s not often Marketers stick out their necks and give an honest review, knowing it’s going to land them in hot water with other JV partners.
Good on you buddy.
Cheers,
Glen.
thankyou so much for your warning, much appreciated
Eric, the worst part is that people keep buying from them over and over, and over again. Those guys know it, so they just keep doing it getting more and more, and more money from them.
Eric,
Thanks for standing up and telling the truth about these guys. I received the same email yesterday and instantly placed the email where it belonged ,in the trash. I have always enjoyed the way you have handled business, by helping others in the process of doing your business. I, like many, am tired of the scammers who come out to sell and leave the customer without a way to use the product. I got into internet marketing for the long haul not the fast cash.
Thanks for your willingness to stand and be counted for that which is right. God Bless
THANK YOU for being one of the rare HONEST internet marketers in the forums! Too many sellers care ONLY about making a fast buck. And after 50 years of REAL business experience I can tell you they will never last in the long run!
So, THANKS again for confirming my first impressions of this scam product!
Thanks so much for the heads up. Then we wonder why so many people get discouraged. Good job!!!
Thank you, Eric! That was a good read, and great catch and warning. I hope you do tell us about others in the future. Not of all us can see through these things, and get taken for that proverbial ride. I unsub from a ton of newsletters every day, but YOU, sir, are a “keeper”. Thanks! 🙂
Thank you for the warning!!!
Not too many marketers will rock the boat anymore and
stick up for the little guy. Your attitude against turning and burning
your list has made you stand out amongst the plethora of emails
I get daily.
Good job, brother! I also got a JV invite to this and I declined because of the same reasons. Keep in touch!
How do you get to “their JV page”?
Thanks Eric! Newbies like me get conned with scams like this very often. I have a bunch of those sitting on my desktop, collecting dust – not cash!
Way to go Eric! I’ve always thought you were one of the good guys, this post and email just proves it more. You have my support brother!
Thank you!
Steve Haase
Hey Great Job !
I use to own the largest fraud watch site online, and your right there is way too much crap online, it’s impossible to monitor even 10% of it.
So I can really appreciate it when someone takes there precious time to alert their customers. Awesome!
Plus I have had personal experience with Tim’s prior launches and much of what he practices online is well below the morality mark.
Great Alert
Great Job and Thanks !
Hey there Eric, I had the same into my own email box a few days ago and it certainly did look dodgy and no I didn’t go ahead with it. These people are relentless in their push to rip the unwary off. Disgraceful is the word that comes to mind. Thank you so much for being there for your list, I have been a member for several years now and you consistantly impress me with your ethics and a genuine want to help others. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Ever since I’ve been following you online. You have always been straight up and straightforward. When I first seen this advertisement for this program. I smelled a rat now you have confirmed it’s a fat rat.
Thanks Eric
God Bless
Jim
I am glad you exposed these people for what they are – scumbags. The art of lying seems to be thriving. No wonder people turn off internet marketing with this kind of too often ‘marketing’. Keep up being honest and open Eric and don’t weaken your stand and don’t be afraid to say the truth.
Thanks for the heads up Eric. I’ve seen quite a few of these before, and when I see Clicksure as the payment processor, I run the other way. I appreciate the diplomacy yet accuracy of your review.
Hey Eric,
I agree with you 100% there is so much of this crap out there and what really erked me about this one is some of the so called “Guru’s” that were,are promoting it. So to everyone of these marketers that sent me this link have lost all,any credibility with me.
Just shows me that they will promote anything to make a buck, so I just blocked them and will never promote or do business with them again.
People deserve a chance to succeed anyone that would sell this garbage doesn’t deserve to be called an internet marketer.
Just sayin
Al Garretson
I went past the $9 offer and I was then offered 5 – $2000 web sites built for me. I passed on the offer and then was taken to another offer and then to a payment page for the $9 offer. Yikes!
Thanks Eric
Congratulations Eric, your moral courage and outrage are refreshing. Dream-killers are ruthless muggers and thieves bludgeoning the timid newbies (and lots of newbies fall for this drek). You are a brave man to put yourself in the line of fire and call out these jaded JVs for not looking before they call others to leap. I hope your wisdom is recognized by some of them. Sadly many will only learn the hard way, what you give, you get, bigtime.
Well done Eric,
A problem scum going in our midst.
Exit Splash ..Ocean Wave
I always question the person that sends
this crap .. the world with no WORK ?
Hello ???
Thanks for bringing this out!
You nailed it NICELY!!
Thanks again
The best always
Harry
Eric,
As always you have my back!! Thanks for taking on scams.
Hi Eric, awesome review of the Fast Commissions for Tim and Zac program. It’s refreshing to see that you and other list owners have steered clear of these new hollywood style hype fests. It’s funny… you know I went through the same funnel process that you described and I took advantage of all the exit tech tricks to get into the members area. I’ve seen and funneled through other offers like this before and it turns out here once again that there’s more product in the sales funnel then there is in the product itself. “Point, Click, and Collect”, is exactly right, I point, I click, and FC collects. Thanks again Eric for standing up for honesty and ethics in marketing.
Awesome review! Thanks for warning us.
May God bless you
Hi Eric,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a long article for just a warning. Your honesty is one of the things that allows me to have been your subscriber for years.
I’m used to those scams so much that personally, I would already see it through after seeing the price goes from $49 to$9 after 5 pages.
Moreover, I read about Clicksure as one of the key places for rejected Clickbank products. Certainly not all Clicksure products are scams, but just to say even if I decided to purchase from the 1st offer, when I noticed it would be processed through Clicksure, I would think and analyze twice.
Thanks again for this honest review and God bless you!
Glad to see that these “thugs” have been exposed. Now let’s start working on the other 20,000 Scammers so we can get some legitimate business’ going strong!! Keep on Keeping on!!
Well Done!!!
Thanks!!! For standing up and being honest it’s hard to find truth in this business
Thanks Eric, I had seen this offer and considered purchasing but something didn`t sound just right but I couldn`t put my finger on it. I see now it`s the “no work at all” claims that they were screaming at me. Thank You so much man. You are truly one of the good guys.Good looking out. Randy
Thank you for the information and your time to post this
Thanks Eric appreciate the heads up. It is not a bad idea to test the waters, and exit the first intro offer, and if they offer a $10. discount or a $1. 7 day trial, don’t go any further it is probably a scam……Gerry
Yes..this one is pure junk. You could spend a lifetime calling these criminals and their JV partners out. Thank God you spend your spare time on “Eric’s Tips” instead. 🙂
What bugs me is well known JV affiliate marketers who promote a good product but don’t tell their list about the the exit page discounts. My experience is about 95% of them fail to let their list know about the exit page savings. Sometimes I think they are just lazy and don’t even review their “friends” product.
Got a lot of emails on this product, checked out from one, less than five minutes in turned it of, saw it as a scam right away. Probably because I’ve seen so many of them. I’ve always trusted you and am glad my trust is proven to be valid. Just wanted to say thank you for your honesty.