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!
I haven’t managed to build a list at all myself yet, but must be on everyone’s list, because I get hundreds of offers each day. Can’t do jv stuff either, because I have no list! But I know I’ve dumped a tiny bundle of cash on all sorts of offers that have done nothing for me. Your honesty is refreshing. While I’ve not made a dime yet, and can’t get excited about selling stuff I also find on ebay for a song, I’ll persist here, doing research and putting in hours of effort because someday it will pay off. If I live long enough! Thanks, Eric…. For all your help and tips.
Wow, I must have unsubscribed to all the people that promoted this because I did not get one SINGLE email on this “product”.
Great job Eric!
Hi Eric,
thank you a lot for revealing this scam. And in the huge number of comments you see, how important it was! Best when it were possible to end this persons doings …
For me i have a list of “scammy” marketers i will do no more business with. At the top position is Tim Atkinson. He is a promoter, not a marketer. But always promoting crap!
As you saw in this scam, the methods they use are always the same. So best to proof it very fast is to quit an offer and when the downsell is huge, it couldn’t be a reputable offer. Also when there are more than one or two exit splash pages, i go away, not wasting more time.
So you can recognize such scams very fast. And take the provider to your “no go biz”-list ;o)
Again, Eric, thanks for your brilliant review!
Greetings from Germany
Thanks Eric. Whenever I get one like this, I go back to the original message and unsubscribe. If I have bought from them, I go back and turn it in and get my money back. Keep track of the 60 days. ClickSure at least has got that part straight.
Eric,
Excellent post. It really is buyer beware these days.
I commend your courage in going against the flow.
I would recommend that any of your previous JVs who promoted this rather than scorn you actually say “Thank you”. You are attempting to save their reputation, both with their customer and other marketers.
It is very easy these days to just promote the next “big thing” to your list for some extra spondulicks. However if you take your eye off the prize (your customers goals) you’ll soon find that no one is interested in what you have to say and once that happens it is VERY hard to turn them around.
Thanks for taking the time to write this.
Cheers,
Jamus
It’s really sad when integrity like you have is hard to find in our space. Thanks for the heads up. It only makes me NEVER want to unsubscribe to your lists.
I got the barrage of emails as well. I went through the video’s and could see right away it was all fake. I never purchased anything. If someone has to demean their audience to sell something, they shouldn’t be in sales. Maybe janitor would be more fitting. After 30 years of sales experience, and training sales people. I’d not only fire these idiots, but sue them for misrepresenting the company. This type of thing gives Online Marketing a bad name. Really Bad name.
Well spoken Eric. These type of product promotions no longer interest me as I have seen them all over the years.
The problem arises with newcommers to the IM world getting involved with this type of offer and the associated up-sells.
They learn very little from the experience except the feeling of being ripped off and damaged by it all.
It seems the term Guru is thrown around very loosely. What actually defines a guru? Most of these guys no one has ever heard of before.
Oh, and by the way…Thanks Eric for taking the time to post this review.
Eric you are a star. Thank you for being so honest and steering us clear of this rubbish. Honestly, I have lost so much money in the past that I do not buy a single thing without looking for reviews and checking the Warrior Forum first.
Every blessing to you and thank you for standing out and standing up for truth and integrity.
Thanks for the post Eric. I always check the affiliate link on these kind of products, just to see who is promoting it and what they are really throwing at us. I brought a product from Clicksure once before, the product was ok, I was able to learn something from it, however my bank called me and said my card had been compromise, when looking back, Clicksure was the only thing I purchased which kind of had me nervous, especialy about the price flucuation. I’m not saying it was them, but be careful anyway. Thanks again
Awesome! I love your integrity, Eric. Keep up the good work.
By the way Eric, I sent this post to my readers 🙂
Saw this just this morning and had to take a shower after.
And of course the JV invite came from Tim Atkinson whose list I can never seem to get off.
Do these car things still work? Sheesh.
Thanks for buying and saving me the trouble but I was very curious to see the funnel after seeing all the exit page shenanigans.
I’ve gotten that promo and many others like it to my email too many times. Sometimes from very well respected marketers. I have even written back to some if I have been on their list for awhile and asked them if they even knew what they were promoting? If I get this from someone that is not providing me a really good value by being on their list, earns an immediate unsubscribe. This make money cesspool seems to be getting larger and larger and I even get emails from names I do not know sent from an autoresponder but I know I never subscribed to that list. My loose rule is the more exit popups, the crappier the product. Thanks for writing an honest assessment about this crap.
Oh Eric, thanks so much for providing your honest assessment and going out on the proverbial limb to take one for the team with your $9 invest… lol you stuck it out to the bitter end! Very grateful for your integrity and you’ve inspired us all to do the same. Have a blessed day all!
Thank you, Eric.
I have read one similar review of the product (forgot the name – something about the Product Launch).
And also I myself saw a few products like that which use a PYRAMID scheme (like EMPOWER NETWORK). When I see matrix, downlines I am curious: “Why Internet Marketing community accepts MLM and such pyramid schemes” ?
I know math and can prove that each of the pyramid schemes has its end. But before the end you will see millions of people at the bottom struggling to find prospects.
It’s not only about taking money from people – it’s also about wasting of their time. They spend their time for a miracle without any compensation. At the end they lose their money and hopes, become frustrated and angry, don’t see any good in life.
Thank you Eric! Yep, there’s always someone peddling the snake oil and people who want, and need to make money online like myself end up being caught in the scam. I appreciate having found you just over a year ago and it’s refreshing to have someone who operates with integrity and honesty and desires to teach others…thank you my friend!
Jeremy
Really appreciate your work here.I’ve tried to get these emailers to give me a total price (up-sells,cross-sells” or any other “sells” invovled.NO-ONE has replied.”Take a guess on where these emailers credibility is with me right now?”.Well done.
I’ve been gradually growing my online business with success following Eric’s Tips. Way better than results promised by 6 scammy products I bought as a newbie. Yes, I was scammed over and over again. But my life is better now thanks to all the knowledge I’ve gained with Eric’s Tips. Now when I need to buy a product or service, I come back to your site to see if I can buy it with your affiliate link, to thank you for your invaluable help with my online business. GREAT REVIEW !! WE’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE ‘Look how I Make $237,575,48 per month’ ‘products’.
Thanks for the review Eric. It opened my eyes.
Thanks Eric with this info. I got scammed by this scumbag Tim Atkinson before with one of his product called something like ninja commission or something. I forgot How much I’ve paid for the membership but after a month or so the whole website was gone! I’ve tried contacting this man and it was no where to be found. He tried to send me some of his new products through email and as soon as I saw his name I unsubscribe him. I’m new to all this internet marketing stuff but I want to know How do I get a join venture and help me promote?
Thanks for the review Eric. It is so easy for beginners to get sucked into something like this because they don’t have the experience or knowedge to see it for what it is. We’ve all been there I would imagine. There are genuine people out there who will offer good advice yo just have to find them. You are obviously one of them.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this scam Eric. It is sad that there are enough people to actually get drawn into their charade each time they do a redesign of these launches to support their illusions.
Every year about this time there is a new avalanche of these. Nothing can replace doing things according to proper design and applied principles that are proven to work.
Solomon said it very clearly in the book of Proverbs.
Thank you for taking a stand.
Evan Jensen
Thanks for this information.
Hi Eric!
Thanks for the review.
Whenever you see the rich and famous lifestyle (girls, money, boats, beaches, luxury autos, mansions, large paychecks, et cetera) being featured, alarm bells should ring.
It does not even make sense that you can make money without effort and time. Yes, you can work smarter but you still have to work. The rich people I know all work hard.
I prefer to be told specifically what I will be getting for my money; if something is total hype, it turns me off.
I believe FTC regulations apply to all those marketing to the United States. Those who think they are beyond FTC reach could be in for a surprise.
A HEADS UP: While I was visiting the Free Commissions website, I exited my browser several times. Every time I started my browser up again, it would open your website and the Free Commissions website. My web browser start page settings remained unchanged.
SOLUTION: I deleted my recent browser history and now my browser opens properly (to my start page only).
Regards,
Stephen 🙂
As soon as I got this email a week ago and viewed the sales page I knew it was a scam. Slick actors, cars, houses, boats, beaches. I love the time elapsed Clickbank screen shots that grow by the 1000’s every minutes (however the clickbank current time never changes, lol). The bad thing is that they prey on the internet novices in hopes they buy it all and aren’t educated enough to know how to get a refund.
Thank you for being brave enough to be honest.
Thank you for sharing. It is very important.
I find you brave and honest man.
Thank you! I was close to purchasing this product, just 2 days ago. But, something in my “GUT”, kept me from doing it. And I will blast Adrian Morrison…I received the e-mail from him, to check out this product. I really like the Morrison brothers (Anthony & Adrian), felt they were honest guys. I will contact Anthony Morrison regarding this matter…
Yep! Just got the email too!
COMMISSION CASE CODE…Blake, another SCAM
Hi Eric. Great review. If that couple you and the other person were talking about is the same one I dealt with, they dont believe in what they print on their site. As do others, it’s printed that the no questions ask refund is guaranteed to be returned upon request. It is like pulling teeth. I bought, I tried it, didnt make money so I asked for a refund. Beware to everyone. They always try to keep you hooked by saying things like, “You didnt follow the instructions and training vids”. It took me 2 months to get my refund. They wouldn’t respond after awhile. So I threatened a class action suit on the payment processor. They refunded within 48 hours. Hmm. It’s ashame that these people can’t live up to their words. Or, do they even read their own site? Who knows.
I have been following Eric for more than 3 years and i have never once ignored his review because he is one in a million of online players who sincerely want to help others to succeed. Thanks for the expose!
I recognize a lot of those names on the “Heavy Hitters” list. I have un subscribed from some of those guys lists a long time ago. I personally think most of them are dirt bags.
Thank you very much Eric,
I have been caught up in many of these scams in the past and have learned over the years how to spot most scams but even with years of experience some still trick me into purchasing.
I have been in internet marketing basically since the beginning of internet marketing, but I have always been in the end of marketing where I do the marketing for companies. I have built some great clients over the years, many large companies. It is very important to get the right advice and tools when working for companies like this.
I have always loved your tips and really like the fact that you are always honest.
I am currently starting to work on building my first list and getting ready for my first product launch. I am going to try to follow your lead in my internet marketing endeavor by being honest and only promoting things I have tested and that I would use.
Thank you so much for everything you do for us. You do more for free than most people do for thousands of dollars, which is why if I see something promoted by you and others I will be making the purchase from you.
Have a great day everyone and watch out for the scammers
This is brave Eric, very brave. And thanks for writing it.
I don’t buy into the shiny shite anymore but there are
Millions who do. The good guys will win in the end!
However a 60 / 40 split would be a good result.
I’ve unsubscribed to 3 lists promoting this because of the aggravation trying to exit.
Thanks Eric, I am so sick of those “millionaires”
I am glad you stay firm in the good and fair part of this great business… as incidents like this ones affect the image of all of us
Thanks Eric for taking your time to expose these tugs. I get a bunch of them every now and then. They waste my time for deleting them.
Thanks again.
Thanks Eric,
You just saved me $350.00
Sure appreciate it.
Eric,
Your views and comments are exceptional in this industry. There are many of these types of scams that are really selling free websites and they get you on the hosting fees and upsells by sucking you in for even $0 after all the downsells.
Thank You very much.
I will tell you a little about empower. They are dishonest from the word go.
They tell you a $25 a mo investment and you are set right?
Wrong! there is also an almost equal monthly payment involved in setting up the payment processor (that they do NOT tell you about until they have your initial $25)
Hope this helps you make an informed decision.
p.s. you are baically made to feel from the very beginning, that you will really be missing out, if you don’t get up to the higher payment levels.
Unfortunately, I have been taken by some less scammy than this from some of the JVs themselves. I am shocked at some of the JVs and am on their lists. If I do not get a retraction as you suggested, I will be off their list and never buy from them again. Thanks for the excellent review, we need more honest people like yourself. Also thanks for the background on CkickSure, that will a red flag in the future for me.
Thanks Eric!
Have you ever thought about making this a niche? I mean the REAL review of these products?
Hey Robdog,
I am interested in the gig you mentioned about $800 in 2 hours. Thanks. You’re right, Eric is the man. thank God for people like him. Take care, good luck and I’ll be looking for your info. Steve
Thanks for the heads up Eric. Sorry to say I`ve gotten sarcastic with any thing I see online, unless I know the person is integrable. We need more people like you!
Thanks for this valuable info. May it help to keep honest iNet marketers honest. -JIMBO
I am almost ashamed to say that I am one of the many people who got caught up in this scam. the number of up-sells is phenomenal.. never again!!Wish I had had the insight provided by you today, before i parted with my cash…
rgds
Ken
I’ve just read the J.V list(Thanks for the link in comments)The saddest thing is that there are Names & Faces that I know on there!I will have issues trusting them again..Point being,If they’re the Professionals how can they associate with this Trash?No point screaming.But next time they e-mail me i’ll un subscibe! Actions speak loader than words!!!Big lesson learnt…Don’t get tied to the same brush.A big thank you to Eric for taking me a little closer to my Goal..P.S. Eric I hope that your family are well.Happy Easter to you all.