Don't pay for that manual 'til you've read this
Today's Adventure in the Biz opp Jungle:
'In which Charlie has so much stuff to get
through he needs this BONUS issue to cram it
all in. In this email: How to get your money
back, a Pyramid scheme to avoid, and some
info on Chris Munce'.
Hi,
Welcome to the bonus issue.
I say bonus.... but thinking about it... this is a weird
thing to say, considering my email service is, and
always has been, free.
It's like giving someone a bag of satsumas for
nothing. And then handing them another satsuma,
tapping your nose, and whispering:
"That's a little bonus for you."
"But why didn't you just put that satsuma in the
bag with the others?"
"Because it's a bonus."
"Oh."
Anyway, ANOUGH ABOUT SATSUMAS!
Onto the business of today...
Watch out for this pyramid scheme
First up, here's something you need to stay away
from in the run up to Christmas... no matter how
tempting and "easy" it appears to me.
Last week a reader asked me about a website
called "letgoodthingshappen".
The headline asks:
"Do you realise that there are people all over
the World who work away quietly from home
and never have to worry about money or
whether they can make ends meet this
month?"
Well, yes.... yes I do!
Unfortunately, this website won't help you join
them. Because this has nothing to do with starting
a genuine home business.
It asks you to join for a fee. After this simple act
you'll start receiving money... as if by magic.
Nothing else is involved. No work. No ideas. No
product. No buying or selling.
This means, of course, that it's a pyramid scheme.
The trick is so simple, it's almost irresistible. You
send money up the chain. The people at the top
get richer. And the idea is that at some point loads
of people will then send money to YOU. And then
YOU get richer.
That's the idea anyway.
It might work, perhaps. That is, if you're early
enough and lucky enough to get in near the top.
But by the time the likes of you and I see these
American-based pyramid offers, there's absolutely
NO CHANCE we're in any privileged position.
The only way to make money from an illegal,
unethical pyramid scheme... is to start one
yourself.
(Not recommended, by the way!)
Next up, a piece of feedback regarding refunds...
Bought something through Paypal?
Then read on
A reader emailed me to say:
"On Nov 12th you referred to Paypal refunds and
asked for any readers` experiences. I don`t know
if you regard Clickbank as being in the same
bracket but I have just received a refund from
them, very promptly and on grounds which I
thought might well be be insufficient."
That's good news indeed. And the reason for this
prompt refund is that Clickbank are strong on
money back guarantees, even if one isn't stated in
the sales copy.
My readers continues:
"Looking back, I see that in July 2007 I had
another, from Paypal@clickbank, followed by
another in April of this year, followed by another in
July and another in October. In each case it was
simply that the glowing promises in the sales e-
mails were nowhere near borne out in practice
and although it was Clickbank who refunded, the
initial approach by me was made to Paypal."
In my experience, when you buy through
Clickbank using Paypal, you can get a refund no
problem.
But if you use Paypal to buy ? for example ? a
manual from an unknown American publisher,
that's where you are on shaky ground.
In non-clickbank cases, many of my readers have
struggled to get refunds from Paypal.
So how can you stay safe?
My best advice is to buy products made by well-
known UK publishers who are accountable, with
phone numbers and addresses. Agora, FSP,
Canonbury, Oxfordshire Press, ADK Publishing,
Streetwise... these are all established companies
you can trust to offer proper refunds.
For anything outside of these, choose companies
you've dealt with successfully before ? or if it's a
weird one you've never heard of, check whether
it's been recommended by me or any other
reviewers that you trust.
Okay, now onto a name that makes people
scratch their heads...
Who is Chris Munce?
A few readers have asked if I've any feedback on
Chris Munce. This is a tipster who claims to have
had fantastic write-ups in the tabloids for his
betting antics.
Well, I couldn't track down any mention of him in
the online versions of the papers.
Mind you, he's a tricky character to investigate on
the internet. The reason being that there's a very
famous jockey called Chris Munch. And he's been
splashed over the papers many times over in
recent months.
Why?
Well, last month Munce was released from a
Sydney prison after serving a 20-month jail term
for leaking "tips for bets" to a punter in order to
make extra cash on the side. Leaking info to
punters?
Tut tut.
But this ISN'T the same Munce.
This particular brand of Munce offers a betting
service. Sign up, he sends you a package,
including an 0905 number you call to get your tips.
These are based on a point system of 1-6 points.
Munce advises betting £50 per point.
So is it profitable?
While I couldn't get much information online... or
from any of my mates or contacts... I did find a
couple of biz opp websites who've heard of
Munce.
The good folks at Business Opportunity Review
UK signed up and tracked the performance.
According to their testers, the service is all above
board. You get email and phone contact and the
tips come as promised.
At the end of the run they weren't in profit.
This isn't necessarily an indictment of the service,
as even the best tipping systems can have bad
runs.
As Santa says:
"Ho ho ho, past performance is no guarantee of
the future, and never bet more than you can afford
to lose. MERRY CHRISTMAS. Ho ho ho."
Actually, Santa doesn't say that. Not unless he's
working for the Financial Services Authority these
days.
But I thought it would bring today's email to a
festive close.
For more information on recommended biz opps ?
and those to run screaming from ? please check
out the website:
www.bizoppjungle.com
Later alligator
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle
www.bizoppjungle.com