Monday, June 30, 2008

Is MLM Becoming A Hassle For Tour Operators?


Seems like Apple Vacations realizes that it's own computer can do a better job selling travel than an RTA. Or maybe they realize that dealing with the untrained is a costly endeavor. IS anyone else earning 5% on phone bookings? Seems kind of strange for a "Golden Apple" agency.

Book through your YTB Booking Engine to maximize your commissions with Apple Vacations! Booking an Apple Vacation via telephone will only earn you 5% commission.
Don't miss out!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Vendors In A Week


One of the commenters last week mentioned that they doubted vendors were looking at this blog. Here is a list of the Networks that logged in in just the last week and I have highlighted some that are interesting. So yes, they are reading.




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































# ----------------------------------------
No Travel MLMs Blog
Network Location
20-Jun-08 27-Jun-08
Network Location Visits
road runner holdco llc 271
comcast cable communications inc. 174
cox communications 81
verizon internet services inc. 78
bellsouth.net inc. 59
penteledata inc. - cable 50
comcast cable communications holdings inc 47
qwest communications corporation 44
comcast cable communications inc 37
charter communications 35
wideopenwest llc 33
pppox pool - rback5 okcyok 30
gte 23
allied telecom group llc 21
embarq corporation 21
mediacom communications corp 21
covad communications co. 19
pppox pool se5.emhril 062507 0310 18
america online inc. 17
at&t internet services 15
pppox pool - rback2.rcfril-1170939961 14
killam associates 13
st michael s college 13
optimum online (cablevision systems) 12
evergreen fire and security 11
comcast cable communications ip services 10
cox communications inc. 10
netscape communications corp. 10
windstream communications inc 10
cellco partnership dba verizon wireless 9
google inc. 9
pppox pool - bras7.sndg02-1184910361 9
purdue university north central 9
rogers cable communications inc. 9
shaw communications inc. 8
america online inc 7
comcast cable communications 7
core business solutions 7
fibernet 7
fidelity investments 7
santa rosa communications ltd 7
sprint pcs 7
earthlink inc. 6
fibernet of wv 6
pppox pool - bras7.sndg02-1185372961 6
alltel - zoneton ky adsl pool 5
insight communications company l.p. 5
tomah hospitality 5
xo communications 5
comcast cable communications holdings inc. 4
pppox pool - bras7.sndg02-1184796961 4
ryan_phillips 4
service provider corporation 4
sonic.net inc. 4
allstream corp. corporation allstream 3
comcast business communications inc. 3
hq global workplaces inc. 3
level 3 communications inc. 3
netnitco c/o northwestern indiana telephone company inc. 3
nixa mo customers 3
nuvox communications inc. 3
performance systems international inc. 3
piasanet 3
pppox pool - rback5.okcyok-1164920161 3
rapid systems 3
rcn corporation 3
savvis 3
the crawford group/enterprise rent a car 3
unknown 3
wideopenwest michigan 3
american airlines inc. 2
antelecom n.v 2
army & air force exchange service 2
ashland internet pop - dynamic dsl pool 2
at&t worldnet services 2
barrett xplore inc 2
broadview networks 2
cable and wireless jamaica 2
centurytel internet holdings inc. 2
easynet ltd 2
fdn.com 2
globus & cosmus 2
gr manufacturing inc. 2
jackson walker llc 2
leboeuf lamb greene and macrae llp 2
national aeronautics and space administration 2
nib (national internet backbone) 2
oneconnect partnership 2
pppox pool - bras1.scrm01 2
pppox pool - bras30.pltn13-1179113462 2
pppox pool - rback5.ksc2mo 082305-1624 2
puerto rico telephone company 2
sovernet inc. 2
sprint 2
stentor national integrated communications network 2
sympatico hse 2
telia network services 2
time warner telecom inc. 2
usa travel authority inc 2
verizon wireless 2
wideopenwest ohio 2
worldspan l.p. 2
ytb international inc 2
(not set) 1
3m company 1
abts (karnataka) 1
accenture 1
adsl section-dynamic pool 1
adsl-go-plus 1
affinity health plan 1
alhambra-grantfork telephone company 1
alliance data systems 1
alltel corporation 1
american communication network (acn.inc) 1
american destinations 1
amnet television 1
amp networks 1
arcor ag 1
armstrong cable services 1
asc inc..292520 1
at&t corp. - its 1
atlantech online inc. 1
att incs 1
ballinteer dhcp assignment 1
bandwidth.com inc. 1
bell sympatico 1
blazenet pvt. ltd 1
boat america 1
bras3.pltnca 1
bras30.pltnca08032006 1
bras44.pltnca03022007-641 1
bras7 pppox pool rcsntx 1
brighthouse networks cfl division 1
broadbandone inc. 1
bt ignite global business 1
cable and wireless turks and caicos 1
cable communications of willsbor 1
cable internet ltd 1
cable one 1
calvin harris-071127134720 1
canaca-com inc. 1
canadian house of commons 1
carnival cruise lines 1
cbeyond communications llc 1
chinanet shanghai province network 1
chittenden bank 1
cingular wireless ii llc 1
cisco systems inc. 1
classic carriers 1
cm inc-061117064901 1
cma cablevision 1
computer sciences corporation 1
cruise line international 1
cypress fairbanks isd 1
data systems of texas-060926064636 1
dell computer corp 1
desktop media acc business 1
dhcp pool1 - dllstxre0aw 1
dhcp pool1 - sndgca140aw 1
dhcp pool1 - sndgca160aw 1
digital agent 1
dod network information center 1
earthlink inc 1
electric lightwave inc 1
expedia.com 1
fl network llc corp 1
flight centre limited travel services brisbane qld australia 1
florida autosport inc 1
flow 1
france telecom 1
fullrate-dk-customers 1
futuramic tool & engineering 1
gci communications inc. 1
georgia institute of technology 1
georgia public library service 1
global crossing 1
globalcom 1
grafton technologies inc. 1
hameltronics llc 1
hansenet telekommunikation gmbh 1
hawaiian telcom services company inc. 1
headquarters usaaisc 1
hilton hotel corporation 1
hosted solutions llc 1
hotels.com lp 1
hutchison global communications 1
i.c.e. gallery 1
ibahn general holdings corporation 1
infowest inc. 1
ip pools 1
ipg 1
joe funk construction-040721083120 1
john glodow c.o 1
johns hopkins university 1
kingwood tx customers 1
kinkos inc. 1
kpmg llp 1
lakedale link 1
lemoore net 1
lpl financial inc 1
lyonnaise communications 1
mci telecommunications 1
mcleodusa incorporated 1
md procurement office 1
megapath networks inc. 1
motion industries inc-061019235519 1
mp esperia public subnet 1
mpower communications corp. 1
mta solutions 1
music and arts 1
navy network information center (nnic) 1
new york city public schools 1
nexxia hse (toronto) 1
northern arizona university 1
norwegian cruise lines 1
ntt america inc. 1
ntt communications corporation 1
orbitz llc/cendant 1
paetec communications inc. 1
payless shoesource 1
pinnatech inc. 1
popp.com inc. 1
pppox adsl - bras1.snantx 1
pppox pool - bras1.chi2ca-1174952162 1
pppox pool - bras10.hstntx-1197942662 1
pppox pool - bras12 rcsntx.588842 1
pppox pool - bras21a.pltnca 1
pppox pool - bras23.lsan03-1193425861 1
pppox pool - bras23.rcsntx-1156982161 1
pppox pool - bras23.rcsntx-1161047462 1
pppox pool - bras4.irvnca-082505.2224 1
pppox pool - bras5.scrmca 090106-1000.1186373 1
pppox pool - rback12 pltnca 1
pppox pool - rback15.sndgca 080305-0226 1
pppox pool - rback2.chi2ca 060605-1520 1
pppox pool - rback3.kntpin 051506-1324 1
pppox pool - rback3.tul2ok 013006 1320 1
pppox pool - rback4.spfdmo 013105-2151.584254 1
pppox pool - rback5 okcyok.360533 1
pppox pool - rback5 wotnoh.584240 1
pppox pool - rback6 okcyok 112805-0919.1038155 1
pppox pool - se1.chmpil-1181799363 1
pppox pool - se1.ipltin-1195137361 1
pppox pool - se13.chcgil-1197961562 1
pppox pool se12.emhril 121007 1106 1
pppox pool se14.chcgil 121007 1006 1
pppox pool se7.chcgil 112607 0213 1
primenet global ltd. 1
private customer - sbc internet services 1
private customer - wave broadband 1
pt. telekomunikasi selular (telkomsel) indonesia 1
raleigh 1
rback12c.scrmca 1
rback21b.irvnca 1
rback24a.irvnca 1
rback25c.irvnca 1
reynolds smith & hills 1
robin thompson & doyle pa 1
rogers telecom holdings inc. 1
rosen plaza 1
sattel technologies inc. 1
sc electronic-side srl 1
sheppard mullin richter& hampton 1
slovak telecom 1
social security administration 1
south bank polytechnic 1
speakeasy network dsl 1
spider_web 1
state of ohio network 1
suddenlink communications 1
t3 communications inc. 1
telefonica deutschland gmbh 1
teleroda s.l. 1
telovations inc. 1
telstra internet 1
telus communications inc. 1
telus corporation 1
temple university 1
texas a&m system health science center 1
the almonte group inc 1
the boeing company 1
the economist 1
the university of melbourne 1
tiscali uk limited 1
tot public company limited bangkok 1
travel insured/ mcgraw communications 1
travelmuse inc-071112194344 1
troy cablevision inc. 1
tt adsl-alcatel dynamic_aci 1
ubiquoss isp 1
uniglobe travel 1
uniserve on line 1
university of california san francisco 1
university of michigan medical center (mcit) 1
upc magyarorszag kft. 1
verizon internet services 1
vicky voll dba trvl-070608191526 1
wild oats markets inc. 1
worldcom/worldspice technologies inc. 1
xanadoo llc 1
xerox palo alto research center 1
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, June 28, 2008

This Week's Top 5





Wanna know what everyone is reading?  Here are the week's top 5 blog posts:



5. It's Official, IATAN Drops YTB

4. The San Francisco Chronicle Gets It

3. More Slimey Recruiting*

2. Did Joystar Jump The Shark?

and the number one blog post of the week........



1. Another "Looser" In YTB 






* It is unusual that a Friday post makes it in the Top-5

Friday, June 27, 2008

Blog Etiquette


Wow, three in one day!



Just a quick note to everyone that is commenting on the website, Just Picture It Now--please stop.



In case you did not notice, the website is no longer a blog. It is a website. If you want to comment on the site, send an email to the owner. If he wanted a blog he woudl have published one, but he does not and is controlling the content, so comments about what you read on that website really have no place here.



However, please feel free to comment on the topic raised by this blog. As always, unedited and uncensored. I think after 8 months, I have proven I can handle the criticism and when I am wrong, I admit I am wrong. No need to turn this into a website!



In case anyone was interested, this is the definition of a blog:






Blog

A blog is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs.

IATA-2 MLM-0


Seems that IATA is sticking to their guns when they pull someones accreditation. First YTB appealed and the IATA Agency Commissioner told them to get packing. Now it seems the Commissioner has told 10 Travel to not let the door hit them in the ass on the way oput as well.

The more and more I hear of IATA taking a stand on defending their brand!

Bravo IATA!

More Slimey Recruiting


We are all feeling the pinch of oil at the pump. It stinks and it looks like we need to live with it for a while anyhow.

Just yesterday, I ran across several blogs touting gas at $1.00 per gallon! What a great deal, but then when you get to the nuts and bolts of it it is nothing more than a slimely recruiting tactic by YTB. Buy into YTB and then deduct your mileage to your kid's soccer game and only pay out $1.00 per gallon. As with all of the tax deductions they are touting, this one too is a huge stretch!

What is more offensive is that more and more people are feeling the pinch of the economy, yet this guy is trying to sell a program that fails the majority and he is preying on what likely is one of their biggest concerns right now. And this is the guy that YTB reveres and calls Mike The Travel Guy. Does not seem like he is selling too much travel in this blog! But a similar message showed up in Regina Osei's Blog where she alludes that by joining YTB you can make the money needed to offset the price of gas. Well, I guess if you drive less than 100 miles a year it might--remember, the people that make money in YTB are very few and far between. But don't let that get in the way of recruiting and scamming someone out of their money.

Right now more than ever the price is gas is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Right now this is what everyone is talking about and what is coming up in more conversations than anything else.

BUT, did you know that as a YTB Home Based Business Owner your gas ‘should’ be only costing you $1 per gallon?

Now before you start thinking that coach is amazing, what oil company did he cut a deal with? - let me say that no matter what home-based business you’re in you can make these gas prices work for you and EXPLODE your business like never before because all gimmicks aside, this is real, your gas only has to cost you $1 per gallon!

Here’s how it works:

1) The IRS provides a .52 cent tax (Just increased to 58.5¢ starting July 1st) write off for every mile you drive that is legitimately related to business.

2) People who do not own a business CANNOT qualify for this tax write off.

3) Everywhere you go, whether its work, church, the kid’s soccer game, or just going to the store can be a legitimate mileage tax write off if you insert business into the equation.

This is EASY to do! It can be done by leaving YTB business cards on peoples windshields, handing people YTB business cards (or Success From Home Magazines), or of course doing a presentation.

Note: You must record your business mileage in case you ever get audited and this is where it typically becomes a sticking point with most people as they do not want to take the time, can’t take the time or forget. If that’s you here’s what you need to do immediately:

Go to www.Xpenser.com (this is a FREE service) and sign up. Now you can simply call a phone number before, during or even after you’ve driven somewhere (that was business related) and leave a voice message such as ... “Soccer game handed out 3 business cards & 14 miles” and hang up.

This FREE service will convert your message to text and log our it in an online mileage log for you.

4) So here’s the $1 per gallon formula (working with round numbers)

- $4.00 Per Gallon

- 20 Miles Per Gallon

- .50 Cents Per Mile IRS Deduction

- 30% Tax Bracket

Those of you with math brains can do the calculation but the basics are a 20 miles per gallon vehicle at $4 per gallon cost .20 cents per mile to drive. .50 cents per mile IRS deduction x 30% tax bracket is .15 cents in real money you pocket at the end of the year and when you deduct .15 cents from .20 cents your at .05 cents per mile or $1 per gallon!

These are real dollars/savings and real cash in your pocket at the end of the year.

_______________________

You might be saying “Wow, this sounds great - I see it and I’m excited that my YTB business is going to help me save $3 per gallon on my fuel cost & I’m going to business wherever I go and log my miles”.

PLEASE whatever you do - don’t miss the bigger picture!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

What Does This Indicate?


Here is the scenario:
  • 135,000 people are affiliated with you selling travel
  • Your only industry affiliation is CLIA
  • Your concentration is on selling cruises, but do sell other packages as well
Here is the question:
  • What percentage of your agents would you expect to be serious enough to further their professionalism and education by becoming an ACC, MCC, or ECC? 50%, 10%, 5%, 1%?
What does it say when only 32 of 135,000 have taken that step?

.02%
I wonder what the percentage of that 135,000 is that are card holders? If I had to guess, upwards of 70%

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The San Francisco Chronicle Gets It


The San Francisco Chronicle published a column on June 19th regarding of all thing...Card Mills! The article was very well balanced, and did not name any names. It also pinpointed that the line between legitimacy and illegitimacy is very blurred.

Among the comments they made:

Card mills, on the other hand, cross the line into scams. Although a card-mill organization nominally acts exactly like a legitimate agency that uses outside reps, it's totally different. What makes it a card mill is that neither the organizations nor the reps actually expect to sell any appreciable amount of travel (except possibly to themselves). Instead, travelers pay the fees and join solely to get one of those outside agent ID cards, which they supposedly can use to obtain free "fam trip" travel packages and huge "travel agent" discounts on air travel, hotel accommodations, cruises and other services for their personal trips.
Imagine that! No one expects to sell any appreciable amount of travel except to themselves. Paying fees to get a card? They continue:

How do you spot a card mill? Typically, card mills act in two ways that legitimate agencies do not:

-- They promise you can travel like a travel agent in their promotions.

-- They use multilevel marketing, which means they ask reps not just to sell travel but also to sell others on becoming reps. Or, in plain terms, they're pyramid schemes. The more notorious card mills make virtually all their profits through selling memberships rather than travel.

Promise that you can travel like a pro? Come on! Who would do that? They ask reps to recruit as well? Come on this is just ridiculous! A Pyramid scheme? And the "notorious" ones actually make more money selling memberships than travel? Simply unbelievable.

Well, like the LA Times, apparently the San Francisco Chronicle understands that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Travel Weekly Power List


Well, the comments have been bursting at the seams about YTB moving up the ranks in the Travel Weekly Power List. Congratulations to YTB. It is certainly not a surprise with all the recruiting they did last year. The number was even reported back in April when they released their 10K to the SEC.

I am not going to dive into the report until I can get some explanation on a few key points. To do so would be futile (as it was last year) when in the end game, nothing was proven on either side other than everyone had a different opinion about what the numbers signified. Without hard numbers, people can "legitimize", "glean" and "amass" all they like. And it is my understanding that YTB was (for the dates this report included) unable to produce a true sales report because they did not have the software.

  • $414M--this was reported as a note in the 10K and from what I was told by Doug Baughknight, YTB had no method to trackk travel sales unitl March 2008 when they installed a SAP program. If so, I imagine the $414 is anothe number "gleaned" and I also suspect that it was included as a note (and not in the actual financials) for this reason. Is the number in the ballpark? Probably, but is it exact? Doubtful.
  • $211M--Last year there was a question of this number. This year, they have clarified this somewhat by saying that this number reflects the sales made by the RTAs. Well, since RTAs are the only ones selling travel, how much did they sell? Was it $414M or $211M. There is a big difference.
  • $29.7M--ARC Sales. More on this later.
  • 85% Corporate Sales--this has to be a mistake. Since when has YTB been a player in the Corporate travel market? And if true, why is the ARC number so low. ARC (airline) sales account for the vast majority of "corporate" sales. So, if YTB is 85% corporate that is $351M in corporate sales and the ARC sales should have been in the $250M range.
  • 10% Leisure Sales--this is their market, and if this is true, the RTAs likely woudl have been responsible for $14.4 M or $21.1M in sales.
Maybe someone is confused on the terminology. Maybe there was a mistake? But for now, those are the 5 areas where I have questions. Maybe someone can answer here, or I can wait till I hear back on the query.

This year, Travel Weekly took it a step further and required an executive with each company to "certify" the numbers. I am not so sure what that mean or what the ramifications are if they are not "certified" accurrately; but that is up to Travel Weekly!

A 30-30 Check Up!


A while back, a remarkable program was announced that promised millions in bonuses. This program was open to new reps as well as old ones.

Well, fast forward 3 months 20% of the way through the program and we have our first winner! Apparently 1 person our of 303,961+ eligible reps made the grade.

So it took 3 months to find 1 person that could recruit on pace to make the first level of incentive. It appears that no one has earned the incentive for the Level 1 Director in 3 Months incentive.

Does this indicate that the program may not be workable? Could this indicate that the program (and this particular incentive) is designed to fail?

It is funny, that the winner of the lowest (and only) tier is a 10 year veteran of MLM schemes programs. Expressed as a percentage, this one qualifying rep represents:

.0003%
Wow, and yes, that is a decimal point prior to those two zeros. And interestingly enough, this percentage is right in line with the number of people who stand a chance to make some money in MLM--well at least according to a report issued at the end of 2007.

Stay tuned for the next opportunity to guarantee you millions! For every 100,000 people you individually recruit, you will earn a $10 Million Dollar Bonus*


*Paid in stock, and valued at a price determined by by some other entity than the fair market!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Did Joystar Jump The Shark?


Well, all of a sudden it seems like Joystar may have "jumped the shark" and is pursuing a quasi-MLM model. While many do not believe Joystar to be a Card Mill (and I am one of them), I have to question the direction when they are publicly gunning for YTB , World Ventures and Traverus.



The pitch is the same...Joystar is bringing three trends together--Internet, Travel and Social Networking. Sound familiar? Already the Craigslist ads are appearing. This one was entitled Travel At Huge Discounts (Lakeland)

At least read the due dilligence part below.

Multi Level Marketing Opportunity - this is the first time I have ever bought in to an MLM but this one I did. I will help you build your downline.

I know someone who made $5000 in only three weeks of joining this company... It is so achievable! Only $99.95 and you are in your own travel biz. This is a heads up regarding the next BILLION DOLLAR company in the travel industry called TRAVELSTAR. (publicly traded company --symbol TVLS. OB). Their concept is bringing 3 OF THE BIGGEST TRENDS TOGETHER......INTERNET, TRAVEL, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING!!!


This opportunity is offered to us for a low cost of only $99.95 a year! We
spend that on dinner and a movie!
There is a special FOUNDER'S promotion... If you personally sponsor ten by May 31st you go to Las Vegas FREE!!!

Due Diligence Checklist:
1. Call our 3 minute toll-free overview at 1-866-927-8509
2. Google the leadership of the company BILL ALVERSON and read up on his credentials.

3. Check out the opportunity at www. travelstar. biz/anewday
Check out the FREE social networking site at: www. travelstar. com Check out the Press Release on Yahoo regarding TravelStar and social networking at: http://biz. yahoo. com/iw/080227/0367695. html Check out the sister travel site at www. joystar. com Read press release on Travelstar on Yahoo Finance regarding Carnival Cruise Lines http://biz. yahoo. com/iw/080205/0357422. html
4. Listen to a LIVE conference call at 4 & 10 EST at 1-866-674-1267 pin 6062#

HIGHLIGHTS:


The parent company of TravelStar is a 5-year old publicly traded company Three fastest growing trends.....internet, travel, and social networking Company has DEEP pockets with MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in a pre-launch budget!!!

Get in early and be a FOUNDER during the pre-pre-launch.....Timing is everything!!!

Owners made several Millionaires with previous travel MLM company before internet went mainstream Pay plan for networkers is unlimited $100k/+ month!!!


Get in NOW and EARN HUGE FOUNDER BONUSES!!!


Earn company stock!


TO ENROLL, GO TO www. travelstar. biz/dockery OR IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, CALL Brian at 863-255-3283 OR EMAIL AT bdockery@tampabay.rr.com.

SPECIAL PROMOTION ENDING ON MAY 31ST----PERSONALLY ENROLL 10 MEMBERS AND YOU WILL GO TO LAS VEGAS ON THE COMPANY! JUNE 13TH AND 14TH, AIRFARE AND TWO NIGHTS AT CAESAR'S PALACE THIS IS HUGE!!!

WE ARE BUILDING A STRAIGHTLINE POWERLEG........ONE PERSON AFTER THE OTHER......POSITIONS ARE FILLING UP FAST SO DON'T DELAY......CALL ME AND LET'S GET YOUR BUSINESS POSITION LOCKED UP TODAY!!! $99.95!!!!!


If you do not wish to receive future emails please reply with REMOVE in the subject line. Thanks
Wow---downlines, publicly traded and an admitted MLM program.

But apparently, Bill Alverson does not command the same loyalty as Coach does...here is Daryn in another video, but this time it is Cruise To Cash.



NOTE: This blog likes publicly traded companies!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

This Week's Top 5



Wanna know what everyone is reading? Here are the week's top 5 blog posts:

5. MLMs Scurry To Rhode Island
4. What Would You Say If...
3. Rumor Central
2. Coach Is One Scary Dude
and the number one blog post of the week........

1. Is This An Exaggeration?

Friday, June 20, 2008

Another "Looser" In YTB


About a month ago, I was in the local Wawa (7-11 ish store) and picked up a RTA card off the community bulletin board. In the interest of getting a different point of view (face it, the YTB points of view are getting old on here) on YTB. I sent him an email asking a few questions about the business. It was not confrontational at all. Just curious. I explained that I may be doing a freelance column but was not sure of the assignment yet.

Here is his response:

Hmmm, i wouldnt mind answering those questions. However its hard to trust that i would remain anonymous do to the fact that im not sure if i can leagaly tell you my opinion . I dont represent the company as a whole so im not sure how valuble my opinion will be. I may , in the future , answer the other questions in further detail ,however, i can tell you this. I feel that it is a great company IF people have time to put energy into it. Since i have been buisy with work, i have not had time to do so and from that you can guess the conclusion. I would recommend anyone who is willing to put effort into ytb to join. I dont feel that it can be profitable any other way, as with other multi leve marketing companies. Bottom line, you get what you give. there are those that think it is a scam but it is not. peace, Aaron p.s. And yes i would love to see the article, that would be cool. I also like to write :) though my grammar is very poor :(
Fair enough. I followed it up with some additional questions and assured him that he could remain as a "first name" or a "no name". Here was the response:
hey, i quit ytb this week, i thought i would let you know.

Wow, in under a week! Well, I followed up and asked why. I specifically asked if it was due to his lack of available time to put into the business. Here was his response:
yes, me and my mother joined. we were just under the impression that it wouldnt be as hard as it was, and also, our team power leader said she would give us some of the people she got to join, she never did. All in all, i wish i was more informed about what kind of work it takes to get the ball rolling , instead, i was given the illusion that anyone could become successfull with YTB. The truth is that its not for everyone. Im upset that together, my mother and I spent about two thousand dollars on the company , and i think i recieved a check for 9.00 . Thats not a very good investment. it makes me upset every time i think about it. sincerely, Aaron

Now, in a time of about two weeks, YTB went from a company that he would recommend to "anyone" to a company that "makes him upset" every time he thinks about it.

Wow. He knew you needed to work the company to make it work. He gave it two years (is this sounding familiar Rodney?) and after $2000 he received $9. While I am sure he could have put more effort into it, he does state that his PTL offered to help him but never did. He says he was given the "illusion" anyone could be successful...is this sounding at all like a theme on this blog?

Here is a guy that knew he had to work it to make it work. Here is a guy that had faith in YTB and the promise of success. Here is a guy who spent $2000 to chase that dream. Here is a guy that received $9 for his efforts.

I am sure his story is repeated tens of thousands of times over in the RTA community. Putting good money after bad into a flawed program that will only benefit those on top of the pyramid and the owners.

So go ahead Doug, Ole, Mix, Proud, Anon and all the pro-YTBers...get it over with and trash this "looser".

Thursday, June 19, 2008

More Craigslist Postings


Join YTB for $97.00 - I'll Help You Get Started (Miami) Reply to: serv-710754575@craigslist.org Date: 2008-06-07, 12:16AM EDT YTB is an excellent company with an incrdible compensation plan. If the $500 to get started is difficult or impossible to you, I can help you to get started with only $97. You will be able to start your YTB business because we will pay the $500 fee plus 2 months of the $49 monthly YTB fee. Call me at 305-477-7600 x300 or email me your phone number for more information. Please call me only if you are serious. No games or gimmicks! 30 day money back guarantedd on your fee of $97 to get started. Call me today! * Location: Miami * it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests PostingID: 710754575

I thought paying people to join was a no no. No?

CALLING YTB FOLKS! Reply to: sale-681274095@craigslist.org Date: 2008-05-14, 9:58PM PDT We are moving on Sat. Have a small box of new magazines for FREE that was my last MLM so hate to throw them out, come pick up! Judy 702-982-1844 * it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests PostingID: 681274095

What does Judy mean that this was her "last" MLM. Last as in "final" or last as in "most recent"? And why on earth would someone want to give away a box of YTB magazines for free? I mean aren't those magazines the guarantee of $6000?

And the most ridiculous post found on Craigslist was posted as HTML so I cannot copy it easily and it links to the YTB booking site, but the claims of this one for the discontinued 2 Fly Free promotion include:

  • This is ideal for groups, individuals, entertainment flights or business flights
  • As an added promotion you can re-use the same ticket to fly to any of the destinations mentioned
If you want to touch base on this great opportunity, here is the booking site for this RTA that apparently did not get the memo!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Rumor Central


I was looking over my Analytics Report from last week last night and one statistic really jumped out at me. Not the traffic--that has remained consistent. Not the time spent on the site reading various posts. Not even the popular posts. What stood out was one of the most popular search terms for the week. These are terms people put into Google or Yahoo to find this blog. I am used to seeing words like these:

  • YTB
  • scam
  • Traverus
  • IATA
  • Rhode Island
  • Carniival
  • Royal Caribbean
  • Card Mill
  • MLM
  • Seligman
  • Lindauer
  • etc.

After all, these were topics I have posted about in the past. However, this one caught me off guard since the name of this company was only mentioned as an alternative to the Olympic packages and only in the comments.

Here is the search phrase:

"globus shuts down ytb" sent 47 total visits

So, over the course of 7 days (June 8-14) 47 people stumbled on our site looking for this information. Was there a memo?




Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What Would You Say If.....


Here is a real earning snapshot for a go getter in YTB**. A real person an actual RTA/Rep with YTB that has the whole recruiting site and the booking site to boot. These figures were made public by YTB. I have actually conversed with this Rep and he believes in the program and works it to the max. In nearly three years, he has somewhere between 66 and 72 members of his Power Team (a somewhat smaller number than he would lead you to typically believe) and earns some override commissions on their sales and recruiting efforts. In addition, he earns more commissions on his personal sales and those that are referred to his site.

Where the money comes from in YTB is in the bonuses. And this post will examine those. He has earned $11,000 in bonuses over the past 30 months or about $350 a month. He has not earned a bonus in the last 7 months, but feels that the program is still great and claims that it is continuing to grow! And strangely enough, he keeps pouring more good money after bad into it!

He has plateaued in the system and is a permanent fixture on the Coach's Couch. Obviously entering this pyramid in December 2005 was just a little too late to make any money. But still better than anyone he or his Power Team may have recruited. As it turns out, he may not have been at the right place at the right time.

Reps earn $1000 bonuses for every 6 people that join their team. All you need to do is use those that you recruit (and those that those recruit etc) to build your team 6 at a time. It is sort of like compounding interest only with this program, you don't really make any money. The theory is that you recruit 3 and each of them recruits 1, and you have your Power Team. It makes sense that the more people you have the easier the recruiting. If I have 12 on my team and they each recruit 1, I made two bonuses. It's a lot easier than recruiting 12 on my own. Again, sounds good on the surface; but reality is far different. How is it that 66 people cannot find 6 in more than 7 months?

Here is a listing of $1000 bonuses and what they signify:

  1. April 7, 2006 (took 4 months to talk 6 people into the program)
  2. April 28, 2008 (took a few more weeks for him and any of the underlings to talks six more into it. Two bonuses in one month!)
  3. November 17, 2006 (took about 7 months for 12 people to find 6 more)
  4. December 1, 2006 (took two weeks for 18 to find 6)
  5. December 21, 2006 (took two weeks for 24 to find 6, this was a very good month)
  6. January 19, 2007 (took 4 weeks for 30 to find 6)
  7. February 23, 2007 (took 4 weeks for 36 to find 6)
  8. March 30, 2007 (took 5 weeks for 42 to find 6)
  9. April 27, 2007 (took 4 weeks for 48 to find 6)
  10. June 29, 2007 (took 8 weeks for 54 to find 6)
  11. November 16, 2007 (took 20 weeks for 60 to find 6)
Now those 66 have been looking for 6 more people for 28 weeks! Yet this Rep still claims the program is growing. We have proven time and time again

So, what is it about this company that leads a seemingly intelligent man to continue on this path of blind devotion?

*I could tell you the name of this RTA/Rep but that would be indiscreet!

**(Added after original post) It should be noted that this individual is one of the top 1,100 earners in YTB (from a field of 305,055 Reps) which represents the top .4% (point 4) percent of all earners in YTB.