See, THIS Is What I Am Talking About

In the comments from a post a few days ago, I was discussing how the bulk of the Reps with YTB will simply exaggerate or outright lie to get the sale.

For being such an "ethical" and "Christian" company one might think that stuff does not happen. But it does. Even our own Firemedic is lying again. Remember he spoke with forked tongue a while back after he claimed to never "diss" the competition and then created a blog for that sole purpose?

Well, a few days ago, he was on here lying about ditching YTB for Traverus. He even took his blog down and changed the title to "Traverus Rocks". Well, not many people believed him, but just to give the benefit of the doubt, I did some checking and as suspected, he is a liar. I know how some bloggers like to see documentation for claims, so I offer the following:

From:
Date: Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Subject: Status Change on Your Trouble Ticket, ID: 36855
To: xxxxxxxx@gmail.com



Trouble Ticket ID: 3X8XX
Description: New TraVerus Member

-------------------------------------------------------

Please be advised that the status on your trouble ticket
has been changed from Submitted to Closed
with the following comment:
-------------------------------------------------------
Comment: XXXXX,

I am not showing a Conrad that has signed up recently at all in the system.

thank you,
Ginger

To reply to this comment directly, please click on the link below:

http://www.exdesk.com/TraVerusTravel/index.cfm?addcomment=yes
-------------------------------------------------------
Status changed by: Ginger Johnson
-------------------------------------------------------

Regards,
noreply@traverus.com
---

Thank you!

TraVerus Support Team

Now come on, what would Coach say? What happened to the old "if it ain't right don;t say it" line he loves to use? Firemedic, this is no way to get a chance to sit on his lap like Doug does. This will never get you invited to the mansion owned by John Simmons. All this does is move you up one more notch in your quest to be the valedictorian of the Dumbasses Den!

Traverus Takes Some Heat

Travel Agent magazine is dishing some dirt on Traverus and rightfully questions if they have all the accreditations as they claim or are just piggybacking on someone else's numbers. (I am not taking odds on that bet)

For travel professionals, TraVerus’ offer can be quickly identified as a multilevel network-marketing scheme offering rewards for building the network’s membership as well as for travel sales. But to the unwary consumer the offer appears a legitimate business opportunity - and in an economic downturn a possible source of added income. Its doubtful that the average consumer is aware of the bankruptcy of Joystar or the allegations against YTB by the attorney generals of California and Illinois.

And when Travel Agent tried to contact them:

The presidents phone number is a pre-recorded message.

No Need For The Sunday Comics

YTB revealed all sorts of information to their TSOs on their weekly one sided conference call.

1. Effective March 1, 2009, there will be an RTA Stock Option Program (OMG--you mean an opportunity to earn the valuable YTBLA? I wonder what needs to be done to earn the options and exercise them? Guess we will need to wait till the SEC filing to know.)
2. Coach advised everyone that YTB is an anomaly in the travel business. No one can understand how they get 20,000 people to pay to go to their convention when the traditional travel agents pay for their members to attend. (Dammit, my copy of this announcement must have got hung up in my spam folder.)
3. Every meeting the travel industry starts with the words "YTB". (Coach needs to go to a real travel meeting)
4. At these meetings, the main topic of discussion is how YTB was able to put that many brick and mortar agencies out of business.(Good question fantasy. But Scott says they are not competing with brick and mortar. Hmm.)
5. All of the travel companies are laying off people left and right. YTB is going after these people to bring them into our company.(Well, there have been some layoffs, but usually they are the dead wood in an organization--good growth plan there Coach...hire more deadwood.)
6. By 2020, YTB will "own" the travel industry. (Seems like he just pushed a goal back by a decade. How is that "billion in travel sold in 2008" coming along?)
7. YTB had the most successful Red Carpet Day last week with almost a thousand people there. (But later he said that 600 of them were Directors and Coach's Corner Members, so how many potential recruits were actually there? Ask Kim. No wait that will never work, he doesn't know how many RTAs he has.)
8. In 2020, YTB will "own" the distribution system on the Internet. (I imagine it was all he could do to stop from breaking out in him Dr. Evil voice).
9. At the Directors and Coach's Corner meeting they planned to break out in 20 groups of 20 (see the theme here..2020) but because they had so many it was 20 groups of 30 to discuss how these people want to see YTB become the owner of the distribution system in 2020. (Well, first of all, invite the right number of people and learn how to do math. But why are you asking these people? The only thing they know how to do is recruit and point to the website. Some may know how to install stereos as well.)
   
10. YTB's cash position has never been better. We have millions.(We will need to wait and see on that one; but I hope it is at least $125 million.)
11. YTB is growing so fast right now that in the future, YTB will be studied at Harvard Law School. (Oops, now that's a Freudian slip if I ever heard one. And he is probably right.)
12. YTB does not sell travel, cars, and flowers. YTB sells hope and opportunity. The hope for a better day and the opportunity that a business will be there for them, YTB has that. (Till Jerry is done with them. And what about the meat, the clothing, and all the other stuff you sell?)
13. You HAVE to have 7 to 10 friends or relatives that NEED what YTB offers and you need to get recruiting like crazy. (There he goes again, recruit alienate all your friends and relatives so Coach can get his money.)
14. Coach wants to help everyone on the call be one of the 10,000 millionaires he will create but he cannot do it without each of you recruiting 7-10 people that need hope and opportunity. (Let's see, 10,000 people times 7 to 10 people, each at $500 and $50 a month..oops that is not nearly enough to make 10,000 millionaires, but that's OK, math is not the RTA's strong point, they will never figure it out.)
15. YTB can do more for the economy than Barack Obama's Economic Stimulus Bill. (No argument from me there. Most people will not see $104 from the bill; but they do stand a chance to earn that in YTB if they work hard and become one of the top earners. Oh and make sure your payments of $1100 are on time.)
16. When you run across someone that says they cannot afford YTB, how do you think that makes them feel? In this economy, it is the perfect time to join YTB--they need hope and opportunity and you can give it to them. (Coach, here's an idea, why not include a large jar of Vaseline when people sign up to recruit for you. It will make it that much less painful and you can find it in Aisle 19. And, you probably can earn a decent commission on that from your HUGE Aisle 19 downline.)
17. People are looking for hope, opportunity, trust, and something to believe in. YTB is it. (Somehow I think many will disagree with you--Ted Lindauer, Jerry Brown, the BBB, and the members of the Class Action.)
18. YTB's finances are built so solidly for the long run that it will be here for you, your kids, and your kids' kids. (Wow, with that many people involved, just how do you do that on $600K in cash according to your last SEC filing?)
    

What was amusing about this call, is that Coach kept referring to himself in the third person. Coach said this and Coach did that. Kind of interesting. I know that some folks will say I am exaggerating the contents of this call. But I encourage everyone to take a listen at one time. They are all essentially the same. Every Saturday at 12 noon Eastern you can call 641-594-7505 and then when prompted, enter 601340# to be connected. They are only a half hour and typically have a bunch of commercials as well, but these calls are almost as amusing as the Sunday comics.

I had an interesting email exchange from a current TSO after the call. He had a very good question. Instead of making 10,000 millionaires; why not make it the goal to make ALL of the people financially self sufficient? Wow, now there is a concept that will never cross their mind! 10,000 millionaires out of their potential base of 305,000 is only 3%. Well, that seems about right. BINGO--YTB only cares about the top 3% of their participants!

And yes, it appears that Doug is still so close to being a Director he can taste it! Personally I think it might be a bad batch of Kool Aid in Aisle 19 that is leaving an aftertaste! But hey, it's only been four years!

It's All In The Crowd You Hang Out With

Well, the image above is looking for criminals, and it seems we have found a doozie in Wood River!

Glenn and Starla Green were awarded the President's Award at the August 2008 YTB Convention in St. Louis. They are Level 2 Directors with YTB and Kim Sorensen, the apparent good judge of character that he is, awarded them the prestigous President's Award.

Fast forward to this week, YTB is promoting and encouraging attendance at the Millionaires Mindset Conference on February 21st in Dallas. If you want more details on this conference, you can visit their site, Millionaire Mindset Conference.

On the surface, this appears to be just another scheme organized by fellow Directors Dave and Marlis Funk to grab $10 a piece from unsuspecting RTAs. (Or maybe it is to pay for the fuel in their rolling YTBmobile.) I am not sure of the intent, but one thing is for sure with YTB. If you scratch the surface a little bit, you will always find the dirt.

Well, it seems that Glenn Green has plenty of it. Back in December of 2006, the Houston Press News did an expose on this Millionaire Mindset Conference. Glenn Green does not come into play until the bottom of page 4 when he threatens the reporter several times. One of the threats was to not investigate him. Well, as any good reporter would do, he investigated. And here's what he found:

Except the ten-year sentence for theft in 1990, according to Harris County Court records. Green was released after one year. According to an affidavit by a Texas Department of Public Safety officer, the theft worked like this: Green gave an accomplice an American Express card in Green's ex-wife's name. The accomplice charged multiple purchases of $49.99 at a Chevron station, when "in fact, no merchandise had been bought." The accomplice then gave the cash to Green. During April and May 1990, the charges exceeded $20,000.

At the time Green was popped for that crime, he was on probation for forgery for two earlier charges out of Brazos County, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons. He was sentenced to ten years for those, which he served concurrently with the Harris County sentencing.

Also falling short of the Glenn Green Investigative Worthiness Standard was the ten years deferred adjudication in 1993 for fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle. According to the investigating officer's notes, part of the case record in Harris County Court, Green bought and sold over a dozen cars, promising to pay off the leases, when he had no authorization from the lenders.

All but one of the 20 associated charges were dropped. He was also ordered to pay $31,233 in restitution

Harris County court records also show that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo sued Green and his wife, Starla, in 2002. The suit was for nonpayment of $107,000 Glenn and Starla bid on a champion steer and a grand champion barrow pig named Cowboy in the 1999 Rodeo auction.

"I know that the money spent here goes for a great cause," Green is quoted as saying in the Rodeo's press release.

Then Starla chimes in about the 17-year-old Brownfield Future Farmer of America who spent four hours a day after school tending to Cowboy: "[He's] very deserving. We were prepared to do what it took."

Everything, that is, except actually pay what they bid. A Harris County judge ordered the Greens to pay the full amount, plus legal fees.

Rodeo Vice President Leroy Shafer says the Greens never paid the money -- the largest debt of any one entity in the show's history. He says it was the first time in the Rodeo's history that a grand champion was involved in a bad purchase, and the first bad purchase of two champions in one year. (The highest bidder's money goes to whoever shows the animal, any charities the bidder earmarked money for, and the Rodeo's scholarship fund. Shafer says the Rodeo was able to pay the $25,000 promised to Cowboy's exhibitor, as well as the approximately $1,000 Green had earmarked for the Houston Women's Shelter.)

Green now works for a multilevel-marketing travel package company called Your Travel Biz.

Wow, Coach and Kim really take that Yale to Jail thing seriously. Penn State to State Penn. First there was Chris Paraldi, then Phil Piccolo and now this. This man has it all. I mean what more could YTB want in a Director. Someone whom they promote and encourage others to emulate. I wonder if all of the non-profit associations YTB is supposedly managing are aware that one of their directors stiffed a non-profit for over $100,000? Maybe in the interest of being transparent, they will add this to their "Facts" About YTB website!

Just to recap, here is the rap sheet on Glenn Green:

• Theft
• Forgery
• Fraudulent Transfer of Motor Vehicles
• Breach of Contract with a Non-Profit where he failed to pay then $107,000

NOTE: To all the Directors and Coach's Corner Members (and esteemed guests) currently in Wood River for the "Best Director's Meeting Ever"--watch your wallets!

MLM Bingo

How to play MLM Bingo - a fun game for all ages:

1. Print out and bring the MLM Bingo card to any meeting that you suspect may be intended to motivate you to join an MLM company, or excel at being an MLM distributor.
2. Each time you hear one of the phrases on the board, or see one of the actions described, cover that square with your last penny, an M&M, a small pebble, or other marker.
3. When you get 5 in a row, you win! At that point, you can be sure you are in a rip-off scam MLM meeting and that you will be screwed. It’s advised that you leave, run like hell and never turn back!.

A YTB Blast From The Past

The other day, I came across some older promotions and sales pitches on YTB.  How many of these "facts" hold true? How many of these "dreams" are still alive?  

The obvious key to success for the author of all of these columns is recruiting. What's the lure? Tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in your bank account. Instant tax deductions for your vacations. I wonder how many in YTB have actually added tens or hundreds of thousands to their bank accounts? We know the answer from last year, I guess we need to wait for an income disclosure for 2008!

Ah yes, recruiting and the dangling carrot. This unreachable carrot has been dangling in front of the author's nose for over 4 years now, and he is still no further along. I venture to guess he is probably behind where he was several years ago. In October 2006, her was poised to be a director by December 2006. In July 2007, he could almost touch it. Now in February of 2009--where is that carrot?

But for someone who likes to claim that he is all about the customer experience, these columns seem to contradict that. There is not too much discussion about selling travel (other than to himself for a tax deduction). But that is not surprising, because as has been said ad nauseum, people in YTB that sell travel do not make any substantial money. People that recruit for YTB have a better chance, but only if they are positioned closer to the top of the pyramid.

YTBitis Sweeping The Country

The worst symptom of all…most whom are infected with YTBitis experience increased bank accounts of Tens, sometime Hundreds of Thousand of Dollars. 

Need A Tax Deduction? Own A Business!

To be in business, you merely declare it. And by doing so, you can magically turn personal expenses into tax deductions.

Our hobby is cruising. So we became Travel Agents. It is customary for Travel Agents to preview cruise ships so we can inform our clients. BAM! All our cruising just became a tax write off. We also took a trip to Disney earlier this year, and took the kids. Why? Don’t you think it might be necessary to get a 3 year old and 5 year old perspective on what they liked about Disney?

Team YTB Is On The Move

We learned at the trade show, that YTB has a Directors Challenge for anyone who becomes a director by 12/31/06, YTB will DOUBLE the Director bonuses for life. For example if you have 2000 RTA’s in your downline as a Director you receive $100,000 instead of $50,000 and so on. This has inspired Doug and me to work even harder to reach director by the end of the year. 

When you have someone who is interested in the business call Doug and give him a warm introduction, then stop talking and let Doug take it from there. Many of you know this works first hand, because you or someone on your team joined after being on a 3 way call. The team member who gets Doug on the most 3 way calls will win a prize. Also, you can win a prize by participating in thirty 3 way calls between now and 12/31. We have 12 weeks left, so that’s just an average of 2.5 calls per week.

Your Ticket To Paradise

With just a few core people that we have personally found, they have found others that have grown our team to over 200 at this time and we are getting closer every day to becoming Directors ourselves. We see it, we feel it, and it’s so close we can almost touch it.

Another One Bites The Dust

I follow several YTB blogs and just wanted to point this one out. Here is one of the more successful RTAs and Reps that has quit. He has identified what YTB is, and more importantly what it isn't. You can read his entire post here, but here are some excerpts:

• My first year (2007) in YTB wasn't anything to brag about. Nevertheless, I was in the top 5% in the company. It doesn't take much because most members don't do anything.
• My experience with YTB started out well. Since I was mislead and actually told lies when I signed up I had no doubts I would make a ton of money. I built a decent downline, which by now has shrunk to 18 paying members. Everyone else has dropped out. Very few in my downline ever did anything, which caused me to feel guilty because I talked them into something that did not work for them.
• Last fall I listened to Coach Tomer telling us that YTB was unfairly targeted just as Roger Clemens was. That was the whole theme of that Saturday morning's call. That was the beginning of the end for me with YTB. If YTB falls in the same category as Roger Clemens, a cheater and dishonest person who will likely spend time in jail soon, then I don't really want to be associated with YTB.

Congratulations!

Sound Familiar?

• We are poised to enter 50 countries around the world next year.

• Traditional travel agencies will be going out of business like they did in the 90's.

• Joining World Ventures you have 0 overhead.

• 100% positive cash flow with zero liability.

• Endorsed by many prominent people & celebrities alike

• #1 Travel Agency for Carnival Cruise Lines.

No, it's not YTB. It's the New Kid in Town. Or, should I say old Kid in Town since they have been around for awhile. World Ventures. Same song, different tune.You pay $400 to join to point people to book travel to on your website. There is a monthly fee just like YTB and if you sign up 6 people they waive the monthly fee. Most of the money is made in recruiting your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors.

So, just who and what is World Ventures? And, why should we care? According to Peter Stilphen, MCC, World Ventures is indeed a travel MLM and on his naughty list. Mike Azcue and Wayne Nugent founded World Ventures after being involved in another MLM called GTT. World Ventures income figures released in 2007 show only 26.3% of the people made money. The average income was only $200. Sounding familiar again? Seeing a pattern?

And, when you question the figures and say anything about the company the flock rises up and tells you we (TTA's) are jealous, going to be extinct and they are going to take over the world. Big sigh. Here we go again.

What is it with people believing this stuff? Is it because of low self esteem? Wanting to be rich? Lured by greed? Or, is it that travel is sexy and fun? I am sure psychologists and cult specialists could enlighten us all day on the motivation of people to join these companies. But, the bottom line is they hurt the travel industry. Last count I saw was upward of 55,000 untrained World Ventures reps running around passing themselves off as travel agents to the consumer. This hurts all of us.

The sad thing is once one MLM goes away there are more awaiting in the wings with the promise of riches and the lure of easy money and traveling like the pros. If you are as fed up as I am here is the petition to sign asking for regulation of the MLM's.

http://www.pyramidschemealert.org/PSAMain/home.html

A Ponzi Scheme Defined

This was originally in a MSN article, but I could not copy and paste the slide show into this blog, so I have recreated it. It highlights many salient points that are appropriate with the travel MLM/Card Mills that are operating today.  As you read through this, most likely you will be nodding your head in agreement. Is it no wonder that Jerry Brown and Lisa Madigan have taken notice and taken action? With the California and Illinois Attorneys General either prosecuting or investigating, are others far behind?

How Ponzi Schemes work

Since Charles Ponzi defrauded thousands in the 1920s, investors have continued to fall prey to such schemes. Here's why.  --Source: The North American Securities Administrators Association

# 1 Ponzi's allure

• Ponzi schemes work by paying old investors "dividends" from new investors' principal.(YTB pays the lion's share of bonuses from money received by new RTAs. This is substantiated by their SEC filings)
  

# 2 Variety and confusion

• A flood of new investment vehicles has made it difficult to identify frauds. (While not dealing with investments, yet, YTB is adding all sorts of ancillary products. In addition, with the other MLM outfits like Traverus and GTI, it does become confusing to determine legitimacy. YTB counts on this.)
  

# 3 Greed

• High rates of return and "guaranteed" low-risk strategies lure even conservative investors. (If anyone has attended a YTB "Opportunity Meeting" they flash the success stories like Julliet St. John and Ron head, but neglect to mention that their own income disclosure indicates that the vast majority of participants earn nothing. The low risk is the minimal investment and no investment programs.)
  

# 4 The appearance of success

• Early investors receive "proof" through high initial returns. (Undoubtedly the top people in any pyramid scheme will receive the high initial returns. Look at Ron Head, Rick Ricketts, Andy Lakey, Bill Hoffmann and others who are always highlighted and paraded as "proof" of success.)
  

# 5 The herd instinct

• Those investors then promote the scheme to friends and others. (When you have tens of thousands of people all led by financial earners, they will take that success as an indicator of theirs and promote it to anyone and everyone. As a matter of fact, one of the key "tools" in MLM is to promote the opportunity to everyone within a three foot radius of you. It is called the Three Foot Rule.)
  

# 6 Fear

• As the scheme unravels, some still promote it for fear of losing out amid mass withdrawals. (YTB is currently experiencing this right now. In March of 2008, they had 138,000 RTAs and right now they are just about to go under 90,000 and are losing about 300 RTAs per day. Yet there are many, the majority, who do not see the warning signs--IATAN, RCCL, dropping RTAs, lawsuits, falling stock prices, and most recently the decision by NCL to terminate them. These people will continue to believe and promote hoping for success that is out of reach and they will continue to do so until the company eventually collapses. One onlly needs to look at the loyalty some of the Joystar agents exhibited who are now in dire straits.)
  

# 7 The Tooth Fairy syndrome

• Some refuse to relinquish their faith in the business acumen of the alleged mastermind. (Well, I am not sure there is ANY business acumen in ANY of the alleged masterminds. None of them have ANY experience in travel and they all have experience in questionable MLM outfits. AL Williams, selling fuel additives, etc. Their acumen is suspect when they deal only with Board insiders and make sweetheart deals with privatelyheld sister companies. However, they ALL talk a great talk and have amassed a large loyal following. The followers of YTB management are quite literally zombie-like.)
  

Breaking News: NCL Was Actually Owned By YTB (Or Vice Versa)

According to this YTB Blog Site, it appears that NCL was not just a vendor, but they were actually a part of YTB. This fact was apparently ommitted from any of their Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, but was disclosed in this latest "News Update".

Other new information gleaned from this latest release include:

• Princess Cruise Lines will now be sailing from Baltimore, MD
• Carnival Cruise Lines loves to make money in this economy
  
• Kevin Sheehan (President and CEO of NCL) is reportedly being fired for his poor decision
• For cruises anywhere (other than on NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, or Azamara and to Hawaii) please contact the company
  

And since the post will be removed in a matter of minutes, I am posting it here:

News Update

Norwegian is no longer a part of our company. They chose in this economy to drop us as a vendor for them. Don't really no why they did drop us but I guess more cruises going to the others . All these companies going out of business and companies looking for business. Well I guess their CEO will be fired soon. So if you want a cruise anywhere I will be able to help you with that. But not on Norwegian. Because my blog is an honest one you can read the details on www.thefactsaboutytb.com

But we do offer other cruise lines that love to make money in this economy. Living on the east coast I was interested in doing some group cruises from Baltimore on Norwegian but now I won't be doing that. Because I wanted closer ports people can drive too. And guess what Carnival, Princess is going to get a lot of my business.

Traveling Mom

Posted by Dine In at 10:50 PM 0 comments

What's Wrong Right With This YTB Advertisement?

Edited for spacing and additional info. See bottom of post.

Job Details
Christian Online Travel & Shopping Mall Work at Home Website
Your Home, Any State, United States

Date Posted: 1/6/2009

Job Category: Work At Home

Education: Any

Min Pay Rate: $5,000.00

Max Pay Rate: $450,000.00

Job Type:Part Time

Job Code:

Company Name:A PEACE OF HEAVEN TRAVEL

Department:Travel Agent Work at Home Part Time

Contact:Sheri and Lawrence Leduc

Email:Please login to view

Website:Please login to view

Job Description:OWN YOUR VERY OWN CHRISTIAN ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY WEBSITE & NOW YOUR VERY OWN E-COMMERCE SHOPPING MALL & START EARNING 70% COMMISSIONS TODAY. NO RESUMES ARE REQUIRED, ONLY SERIOUS BUSINESS MINDED PEOPLE WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS WORKING PART TIME AT HOME, OFFICE OR INTERNET TRAVEL & SHOPPING MALL WEBSITE ALREADY DESIGNED & DONE FOR YOU & READY TO GO IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES.

YTB INTERNATIONAL, INC. FACTS & WHO WE ARE:

*Christian Owned & Operated since 2001 By a retired pastor & his son

*YTB is a United States publicly traded company

*Travel Weekly Power List is out and YTB is Ranked #26 overall, and tied for the LARGEST GAIN of everyone on the Power list with $414.5 Million in Travel Sales

*The Direct Selling Association has approved the application for YTB as a member of it's prestigious organization

*Because we care about our people YTB offers guaranteed issued health insurance to all RTA agents

*YTB launched our business into Canada, Bermuda and the Bahamas in early 2008

*YTB provides an income disclosure statement to provide transparency to our operations

*YTB Travel Network (YTBTN) was awarded the Top Agency Producer Award for their sales revenue with Princess Cruise Lines for the 2007 year

*YTB Wins Carnival’s Pinnacle Award

*YTB is Platinum with Apple Vacations Inc.

*Magazine lists YTB in top 10 franchises in the Travel Industry

*Saturday Evening Post chosen Coach (owner of YTB) to be on the cover

*ONGOING TRAINING

*SPECIAL TO GET STARTED NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2008 TRAINING PRICE WAIVED (A $149.00 VALUE) + 2 FREE MONTHS ARE WAIVED-TOTAL VALUE OFF $250.00

Our Partners

*Travelocity

*Dell

*Staples

*H & R Block

*Sprint (which all give a very big discount when you become part of the company) *Restaurant.com (purchase your own gift certificates at 50% & get paid commission)

*Aisle 19 (600 + Retails stores like Walmart, Target, Petsmart, Macys, Sams, etc...paying cash back, no sales tax + commissions on your own purchases & others you invite to your website *Hotels.com

*UPS

What our travel, entertainment & NOW E-COMMERCE RETAIL MALL company is doing for us & what it can also do for you & your family:

1. I am able to stay at home as a wife & mother because of our travel business & pay for all the extras + take several vacations a year.

2. Getting back over $15,000.00 from IRS for 2008

3. We can also drive our cars and receive 55 cents per mile when we drive anywhere to talk about our business.

4. We can travel as a travel agent and receive courtesies, perks, travel wholesale, free local visits to theme parks, etc....receive continous upgrades

5. We receive 70% commissions on everything booked or purchased from our website paid to YTB

6. WOW! Now our own online e-commerce shopping mall was just added to earn cash back + commissions, no sales tax & no shipping from many retailers HAVE YOUR OWN SITE UP AND RUNNING TODAY IN 5 MINUTES. IT'S THAT EASY!!! http://apeaceofheaventravel.paradisenetwork.com/join/

Here is our travel booking site to see what you also can have like ours to refer others too if you decide to have your own travel site: CHECK IT OUT: WWW.APEACEOFHEAVENTRAVEL.COM

CLICK ON THE EXTRAS TAB AT THE TOP OF THE HOME PAGE & SEE WHAT YOU CAN HAVE LIKE OURS, COMPARE PRICES: SEND FLOWERS & GIFT BASKETS (GORGEOUS), HOME DECOR, FOOD, RESTAURANT GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR 50% OFF, APPAREL & ACCESSORIES, CONCERT TICKETS, PARK THEME TICKETS, OUTDOOR FISHING & HUNTING EXCURSIONS, GOLFING PACKAGES & MUCH MORE...AND GET PAID COMMISSIONS ON EVERYTHING YOU PURCHASE OR OTHERS YOU REFER TO YOUR SITE!!! AND NOW, YOUR VERY OWN AISLE 19 RETAIL ECOMMECE SECRET SHOPPING MALL ALSO INCLUDED FOR FREE. CHECK THIS LINK OUT! http://thesecretofaisle19.com/ THE BEST PART IS YOU DO NOT NEED TRAVEL AGENT OR E-COMMERCE EXPERIENCE NEEDED...JUST POINT PEOPLE TO YOUR ONLINE TRAVEL & NOW E-COMMERCE MALL WEBSITE & THEY MAKE ALL THEIR OWN PURCHASES LIKE THEY ARE ALREADY DOING AND ONCE THEY SEE WHAT YOU GET THEY TOO WANT TO KNOW HOW CAN THEY HAVE WHAT YOU HAVE. TOTALLY COOL AND THE BEST PART IS YOU EARN EXTRA MONEY & SAVE MONEY ON WHAT YOU ARE ALREADY PURCHASING BY HAVING FUN, NO SELLING OR QUOTAS TO MEET!! EVERYONE LOVES TO TALK ABOUT THEIR VACATIONS AND

*NOW MAKE ALL YOUR WALMART, TARGET, MACYS, SAMS, PETSMART + 600 OTHER BRAND NAME STORES AND EARN CASH BACK & COMMISSIONS ON ALL YOUR OWN SALES, WITH NO SALES TAX & IN MANY CASES NO SHIPPING + ANYONE YOU INVITE TO YOUR SITE. NOW IS PERFECT TIMING FOR GETTING INTO YOUR OWN ONLINE TRAVEL & NOW E-COMMERCE MALL ONLINE BUSINESS...IT'S THE WAY OF THE FUTURE...YTB IS GETTING READY TO EXPLODE GET ON THE GROUND FLOOR NOW!! WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU BEING A PART OF OUR TEAM!

GOD BLESS, SHERI & LAWRENCE LEDUC

http://www.christianjobs.com/Job/15241/

EDIT: Corrected spacing. Also, if you follow the last link (just above), there is a phrase in that ad that reads:

Our Partners who believe in us:
*Travelocity *Dell *Staples *H & R Block *Sprint (which all give a very big discount when you become part of the company)
*Restaurant.com (purchase your own gift certificates at 50% & get paid commission)
*Aisle 19 (600 + Retails stores like Walmart, Target, Petsmart, Macys, Sams, etc...paying cash back, no sales tax + commissions on your own purchases & others you invite to your website
*Hotels.com
*UPS

Interesting...no mention of any travel companies that believe in them!

Return Of A Favorite

Well, Traveling Moms is back and as ill-informed as ever. This time, she goes by the moniker "Dine In"--I suppose for all those dining options her YTB site now offers!

But apparently she never got the memo about NCL. Someone left a comment asking about an NCL departure from New York:

Can you get me a price on THe Norwegan Dawn sailing from New York? I do not fly and we can drive up there or take the train. Does the train take me to the cruise ship?

And she replied:

I posted some info on the cruise from new york that is the only one this year. And you have to get back home from Miami. It is 14 days and they do have some amtrak deals.

And here is the link to the post about the fabulous deal someone can buy from her YTB site on NCL. Note that she didn't answer all the poster's questions and the one she did, she got wrong. No, the train does not go directly to the port. And of course the Norwegian Dawn has weekly departures from New York in May, June, July, August, a little bit in September and all of October. But why expect someone from YTB to know this?

I imagine this might be one of the myriad of reasons NCL tossed YTB overboard. The 92,000 RTAs that they have remaining are (as a whole) pretty clueless! Good job Traveling Moms!

PS: YTB Compliance, I thought you talked to her? Do you need a refreshed list of non-compliant sites?

The Reps Make A Buck Any Way They Can

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The Profile of an MLM Executive

This is from Peter Stilphen and is really quite on the money. For additional copies, please send $500 and $49.95 a month...  But seriously, to read more, please check out Home Based Travel Agents Online.

We continue to hear about the multi-level-marketing activities of the people in this business. Usually,it is never in a "good light" and one, especially me, wonders why this sleazy profession is still around. You just need to "Google" MLMs or card mills and you will bring up the sites that are pro and con about this subject. Also try www.scams.com or www.ripoff.com.

I've often wondered who these individuals are that get into this business and why they do it. Armed with my own psychoanalysis credentials, I decided to do some research. I have great credentials. I have seen two episodes of Dr. Phil's TV show, and I stayed once at a Holiday Inn Express. Here's what I discovered.

MLM executives were actually born with a rare gene known as "ripyouoff". The gene brings out various traits almost at infancy. We learned that babies born with this gene were the ones who cried incessantly in the nursery just to receive attention. Their huge ego will be with them all through childhood and last until they are incarcerated, chased from the State or the Devil decides to take them once and for all.

During their childhood years it was not uncommon to see a resourceful MLM practitioner have several businesses. Many of them began a business at a very early age. They had newspaper routes, sold lemonade in the front of their house or even sold girl scout cookies. What made these individuals different was that they had to have another version of the same business and felt the more involved they could get people, the more money they could make.

The kid with the bad gene was more apt to water down the lemonade to increase profits or even to recruit other kids to sell his newspapers paying each kid a tiny percentage of what he actually received from his employer. Same with the girl scout cookies. Recruiting each girl scout and rewarding them based on bringing in additional recruits until he ran out of girl scouts. This worked for a short while, just as todays MLM venture works for a short while.

I discovered that most all MLM executives have had no other business experience other than multi level marketing. It's probably because they couldn't hold down a regular position because their only goals were to get rich quick. Have you ever been curious as to why these same executives have wandered from one MLM activity to another? The reason is that eventually they run out of recruits for a particular product, the State's Attorney General shuts them down for operating a pyramid or the game just gets old. MLM executives do not care about the product they are supposed to be selling as it's all about recruiting and creating a huge pyramid.

MLM executives are generally very lonely people. The reason is that during their life of deceiving and BS..ing their family and friends and the public, they have lost these people in their lives. Have you ever gone to a Pet Smart store and seen the unfortunate dogs and cats sitting in their cages crying out for adoption and love and to your surprise, saw a cage that read "Lonely MLM Executive Needs Good and Loving Home- Completely re-trained." Please adopt that dog or cat instead.

Do you really believe the MLM executives now involved in the travel business care about travel? Of course not. It's about how much money they can make recruiting and the size of the toys they purchase that's important to them. Take a good look at the fools that follow them. It's all about greed and that MLM executive knows it and will take you for all you are worth.

The next time you are at an MLM convention make a statement. Stand up during a speech, flip the speaker the bird and yell out "I'm outta here."

Even More Blah Blah Blah From A YTB Supporter

And the drivel continues from Endless Drivel Travel......

It isn’t just about where I can get the best percentage commission.   If all I wanted to do was book cruises…I would just go get a job doing that.  Chasing a higher commission split is not unique to those in the travel industry, and though some will do just that…I am not one of them.

Plenty of business to go around my friend…and yes…the high I experience being my own boss is incredible with no employees and with no overhead is awesome.  As an independent contractor, I gladly pay a monthly service fee, which is in fact reimbursed, for YTB to handle my licensing fees, E&O and all the paperwork.  

And now I see that a new twist lie has been tossed into the mix. YTB now handles all licensing fees, E&O, and all the paperwork. Are you sure about that? I Have a source that says otherwise!

More Blah Blah Blah From A YTB Supporter

Round two from Bob Cushman from Endless Journey Drivel Travel.

 

As you are probably aware, many network marketing companies have tried to do what YTB is actually doing, and none have succeeded.  Our travel sales are proof of our success and impact.  YTB didn’t cause the paradigm shift, the internet did.  All we did was recognize an opportunity to capitalize on the consumer fulfilling their travel needs on the internet instead of calling a travel agent.  The only thing Barry Dillar (Expedia) got wrong was the power of word of mouth vs. advertizing.  Simple as that.  What YTB has done is take that model and put the relationship back into the transaction.

Sure it was disheartening to see the California AG filed a lawsuit, (key word ‘accusing’ ) but YTB wasn’t surprised it happened…they were only surprised it took them so long.  Who do you think put pressure on the AG to do so?  It will be amicably settled, just like the one before it and the one previously filed in Florida and the one in Rhode Island.   Just like Art Williams took on the entire insurance industry, as Primerica Financial Services and refused to give in to those who vigorously opposed them…YTB too will ultimately prevail.  If you were to read Art Williams’ latest book, “Coach, the A.L. Williams Story…you would see the parallels.

Sure sales are down…as they are across the entire economy and just like other companies; YTB has taken appropriate measures to compensate.  I served our great country for 22 yrs, and have learned the meaning of loyalty, commitment and the values that determine a great leader.  What I believe is not important; I look to a person’s actions which reveal true intention.  Yes, there are those like yourself who believe YTB is a cult and/or some illegal pyramid scheme.  Professional Network marketers are a rare entrepreneurial breed, and the ones who have chosen to build the foundation of YTB will be justly and richly rewarded.  Controversy is just part of what our CEO calls Success Tax.

I am right here; aware, informed, educated and taking action.  I will continue to build relationships with my clientele who will book with me.  I will also continue to share the YTB opportunity with others who seek a genuine home based business opportunity.  YTB isn’t for everyone…but many do want to learn how to: earn commission on their own personal travel and that of their friends, family and co-workers - save money on their travel - and take advantage of the legal tax benefits that are available to those that work their business with a clear intention to earn a profit.  Our Founders along with our legal department will continue to vigorously defend our rights to do so.

Who needs IATA or even IATAN?  RCCL "DEMOTED" Lisa Bauer for the decision to not do business with us because we did $13 Million in business with them before they made one of the biggest mistakes EVER!  In response, we sold more cruises in ONE DAY with Carnival, setting the record for the ENTIRE INDUSTRY (not just MLM) for the most cruises EVER sold by one agency in a single day. 

If I were you, I would be careful of what you say because you might have to eat your words later. 

YTB Forgot To Give Endless Journey The IATAN Memo

Apparently YTB has not spread the word about the loss of their accreditation with IATAN. Endless Journey Travel is apparently as clueless about YTB as they are about the travel industry in general. And judging from their RTA number, they are a relatively new addition to the YTB ranks. I wonder why YTB is not telling them the whole truth? Please extend warm wishes to the newest member of the D.A.D. And considering you are in Sacramento, CALIFORNIA--you may mow be changing your name to John Doe 79!

You surely must be ignorant and arrogant to think YTB is some illegal pyramid scheme and will simply go away because some within the traditional travel industry wishes so. YTB will continue to train and educate its sales force, and agents and will continue to build relationships with its vendors and customers. The travel industry does not solely belong to self proclaimed overseers, and surely the time has come for these truths to become self evident. I am proud to be network marketing professional and I have earned my CLIA credentials and working on my IATAN, of which several of our agents have already earned. Who do you think is now the #1 re-seller of Carnival Cruise Lines? Those who see a paradigm shift such as that, which YTB represents, have four choices: Ignore Ridicule, Oppose or Embrace. It is clear which you chose.

Deceptive Recruitment

I recently read a story about the less than ethical recruiting tactics that Primerica utilizes to find fresh meat for their MLM scheme. The story involved an unemployed middle of the road white collar worker who was called in for a "job interview". He bought a new suit, traveled 90 minutes to the location, paid to park, only to find out that it was no job offer, but a ruse to get him to sign up as a Primerica Rep.

Apparently the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Shirl Garcia of Gotta Get Away Travel is advertising for a "Paid Internship" on InternWeb.com.

Regardless, YTB is a supposed business opportunity. Portraying it as anything else is deceitful. Anyone applying to this job is not interning for anything. They are signing up to pay $500 and $49.95 a month for the opportunity to earn $106 a year!

My Apologies

I know that readers of this blog have been following the saga of the Statue of Liberty and I am not sure how I missed this last month.  But as they say...better late than never! And a giant 150' foam shout out and thank you to ChrisN from scam .com for finding this for me!

The last time we joined Lady Liberty, she had just completed her $30,000 analysis that indicated that this donation from YTB to the City of Hammond, IL would cost the city millions just to erect. Realizing that they may have received the short end of the torch, the City placed Lady Liberty for sale on eBay.

Unfortunately, there were no bidders to the minimum bid of $150,000. So now it looks like Hammond needs to figure out the best way to dispose of her--some have indicated that disposal might exceed $100,000. Maybe they can try Craigslist. Or maybe YTB can call Carnival Cruise Lines and see if they want to be the first with a Foam Fake Statue of Liberty at sea.  Just a thought!

It seems that YTB has been able to pull a fast on on the City of Hammond, just like it did the 138,000 RTAs that bought into their scheme!

To recap, the statue was built by a company owned by a pair of Tomers and a Sorensen. The publicly traded YTB cut a check to the privately held company for $6 million (or maybe it was $8 million) for the statue--according to television reports this did not include shipping. But shipping may have been free since UPS was sponsoring the convention. But anyhow, not knowing what to do with the hunk of foam, YTB donated it to the City of Hammond and likely took a healthy tax deduction because this was a tribute to fallen heroes. Now the city has paid $30,000 for an engineer to tell them that in essence it is a piece of foam and is in no way suitable for public outdoor display.

Good one Coach...you sure got them!

So Much For Tossing The Suit Out

Well, I am not sure who to believe? In one corner you have the blessed few RTAs that have received special permission to continue their blogging and Craigslist efforts and then you have the Madison County Record.

One group informs me that the Class Action lawsuits against YTB have no merit and "as a matter of fact" have already been dismissed. To them, they do not even exist!

Yet the Madison County Record says that the two suits have been consolidated and on they go!

I am inclined to believe the reporter from the paper. But it seems that the Class Action suits are not the only ones moving forward. Apparently notices and subpoenas are flying out of the Attorney General's office as well. I wonder if they have contacted John or Jane Doe 1-100 yet?  Maybe they can find a good defense attorney in Aisle 19?