Comments on: Internet Marketer Prison Sentences

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:41:28 +0000

This was great information…I have always wondered at the ‘gurus’ that tell you that pen names and pictures are okay. In fact they go into great detail about it. One guy tells how to go make an avatar of yourself and use it for your about page.

Thanks so much for your post!

By: Politics

Politics — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:05:11 +0000

I really liked your post! I search on Google for this information… and found this blog to finally speak clearly! Would you mind terribly if I place a backlink from my site at the whiterabbitcult.com?

By: Office of Fair Trading To Snag Bad Gurus » guru-fodder.com

Office of Fair Trading To Snag Bad Gurus » guru-fodder.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:24:57 +0000

[...] Internet Marketer Responsible For Prison Sentences | [...]

By: TheAntiHype

TheAntiHype — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:20:45 +0000

Hi Denise, good to hear from you. Glad to hear your spending money on satin pjs and not wasting it!

I came across some really relevant information about this subject – at least as it applies to the UK & Europe. I'll post later

By: deemarie

deemarie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:53:35 +0000

Just when I think I have seen it all when it comes to hype along comes a new line. Many of these people I looked up to when I first started looking into IM and its a big disappointment to see what are bold lies being used to sell products. And that many all tell the tale just to promote a sale for them or a friend.

Unfortunately I have gotten to the point where the delete button is my best friend unless I am looking for a good chuckle for the day. It may mean I miss out on a real program put out by a honest person. But at least I still have money for my satin pj's.

By: TheAntiHype

TheAntiHype — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:58:51 +0000

A 60 year male webmaster, showing a picture of him as a 15 year old girl with and without spots may have difficulty proving “his” claim that his revolutionary acne cream worked!

By the way – you forgot to mention that the millions are only made if you work in your pajamas

By: thehermitvi

thehermitvi — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:59:53 +0000

In the US you can show examples of weight loss, income, etc. but you do need a disclaimer and you are supposed to be able to prove the claim you make. This is why you will often see earning disclaimers and statements to the fact that this one individuals accomplishments aren't average.

But most people don't read the small print. If every program I ever saw gave me the results they showed in their sales pages right now I would be making millions every hour without doing any work. I do make money but believe me I work for it.

By: TheAntiHype

TheAntiHype — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:24:18 +0000

It seems to me there is still a very different set of parameters online compared to offline.

It is also confused still further by the international nature of the internet - for example which law applies - that of the vendors country or the site visitor?

There are stacks of examples of possible problem areas:

Discounted prices - in the UK to do this you have to prove the product was for sale somewhere at the full price at some stage - that will be difficult for some "gurus" to prove!

Price increases in 3 days. I've seen sites that have said the same thing for years!

And the list goes on

Personally I think as long as you conduct your business ethically, honestly and don't try to mislead anyone you won't go too far wrong.

By: CCGAL

CCGAL — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:45:41 +0000

You know, I was wondering about this very thing a couple of days ago, when a person I met at a marketing seminar put a video up on a new product page and used a name and story that was at odds with what/who he was when I met him last year. He hasn't responded to my e-mail question — I guess I should not be surprised, yes?

The other thing that bothers me, as long as we're on the subject, is the use of checks, clickbank, and paypal account screen shots to “prove” that money can be made – in the “real world” it's illegal to use claims of income like that to entice people to purchase your opportunity, so I'm wondering why the same truth in advertising laws don't seem to apply to the web?

I'm with you 100% on this one: I'd rather be safe than sorry.