One of the biggest fears people have about getting involved in home businesses is they don't want to be scammed.  That's very legitimate fear. There's thousands of scam artists out there -and there seem to be more and more every day. Add to this the advanced technology that scammers use to cheat you out of your money and you start to get a very frightful picture. The video below does a good job of showing what to look out for when evaluating a home business "opportunity".  Look for videos on this topic in the near future. 

Source: www.GarfieldHerriot.net 

DO YOU HAVE A TECHNIQUE FOR EVALUATING A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY? PLEASE LEAVE IT IN THE COMMENTS

Disclosure Notice: I was a member of WBE.net about 3 years ago.  My membership has been inactive for at least 2 years.  I hve had no further dealings with World Business Exchange or anyone associated with them.  I recieve no financial benefit if you decide to do business with them. 

What is World Business Exchange Network?

According to their site, World Business Exchange Network (WBE) is a company set up to help people that are looking to start and internet import/export trading business that can be run out their home. WBE accomplishes this by providing training to its members on how to research, setup, and execute a trade of goods from one country to another. WBE also provides on-going access to a database it maintains of companies and individuals looking to trade.  Finally, WBE offers coaching/mentoring to assist its members in all aspects of the trade.

How do You make money?

You would take a percentage of the money being paid as fee for setting up the trade. You are, in essence, a middleman or broker that gets paid to bring two parties together. To get a visual of how this process works, click here

Does this business require any special licensing or permits?

Each state has different rules regarding licensing for this type of business so check with your local authority. Additionally, certain countries may have other requirements in order to do business there.  WBE claims to help you navigate these types of situations.

How much does this opportunity cost?

There is one time of $499. With this you get:

• Demonstration Video
• WBE.net user manual
• 1 year coaching and support

Additionally, there is a $25.00 recurring monthly fee for continued access to the WBE trade database.

Is this a franchise?

No. This is an independent business opportunity.  You will need to setup your own business entity in order to do trades.

WHAT’S BEING SAID ABOUT WBE

Ripoff Report:

"…almost 7 years, I still have not closed a deal and I feel that everything Mr. Roby has promised is a lie and a scam. It has not been like "having a garage sale" and I have not come close to closing a deal.

I have been a member since early 2008 and CEO of BT International in the MD/DC area and closed 7 deals in the first 15 months of involvement. The key factor in this business is to be committed and consistent and do lots of research in International Trade. Build relationships with the Ambassadors of the various countries, visit your local Trade Centers in your area, they have staff that will assist you.

‘Their leads are no good because they copy it from some other trade website and 99% are not current or have wrong information, therefore you cannot contact anyone.

Read more…

Programcritique.com

I bought the WBE.net program believing that I was going to be coached every step of the way until I made my first deal. However, I was told that I needed to go back and read a manual. I haven’t made any money with this business since I bought it and the coaching is no good, so I gave up. Also I asked for my money back on the second week. But guess what, NO refunds! I guess I should have checked in to that one before I used my card.

Complaintsboard.com

….In the meantime I was still making my monthly payments and was never late. When I called for help getting started again, I was told that my account was no longer active and had to pay the fee again to be reinstated…

Scam.com

One big Scam, they charge and even when you cancel, they charge you monthly. I joined and was told my account was finished, and I was charged every month after that. Only after looking over my CC statements, I found they had been charging me for over a Year after I canceled. Called them back to say I wanted to get my money back (because I could not activate the members section); they said they will have to call me back later – which they never did… however they did give me access back to the network which I did not want… they just wanted to cover their a.sses.

YouTube
 

Better Business Bureau

WBE currently has D rating with the BBB. They’ve had 9 complaints against them in the last 36 months, mostly regarding refunds. Here’s a excerpt of their report:

Most complainants are dissatisfied with the quality of counseling they receive. Most complain the company fails to respond to requests for assistance, information given is unreliable, or the company fails to adequately answer questions. Other complainants allege that lead information on the website is outdated or fictitious

Read the full report here. 

Our last review featured one of the largest direct selling companies in the world. It seems only fitting to follow that up another famous direct selling company.  Another guest reviewer turns the spotlight on Amway.  Like Avon, Amway is a household name for many people. But Amway is also known for being controversial. Over it’s 50 year history thousands of people have claimed that Amway has been the answer to their dreams of owning  a business. Can it be the answer to yours?

This review was compiled by guest reviewer G.M. Shu. If you would like to be a guest review please leave a comment and I will contact you 

What They Say

Pitch

In a nutsell, Amway (parent company:Alticor) claims to give you the opportunity to make money by selling products and by sponsoring/mentoring/training others as Independent Business Owners. Like similar Multi Level Marketing (MLM) companies, you recieve a percentage of the revenue generated by any of the IBO’s you sponsor.

Products

Amway offers a various products that their IBO can sell. Product categories include Nutrition & Wellness, Beauty, Bath & Body, and Home. You may have heard of some of their brands: NUTRILITE®, ARTISTRY® Skin Care,  L.O.C.® Multi-Purpose Cleaner.

Cost

According to Amway’s registration contract  the cost for joining is $137.75. This fee covers "Business & Support, IBOAI Support, and Product Info Pack". Additionally, several sites have reported that Amway encourages new IBO’s to purchase several self improvement/ motivational books and CDs. The cost of these materials can push the inital investment much higher.

What Kind of Support Do They Offer

Amway offers several ways to support IBO’s:

• Your sponsor
• Training-online, video, and instructor-led trainingMarketing
• DVDs, online sites, magazines, brochures, and free websites
• ProductsCustomer support

What Others Say

Ripoff Report: 28 reports filed against Amway. All of the reports were negative, here’s the most recent one

….My start up cost was 140 dollars. That money, I was told was to pay for my start up kit and for my 4 websites. Only maybe 2 close friends actually signed on the business with the full 140, the rest did 60 to mainly get the websites. Oh and remember my friend I mentioned earlier, the cousin of my upline and sponsor? Well, he also signed on with me as my upline since he signed up first. None of my friends including me have made any actual money since we’ve been in the business. Sure I’ve received checks: 1 for 6 dollars, another for 38 dollars and the last for 50 dollars, but that money still doesn’t exceed even my start up cost. Plus it was basically forced so that I would go on to the next bracket, I didn’t do anything my upline just bought a bunch of random crap. To be honest my friends also haven’t really done anything either except my one friend Neill who was occasionally selling some products to his mom. And basically not really seeing any money from that anyway, he was probably getting 10-20 dollars for selling like 200+ dollars worth of Amway garbage.

WAHM.com: 

I was an IBO with Quixtarseveral years ago, some family members are still IBO’s… Good products, the comp plan is ok. Since I am in Calif.it is easier and cheaper to drive to the store for the bulk of the products they offer. I know it works well in areas that are not as populated, but a hard sell for many….

YouTube.com

Positive:

Negative: (note: This Dateline expose is from 2006) 

Part 2 

Just Plain Funny: 

 Better Business Bureau

Amway is listed under 3 names in the Better Business Bureau. Amway, Quixtar, and Alticor.  All have an A+ rating. Only Quixtar has any compliants, 28 to be exact,  listed against them

Final Say

Overall Grade:   No Grade

I was personally involved in the Amway “culture” and prefer to abstain from influencing your decision…Now that we got the disclosure out of the way.  It should be noted that the culture of the company “called for” a lifestyle/mental change to narrow for my taste. Meetings, talks, reading materials, friends all related to the Amway …well way.  This might appeal to some and not to others. 

With the seemingly endless stream of economic bad news it is natural for people to be afraid.  It’s also natural for people to turn to the Internet in hopes of finding  work at home jobs that can bolster their income, or in some cases replace a lost income.  Fear is natural, but you shouldn’t let fear drive you into making a bad situation even worst.  Websites offering work-at-home jobs are some biggest scams on the Internet. And in the current environment you can bet that these types of sites will only increase.  Here are a few ways to use your Scam-dar to avoid these crooks.

‘We only require a small fee for the privilege of working for us.’

Legitimate jobs don’t require you to pay upfront to work with them.  Take mystery shopping. Typically, scammers will advertise an opportunity to become a mystery shopper.  But when you apply you’re asked to paid for something like an info packet or a list of employers in your area supposedly looking for mystery shoppers.

‘Dude, I’m making a fortune stuffing envelopes while I watch TV.’

If it was this easy we would all be rich couch potatoes! Be wary of any job claiming to pay big money for menial tasks.   In fact, just avoid them altogether.  No legit operation is going to pay you $2,000 a week when they could pay a teenager $5.50 an hour.

‘Girl, all I do is sit at my computer and fill out surveys all day longer and I get PAID!’ 

There are some legit survey jobs out there but have manage expectations.  I worked one of these sites for month and all I made was $16.  This was after filling out dozens of surveys.  So don’t fall for ads claiming you can make hundreds of dollars a week filling out surveys – unless you’re not planning on sleeping.  And again, don’t pay for any lists of companies.  You can find these companies yourself with little research.

When investigating any online opportunity you should always err on the side of caution.  Also, it’s always a good idea to research the company using the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission.