Beware "FREE" DVD Offers

15 years ago

You'll find many of these offers available on CPA networks. You are paying shipping and handling for the DVD, but you are also getting a trial subscription to some other product or service, but it's usually mentioned but in fine print or in the terms and conditions. That's why it is so important that you read the terms and conditions for any product or service before inputting any credit card information.

Of course you can try to cancel, but some offers make it difficult for you to do that.

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antiwarrior

Banned 15 years ago

[DELETED]

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bigtex 15 years ago

You should actually be aware of any offer on the planet. There used to be a "buyer beware" mentality, where you research a product or service and man an educated decision. We have lost that mentality along the way!
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Jeremy Wilson

15 years ago

Once they have your details, they can virtually help themselves to the money in your credit card, or bank, account.

A little dramatic don't you think? This sounds like they are just going to randomly steal your money and charge your card whenever they want.

Sure some of these offers are shady but if they tell you why you can get the DVD for free and exactly what happens when you sign up then it's all good.

You either accept the terms of the deal or you do not.

I agree if they hide the offer or make it very difficult to find then shame on them but if the offer is clearly spelled out who cares?

I've seen plenty of offers say something like:

"Get my DVD for Free just for trying a free month of my newsletter. After 30 days you will automatically be billed X amount"

Nothing at all wrong with that.

On the flip side are folks that want everything Free with no strings attached....I would love to see a poll of people like this to see which actually have a profitable business giving everything they have away for free with no way to monetize built in (whether it be forced continuity, email sign up, affiliate promotion, OTO's, upsells, etc) .

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Vince Runza Online

15 years ago

I'm going to be offering a free disc w/shipping & handling (self liquidating is the term, I believe). There will be NO forced continuity -- just a compelling reason to buy my product!

I'll remember to emphasize that there's no hidden costs or additional billing for this item in the offer...

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Frank Bruno

15 years ago

If the offer is not clear don't order. Period. This is really old news. It comes down to buyer beware.

I guess a lot of buyers are still irresponsible with flipping out their CC to satisfy their emotional split decisions.

But there is one thing I do agree on. with Paypal you can cancell very easily by logging into your account.

With a credit card it can be extremmely tuff to cancell and in some cases (actually many cases) the only way to stop the money being taken out is to get a enw account and even then your still responsible for the debt.

Also beware that with some rebilling 3rd party companies used on behalf of the merchants will actually persue active collection if your credit card does not go through either from expired credit card or insuficient funds available.

Frank Bruno

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1 reply

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IMChick 15 years ago
Originally Posted by Brandon Cameron

thank you for the warning

Originally Posted by lokeshthegeek

Thanks for telling us about this.

Oh, come ON, knock it off with the 5 word "thanks" posts. Read the forum rules and don't do it. No-one else is getting away with that nonsense for a good reason. And if you get infractions or posts reported, you're also not going to get that post count up. So contribute or just read and don't contribute.
- As far as the 'free' offers go, this is kind of a pet peeve of mine. The first offer I signed up for got me on a mailing list which is apparently the 'new' outreach in the IM circles. Yikes, but that was really annoying. It also had a forced continuity offer, but it was a good one, and I used both the 'free' dvd and the offer for a few months before cancelling. So I now look at the 'free' stuff as bonus you pay for IF you agree with the fine print.
- The second 'free' offer I did got me on a telephone marketing list. Now, that sucked. I'm still on it and can't get off it. The program has long been cancelled not because it was awful, but because they bugged the heck out of me and ticked me off enough to cancel. Wish I had known that meant that they would cancel my account for everything but the phone calls!
- Thanks
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kdsm100

15 years ago

Wow, finally a thread that a newbie like me can make a contribution to, not just a "thank you!"

Best way to not get hit with recurring charges when using a credit card is to use one that allows you to create a "virtual account number" - some call it an "online number" or something of that. Not all cc's offer this nifty feature, but check it out. They allow you to not just hide your real cc #, but also allow you to specify an amount that goes with that cc # - so if it is a $5.95 handling fee I plug that amount in and they can't charge anything more than that.

You can also use the advanced feature and limit them to not only a $ amount but also for no more than 2 months (don't know why, but 2 months is minimum) - so if I do sign up for any subscription or recurring billing it makes them contact me because the recurring charge is denied. If I want it, I create another virtual # and decide whether I want to use a longer time-frame or just make them contact me every 2 months.

I noticed that this "free" shipment of a physical product was the new way everyone was beginning to go. First, shipping isn't as much as they charge, so they are getting something for the product itself. But they are also getting your mailing address which is not something I like; it's bad enough that my e-mail inbox is stuffed with communication I don't want (BTW, I set up a "dummy" e-mail address and never use my real one(s). Now I've gone to a mailing center for a PO Box with a street address.

Thanks
2 replies

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edd666666 15 years ago

And what about the hidden S/H charges that don't show up until the last page? I recently "bit" on an offer from who I would consider one of the biggest names in information product marketing. It offered something like $319 worth of products for FREE. After jumping through all the hoops in an endless line of new pages all asking for the same info, I finally got to the last page and saw a $7.95 S/H charge that had NEVER BEEN DISCLOSED prior to that. I was so turned off I felt like a chump and was really discouraged because this guy used to be king of the hill in information product marketing and now he is reduced to hiding this kind of stuff.
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VegasGreg

15 years ago

Originally Posted by kdsm100

Wow, finally a thread that a newbie like me can make a contribution to, not just a "thank you!"

Best way to not get hit with recurring charges when using a credit card is to use one that allows you to create a "virtual account number" - some call it an "online number" or something of that. Not all cc's offer this nifty feature, but check it out. They allow you to not just hide your real cc #, but also allow you to specify an amount that goes with that cc # - so if it is a $5.95 handling fee I plug that amount in and they can't charge anything more than that.

You can also use the advanced feature and limit them to not only a $ amount but also for no more than 2 months (don't know why, but 2 months is minimum) - so if I do sign up for any subscription or recurring billing it makes them contact me because the recurring charge is denied. If I want it, I create another virtual # and decide whether I want to use a longer time-frame or just make them contact me every 2 months.

I noticed that this "free" shipment of a physical product was the new way everyone was beginning to go. First, shipping isn't as much as they charge, so they are getting something for the product itself. But they are also getting your mailing address which is not something I like; it's bad enough that my e-mail inbox is stuffed with communication I don't want (BTW, I set up a "dummy" e-mail address and never use my real one(s). Now I've gone to a mailing center for a PO Box with a street address.

Well, I just recently used a "one time use" virtual card from Paypal for a small S/H charge and one month later they allowed a 2nd charge to go through for a lot more.

Now I have to go through a whole dispute process and my money is gone until resolved. Not sure how a 1 time use card can be used over and over and the guy at paypal didn't have an answer.

Thanks
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kdsm100

15 years ago

Originally Posted by VegasGreg

Well, I just recently used a "one time use" virtual card from Paypal for a small S/H charge and one month later they allowed a 2nd charge to go through for a lot more.

Now I have to go through a whole dispute process and my money is gone until resolved. Not sure how a 1 time use card can be used over and over and the guy at paypal didn't have an answer.

Don't use PayPal, use a credit card that allows you to create a virtual number. PayPal has lots of negative feedback and I'm not surprised to hear they created a problem for you.

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hiphil

15 years ago

My gripe is not with marketers who make it obvious that you are signing up to a subscription when you place your order. It is with those who hide it in the fine print and/or make it difficult to unsubscribe.

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sevenish

15 years ago

I find that most forced-continuity programs that I've seen in the past couple of years use pretty stealthy text to "inform" the prospect of the reality of what will happen.

Some of these **** CPA offers begin the effective trial from the moment the user hits the submit button. Since it takes some time for the trial product to actually ship and reach the customer, he/she is usually surprised to find the credit card charged for a full shipment only a few days after they've received the trial.

On top of that, it's nearly impossible to meet the criteria for a cancellation, e.g. contacting the call center.

I know these things make money, but I find these sorts of deceptions unethical at best.

Note: I'm not whining about offers wherein the advertiser makes it very clear to the user when and why the next charge will appear on the card.

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BigVin

15 years ago

I've only seen it used like that on CPA offers.

Smart marketers use it all the time as a lead generation method, but of course there is no charges beyond the S&H.

There shouldn't be any hidden continuity offers in there unless they're dirty...

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jasonl70

15 years ago

Here's what I do to avoid problems with canceling a forced continuity:
I go get a $25 visa gift card from the store, and us that. As long as you register it before hand, they will work online w/o any problems.

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BigVin

15 years ago

Good idea Jason!

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1 reply

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Loren Woirhaye 15 years ago

People SHOULD be cautious about these things - however
as marketers the FREE CD or DVD offer (plus shipping) is
a great way to get quality leads and anybody who is
looking at building a business around lead gen - followup
should consider using it.

It screens out the tirekickers from impovershed regions.
It screeds out the people who never buy anything, don't have
a credit card, or distrust the internet as a way of commerce.

Then you have a list of people listening to you talk about
about your business and they paid to get the information.

Additionally, once people have agreed to pay $6 for shipping
a surprising percentage will take you up on an immediate
upsell offer... since they have their credit cards out anyway.

Psychologically - it works to put more qualified buyers in your
sales funnel. Cool.
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- JohnMcCabe 15 years ago
  
  As with most of these "they're out to cheat you" threads, the problem isn't in the model, it's in the execution.
  
  Self-liquidating lead generation can be deadly effective. And with services like Kunaki, you can even test multiple offers. When you find a winner, you can scale up.
  
  The shipping & handling charge (note the "& handling") should cover the cost of fulfillment with maybe a little bit left over to help with ad costs. If your ad costs are low enough, you might cover everything.
  
  The problem isn't even with subscription programs as long as you have proper transparency.
  
  A certain car-salesman-turned-guru had a continuity program launch a year or so ago where all the sales materials touted easy cancellation via a toll-free phone call. The number was prominently displayed - until you actually signed up. The site that you returned to had no mention of the number, nor did the physical product. To be fair, this oversight was quickly corrected, so this isn't an attack on him.
  
  To sum up...
  
  There are people using this method who are perfectly transparent and above board.
  
  There are people using this method with good intentions who make human errors. How well and quickly they correct those errors determines whether they move up or down this list.
  
  There are shitweasels (thanks to the late Gary Halbert for a perfect word) who are out to lie, cheat and steal their way through life.
  
  Where someone lands on that list has nothing to do with the mechanism and everything to do with the use and intent behind that use.
  
  Thanks
  
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Beware "FREE" DVD Offers

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