Big Marketing Guru Busted by Feds!

212 replies
Update: 'King of Infomercials' Don Lapre Arrested -- Indicted for Fraud | TMZ.com


News Headlines

TV pitchman Don Lapre faces 25 years in 1 bed prison cell over '$52m fraud' | Mail Online

Don Lapre?

TV Pitchman Accused, Bilks Customers Out of $52 Million

A grand jury has indicted a Phoenix-based TV pitchman accused of running a nationwide scheme to sell essentially worthless Internet-based businesses to more than 200,000 people.

Federal prosecutors say Donald Lapre is charged with 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and promotional money laundering. He's accused of overseeing and promoting the opportunity through his company called "The Greatest Vitamin in the World."

During the course of the scheme, the government says at least 220,000 victims were defrauded of nearly $52 million.

Lapre was often seen on television giving his hard-luck life story and how he was able to turn his life around. He refers to himself on his website as "The King of Infomercials."

Lapre has not responded to an email seeking comment.
#big #busted #feds #guru #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author LarzM
    I remember that guy.I always wondered what had happened to him.I remember watching him in the wee hours of the morning telling me all I had to do was place one tiny classified ad in the newspaper and I was on my way to riches.

    You know, the exact same thing he did from his tiny one bedroom apartment.
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  • Profile picture of the author Always-A-Warrior
    I never liked the guy and his way of marketing. Anyone in marketing could see it coming long ago.

    But from it being his vitamins, I can see how the government may have played a role in shutting him down or they can't make money off their health plans.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jaymark
      The guy was certainly shady. Nice to see that things do eventually catch up with people who take advantage of the good and trusting nature of most people. To prey on desperate folks who are looking for ways out their financial problems is terrible.

      Spend time on this forum and you'll find plenty of legitimate opportunities and great information. Thanks for sharing this post.
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  • Profile picture of the author timpears
    Yes, Don has been selling worthless crap for more years than I can remember. I remember the 'tiny classified ads' and wanted to smack him in the face every time I saw it, as I considered it just a scam to pry money from the pocket of unsuspecting victims.

    Good to see the Feds finally caught up to him.
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    Tim Pears

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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by timpears View Post

      I remember the 'tiny classified ads'
      So do I. After all, it made me a little over $10,000 during the six months I used it.

      Don made me a lot more money with that than any other product I'd ever bought, most of them a lot more expensive, some of them over ten times the price. I've always counted him as my first IM mentor.

      I don't know. Just seems a little unfair to write off his whole career as a worthless scam over what amounts to a stupid mistake over white-label vitamin products. Don wasn't the only guy taken in by the hype around selling health supplements; there are probably a dozen or more old-school warriors here who did the same, just not at the sheer scale Don did.
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      • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
        The maths seem to indicate that each person spent, on average, around $250.

        If Don Lapre gave them a viable business model for that price, it seems reasonable.

        If you want to buy into a lot of MLM schemes you would probably lay out a lot more than $250.

        What I suspect is behind this is the FDA crackdown on anything alternative. Don's pills may or may not be effective, but because he is not Pfizer or GlaxoSmithKline he's for the high jump.


        Martin
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        • Profile picture of the author John Galt
          Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post


          What I suspect is behind this is the FDA crackdown on anything alternative. Don's pills may or may not be effective, but because he is not Pfizer or GlaxoSmithKline he's for the high jump.


          Martin
          ^^^THIS.

          There's plenty to learn by looking into the sheer number of marketers (well known and otherwise) that got labeled "frauds" and thrown in jail after playing in the Alternative Health market. I'm not one for breaking out the tin foil hat, but it's hard not to notice a pattern.

          Freeze assets. Confiscate business materials. Turn on the media machine. Rinse - Wash - Repeat.

          Are 'protected interests' at work? Who am I to make an option. But the fact is this: Lapre is facing 25 years for selling a health supplement. The average sentence for a rapist is 11.8 years (Wikipedia). :confused:
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          • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
            Banned
            Originally Posted by John Galt View Post

            Lapre is facing 25 years for selling a health supplement. The average sentence for a rapist is 11.8 years (Wikipedia). :confused:
            He was not indicted for selling vitamins. He was indicted for the fraud involved in selling the vitamin business to others.

            Lapre fraudulently provided his investor/victims, known as "Independent Advertisers" (IAs), with false vitamin sales records. These records encouraged IAs to purchase additional advertising and services in the hope of obtaining commissions including $1,000 checks. Lapre also fraudulently sold bulk Internet traffic to IAs while claiming that it was targeted to individuals who were seeking to either buy vitamins or invest in similar businesses.
            The company recruited hundreds of thousands of people to start up web-based businesses selling vitamins under the premise that it would provide support and marketing through expensive ads.

            Investors who bought into Lapre's Greatest Vitamin business model, however, were allegedly misled as the company tried to get them to purchase additional advertising and other services.
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      • Profile picture of the author jasonthewebmaster
        Banned
        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

        So do I. After all, it made me a little over $10,000 during the six months I used it.

        Don made me a lot more money with that than any other product I'd ever bought, most of them a lot more expensive, some of them over ten times the price. I've always counted him as my first IM mentor.

        I don't know. Just seems a little unfair to write off his whole career as a worthless scam over what amounts to a stupid mistake over white-label vitamin products. Don wasn't the only guy taken in by the hype around selling health supplements; there are probably a dozen or more old-school warriors here who did the same, just not at the sheer scale Don did.
        Incredibly interesting!
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    • Profile picture of the author bcagle
      Me three. I can remember seeing those while sitting up trying to figure out some new program (like frontpage or dreamweaver - LOL). I still remember thinking, classified ads cost money, potentially lots of money.
      Well this ain't for me. Seriously, it amazes me what people will fall for, and it angers me that so many take advantage of those who are in a place of desperation to make a dollar selling some worthless crap. Glad he got busted. Maybe there is a lesson there for some.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
      Originally Posted by timpears View Post

      Yes, Don has been selling worthless crap for more years than I can remember. I remember the 'tiny classified ads' and wanted to smack him in the face every time I saw it, as I considered it just a scam to pry money from the pocket of unsuspecting victims.

      Good to see the Feds finally caught up to him.
      He truly deserves it. You have to treat your customer like gold. You can't sell crap, and you can't always ask for more and more money. He's just one of those idiots that is trying to take every cent out of a customer.
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
      Originally Posted by timpears View Post

      Yes, Don has been selling worthless crap for more years than I can remember. I remember the 'tiny classified ads' and wanted to smack him in the face every time I saw it, as I considered it just a scam to pry money from the pocket of unsuspecting victims.

      Good to see the Feds finally caught up to him.
      What do you base this on? Did you try his method or are you just assuming that it was a scam and stating your assumption as a fact?
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  • Profile picture of the author Hinakhan
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      I can't comment on the the Federal Charges, since I tend to agree that gov't doesn't like it when they, and insurance companies are prevented from protecting you from you, but....

      To those in this thread calling him a fraud:

      I'm wondering, did you ever buy or read his 'tiny classified ads' product?

      I did. I don't think I was even 20 years old when I bought that thing, and I didn't find anything fraudulent about it.

      He was giving a proven and effective advertising method for generating income for your business, and he did even tell you what kinds of businesses did well from classified advertising.

      Nothing fraudulent there. Some people pay for $40,000 for an MBA to learn that, and still never grasp it at all.

      -Dani

      P.S. And yes, I did do a lot of classified ad placements for my brick and mortar business and the ROI was unbelievable. When I first started, I didn't believe that anybody read the classifieds... I was wrong.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        I'm wondering, did you ever buy or read his 'tiny classified ads' product?

        I did. I don't think I was even 20 years old when I bought that thing, and I didn't find anything fraudulent about it.

        He was giving a proven and effective advertising method for generating income for your business, and he did even tell you what kinds of businesses did well from classified advertising.

        Nothing fraudulent there. Some people pay for $40,000 for an MBA to learn that, and still never grasp it at all.
        I also bought that product and thought I got my money's worth.

        I did get double billed on the upsell ($25 if my memory serves me right) but that could happen as a simple mistake.

        No comment on the vitamin product.

        ~Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        I can't comment on the the Federal Charges, since I tend to agree that gov't doesn't like it when they, and insurance companies are prevented from protecting you from you, but....

        To those in this thread calling him a fraud:

        I'm wondering, did you ever buy or read his 'tiny classified ads' product?

        I did. I don't think I was even 20 years old when I bought that thing, and I didn't find anything fraudulent about it.

        He was giving a proven and effective advertising method for generating income for your business, and he did even tell you what kinds of businesses did well from classified advertising.

        Nothing fraudulent there. Some people pay for $40,000 for an MBA to learn that, and still never grasp it at all.

        -Dani

        P.S. And yes, I did do a lot of classified ad placements for my brick and mortar business and the ROI was unbelievable. When I first started, I didn't believe that anybody read the classifieds... I was wrong.
        That's what I was thinking.

        Of course the stuff works.

        It is alll up to the individual and whether or not you apply it.
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      Originally Posted by Hinakhan View Post

      This fraudulent should be punished exemplary so that no one else can dare to do so and also there should be some social awareness program to educate people about these modern techs of frauds

      I dunno.. maybe it's just me, but this reads like one of the spam comments I get on my blogs.

      Anyone else?

      -Dani
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        I dunno.. maybe it's just me, but this reads like one of the spam comments I get on my blogs.

        Anyone else?

        -Dani
        Definitely. I'm adding this sentence for the purpose of TOS compliance, since the post only needs the first word-how'd I do?
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      • Profile picture of the author HeySal
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        I dunno.. maybe it's just me, but this reads like one of the spam comments I get on my blogs.

        Anyone else?

        -Dani
        My guess? Paid poster - gov expansion propaganda:rolleyes:
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        • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
          Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

          Florida must breed annoying marketers. The one I REALLY can't stand is Vince Runza, the SHAM WOW & SLAPCHOP "you're gonna love my nuts" guy. Haven't seen much of him since the famous "hooker bit my tongue" scandal. (Google that if you want to laugh). The Slapchop commercial used to be on Youtube. I don't know if it still is.

          Thomas
          I forgot about that guy too! I don't know anything about any hookers... guess I'll Google it. LOL

          Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

          My guess? Paid poster - gov expansion propaganda:rolleyes:
          Hey Sal! You know that Paul don't like none of that political stuff up here. Keep that in the basement down at the OT forum so's ya don't be gettin' our fun thread deleted up here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Janet Scettrini
    Do people still read classifieds? I thought that died previous to 2000.

    J
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      Janet,
      I still read them. I'm still very attached to my daily newspaper, and I get much better 'local' info from there than I do on the web.

      Besides which... you should see the stuff people GIVE AWAY... patio block, fencing, all kinds of household stuff (I'm always working on the house and yard)...

      And not everyone knows about Craigslist and FreeCycle to post there to give their stuff away, or if they do, they're afraid to post on the "Internet" because then 'strangers' will have their address and hunt them down and kill them, or worse... have their email address and send them SPAM.

      -Dani
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      • Profile picture of the author Janet Scettrini
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        Janet,
        I still read them. I'm still very attached to my daily newspaper, and I get much better 'local' info from there than I do on the web.

        Besides which... you should see the stuff people GIVE AWAY... patio block, fencing, all kinds of household stuff (I'm always working on the house and yard)...

        And not everyone knows about Craigslist and FreeCycle to post there to give their stuff away, or if they do, they're afraid to post on the "Internet" because then 'strangers' will have their address and hunt them down and kill them, or worse... have their email address and send them SPAM.

        -Dani
        Haha.. I use craigslist for this. I've gotten some cool free stuff. That's interesting that people still do that stuff in classifieds. I suppose these will eventually die out. I am sure they have gone down in popularity as print media is struggling.

        J
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        Janet,
        I still read them. I'm still very attached to my daily newspaper, and I get much better 'local' info from there than I do on the web.

        Besides which... you should see the stuff people GIVE AWAY... patio block, fencing, all kinds of household stuff (I'm always working on the house and yard)...

        And not everyone knows about Craigslist and FreeCycle to post there to give their stuff away, or if they do, they're afraid to post on the "Internet" because then 'strangers' will have their address and hunt them down and kill them, or worse... have their email address and send them SPAM.

        -Dani
        Hilarious!-awesome post-great (insightful) joke at the end, and a great reminder about the stuff people give away. Thanks for the laugh-I usually don't use "lol" because everyone knows it means next to nothing, but you really did make me laugh-so thanks!
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      Originally Posted by Janet Scettrini View Post

      Do people still read classifieds? I thought that died previous to 2000.

      J
      No they still work very well, otherwise people wouldn't waste money placing them. That's why Nigerian dead rich Uncle scams still go about and why I get 20 useless viagra ads in my inbox a day.

      If those scams still get people falling for them, why on earth would classified ads not work? If they died 11 years ago, why are people still placing them?
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  • Profile picture of the author azmanar
    Hi,

    Lapre's marketing via Classified Ads to reach prospects is never a fraud.

    But selling products with miraculous claims that turns out to be junk is.
    And spreading the junk via MLM business model, is even worse.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    I hope the people trashing him in this thread have actually bought/used his stuff.

    It's easy to nail people and jump on the bandwagon once someone starts, but unless you actually know the facts of everything it doesn't seem right to trash his whole career or the guy himself.

    If it's even remotely possible that he thought he was helping people and had been misled by others it seems right to give him the benefit of the doubt.

    I don't know him or his stuff but it seems that the reactions here are harsh whatever the situation actually is.

    If he's done something wrong and been caught out then I'm sure he'll pay the price, but there are also a lot of people that get highlighted incorrectly or for other peoples malicious reasons rather than their wrongdoing.
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    nothing to see here.

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    • Profile picture of the author azmanar
      Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post


      If he's done something wrong and been caught out then I'm sure he'll pay the price, but there are also a lot of people that get highlighted incorrectly or for other peoples malicious reasons rather than their wrongdoing.
      Hi,

      I agree because the verdict is not out yet.

      However, everyone has the right to express their opinions,
      whether positive or negative.

      With that amount of info, it is their values that spoke out.

      So, if there are no conversations about this matter,
      their opinions and speculations will remain as they are.

      When there are discussions, there would always be something
      to learn. From it, people may change their minds.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
        Originally Posted by azmanar View Post

        When there are discussions, there would always be something
        to learn. From it, people may change their minds.
        But the question is - Who is trying to change whose mind?

        From my perspective I don't care either way. My success and my business are determined by me.

        I could buy lottery tickets but unless I'm stupid I would expect that they should be my only plan for financial success.

        People often blame 'scams' for their lack of success and it's possible that the person mentioned in the OP is being used as a scapegoat for many people that need someone else to blame.

        If you were personally affected by him and you think there's something positive to gain by talking about the experience - that's one thing, but just complaining about him and 'people like him' if you never met the guy or bought his stuff only serves to focus your mind on negativity and probably for no reward or positive reason.
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        nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author GetMoreTraffic
    That's an interesting question with these biz ops. 999 people out of 1000 may fail, while one goes on to achieve great success with the same system.

    Does that make the system a scam because 999 people failed, or a great product because someone proved that it can work?
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    • Profile picture of the author azmanar
      Originally Posted by RobTheCopywriter View Post

      That's an interesting question with these biz ops. 999 people out of 1000 may fail, while one goes on to achieve great success with the same system.

      Does that make the system a scam because 999 people failed, or a great product because someone proved that it can work?
      lol .... that 1 special person from 1,000 would be the best scammer.

      just kidding.
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      • Profile picture of the author JROC777
        I got caught by the infomercial many many years ago when I really knew nothing. I really just remember getting called by his company on a daily basis for upgrade after upgrade and it never worked for me but as I read earlier everyone can have a different experience.

        His telemarketers in my case outright sucked, they would call to sell the upgrade and would sound like they were bored out of their minds I remember one guy actually yawned more than once during the conversation and that it for me.

        This post actually reminded me of that real estate guy "Tom Vu" I think that's him name? I remember as a kid he was always on TV pitching the get rich in real estate on his luxury boat with his bikini girls lol

        Wow how the time fly's when I saw the name Don Lapre it took me back to my beginnings of getting started on my own.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Well, I just see the government doing things they shouldn't in first place:

    running a nationwide scheme to sell essentially worthless Internet-based businesses to more than 200,000 people.
    I can sell tap WATER with the promise of how great it is to your body.

    It's also "essentially worthless" BUT it's my customers job to reckon if they need it or not.

    Plus, almost everything my wife buys it's "essentially worthless" and I don't see the government going after shoe companies promising a better ass.

    FFS... this world is totally ****ed up.
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    • Profile picture of the author kctang
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Plus, almost everything my wife buys it's "essentially worthless" and I don't see the government going after shoe companies promising a better ass.
      +1.

      There's a saying in Chinese that goes "a woman's money is the easiest to profit from." And this was my Chinese gf at the time telling me this.


      I vaguely remember those classified ad commercials. Its funny how I still scoffed and made the assumption reading the OP "bah it was just a scam after all".

      Then I read about warriors who actually made money following the system, only after which I stop to think about the demographic now and at the time of release, to realize how it was a goods exchange system that was unparralleled esp before the internet...

      Guess I got a lot to learn about direct marketing. I'm still making a lot of assumptions without considering stats or possibilities.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Well, I just see the government doing things they shouldn't in first place:



      I can sell tap WATER with the promise of how great it is to your body.

      It's also "essentially worthless" BUT it's my customers job to reckon if they need it or not.

      Plus, almost everything my wife buys it's "essentially worthless" and I don't see the government going after shoe companies promising a better ass.

      FFS... this world is totally ****ed up.
      I didn't read the indictment but my understanding is that he's getting nailed for selling the biz opp not that product/vitamins where worthless. I have no idea. But he was selling folks their own Internet business selling the vitamins.

      I have a friend who got into that but with Herbalife. Not sure if it's similar or not but he never made any money (lost money yes) in the Herbalief MLM business.

      Note... I bought the tiny classified ads in the late 90's off of eBay not the TV. Seemed like good information. I never tried it so I never made any money but that's not my fault. It's that Don Lapre scammer.
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      • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
        Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

        Uh...just a little distinction I think you may have missed. Site owners who profit from adsense still own the site, and solicit the ads-they know what they are doing and where the money is coming from.

        I don't think Ford participates in a program where they get paid directly based on how many drugs or pizzas get sold out of their leased cars. The site owners actually build their sites with content designed to attract clicks on paid ads. If you could show that Ford makes cars specifically designed for drug transport, and got more money for them because of it, you might have a point.

        Actually... a little distinction YOU missed... is that Adsense publishers DO NOT 'solicit' ads. A giant co-op advertising adminstrator does the soliciting (Adwords) and the placement (Adsense). It's called "Google"
        .

        Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

        Is he that jerk thats always yelling about something-like Oxyclean? I always want to smack that guy upside the head!
        You say 'jerk', I say legend.

        Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

        How about those charlatans who sold tickets to flying saucer rides, which were supposed to happen during the "Harmonic Convergence", at several hundred (or was it thousands?), and then when the saucers failed to appear, they told the buyers their tickets were open-ended, and would be good whenever the tardy ships arrive.

        HAHHAHA... Well I bought my acre of land on the moon? But then, I have slightly more than half a brain, and I appreciate the humor...


        Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

        What? People have no free will? Misled? Into believing the world would end on a certain date? Okay. Maybe there should be laws against plain stupidity... :rolleyes:
        I'm thinking of how many prisons we'd have to build...

        Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

        "Death don't have no mercy", as the song goes. I hope his whole legacy doesn't consist of that annoying yelling. His commercials were so bad, that as much as I tend to hate most TV advertisments, none got me to reach for the mute button faster than his.
        His legacy consists of one word: "Pitchman."

        I gotta stop reading this thread. LOL.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lisa Hayslett
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Well, I just see the government doing things they shouldn't in first place:



      I can sell tap WATER with the promise of how great it is to your body.

      It's also "essentially worthless" BUT it's my customers job to reckon if they need it or not.

      Plus, almost everything my wife buys it's "essentially worthless" and I don't see the government going after shoe companies promising a better ass.

      FFS... this world is totally ****ed up.
      I LOVE it! You are exactly right.
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  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    No wonder why marketers have to place a mile and a half worth of legal disclaimers on their product pages these days.
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    Nothing to see here folks.....move along.

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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Jackson
    Classifieds can still make a killing as long as you have a product you can sell.

    I recently advertised a product for jobseekers on how to land a job - contained info about creating a great resume and how to prepare for the interview properly...

    I won't disclose figures... only that it worked.

    Dean

    P.S. If I see anyone trying to sell this as a WSO, watch out
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Big infomercials - big claims of profit - and ignoring massive customer complaints....not a good combination.

      Lapre is the ultimate pitchman with constant upsells - and this time he may have gone too far. I've seen some of his infomercials - he's like a make money marketer on steroids.

      Be interesting to see how it ends up.

      kay
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      • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
        I know the FDA has even been going after legitimate chains like GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe for selling Vitamins - GNC even had a sign in their stores awhile back that the FDA was trying to stop them selling half their Vitamins

        Like some one said above - no doubt to help everyone get sick and need more medical care

        Lets not forget he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law!
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        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Aussie_Al View Post

          I know the FDA has even been going after legitimate chains like GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe for selling Vitamins - GNC even had a sign in their stores awhile back that the FDA was trying to stop them selling half their Vitamins
          This case wasn't about selling his "world's best vitamins"

          It was about his selling his world's best vitamins" websites to thousands of people with the promise that he would foot the bill for high priced advertising for the vitamins .... which he did not do.

          The company recruited hundreds of thousands of people to start up web-based businesses selling vitamins under the premise that it would provide support and marketing through expensive ads.

          Investors who bought into Lapre's Greatest Vitamin business model, however, were allegedly misled as the company tried to get them to purchase additional advertising and other services.

          The company was shut down in 2007 after customers filed hundreds of complaints with the Phoenix Better Business Bureau, Arizona Attorney General's Office, Federal Trade Commission, Internet Crime Complaint Center and the postal inspection service.

          Meanwhile, Lapre was personally paid more than $2.2 million from the business between 2004 and 2007, according to the indictment.

          During the course of the scheme, at least 220,000 victims were defrauded of nearly $52 million, according to U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke .

          Read more: TV pitchman Don Lapre faces 25 years in 1 bed prison cell over '$52m fraud' | Mail Online
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          • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
            Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

            It was about his selling his world's best vitamins" websites to thousands of people with the promise that he would foot the bill for high priced advertising for the vitamins .... which he did not do.
            As I recall, while it looked and sounded a lot like he was promising this, he did it in a very slick and impressive way.

            He essentially said "buy this website advertising this product, and I'll let you pay me to advertise it more instead of paying someone else to advertise it! Think of how much money you'll save not paying those people, because you're paying me instead!"

            And I thought that was really very funny, because of the way he spun it. He basically told people he was going to sell them an overpriced website for an overpriced product so they could buy overpriced advertising.

            "Do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take your money. That's right, call right now, and I'll take your money. In fact, I'll take a lot of your money. And I'll keep taking it, too. Just pick up the phone, and give me your money. You don't want to give your money to those other guys, do you? Give it to me!"

            And what people are complaining about now is that when he stood there and said that, they were gullible and credulous enough to do it. My personal opinion is that we should label this a "stupid tax" and send them back home with a good swift kick in the arse.

            His fundamental error was that the vitamins were actually falsely advertised, because he didn't know squat about vitamins. He just believed what the supplier told him.

            In much the same way his customers went on to believe him.
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            "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
      Dean,

      Great idea. And it was right in front of my nose.... aarrrggghhhh.

      I'm sure it did well. Especially with the economic and job situation we're in.

      Kevin

      Originally Posted by Dean Jackson View Post

      Classifieds can still make a killing as long as you have a product you can sell.

      I recently advertised a product for jobseekers on how to land a job - contained info about creating a great resume and how to prepare for the interview properly...

      I won't disclose figures... only that it worked.

      Dean

      P.S. If I see anyone trying to sell this as a WSO, watch out
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    So the government makes charges and that means the guy is automatically guilty? Interesting. I had a bunch of Don's stuff and most of it was excellent. Very simple, workable methods to make money. I'll admit the guy came across like a slippery, used car salesman. But show me one clown in Washington DC these days, supposedly representing the people, who doesn't.

    It's sad how the alphabet soup agencies of the govt, many of which are mired in corruption up to their eyeballs, are the very ones that get to pass judgment on everyone else.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tarik93
    damn unlucky
    perhaps disclaimers are your friend after all
    though serves him right if his product was useless
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    I hope more people like this are busted. I hate those that prey on others' desperation.
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  • Profile picture of the author AceOfShirts
    I bought his classified ad package "back in the day" and I still have it. Back them it was probably worth the $19.95, but it could have been 1 manual instead of six and the worthless video.

    I didn't buy his vitamins, 900 numbers, some type of email to remember important dates business he was pushing and other stuff.

    I wonder what ever happened to Brad Richdale. I bought his infomercial package and his video taped seminar that was pretty good. Probably about $149 total. I remember he was big on reselling RR material.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
      Originally Posted by Ace Of Shirts View Post

      I bought his classified ad package "back in the day" and I still have it. Back them it was probably worth the $19.95, but it could have been 1 manual instead of six and the worthless video.

      I didn't buy his vitamins, 900 numbers, some type of email to remember important dates business he was pushing and other stuff.

      I wonder what ever happened to Brad Richdale. I bought his infomercial package and his video taped seminar that was pretty good. Probably about $149 total. I remember he was big on reselling RR material.
      I made a ton of money off Brad richdales course (over $100,000) and am even using the information he gave me to develop another product which should be released in the next few months, but even he was nabbed by the feds and I gave him a statement of my earnings and success with his program to back up his program and defense with the feds.

      I think half the problem is 97% dont take action and then blame everyone but themselves.

      I also had Don Lapres classifieds ads course and thought it was well worth the money that course also got him into trouble, this is the second issue with the feds for him.

      Gaz Cooper
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    If there's anything I've learned being in business for as long as I have been is to definitely not believe anything I read until I've gotten all the facts. The article cited has very little of them. I cannot comment on "The Greatest Vitamin In The World" because I don't know enough about it. But I can comment on some of Don Lapre's other products because I've used them.

    Way back in the day when I was a teenager I bought Don Lapre's Classified Ads program that came with some bonuses. One of those bonuses was about "Buying And Selling". That book showed me where to find great deals and how to sell them in a way where I could double my investment. When my father cut me off from paying my tuition and dorms during my Junior year in college (long story), Don Lapre's program was instrumental in helping me raise enough cash to make that $600 plus a month payment to make sure I had a roof over my head.

    I never liked his style and always thought he was over-the-top, but I still bought the program because I knew that I would absorb it and take massive action on it. If it didn't work it had a 30 day money back guarantee. Go figure, I thought he was full of hype, but he was still very good at hitting the right emotional triggers. I more than doubled my money in the first couple of weeks by following his advice. I then took the knowledge that I learned and used it to help fraternities and sororities on campus to raise money.

    So when it comes to Don Lapre, I have mixed feelings about him; in the past I used to jump on the band wagon and called him a scam artist, totally forgetting that it was his program that helped me pay for some of my college expenses. Remember what happened to Frank Kern when the Feds came after him for a product that he made that went viral? Sometimes the government gets it wrong. I'm going to wait by the sidelines and am not going to throw a single stone unless I have all the facts, which I don't have at this time.

    RoD
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    I am not going to read all the other comments, but, I just wanted to say that I haven't seen Don on T.V. since the 90's. I don't understand what the gov't call themselves doing. This is liken to prosecuting Mike and Irene Milan in 2011.

    :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
    I hate hearing stories like this, it adds further distrust in our industry.

    Scammers like this should be prosecuted! I'm surprised to see that this is the second time he's been busted by the Feds. You think you'd learn from your mistakes!
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe118
      Originally Posted by RevSEO View Post

      I hate hearing stories like this, it adds further distrust in our industry.

      Scammers like this should be prosecuted! I'm surprised to see that this is the second time he's been busted by the Feds. You think you'd learn from your mistakes!
      Please remember we don't know all the facts. Some people in this thread stood up for Don, saying his stuff helped them. He may have done some wrong but it is clear he also helped people.

      Besides -- products don't help people, only action helps.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
        Originally Posted by Joe118 View Post

        Please remember we don't know all the facts. Some people in this thread stood up for Don, saying his stuff helped them. He may have done some wrong but it is clear he also helped people.
        I've yet to see a scam artist that didn't helps someone. Thats not to say Don is or was one. I don't think its balanced even on a marketing forum to either attack or defend him until the facts are known. From what I am reading the classified ad product has nothing to do with why the feds are after him so that really doesn't matter.

        The one thing I will say is that sooner or later greed gets you. By all accounts Don has made some nice coin. People get into this game to reach a goal but somewhere along the way the goal becomes monopoly rather than having a life away from it . They fall in love with the game always looking for the next hit. Seen it up close in a family member. They are pushing 80 and can't let go. Get a nice house in a nice community get two or three cars to amuse you,a few other things and then think about other people, seeing the world enriching your family with your presence, making a real difference in the world.

        You win the game when you are no longer in the rat race not when you become the fastest running rat.
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      • Profile picture of the author psresearch
        Originally Posted by Joe118 View Post

        Please remember we don't know all the facts. Some people in this thread stood up for Don, saying his stuff helped them. He may have done some wrong but it is clear he also helped people.

        Besides -- products don't help people, only action helps.
        I agree. There was a lot of crazy stuff I recall that when on with his business, including who actually was controlling it at different times.
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    • Profile picture of the author scrofford
      Originally Posted by RevSEO View Post

      Scammers like this should be prosecuted! I'm surprised to see that this is the second time he's been busted by the Feds. You think you'd learn from your mistakes!
      And how do you know Don Lapre is such a scammer? I know that the things he has sold in the past have made a lot of people a lot of money. You can't just assume just because someone is indicted by our wonderful (*cough*) U.S. Government that they are automatically guilty.
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      • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
        Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

        And how do you know Don Lapre is such a scammer? I know that the things he has sold in the past have made a lot of people a lot of money. You can't just assume just because someone is indicted by our wonderful (*cough*) U.S. Government that they are automatically guilty.
        Sorry you are right, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I'm a long time affiliate marketer and the guys that just recently got indicted were big time scammers. I jumped to conclusions before knowing the facts.
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  • Profile picture of the author scrofford
    Here's the infomercial that made him famous:


    I do think it's too bad that he got hammered. I know his tiny classified ads worked pretty well for some people back in the day.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      If you think gurus have a lock on shady practices, and judging by a few of the comments on this thread Don has delivered the goods in a satisfactiory way to many, take a look at this...

      The product is a made for TV promotion. It's an automatic stirrer for cooking food. Just read the comments...

      RoboStir reviews, complaints, does it work, scam, where to buy, videos and more. - As Seen On TV Product Reviews

      ~Bill
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    • Profile picture of the author research
      Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

      Here's the infomercial that made him famous:

      YouTube - ‪Don Lapre Sells Tiny Classified Ads‬‏

      I do think it's too bad that he got hammered. I know his tiny classified ads worked pretty well for some people back in the day.
      Gee Thanks . . . Many thanks for posting the Don Lapre Classifieds video. Great stuff and an inspiration.

      Based in the United Kingdom I don't get to see the late, late TV Infomercials as much as I would really like. I love this stuff and it is great to see how these guys make a pitch.

      Another thing I miss here in the UK is the fantastic range of money making and opportunity magazines. I get some through once in a while . . . but never enough.

      I find all this marketing stuff an inspiration and a great brainstormer.

      Be seeing you . . .
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  • I purchased a real estate program from him like a decade ago and i think (not sure) he was busted back then looks like he must have moved to IM when he got out.

    It's sad that the government has to police this I think the founding fathers would be ashamed that we have a nany state they would not police responsible citizens I never got a refund it was my fault no the governments and I don't think I want them to protect me for making a mistake that is my fault.
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    LOL, I love one of his GUARANTEES he used for his real estate informercials.

    "I Guarantee This Course Will Excite You..."

    (or somethin like that, from what I recall.)

    True.
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Yeah, I remember this one... it stunk of sham:


    When they rolled it out they focused very little on the vitamin and instead sold people on how much money they could make selling this sham to others as a business opportunity.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Yeah, I remember this one... it stunk of sham:
      lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
      blouses.
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      • Profile picture of the author weblink29
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
        blouses.
        I could sell a lot of vitamins if that were the effect of taking them
        Signature

        Nothing to see here folks.....move along.

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        • Profile picture of the author Matthew Loop
          Yeah, the classified ad strategy he promoted was actually a pretty savvy strategy. I bought his course when I was 18... lol. I made a little money but wasn't committed at the time to doing more.

          I don't have experience with his other products and not sure what the real situation is with those. There's no denying he could pitch well and move a lot of product, though.
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        • Profile picture of the author TheCG
          People are so quick to cry "SCAM" when someone markets something they don't understand or something that didn't "work" for them.

          The general public is so predisposed these days to having the government act as their babysitter, watching out for them and making sure everything is neat and sanitary and "fair." The irony of one of the most corrupt systems in operation today "protecting you" seems to sail right over their heads.

          Well, life isn't fair and I would much rather take care of myself and be responsible for my own actions than have the government rammed up my @ss 24/7.

          Whew.......where is the Tylenol?
          Signature

          Yes, by the way, I AM in the Witness Protection Program. I could tell you who I am but then I would have to kill you.

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        • Profile picture of the author TerranceCharles
          Wow, that is some news. I remember years back when my cousin was
          promoting his product "The greatest vitamin in the world" although he did
          make some serious money with it, I saw it as legit. Just goes to show you
          never know what's really going on behind the scenes :confused:
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        • Profile picture of the author travisafleming
          Iv been watching this guy for years! He's a great pitch man... there is no doubting that. I hope all the money he's made has bought him a great lawyers firm to defend him...
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael D Forbes
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
        blouses.
        Thanks. I just choked on my trail mix. I was just pondering that when I saw you had posted this. Instant guffaw.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
        blouses.
        Not really. Nothing too unusual in the women. Its the effect the vitamins have on the cut of the blouse. Apparently the vitamins interact with Cotton/Rayon causing the neck line to be eaten away in a very uniform plunging way. Quite remarkable but scary at the same time.
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      • Profile picture of the author Snow_Predator
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
        blouses.
        Hmmm did they actually show the vitamins? I duno, the screen just seemed to be occluded by.... mmm
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    • Profile picture of the author azmanar
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Josh,

      There is no sham with what the video presented, especially the talking head. She is stating facts about nutrition - natural enzymes, pro-biotics, minerals and etc. So far the facts are ok.

      What matter most is whether the product would do what it claims to do.

      Maybe these claims have angered some mighty drug corporations.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      A bit off-topic, but...

      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      When they rolled it out they focused very little on the vitamin and instead sold people on how much money they could make selling this sham to others as a business opportunity.
      This is exactly my issue with MLM. I don't like the MLM business model because it seems so scammy to me. There HAVE been a lot of MLM scams, but you can't argue with legitimate MLM's like Amway or Herbalife. But there's just something about making most of your money from recruiting distributors instead of actually selling the product or service that's fishy. It seems more scammy than anything else.

      (That and selling to your family and friends. Blech!)

      As for Don Lapre, I never bought any of his stuff. Like Jason Mo, I was in my late teens or early 20's and was just DYING to get his classified ads course, but couldn't afford it at the time. His infomercials had me hypnotized. I'd say they marked the start of my learning about direct marketing.

      Of course, I've learned a lot since then. I DID start out with learning about mail order and classified ads -- but I learned from Melvin Powers, not Don Lapre. Melvin Powers was a very savvy marketer, but without the slick, used-car salesman quality about his stuff.

      I then moved on to a much more intense and rounded study of direct marketing (from Dan Kennedy) and then IM.

      I just became a member of Dan Kennedy's Glazer-Kennedy Insider Circle. There's even a local chapter nearby that holds meetings once a month.

      Michelle
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      • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
        Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

        A bit off-topic, but...


        Of course, I've learned a lot since then. I DID start out with learning about mail order and classified ads -- but I learned from Melvin Powers, not Don Lapre. Melvin Powers was a very savvy marketer, but without the slick, used-car salesman quality about his stuff.

        Michelle
        A blast from my past.
        All lot of people here probably won't remember Melvin Powers. He used to run an outfit called Wilshire Press. I bought my first marketing book from him in the 60s. A few years later in L.A. a bunch of my friends organized this stupid contest where we would call up 5 famous people and try to get them to buy us lunch. I put him on my list and he was one of two that I actually had lunch with. What a classy guy he was. He brought along a friend (I think his name was Joe Cosgrove) who was making a killing selling mail order ant farms. They had a regular lunch almost every week together. That one lunch made me a lifetime entrepreneur. I was never again happy working for anyone else.

        Thomas
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        When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ram
          Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

          A blast from my past.
          All lot of people here probably won't remember Melvin Powers. He used to run an outfit called Wilshire Press.
          As far as I know, Melvin still runs Wilshire. I learned a lot from him, Russ Von Hoelscher, Joe Karbo, Jim Straw and Jeff Paul as well on mail order marketing. I also bought Don's classified course. And I can say they all made me a ton of money. I still use their "old school" methods for offline advertising to get leads to my squeeze pages. And I still use classified ads to this day (I never got into the 900 number biz, though.)
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          • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
            Originally Posted by Ram View Post

            As far as I know, Melvin still runs Wilshire. I learned a lot from him, Russ Von Hoelscher, Joe Karbo, Jim Straw and Jeff Paul as well on mail order marketing. I also bought Don's classified course. And I can say they all made me a ton of money. I still use their "old school" methods for offline advertising to get leads to my squeeze pages. And I still use classified ads to this day (I never got into the 900 number biz, though.)
            I'm on Jim Straw's list, I read everything he emails me, went to a seminar just to see HIM... he is one of the greats.

            -Dani
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            • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
              Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

              I'm on Jim Straw's list, I read everything he emails me, went to a seminar just to see HIM... he is one of the greats.

              -Dani
              SHHHHHHHH! He's been my secret weapon for decades. Where do you think the "gurus" on the WF are getting their stuff. Takes me back to the 60s when I took out ads in a weekly newspaper called "The Grit" for a $3 (plus postage) booklet on aquariums. My big upsell was little ceramic houses and animals which I bought for $25 a hundred (made in Poland) and sold for $1.95 (3 for $5). I bought my first car with money from that booklet.

              Thomas
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              When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    Actually I just read that in this mornings paper..

    Interesting stuff...
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  • Profile picture of the author Federer123
    Most of these high level busts involve one big no-no: auto-billing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert M Gouge
    Wow, the Don Lapre hate in this thread is astounding considering he is one of the guys who paved the way for the "Make Money" Niche and considering quite a lot of WSOs and infoproducts do the exact same thing he built his career off of.

    How many WSOs/Infoproducts have you purchased that promise 10K/mo with little to no effort on your part with their amazing, underground, top secret, new Google ranking method. Only to buy the WSO and realize it's simply a backlinking service that spams your link to forum profiles on 3,000 brand new, completely dormant forum sites?

    What the advertising doesn't tell you is that you need to scale this on 1,000 sites or more, and they will happily build you 100 automated sites for $397.

    That kind of thing is no different than some of the products I've seen of Dons. Not saying he is or isn't guilty of the charges against him, just pretty amazed at the finger pointing considering what the marketplace is full of in the Make Money Online niche.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Originally Posted by Robert M Gouge View Post

      That kind of thing is no different than some of the products I've seen of Dons. Not saying he is or isn't guilty of the charges against him, just pretty amazed at the finger pointing considering what the marketplace is full of in the Make Money Online niche.
      Somebody has to be thrown under the bus.

      Surely you weren't expecting any volunteers, now were you...:rolleyes:

      ~Bill
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Robert M Gouge View Post

      Wow, the Don Lapre hate in this thread is astounding considering he is one of the guys who paved the way for the "Make Money" Niche and considering quite a lot of WSOs and infoproducts do the exact same thing he built his career off of.

      How many WSOs/Infoproducts have you purchased that promise 10K/mo with little to no effort on your part with their amazing, underground, top secret, new Google ranking method. Only to buy the WSO and realize it's simply a backlinking service that spams your link to forum profiles on 3,000 brand new, completely dormant forum sites?

      What the advertising doesn't tell you is that you need to scale this on 1,000 sites or more, and they will happily build you 100 automated sites for $397.

      That kind of thing is no different than some of the products I've seen of Dons. Not saying he is or isn't guilty of the charges against him, just pretty amazed at the finger pointing considering what the marketplace is full of in the Make Money Online niche.
      Paving the way for an industry that is fraught with lies and scams is not great accomplishment and didn't do the industry any good. Of course, he is not solely responsible for the reputation this industry has. There have been others to pick up the ball and run with it and it is precisely why Google is taking down Youtube videos and changing it's algorithm, the FTC is hot on the trail of MMO scams and has created more rules for people to follow, Craiglist "ghosts" a lot ads, etc.

      As for how many WSOs/Infoproducts have you purchased that promise 10K/mo with little to no effort on your part with their amazing, underground, top secret.... NONE ... ZERO ... It takes a certain lack of common sense and gullibility that I don't possess to fall for outrageous claims.

      Many have said they made money with his tiny little ads, but it's fairly obvious that not all of his MMO products are as transparent as that one.
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      • Profile picture of the author Robert M Gouge
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        Paving the way for an industry that is fraught with lies and scams is not great accomplishment and didn't do the industry any good. Of course, he is not solely responsible for the reputation this industry has. There have been others to pick up the ball and run with it and it is precisely why Google is taking down Youtube videos and changing it's algorithm, the FTC is hot on the trail of MMO scams and has created more rules for people to follow, Craiglist "ghosts" a lot ads, etc.

        As for how many WSOs/Infoproducts have you purchased that promise 10K/mo with little to no effort on your part with their amazing, underground, top secret.... NONE ... ZERO ... It takes a certain lack of common sense and gullibility that I don't possess to fall for outrageous claims.

        Many have said they made money with his tiny little ads, but it's fairly obvious that not all of his MMO products are as transparent as that one.
        I agree with you. I'm not trying to defend Don or his practices in any way. I was more mentioning the pitchforking going on in this thread because he has had charges filed against him when the industry is chock-full of people who do the same thing and use the same 'scammy' advertising practices.

        Sure, you and I aren't as gullible as the general public when it comes to these types of products, but the fact that most sales pages (and the claims they make) for such products need to be ignored when considering a purchase is kind of my point.
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by Robert M Gouge View Post

      Wow, the Don Lapre hate in this thread is astounding considering he is one of the guys who paved the way for the "Make Money" Niche and considering quite a lot of WSOs and infoproducts do the exact same thing he built his career off of.
      He did not pave any part of the path followed by my company...

      However, I have over the years enjoyed doing impressions of his early ads. I must admit that Don's voice and animated antics have provided me much entertainment...

      ... so have Casey Kasem and Shaggy from Skooby Doo who's voice I also like to do impressions of.
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      • Profile picture of the author Robert M Gouge
        Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post


        However, I have over the years enjoyed doing impressions of his early ads. I must admit that Don's voice and animated antics have provided me much entertainment...
        I agree with this. I had to lol when someone linked one of his infomercials in this thread. Made me feel 16 again watching late at night and thinking "god, this guy is too excited about classified ads." Then watching the Carlton Sheets Real Estate infomercial directly after.
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  • Profile picture of the author mosthost
    "You have earned over $200,000 in five months placing tiny classified ads," said Don in the video above.

    "It don't even sound right," said the success story.

    LOL, vintage really.
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  • Profile picture of the author bobbydiraag
    Thank god we don,t get infommercials by dodgy guys selling crap in the early hours..I,ve heard some of them are pretty cheesy..
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  • Profile picture of the author WDM
    I find that the majority of people that use classifieds and yellowpages are elderly or behind on technology (rural areas). Not to say NO ONE in a city uses them, its just a very small amount. Most businesses I work with that use YP's have less than 10% of their business come from it. normally less than 3% in reality.
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      If this were true, craigslist, backpage and Kijji wouldn't be raking in the money they are - backpage made over 10 million last year from one section of their site. And you wouldn't see giant ads for kijiji in google vids or along side them. You don't spend that kinda cash for advertising a classifieds site if you're not making money from it and people aren't using it. Willie Crawford has a book or something about using craigslist (can't remember what it is or what it's for right now) ... think it had something to do with finding people to do work for him - someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it had something to do with craigslist. So if Willie is using classifieds to find something, there are others doing the same.

      As for the topic at hand, I pass no judgment on Don Lapre, he's a slick salesman and if people feel duped, it's usually due to their own ignorance. Isn't all his old stuff, not actually his anymore? Didn't he sell it someone way back when? I seem to recall reading something about that a few years ago and even then there were a bunch of problems of all these false claims being made and he was getting into trouble over it still .. this could be why too that the FEDS pounced on him with this new program.



      Originally Posted by WDM View Post

      I find that the majority of people that use classifieds and yellowpages are elderly or behind on technology (rural areas). Not to say NO ONE in a city uses them, its just a very small amount. Most businesses I work with that use YP's have less than 10% of their business come from it. normally less than 3% in reality.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Lin
    So the good one is truly providing values and help people with sincere.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrktxprt
    Wow, I just got an email from him a few days ago. Seems as though he has gotten into Merchant Cash Advances and he is also selling the lead net pro system for generating leads.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    When I was in the US i remember seeing this guy and i wondered who he was. When someone heard me say that out loud they told me, and I said he was trying to sell too hard.

    now this years later. Hmmmm. Tells a lot i guess. I did not know he was into selling leads, that can be a big grey hat areas and no wonder there were flag thrown up.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    whilst we talk about drugs I knew a guy for years who was into "hair pills/lotions" but as opposed to the B*Ser's he really knew his stuff. He was a chemist and hair expert. He was selling Fintasteride/Minoxidal potions at a fraction of what it costs at the pharmacy. He told me he was pretty near to developing a cure for baldness. Then the FDA raided his premises anf forced him to shut down. I said "hey cure for baldness...man just get registered and do it..."

    He told me to lodge a drug for trials with the F.D.A. was $800 million and 5- 10 years of testing/waiting etc...

    Is that right? If so, then you can see why big drug compnaies will only push for drugs where there is a fairly big demand on them. and some fo the smaller diseases/disabiliies have not been touched....Money. Seems a shame.
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    • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
      Originally Posted by sloanjim View Post

      whilst we talk about drugs I knew a guy for years who was into "hair pills/lotions" but as opposed to the B*Ser's he really knew his stuff. He was a chemist and hair expert. He was selling Fintasteride/Minoxidal potions at a fraction of what it costs at the pharmacy. He told me he was pretty near to developing a cure for baldness. Then the FDA raided his premises anf forced him to shut down. I said "hey cure for baldness...man just get registered and do it..."

      He told me to lodge a drug for trials with the F.D.A. was $800 million and 5- 10 years of testing/waiting etc...

      Is that right? If so, then you can see why big drug compnaies will only push for drugs where there is a fairly big demand on them. and some fo the smaller diseases/disabiliies have not been touched....Money. Seems a shame.
      There isn't any cure for hair loss.

      It can be dramatically slowed down though, that's a fact and is clinically proven.

      Finasteride is FDA approved for hair loss, but Dutasteride (Avodart) is superior despite it not being FDA approved.

      On clinical trials Dutasteride (Avodart) has always been far more effective.

      Most young guys don't have to be bald if they don't want to, if they use Dutasteride and Minoxidil they'll have most of their hair intact for a very long time.

      They can cover up any thinning by using Nanogen Fibres.

      Hair extensions are fantastic, there are many options available and a guy who's balding can appear to have more hair than a guy who isn't balding.

      If a guy has already lost most of his hair, there are a lot of reputable, world class surgeons who can do incredible hair transplants these days.

      There's no cure for hair loss yet, but I do believe that any guy who doesn't want to be bald doesn't have to be.

      It just requires a bit of investment, and determination.
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      • Profile picture of the author theory expert
        Banned
        Originally Posted by oneplusone View Post

        There isn't any cure for hair loss.

        It can be dramatically slowed down though, that's a fact and is clinically proven.

        Finasteride is FDA approved for hair loss, but Dutasteride (Avodart) is superior despite it not being FDA approved.

        On clinical trials Dutasteride (Avodart) has always been far more effective.

        Most young guys don't have to be bald if they don't want to, if they use Dutasteride and Minoxidil they'll have most of their hair intact for a very long time.

        They can cover up any thinning by using Nanogen Fibres.

        Hair extensions are fantastic, there are many options available and a guy who's balding can appear to have more hair than a guy who isn't balding.

        If a guy has already lost most of his hair, there are a lot of reputable, world class surgeons who can do incredible hair transplants these days.

        There's no cure for hair loss yet, but I do believe that any guy who doesn't want to be bald doesn't have to be.

        It just requires a bit of investment, and determination.
        Geez I must admit you make it sound like someone could feel 20 again with your options to revitalize balding. Is this for frontal hair loss too?


        Back on topic:
        Don is being prosecuted for what he did in 2004-2007? I swear I remember world's greatest vitamin infomercials, but, I don't recall him being on t.v in 2004-2007.

        Has time passed me by that much? Seems it was in the 90's when he was pushing that vitamin service/product.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    Nice quote...I'll try to remember it:

    You win the game when you are no longer in the rat race not when you become the fastest running rat.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    I can't get past the headline to this thread. That's killer. (albeit I deleted the comma and added an exclamation mark) Look -

    Big Marketing Guru Busted By Feds!
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    • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
      Originally Posted by The Copy Nazi View Post

      I can't get past the headline to this thread. That's killer. (albeit I deleted the comma and added an exclamation mark) Look -

      Big Marketing Guru Busted By Feds!
      I thought you might like it.

      I guess my training from Gary Halbert, Robert Collier, Joe Sugarman, John Caples, Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Claude Hopkins, Robert B. Cialdini and David Ogilvy is finally paying off.

      I follow most of your post and enjoy reading your copy. I liked your version better.

      The pen is mightier than the sword. Edward Bulwer-Lytton


      Very true indeed. I'll take copy-writing over any internet skills, period.

      Edit: Headline changed per "The Copy Nazi".
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  • Profile picture of the author Boricua
    He's accused of overseeing and promoting the opportunity through his company called "The Greatest Vitamin in the World."
    Health products, grey area. Proof? Greatest vitamin in the world? I hope he'll be able to demonstrate that in court. I did love the classified ads studies, he was very good!

    Anything health related with those claims and little connections eventually sinks!

    Still amazed on how Kevin Trudeau is still kickin it with Natural Cures and similar type of marketing. Connections, connections! Oh well
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
      13 complaints at the BBB? That didn't get him in trouble I'm sure.

      Greatest Vitamin in the World Review - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY COS. in Chandler, AZ - BBB Business Review - BBB serving Central, Northern and Western Arizona

      The report said

      The company was shut down in 2007 after customers filed hundreds of complaints with the Phoenix Better Business Bureau, Arizona Attorney General's Office, Federal Trade Commission, Internet Crime Complaint Center and the postal inspection service.
      Everything I've read points to the one thing that probably was the cause of his downfall. Greed. He didn't refund when asked and people had to go through hell to try and get their money back. Worse the product/s didn't deliver, but ignoring customers and making it all but impossible for them to get satisfaction is probably what did it.

      I've purchased crappy products before. One in particular from a known internet marketer soured me. It was pure garbage in my opinion. Still , that marketer cheerfully ( as far as I know ) instantly refunded when asked.

      I might look at future offers from that marketer with a careful eye, but I am not about to report him/her to any authorities. I have no cause to do so. In fact, if that marketer does create something I think is good, I know I have no risk despite my concerns.

      Lapre crossed the line by not refunding when asked. He over promised and under delivered which generated the refund requests. People thought all they had to do was but the "widget" , push a button, and they would instantly see money flowing into their bank account. He made them think this way and the less savvy ate it up.
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    • Profile picture of the author kellyburdes
      Kevin Trudeau has spent time in Federal Prison (two years I believe), and was just recently arrested again as well.

      He has been banned from promoting or selling any products aside from those that are specifically protected by his 1st amendment rights -which is why he basically only does books.



      Originally Posted by Boricua View Post

      Health products, grey area. Proof? Greatest vitamin in the world? I hope he'll be able to demonstrate that in court. I did love the classified ads studies, he was very good!

      Anything health related with those claims and little connections eventually sinks!

      Still amazed on how Kevin Trudeau is still kickin it with Natural Cures and similar type of marketing. Connections, connections! Oh well
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        Yeah he consented to that ban in 2004.

        Originally Posted by kellyburdes View Post

        Kevin Trudeau has spent time in Federal Prison (two years I believe), and was just recently arrested again as well.

        He has been banned from promoting or selling any products aside from those that are specifically protected by his 1st amendment rights -which is why he basically only does books.
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      • Profile picture of the author Boricua
        Originally Posted by kellyburdes View Post

        Kevin Trudeau has spent time in Federal Prison (two years I believe), and was just recently arrested again as well.

        He has been banned from promoting or selling any products aside from those that are specifically protected by his 1st amendment rights -which is why he basically only does books.
        Just saw the update on his profile on wiki and all his Amazon fascinating reviews have gone down the toilet. I always focused on the content and ideas delivered on his natural Cures book, the book practically gave me many ideas to follow-up and continue my diligence in many health products in the actual book.

        But reality on Trudeau's as you also mentioned as I finally got to slowly read his wikipedia facts, his 'resumé' isn't anything close to a delight now Bought his stuff and 1 month memberships back in 2005 I think it was and a lot has change!

        From wikipedia...
        In 1998, he was fined. In 2004, he settled a contempt-of-court action arising out of the same cases by agreeing to a settlement that included both payment of a $2 million fine and a ban on further use of infomercials to promote any product other than publications protected by U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.[7][8]
        Now most of the feedback received on Amazon is based on the above facts and the snowball effect keeps on a monthly basis. From $25 to $8 paperbacks. What a case study.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    I like Don Lapre and I hope he beats this. I've never bought his stuff but I did find one of his classified ad courses in a junk shop once and although it wasn't all that impressive, it looked to me like it was about what he promised.

    Sadly, we live in a country where the government will pile on charges so that people end up facing decades in prison and are ultimately forced to accept a plea bargain whether they are guilty or not. Somehow I doubt that is what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    I'm grateful for everything WF has taught me but I kinda wish I had stuck with Adsense sites before I came here. If I had, I'd have an incredibly stable authority site by now containing many thousands of pages, getting a lot of Google love and without any "CLICK HERE" or other such hard selling at all.
    I know.

    You would be so much better off. Adsense is great!

    Much better than those damn direct marketers, putting their "tiny ad's" that say click here on websites...wait a second...



    On a much more not sarcastic note - Chris, I would just like to point out that by having advertisements on your site in the form of adsense, you are directly participating in direct marketing.

    Hoping people click on those tiny little ads. Which reminds me of a guy who once sold a product about tiny ads...

    Rob
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    • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
      Originally Posted by ccmusicman View Post

      On a much more not sarcastic note - Chris, I would just like to point out that by having advertisements on your site in the form of adsense, you are directly participating in direct marketing.
      Sure, in some sense Adsense publishers are participating in direct marketing. So are the United States Post Office and most phone service providers if you're going to look at it that way.

      But they're not playing the same role in direct marketing as a direct marketer does.

      Heck, you could also say that the Ford Motor Company is directly participating in drug trafficking or pizza delivery since the cars they manufacture have been used to transport both cocaine, and pizzas.
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by mojojuju View Post

        Sure, in some sense Adsense publishers are participating in direct marketing. So are the United States Post Office and most phone service providers if you're going to look at it that way.

        But they're not playing the same role in direct marketing as a direct marketer does.

        Heck, you could also say that the Ford Motor Company is directly participating in drug trafficking or pizza delivery since the cars they manufacture have been used to transport both cocaine, and pizzas.
        Uh...just a little distinction I think you may have missed. Site owners who profit from adsense still own the site, and solicit the ads-they know what they are doing and where the money is coming from.

        I don't think Ford participates in a program where they get paid directly based on how many drugs or pizzas get sold out of their leased cars. The site owners actually build their sites with content designed to attract clicks on paid ads. If you could show that Ford makes cars specifically designed for drug transport, and got more money for them because of it, you might have a point.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    As I saw the headline I happened to glance over a few feet from my desk.

    There sits a copy of one of the thin volumes from Don's "Small Ads- Big Profits"...it's copyright 2000 by his now-defunct company, New Strategies. It's actually not a bad little book, and he's not the devil either.

    His problem? He's a 'name' marketer in an age where government likes to put trophies on the wall. He's probably done some stupid things (haven't we all?) but many other 'name' marketers walk the streets tonight, very free men.

    My old neighbor Jeff Paul, is still in business. Has sold a lot of good things, and alot of not-so-great things, imo. I can tell you he's not broke.

    Kevin Trudeau, the first memory course salesman I ever saw who forgot the address of my office when he came to sell my staff his system, in the 1980's....Kevin's still in business, and very rich. And so are a lot of his and others students.

    I think it's wrong to sit and feast on others misery.

    When you say, "good, I hope he spends years in prison" what you're saying is,...

    "the government, run by men who send pictures of their private parts to anyone who will accept them, run by politicians who enter 'public service' broke and leave multi-millionaires, government run by men who commit felonies while in office, run by men who accept bribes and payoffs routinely...
    run by men whose major drive in life is POWER ....

    you're saying THOSE GUYS should sit in judgment of a marketer who sells vitamins.

    ...and the mere issuing of charges means the marketer MUST be guilty. I mean he must be, right, I saw him on TV, he smiled a lot, he's rich, right?

    When marketers think this 'crackdown' is somehow good, I think they are licking the boot that kicks them.
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      VERY good points Bruce and I agree with you.

      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      As I saw the headline I happened to glance over a few feet from my desk.

      There sits a copy of one of the thin volumes from Don's "Small Ads- Big Profits"...it's copyright 2000 by his now-defunct company, New Strategies. It's actually not a bad little book, and he's not the devil either.

      His problem? He's a 'name' marketer in an age where government likes to put trophies on the wall. He's probably done some stupid things (haven't we all?) but many other 'name' marketers walk the streets tonight, very free men.

      My old neighbor Jeff Paul, is still in business. Has sold a lot of good things, and alot of not-so-great things, imo. I can tell you he's not broke.

      Kevin Trudeau, the first memory course salesman I ever saw who forgot the address of my office when he came to sell my staff his system, in the 1980's....Kevin's still in business, and very rich. And so are a lot of his and others students.

      I think it's wrong to sit and feast on others misery.

      When you say, "good, I hope he spends years in prison" what you're saying is,...

      "the government, run by men who send pictures of their private parts to anyone who will accept them, run by politicians who enter 'public service' broke and leave multi-millionaires, government run by men who commit felonies while in office, run by men who accept bribes and payoffs routinely...
      run by men whose major drive in life is POWER ....

      So, you're saying THOSE GUYS should sit in judgment of a marketer who sells vitamins.

      ...and the mere issuing of charges means the marketer MUST be guilty. I mean he must be, right, I saw him on TV, he smiled a lot, he's rich, right?

      When marketers think this 'crackdown' is somehow good, I think they are licking the boot that kicks them.
      _____
      Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      men who send pictures of their private parts to anyone who will accept them
      Wait, I'm in government? When did that happen?
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      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        CD I thought we had this discussion already, please stop sending me those pictures on FB

        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

        Wait, I'm in government? When did that happen?
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      As I saw the headline I happened to glance over a few feet from my desk.

      There sits a copy of one of the thin volumes from Don's "Small Ads- Big Profits"...it's copyright 2000 by his now-defunct company, New Strategies. It's actually not a bad little book, and he's not the devil either.

      His problem? He's a 'name' marketer in an age where government likes to put trophies on the wall. He's probably done some stupid things (haven't we all?) but many other 'name' marketers walk the streets tonight, very free men.

      My old neighbor Jeff Paul, is still in business. Has sold a lot of good things, and alot of not-so-great things, imo. I can tell you he's not broke.

      Kevin Trudeau, the first memory course salesman I ever saw who forgot the address of my office when he came to sell my staff his system, in the 1980's....Kevin's still in business, and very rich. And so are a lot of his and others students.

      I think it's wrong to sit and feast on others misery.

      When you say, "good, I hope he spends years in prison" what you're saying is,...

      "the government, run by men who send pictures of their private parts to anyone who will accept them, run by politicians who enter 'public service' broke and leave multi-millionaires, government run by men who commit felonies while in office, run by men who accept bribes and payoffs routinely...
      run by men whose major drive in life is POWER ....

      you're saying THOSE GUYS should sit in judgment of a marketer who sells vitamins.

      ...and the mere issuing of charges means the marketer MUST be guilty. I mean he must be, right, I saw him on TV, he smiled a lot, he's rich, right?

      When marketers think this 'crackdown' is somehow good, I think they are licking the boot that kicks them.
      _____
      Bruce
      Posts like this make me wish I could allocate all 25 of my 'allotted' daily 'thanks' to just one post... and then I'd do it again the next day too.

      -Dani

      What luck for rulers that men do not think. -Adolf Hitler
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      As I saw the headline I happened to glance over a few feet from my desk.

      There sits a copy of one of the thin volumes from Don's "Small Ads- Big Profits"...it's copyright 2000 by his now-defunct company, New Strategies. It's actually not a bad little book, and he's not the devil either.

      His problem? He's a 'name' marketer in an age where government likes to put trophies on the wall. He's probably done some stupid things (haven't we all?) but many other 'name' marketers walk the streets tonight, very free men.

      My old neighbor Jeff Paul, is still in business. Has sold a lot of good things, and alot of not-so-great things, imo. I can tell you he's not broke.

      Kevin Trudeau, the first memory course salesman I ever saw who forgot the address of my office when he came to sell my staff his system, in the 1980's....Kevin's still in business, and very rich. And so are a lot of his and others students.

      I think it's wrong to sit and feast on others misery.

      When you say, "good, I hope he spends years in prison" what you're saying is,...

      "the government, run by men who send pictures of their private parts to anyone who will accept them, run by politicians who enter 'public service' broke and leave multi-millionaires, government run by men who commit felonies while in office, run by men who accept bribes and payoffs routinely...
      run by men whose major drive in life is POWER ....

      you're saying THOSE GUYS should sit in judgment of a marketer who sells vitamins.

      ...and the mere issuing of charges means the marketer MUST be guilty. I mean he must be, right, I saw him on TV, he smiled a lot, he's rich, right?

      When marketers think this 'crackdown' is somehow good, I think they are licking the boot that kicks them.
      _____
      Bruce
      Gotta hand it to you-you know how to write a popular rant-though to be fair, whenever you attack government, it's a safe bet some cheers will erupt. Seems there is never a shortage of people willing to jump on the "I hate our evil government-it's the enemy and must be stopped" bandwagon.

      But where does your rant lead, if followed to it's logical conclusion?

      Is it not simply a generalized attack on the legitimacy of the US government to regulate behavior at all-since there are always flawed people running it? This is a road that would lead to the end of civil society in the USA. To go down it is in effect, to say, "Let us have a completely lawless society, until we can purge everyone who is imperfect from the government".

      Either the guy is guilty or not-declaring one way or the other is premature, but I shudder to think of living in a country where the law of the jungle prevails because those that hate government finally got their way, and stripped it of it's authority to enact and enforce a criminal code.

      The 2 stage deregulation of the banking industry by people in government that were of the "I hate government, and only ran for office so I could sabotage it" school of thought, was an unmitigated disaster that we will be trying to recover from for a good long time.

      BTW, I don't believe Lapre is being charged with "stupid things". That is not a crime, but I have a feeling that the phrase is code for "crimes", and no, we have not all done that, unless you count speeding, jaywalking etc. Not all marketers commit fraud; that goes beyond "stupid things", into "ripping people off", and personally, I'm glad there are laws against it.

      Maybe DL is guilty, and maybe not, but to imply that because some legislator is guilty of sexual misconduct, therefore it is wrong that the government can put someone on trial for fraud, is at least as reckless and absurd as calling for blood just because you suspect someone is guilty.

      DL's guilt or innocence should be the only issue. If he's guilty, he should be punished-if not, he should be exonerated. It has nothing to do with taking sides or licking boots. I've been mistreated by cops, but that doesn't mean I'm licking the boot that kicks me when I say I support them in their rightful job function of making the streets safe.

      After the Rodney King beating, did you call for putting an end to having cops on the street, because, "look how terribly they behave-who are they to judge me"? That would be equally as absurd as saying, "a congressman exposed himself, therefore DL should go free".
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  • Profile picture of the author Avery Berman
    I completely love the discussions in this thread. Especially how people are defending him. When I read the first few responses I was getting ready to see a flame-fest of hatred.

    I thought I would have to be the one that came in asking if anyone actually bought or used the stuff that was being sold...

    Thanks for the good thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    Who?

    Overall this thread has been getting more and more interesting.

    .../subscribed
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  • Profile picture of the author veenafurtado
    Will the truth ever be known?
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  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    Here is a link to the indictment...

    http://www.casewatch.org/doj/lapre/indictment.pdf

    I've skimmed it and some of the government's claims look to be pretty weak. Some claims aren't so weak, it is a mixed bag.
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  • Profile picture of the author anthony2
    Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

    News Headlines

    TV pitchman Don Lapre faces 25 years in 1 bed prison cell over '$52m fraud' | Mail Online

    Don Lapre?

    TV Pitchman Accused, Bilks Customers Out of $52 Million

    A grand jury has indicted a Phoenix-based TV pitchman accused of running a nationwide scheme to sell essentially worthless Internet-based businesses to more than 200,000 people.

    Federal prosecutors say Donald Lapre is charged with 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and promotional money laundering. He's accused of overseeing and promoting the opportunity through his company called "The Greatest Vitamin in the World."

    During the course of the scheme, the government says at least 220,000 victims were defrauded of nearly $52 million.

    Lapre was often seen on television giving his hard-luck life story and how he was able to turn his life around. He refers to himself on his website as "The King of Infomercials."

    Lapre has not responded to an email seeking comment.

    GREED, GREED, GREED

    He was making millions doing it the right way at first
    then Greed kicked in...Now he has lost everything
    money, friends, some family, and his FREEDOM.

    All because of GREED.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cloudzz
    Wow 25 years! Guess he might not enjoy all hes money after all.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scouser
    Just watched the infomercial for the classified ads pitch. Nothing wrong with that I thought. I don't know about the vitamin pills though.....I think this is going to split people down the middle and run on forever...
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Wait, I'm in government? When did that happen?
      Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

      CD I thought we had this discussion already, please stop sending me those pictures on FB

      No No! Keep sending them! The videos too! They're making me a fortune on those gay male dating site CPA offers that I'm spamming Craigslist with!

      -Dani


      J/K... everyone knows I only promote fetish site CPA offers... sheesh,

      Kidding again, it's 1am and I'm in a silly mood. lol.

      CD, thanks for the Amazon gift.
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        Oh thanks Dani , I'm not really into gay male dating tho lol

        Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

        No No! Keep sending them! The videos too! They're making me a fortune on those gay male dating site CPA offers that I'm spamming Craigslist with!

        -Dani


        J/K... everyone knows I only promote fetish site CPA offers... sheesh,

        Kidding again, it's 1am and I'm in a silly mood. lol.

        CD, thanks for the Amazon gift.
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    • Profile picture of the author psresearch
      Original Dept of Justice release:
      USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - District of Arizona- Latest News

      Looks like the major problem (if true) could be this:

      "Lapre fraudulently provided his investor/victims, known as "Independent Advertisers" (IAs), with false vitamin sales records. These records encouraged IAs to purchase additional advertising and services in the hope of obtaining commissions including $1,000 checks. Lapre also fraudulently sold bulk Internet traffic to IAs while claiming that it was targeted to individuals who were seeking to either buy vitamins or invest in similar businesses."
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
    It just occurred to me how funny it is that they specified "1 bed", instead of just saying he faces a 25 year prison term. In prison, you only get more than one bed if you have cell mates, although reading the headline, it almost sounds like a hardship. Personally, I'd prefer a 1 bed cell, (depending on the cellmate/s it could be 1000 times better!), so I'm happy for him that at least he has that to look forward to.

    I realize he hasn't been found guilty, so might not go at all-so nitpickers just hush up!
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    • Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

      It just occurred to me how funny it is that they specified "1 bed", instead of just saying he faces a 25 year prison term. In prison, you only get more than one bed if you have cell mates, although reading the headline, it almost sounds like a hardship. Personally, I'd prefer a 1 bed cell, (depending on the cellmate/s it could be 1000 times better!), so I'm happy for him that at least he has that to look forward to.

      I realize he hasn't been found guilty, so might not go at all-so nitpickers just hush up!
      I bed is better then having cell mates
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by HelpingYouBeAnExpert View Post

        I bed is better then having cell mates
        Um, I thought that's what I just said.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
      It just occurred to me how funny it is that they specified "1 bed", instead of just saying he faces a 25 year prison term. In prison, you only get more than one bed if you have cell mates, although reading the headline, it almost sounds like a hardship. Personally, I'd prefer a 1 bed cell, (depending on the cellmate/s it could be 1000 times better!), so I'm happy for him that at least he has that to look forward to.

      I realize he hasn't been found guilty, so might not go at all-so nitpickers just hush up!

      Mary
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  • Profile picture of the author HigherPrThanGod
    In this Atlas Shrugged world we live in now, if you're hugely successful in affiliate marketing, this government will take you down. We all know that some people will take a WSO/program and most won't make a dime. A few, however, will make good money using the program. The Government is wasting it's time going after marketers and as usual will harm the economy. Take a look at Warrior Forum's WSO section. If the Feds saw that section they'd probably go ape.
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    • Profile picture of the author mikeyman120
      I bought a bunch of this guys stuff. I bought the classified ads course which basically teaches you how to run a mail order business selling printed info products that you create and the classifieds ads were simply your traffic source. so no scam there.

      Does anyone remember when Don came on the scene of the infomercial world? He was selling a course that taught you how to be a HUD(housing and urban development) refund tracer. You would obtain lists of people who were due a refund on their mortgage loans but never claimed it and they would be real lists you had to pay for from HUD. You then learned a few techniques to track these people down as most had moved. Since you help them get the refund they forgot they had coming they give you a cut for helping them get it and I believed they taught using a bank escrow account so you get paid.

      Anyway when I was into internet marketing years later I thought I would make this product into a clickbank course but of course I had to rewrite his course in my own words and nothing was his idea it was basic stuff. But I was lazy then and never finished and moved on to other stuff. After reading this thread I checked to see if I still had the domain and I do with a partial webpage I was playing around with here:
      processmortgagerefunds.com

      I also bought the rights to air his 30 minute infomercial for the classified ads but could never come up with the cash to afford 30 minutes on tv. I bought his 900# 2 minute commercials and aired one locally. I was about 18 years old and I payed a whopping $800 for the cheapest time slots. My commission check was for $1.06 I still have it. Did I give up?, never. The alternative of living my life making some elses dreams come true was a scary future to me.

      Back then internet marketing types were called direct marketers or mail order entreprenuers. I credit Don with giving me the dream of financial freedom which I now have acheived in a small way meaning I'm nowhere near rich but I work from home a few hours a week and make more than double I did at any job. I'm free of traffic also and lovin' it!

      When Don got into the vitamins I lost interest as I thought it was MLM.

      Mike
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by mikeyman120 View Post

        I bought a bunch of this guys stuff. I bought the classified ads course which basically teaches you how to run a mail order business selling printed info products that you create and the classifieds ads were simply your traffic source. so no scam there.

        Does anyone remember when Don came on the scene of the infomercial world? He was selling a course that taught you how to be a HUD(housing and urban development) refund tracer. You would obtain lists of people who were due a refund on their mortgage loans but never claimed it and they would be real lists you had to pay for from HUD. You then learned a few techniques to track these people down as most had moved. Since you help them get the refund they forgot they had coming they give you a cut for helping them get it and I believed they taught using a bank escrow account so you get paid.

        Anyway when I was into internet marketing years later I thought I would make this product into a clickbank course but of course I had to rewrite his course in my own words and nothing was his idea it was basic stuff. But I was lazy then and never finished and moved on to other stuff. After reading this thread I checked to see if I still had the domain and I do with a partial webpage I was playing around with here:
        processmortgagerefunds.com

        I also bought the rights to air his 30 minute infomercial for the classified ads but could never come up with the cash to afford 30 minutes on tv. I bought his 900# 2 minute commercials and aired one locally. I was about 18 years old and I payed a whopping $800 for the cheapest time slots. My commission check was for $1.06 I still have it. Did I give up?, never. The alternative of living my life making some elses dreams come true was a scary future to me.

        Back then internet marketing types were called direct marketers or mail order entreprenuers. I credit Don with giving me the dream of financial freedom which I now have acheived in a small way meaning I'm nowhere near rich but I work from home a few hours a week and make more than double I did at any job. I'm free of traffic also and lovin' it!

        When Don got into the vitamins I lost interest as I thought it was MLM.

        Mike

        Hey, Mike...

        Just wanted to add a little something to one of the points you made. You mentioned Lapre's first gig being tracking down Hud refunds. I was reading something last week about people killing it doing something similar. There are huge, free databases online where you can track money owed to you, me, and the man in the moon.

        Some folks simply go through these lists and take down names of the people owed big sums. Then they go to paid tracking sites and try and find the people. When they find one they notify them. Some actually use attorneys for this part and collect a 33% finders fee. Something to think about if you're still interested in this business model.
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      • Profile picture of the author scubasteve-cr
        Seems like we have very similar stories. I sold numerous things via direct mail. It was a wild ride for an 18 year old kid.

        Originally Posted by mikeyman120 View Post

        I bought a bunch of this guys stuff. I bought the classified ads course which basically teaches you how to run a mail order business selling printed info products that you create and the classifieds ads were simply your traffic source. so no scam there.

        Does anyone remember when Don came on the scene of the infomercial world? He was selling a course that taught you how to be a HUD(housing and urban development) refund tracer. You would obtain lists of people who were due a refund on their mortgage loans but never claimed it and they would be real lists you had to pay for from HUD. You then learned a few techniques to track these people down as most had moved. Since you help them get the refund they forgot they had coming they give you a cut for helping them get it and I believed they taught using a bank escrow account so you get paid.

        Anyway when I was into internet marketing years later I thought I would make this product into a clickbank course but of course I had to rewrite his course in my own words and nothing was his idea it was basic stuff. But I was lazy then and never finished and moved on to other stuff. After reading this thread I checked to see if I still had the domain and I do with a partial webpage I was playing around with here:
        processmortgagerefunds.com

        I also bought the rights to air his 30 minute infomercial for the classified ads but could never come up with the cash to afford 30 minutes on tv. I bought his 900# 2 minute commercials and aired one locally. I was about 18 years old and I payed a whopping $800 for the cheapest time slots. My commission check was for $1.06 I still have it. Did I give up?, never. The alternative of living my life making some elses dreams come true was a scary future to me.

        Back then internet marketing types were called direct marketers or mail order entreprenuers. I credit Don with giving me the dream of financial freedom which I now have acheived in a small way meaning I'm nowhere near rich but I work from home a few hours a week and make more than double I did at any job. I'm free of traffic also and lovin' it!

        When Don got into the vitamins I lost interest as I thought it was MLM.

        Mike
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        • Profile picture of the author dudeontheweb
          Same here. I bought Lapre's program when I was 23 or 24. Ordered the thing like at 3 in the morning.

          I remember it had the Classified ad book, the 900 number book, a book on how to advertise your 900# for cheap, and the buying and selling book. It also came with a huge list of all the newspapers in the US with contact info for the classified dept. And a cassette tape of some motivational speech.

          I thought the classified ad book, the buying and selling and 900# number cheap advert books were well worth the price. The other stuff I had no interest in.

          I do remember like a previous post said, getting called all the time for upsells. Even messages left on my answering machine! That kind of turned me off at the time. But reviewing the books years later, I thought they were pretty solid.No complaints.
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          • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
            Originally Posted by dudeontheweb View Post

            Same here. I bought Lapre's program when I was 23 or 24. Ordered the thing like at 3 in the morning.

            I remember it had the Classified ad book, the 900 number book, a book on how to advertise your 900# for cheap, and the buying and selling book. It also came with a huge list of all the newspapers in the US with contact info for the classified dept. And a cassette tape of some motivational speech.

            I thought the classified ad book, the buying and selling and 900# number cheap advert books were well worth the price. The other stuff I had no interest in.

            I do remember like a previous post said, getting called all the time for upsells. Even messages left on my answering machine! That kind of turned me off at the time. But reviewing the books years later, I thought they were pretty solid.No complaints.
            WOW! I had completely forgotten about the huge list of newspapers with the ad dept contact info...

            In fact, I'm 99% sure I still have that thing somewhere amongst the countless biz op study courses littering my bookshelves.

            Now where is THAT current online database and how much does it cost to get access to it?

            -Dani
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    • Profile picture of the author michaelhearne
      hell yeah - the federal gov't scares the hell outta me... they can snatch your life away in a heartbeat...
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    • Profile picture of the author wordydiva
      Originally Posted by HigherPrThanGod View Post

      In this Atlas Shrugged world we live in now, if you're hugely successful in affiliate marketing, this government will take you down. We all know that some people will take a WSO/program and most won't make a dime. A few, however, will make good money using the program. The Government is wasting it's time going after marketers and as usual will harm the economy. Take a look at Warrior Forum's WSO section. If the Feds saw that section they'd probably go ape.
      Pretty much what I was thinking.

      All it takes is a handful of bitter people who don't want to believe the success stories. After all, if it didn't work for them it won't work for anyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author scubasteve-cr
    ahhh, Don Lapre. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Don. And that other guy that went to jail, William McCorkle, I think. I was 18 at the time (pushing 33 now), a poor country boy from Louisiana with dreams of grandeur. I worked part time sacking groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly, taking home about $80 a week. I didn't have to walk 2 hours in the snow uphill both ways, though. There's very little snow in Louisiana. Anyway, I ended up ordering both of their courses. McCorkle's product was a scam, so that was wasted money.

    But Lapre's product was good. I loved his enthusiasm, and it lit a fire under my ass. That was my start in marketing - doing tiny classified ads in Penny Saver newspapers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
      Originally Posted by scubasteve-cr View Post

      ahhh, Don Lapre. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Don. And that other guy that went to jail, William McCorkle, I think.
      McCorkle is still in prison. His wife, Chantal, managed to get transferred to the UK and she's since been released.
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      • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
        Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

        McCorkle is still in prison. His wife, Chantal, managed to get transferred to the UK and she's since been released.
        He was the genius that rejected the Govt's offer of five years and bragged on the front page of the Orlando paper about beating all the charges. He's doing 24 years.
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        • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
          Now that's a real "smart" guy ain't it?



          Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

          He was the genius that rejected the Govt's offer of five years and bragged on the front page of the Orlando paper about beating all the charges. He's doing 24 years.
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  • Profile picture of the author opticbit
    i think $50M is the mark where they start cracking down on things, Once you've figured things out stop at $45m just to be safe, and enjoy retirement.
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  • Profile picture of the author dagaul101
    Its unfortunate that IM has many wolves in sheep's clothing, all this doesn't look good for the general image of IM, as always if the product is the opportunity and the opportunity is the product you should steer well clear
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  • Profile picture of the author BeauJustin
    Have to chime in on behalf of the "Tiny Classified Ad" product
    which is being unfairly despairaged in this thread. Back in the
    day before the Internet was king, classified ads ruled the day,
    and they were VERY effective.

    My brother and I went in halfsies on the package which was
    about $60 back then, and put about $1000 into ads placed in
    newspapers all over the country.
    We sold information products, much like what you find in the
    common PLR package here on the forum. Only then, it was
    reprintable guides on everything from improving your sex life to
    planting a watermelon garden.

    We tried the 900's, and they also worked well for a short
    while. But by the time we got in on those, the market was
    already saturated. Plus we both felt kinda smarmy getting checks
    from sex and psychic lines.

    I won't say how much we made, but I will tell you, as someone
    else stated in this thread, it was a helluva lot more than I made
    on any single product has ever made me from the WSO room.

    Don Lapre may have broken the law here. I don't know, and don't
    care. Most of his products are legitimate money makers, and his
    marketing savvy is second to none.

    It's like anything else. You have to apply the plan, be patient,
    and make a few sacrifices here and there to get it off the ground.

    My brother and I did this FULLTIME for almost four years.
    We paid out about $2,500-$3,500 each month for
    advertising, if that gives you any idea how much we
    made. We called it quits, due to marriage, moving away,
    getting real jobs, etc., but loved every second of this business.

    I've actually parlayed almost all of what I learned from
    Don into my IMing. As a matter of fact, I was split ads
    back before there was a term for it. ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author PaxstonInAk
    The Greatest Vitamin in the World....was a placebo!! lol
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    Go Big!! Or Go Home!!
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  • Profile picture of the author ConvertingTraffic
    lol he deserved it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Erica Leggette
    Don's products was one of the first "make money from home" products I tried back when I was in high school. It was the third party rebate processor one. Me and my little sister thought we were balling too when we actually succeeded at a couple of transactions, lol. But after getting cussed out and ignored 95% of the time that whole biz took a toll on us kids.

    Needless to say, 'you reap what you sow' so I guess this is harvest season for a lot of folks.
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  • Profile picture of the author HotDamnShortSales
    well personally this is annoying im my opinion. why? because there are drug cartels and dealers bringing hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit illegal drugs across our borders, selling it to kids, neighbors, family, and ruining our country one toke and hit at a time. so they go after don lapre?

    HOW ABOUT THE BANKERS,THE WALL STREET GUYS, THE MORTGAGE BANKERS, the CEO's that created the biggest sham and fraud 5 years ago and almost imploded our country. do you know that not ONE person went to jail for that financial fallout years ago and everything that happened? sickening.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by HotDamnShortSales View Post

      well personally this is annoying im my opinion. why? because there are drug cartels and dealers bringing hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit illegal drugs across our borders, selling it to kids, neighbors, family, and ruining our country one toke and hit at a time. so they go after don lapre?
      What on earth does drug cartels and wall street have to do with Don Lapre getting indicted on fraud? Just because there are other people who commit crimes, his should be ignored? Why is that? Because he's a marketer? The drug cartels are marketers too. They market drugs.

      Don Lapre will be found guilty or innocent based on the crimes he committed ... not on all the evil in the world.
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        I think what she's referring to would be the tax dollars being spent on something like this when they could be put to better use on those other issues. Yes they too should be held accountable and so should he if he's guilty.

        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        What on earth does drug cartels and wall street have to do with Don Lapre getting indicted on fraud? Just because there are other people who commit crimes, his should be ignored? Why is that? Because he's a marketer? The drug cartels are marketers too. They market drugs.

        Don Lapre will be found guilty or innocent based on the crimes he committed ... not on all the evil in the world.
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  • Profile picture of the author cravereplace
    I still don't understand what he did that was so wrong?

    If he's selling information on how to run a business and it doesn't work out, is that his fault?
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by cravereplace View Post

      If he's selling information on how to run a business and it doesn't work out, is that his fault?
      Well, the allegations are more like this.

      Don Lapre told people they could do X, Y, and Z to make money.

      What he did not tell them was that doing X, Y, and Z was difficult and complicated.

      When they ordered the course, the operator would say "do you want us to make X, Y, and Z less difficult and complicated for you?"

      And, of course, you would want that... so a lot of people gave him the money for X, Y, and Z.

      And when he provided X, Y, and Z, people didn't make much money because he didn't do a very good job.

      Nothing he said was strictly speaking a lie. He'd say "buy this, do that, and when this happens you get money." So you'd want to "buy this" for $50, and he'd offer to "do that" for $2,500. And you'd think "well, I'll get money when this happens" and give him the money. But then it doesn't happen.

      Now, if you didn't pay him to "do that" for you, then you only paid the $50. And if you go on to "do that" well, then "this happens" and you make money. Many people had this exact experience and sent him a testimonial.

      But if you DID pay him to "do that" for you, he didn't do a very good job. He did do it, just not very well, and chances are "this happens" never came around so you didn't make any money.

      And the primary allegation is that he should have done a better job and, indeed, that he knew the job he was doing would never pay anyone any money.

      That's the major issue at hand: should Don have done a better job than he did to earn people money? Did he in fact discharge his duties responsibly?

      There's really very little issue around the $50. The issue is that you call up to spend $50, they talk you into spending $2,500 instead, and then you don't get what you think you're paying for. You get what they promise, but you think they promised something else - and they allegedly knew all along that you thought they promised something else. So the primary charge is that because he knew what you thought you were buying, he was fraudulent in failing to provide it.

      Everything else basically falls out of that, so in the absence of a guilty verdict there, it pretty much all goes away. And nobody really cares about the outcome anyway - the big news is that he was indicted, and they'll drag their feet until people stop caring just in case they fail to get a conviction. Don will probably go free, in the end, or at least get a dramatically reduced or suspended sentence... but that won't be headline news.
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  • 99% of people who buy his system fail, but that is true for his competitors, we live in a lazy spoiled entitled society where 99% fail. I would not put him in jail but I know that the 99% will disagree with me. So be it!
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  • Profile picture of the author veenafurtado
    Chaos, absolute chaos in the world.
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  • I wondered what happened to these guys!

    McCorkle, he was all over the TV, years ago.......over 40 years is a LONG time to do in prison.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Jack Blankenship,RN View Post

      I wondered what happened to these guys!

      McCorkle, he was all over the TV, years ago.......over 40 years is a LONG time to do in prison.
      He was sentenced to 28 and after 2 appeals, it was reduced to 18. He could have been out in 5 had he taken the prosecutor's deal.
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  • Profile picture of the author coach
    A 70+ year old direct marketing mentor commented to me, this is one of those "he who is without sin, cast the first stone."

    "I think if the __________ took a hard look at most of us, they could find something to hit us with. Thank God they don't have the staff or budget to shake down the small fish."

    I agree.

    I say pray for him and his family.

    Learn from his mistakes.

    Have the courage to be as bold as Don in your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author focused
    Don Lapre has been indicted, he hasn't been convicted of anything yet. And he may well never be convicted on any of these charges or spend a day in prison.
    I'd like to see him back on TV... I always found him entertaining. He certainly was enthusiastic about whatever he promoted.
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      He was indicted on whatever they could find to indict him on.

      -Dani
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  • Check out more about Don Lapre. He has been in jail before for bad business practice. This is not the first time he has been in trouble. I sold the Greatest Vitamin in the World Program as a telemarketer taking incoming direct response phone calls right from the infomercials. You wouldn't believe how many people signed up for that program. Hopefully those people will get a check in the mail coming soon. Don Lapre I think you are finally done!
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  • Profile picture of the author mologic
    what a doosh:confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author blueberries
    He always had an annoying voice especially in the tiny ad commercial.
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      I disagree, Tony Little has THE most annoying voice on TV, reminds me of a well known guru .. I had to quit his course after one night, he sounded like Tony Little on speed lol. When you're too hypey, I bail .. just be yourself.

      Originally Posted by blueberries View Post

      He always had an annoying voice especially in the tiny ad commercial.
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

        I disagree, Tony Little has THE most annoying voice on TV, reminds me of a well known guru .. I had to quit his course after one night, he sounded like Tony Little on speed lol. When you're too hypey, I bail .. just be yourself.
        Is he that jerk thats always yelling about something-like Oxyclean? I always want to smack that guy upside the head!
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        • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
          Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

          Is he that jerk thats always yelling about something-like Oxyclean? I always want to smack that guy upside the head!
          Too late. He passed away last year. The company still uses his ghost to market.
          (Billy Mays) He lived here in Tampa
          Thomas
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          When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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          • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
            Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

            Too late. He passed away last year. The company still uses his ghost to market.
            (Billy Mays) He lived here in Tampa
            Thomas
            "Death don't have no mercy", as the song goes. I hope his whole legacy doesn't consist of that annoying yelling. His commercials were so bad, that as much as I tend to hate most TV advertisments, none got me to reach for the mute button faster than his.
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        • Profile picture of the author Angela V. Edwards
          Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

          Is he that jerk thats always yelling about something-like Oxyclean? I always want to smack that guy upside the head!
          That's Billy Mays. He passed away suddenly a couple years ago. He always reminded me of my brother. He looks just like him AND he's got the same "mouth".
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        • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
          Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

          Is he that jerk thats always yelling about something-like Oxyclean? I always want to smack that guy upside the head!
          No and I believe the person you are referring to, has since passed away or was it the original shamwow guy that passed away? I can't remember ... but I think that guy also did oxyclean.

          Tony Little was and still kind of is, a fitness "guru" and sold millions of fitness DVD's and equipment, the last time I saw him, he was on the home shopping channel - selling the "gazelle" I believe it was called. He was a short little muscle head with a pony tail.
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          • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

            No and I believe the person you are referring to, has since passed away or was it the original shamwow guy that passed away? I can't remember ... but I think that guy also did oxyclean.
            I just Googled loud annoying voice commercial oxyclean because I could not remember his name either and his name came up #1. He is dead. Billy Mays, and no ... don't believe it was the original shamwow guy. He's alive and well, but was busted for something or other and doesn't do as many commercials since.
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            • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
              Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

              I just Googled loud annoying voice commercial oxyclean because I could not remember his name either and his name came up #1. He is dead. Billy Mays, and no ... don't believe it was the original shamwow guy. He's alive and well, but was busted for something or other and doesn't do as many commercials since.
              Ok yeah. Billy Mays also did that OrangeGlo thing ... the shamwow dude is a tall skinny guy right? So many of them, hard to keep track lol
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              • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

                Ok yeah. Billy Mays also did that OrangeGlo thing ... the shamwow dude is a tall skinny guy right? So many of them, hard to keep track lol
                Yeah, the shamwow guy is at least funny. Makes jokes about chopping your "nuts" and throws things away over his shoulder ... talks a mile a minute. "Ya following me, camera guy?" His name is Offer "Vince" Shlomi, known as Vince Offer.

                His career has slowed down as a result of this arrest

                On February 7, 2009, Offer was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida on a charge of felony battery after an altercation with a 26-year-old prostitute. Offer contended that he struck the prostitute when she "bit his tongue and would not let go." Prosecutors later declined to file formal charges against either individual
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  • Profile picture of the author 1lov1
    looks like he can afford to pay attorneys though for a long time....what about that serial info-commercial guy Kevin Trudeau. wonder if he ever got in trouble....he is the infomercial master
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by 1lov1 View Post

      looks like he can afford to pay attorneys though for a long time....what about that serial info-commercial guy Kevin Trudeau. wonder if he ever got in trouble....he is the infomercial master
      I think he's been indicted a couple times, but not convicted as I recall.

      You gotta love a guy that recruits a Playboy playmate to talk about credit issues (I think that was the topic-"what "they" don't want you to know..." Next time I want financial advice, I'm calling that playmate!
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    • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
      Originally Posted by 1lov1 View Post

      looks like he can afford to pay attorneys though for a long time....what about that serial info-commercial guy Kevin Trudeau. wonder if he ever got in trouble....he is the infomercial master
      I'd rather buy something from Don Lapre than Kevin Trudeau. Don't trust that guy at all.
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      • Profile picture of the author focused
        Kevin Trudeau's first product was Mega Memory.

        It was a legitimate product. It was just very much overpriced.

        Likewise, he did a Mega Speed Reading and a Mega Math product - both were legitimate, but overpriced.

        Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

        I'd rather buy something from Don Lapre than Kevin Trudeau. Don't trust that guy at all.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ram
          I've known Kevin since the 1980s. He was big in mlm then. He can sell anything to anyone. Spend a few minutes with him and even the most skeptical of you will think he's great.

          Just don't do business with him. Not too many who have would repeat the experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTT
    pfff kinda reminds me of that dude who 'predicted' teh end of the world May 21st, 2011 which never happened and made over $80 million off it. Not too mention miss-lead hundreds of people into losing all of their businesses, belongings etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by DavidTT View Post

      pfff kinda reminds me of that dude who 'predicted' teh end of the world May 21st, 2011 which never happened and made over $80 million off it. Not too mention miss-lead hundreds of people into losing all of their businesses, belongings etc.
      How about those charlatans who sold tickets to flying saucer rides, which were supposed to happen during the "Harmonic Convergence", at several hundred (or was it thousands?), and then when the saucers failed to appear, they told the buyers their tickets were open-ended, and would be good whenever the tardy ships arrive.
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    • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
      Originally Posted by DavidTT View Post

      Not too mention miss-lead hundreds of people into losing all of their businesses, belongings etc.
      What? People have no free will? Misled? Into believing the world would end on a certain date? Okay. Maybe there should be laws against plain stupidity... :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author nagidr
    that's good news for the Internet Marketing world
    it needs some cleaning..
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  • Profile picture of the author moneycometh
    Greed can really get the best of you. Hopefully, we can all learn a lesson here. How would you handle 52 million dollars?
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by moneycometh View Post

      How would you handle 52 million dollars?
      I wouldn't. With that much money, I can pay someone else to handle it for me.

      Besides, most dollar bills have been in people's noses.
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      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post


        Besides, most dollar bills have been in people's noses.
        LMAO this is true... money is the dirtiest thing you can have on your person ... what's the ratio? Like 90% or something ... no wonder why people are always trying to launder it lol
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        • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
          Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

          LMAO this is true... money is the dirtiest thing you can have on your person ... what's the ratio? Like 90% or something ... no wonder why people are always trying to launder it lol
          That's the same here too, something like 95% of all notes in circulation.

          That's why dealers stay in business. They get the notes back, scrape off the coke and resell it.

          Probably.
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          Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    Florida must breed annoying marketers. The one I REALLY can't stand is Vince Runza, the SHAM WOW & SLAPCHOP "you're gonna love my nuts" guy. Haven't seen much of him since the famous "hooker bit my tongue" scandal. (Google that if you want to laugh). The Slapchop commercial used to be on Youtube. I don't know if it still is.

    Thomas
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    When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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  • Profile picture of the author focused
    Don Lapre has always been a darn good marketer. And many people started their journey into Direct Marketing and IM by buying and implementing his Classified Ad course, which actually provided good value.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    If I could come up with a video as annoying as this and get 803,000 views, I would. They sold over 4,000,000 Slap Chops and counting. (This is the short version. I couldn't bear the full infomercial.)


    Thomas
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

      If I could come up with a video as annoying as this and get 803,000 views, I would. They sold over 4,000,000 Slap Chops and counting. (This is the short version. I couldn't bear the full infomercial.)

      YouTube - ‪Slap Chop (2 minute version)‬‏

      Thomas
      Too bad it's a piece of crap, someone bought me one once for a gag gift, because they know I love cooking, tried it 3 times and the darn thing broke. Ron Popiel (sp??) used to get on my nerves and unfortunately he's still on TV, but the most comical dude was the Ginsu knives guy ... surprisingly though, the knives were actually pretty darn good.
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

        Too bad it's a piece of crap, someone bought me one once for a gag gift, because they know I love cooking, tried it 3 times and the darn thing broke.
        Everything I ever bought from TV commercials like those was a piece of crap. Very cheaply made, didn't work or didn't last. The knives my then boyfriend bought didn't hold an edge past the first 2 weeks, and he bought about 8 sets and gave them away as presents. lol.
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        • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
          Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

          Everything I ever bought from TV commercials like those was a piece of crap. Very cheaply made, didn't work or didn't last. The knives my then boyfriend bought didn't hold an edge past the first 2 weeks, and he bought about 8 sets and gave them away as presents. lol.

          Yeah that always explains the 'buy now and we'll give you not one, but two for the insanely low price of $19.97 and if that's not enough we'll throw in" ... well you know the rest hahaha! ORDER NOW!

          I never had a problem with Ginsu knives, think I've still got some floating around somewhere ... but got them at the dollar store, so no complaints about pricing, just thought I'd check them out, after years of listening to the hype lol
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        • Profile picture of the author Charles Harper
          Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

          Everything I ever bought from TV commercials like those was a piece of crap. Very cheaply made, didn't work or didn't last. The knives my then boyfriend bought didn't hold an edge past the first 2 weeks, and he bought about 8 sets and gave them away as presents. lol.
          True for me too until my wife bought the Wen Hair Care stuff.

          CT
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        • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
          Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

          Everything I ever bought from TV commercials like those was a piece of crap. Very cheaply made, didn't work or didn't last. The knives my then boyfriend bought didn't hold an edge past the first 2 weeks, and he bought about 8 sets and gave them away as presents. lol.
          There is a pretty cool show called "Pitchmen" Season one starred Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan. Now it's just Sully of course:

          PitchMen : Discovery Channel

          But it's really interesting to watch. But one of the big barriers to getting your product marketed by them is that it can be made cheap. They usually don't sell stuff for more than $20 so thus the stuff is cheaply made. Some to offer lifetime guarantees I guess they figure most folks won't bother with replacing their crappy broken product with a new crappy one that will soon break as well especially since it was cheap.
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          • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
            Never heard of that show, but am checking it out .. we've got a couple of shows where people pitch to get business funding, but not infomercials.


            Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

            There is a pretty cool show called "Pitchmen" Season one starred Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan. Now it's just Sully of course:

            PitchMen : Discovery Channel

            But it's really interesting to watch. But one of the big barriers to getting your product marketed by them is that it can be made cheap. They usually don't sell stuff for more than $20 so thus the stuff is cheaply made. Some to offer lifetime guarantees I guess they figure most folks won't bother with replacing their crappy broken product with a new crappy one that will soon break as well especially since it was cheap.
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          • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
            Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

            But it's really interesting to watch. But one of the big barriers to getting your product marketed by them is that it can be made cheap. They usually don't sell stuff for more than $20 so thus the stuff is cheaply made. Some to offer lifetime guarantees I guess they figure most folks won't bother with replacing their crappy broken product with a new crappy one that will soon break as well especially since it was cheap.
            Alan,

            As an insider in that biz years ago I can tell you a few rules of thumb...

            The product needs a 400 to 500 percent mark-up. So a $19.95 product has a mfg cost ceiling of between $4 and $5 including the royalty to the inventor and the profit to the first line distributor.

            The telemarketing costs to the promoter will generally exceed the cost of the raw product. Real world example of the last product I was involved in was: TV price = $19.95 / raw mfg cost= $2.31 / telemarketing costs estimated at $4.89. The product was never brought to market, btw.

            One of the other things to keep in mind is that often a product is produced by an overly optimistic inventor/promotor who goes broke and the inventory is bought for pennies on the dollar and then resold as upsells/bonuses to the original product. Sometimes that's the "but wait there's more" item.

            That whole game is built on making things cheap at the $19.95 level. It's been said that a good break even for a tv promotion requires in the neighborhood of $63 total sales including processing/shipping, backend and upsells. That's why you can't generally order that $10 product and expect to get the item for what your original thought was when you placed the order.

            ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author jskarthik1
    Lessons to learn...
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      And let's not forget Anthony Sullivan - RoboStir lol that's the guy that took over for Billy Mays - Oxiclean. But I have to say out of all the infomercials that annoy me the most, it is ProActive and is on every 5 mins .. UGH.
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      • Profile picture of the author dudeontheweb
        Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

        But I have to say out of all the infomercials that annoy me the most, it is ProActive and is on every 5 mins .. UGH.
        My vote is for Insanity. If I see Shaun T's ripped body one more time I'm going to throw my remote though the tv.:p

        And speaking of insanity, any of you remember Susan Powter? Now talk about annoying!
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    One point being missed is that we all remember those annoying commercial because they work. Oxy-Clean was a twice failed product launch before the Billy Mays commercials. "Vince" The Schmuck sold millions of those chopper things. Kevin Trudeau turned his various convictions into a marketing ploy by claiming the government is after him for releasing "Secret" information that only he has. "What They Don't Want You To Know" has become his trademark. My very best video on Youtube has 6,000 views after three years. The "Slap Chop" video has 803,000 views. The list goes on. When I said if I could come up with a video that obnoxious and get 803,000 views, I would. I meant it. Obnoxious SELLS. If you don't believe me ask the people who came up with Toyotathons. That concept is almost 25 years old and counting.

    Thomas
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    When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      They work, however they also only work for so long, after a while things catch up with you, just like in this scenario and in the scenario's we are seeing with all the big sites cracking down on content. I'm not passing judgment on any of these guys at all, nor would I call them scammers, they are indeed good sales people that we can learn from.

      However, selling cheaply made products or misleading products isn't the way to go .. it's like selling spun articles and sorry if anyone gets mad, I'll say selling PLR and scraper content too or the tools that coincide with them. I pride myself in that my work is all original and don't have issues like I see going on here quite frequently. I'd rather be around a long time and make money that I can leave behind for my kids and grandkids to spend, then sell a bunch of poorly made products and have the FEDS on my ass and risk going to jail for life.

      Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

      One point being missed is that we all remember those annoying commercial because they work. Oxy-Clean was a twice failed product launch before the Billy Mays commercials. "Vince" The Schmuck sold millions of those chopper things. Kevin Trudeau turned his various convictions into a marketing ploy by claiming the government is after him for releasing "Secret" information that only he has. "What They Don't Want You To Know" has become his trademark. My very best video on Youtube has 6,000 views after three years. The "Slap Chop" video has 803,000 views. The list goes on. When I said if I could come up with a video that obnoxious and get 803,000 views, I would. I meant it. Obnoxious SELLS. If you don't believe me ask the people who came up with Toyotathons. That concept is almost 25 years old and counting.

      Thomas
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles Harper
    Money in the information age works differently than in the industrial age. The idea of establishing a full time monthly income that comes like a paycheck, may not necessarily fit.

    Thus, marketers may gravitate toward selling to customers one time making a pile of cash and then using the money to buy time to find the next product. It seems like it is a little seedy, but living by income spikes may cause you to be a little callous to the long term nature of things.

    CT
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    • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
      Originally Posted by Charles Harper View Post

      Thus, marketers may gravitate toward selling to customers one time making a pile of cash and then using the money to buy time to find the next product. It seems like it is a little seedy, but living by income spikes may cause you to be a little callous to the long term nature of things.

      CT
      I look at that with a different eye. You don't have to subscribe to the "I got mine Jack" school of economics. I have to self motivate because there isn't anyone else around here to do it for me. My very 1st internet anything was scribbled on a napkin at Bob's Bigboy in 1998. Before that idea played out I had a net4 of $1,000. I took a piece of poster board and handmade me a little sign that said "I can do better". Today things are different. Different house, different office, etc. but I still have that sign and I still look at it daily. Better products, better customer service, better marketing, better everything. The toughest competitor I have is ME!

      Thomas
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      When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    Obnoxious commercials don't translate directly to bad products. Toyota and Oxy-Clean are actually very good products. Geico is driving me nuts with their ads but their sales are through the roof. Reticular activation (raising conscious awareness) is a key component of selling anything. First in market, subject authority branding and social proof are four more. There are a few (very few) others that if you can master them, they will feed you forever.

    On the other hand, great products guarantees NOTHING! Sears, Nokia and Saab will probably all be extinct a year from now. A few other well known brands aren't far behind them. There is only one company left from the original Dow 30. Take a guess without looking it up.

    Thomas
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    • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
      I don't know if you are directing your comment at me Thomas, however, I wasn't suggesting that all obnoxious commercials were bad products, I use oxyclean, have Ginsu knives, neither were crappy products. However, the majority of them are cheaply made. I do however disagree with, "great products guaranteeing nothing." Most of the items I have in my home are certain brands that I continue to buy based on them being great .. none of which consist of sears or nokia, although sears does make a damn good mattress that I'm seriously considering buying but it would be the only thing I bought from them, as I don't have much interest in anything else they sell. And in my business, selling people great products, keeps the customers coming back.

      Originally Posted by Thomas Wilkinson View Post

      Obnoxious commercials don't translate directly to bad products. Toyota and Oxy-Clean are actually very good products. Geico is driving me nuts with their ads but their sales are through the roof. Reticular activation (raising conscious awareness) is a key component of selling anything. First in market, subject authority branding and social proof are four more. There are a few (very few) others that if you can master them, they will feed you forever.

      On the other hand, great products guarantees NOTHING! Sears, Nokia and Saab will probably all be extinct a year from now. A few other well known brands aren't far behind them. There is only one company left from the original Dow 30. Take a guess without looking it up.

      Thomas
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      • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
        Originally Posted by Laurie Rogers View Post

        I don't know if you are directing your comment at me Thomas, however, I wasn't suggesting that all obnoxious commercials were bad products, I use oxyclean, have Ginsu knives, neither were crappy products. .... And in my business, selling people great products, keeps the customers coming back.
        No, not at all. Just a general comment. Keeping customers coming back has been my goal for years. I recently had an email from a guy who said "My Grandfather bought your book on stock market trading....." Boy, did that make me feel old.

        (from a thread that I thought was just linkbait, this sure has grown into a good marketing discussion.)

        By the way Alan. Meant to shoot you an IM a long time ago. DNS works just fine with your templates.

        Thomas
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        When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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  • gee, seems to me that if you take out the fact that he does/did his marketing on TV infomercials, he would be right at home here in the WF.
    how many IM products have you bought ( sold ) that are junk?
    how many article spinner software products have you sold when you knew that they would get the articles banned/shunned by google but just wanted the money.

    come on people, let's be honest about the business we are in here.
    I don't mean to say that anyone here is purposefully scamming anyone, but......

    robert
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    • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
      Originally Posted by lumpy burgertushie View Post

      gee, seems to me that if you take out the fact that he does/did his marketing on TV infomercials, he would be right at home here in the WF.

      robert
      I think some people would be very surprised if they knew
      who all WAS here at the WF.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by lumpy burgertushie View Post

      gee, seems to me that if you take out the fact that he does/did his marketing on TV infomercials, he would be right at home here in the WF.
      how many IM products have you bought ( sold ) that are junk?
      how many article spinner software products have you sold when you knew that they would get the articles banned/shunned by google but just wanted the money.

      come on people, let's be honest about the business we are in here.
      I don't mean to say that anyone here is purposefully scamming anyone, but......

      robert
      how many IM products have you bought ( sold ) that are junk?
      Bought 1 that wasn't very good and many that are pure gold. Sold none that were junk. And you?

      how many article spinner software products have you sold when you knew that they would get the articles banned/shunned by google but just wanted the money
      None. I don't promote products that are crap just for the money and a lot of people here do not promote products that are crap just for the money.

      Don't paint all marketers with the same brush, because it simply isn't accurate.
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      • Profile picture of the author Laurie Rogers
        Same here, I've got a lot of rules about that I don't jump on bandwagons either and my client base appreciates it, very much so.

        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        how many IM products have you bought ( sold ) that are junk?
        Bought 1 that wasn't very good and many that are pure gold. Sold none that were junk. And you?

        how many article spinner software products have you sold when you knew that they would get the articles banned/shunned by google but just wanted the money
        None. I don't promote products that are crap just for the money and a lot of people here do not promote products that are crap just for the money.

        Don't paint all marketers with the same brush, because it simply isn't accurate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charlotte Jay
    I was like who? And then I clicked on the link. I think I saw something on my TV not too long ago with this guy in it. How sad that his career has come to this, not to mention the people he duped out of money.
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  • Profile picture of the author focused
    Kevin Trudeau is a brilliant marketer who skates perilously close to the legal boundaries of accepted practices. But he offers in his books and tapes much excellent information, sprinkled however with some mis-information. So the consumer of Trudeau's materials has to be vigilant.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasVince
    I attended a marketing convention today with some pretty heavy hitters.....was literally stunned when one of them whom I'll allow to remain nameless all but touted the vitamin biz as the place to be?

    Watching Jim Straw literally shake his head in utter disbelief.....was priceless.

    The list of marketers who have gotten whacked in this industry sector is getting bigger......some are crooks.....and yet I get the feeling it has a lot to do with the fact that the Government would much prefer to push FDA approved potions that have actually "killed people".

    This we know for sure.

    While Coral Calcium might not have been all it was said to be....I'm pretty sure it...like many of these other non FDA approved products are probably a hell of a lot safer....aka.....I don't think anyone od'd on on Lapre's products...or ended up with an erection lasting longer then 36 hours...etc.

    So while the claim will be the fraud issue relating to websites...there's little doubt in my mind...the industry of "choice" is the health supplement sector....and frankly when I hear something is FDA approved...it doesn't exactly make me feel real "safe."

    Who knows.....Don was quite the character.....but sometimes you wonder how much greed plays a part...how much money is enough.

    Dude and his tiny one bedroom apartment cliche has been swiped so often I've lost count.....and now it might just be history repeating itself cuz them jail cells aint exactly the Trump Plaza.

    Amazing how some of the smartest marketers who should know better.....simply refuse to believe it wont happen to them....

    Poor Don.....dude is prettier then some chicks I've known...he'd have a rough time in the "joint.".



    Vegas Vince
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