Why do Hubshout and Endlessrise make it impossible to sign up?

Hi there... Sorry to hear you have had trouble... At HubShout, we have 8 US-based Account Managers (4 more in training right now) to be able to handle all the volume you might have.

As for "not publishing" SEO reseller rates on the website, we view our relationship together as a real partnership. We work closely with our resellers, many of whom come from this forum. We talk to them regularly, winning business (and losing some too - let's be honest! :-)... As such, we want to talk to you about our prices and make certain that the partnership starts on the right foot... This is not something we can do without talking to each other.

I'll give you a few examples. I've seen SEO resellers who set their mark-up too high. While they make great margins on first bunch of deals, the customers are ultimately unhappy as they are not getting a fair deal. These customers inevitably shop around... Not good.

On the flip side, I've seen resellers get too little mark-up from their deals. These resellers tend to look for a new partner (or line of work) because they are not making enough money... And this is just pricing.

Making money together in a competitive market is hard work. HubShout is up to the task, but we want engaged partners who know how to market and sell... That requires putting in some hours together!!!

</rant> :-)

P.S. As for your original question: NO. I would view that as unethical. All of our partners get the same price. They also get the same volume discounts at the same levels. Believe me, we are asked to 'bend' the rules every day, but I don't think that's fair... So, no, that's not the reason. :-)

Well thanks for your response...

np.... Sorry for the rant last night. Just wanted you to know that we actively root for the little guy :-)

Cheers ;-)

Hi purdue512 I want to sign up with HubShout and I was asked for my Credit Card and security number. Apparently you guys need it in order for me to sign up. Is this true or was some guy trying to scam me (never gave it BTW)?

So sorry for the late reply.

Yes, that is true. The HubShout SEO reseller program requires a $199 deposit that is collected by Credit Card (thus, why we ask for it). The $199 is credited to your first client's services, so it really is a deposit, and NOT a fee...

Why do we ask for a $199 deposit? Because we have a TON of valuable SEO reseller resources that you get when you join the SEO reseller program. Once that deposit is collected, it gives HubShout the green light to:

1) Build your white label SEO reseller portal with your logo and company colors
2) Grant access to our pre-written SEO reseller email nurture emails (to help you get business)
3) Opens up our Private Label Email Module with API integration to Amazon's Simple Email Service
4) Opens up over 20 professionally designed Email Templates and a WYSIWYG Email Editor
5) Access to our Sales Proposal Tool - again with WYSIWYG editor for making professional proposals
6) Access to our Research Tab, with full SEOMOZ and SEMRUSH enterprise data access.
7) Access to our SEO reseller only private Forum
8) Access to our Training Video Library with yours truly and Chad Hill (our CEO).
9) Daily Video Blogs from CEO and President on various topics that you will find very relevant to selling Search Marketing services.
10) Notifications of industry-leading blogs and news, including the columns we maintain at Search Engine Watch and other leading sites.

We think it's a pretty good deal for a deposit you will get back with your first end-client deal ;-)

We've been in business for almost 5 years, with more than 35 employees and offices in Rochester, NY and Washington, DC. If you have fears about legitimacy (which I completely understand, by the way) - please read about our corporate backgrounds under ABOUT US.

Cheers!