UPDATE: This review is now outdated, and I do not make any current claims regarding this product/website. To get the most up-to-date information and recommendations please join my free newsletter.
Edition #129 – 6/16/2007
There’s been a lot of buzz in the internet marketing community (and the usual barrage of emails from the gurus) about Carlos and Lupe Garcia’s new videos showing how they get millions of visitors to their websites.
I saw them speak at Yanik Silver’s Underground seminar a few months ago, and I was very impressed with their paid traffic techniques. Another marketer recently mentioned in an email that Carlos and Lupe sold 30 memberships of a $25,000 coaching program at the seminar. Pretty compelling, eh?
Since everyone at the Underground seminar signed an NDA, I couldn’t talk about it. But now they’ve posted it publicly (including a video of the actual presentation they gave), so it’s open season.
It can be reasonably assumed that Carlos and Lupe’s free videos are a lead-in for a product that they will be selling in the near future.
Unfortunately, the slightly deceptive nature of these videos combined with their track record of pushing the envelope leads me to NOT recommend whatever they are selling (even though they haven’t launched it yet).
The first video starts out with Carlos saying, “Hey it’s Carlos and Lupe, and yeah it’s true, our websites pull in over five million a month online”.
What he should have said is “our websites USED to pull in over five million a month back in 2004”.
Not a good sign when you can’t get past the first sentence without stretching the truth.
During the video he shows the Alexa traffic rating for one of their sites (mydietpatches.com), and says, “As you can see, this website is getting tons of traffic.”
Hmmm… it looks like they GOT a lot of traffic back in 2004 but in the video their current traffic rank is 2,759,627 (not very good).
In case you’re wondering if I misunderstood his first statement about “getting tons of traffic”, he reiterates it by saying, “As you can see, we’re getting more traffic than Etrade, Mastercard, Pepsi, or Pizza Hut.”
OK, so pushing aside the wrinkle their timeline, let’s take a quick glance at their business model.
They find a high converting product (such as cable descramblers or diet patches) and push as many orders through as fast as they can until they have to shut the business down. In other words, they “get away with it” as long as they can.
In the case of their diet patch business, you can find customer complaints peppering several online fraud-report sites, a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Attorney General, and a report (which I have not confirmed) that the FTC ordered them to shut down their business.
Since they were selling millions of dollars of the product, it’s no surprise that they’d have a bunch of complaints, but at the same time it seems clear that their profitable conversion rate was driven largely by hype and/or false claims.
OK, so pushing aside the timeline, the products, and their alleged lack of business ethics, let’s look at the traffic techniques.
Basically, they BOUGHT traffic in bulk from high level traffic brokers such as Yahoo. Their main form of traffic was banner ads.
Their video mentions doing a $163,000 deal with Advertising.com, a $370,000 deal with Fastclick, and a $300,000 Yahoo. They said they negotiated those deals on credit, most likely paying some money up front and covering the rest with profits made as a result of that traffic.
They took a well-calculated risk, having already tested the conversion rate of their product, and optimizing their offer.
They were playing in a league unknown to most internet marketers, where the big dogs dictate the majority all paid traffic on the web. And when you play with big numbers like this, you can make (or lose) huge amounts of money.
In case you want to watch the videos without having to go through a squeeze page, here they are:
(Links removed – site no longer available)
I am NOT using any affiliate link. Also they posted the videos on Google video, so I could just embed them here but I figured I’d do the Garcia’s the courtesy of letting you check out the site for yourself since I’m not recommending the product.
So this one thing I will say: the method is REAL and the opportunity still exists, although I suspect it has changed in the years that have passed since the Garcia’s were playing at that level.
The question is whether or not this technique is applicable to your business. The answer is that it will only work if your product has true MASS market appeal.
Beyond that, you need to MASTER your conversion rate and backend monetization and be a slave to the numbers before you risk your shirt in the big game.
I have not personally used this method, but I’d be open to trying it if I found the perfect offer. However, I’d probably start small and learn from trial-and-error (or try to find someone who is currently active in the game), rather than giving my money to someone who is trying to make a killing selling information about how they played it two years ago.
Let me know what you think. Am I overreacting?
As always, you may leave your comments here on the blog.
Have a great day!
Hi Eric,
No over-reaction. Doing some research into this, I found that they did indeed drive a tons of traffic, but the cable descrambler didn’t work and the diet patch was almost a placebo. They apparently claimed they were there for the traffic not to support the products being pimped, but that sounds was too slimey for me to even consider getting into. Thanks for verifying.
I’ve had the same thoughts and reservations. The ONLY thing that makes me give them some benefit of the doubt is that some very big marketers, Yanik, MF, JR, etc. and saying they have some good info. I am really confused as to why these marketers seem to stand behind them, so I’m waiting to see how it all turns out.
Do they have more current data but are not willing to share? Can they explain the complaints and the FTC rumor? Do they feel comfortable putting gullable marketers in line to lose everything if a campaign flops and they have leveraged it to the hilt?
Some big marketers were behind other disasters too, so it’s not a slam dunk when “so and so” recommends something. I’m just not happy with what I see so far. Even they clean up all the grey areas I’m not going to spend $25,000 just to hear more detailed stories.
Hi Eric!
I totally agree with everything you have said here.Their schiesters (definition:1. schiester 1. One who will win at all costs, using trickery if necessary.2. A trickster.)
I watched all of the videos and while watching I always had that feeling in the pit of my stomach to “WATCH OUT!” The old data spoke for itself(it was old! 3 years at that!) Their presentation was “Patchy” and thay portrayed themselves just as I took them for “FAST TALKERS”.They were speaking so fast that you really couldn’t get any whole content out of it.
My past experience with Carlos was about outsourcing when I was trying to get my website up and running.I had sent him numerous emails concerning good venues to look in for outsourcing projects, and do you know I NEVER got one reply.People that should tell you something right there!
And even in the information they were showing in the videos you could tell they were sporadic lines of information “Spikes” if you will and not consistent.Heck,They can’t even get a video to play all the way through without having to send you a link to a revised one and then it starts in the middle!
NOPE! Not for me or my pocket.I will stick to the tried and tested forms of marketing and ethical means.
Eric, is it alright if I publish the link to your post to my list so they can read it also?
David Canham
Online Software Solutions
No, Eric, you’re not overreacting. I, too, got bad vibes from watching those videos. I also noticed the outdated info. Why are they showing that? Where’s the 2007 info? I didn’t even watch the whole video… I was turned off.
Thank you for not recommending it like so many others are.
Hi Eric,
At this stage it is hard to tell if you are overreacting. I have watched some of the videos and also was not impressed by the fact that they are showing stats from sites and sales that are a bit dated. Maybe they are protecting current income streams.
Buck Rizvi of Pipeline Profits fame seems pretty impressed with these guys. He has said he was first in line to pay for the 25k coaching program and Buck also mentioned Yanik Silver has known the Garcia’s for several years. The potential for up to $3000 in commissions might have something to do with what they are saying.
cheers
Robert
Hi Eric,
Once again you’ve done an outstanding job seperating yourself from the typical online gurus and I definitely appreciate your candor. Erictips is one of the emails I always look forward to receiving and this latest one did not disappoint. I really liked how you dug into this a bit and point out how old their traffic stats are. If I wanted to strike gold only once, I’d rather try options trading or some other vehicle. But for us folks wanting long term success online, you’re doing us a huge favor by pointing out the pitfalls in this offer. Likewise, I admire you for being fair enough to post the non-affiliate links to their site so we can decide for ourselves.
Thanks again for being a breath of fresh air in this business!
Best regards,
Michael
Are you overreacting? Probably. Co registration (not the buying of leads, the actual advertising of an opt in link on someone elses website) is as old as the internet, yet still works amazingly well. Trading links with other websites is also very very old, yet still works amazingly well. And anyone with half a brain knows deep relevant content will always win in a search engine war and has since the search engine was born.
Believe it or not, I personally know someone who ***still*** uses FFA techniques to advertise their business and makes about 6k a month at it. I won’t mention their name here, but ***that*** surprised me!
I wouldn’t be too surprised if the tatics Carlos is pimping still work for someone. What you should be asking isn’t will it work, but can you make it work for you? Not every tatic will work for everyone, you should be developing a business strategy tailored to your unique business instead of jumping on every bandwagon that comes along.
Hi Eric,
Great information. Very impressive research.
Were you a private detective in previous career by any chance? 🙂
Amir
Hi Eric
I am glad that you have written this article. Yes, I do believe that though it worked in 2004, it might not be that useful to everyone. Using money to make more money is okay but as you have said, if your product or service is not meant for mass audience, you might make a big loss. Guess this type of risk is too high for anyone of us to take. Thanks for your frank opinion.
I wondered if anyone was going to openly query the dates!
It was the first thing I noticed when I watched them days ago….and I couldn’t help but think – Times change quickly on the internet!!!
I must admit that I respect your views on not promoting it Eric…….But I was saddened by an email I received from a ‘Big Name’ marketer who was promoting it ….. particularly because it doesn’t seem more than a few messages ago that he stated things would have to be great now before he considered promoting.
Personally – I’ll stick to promoting only things I’ve tried or know a personal friend who has.
It might not make me a fortune – but it keeps my conscience clear.
Regards
Randy Smith
Marketing Bargains & Freebies
Did John Reese also just make a mistake when he pitched Pipeline Profits to then? That’s all I see here is another PP. This is being pitched to people that have no business even thinking about this sort of marketing.
What Carlos and Lupe are pitching is not a scheme or a scam. This is how the big players play. Just because it is above your level does not mean it is a scheme.
Did you hear the guy talk about testing, testing and more testing? You would not roll out an offer at this level unless you had thoroughly tested it extensively, and already knew it would convert.
I just love how the mindless heard is so quick to label something a fraud just because they don’t really understand it.
I was quite disappointed that it was John Reese who recommended this “Carlos and Lupe scheme“.
The video was not professionally made, was it? Is that the official video of Yanik Silver’s Underground seminar?
And that got me suspicious. When the Carlos presented the Alexa charts, I realized I was wasting my time.
So what if they got a spike in traffic for a short time in history and was higher than Fortune 500 companies?
That is not the business model for websites that I built and will build. I want consistent traffic that will grow over time. Carlos and Lupe traffic model is not for me but I think it will be suitable for Get-Rich-Quick scheme.
Eric, thanks for the info. It’s this inability to know who or what to trust that has driven me away, at least for the time being, from the internet marketing business. I’m still on a few lists but what I’m seeing is not encouraging.
Hi Eric,
I am glad someone else is hearing alarm bells. I watched a protion of the intro video. When I see something of as poor quality as the video I watched, I don’t just assume that who ever made it didn’t know how to focus the equipment. I tend to lean the other direction and assume it was produced out of focus for a reason, like they really didn’t want you to be able to clearly see the time line dates, etc. This isn’t a new tactic. Milk the cow until she goes dry and then sell her quick. I count about two thirds the “How To” material on the web falls in that catagory. “It worked when I was doing it but now that there is no money in doing it that way, I will sell the info and keep my income stream for a while longer.” No thanks! I guess I am just cynical.
Thanks for the confirmation.
Ken
Hey Eric
I commend you for your stand.
Honestly speaking, I think there’s nothing technically wrong with the product but then when the finer details of the traffic strategies are not mentioned (ie costs, mass appeal products, risks, etc), then it’ll be selling on too much hype.
Sure the smart ones will figure out what’s in store and if they do purchase it, it’s to open up their eyes or they already have something in mind on how to profit from the strategy.
But for a lot of people, they buy it on the premise of huge traffic because believe it or not one of the major problems faced by IMers is getting traffic. When they go through the course, and darn, they’re hit with the reality. To hype it too much would be a disservice to the customers.
Keep up your excellent review.
– Melvin Ng
Hey Eric,
I didn’t finish watching the video because the claim of getting that tremendous amount of traffic just kinda reminded me that I had more important things on hand to do, so I clicked the button on the top right hand corner.
I agree with your point about the need to master the conversion process before traffic even means a thing.
Thanks for the honest review again.
-Kang
Eric,
As usual, you’ve described the situation as it is. A narrow band market is a risky market and the graph told it all. You are still among the best there is and I personally thought your review displayed the ethics that I admire in you. There simply are not enough “ethical” marketers to impress me. I find many lesser known people to be the most worthy and you, my friend, are at the top. Thanks and keep it coming!
Clay Dean
Hi Eric,
I am glad you have spoken openly about the Garcia’s
I for one will not touch anything with Carlos Garcia’s name on
as a few years ago I had a problem with him and it took a
year and me going to his forum to warn others before he agreed
to give me my money back and take me off his list.
Good on you Eric keep up the good work
Sandra
Hi Eric, thanks for your wonderful and frank comments, finally, someone bold enough to stand up and speak.
Yeah, when I first viewed the video, I spotted some of the key flaws you highlighted, I threw it aside and did not read another mail from those “gurus” telling me that I MUST view this video.
I hate people promoting products that they have not used them for a reasonable length of time, how would they know whether the product is good and worth of their subscribers’s investment, well, they just want to make money. This is certainly not fair to their subscribers.
Cheers to you Eric, keep your comments coming. Bravo.
Best regards,
Keith Lee.
Illinois Sues Diet Patch Promoters
Advertisement
This article below mentions “Guadalupe Bejar” – is that as in “Lupe” Garcia
Also – think at least twice – are diet patches healthy for people?
Is that a “good thing” that someone is able to get the masses to “suppress” their
appetite with some type of reactivity from a “patch”- even if it is herbal or not
actually a “drug” per drug defintions today – but if the body has an appetite-
why “suppress” it or “change it” – maybe the body is crying out cause its
undernourished and overfed (by non-nutritive junk or other unsuitable foods)
anyway…just a few comments
good for you , Eric, you’re the first one I have seen who had the guts to come
out and say it!
November 11, 2004
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit alleging that a Nevada corporation, operating out of Cook County, lured consumers from across the country with “magic” weight loss claims and “free trial” offers advertised on its Web site then fraudulently billed the consumers for hundreds of dollars of unwanted and ineffective weight loss products.
The lawsuit charges Diet Patch, Inc., and Guadalupe Bejar, its president, with multiple violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Madigan alleges Bejar conducted business out of her suburban Chicago home, using a Tinley Park post office box address and the Web site http://www.mydietpatches.com,/to run her business.
According to the lawsuit, the company used false advertising to promote and sell its products. The complaint charges that the Diet Patch Web site made numerous unsubstantiated weight loss claims including, “An easy to use product that magically melts off ugly fat, gets rid of flab and cellulite without ‘dieting,’ calorie counting, or strenuous exercise” and “With The Amazing Diet Patch you don’t even have to think about losing weight, the patch does all the work for you!”
Hi Eric,
The first thing i did when I heard about them is do research on the diet patches. I, too, found the complaints and that turned me off instantly. I am soo sick and tired of everybody jumping on the darn bandwagon. It really is making me sick to my stomach. But you know what – because of these tactics, I have learned to quickly ignore the emails and hit the delete button faster and faster.
I took me years of reading that crap to figure out that If I want to be successful, I have to pay attention to a few and ignore even more.
Thanks Eric.
Eric,
Thank you for bringing all this to the surface. I also can’t believe I gave my good email address too, I’m wondering if there’s any way to stop them from giving my email address out.
Crooks. Any time you seeing people making their fortunes in the weight loss industry (covers Buck and Butthead’s Pipeline Profits and the Garcias Traffic Tactics) strap down your wallets people. Most drug dealers are more honest than the diet pill pimps.
Thanks Jon for digging out the info that the Cable Descrambler didn’t work and the diet patches were near placebo.
And Eric – thanks for finally calling out one of these scams for what it is. You’ll be getting a few fewer Christmas cards after this post. What are those Fight Club rules again? Pam. No one talks about Fight Club.
Surprised to see people citing, JR, MF, YS – John Reese, Mike Filsaime and Yannick Silver – as credible witnesses. All of them are bilkers. John Reese consults to the top tier on how to fleece your boots. Mike Filsaime sells defective product found in better executions as freeware or open source. Yannick Silver gives a platform to people like the Garcias – and made his own money selling hot air (public domain riches). Whoever cited Joel Comm as one of the good guys has got to be joking – that guy sends out more affiliate pitches than anyone, outbatting even Eric by at least three to one.
Wake up people! Smell the coffee and go and buy J. Paul Getty’s How to be Rich ($6) and update it with Scott Fox’s hardcover Internet Riches ($10) at Amazon. Those two books have more practical money making wisdom in them than all of these $297 (and up) courses put together.
Ladies and Gentlemen, still be careful. That someone does the right thing once is only an indication that person is capable of doing the right thing, not a guarantee of future performance.
Eric,
Thank you very much for your research and comments. I had passed on this once I saw the price tag and the amouint of money they were using. Way out of my league. But I have bitten on way too many similar programs. I wish I had seen something like this on them (I won’t name names), it was my own mistakes. You are makiing a significant contribution…I would like to see more, I’d even pay a fee (Hint).
G’Day Eric and friends,
Boy have you got some nerve!
Not being a newbie I wasn’t taken in by this one either as a matter of fact it made me very angry.
But I must admit, I don’t have your courage.
I wrote an article in my newsletter over a year ago called ” The Sins Of Omission.”
I thought that was pretty game at the time. I don’t want to hurt anybodys business
but felt the scales had to be evened out a bit for the poor unsuspecting newbies,
of which I was one not so long ago.
Fortunately now I have a high traffic site. Guess what, Ive posted step by step instructions on
how I did it – all for totaly free.
The best tip I can give – if it’s called a secret run away as fast as you can.
Hip, Hip Hooray, and as usual Eric you “Really Shake The Truths From The Lies”, in this snake oil business of internet marketing. The hucksters out there in “Make Believe We Are Telling You TheTruth”, land just meet their match in your “Hold No Punches and Tell No Lies” newsletter.
Thanks to you, I won’t be pouring “Good Money After Bad” down this dark rabbit hole in “Alice I’m Going To Get Rich On The Internet Wonderland”.
Lawrence Bethel
http://www.precisionemedia.com
Hello eric,
Thanks for the great info. You’re right and I totally agree with you.
By the way, a few days ago you did give us information on AdSpyPro and GoogleCashDetective, but you probably overlook another player “AdwordsTycoons” which launched last Tuesday. AdwordsTycoons sold at $1497 plus $99.5 shipping and handling.
The group call themselves “AdwordsTycoons” team without showing WHO they actually are.
I wondered whether or not they are SCAM ?
Could you please visit the site and investigate if they are a real deal ?
If so, why their price is so high ? Is there any considerable differences from AdSpyPro or GoogleCashDetective that they can price the product that expensive ? Worth the price ?
Of course, if they are scam, you can get your subscribers awared, the same way you normally do.
Best Regards,
Hey Eric,
Thanks for the heads-up and for being willing to “go against the flow!” I did similar research to yours and was surprised to see so many “Big Name Gurus” promoting this when there is so much negative press about the Garcia’s former business.
Contrary to what some have said, Banner Advertising still works but is dependant on several factors… Site placement, quality of copy, tasteful use of animation, call to action, etc. If you want to get started without having to “bet the farm,” try Google’s “Image Ads” which allow you to place banner ads on Content Network sites and which don’t require a contract to place the ads and test them.
Kevin
http://www.freeppcupdate.com
Hi (again),
Sorry, I forgot to give you the prodcut URL, here you are :
http://www.adwordstycoons.com/private1.aspx
Thanks,
Eric,
Again, a no-nonsense review. To be honest, the videos seemed like so much hype that they scared me away anyway! Man, teach me how to make a few thousand a month and we’ll worry about making the millions later.
Why are so many high profile internet marketers endorsing this business model? If I’m correct, many of them belong to the Stompernet Team which teaches building for longevity not the quick buck. Nevermind. I already know the answer. Greed. Theirs and ours.
Later.
Eric,
I appreciate the research and information you have provided on yet another so called coaching programs. It seems the higher priced the coaching program scam the more hype it generates and the more lucarative it becomes for the so called internet marketing guru community.
We need more people like you to expose the realities of these kind of coaching program schemes.
I really do hope this is as low as the current batch of Mega-Bucks-Milk-The-Punters-For-As-Much-As-Possible launches ever get. Truly appalling.
The conversion rates for their banners were actually very low, particularly when you consider the wide appeal of the rubbish they were selling. Everybody is talking about the dates, but that’s not really what’s important here – banner ads then are no different to Google image ads now. Ads are ads – they’re either good or bad and their ads were obviously pretty poor performers. On the number of impressions they used they should have made far more money than they did, but that’s what happens when you sell garbage. Any ‘guru’ should have spotted that obvious point and Reese, Silver, Johnson and all the others pimping this at present really do need a serious unsubscribe lesson to prove the point.
If something works and makes money then, generally, doing a lot more of that thing will make even more money. Nothing there worth $25K. Carlos and Lupe Garcia found a way of getting a lot of advertising on credit and that’s really the ‘secret’ they’re offering and it’s a very, very dangerous piece of knowledge. To anyone even remotely interested in what they have to offer just don’t go there – you’ll be landing yourself in exactly the same problems, only worse, as those who went with Bip and Bop and their Drainpipe Losses program. Instead look at those low cost programs – like AdSpyPro and others – that help with your testing. That’s the real way to start making profits.
Aloha Eric,
Hi its me Richard from your internet coaching club with joel comm, I wanted to first thank you for answering my questions with the club, and to thank you for your honest review of this product. I have been trying to make a dime online for quite a while and I find it really helpful to see you helping out newbies such as myself. I know that your site will be a great help to me and many a newbies in the future. To see all of the posts on here, is truly showing me that people do listen to you and that if people are listening than you must obviously know what you are talking about.
As many of you have stated, too much money spent on too many gurus, selling the dream. I just got finished going through a 7 day seminar, many of you may have also attended, and at the end of the 7 day seminar, I was pitched to, on each and every day. So this was a preseminar to the mass riches that this one individual had made from us. For me, I spent my last dollars because I had believed that it would finally give me that edge that I was looking for that could help me to generate some income really quickly. It turned out to be the exact opposite, I was expected to dish out even more money.
Sad to say, I wish that there were more honest individuals such as yourself teaching us newbies how to make any type of money online and trust be assured that I will keep on working on my blogs and working on the traffic to my blog. I noticed that you were telling me that I could make some good money with adsense, but someone told me that the adsense phase is not as good as the selling of the affiliate products. I also noticed that you do not have adsense here on this blog. So i’m going to try and take a different approach then adsense unless you could advise a better way. But thank you once again for your honest review on the garcia’s.
Aloha,
richard
Hi Eric,
Thanks again for the honest reviews. You are the IM mareker that respect so much. Keep up good work. Salute.
cheers,
flwong
Eric,
I have always appreciated your candidness. I’m certain you are rich, but you are not a pimp for every Tom, Dick, and Lupe. Mazel tov!
What they seem to be saying is that you can make oodles of money following their strategies. Maybe. But I want to know how to make oodles of cvash honestly by following a system which is not going to be tapped dry with the launch of a new product or shut down by regulatory authorities.
I tried the $1 trial of Stompernet, and although I couldn’t afford to continue, it is clear as day that their site and staff offer bullet-proof ideas which will endure. Lupe and Carlos offer onlyr smoke and mirrors which are far beyond the reach of most of us.
Carlos and Lupe seem genuine, but that is their marketing hook. Keep up the vigilance, Eric, so that the fools (like me?) and their money do not part.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the headsup on that one – will not be getting involved in this bnrings to mind the phrase “Buyer Beware”
Cheers
Hi Eric,
I just wanted to say thanks 🙂
I just joined your list via one of Joel Comm’s products and it is they best one so far. You always give upfront info so that people can make their own decisions, but have more info than they otherwise would have.
Warmly
Sophie
Eric,
I caught the date change right away, and replayed that section a few times. He also “checked out” another account with a 2005 date. My guess is that if he was truly buying the huge dollar volume pricing that is the only way the method could work. The cost per impression would be much cheaper for someone buy $300k than for someone buying $500 to $5000. It may not work well if your buget is too small or you don’t have a really hot mass appeal product. The other thing that bothered me about the videos is that they just end abbruptly without explaination. I have not been to any of Yanik’s seminars but I got ripped of for $10,000 at another seminar. Lot’s of snake oil out there!
Eric,
If you do not agree with Traffice Tactic’s would you comment on Traffic Sales and Signups for 19.97? I have recently purchased the Pro ebook from Micheal and currently in the early stages of writing an ebook hopefully to use his ebookpro program. It seems to be a good one at first glance but making a ebook is hard enough and I have yet to gather the tools to market it for sale along with another friend who seems to be interested in this ebook publishing idea as well. We are living in Vietnam in the trades. I have a large website actually 2 sites which might fit into this entire game plan. I have yet approached Micheal C. but will do so later but thought since I see you are bold enough to comment on the Tactics ebook maybe you might comment on the Traffice Sales and Signups ebook. Hope so. Please do. Thank you. Newbie to this arena but old to the trades.
Tell me, the last time there was buying of large amount of traffic by-passing Google wasn’t that “pipe line”? I was keen on that until I worked, that because I live in the UK I would either have to move to California or change my life style and work all night and sleep all day because I would have to fit in with when the brokers worked. An other thing I haven’t got large amounts of cash to have made it work. Perhaps if one has large amount of spare cash they might get Carlos’s plan to work. One good thing is that if this DOES work and only a few do go for it the cost per lead will stay low.
Good Luck
If you are one that does go ahead let us know how you go.
Eric,
Thanks for the Heads Up! Too bad our French friend ( sorry to use the term so loosely) La Vie, doesn’t know you and Joel as well as many others of us do. If he checks Joel’s Blog he will see that he too makes comments about “Garbage” also. The Secret to name just one. This 69 yr old former newbie spent $15,000.00 in 14 months on just that type of garbage. Had I been reading you or Joel in that period of time I probably would have saved some money. Keep up the good work and I dont have to tell you how much you are appreciated. All the folks before me already have and very eloquently at that. Except for “Frenchie” and he doesn’t count.
Keep up the good work!
Victor King
Dear Eric,
Thank you for your insightful and TIMELY advice. It is always interesting to see the excitement generated by big numbers and how people become completely oblivious to reality when they see that carrot dangling in front of their nose.
Fortunately, I’m not experienced enough to even TRY to pull-off a website of the magnitude the Garcia’s are discussing.
After reading your comments (and your blog), I realize that at least I am not alone in having spent way too much money on useless/worthless/crummy/#^$%. . . programs that promised to show me how to be a “successful internet marketer”.
I think we newbies to the internet marketing scene need to be realistic about our own learning curve, bite the bullet and do the study/work/testing required to be successful. Stop looking for the shortcuts and use common sense when listening to the advice of so-called “gurus”.
Brennan
I agree with most of the comments above. The date thing was the first thing that concerned me. Then the show them this, show them that Carlos presentation, really was not working for me. I can’t understand why people are recommending this to me, I have removed myself from several lists because of this.
What I like about being on your list is you give honest criticism as well as recommendations that you have tried first and you believe to be beneficial.
Keep up the good work Eric
Dear Eric,
Thank you for your insightful and TIMELY advice. It was refreshing to get an email telling me NOT to buy something.
It’s amazing how common sense can fly right out the window when people have the “big money” carrot dangled in front of their noses.
Fortunately, I realize I am not in the “big boy” league that the Garcia’s are talking about.
From reading your email (and, especially the blog), I got some comfort from realizing that I am not the only gullible newbie to exchange hard-earned money for over-priced/worthless-or-nearly-so/$#%&. . . programs that GUARANTEED to show me how to be an “Internet success”.
Slow and steady is my new motto. It’s time for we newbies to recognize our own learning curve, understand the need for study, hard work, testing and commitment and hang on to our common sense when confronted with more dazzling offers and GURU-isms.
I want our book and education plan to be here for the long haul. If we have to start small – so be it!
Brennan
http://www.setourteachersfree.com
Straighten-out Public Education NOW!
OOOPS! Sorry Eric.
I didn’t realize the first blog message went through.
Can you tell I’m a newbie? Duh!
Brennan
Honestly I felt uncomfortable watching the video as I got a sense of the furtive atmosphere during the presentation.
Great post Eric.
Honestly I felt uncomfortable watching the video as I got a sense of the furtive atmosphere during the presentation.
Great post Eric.
Hi Eric,
I listen to you more than most ‘guru’s and this blog just points out the reasons why…you are refreshingly honest and ethical.
I felt the same as you re: Carlos and Lupe’s video’s and knew they were pre-launching a very expensive coaching program I agree that there stats are obsolete and they are misleading people. How many good, honest newbies, possibly desperate for a extra income will beg, borrow and maybe even steal to buy what they offer. It sickens me to see so many net marketers continually bombard the small market of home businesses or other marketers with the same old diatribe and hoke-um’s.
I hope you do give their method a shot…buy advert’s with high converting, mass-produced products and report to us. I would love to find a cheaper, easier (not that easy) way to do what the ‘big boys’ do on ‘small boys’ cost level.
Hi Eric,
Their whole story doesn’t ring true. From being bankrupt and deep in debt, to stellar Trade References and a Dun & Bradstreet # in no time at all?
They should have titled their presentation “Had your daily dose of snake oil yet? Guaranteed to relieve you of everything from warts to your money!”
There is nothing wrong with buying traffic, and getting it on credit is great if you can get it, but for heavens sake, don’t do it without testing your numbers first. It’s like gambling, don’t play with more than you can afford to lose.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Thanks for stepping up and doing this, Eric. I had some big questions about this and you’ve opened it up and answered them all very clearly. What Carlos and Lupe are promoting is one of those high-risk methods which only seem to work with products like unproven “diet miracles” that involve aggressive claims and recurring billing.
I’m sure this won’t make you friends everywhere, Eric… but I think it will make a difference in the right places. 😀
PV, I am with you all the way. What’s surprising to me is who’s promoted this “opportunity.” To me, their credibility is permanently damaged by this, but I guess we’ll see if their followers hold them accountable.