Yahoo Success Center. $1.95 Shipping, then $59.90 a Month!
Are you aware of what type of programs or subscriptions you are currently promoting through affiliate networks… or a better question might be, do you even care? For some marketers (like myself), there is always a moral issue on what campaigns to promote, and which to stay away from. For other marketers, the bottom line is all that matters. I was reading through GoogleLady’s blog the other day, and noticed shes did a review on a new program called “Yahoo Success Center.” or “Search Success Center“… varies per network/landing page. Her post was mainly on the new program (which is available through a few affiliate networks), and how it’s setup to help you effectively setup a new business, using pay per click marketing through Yahoo. After reading GoogleLady’s review on the program, I wanted to look into’s details a bit further.
First off, the “Yahoo Success Center” (I won’t bother pushing this through an affiliate link, as I don’t recommend it) is currently available on at least two networks. One of them being NeverBlueAds, and the other is AzoogleAds. The program pays $28.50 per signup through NeverBlueAds and $27.74 through AzoogleAds. NeverBlueAds also shows that the offer is currently earning around .80 per click, across the network.
So what exactly is “lead” on this offer? For you to earn your $27+ commission, you simply need to get your traffic to submit their information and complete the 2nd-page with a credit card, which pays for the $1.95 S&H cost. Seems like a great deal for the customer, at first. Once you are a paid member of the site, “you will have immediate access to the Yahoo success center and will be able to begin setting up your new online business“. The only information shown on the main page is that you will receive a 14 day trial when you signup to the program. Once you fill out the main page with your user information, you are sent to the next page which asks for your billing information, and shows a $1.95 bill to cover the shipping and handling cost.
On the bottom of the 2nd signup page, if you are looking for it… you will see the following disclaimer/terms and conditions:
By submitting this form I authorize Pacific WebWorks, Inc./eAuction to immediately charge my credit card $1.95 for the shipment of Search Success Center for Yahoo. Please allow 5 to 10 business days for delivery. I hereby request that Pacific WebWorks, Inc./eAuction activate my account and authorize them to advance funds as indicated. Monthly Service fees will commence 14 days from the date of this purchase, and will be billed monthly thereafter. After the 14 day trial you will be billed $59.90 monthly for the continued service of the website, eBay auction software and for the membership to the TradeWorks product club. No refunds will be given for failure to use the requested and provided services. We reserve the right to transfer your billing to a third party Merchant of Record. This authority will remain in effect until revoked by me. This agreement will remain in effect each month until cancelled by me. You may cancel at anytime by writing to 180 South 300 West Suite 400, Salt Lake City UT 84101 or calling 1-800-497-4988. |
I have not personally signed up for this program, or went past the second signup page… but imagine how many people are signing up to this offer and not reading the fine print and expecting to only pay the $1.95 shipping, then getting nailed for $59.90 a month! I can tell you right now, “Yahoo Success Center” must be pulling in some decent conversion rates to pay $28.50 per 2nd page signup. The average signup only has to stay for one month for them to make a profit. This is a completely legitimate business, and if their backend / members area provides what they promise, then it may be a decent program. The site is also a listed Microsoft Certified Partner, for whatever that’s worth… it seems easy to get. However, I feel if this was the case, they wouldn’t have to hide the $59.90 a month billing so secretly.
A few days ago Mark from 45n5.com wrote a post called “Do You Promote Things You Would Recommend to Your Friends & Family to Run Away From?”. Basically his post was on the same topic of what I’m talking about now. There is a big difference between running advertisements on your blog or website vs. being a ppc master. When promoting through ppc marketing, you really have no branding and no one knows who you are (when pushing other sites/products). However, if you were to advertise or recommend a product like this on your blog, how would your readers feel about you afterwards? If your family wanted to try and make money online, would you recommend an offer like this? I’m not battling the offer… just the ethical issues behind how these companies pull in hundreds of members thinking they are only going to pay $1.95 for shipping… then start getting hit for $59.90 a month. Yes, it is the customer’s fault for not reading all of the fine print… but I would prefer to work and/or promote a company that doesn’t have to play with their member’s billing to make a decent earning.
When choosing an offer to promote, do you look into the program details before setting up a new campaign, or recommending it to your blog readers?