YNAB You Need A Budget

[WairereRose]

I'm a member of a few local websites here that do loyalty programs and the like, some surveys etc. From time to time they send out offers, sometimes for free samples, sometimes for other sites that do money-making schemes, sometimes with links to gambling sites etc - not always the, stuff to grab my attention, but from time to time I'll click a few links to see what's on offer (not on the gambling ones, don't trust those...)

A couple of days ago an offer came that was worded well enough that I thought I'd take a second look and I filled out the form to ask for more info. In due course an email arrived that I completely ignored in the throes of my carpet blower driving me insane and promptly left the house for some sanity time. On my return the next day there was a call on my cellphone from a very helpful lady in Arizona offering to tell me more about the thing.

What they offer is a website with advertising links - associate links - to places like Yahoo, Amazon, RealPlayer, and I didn't write down the other one but there were 4 if you wanted to, and a website with your own domain name that they host, renewal fee of $19.95US per year for the hosting, and of course the hosting fee was waived for the first year. I can set up for one of 3 plans, with different numbers of referral links (basic one associate, standard 2 associates, and elite 4 associates) at a not intolerable cost considering that the site comes with 4 pages that I can set up with whatever I want on them (as well as their advertising links).

I've been looking to get a website - my mum's one is doing really well and is finally starting to rake in the customers (from all around the world), so that's probably why this one grabbed my attention. Oh, they also guarantee I'll start making money in the first 90 days or else I get my fee back.

So - why am I dithering? Several reasons:
1. Website will not fit into my September budget = October earliest I can do it.
2. Other offers on the original link included several gambling sites = I'm not 100% sure I trust it.
3. The same day that I filled that out, coincidentally there was a 401 scam type email sent through to another email list I am a member of. I warned the group, but it's set me on super-suspicious at the moment.
4. When I asked her if I could look at some sample sites, she told me not until I'd signed up = that always gives me alarm bells.
** When I looked up the site from the domain in her email address there was a site with sample pages to view, so it could be she just wanted to make the sale and not lose me to another method of purchasing.

Has anyone heard of/experienced this crowd? They are: www.ohnlive.com

They do have contact telephone numbers from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, UK, Canada, Ireland and US - but I gather all the numbers link back to the one base in Arizona.

[jesse]

They're basically charging you for a website that will likely get very little traffic (read: close to zero) and that the control completely?

I'd need to study it up more, but my first inclination is to tell you to RUN!

[WairereRose]

I've sent the girl a bunch more questions and I'll see what she comes back with.

What I *do* like (as long as it's legit) is that I can set the site up how I want, so I can have the pages I want for my own business here - I've been wanting a site for a while.

I suspect I won't be able to have a shop-front/sales system though.

ETA:

She got back to me. The manager was standing by to be sure she answered all the questions - I think they'd done a practice run first.
I opened my email to be sure (would have preferred the reply on email, but there you go).
1. Own domain name - can be .biz or .com or .net I think she said - but I won't get .co.nz, they don't do those.
2. (she missed this one) - what else is required, what work/advertising? Here's the catch (glad I've found it ) - I can purchase advertising emails, 2500 for US$99, as an example. There are other marketing strategies as well, I asked her for the lowest cost, so I hope she was listening to me, but it is also possible to use your own advertising via free methods (I suggested FaceBook, she said yes), and they have back-end staff who will assist with getting it working and running well.
3. They have not experienced any issues with downloads of copyright material (for the likes of RealPlayer - I was thinking of the experience I had with my Sony eBook when I asked that question - I can only download to it while I (and my laptop and eBook) am physically in the US)
4. Advertising on the pages starts out at a default, but I can set it to whatever I want, so I can refine it to match my products/interests/market.
5. I will receive full invoice etc via email once the sale has gone through.

Other things I forgot to mention. They get paid when I get paid - I suspect a percentage of whatever earnings I generate, so it's in their interests for me to do well. There's a 24/7 support line for assisting with web-page set up etc.

She was still keen for me to sign up that minute - I can always dream up a domain name at another time and she can check for me if it's free. She couldn't argue with the 'it's still September and I can't get this in the budget till October' though, so she let me go with no further pressure.

I still have another full day and a half of thinking to do before I make the decision, but I'm leaning heavily toward probably going with it.

[WairereRose]

I know I've tried using a blog in the past. The problems with that as I seem to recall is that the blog was tricky to work out how to make it do what I wanted it to do. I didn't know how to sign up for all the advertising etc, had a program to 'walk me through it' but even with that it was harder than I was able to fathom. I don't have that program anymore, it's probably out of date anyway, and I also don't have the quantities of time available to me now that I did back then.

Blogs are free.

They don't have the facility for my own domain name, though I think they mostly have a 'linked' username which is pretty close but not transportable.

For some couple of years I had a website that I had hosted via the US. The hosting service was good, poor chap, I didn't even really know about time zones in those days, and he took a couple of midnight/2am calls from me. A small home business he was. But again, more complex than I was really able to keep up with, and I never got the results that I had hoped for.

I was trying to talk myself into giving a blog a go instead - but I think I might have talked myself out of it...

[Bertha]

I dunno--I tend to think that any program that has a deadline for signing up should be avoided. If it's legit they wouldn't be pressuring you to do it in a hurry, before you have time to reflect and research.

I would say if this is something you're really interested in, wait until you can do some homework and find a good deal for you--one that does what you need, answers all your questions to your satisfaction, and leaves you in complete control of your content. If that turns out to be this company, I'm sure they'll still be willing to sign you up at a later date. You can even make note of your salesperson so you can give her the commission if you decide to use them. But do it on your own schedule, not because they rushed you into it.

[WairereRose]

Thanks for that Bertha. She's been trying to close the sale in the calls we've had, but I don't think there's a deadline - I just said 1 October would be the earliest I'd look at it. Of course, here I am at 30/9 and my Debit card has finally given up the ghost. I've had to bring my shopping forward a day and draw cash out in case the new one doesn't arrive in time for next week I think it will be at least that long till I get back to her.

Meanwhile I'll check out what my Mum has and maybe talk to the guy who did that - she's really starting to get a lot of feedback from her site now, so it could be the best way to go.

[skyshine]

I just got off the phone with them and I was 1) impressed they took the time to actually talk to you and answer questions, however I am concerned of how do you get the traffic to the website? I do see how you can make money, I am so skeptical of all these sites as I am one to easily get scammed. I need to make a decision and am wondering if anyone honestly does this and makes money? I really think this would be a great opportunity if it is legit. Money back garuntee is a big factor also. She also said I could start the basic at $99.00 and gave me her direct line and said when I call back that I could still start at that price and they would deduct the first $50.00 from my first commission check.I don.t know someone please help!!!!!!!!!! I can't afford to get scammed, just like everyone else in the world.

[WairereRose]

She called me back to let me know that she could deduct that $50 from my first cheque too. I am still thinking on this, and will be getting back to her to find out if there are any conditions on that $50 deduction too. Did you happen to ask?

Traffic is got to the site by advertising. There are free ways to do this (posts on blogs which again have to get traffic, links on things like Facebook or other sites where you have a profile) or you can pay them to do mailing campaigns - I think I mentioned the cost of that in one of my earlier posts, or I would imagine you can pay for something like pay-per-click, but those get expensive fast.

Especially if you can't afford it, I would not rush. I was delayed by the unfortunate timing of a fraudulent transaction on my CC which meant it had to be cancelled and reissued and I'm still waiting for the replacement card, but I will still be waiting till I've made enough payments on my CC that I know it will definitely be paid in full before the next billing date and if that means another month well so be it.

At this point I'm looking at signing up mid-month, and I'll post back after that and let you know how I've got on and if I've tracked down any more 'catches'. Meanwhile, if you're still keen, put that amount in your budget so you're ready to come up with the money if it all checks out

[hillside]

Hi - I'm a newbie. I found you through googling Online Hosting Network as I just got off the phone from a similar conversation with 'Frankie'. The pitch was a soft/hard sell of the 'training' and advertising packages, which started at $2,495 US and rose to $4,695. Of course 'you don't have to advertise with us' but the chance of making an income from this type of web site depends on your exposure to potential customers so what do you get for the money you pay?
Training in choosing a niche marketplace, help to design the website, help to optimise your web visibility and a package that 'guarantees' you traffic through advertising and submission to search engines, apparently (though the package offered to me was structured very differently from the one mentioned in a previous post). This all sounds good on the surface but it seems to me that you have to think it through and ask a few questions such as:
1. Do I know of anyone who has actually admitted to making money from this - personal recommendations mean more than 'guarantees'
2. How much would you budget to advertise any business in its first few months and long term? - the amounts don't seem excessive, just more than I can afford at present.
3. How much do you trust a business that omits to mention these 'advertising' costs when you sign up initially, then spends 1 hour on the phone trying to get you to commit to them later, quoting your credit card details back to you!
4. When pushed, I got 'Frankie' to reduce down the cost of the plan to $876 as it was obvious I wasn't going for the $2495, interesting...
5. The spiel about 'no business pays cash for startup, you should use your credit card' got my hackles up. There are probably people out there who would, when pushed, go for that. When I told 'Frankie' that I had no intention of going into debt for this he started getting a little hot under the collar but I made him listen to my point 3 above, before asking him politely that if I consider overnight and want to take him up on the renegotiated deal for $876 would it still be available tomorrow, he calmed down a bit and said it would.
I would really like to hear from someone who has made this work, as the investment isn't a greal deal compared with other business set up costs. The money the company has acquired from me so far has bought a domain name and set up 'my' website, both of which would have cost not much less if I had done it myself.
I am trying to be fair and rational about the decision to go or not with this opportunity - the only thing missing is the evidence from a 'real' person who has made it work for them. If there is anyone who has then please let us all know how you did it.

[malisab]

It's been a while since I've read the other posts on this thread, but I don't think that Rose was talking about nearly as much money as you're talking about. Are you guys talking about the same thing? Maybe I missed something.

Even the 'new improved deal' of $876 sounds really high to me. I'm reading it right at $876.00 down from $4695.00 and $2495.00?

[WairereRose]

Thanks Hillside - that's exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for, and it's great to know the advertising costs (and that the training costs!) in advance, as well as that cheaper packages are available.

You are quite right that the initial cost is not too different than it would be to set yourself up - how have you found the process of actually putting your pages together?

$876US translates at the current exchange rate to around $1100NZ.

I cannot say that I have heard yet of anyone who has used the site and made money, that may simply be that the ones who have are not personally known to me. I did find it interesting that they were not prepared to give me examples of existing sites using this method for me to look at, and that there was only one sample site on their page. I guess though that they are not 'web-designers' - so no need to really put up several samples to show effectiveness, but it would be nice to see the variety available.

[FishMC]

Well my guy was "Richard" and his pricelist seemed to vary a bit from the rest of you. The basic was $149.00 USD, the Standard was $288.00 USD, and the Elite was $477.00 USD. He did say that was the "All-in" cost and said there where no hidden costs or fees. The hosting would be free for the first year and then $19.95/yr after that. He seemed quite rushed to have me sign up immediately, but I told him I have a self imposed 24 hour decision making rule, and then he backed off, but he also made sure I had his direct line and extension number. This kind of makes me think that he is scamming the original person whose advertisement I linked through, and taking the commission for his own extension number, (which he told me, by the way is the client number and the way in which they are identified on calling into the toll free numbers). It comes to my mind that this may very well be one of those things that is "too good to be true", thus it more than likely is not true. I would love to hear from a real person that has actually pursued this homebased business and made some true income from it. I don't want to get rich overnight, (well maybe that would be nice), as that is pretty unrealistic, I would however like some sort of part time income to supplement my regular paycheck! So if you area out there and have made a little or a lot from Online Hosting Network I would love to hear from you.

Al in Canada
FishMC Tournament Systems

[jesse]

Guys, to be honest, this all sounds like a big scam to me.

[MALMomma]

Ditto Jesse. Highly suspect.

[Patzer]

Guys, to be honest, this all sounds like a big scam to me.

Gosh, you think? Just because they want to be paid up front, the price changes all over the place, they promise you'll make money, and nobody can find anyone who really has made money off that site? That's a scam?

Next you'll probably tell us that investing for retirement by buying lottery tickets in bulk is a bad idea!

Patzer