“Shop To Earn” are a bunch of litigious bastards*
Posted by: Paul in Fightin' Words, Hang the LawyersYou are not allowed to sue someone just because you disagree with what they wrote about you online. Let me say that again – if someone says something factually negative about you online in a forum post, or a blog entry, suing them is not a rational course of action.
“But Mr. Quick-To-Anger Blogger, we knew that already. EVERYONE knows that!”
Not so fast there. Apparently, the fine bridge trolls** at Shop To Earn missed a memo.
Shop To Earn (google them – I won’t give them even the paltry traffic that my site might drive to them) is a MLM “company” who have decided that the best way to publicize their company is to sue anyone who says anything remotely unflattering about their pyramid marketing scheme. I know that’s a phrase that’s looked down upon by legitimate MLM companies (oxmoron, anyone?) but as someone far more eloquent than me put it:
People pay a fee to become a member of the scheme, hoping that they can recoup their money by recruiting more members who also pay fees to join the scheme. When you recruit a downline, the structure sure looks like a pyramid to me.
Basically, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it’s going to bilk you out of your hard-earned money.
These people should really look up the Streisand effect.
The way it works is this:
To become a “website owner” it’s $349, or to become just a “business builder” it’s $99. To become a “broker” which is a website owner and business builder, it’s $448. There is also an annual renewal fee that is charged, which is $69 for a website owner or business builder, or $119 for a broker.
So basically, you’re paying hundreds of dollars for the privilege of joining a link farm. That’s ALL it is.
Popular blog Everyday Finance took a look at the company, and posted their findings online, stating that the whole thing wasn’t his cup of tea for reasons he outlines in the linked post. Unfortunately, the legal department of Shop To Earn, Mr. Gerald Nehra, decided that the best, most reasonable course of action would be to demand that he take his entire site down.
Nice.
This is Patrick Welsh. He’s the guy who created this company, and it only took him 10 years! Way to go, Patrick! This alone should tell you all you need to know about this company.
If you look at their About Us page, you’ll notice our good friend Gerald Nehra on there. The fact that a company decides that it’s a good idea to list the founder, both presidents and their lawyer on their “Meet the Company” page speaks volumes.
Matter of fact, why don’t you contact these fine people and give them a piece of your mind? Here’s the pertinent info:
Shop To Earn
Phone: (800) 239-5813
Gerry Nehra
1710 Beach Street
Muskegon, MI 49441-1008
Phone: (231) 755-3800
Fax: (231) 755-4700
Email: gnehra@mlmatty.com
Patrick Welsh
Unfortunately, publicly available information on Mr. Welsh isn’t easy to come by. Maybe you could try asking Gerry for his information?
And in news that really doesn’t mean anything, but amuses me anyway: if you go to their site – shoptoearn.org – and look at the bottom, it says “Powered by Free Website Templates”. Yeah, I want to spend my money with a company that couldn’t be bothered to design an original website, or at least pick one that didn’t look like EVERY OTHER SITE OUT THERE.
Thanks go out to Techdirt, where I first read about this “company”.
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