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Is IQ Derma a Scam? I think so

I’m getting close to 40 and when I saw the Web advertisement offering a trial of a product that would make my face look younger I was interested. When I started to order the “free trial” I noticed an almost ten dollar shipping cost so I didn’t complete the order. Soon after they offered me the trial of the products for a much reduced shipping rate of less than two dollars so I accepted. This was a bad idea.

First, the product didn’t work all that well. Maybe a little, but nothing spectacular, and definitely not near what I felt the ad insinuated. No big deal. I lost two bucks and that was that. Or so I thought.

Then I get a 90 buck charge on my credit card. I disputed the charge and found that it was subscription that I’d been signed up for. On the receipt for my two dollar shipping & handling charge ($1.95) at the bottom a paragraph basically stated if I didn’t send the product back I would be charged $89.50. Wow, I missed the tiny print.

I don’t think this product is worth 90 bucks. I don’t think it’s worth ten. I know, I know shouldn’t given my credit card to a company with images insinuating so much. I made a mistake that I thought would only be a two dollar test. I hope you don’t make the same mistake.

Other’s also feel that they have been scammed by IQderma / Glow.com and you can read their words at the links below. There are some positive reviews online, but I suspect many of them are false and made up.

Derma and the Grand Illusion
Lies and Scams, Truth in Advertising and IQ Derma
RipOff Report

Do I feel cheated by Glow? answer: YES
Do I feel like I was manipulated bo Glow.com? answer: YES
Do I think IQ Derma used tricky sales practices? answer: YES
Do I think you should do business with this company? answer: NO

This blog is now going to take a new direction. When I first built Next Modo I wanted it to be a place where I shared Internet Marketing and SEO news and info. This didn’t work out. There are too many great blogs already covering those subjects and unless I wanted to dedicate myself to Next Modo 24/7 I had nothing to add. So the blog has been floating around without a real purpose.
For some time I’ve been thinking of writing reviews. Reviews of websites, reviews of products, reviews of services, reviews about anything and everything I come in contact with. I love sites like Yelp and Kudzu that allow users to post their experiences. I trust those sites and will often select a restaurant or service based on other’s experiences. This site is now going to be a place where I post my reviews. Like I said above, reviews about anything.
I’m not going to use this just as a place to trash services and products, but I will use it to do so if they provide poor service or sell me junk. The Internet is too big and too powerful for companies to screw around with consumers any longer. You can’t just spend money on ads and get away with producing crap. It now takes more than a good ad campaign to pull one over on consumers. On the other hand, if you are a great company the Internet is also your friend. I plan to be friend and foe to great and bad companies.
So, here we go…

If you know anyone that is assisting in Haiti please send them this information about a new (and free) mobile phone app that translates English to Creole, Creole to English and contains a Creole French dictionary.  This Creole English Translation App was built to assist those helping the people of Haiti. 

I love Chick-Fil-A.  Sure, their food is good, but it’s the staff that really makes Chick-fil-A great.  Every restaurant franchise and business could learn something from them.

If you want to see a funny site check out Russian Space Dogs.  It has nothing to do with Internet Marketing but does show one of the best things about the Web – fun.

If you are interested in online analytics you must read Alankar Tayal’s blog The Wondering Analyst.  I’ve known Alankar for a few years and he’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.  He’s CMO material but with common sense. 

Last week there was big news about a deal with Yahoo and MSN.  This new search deal was going to change the face of search and present real competition for Google.  But wait, it’s not really ready yet and might take up to two years before it’s implemented.  Oh ok.  Well, in the world of the Web two years is a long time and everything can change.  In two years the Web may be a hologram that we access with our mind.

Learn more about verizon ringback tones.  It’s just another one of my many Websites.  Hope you enjoy.

Before testing Inlinks.com I read a few reviews.  They were all very good, but this isn’t surprising since InLinks has a strong affiliate program.  After using a coupon for In Links I set up my account with about a dozen links.  When they came through and I was able to see them I was disapointed.  While I needed a specific two word anchor text I was only give a one word anchor link.  Then the anchor links were odd and, even though the same word, were often used in different context and had different meanings. 

If you want to try InLinks you may get lucky and get good links – I didn’t.  I’m cancelling my links after this month.  I know you should test something like this for at least three months, but those links are so poor it’s not worth the test.  I can get better links from article marketing, which is also much cheaper in the long run.  If you want to test them out do a search for a coupon code so you can test them for less money.

Stretching Your Business Cents with Cheap Web Hosting

Your business is growing, but not as fast as you would like. You would like to have a web page to generate clients, but don’t have a great deal of extra money for advertising. The answer – cheap web hosting! With internet shopping increasing, having a presence on the web is an easy way to boost sales without hiring an extra person. There a variety of cheap web host available, so here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Don’t rush! Be sure to include pertinent words and phrases in your web searches so you can find the company that will best work for your needs.
• Look for a web host that will supply features like sufficient server space, monthly bandwidth (how much information is moved across the web), how many email accounts can you have and what is the maximum file size allowed.
• Determine how much site customization you can have. Can you use your own photos, files & design, or are you required to use the sites template.
• Do your homework! Know how about the companies server’s uptime (how long the server is up), how easy or hard it may be to change web host without losing the traffic & how long your host plan last by doing a web search for customer reviews on the web.
• Concerning cheap web hosting plans – they generally last for 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, or two years plans. The longer your plan the better as people know where to find you on the web. Just remember once you commit you will have it for the duration.
• If you find a cheap web hosting company that has everything you want at a price you are pleased with don’t delay or put off the commitment to another day. Rates change often and you may not get the same offer later on.

Cheap web hosting is out there, take your time to find what you need and before you know it, you can have that extra business with a minimal effort.